Alex POV
My father hasn't left the Silverlight capital in thirteen years.
That's the thought on my mind as I'm led outside.
Trellis doesn't say anything as he walks beside me, his arms crossed behind his back. Ivan is shirtless beside me, wearing only his pants. He doesn't say anything as well. The silence makes everything worse. I feel like I have an axe hanging over my head.
My eyes quickly scan the parking lot, falling on the limo in the corner. Two burly men stand in front of it, dressed in tailored suits. They both don black frames. Their faces are expressionless as I close the distance. They each wear identical silver rings on their index fingers. On it is my father's sigil, the symbol of Pack Silverlight, a wolf and the head of trident. I know who they are immediately. The Unbloodied. My father's guards. His most elite killers.
I shiver a little on the inside.
"My prince," the one closest to me says, inclining his head. I don't see his eyes, but I feel the weight of his gaze on me.
I keep my voice steady. "Is my father inside?"
"The patriarch awaits," the other one replies. He unlocks the door and holds it open for me. Inside the limo is dark. It's as if I'm standing at the mouth of a cave that will swallow me up.
I steel my nerves. I can make out Trellis and Ivan in the distance. They know as I do that my reunion with my father is to be a private one. I wish Ivan would follow me. I wish I had his constant presence to steady me. But it doesn't happen.
Their eyes follow me as I enter the limo.
My eyes adjust to the darkness, but I can't find my father although I know he's on the other side. The leather of the seat is deceptively soft. I can feel my heart in my throat. Sweat breaks out over my skin. My hand shakes.
"Patriarch, I present myself to your judgement. May you find me worthy." The formal words for greeting the Alpha roll off my tongue. Then I wait.
The wait is agonizing. I can feel each second like a tap against my skin. My hands tremble. My mouth feels suddenly dry. Have I said something wrong? Have I displeased my father?
After thirty minutes, I hear the first sound. It's the sound of clothes creasing. I see a vague silhouette in the darkness move. The sound of a switch being flicked.
The light comes on.
I blink as my father's hazy image clears, and before me is the most powerful alpha in the world, the patriarch of Pack Silverlight, Byron deGeneris.
My father is a huge man. Every part of him is plated with thick muscles. They bulge against his suit, forming his powerful figure. He radiates power. Control. This is a man who can bend the world to his will.
One leg is crossed over the other, his shirt unbuttoned slightly. His hair is the colour of mine, a deep, almost oily black. I can see my face in his, only as if the mirror has been aged several decades. His eyes are so grey they're nearly silver. Those eyes bore into me, seeming to unravel the full thread of my existence.
Then he smiles. "My son."
My relief is evident as I let out a breath I've been holding in.
"I thought you would forget," my father says. "I thought you would forget our ways." It's a test. A challenge.
"Never," I reply.
He nods. He extends a hand. His thick silver ring gleams on his middle finger. "Show me."
I stand up and make my way to him. Even sitting, his power dominates me. It's as if I'm the one doing something wrong by being taller. So I take a knee. I hold my father's hand, my own hand quivering. I plant a kiss on the center of his ring, tasting the silver with my tongue.
"I greet you, alpha."
My father's eyes soften. He places his hands on my shoulders and pulls me up. He smiles at me. The smile is not predatory. It's how I know it's my father I'm talking to, not the alpha of the Silverlight pack. The knot in my belly unwinds. My father embraces me.
"My son," he says softly. "My son."
I let him hold me. I feel ashamed that his presence brings out the child to me. It's as if I haven't grown at all, that the seven years away from my home haven't happened.
"You have grown," my father observes. "19. I became alpha at your age."
Inside my heart, I panic. "I'm not ready. I can't… I can't possibly replace you."
He smiles kindly, although his grip on my shoulder tightens. "Not yet, my boy. Not yet. But you will be. You must be for the world that is to come. The world I will bring about." His eyes burn with passion, and it's terrifying, like staring into an inferno.
The moment passes. His grip on my shoulder loosens. I can breathe properly now. But why is my father here? Why has he come for me?
"We must leave soon," he says, as if reading my mind. "Silverlight is still a great distance off, and even with wardstones, we might not make it for the Conclave."
My shock is registered on my face. My father regards me. "The Conclave. It's happening?"
With the assassination of one of the alphas, the alpha of Crescent Dawn, there has been talk of the Conclave not holding this year. I didn't think it would happen.
My father waves off my worries. "Gerald was a nice enough man, but he was weak. The other alphas are not, and neither am I. The Conclave will hold. The Conclave must hold." His eyes bore into me. "And on the pendulum of this one gathering does the future of our worlds swing. Will you help me, son? Will you help me lead them into the light I see? Will you help me lead them into the future?"
It's no question. My father is a man who demands obedience even without asking for it.
I take a knee.
"I will, father. I will."