You Are the Moon That Breaks the Night |Virgato|

Chapter 35: Beatitude (Part 2)

Joel looked up when Chris approached the couch area. Erick and Patricia were sat to his left, the right space probably having been cleared by Richard. Shun had sat herself down on the sofa opposite from Joel. Liling and Hector, much to Christopher's amazement, were idly playing next to the coffee table with the couple of toys Erick had retrieved from the attic of the house. When Liling caught Chris studying her, she smiled at him, that slightly feral, slightly creepy smile of hers.

Chris reciprocated it and sat down next to Joel. He slid his hand in the space between the backrest of the couch and the small of Joel's back. As his hand was hidden that way, Chris let his fingers slip beneath the hem of Joel's shirt. Chris drew small circles into Joel's skin. Joel didn't react audibly, his voice didn't falter while he spoke, but he did lean into Christopher's side. Chris was pleased because he could feel Joel relax beneath his fingertips.

"I should have know," Shun concluded as soon as Joel had finished his report of the events at the factory hall. Chris could tell by the quiver in her voice that she was genuinely upset. It was a nice change of things, to have someone on their side for once. "I have to apologize to you, Joel. And especially to you, Paty. You were being held on my territory and that should have not escaped my notice."

"The past cannot be changed," Patricia said and Joel nodded. "We do not blame you for the ambush, Shun. And it's no use to look back. We have to focus on the now and how we deal with the aftermath."

Simultaneously, they all looked at Hector, who was too busy building a spaceship out of Legos to notice the adults in the room examining him.

"Can I ask you something?" Chris spoke up. He could feel Joel and the rest of the pack look at him curiously, but Chris kept his gaze on the alpha in front of him.

"Sure," Shun motioned for him to go on.

"Do you have any idea why Alberto ambushed us in the first place? I mean, I get that he is a psychopath, but he didn't try to attack us. He tried to eradicate us. He took Patricia, weeks before Joel claiming me," Chris could feel Joel's hand coming down on his knee, squeezing, "Pissed him off, to weaken Joel and I just don't... I wonder what his motivation was."

Shun watched him closely while he spoke and now that Chris was done, he felt himself blush under the alpha woman's intense gaze. Joel and Patricia had said that they didn't care for the past and that meant that Chris wasn't meant to, either, but he needed to know. He needed to know why.

"I think that there is no rational explanation for lunacy," Shun said eventually, her tone calm. "Alberto was a strong bodied wolf, but his mind was weak. He held onto old, backward beliefs if you allow me to call them that. Your pack, your alpha," Joel tensed where he sat next to Chris, "Were a thorn in his side ever since Patricia bought the land from Alberto's father. I was just a teenager when that happened, but it was a stain on something Alberto tried to keep pure. I don't know if you have noticed this, but there are no American werewolves by birth."

Chris had noticed that. The Perez's were Cuban, the Lam pack of Chinese descent and even his own pack had Joel's Nahua heritage as their sole reason of existence.

"Alberto, even as a teenager, was very proud of his status as the only alpha in a hundred mile radius. Apart from me, of course, but he knew better than to disrespect my pack," Shun allowed herself a grim smile. "Bitten werewolves can't become alphas. That's something you are born with. We are stronger, and we are the ones born to lead. And Alberto was the only one."

"Until Joel came along," Chris hadn't meant to say it out loud, but once the words were out, Shun nodded.

"A thorn in his side," Shun repeated. "The only real threat for him. And then Joel also ruled the land he used to own." Shun shook her head. "I knew of Alberto's disdain towards you, Joel, but he kept it under wraps these past years, since you turned, so I thought he had come to his senses. I was terribly wrong and for that, I can only apologize again."

"You didn't know of his plans," Joel amended. "Please, don't beat yourself up over this. As I said, we have to focus on dealing with the aftermath."

Again, all eyes flickered over to Hector.

"Alberto had no right to bite the child," Shun said, her suppressed anger only noticeable in the twitching of her upper lip. She looked at Joel, "Are you going to claim him?"

"As soon as he has shifted. He is Christopher's brother and therefore a part of my family. No one has a right to him but me."

She nodded, "Good. The Lam pack authorizes him, of course."

"Thank you for that," Joel rose to his feet and Shun followed. As if she had been summoned, Min walked in from the kitchen and positioned herself behind her alpha.

"Now you only have to get him examined by the hunters and we should be able to move on."

"That's the next thing on the list," Joel extended his hand which Shun took with a smile. "Thank you for coming."

"Alphas going after each other is vile and medieval. We have evolved from that. If Alberto would have realized that, he might still be breathing right now."

Joel nodded his head, a hint of finality to the gesture and Shun reciprocated it before she picked her daughter up from the floor and walked out, Min hot on her heels.

"Guys!" Richard called into the silence that followed the Lam pack's exit. "I think I burned the tea!"

_

"Christopher Bryant Velez Munoz!"

Chris flinched as he pulled the front door to his house shut behind him. He didn't make it farther than the living room before his mother had pinned him to the wall with a spatula. The expression in her eyes was furious, of the kind that his mother only ever got when she was seriously worried. Chris tried to breathe calmly while his mother fumed at him. He had thought long about what he was going to tell her. What he needed to tell her.

"Would you like to tell me where the hell you were? Lorena called me because you didn't pick her up from her friend's? Your phone went straight to voicemail? And where the hell is Hector? I swear to God, Christopher, you better have a good explanation for this, or I swear I will-"

His mother wanted to go on, but Chris silenced her by laying a hand on her shoulder, "Mom."

His mother stilled, narrowing her eyes at him. Chris took a deep breath. He had thought about this. It was the only thing he could do now.

"Mom," Chris said. "There is something that I have to tell you."