บท 1051: THE MYSTERY BEHIND THE ALPHA'S SONS
7 MARCH, SUNDAY, CONTINUED, TIMELINE 2.
It all started when Gamma Harry's patrol team brought back a baby abandoned by our borders. This had never happened before, so Gamma Harry wanted to ask the Alpha what to do. Dad and Beta Lucas had no idea. The baby was a blond alpha pup, not more than a few months old.
"Perhaps a lost and found poster?" Beta Lucas wondered aloud, "We could stick it up around the borders. Maybe he belongs to a neighboring pack."
Dad wasn't so sure that it would be so straightforward. A baby boy of alpha descent left in another pack's territory was just asking to be killed. Everyone knew that there could only be one alpha in a pack. It was not uncommon for Alphas and their own flesh-and-blood sons to struggle for control, and alpha brothers - Dad knew first hand, no matter how much close they were as pups, in adulthood, they must eventually separate to their own individual territories and packs or else end up at each other's throats.
"Our borders have been troubled. Let's keep the pup for a while. See what happens." Dad said, "Perhaps fate had dealt us a hand, and someone would come for the pup when the dust clears."
But baby puppies didn't take care of themselves. This one was hungry and cried till the entire packhouse heard it. Mum came up to the office and her heart went out to the baby, "Poor puppy. She's hungry."
"It's a boy, Luna." Beta Lucas cleared his throat, "An alpha boy."
Mum picked up the baby and he stopped crying, "What a beautiful boy! I can't imagine what kind of desperation circumstance he had survived."
"He is probably from one of the warring packs nearby..." Dad tried to warn her.
"Poor baby, he's hungry and cold. I'll bring him to the kitchen and see if they can warm up some milk..." Mum decided all on her own.
"We might have to return him..." Dad said. There was NO WAY he was going to lead his pack into war over an alpha baby that wasn't his.
"Let's call him Kevin." Mum smiled at the baby who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, "I heard the ladies say boys named Kevin grow up handsome."
Dad sighed, they were a new pack that had just settled into the territory. A war would spell disaster. If our neighbors should come knocking for their Alpha heir, our small pack would only be able to hand the puppy back. His Luna's heart would surely break.
And if no one ever came to claim the pup, this one would only grow to threaten his future son's alpha position. What was he to do? As much as he loved his Luna, sometimes a man just had to put his foot down and say no.
"Please, dear." Mum looked up at Dad with eyes like pools in the moonlight, and Dad nodded before he could stop himself, "Alright, darling. Take the pup. I will take care of the rest."
A few years later, another blond alpha pup appeared. This time outside Beta Lucas' door. It was a huge scandal, most wolves believed that the Beta's colorful past had finally caught up with him. But the real trouble was that the pup was only three... Way too young to be from before he was mated.
"In hindsight, the note we left with Kai should've included more information." Dad stopped his recount to note.
Fluffy-Kai and I nodded. Beta Lucas was never one to write long notes.
Luckily, Beta Lucas managed to prove his innocence because the note was in his own handwriting (and not some unknown woman's) and because the puppy had come with a fancy cape and unidentified family crest.
"I never mess with the fancy she-wolves." Beta Lucas had declared.
Which was clearly the wrong argument. What he should have said was, "I stopped messing around after I got mated."
But who could blame him? It was way too early in the morning when the pup was discovered on his doorstep. Everyone was in a middle of high emotions so things got said, things got broken, but when all the broken pieces was cleaned up, the tears wiped away, and the misunderstandings cleared up, they decided to keep Fluffy.
Specifically, they decided that "a good home" would be the Alpha's home.
"Two is better than one." Beta Lucas had quipped. These words would come back and bite him when the twins were born. Dad took great pleasure at repeating them when he went to personally congratulate his shell-shocked beta on the day of their birth.
"Perhaps he's little Kev's brother." Mum wondered aloud based on the fact that both boys were blond, "It has to be fate."
This new pup didn't just come with a fancy pedigree, he was even more beautiful than Kev. This one... Although it seemed unbelievable, and Dad never said it aloud, but he believed the second pup was probably from the Colored Mountains.
Mum named him Kaius, because she felt her heart fill with joy when the puppy looked at her and smiled for the first time… and also because Mum had a thing for naming her pups with the same letter of the alphabet.
So now, Dad was not just harboring some alpha heir of a neighboring pack, but also an alpha heir from the Colored Mountains. This was not something Night Leaf could afford to keep, but they put a black out order on the boy's origins, and today only the pioneering wolves of Night Leaf might possibly remember the mysterious background of Alpha Kingsley's sons.
Dad himself had took them as his own sons. He hadn't meant to. At first, he only grudgingly accepted them into his home for his Luna's sake.
