Beneath The Blood Moon {TMT #2}

Chapter 13

Kane closed his eyes and breathed out. Slowly.

I too blew out a shaky breath of my own, slightly relieved that he was managing to keep Albus under control.

A second later, I shook my head. "I already know that story."

Kane opened his eyes and regarded me with a slight glare. "Does not everyone?" His tone held a tinge of hate.

Warily, I moved my body sideways, inching almost invisibly across the corridor in order to create a bit of distance between us.

Of course, everyone knew the story of how Albus' precious mate managed to break away from their bond, leaving it one-sided. It might have been unexpected, but the reason behind that impossible act wasn't.

Everyone knew, from stories told or by witnessing, that Alba hated having a mate, hated being bound to only one person for eternity. She'd wanted to be free. Free to be with whoever she wanted whenever she wanted. However, one could neither break the mate bond nor be able to seek pleasure from another because it was a decree made by the incorporeal being who had cursed Albus and Alba in the first place. But somehow, Alba had found a loophole in that curse and broke away from the connection she'd once shared with Albus.

How the hell she was able to do that, no one knew.

"I already know the story of how she betrayed you," I repeated despite it being obvious. "But my father isn't the bastard child. It's his omega, Lucas."

"No. Not the omega, it is your father."

My mind whirled at the possibility, but I shook my head again in denial. "No, Dad told me-"

"From what I have witnessed so far," he cut in before I could finish my statement. "You do not have a very trust-filled relationship with him, do you?"

At that, I pressed my lips tightly together. Of course, I didn't, I thought with a glare, not dismissing the fact that it had been intended as a rhetorical question.

Begrudgingly, I forced myself to accept the truth. "So you're telling me, that you're not my grandfather?"

Kane leaned away from the wall before taking a step towards me. "No," he replied as his pupils gradually dilated. "Even if Alba had not cheated, I still would not be your grandfather because I am not the hunter. He was the first vessel Albus was incorporated into right after your father murdered him. I am the second."

I felt my forehead wrinkle as I took in each word he spoke. "So then, who's my real grandfather?"

Kane stood silent for a moment, not drifting his gaze away from mine. Without thinking, I shifted uneasily to the side again, my heart rate increasing by the minute for unknown reasons.

"All I know about your grandfather is that he was human, no one important, and that Albus killed him right after Alba's betrayal," he stated blankly without expressing any remorse. Even though I'd expected that from him plus the answer he gave, nevertheless, my heart sank a little at the prospect of him not getting to fully live his life.

I mentally shook the feeling away. "Fine, but how did my father guess that you were his 'father' if Albus' spirit entered your body after he'd killed his first fake father? And how come he recognized you last night at the clearing when you morphed back to human? Who were you before? How come the others didn't recognize you?" Ironically, I was getting even more confused as I proceeded to ask, so I decided to sum it up in one question;

"Why did my father call you Dad if it isn't true?"

His eyebrows rose an inch. "I am surprised you did not hear the clear mockery in his voice while he had called me that." He cocked his head to the side, sight still affixed on me, unwavering. "I am Albus', or specifically the hunter's firstborn. I was his Beta until the moment your father tore his body apart, automatically entrapping Albus' spirit back within the moonstone. I was loyal to my father, so I touched the moonstone which had been in my protection at that time, knowing that Albus' spirit would merge with mine and take control over my body."