Chapter 6 Kiss

• Nero’s p.o.v.
• Dad and Mara left a few hours ago, telling us they had something important to take care of and Noah is agitated because they refused to tell us what it was about. The four of us are in Dad’s office waiting for them to return, the y promised they would explain things once they came back and we have gone over everything that they could tell us.
• My phone starts ringing and I see when I see the caller-ID shows Marc’s name, “Hello, Marc. What can I do for you?” I ask him before I tell him he is on speaker. “How much do you like paperwork?” He asks and I hear Noah groan, none of us like paperwork that comes with the responsibility of being a part of a Pack’s leadership.
• “Sounds to me that you like it as much as Anton and I do, but there is a solution to that problem. Anton’s Cousin offered to take care of the financial side of Pack business and that means we don’t have to worry about that in the future. The only problem is that Dad was very old fashioned when it came to bookkeeping and accounting, everything is on paper and it will take some time to get it all into a digital system.” Marc says.
• “Good thing that Alpha Gordon hates paperwork even more and digitalized everything years ago, that will make Autumn Pack’s finances a lot easier to process.” Nathan chuckles and Marc asks if I can come over in a few days to go over a few things, “We have a lot of decisions to make when it comes to merging our Packs and Crystal and I want your opinion on certain issues.” He explains and I tell him I will be there Friday afternoon.
• After disconnecting the call we get back to the reason why Dad and Mara left the territory, but every reason we come up with is not a good one and I am getting as agitated as Noah is. Nathan and Nikolay are more down to earth and they keep suggesting that we calm down, that we will find out sooner or later. I just hope it is sooner than later that we get answers and when Dad finally walks in with Mara I am ready to demand answers from them.
• “I want the four of you to hear Mara out before you say or ask anything, this is not going to be easy for her to tell you and if I had known about this sooner I would have made sure you four would have known sooner as well.” Dad says after he and Mara have taken a seat on the couch in front of the window. It takes a while before Mara starts talking, but once she starts we can tell this is not easy for her and by the time she is done I am not sure what to address first.
• Mara has a Daughter who is two years younger than me, a Daughter she neglected because of grief and I know none of us can wait to get to know our baby Sister. “Mara, how did she react?” Nathan asks and I see that Mara is thinking about how to respond to his question, “It wasn’t until I was talking to my Mother that I realized something, Alayah sounded just like my counselor and when I asked my Mother about it I learned she has a degree in Psychology.
• My Daughter probably understands me better than I understand her and I am grateful she is willing to allow me back into her life, I hope we will be able to build some sort of relationship.” Mara says and Dad tells us she shifted at the age of thirteen. “She was by herself, Mom was away on Pack business and I had left as I had done in the past. She didn’t accuse me of anything, even though she had every right to do so and I hope she can forgive me some day.” Mara explains.
• Mara tells us about her childhood, about how she and her first Mate grew up and how she witnessed his death only six months after marking and mating. “Mara, I think that your Daughter is the reason you are still alive. Grandpa told us that after Mom died it was touch and go for a while with Dad, everyone feared that Mom’s death would kill him in the end and that it was our existence that pulled him through. Your Daughter did the same for you and your Lycan, you just didn’t realize it at the time.” Noah says.
• We all know that what Noah says is the truth, it is known that Wolves and Lycans that lose their Mate can die from the severed Mate-bond. High-rank or Pups are usually the reason that they survive and I truly believe that Mara’s Daughter is the reason she survived losing her Mate. We talk about my pending departure for Crimson Moon Pack and Mara tells me that she will tell Alyah that I will be there for the weekend, “Maybe she can introduce you to my Mother and my Uncle.” She concludes.
• The next few days pass quickly and I have already packed my bag for the stay at Crimson Moon Pack, Marc told me I would be staying on the Gamma floor. Their Gamma hardly ever stays there with all the memories of his Mate and Pup, he cleared out the last of his belongings days ago and I have the entire floor to myself. I might ask Alayah to move there as well, it will be to large for just me and I could use the time to get to know my baby Sister.
• Marc is waiting for me on the front porch and we talk about the upcoming meeting as he walks me up to the Gamma floor. As I suspected it is huge and I know I will ask Alayah to move here soon, I doubt I would like to live here by myself for to long. Maybe I can ask my Brothers to move here if Alayah declines my offer.
• “Lets go to my office, there are a few people I want you to meet.” Marc says as he heads for the door, I follow him out the door and down the stairs to his own office on the ground floor. When we walk into his office I see Crystal talking to a female with jet black hair and emerald, green eyes and I feel a sting of jealousy when I see Anton’s hand on her arm. There is also another male in the room, but I don’t think I have ever met him before and I decide to introduce myself to him first.
