The Howling Heart's Forgiveness

Chapter 155

Stepping through the threshold of my childhood home, I smell the family scent of bourbon and cigar smoke floating in the air. It seems father’s nightly routine hasn’t stopped.

“Nora!” My father shouts, his belligerent voice coming from the living room.

“Are you back from patrol?” I pause my footsteps, looking at Asteria who furrows her brows. Her eyes glaze over for a moment, most likely trying to see if anyone ran into my mother. When her gaze returns to normal, she mouths the words ‘captured earlier’ to me and I sigh in relief. It seems my mother is taking a nice drug-induced nap with the other wolves that supported Valor.

“Nora! Answer me you stupid whore!” Asteria and Gale wince, their concerned gaze turning to me. I shake my head, already used to the abuse my father hurled behind closed doors. No one really knew the truth about how my parents acted. They knew the masks of kind loving people they portrayed to the Pack but when it was just the three of us in these four walls, they did not see the threats and broken dishes being thrown. They did not see me being slapped and beaten for not being stronger or faster than Brynlee and Rune.

“Damnit woman, get your ass in here now!” I laugh, genuinely laugh, at the absurdity of my drunkard of a father. To think even after I left with Rune he had not changed. If anything, my father has gotten worse.

“Who the fuck is in my house?” The sounds of items falling onto the floor in loud thuds make me chuckle. If my father wants to know who is in his house, then I damn well will show myself. Taking the lead, I walk towards the living room, Asteria, Gale, and Avery following behind me. As we round the corner of the entry hall and step into the living room, I find my father, Wade Kane, standing on shaky legs drunker than I have ever seen him before.

“Hello, Kane.” I call out, leaning against the door frame.

“It’s been a while.” He snarls, rearing the hand that holds the bottle of cheap bourbon back and throwing it in my direction. His aim as usual is off, the bottle landing two feet to my right and shattering against the wall.

“What the fuck are you doing here you scum?” He demands. Asteria touches my arm, making me look at her. In the depth of her eyes, I see concern and I give her a reassuring smile. I can handle my father without her help.

“I came back to help reclaim Pine Moon.” I answer, knowing full well my father is too drunk to link anyone. His mind is frazzled by the alcohol he consumed and will be like that until late tomorrow afternoon. No wonder he supported Valor in the end. The two men are alike in many ways.

“Ha! Like that can ever happen.” My father laughs out, a mocking smile on his lips.

“No one is fit to rule Pine Moon but Valor… well, except for me.” He continues, his drunken body swaying side to side.

“You are forgetting that there are two other wolves fit to lead Pine Moon.” I taunt, slowly counting back from ten in my mind.

“Yeah, and who might they be?” Norris asks sarcastically, words slurring heavily.

“Rune and Brynlee.” I state. Shock fills my father’s eyes as the sound of the emergency alarm blares through the Pack, surprising all of us. Gale lets out a curse, stepping forward to drug my father but I stop him just as my father’s swaying stops. Gale goes to say something but is left speechless as my father begins to fall forward, his body falling onto the glass living room table. The scent of blood instantly fills the air and I take small steps to see where it is coming from, only to find a shard of glass sticking through my father’s arm.

“He’ll be out till dawn.” I state, taking out a pair of silver cuffs from the pocket of my pants and roughly cuffing my father’s hands behind his back.

“Why didn’t you tell us he was like this?” Asteria asks, her voice wavering as she comes to stand beside me. I feel her warmth and motherly affection radiating off of her and take a deep breath.

“I tried saying something when I was a pup. It landed me in the infirmary for a week.” I state solemnly

“You, Gale and Brynlee’s parents were on a mission and Brynlee was living in the Pack House with Luna Clairice at the time. My father blamed my stay on a Rogue attack.” I finish, getting a small nod from Asteria.

“You can kill him here and now. No one would blame you.” Avery states from her spot in the doorway, her eyes held on me.

“I’d rather do it at the execution in front of everyone.” I state, straightening and taking a look around the familiar room. Maybe I will take a page out of Tanya’s book and burn this place to the ground. Fire will help cleanse the land and give me an excuse to build a new home for Odette and our little pup inside her.

“We better get going. The alarms will have notified everyone of our attack.” Turning away from my father’s unconscious body, I start walking towards the exit. I had been looking forward to beating my father into submission but it seems I won’t get the chance to now. He is far too gone into the bottom of the bottle. Fighting him will just be pointless at this point.

Our group of four leave my house, ready to head towards the Pack House now that we have completed drugging those on our list of Valor supporters.

“Wait.” Asteria calls out, gasping as she leans against a maple tree.

“What’s wrong?” Gale asks, rushing to her side and fretting over his Mate.

“It’s Valor.” She calls out, tears welling in her eyes.

“He’s dead.”