5 Puppies For The Alpha
Chapter 51

Dante expected anything but that confession.

Matthias for his part felt all the weight suddenly lift, but could only watch as the alpha in front of him didn’t move, though his eyes had turned a deeper, colder silver. His fingernails had grown longer and were digging in hard, splintering the wood of the hand rests.

He swallowed dryly, he had confessed what had kept him awake since his mother had been rescued. But maybe it hadn’t been a good idea. His father was right, it was better to keep quiet. Always.

-Why didn’t you do anything,” to her surprise the alpha remained in the same position and despite his change in appearance, his voice remained the same tone.

-Why would I do that? -That answer only made Dante narrow his eyes, containing his wildest part, remembering his own words. “Until recently, all I knew about my mother was that she had abandoned her pack and used her power for her own benefit. That was the punishment she deserved.

Dante took a deep breath, feeling the tips of his canines begin to break the skin of his tongue.

-You think him capable of that,” he raised an eyebrow.

-So when I realized that Axel’s birth wasn’t the product of one of his mistresses like father said it was, I followed him, and I was aware of the truth.

-And yet you did nothing.

-Would you have done anything if you spent most of your time in confinement, with people who criticize, judge and punish every step you take and constantly tell you that the person who brought you into the world is a whore who only wants wealth and exploits the herd?

Dante was silent for a few seconds. Matias’ life had been harder than it appeared, he wasn’t his father’s favourite as his brothers believed, he was just an ornament with a tough discipline so he wouldn’t embarrass the alpha. A mere puppet for his purposes.

The colour in his eyes diminished and his claws and teeth retracted.

-And what do you think now that you know the truth and all that your mother has done for the pack,” he was aware that he was already privy to the real story.

Matthias felt more comfortable seeing the alpha return to a calm state.

-That my father is a son of a bitch and deserves more than the punishment he got,” he said.

-I agree with you on that, but it was the Council’s decision, at the moment he’s not being given food or water and we have him confined to one of the sun cells. I hope his skin gets scorched,” the image of when he first saw Lukyan and the state he was in made his b***d boil, “Well done puppy,” she smiled slightly at him, “Feeling better?

Matias blinked in confusion.

-Aren’t you going to punish me? -The question threw the alpha off balance.

-Why would he?

-I knew my mother’s death was a lie, that I was confined and what my father did to her. And yet I did nothing to stop it.

-You said it yourself, what would I do if I were in your place? And I can only answer that I would act just like you, I’m not going to lie, but I’m not one to judge, it wasn’t your fault.

-But…

-Do you want to go on with it? I’m the kind of wolf who likes to conclude things when I decide to- -Matías ran backwards without a word of warning.

Matias ran backwards, still not understanding why he wasn’t being punished. He had done something wrong, he had done a lot of damage and not being punished was something that made him feel out of place. This was not how he had been taught that things worked. This place was really different from anything he knew.

-So it’s okay for me to forget this?

-Don’t forget it,” the alpha commanded, catching his attention, “Hold it in your heart and grow stronger.

Matias’ eyes filled with tears for the first time in years.

-I can be forgiven so easily. My brothers and my mother won’t accept me once they know what I did, can you hide it from them?

-If he hides it from the main victims, it will be you who will not be comfortable. Leave it to me, I have my ways of doing things.

Matias hesitated, but in the end agreed with his head.

-I have a question to ask you.

-Tell me alpha,” after that intense conversation where he had let down all his walls he felt incredibly lighter but still nervous.

-Your brothers told me that when they were about to escape to inform me of the situation they found you and they say that you sent soldiers after them.

Matias made a slight grimace on his face in confusion.

-Why would I do that? I remember they told me they had found out where our mother was, but I didn’t want to keep talking to them so they wouldn’t interfere with me. If anyone found out and they were punished, they would surely be beaten, but I would be sentenced to death if our father found out that I knew the secret too. But I didn’t send anyone after it. They are my brothers. I was also taken by surprise to learn that they had escaped.

Dante was now the confused one.

-So who could it have been?

-I’m sorry, alpha. I have no idea-

Dante let the wolf leave to reflect on the last few minutes, while he pondered. That last thing they had talked about seemed simple and unimportant, but his instincts told him he shouldn’t overlook it.

He sighed and looked at the papers on the table. His beta had done a very good job of lightening the workload, but still, there was a small lump that needed attention. He wanted to get some sleep, but there were things he shouldn’t procrastinate on. He would finish with that while he thought about how he would approach the issue at hand with his future family.

Dante walked down the hallway after the clock told him it was time for dinner, the normal bustle of the mansion was concentrated in one spot, the dining room and he knew that the entire pack was gathered together having a party and he hadn’t been alerted to the fact. Not that it bothered him, he liked to eat in company.

He was sure that Bastian was the promoter of it, he used to have these feasts because he knew he would feel at ease. What didn’t quite fit was the intense smell of alcohol that reached his nose. He watched as a young wolf walked past him with a huge keg that he was balancing in his hands.

He stopped, turning around as he realised who it was.

-Alpha, welcome,” the heavily freckled boy bowed as much as possible with a smile.

Dante raised an eyebrow at the blush on his cheeks.

-I see you’re abusing the pantry,” he said.

The boy shook his head happily.

-The beta Falco allowed us to drink today, said we could have a good time because you’re back. I can tell you’re in a good mood.

And look how good a mood he’s in. Dante thought to himself. Falco was not a drinker and was just as strict with those around him. He claimed that it made them more indomitable than they already were. Bastian, on the other hand, was a different story, he had an innate resistance not to get drunk, no matter what he drank and his husband liked to indulge him.

-All right, for today it’s fine, that wine has been in storage for a long time and it’s time to give him a good one.

-Yes alpha, thank you, but come quickly to the dining room, or you’ll miss the best duel in the whole pack.

-Duel? Duel of what? -Duel of what?

-Of course, to see who can drink the most. We never thought that someone so young was capable of beating Commander Dmitri apart from Bastian.

Dante felt his body tense, he couldn’t imagine any of the Lukyan pups drinking, only the older two were old enough to do so with supervision. He passed by the boy and walked quickly towards the dining hall. But good was her surprise when she entered and what she saw was not what she expected, quite the opposite, and the shock was even greater.

Her future husband was with a jug of wine that he was drinking almost to the bottom, as fast as if it were water, and next to him was his twin at almost the same level, not counting the at least five empty jugs on the table, three on the wolf’s side.

The best part of it all was that the rest of the pack, including his beta, his protégé and the pups, were only inciting the duel with shouting and racket.

What the hell had happened in the hours he had been gone?