We journeyed across the state in our little two-car convoy. I slept through some parts. We stopped a few times for bathroom breaks and once for lunch at some diner. Seven hours later we arrived at some gated community place. There was a sign that read WELCOME TO THE BLUE RIDGE ESTATE. We drove through the gate and through the serenely quiet streets with manicured lawns and generous backyard. Finally, we got to the farthest house on the last Street. It was identical to all the others in the neighborhood. It was a one storey house with a porch outside the front door, plus a balcony at the upstairs sliding glass doors. Jason and Sean parked the SUVs at the driveway and we piled out of the cars. Everybody got stretching to get some blood flowing to the muscles after having sat down for so long.
We were approaching the doorway when the door burst open and out came a very beautiful lady, dressed expensively in a skirt suit closely followed by a man who was also in a suit and was as tall as me if not taller. The lady got to us first. She ignored everybody else and headed straight for me. One moment I was wondering silently if these could be them, my parents, the next I was almost getting tackled down to the ground in a very tight hug by the lady who by then had tears streaming down her face. A few seconds later the tall gentleman joined in the hugging. If I'd looked around, I'd have noticed that Sam and the gang were no longer with us but were a few paces away giving us some privacy.
We held onto each other for what seemed like forever. Finally, they let go of me. Not completely, they were just holding each of my hands. The man on the right and the lady on the left. I was not even aware of the tears on my face. The lady tugged at my hand and we slowly proceeded to the house. I didn't notice the details of the inside as my mind was spinning and my heart was beating a thousand beats a minute.
We finally sat down. Nobody made a move to release the hands. We were all huddled together on the sofa. We stayed like that for quite a while, squeezing each other's hands. Finally, the gentleman spoke. "Son, we've waited so long for this moment. Speaking for myself here, this is actually the first time I'm seeing you. As you know, your mom went to go have you in our holiday home on the coast. Someone had to stay back home to keep an eye on things and keep up the ruse." "Giving you up was the hardest thing I've ever had to do." the lady who I was damn sure was my mom said. "The worst part was that I couldn't even look sad when I came back. People had to believe that I had been to tour other packs. I put on a brave face outside but was hurting on the inside. Your father was not fairing well either. We relied on photos of you sent to us by trusted friends to watch you grow." "Mom, Dad," I said "I missed you guys too. Before I found out the circumstances that led to my adoption, I used to wonder why a parent would give up their own baby. I was to learn later that you did it out of love. To protect me from the enemy. I can't find the word to say how I feel now that I've finally met you guys. Just promise we'll never be apart again. "OH you can take that to the bank son. " dad said " My number one focus from today is my family. "Family above all" mom quipped in.
We didn't want to break the moment so we stayed like that on the sofa absorbed in our little universe until Sam came by and shattered it.
I said shattered because that's what it felt like. We didn't even notice that it had gone from day tonight. "Your majesty," she said "Nora wanted to know what you want to have for dinner" the question was directed at my mom." Come now Sam." mom said "We both know that's not why you are here. Besides, I already made plans with Nora about tonight's dinner." mom then got up and gave her a hug. Dad too. When they sat back down mom patted the empty space on her side and motioned for Sam to sit there. After she was seated, mom turned to her and asked "How has he been. Has he been a good boy?" "No. Not really." Sam said smiling then winked at me. "I'll get back at you for that," I said. Sam ignored me and focused back on my mom." You told him about the party yet? " she asked." Way to ruin my surprise" mom scolded then turned to dad, looked in his eyes, and held his hand. Dad nodded and then she said. "We are officially announcing you at the party later tonight." I was about to protest when I caught the look on Sam's face. "Don't even think about it," she said. "Preparations have been going on since we arrived. The stage is set in the backyard. The pack members are also arriving with most of them already here. Also, Nora will be pissed if we let all her cooking go to waste, all because little Kyle didn't want a party."
I was about to argue my point when dad rose from the sofa and gestured for me to follow him. I knew there and then that I had lost the fight. The look on dad's face said the party was going down. Nothing I could do about it. I followed behind him and he led the way to what appeared to be the study. Once we were inside, he locked the door and walked to his desk, and sat on the huge chair behind it. He motioned for me to have a seat. I took the sofa on the left. Once I was comfortably seated, I set to look around the office. There was a portrait of dad on the wall behind the desk. The left and right walls had shelves filled with volumes of books. There were pictures on his desk. Two of them. There was one with mom and dad and another that had a little baby. "That's you." dad said "I put it up this morning after Jason and Sean left to go bring you home."
