Runaway Alpha

42: Aftermath

Caleb froze in place at my revelation. He didn't move, didn't blink, didn't even take a breath. Devin had to get up from the bed and move Caleb to take a seat on the bed next me.

"Caleb?" Devin snapped his fingers in front of Caleb's face.

I turned my head to look at Caleb and then dragged my hands down my face. The three of us stood in silence for who knows how long, not knowing what to say.

"But Dad is dead. We buried him," Caleb finally cut the silence.

"Well, he must've faked it." I spat out as my anger did not want to go away.

"Man, this is all kinds of fucked up," Devin said with both hands placed on his head as he leaned against my desk. I felt Caleb get off the bed without another word and headed towards the door.

"Where're you going?" Devin asked before Caleb could leave.

"If my father's alive, I gotta find him." Caleb replied as he opened the door. I quickly got off the bed and followed after him. I grabbed Caleb by the arm, stopping him and making him face me.

"You gonna find him and do what exactly?" I growled out and let go of his arm.

"Like you said, he's my Dad." Caleb's face softened and I knew he had already changed his mind about killing Claw.

"That son of a bitch isn't your Dad anymore." Caleb grabbed me by my shirt and pushed me against the wall.

"You're not going to stop me," Caleb growled out.

I understood where Caleb was coming from. He was close with his father growing up and I knew he would do anything to have him back. But at the moment I didn't understand him, all I understood was that he was going against me. If he had a choice who had to die between me and his father, he would sure as hell choose me.

I pushed Caleb against his chest and then my fist landed on his jaw before he even saw it coming. He tried to punch me back, but I blocked it and pushed him in the stomach. He recovered from it instantly and tackled me onto the wooden floor.

"Guys, what the fuck!" Devin tried to stop us, but he was elbowed in the face by Caleb when Caleb pulled back to punch me in the face.

"ENOUGH!" Caleb immediately froze and I pushed him off me.

"What is the meaning of this?" My father demanded an answer.

I glared at Caleb in anger while he wiped his bottom lip of the small amount of blood that appeared.

"It's all a misunderstanding, Sir..." Devin had begun to say while he held his nose, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Misunderstanding my ass, he would choose his dad over us."

"So you've told him." Uncle Leo said in his signature monotone voice.

I finally turned to look in my father's direction as I hadn't noticed Uncle Leo was there with him and he looked much better than when we were outside.

"Yeah and he wants to go after him, after everything that bastard has done to us!" I growled out as I glared at Caleb once again.

"What is all this shouting?" My mother asked as she and Aunt Amelia appeared and they both gasped at the seeing Devin bleeding from his nose and Caleb's busted lip.

"Caleb, honey. What happened?" Aunt Amelia asked with concern.

"I think we should all go to my study and speak." My father suggested and then turned to Devin, "You boy, go get that taken a look at." Devin nodded while he still held his nose and walked away. From the way he held his nose, it must had dislocated. Once it's put back in place, it would instantly heal.

The six of us went downstairs and were inside my father's study. Uncle Leo was trying to comfort Aunt Amelia on the couch as she silently cried. Caleb sat next to his mother with his elbows rested on his knees as he quietly stared straight ahead at nothing in particular like a stone statue. I was standing against the wall, still angry and glaring at Caleb. My mother was next to me trying to soothe me. My father was standing against his desk as he spoke.

"I'm very sorry Amelia, I know you loved Clark immensely." My father voice was full of sorrow for his sister.

"I love him," she continued to cry into her hands. "How could he have done this to us." I don't think it was a question she actually wanted answered, but I answered it anyway.

"Because he's a power hungry scum and would go as far as to fake his own death without caring how it would hurt his wife and kid!" Aunt Amelia cried louder this time.

"Son!" my father scolded. "Don't you see how much your aunt is hurting."

"How much she's hurting? How about how much I'm hurting! I lost Amira to her bastard of a husband!" I snapped, not caring how anyone else was feeling.

"You better watch it, Logan." Caleb said through clenched teeth as he stood up from the couch.

"Or what? You're going to pathetically attempt to hit me again," I said as I moved off the wall.

Caleb and I both let out a growl, but before we could even think about starting another fight, my father's powerful voice stopped us from doing so.

"I said enough, the both of you!" He eyed us both, letting us know he wasn't taking shit from neither of us. Caleb sat back down, but I remained in my spot.

"I think we should all go rest, we've had a long, dreadful night." My father directed the words towards me. "We'll continue this in the morning."

"You think I would even be able to sleep," I said through clenched teeth.

"Honey, please..." my mother grabbed my arm to try to calm me, but I wasn't calming down.

"I think you should listen to your parents." Uncle Leo said in his annoyingly monotone voice.

"You, where the hell did you even come from?" I now had focused my anger at Uncle Leo. "Were you in on this with him, you always wanted the throne? Did he betray you 'cause he wanted the power all to himself?" Uncle Leo's face didn't show any reaction to my outburst towards him.

"Logan!" My father warned, wanting me to drop my attitude.

"It's okay, Mark. I will explain myself to him, he's owed that much." Uncle Leo spoke and continued. "I'll try to make this short. I was making my way to the Palace with Gloria and James, but before we reached Palace grounds I spotted a few Vampires hiding around the area."

"Oh my, is Gloria and the baby okay?" My mother interrupted.

"Yes, I knew this wasn't good. I made Gloria get back in the car with James and drive back home. As I followed the Vampires, they led me to the secret underground entrance to the Palace dungeons. Now I know how they knew about it, Clark is one of the few that knows this Palace inside and out. I was alone so I didn't go in after them, but when they emerged back out, there was a new Vampire with them that seemed to be the prisoner. They gave him a ring and once he put it on, he regenerated. All his bruises and wounds healed instantly, then he ran off with a speed I've never seen from a Vampire."

"That's the Regenerative Ring," I said as my fists clenched. "It's what they used to torture Amira."

"I didn't know those rings existed anymore, they were lost many years ago." My father commented and Uncle Leo nodded. 

"In seeing that, I made my way to the guards at the front gate, but that's when the herd of Vampires appeared and attacked the party." Uncle Leo stepped up to me, held out both his hands, and placed them on my shoulders. "I know I was never the caring uncle, but I would never go as low as killing my own family members for power, Logan. I might believe that you're an unfit future Alpha King, but I would never want to see you dead. You're an Avery and us Averys always look out for one another." He looked at me directly in the eyes before he did the last thing I thought he would ever do. He pulled me in for a hug.

"We'll get through this together."