Tawdry Little Affair {boyxboy}

Chapter Twenty

Ocie tried desperately not to fidget too much as she sat on Fionn's couch, awaiting Marva and Alpheus. She had opted to wait until the night that the Isamar coven would be entering their land but, by nightfall, regretted her decision.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Ocie, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Marva had an awfully warm smile on her lips as she sat opposite the beta with her husband. Seeing their happiness, their lack of worry, Ocie froze. She couldn't find the words she needed to explain to them where their son was. Instead, she simply began to cry.

"Oh Ocie, honey, what's wrong?" Marva moved to sit next to the beta, cradling her in her arms as she wept.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Ocie repeated over and over through breathless and broken sobs.

"Ocie, calm down, honey. What are you sorry for?" Ocie felt nauseous. She didn't deserve the care Marva was giving her, or the sympathetic expression on Alpheus' face, not when she had kept from them the secret of their child's safety. It took a few moments but the beta finally managed to compose herself and, chewing on her bottom lip, she confessed.

"Fi isn't on vacation," she said in a trembling voice, unable to bring herself to look either parent in the eye, "h-he's... he's missing," Ocie didn't feel any better after telling Marva and Alpheus, in fact, she felt worse at the prospect of having to see the disappointment and fear in their eyes.

"Ocie, what are you talking about? What do you mean he's missing?" Alpheus spoke up, his deep voice wavering on anger.

By the time Ocie had explained what had happened with Fionn and Dante, both parents looked deep in thought. The self-loathing Ocie felt was agonising, she wished she had just told them from the start.

"It's OK, honey," Marva said in a very faint voice, "we don't blame you for keeping this from us. You merely thought it was the right decision," Ocie still couldn't manage to lift her gaze from her shaking hands.

"We're going to have to tell the pack, one of them might have seen or heard something," Alpheus had risen to his feet and was pacing by that point.

"I invited the Isamar coven onto our land to talk, they'll be here soon," Ocie whispered, hearing Alpheus still.

"You did what?" there was the rage Ocie had been expecting from the beginning.

"Dante is missing too and I don't think we're going to find either of them working separately. Isidro and I agreed-"

"Who the hell is Isidro?"

"Dante's father, his maker. He's coming tonight too, with Dante's siblings," when Ocie finally mustered the courage to look directly at Alpheus, his golden eyes were alight with fury.

"You had no right, Ocie."

"I had every right, Alpheus. Fionn made me his beta, when he isn't here I'm the alpha of this pack," Ocie glanced toward the window, listening to Reign in her mind, "Reign is with them now, they should be here in a few minutes. This is the right decision, Alpheus, working together will help up find Fi."

"Al, honey, Ocie is right," Marva rose to her feet, a small smile on her lips as she clasped her husband's hands, "Ocie and Isidro have tried on their own, now it's time for us all to try together. Put your own dislikes aside, for Fionn," Ocie almost sighed with relief she was so pleased Marva was on her side. There couldn't be any more tension in the air than there already was that night or their meeting with the Isamar coven could end in bloodshed.

"You go out and meet with them, honey, we'll join you in a few moments," Ocie left at Marva's request, just in time to see Reign emerge from the treeline with the Isamar coven.