• I quickly find out he is Marc’s Delta and that his name is Erick. Like me he is unmated and I already like him, he reminds me a bit of Noah with his serious demeanor. “Nero, I don’t have to introduce you to my Beta.” Marc says as Anton walks towards me with a huge smile on his face, “Nero, thank the Goddess you are here.” Anton exclaims and I see Crystal and the female rolling their eyes at him. “We need another male on our side before my Cousin wipes the floor with me.”
• Crystal is laughing her ass off and I can tell the female is about to say something, but Anton cuts her off. “Alayah, don’t threaten with the paperwork. You are Crystal’s Beta, so you can’t run away from it.” He says sternly. “But I can still force you to help me.” She responds teasingly and the smile falls from Anton’s face as her words sink in.
• “Fuck, she is Mara’s Daughter.” Miku growls in my head, I know Miku is upset as he told me the moment he saw her that there was a connection and now we find out she is our Stepsister. “Hello, Nero. It is nice to meet you, I look forward to get to know you and the rest of my Stepbrothers.” Alayah says and I hear everyone around me mutter the word Fuck.
• I can see a strange look on her face as she walks towards me and I shake her outstretched hand, “It is nice to meet you too. Noah, Nathan and Nikolay hope to meet you soon and we are all looking forward to getting to know our Stepsister. I just hope you can handle having four older Brothers.” I respond and Marc asks what the hell we are talking about.
• “Your Father called me to his office Monday morning, my Mother was there to see me and she wasn’t alone. During my Psychology studies I found lot of answers to my Mother’s behavior and when I talked to her I got even more answers, my Mother is mated to Nero’s Father. I told her I wouldn’t shut her out of my life and I know she talked to Grandma as well.” Alayah explains, Anton doesn’t look to pleased with her explanation and Miku growls as he shakes his head.
• “She thinks she can walk back into your life after treating you the way she did, I will not be welcoming her with open arms.” He says and Alayah looks at him with a frown on her face. “You don’t have to welcome her, she isn’t your Mother and you have no idea what she went through. No one ever knew the full story and she had to deal with a lot on her own. I know how she treated me, I lived through it and I believe it is up to me to decide whether or not she deserves another chance.” Alayah says.
• It is clear that Alayah isn’t to pleased with Anton and it is obvious to everyone that Anton really upset her, before I can stop Miku he has her in our arms. He just holds her close to our chest as he runs circles on her lower back with our hand, we don’t say a word as we try to comfort her, I wouldn’t even know what to say to her to make her feel better.
• Luckily Anton is a smart male as he tells her he is sorry and that it isn’t his place to judge her Mother. I keep my arm around her shoulder as I guide her to a couch and I pull her closer to my side after we sit down, “Hold on, if you are Anton’s Cousin than you offered to do the financial side of Pack Business. When did you have time to study accounting if you have a degree in Psychology?” I ask her as puzzle pieces start to fall in place.
• “I took up Psychology when I had to wait to start my Bachelors in accounting.” She mumbles and for a moment I am not sure what to say, she just admitted that this was just a way to pass time. “I am currently studying for my Masters in accounting and with doing the finances I will be able to graduate early, again.” She says it as if it is the most normal thing in the world. “For her it probably is.” Miku states and I ask her what she means with again.
• Alayah tells me she graduated high school at almost sixteen and that she has been able to go through all her studies faster than is stipulated, “According to Grandfather I have my Father’s brain, he was a quick study as well. That was until his accident as a young teen and everything changed for him after that.” She says. We talk about the work she has done so far and I am stunned to hear she has been able to get almost everything in to the system from the past year.
• During dinner I keep looking at the stunning beauty next to me, her hair falling down her back and her green eyes sparkling with mischief every time she speaks. I have been asking Miku over and over again if he still feels the connection with Alayah and every time he tells me it is there I feel confused, she is my Stepsister.
• I need to talk to my Brothers and for just that reason I am glad that I am going home. Alayah has kept a distance between us since Friday and I wonder what is going on with her, but she still treats me normal. “Nero, when will you be back?” Grandma asks me and it reminds me of the fact that I have to warn my Brothers, I tried to call her by her first name when Alayah introduced us but she made it clear quickly to call her Grandma.
• “Probably Wednesday, I need to pack up and I also have to make sure I hand everything over to Nikolay. Noah and Nathan are to busy with their jobs as Head Warrior to take on my workload, but Nikolay will be able to handle it.” I answer her. I just leave out the part about Alayah, I am not sure how to deal with this just yet and I need my Brothers opinion on what to do.
• Alayah, Anton and I walk back to the Pack-house after family dinner and after Anton has said his goodbyes he walks into the Pack-house, “Okay, Angel. I will see you Wednesday.” I say as I pull her in for a hug. “Stay out of trouble and don’t tease Anton to much, I want to be around when you do that.” I say teasingly and after placing a kiss on her forehead I reluctantly get into my car.