*Book 2* The Mandala of The Sky *Completed*

Chapter 2 - William

Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.
~ Mark Twain

~William's POV~

19:40
I looked at the man in front of me. I barely recognised what he had become. I could tell from under his shirt that he had been working out a lot more. He was built like house, even more so than when I last saw him.

Ten years ago.

How did I not see this coming?

Growing up, Nick always had a temper on him. We used to joke that he was ninety percent testosterone and ten percent adrenaline. He lost both his parents when he was thirteen in a freak accident - was it really a freak accident? It wasn't long after his birthday... Could he have? I shuddered at the thought. Could he really be that evil?

When we were teenagers, everyone knew to avoid Nick. He'd snap at everyone and wouldn't talk or hang out with anyone but me. He would work out all the damn time, said he was wanting to be prepared for the future. Little did I know. He never had any girlfriends but he'd sleep with random women to get it out his system. He was always quite fowl to be around but he was my best friend, my future Beta and always treated me with respect so I never said or done anything about it.

It all changed one day when he met a girl. Caroline. His personality done a complete one hundred and eighty. He was smiling all the time and even laughing. He kept saying she was the one but he never called her his mate. Now I know why. Nicholas was always very secretive and kept to himself, man of few words, now all the dots were connecting. After he met Caroline everything changed for the pack. Seeing as he was now pleasant to be around, people found they could approach him. It made life easier for me, therefore the pack became stronger with an easy to talk to Alpha and Beta.

The look in Nick's eyes when he looked at Caroline. I thought it was love. Maybe it was something else? He was such a good father. Very attentive, especially when it came to Milly. I could feel the irritation of being so blind build up with in me. I wanted to hang my head in shame at being so god damn stupid. No wonder Alcide fucked up so bad with Milly when he has my idiotic DNA running through his blood.

I felt my heart twinge at the thought of not knowing who this man really was. How could he have gone his whole life pretending to be someone he's not? Is that why he kept everybody at a distance? I remember how thrilled he was when he found out Caroline was pregnant, always wishing she was going to have a little girl.

Now it all makes sense.

So many things were starting to piece together it was making my head spin. How could I have been so foolish? I was always so worried about being a good Alpha, a good husband, a good father, that I failed to see things right in front of my eyes. Like all the torment Milly went through. Kate use to always comment on how oblivious I was to things. One of my many down falls.

Kate and Caroline were best friends from the moment they met. Caroline wasn't from our pack originally, her and her family always remained a bit of a mystery to us. Caroline came here of her own accord, she turned up in one of the small towns just outside the territory where she bumped into Nick. Their relationship moved very quickly, which is normal for wolves. However, if they weren't mates, it's rather odd and unheard of. The fact they even had two children together is even more strange. That only really happens if both partners mates have died.

I remember the last few years or so, before the accident, Nick started acting strangely. Kate and Caroline would have secret meetings and talk in hushed whispers. Kate told me they were going through a rough patch and she just needed her friends support. I stupidly believed her. When do mates ever have a rough patch? Christ, I'm such an idiot.