"Your mother had a biggest heart I had ever known." Dad said, "But that was also one of the qualities I love about her."
But Dad's heart wasn't too small either and it wasn't long before my Dad was swept up into playing family. It wasn't on purpose, but both boys had endeared themselves to him quite effortlessly.
Kevin had always been eager to please. From the time he could crawl, he would always find his way to his reluctant father's feet. As he grew older, he exhibited all the traits of a natural leader. He was strong, charismatic, with a can-do attitude. His physical prowess made his alpha dad proud. By age three, he could do a round house kick. And his boyish mischief amused Dad very much and made him popular with his peers.
"He's just like his Dad." Beta Lucas would boast.
"Yes. Must be the genes." Gamma Harry would agree.
I'm not sure if they were going out of their way to keep the Black Out Order, or if they had truly forgotten the Young Alpha Kev's true origins.
"He was always running head first into trouble, but his heart is in the right place." Dad said. I froze a little at that. Mimi had said something similar about her Jude too.
I wanted to remind Dad that Kevin was actually Jude the traitor, but I couldn't quite bring myself to say it. Not to Dad's face right now anyway. I don't know if it was his expression or tone, but from the way Dad talked about Kevin, I just felt like this life was getting way too real. Now that our timeline had been merged, surely Kevin was just as much Dad's son as Jude was a traitor.
On the other hand, Kaius was the complete opposite of his older brother. He stuck to Mum like glue the moment he came to our home. I guess he figured out who the real boss was. Hahaha. The adults felt Kaius must be missing his mother very much, and Mum's heart went out to the little golden haired pup. He didn't like rough housing or physical training, but he proved to be highly intelligent, quite witted, and cunning from a young age.
Even though Kevin was bigger, stronger, and older, Kaius often weaseled his way around his brother. More often than not, Kevin would find himself taking the fall when the boys got into trouble.
"Yes, I remember playing pin the tail on the scapegoat. It was my favorite game as a pup." Fluffy sighed happily at the memories, "I had a good life here."
If Kevin was the brawn and the warrior first to the frontline, Kaius was the brain and manipulator in the background.
Kai's bright mind and potential quickly won over my Dad's heart too. If both boys would work together, they would be a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, Kev had grown wary of Kai's tricks over the years. He hated being manipulated by this younger brother and felt used by Kai's schemes. Kai's obvious disdain and constant verbal jabs didn't help matters.
"It's your sharp tongue." I told Fluffy. You know how they say, 'stick and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me', right? It was a lie. Kev had taken every insult his younger brother let slip very much to heart.
Dad did his best to train and guide his two sons. He even imparted the merging technique to them. But neither son had mastered it. Kevin was never good with tedious practice. He was the kind of guy who liked to follow his heart and deal with things with one punch. Kaius would never put up with any form of physically training for an extended length of time, and forcing him to show up for any physically strenuous activity itself was like a strategy battle in itself.
"Oh, but Dad, your forgetting my best quality." Fluffy interrupted Dad to remind us, "My goddess-given beauty."
Which was exactly the sort of thing Kai said that annoyed Kev like hell. No matter which life, Kai was the kind who's words required a beating.
Dad laughed heartily at that though, "Ah, Kai... The talents you boasts of are a two edged sword. They will destroy you if you have no strength to wield it."
Dad was just as zen in this life too, but unlike me, Fluffy-Kai understood immediately, "Don't worry, Dad. This sword is not just for show."
I thought you said your best quality was your beauty?
"I disdain dirtying my hands, but its not because of the lack of strength." Fluffy-Kai boasted.
I suppose now that we know of Fluffy's fight dog capabilities, it was rather ludicrous to believe that he was the frail scholar he portrayed.
"Somehow, I underestimated you." Dad allowed.
"Luckily, I have a lovely beta to assist me in the fight department." Fluffy continued.
"Don't involve me, Alpha." Ben folded his arms and looked very unhelpful, "I'm just a pup."
For some reason, both Alpha and Beta in this life liked to pretend to be weak.
Anyway, back to Dad's story:
So at first, they didn't tell the boys about their origins to safeguard the pack's security. Later on, they continued to keep the boys in the dark to protect them. Mum didn't want them to have to worry about it until they were grown.
By then, Dad had decided to accept them as his real sons and with full rights to inheriting the alpha position. They would also have the full right to choose, whether to stay or go out to seek their blood relatives or their own destiny. The plan was to tell them on their 18th birthday… I imagined, it would go like, "Happy birthday, son! By the way, you were adopted." Not the best birthday idea.
Luckily, it never happened. Kai hadn't turned 18 yet, and Kev… Dad sighed and his expression was most regretful. As Kevin grew older, he…
"We had reasons to be concerned." Dad concluded.
Wait, what? That didn't explain anything!
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