A Long And Dreary Autumn {Complete}

1. Valentino

(Pic of Keelan looking confused------>)

        I roll my eyes as my mother; the previous Alpha King strutted in unannounced, like she owned the place. Which she technically still does, despite me the one sitting on the throne. Mom had this building and every other Clan House built, to fit the needs of every Clan. I smiled as mom took in the subtle changes I made, while my dad dutifully trudged in after my mom. "Val!" She gushed, talking in all the natural light coming in the throne room. Back in the day when I was a young boy, this room just to be dark and dreary. I had it fixed by putting a skylight in the ceiling, cleverly disguised as a huge tile near a pair of windows where light was always present. "How did you do it?" She printed up to the ceiling, where the light was streaming in. I smirked "It's called a skylight mother; it will let light in through the ceiling." Something seemed to click in her quick mind. "The slightly odd looking tile! The one where you need to know what you are looking for to see the difference. Clever boy!" I couldn't stop the small smile as she praised me.

        Regina, my mother's name before she became the Alpha King, came and sat beside me on my throne. It was big enough to seat us both so I didn't mind. What I did mind was the way she was fidgeting. Dad had dragged a chair near us, one provided by one of the numerous guards hidden al across the room. "So, I heard Riley got married and mated." I winched since I knew where this was going. Getting up out of the chair, I start to pace around the raised platform the chair stood on. "I know what you are going to say mother, please spare your breath." Mom looked a little angry as she opened her mouth to speak. "I am in no mood to discuss my lack of a mate with you." I growled, already thoroughly annoyed that she brought Riley and his mating up. She narrowed her eyes "I wasn't going to being up your mate-less status; I was going to ask you why you didn't invite us to his mating and marriage. God knows you'll never mate or marry with the way you are now." For the first time since his arrival dad spoke up, in my defence "Regina, honey. You know very well why Val hadn't mated yet. Victor always kept interfering." Mom's eyes showed a flash of pain at his name she's still not over his death. She still treats him like he's alive and well, and it's my fault that he turned out the way he did.

        Mom looked a little deviant as she straightened her spine and stared down my dad. "I know that Marcel, but that didn't mean he had to kill his own brother!" Finally, she spoke the words she always wanted to say. "Oh" my dad countered, "So it wold be okay for Victor to kill him? Is that what you are trying to say Reg? For he didn't kill Victor, Victor would have killed him no problem. Victor wouldn't give him the burial Val gave Victor. He would have left him lying in a ditch or shallow grave." The only sound was that of my dad breathing hard after hi tirade. "It's time to let the perfect vision you have in your mind of Victor go, and see him for what he really was." His voice was soft and gentle. "It's okay to acknowledge that Victor didn't turn out the way you wanted him to turn out. It doesn't make you a bad parent or a weak person; you're not a weak person if your son doesn't turn out the way you imagined."

        Those must have been the words mom was waiting to hear, she broke out in broken sobs as she hide her face in her hands. Everybody in the room turned away, to give mom some time to get herself back together again. She sniffed once dabbing her eyes with a tissue she had magically pulled out of nowhere. "So, the other reason I am here is because a lot of Clan's outside the Pack Lands are grumbling about your mate-less status. They are going to propose their first born as a possible mate for you if you don't find one before the season changes." I grit my teeth at their bold statements, thinking they can force their first born on me. "I don't think that would be necessary though," she continued as her eyes burned into me as I kept pacing. "you smell different, like you possibly found your mate." I freeze in mid-step, tensing as her assuming is right. I had noticed my scent had changed over time since I met Keelan for the first time.