"Your father was Valerian Moonrider."
Sophia's words echoed in Talia's head as her emotions fluctuated, curiosity mixed with relief and excitement, and it all drowned in grief when she realized that Sophia spoke about him in the past tense.
As much as the idea of Sophia and Isaac being her parents felt wrong, something about the name Valerian Moonrider called to Talia, and she wanted to know, no… she needed to know everything.
Who was her mother? What happened to her father? Based on the last name, Talia understood that the Alpha gene for the Midnight Guardians pack was coming from Sophia's side of the family.
Was Sophia behind Valerian's demise in order to become an Alpha? Was Isaac involved? Talia told herself not to jump to conclusions, but Sophia and Isaac showed that they were capable of harming others for their own selfish goals they conveniently packaged as concern for the Midnight Guardians pack.
Isaac held Sophia's hand and his other arm was around Sophia's shoulders, and Talia understood that this was Sophia's story to tell.
"Tell me about him.", Talia demanded from Sophia. Her voice was not loud, but it rooted them all in place and Axel was confident that his mother would tell the truth even without the truth serum.
Sophia's expression became wistful as her memories took her to the past.
"Val was the best in everything. He was the next Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack, and rightfully so. He was the fastest, the strongest, the smartest, and the funniest person in the pack. Other than being tall and handsome, he was also sharp, kind, and considerate. He could read a room and get what he wanted without even trying. Everyone worshiped Valerian Moonrider as the one who will lead the Midnight Guardians pack into a bright future."
Sophia's brows came together in a frown. "The only thing he was missing was his mate, and one day, he decided it was time for him to find her."
"What happened next?", Axel asked. He remembered records about Valerian Moonrider, but they were without dates, which was not unusual considering their extraordinary flow of time. Creatures with centuries-long lifespans don't bother counting days, months, or years. They would mark significant events like a plague, a war, or a volcano erupting. Axel assumed that Valerian Moonrider was one of his ancestors because his mother would talk only about her parents, the previous Alphas of the Midnight Guardians pack.
"My parents were Alphas and they were growing restless with every day they didn't hear from their son.", Sophia continued. "You see, at that time we didn't have safety protocols or required check-ins, but whoever went through the portal knew about different passing of time. Val was a free spirit, but he was not irresponsible, and he was aware that his prolonged absence will create unrest. It was shortly after my first shift into wolf form that Alphas went to search for Val, and I was left behind with Elders to wait for the news."
Sophia shook her head.
"There was no news. All three of them disappeared along with the people who accompanied them. Eventually, I came of age and went out. That's when I met Isaac." Sophia looked at her mate now. "Isaac was the second son of the Alpha of the Whisper Pride pack. He was my perfect mate, not only because of the mate bond but because he had Alpha blood and as the second son he was not tied to his pack. His brother stayed as the heir and Isaac came with me. We didn't know that the Red Moon pack will attack them shortly…"
"Can you go back to the point?", Talia interrupted Sophia impatiently. She didn't want to listen about some random pack that was defeated and absorbed by the Red Moon pack. This was about her father and how Sophia became Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack in his place.
Sophia looked at Talia irritably, but she got back on the topic.
"As time passed without news of my brother or the Alphas, Elders advised that the pack can't go on without an Alpha. I had my mate, so we became the Alphas of the Midnight Guardians pack."
Talia didn't miss the emphasis Sophia put on how she took over as Alphas only because of Elders. Was she trying to make herself less guilty? Probably.
"The pack would know if their Alphas perished.", Damon said. "Did you confirm that your parents were not alive?"
"It's not so simple.", Sophia said. "When Alpha travels through the portal, the connection to the pack will weaken. As the time passed, we could all feel the connection weakening to the point where we couldn't sense it anymore, but there was no sudden breakage that should happen when the Alpha dies."
Axel was looking at his parents with a deep frown. "Are you saying that our grandparents might be alive, out there, and you didn't search for them?"
"Don't be quick to judge us.", Sophia responded. "We were young and inexperienced. Val is the one who got all the training to be the future Alpha and I was still a child when he and the previous Alphas left. I was doing my best to keep the pack from dissolving in panic. I needed to be present. WE needed to be present. It took us years to get people to calm down and to believe that we won't abandon them."
"And where would we search?", Isaac asked indignantly. "Do you think we didn't try? Whenever I went out, I was searching for information, but there was nothing."
"Of course, there was nothing.", Damon said with disapproval in his voice. "The moment you took over as Alphas, their connection to the pack was broken. At most, you could feel them as pack members, and that's not easy to detect unless the other party is nearby."
Talia waved her hand impatiently. She didn't hear the part she was interested in the most.
"Continue. You became Alphas and then what? My father returned to the pack, right? Or did he contact you? How did I end up here?"
Sophia took a deep breath and said, "Isaac and I became Alphas. It took us a while to establish some resemblance to normal. Axel was born and we came up with rules that tightened security around the portal, and we swore to our people that no matter what happens, at least one Alpha will stay with the pack. Our peace was disturbed when Val returned with a baby girl." Sophia looked at Talia reluctantly.
Seeing that Axel, Sophia, and Damon were at the edge of their seats, ready to snap at the slightest provocation, Sophia didn't want to talk further, but the potion eased her resistance and she continued.
"Val was emaciated, a shadow of what he used to be. He said that we need to hide his daughter, that no one should know she was his. His mate was gone, and he brought his daughter here, believing that this is the only safe place."
"Safe, from what?", Axel asked.
"I don't know.", Sophia said. "Val didn't stick around. In the morning, he was gone, leaving behind a necklace and a note that the girl's name is Natalia Moonrider."
