A Winters Memory

Chapter Twenty-Six

The journey back to the cabin was a long and silent one. Alec always made sure to stay by Ara's side, worried that his father would hurt her. The group stopped a few times to rest and gather their strength; Michael left the group for a moment while he went off to call out to the other pack members through their link. When he returned, Alec stood up and walked over to him, determination clear on his face.

"Can I speak to you in private?"

Without saying a word, Michael turned away from him and began walking away. Alec balled his hands into tight fists as he walked up to his father and gripped his shoulder, turning him around to face him.

"Don't you walk away from me; you don't get to just walk away from me, not after being the reason why we left in the first place. So, you will listen to me when I am talking to you!"

The Alpha stared back at Alec as he crossed his arms over his chest. Ara and the men looked over at the two with curiosity after hearing Alec's raised voice.

"If Ara and I go back home, things are going to have to chance..."

The Alpha quirked a brow at Alec's words but remained silent. Alec looked back at Ara before turning his attention back to his father and taking a deep breath before resuming the speech he had been preparing for his father. A speech that he only hoped went as smoothly as it did in his head, but then again... This was happening in real time, not in his head.

"If we go back then Ara gets to stay in my room with me. I refuse to have her down in that basement any longer."

The Alpha laughed and shook his head as he pointed towards Ara and spoke, his anger beginning to rise. "That whore is going back where she belongs, down in that basement with the other slave and that is-" The Alpha's words were cut off abruptly by the impact of Alec's fist connecting with his jaw.

The Alpha stumbled back losing his balance and falling to one knee in the snow. He chuckled and wiped at his mouth as he spat out blood and saliva on the ground. As he stood up straightening himself out, a loud snarl leaving Alec's lips caught his attention.

"Ara is my mate and you WILL treat her with the respect she so rightfully deserves!"

Alec's face was red with anger, his body shaking violently as he tried his best to contain himself before his father. The Alpha chuckled again and wrapped an arm around his son's shoulders and led him away from prying ears; when they were well away at a decent distance, the Alpha stopped and turned around to face Alec; resting both his hands on either side of Alec's shoulders.

"I'll respect your wishes under one condition."

Alec looked at his father quizzically. "What is your condition?"

The Alpha smirked and squeezed Alec's shoulders tightly as he leaned in closely and whispered his next words. "You continue to bed Amelia until she is with child; your child..."

Alec's eyes widened with disbelief. He took a slow step back, his wide eyes staring at the Alpha as if he were some unknown thing standing before him, unrecognizable and so foreign.

"Ara is already carrying my child... Amelia doesn't need to anym-..." The Alpha cut him off with a shake of his head and a raised hand waving before him.

"That child growing in her womb is not pure. Its blood has been tainted! He will never be part of our pack!"

Alec stood there taken back by his father's hurtful words. He couldn't believe what he was actually hearing. It was unbelievable how fiercely his father believed that sleeping with someone besides his sibling was somehow tainting their blood. He hadn't heard anything so ludicrous in all of his twenty years of life.