Dad pulled a drawer and brought out a bottle of bourbon and two glasses. He poured a finger of the drink in each glass and passed one to me. He then reached inside the drawer and brought out a book that on close inspection turned to be a photo album. He pushed the album towards me. I took it together with the drink and sat back down. I was not a big fan of alcoholic drinks. Truth be told, I'm what you call a lightweight. I was not about to let my dad see that though. I took a sip of the Bourbon and felt it go from my throat to my stomach. Dad caught the look on my face and said. "Son, let me tell you a little something about Bourbon. It's not about drinking it. It's about the feeling of holding it in your hand. The calm confidence it gives you. You don't have to drink it. Holding it is more important. Now, go on open the photo album and tell me what you see." I gingerly placed the drink on the desk and took the photo album in both hands. The first thing I noticed was the age of the photos. They were really old. In the photos, there were canvas paintings of people. As I progressed through the pages, I found actual pictures of people who were black and white. Towards the end is where my dad appeared with his family, namely me and mom. I relayed all this to dad. However, photos bothered me. There were photos of me. One was in the first picture. An oil painting. The other was a black and white photo. When I told this to my dad he went silent for a beat then said. "I was hoping you would notice that. You see, when your mother discovered she was pregnant, we thought you were a miracle child. Then you were born and grew up. It turned out the miracle was quite literal. Honestly, we didn't make the connection until you had turned sixteen. By then you'd grown to almost your full height. We discovered that you didn't just resemble the two others, you were them. We did some research and discovered that you were the reincarnation of the first alpha. He is destined to appear in times of great turmoil in our world. We figured you came because of the trouble brewing about the Rogue alpha. I wanted to tell you this now before you mingle at the party because people know about the first alpha and they might make the connection. " he then paused for dramatic effect. After a minute he continued." It gets worse." "How could it possibly get worse? " " I know you noticed that you are still in the United States of America. The pack is not out here in North Dakota to only meet you. I moved us out of pack territory in Quebec, Canada to hereafter I received credible Intel that the Rogue alpha was planning an attack on the pack. He's been known to slaughter men women and children, leaving death and destruction in his wake. I couldn't take that chance with the pack so I moved them out." "I thought it was pack alphas that went out to fight each other in challenges" "That is the standing custom. But the Rogue alpha has total disregard for the law. I wanted to stay behind and fight but your mom dissuaded me. She argued that it was not my battle but yours. That you came into our lives for this battle. She called it your destiny. As we speak, I'm getting reports via mind link that he has taken over our pack territory. So that's where we are going to hit him. We'll refine the details later. For now, I'm preparing you for the unveiling ceremony. " " Wait a minute. You said you moved the whole pack here. Where are they staying? " " In the estate. It's one of the many we own. This one is brand new. All the houses are currently occupied by the pack. Once we return home, we'll sell it to humans. " " If everyone's here, who is Manning the fort back home? " " A few watchers. They will spy on the enemy until we go there and put him out of his misery. Anyways, enough of pack politics. We will have plenty of time to do this after the party. For now, go get ready the party is waiting for you."
I walked out of the office like a zombie. Seeing nothing, feeling nothing until I felt the now-familiar static on the palm of my hand. It knocked me out of my reverie. My eyes followed the hand from where it held mine, all the way to Sam's angelic face. I managed to croak a hi which she ignored and asked me if I was OK. I decided to quote dad and said. "Pack politics" "OH, he already got you into that?" "He said later, after the party. By the way, what are you wearing" "That's a secret. I wanna surprise you" "You know I hate surprises." I said pouting. "Tough luck my prince, you can't have everything...... yet," she said then disengaged from my hand and ran down the hall.
I turned around and found my mom standing at the foot of the stairs. "I'm sorry I scared her off," she said. "Don't apologize." I said "She was leaving anyway. You have any idea where my room is?" I asked changing the subject. "Follow me," she said and went up the stairs. I followed her to my room and got inside. There was a tux laid out on the bed. "That is for later tonight. I leave you to it. I have to get ready for this too. See you later." she walked out and shut the door. I walked to the bed and lay down looking at the ceiling. I was anxious. I had never been the center of attention before. This was going to be a long night.
