Page 28 of The Alpha's Heir

The photographs are worn and faded, but it's one of a baby and on the back, is my name and then there is one of me, holding Amber just after she was born. I remember that photograph. I think I have the same print at home.

In the scrap book are drawings and little annotations. The day I was born, my first smile, my first steps, my first words. The nursery rhymes and lullabies she would sing to and with us. It is a labour of love, a masterpiece of her memories of us. A huge lump forms in my throat. I can’t believe she is dead, and I won’t get to see her or talk to her. I have been so bitter and resentful of her all this time.

I wish Eva was here, I need her. I need us and I desperately want us to be formally mated in front of our pack and I want to be a family with her. A family that I have yearned for. I wish my little mate was here so I could show her my soul and she could kiss away all the hurt. I would wrap her up in my strong arms and never let her go. I would never ever let her feel the way my mother did. Only a monster could do that.

The next day, as we make our way back home through the territories we came through on our way up here, both Amber and I are quiet. She also got a box, but her memory book is shorter than mine. She was just a babe in arms when our mother was banished and then died.

“Aiden, I am going to be executed or imprisoned for life anyway. I think I should be the one to kill Father so there is no comeback for you. All I ask is that I get to have one complete weekend with Preston when we return. And when I am gone, help him to move on. He deserves to be happy; I want him to be happy even if it can't be with me.” She chokes on her last line.

I have just lost my mother; I cannot lose my sister too. “Amber, no. As Alpha, I have the authority to use appropriate punishment. He deserves to die for what he has done, and I will execute him after a fair trial so there are no repercussions. Do not give up, we are going to fight for your freedom and if they sentence you, I will get you out of the territory so you and Preston can flee before it comes to that.”

She snuggles into me. Sometimes I forget she isn’t a little girl anymore; she is a fully grown woman. But to me she will always be my little sister. Until Eva came into my life, Amber was the person I loved most in this world. She was everyone I cared about.

“I can’t wait to talk to Preston properly, it feels like an age has passed since we last spoke. I miss him. I don’t think I would have admitted that six months ago, Aidy, but I miss him so much.”

I know how she feels. This journey home is going to be torture.

*** Xavier ***

My daughter walks into my pack house, all guns blazing. I honestly feel a bit scared of her. She has a temper that is slow to ignite, but hell hath no fury like Eva once you’ve provoked her too many times. She walks up to the recently widowed Nikki and grabs her by the scruff of her neck, and I swear Eva’s eyes flash silver when she does it.

“Get in there, now. You and I are going to have words. Who the fuck do you think you are coming on to my land and threatening my pack members? You do realise you have messed up the whole trial to find the truth about your mate's death by intimidating a witness and trying to bribe him. Are you completely stupid?”

My daughter throws Nikki into the hall and walks in after. She has a commanding presence. Her short stature only amplifies how strong she is because she doesn’t need brute strength to get what she wants; she commands respect.

She is my heir all right. I only wish her mate wasn’t also an Alpha. My land and legacy will be swallowed up into his now. However, I know that is a small price to pay since my pack will be led by the best person and my lands will be safe in her hands. She already has a child who will be our Heir Apparent. Our legacy will live on.

“What is the meaning of this, Nikki? Have you been intimidating and bribing witnesses?” Nikki openly cries, and I am sympathetic because of the pain I feel from my own mate bond severing. She is very young to lose her mate, and before they had pups too. It is a shame for her, but we must abide by the law; they are there for a reason and she broke them.

“I miss him, and I wanted that whore to pay for what she did. She butchered him; he was severed all the way from his shoulder down to his groin. I wanted vengeance. I wanted her mate and his pup so it would hurt her like she hurt me.”

Using my Alpha aura, I force her to submit. “That was why we informed the council when you made your complaint, so they could find the truth and deal out the punishment as appropriate. You made the complaint… that was what you wanted, and now you’ve ruined it all. You have no authority here or anywhere to condemn someone, or to decide what their punishment should be.”

I look at my daughter, who seems to be calming down at least.

“I will inform the council straight away. And I am sorry on behalf of my pack member. I will ensure the council's punishment is served.”

Eva nods back. “Thank you, Father. But first, I want to know how she got onto our land without detection and how she was to track him.”

It’s a good question, and I turn to look at the woman it concerns. Nikki has revealed her own secret now and she only has herself to blame.

*** Salma ***

My father’s son, my brother, is a child. In my head, I pictured a beast of a man who was involved in the murder of our papa. However, he is a child and he’s my little brother. He is so small with features uncannily like papa’s that it is unreal. When Mami told me that Dominga was papa’s only mistress for the last ten years, I assumed with time and age he had no need for a harem of lovers. I expected my brother to be a man, maybe a similar age as me, and my father had opted to keep his mother as his only mistress.

It's always been something I thought about: why didn't my parents have more children? Mafia families are usually huge. I wonder if mami couldn't have more. Maybe papa kept Dominga as his only mistress so she would give him another child? I guess I will never know. Not fully.

Tony said Ricky’s mother abandoned him and ran off with a werewolf named JR. This werewolf and Dominga are now our prime suspects for my father’s murder, and our number one objective is to find them. Although Mafia and Werewolf are not enemies as such, we certainly don’t mix, so, it is intriguing to see how this happened and why.

I think it's time to visit my friend in her new home. Eva has been to visit me a few times, bringing Summer with her as well as an entourage of wolves that Aiden rightly insisted on sending ‘just in case.’ However, I think it's time to visit her and her mate and see if they can help me. Alpha Aiden will have extensive knowledge of his pack and the packs surrounding his. He might know someone called JR. He might be able to point me to my father’s killer.

Tony names two other associates who may be able to give more insight into Dominga and her whereabouts. However, I want to hear his theory of why she would risk killing my father.

“She hated him, but she loved the power and status and having his son only increased that. The fact that she abandoned Ricky so quickly confirms to me that she had no real feeling for her son and he is a mere pawn in her game for power.”

Tony stubs out his cigar before continuing.

“I believe Jose training you to take over and the rumours of your marriage to Mr Suarez to solidify that probably pushed her to act because she would lose her power and status if her son wasn’t recognised as Jose’s true heir.”

---