Chapter 34: Grandfathers’ secret

**Elliot’s Point of view**


"How are you feeling?" Asks my grandfather as he sits in the chair next to my bed. 
Even though he's 70 years old, he's far from being an old fart. He has the same hair as my father and me, I mean had, because today it is mostly white. I reassure myself that if I'm lucky I will be like him and won't have baldness. 
"I am doing very well. I keep saying it but everyone is too afraid of my mother to allow me to leave." I say with a laugh.
I expect him to laugh too but he just gives me a forced smile.
"I have a question. I know you never liked my mom very much. Is that because she grew up with Luna Mary?"
He looks at me, mouth agape. "But how..."
I cut him off and lie. "I found an old picture of her with Luna Mary and Alpha Jack. I deduced that the three of them grew up together."
He sighs and tells me what my mom and Luna Mary have already told us, proving that he is honest.
"So if I understand correctly, you wanted dad to reject mom just because she and Luna Mary are sisters?" 
He nods. "They could have teamed up and tried to manipulate your dad and Alpha John."
"That's stupid. And technically they're not even sisters. They were simply taken in by Alpha Vincent and Luna Sophie, Alpha Jack's parents."
"That's true, but you see, this wasn't the first time this happened."
I frown. "What do you mean?"
He sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "What I'm about to tell you, you can't tell anyone else. And the fact that Lily and Luna Mary know each other must also remain a secret." He says in a serious tone.
I nod and he continues his story.
"At the time it was already very tense with the Blues. Alpha James was always hanging around our borders, it was a year or two before the corridors were created. We had just taken over from our fathers and we wanted to prove ourselves I guess. Alpha Vincent was younger than us and would not become Alpha until two years later. So it was his father, Alpha Adam, who was still dealing with us. He wanted us to talk so he brought Alpha James and me to his territory.  
As soon as I crossed their border I smelled her. My mate. I followed the scent and on the way I ran into Alpha James who was running like me." His eyes are empty, lost in his memories.
"We got to their packhouse and that's when we realized why we were following each other. The Moon Goddess had given us Alpha Adam's two daughters."
"Wait wait wait." I cut him off. "Alpha Vincent has sisters?" I ask, bewildered.
"Had." He says sadly. "They were twin sisters."
"But how could their existence be erased like that? Why have I never heard of them?"
"I think we all preferred to forget what happened. And since there was no one left to remember them..."
"But what happened?" I say as I straighten up in my bed. 
"We were in shock. As soon as I laid eyes on Vivian she immediately wanted to leave with me. But I couldn't. She would have gotten inside my head and manipulated me. Violet threw herself at Alpha James' neck but he too pushed her away. He rejected her immediately and left." He pauses and swallows.
"I'm not proud of what I did. Alpha James rejected Violet right away because he had already met the one who would become his Luna. She was the Beta's daughter and they had grown up together. 
I think they loved each other all their lives. I, on the other hand, had not yet met your grandmother. I hesitated and the same evening, Viviane gave me an appointment in the city center to talk. My father was of course aware of everything and had ordered me to reject her, but I wanted to know what it was like to be with your mate."
He looked down, ashamed. I understood then what he had done.
"You mated." I say softly.
He huffs. "Worse than that. She thought we were going to mark each other too and I didn't tell her otherwise. I took her to a hotel and took her virginity. And right after I got dressed and rejected her. That was the last time I saw her." He says sadly.
"Weren't you afraid that she would mark you during..." I say, leaving my sentence hanging.
"No. I made sure she couldn't." I raise an eyebrow and he blows out a breath and quickly says the rest. "She was on four legs so she couldn't bite me."
"For Goddess sake! I don't need the details!" I say, disgusted.
"Come on, you're not a little boy anymore." He says, sweeping the air with his hand.
"For a first time it's still a bit... harsh... No?" 
He shrugs, but I can see he's sorry.
"What happened next?"
"I met your grandmother a few months later. Her fated mate was a warrior who died in a rogue attack." He suddenly leans toward me. "Don't get me wrong. We may not be fated mate but I'm madly in love with your grandmother. I loved her the moment I saw her. I know it's strange, but it's true." He says with a pleading look.
"I know, Grandpa. I know." I say, patting his hand, which relaxes him a bit. "So if I understand correctly you didn't find your second mate chance?"
He shakes his head and continues his story. "Violet killed herself the night Alpha James rejected her and it was Vivian who found her when she got back from our date."
I am speechless. I can't imagine the pain Vivian must have felt that night. First, her mate takes her virginity and rejects her right away and when she comes home, broken, she finds the lifeless body of her twin. 
I can't suppress the feeling of horror. "Poor girl. She must have gone crazy."
I see my grandfather wipe the corner of his eye. "She didn't deserve this. None of her did."
He doesn't say anything for a moment and I'm afraid to ask the question but I need to know.
"What happened to Viviane?"
"She left. She told her brother Vincent that she needed to take a break. The Moon Goddess was merciful, she found her second mate chance."
"That's great!" I exclaimed, happy that this poor girl has finally found happiness.
But my grandfather's face remains closes. "No. It didn't end the way you think it did."