Veritas

Chapter 49

Ryan and Rei had been shown to their quarters, and despite sharing "a guest room", it was practically an entire apartment. Each room was decorated in a modern look, despite the old, stuffy protocols the Royal family held to. Comfortingly, though, aside from the sharp lines and neutral colours, the room also had splashes of warmth to give it a homey feel.

Ryan walked into his room, and was astounded by the bed that he was certain would fit Kenji, Thaila and Aislinn comfortably. As he explored further, he found a walk-in closet that was the size of an average bedroom. There was a door at the opposite side, which he took to lead him into a bathroom with a jacuzzi, a beautiful custom-built shower, an extraordinary vanity with double sinks that came fully stocked, and more. After he left the bathroom, and found that his room not only exited to the shared living area; but, that he also had a smaller, private parlour room, he went to find his mother.

"Is your room as big as mine?" He called out to Rei before walking into her room. "Oh" he stated when he entered, realizing the layout was identical. "This is insane, right?"

Rei gave a soft chuckle, shaking her head. "Certainly not what we're used to, is it?" She asked with an amused smile.

"Nope; but, I'm starting to feel like lots of things are happening that I'm not used to. You hiding things from me, for starters" he accused with a frown, turning the playful moment into one of seriousness with a single statement.

Turning to her son with a stern look, Rei answered through mind-link. "The walls have ears in the Royal pack, Ryan. You need to be more cautious here than you ever have...It's a dangerous place" she warned.

"Fine. I deserve answers, though" he persisted.

Rei let out a long sigh, having an internal struggle with Thaila. Finally, they agreed to tell him about his uncle, at least. She nodded, walking back to the living area to sit on one of the plush chairs. It enveloped her like a warm hug, giving her a bit more courage to continue. And so, once Ryan was seated, she began her story.

"There are some things I'm still not ready to talk about...I'm not trying to hide them, per se...They're just so difficult to discuss" she began.

Ryan nodded in encouragement, waiting eagerly to hear more.

"To answer your question...The Captain looks like us because he's my brother" she stated bluntly, deciding not to build up to the shock.

Ryan made a strangled noise of shock, confusion, and relief over feeling like his intuition was confirmed. "So he's my uncle?! Why didn't you ever tell me about him? Why are we living as lone wolves while he's living it up in the Royal pack?" He demanded, rattling off the questions as they came to mind.

"Ryan, just stop!" Rei interjected. "Look, I know it's a bomb to drop on you, sweety...You need to give yourself time to absorb it. Just listen, okay?" She suggested, letting out another heavy sigh.

Ryan didn't feel like he needed time to absorb the news, he instead felt like he needed this moment to get all of the information that he could from his mother. She'd always been very open and honest with him in all facets of their lives, except her past. She had always promised to tell him when he was "older"; but, despite being an adult now, she wouldn't talk. He just wanted all the questions he had built up from childhood until now to be answered. Nonetheless, he nodded, wanting her to continue.

Rei sunk back into the large chair a bit more, making herself look small and fragile as she continued. "Reinhold and I were the only two children to the Alpha and Luna of the Titan pack...He was the eldest, and next in line to be the Alpha of our pack. As the daughter of an Alpha, it was assumed that I'd be mated to an Alpha or a Beta, so I was trained alongside my brother to be a strong leader" she explained, wringing her hands anxiously as the memories swirled up complicated feelings.

"When I was 18, something terrible happened to our pack...It was a massacre, and to this day I can't tell you who did it. Our scouts sent out the alert that the pack was under attack, and as was protocol, we called for the aid of the nearest pack...Our neighbouring pack was The Royal pack. My parents left first, and told Reinhold and I to stay together to protect each other. They told Reinhold to make the call to the Royal pack; so, we stayed behind to notify them and seek aid. After that, we ran to leave the house to join the fight, only to realize we'd been locked in. I later learned that my parents must have purchased a sealing spell from a witch, and used it to protect us...They must have understood that the fight would be a losing one, and wanted to keep us safe. I was so angry at them for so long, until...Well, until I became a mom" she said, tears now glistening in her eyes as she fought to keep them from falling. When she smiled lovingly at her son, though, they spilled over to roll down her cheeks.

Ryan hated to see his mother cry, and moved over to a chair that was closer to hers. He reached over to hold her hand as she continued, wanting to lend her strength and encouragement.

Wiping at her eyes with her free hand, grateful for Ryan's comfort, Rei continued her tale. "I never knew a love like that of a mother...I realized after giving birth that my parents knew what I felt in that moment. Never would I want to let harm come to my baby...Even as a grown man, you're still my baby" she said with a tearful laugh. "So I always try to protect you, just like they protected us...We hadn't realized why we were trapped, though, so we tried breaking down the doors, smashing windows, everything we could think of...But nothing would let us through to help, so we held each other helplessly while listening to the dying screams and howls of our pack...Those sounds still haunt me to this day" she explained, and felt a gentle squeeze of her hand from Ryan.

After a brief pause, where she had to re-collect her courage, she took a deep breath to steady her racing heart, anxious as the story neared the part she feared most. "When the sounds finally stopped, Reinhold and I sat in the dead silence and cried together for what felt like days...It turned out to only be hours...The aid from the Royal pack finally arrived; but, it was too little, too late. The pack had been slaughtered, right down to the last child...We were the sole remnants of the once-powerful Titan pack."

"Mom...I can understand why you've never told me" Ryan said softly, squeezing her hand again. "This must be awful to relive, maybe we should take a break" he offered, his firm resolve to get answers crumbling as he watched his mother's suffering.

She shook her head, though, determined to continue. "No. I've only just begun...There's more...And I need to say it now while I have the courage" she admitted meekly. With another nervous breath, she said "Once the Royal pack arrived, they were able to find and lift the seal on the house to free us. When the door finally opened, I was hit with the most amazing smell in the world...The scent of my mate...The scent of your father."