Page 50 of Finding Embers and Stars (Twin Flames Duet #1)
Chapter fifty
I don’t blame Piper for the shock that’s made her retreat into the back of our mind. She spent years being abused by the man she thought was her father.
Now there is a chance that was all a lie. It’s understandable that she needs time to process.
For me though, I’m excited. I’ve always had an awareness of what was going on in Piper’s life. Even though I couldn’t come forward and shift or speak to her before the Ceremony of the Moon, I was there. Lending her my strength so she could crawl away from the Alpha’s beatings.
Many nights I did my best to soothe her tears as she cried herself to sleep. I was always there for her, and I always hated the Alpha Supreme.
I’ve never felt a connection with him the way I heard some of the other shifters speak of the Alpha bond. I just assumed it was because that bond would have been present in the human side I was denied.
I’m elated to think it could be because it wasn’t present at all.
The more distance we can put between the Alpha and us, the better off we will be, that Piper and Sage will be.
My sister and my mate. The two most important people in my life. I’d lay down my life for either of them, but that does become complicated since Piper and I share a body.
I stalk to the door, and it opens before me without anyone touching it. Looking back over my shoulder, I give Nox a soft yip of thanks.
Our family fills the room, but my eyes are only for the stranger sitting at the edge of the waiting room, his elbows braced on his knees and his head in his hands.
Much the way Piper is curled up in my mind.
I walk around the edge of the room, quickly greeting the men of our family, then stop in front of the stranger.
The click of my claws on the hard floor has him lifting his head and when his eyes meet mine, they widen in shock.
“What? How is this possible? Did she have twins?” Tears pour down his cheeks as he stumbles through his questions.
Sage comes forward to sit down cross-legged beside me. She leans her shoulder into mine and I turn to nuzzle her neck, inhaling her delightful scent. Even when we are in Wyoming, she always smells like the ocean to me.
“Hello, my name is Sage.” My mate doesn’t waste time. She’s ready to jump straight into the questions because she can tell how much the unknown is killing Piper.
The stranger’s eyes dart from me to her and back again. “My name is Jasper. Wait, you were the one that did the interview with my daughter. Where is she? Can I speak to her?”
She leans harder into my shoulder. Partly to offer Piper comfort and partly to accept mine. The three of us worked as a unit long before their mates came into our lives.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jasper. For now, you can talk to me. If we find that you truly mean no harm to Piper, then you can speak to her directly.” She pauses for a moment, as if trying to choose her words carefully. Shrugging, she throws caution to the wind.
“You need to understand that every single person in this room, including me, won’t hesitate to kill for Piper. She is our family. She can hear everything being said in this room. So, I think it’s time you told us your story. If it makes sense, I might explain who this handsome guy is.” She leans over and kisses my muzzle to make her point.
We give Jasper a few moments to collect himself. We seem to have stunned him with our dynamic. I don’t really care though. Piper comes first.
“My mate Sasha and I went to Alaska looking for a new pack. This was just a few months before that piece of shit took over as Alpha Supreme. We were welcomed into the pack by the old alpha. Daniel was smart enough to see the advantages of having us join the pack. And he wasn’t a bigoted fuck like Richard.” Jasper’s voice cracks, but he manages to keep talking. “You see, my Sasha was a witch.”
From the depths of my mind, I feel Piper shake as she fights back tears. She lets out a choked sob, a single word floating through our bond. “Mom.”
When the guys hear her anguish, they crowd around Sage and me. Now the floor of the waiting room is packed with my five brothers, leaving little room for walking.
They all have a hand on my fur, offering me comfort as they push words of love and support through our bond to Piper.
If Jasper thinks their behavior is odd, he doesn’t comment on it. Though from the tears rolling down his cheeks, he seems to be in just as much pain as Piper.
He wipes his face, the far off look in his eyes fading as he focuses on me. “When we first joined the pack, Richard was second in command. He made it clear that he was interested in Sasha, even though we were mated. That she was a witch was something we didn’t advertise. Only Alpha Daniel knew. To help keep it a secret, Sasha had a shape shift spell she would use to turn into a wolf to run with the pack.”
Jasper drops his face into his hands again and as I watch his shoulders shake, I feel my heart break for him. When I think of how it would feel to have Sage stolen from me… It makes me want to tear the world apart.
“We thought our bond kept us safe, our mate marks were even on the side of our necks in plain sight.” Jasper pushes his sorrow aside and finds his rage.
The way his bright blue eyes flash and burn reminds me so much of Piper. The longer he talks, the more I’m becoming convinced he’s speaking the truth.
“We were wrong. About a year after Richard killed Daniel in the challenge match, I was sent out with a hunting party with the pack betas. It was rare that a low-ranked wolf like me would be sent out with the elite betas, but I just thought they were short a hunter and picked me at random.”
His shoulders droop, his voice dropping to a broken whisper. “It was a setup. Less than an hour from home, the betas attacked me and left me for dead. I was bleeding out in the snow when a bear shifter found me. He took me back to his cabin and bandaged me up. It was days before I was healed enough to even get out of bed. The day I left the bear’s cabin, I felt my mate bond with Sasha snap. The only thing that got me through losing my mate, was my desire for revenge. If not for the need to see Richard pay, I would have left this world to join my Sasha years ago.”
The room is dead silent as we process everything he’s told us.
When he looks up, staring at Sage and then back at me, a tiny smile curves his lips. “When I saw the interview, it was the first time in years I was happy with my choice to keep fighting. I want the chance to know my daughter.”
I can feel it in my bones—this man is my father. Yet I still lift my gaze to Jack’s. He’s leaning against the wall behind Jasper and has been listening to the whole story. When he nods, verifying the truth to Jasper’s words, a wave of relief pours through me.
There is so much hope in Jasper’s eyes when he looks at me. He knows he saw a daughter on TV, but I’m betting he can feel the same connection between us that I can. He’s confused but not put off. “When I saw the interview, I knew right away that she was my daughter. She could be her mother’s twin in looks and mannerisms.”
Piper’s guttural scream pushes against my mind. She’s found her footing, and I gladly take a backseat so she can come forward and meet our father.
His reaction to the truth will tell us everything we need to know about him.