36: He's playing you

**Warning, this chapter is a little gory**

**Tristan**

The thing about my father was that when he didn't want someone to say something, he didn't mind getting his hands a little dirty. And so, when I asked the question, "What do you mean?" my father's hand ended up latching around Terrance's tongue before he gripped hard around it and tugged it out of his mouth. Blood splattered everywhere with the immense force he'd exerted on the dripping tongue which he let fall to the ground. I thought his violent act was going to end there, but he was far from done. In a quick, swift movement Terrance’s head was ripped from his neck and thrown across the room towards me. I dodged the head, but not unscathed. Blood splattered across my face, some even landed in my mouth, and I spat it out immediately and wiped at my face before glancing up at my father. His hands were soaked in blood as he hunched ferally over the headless body. His teeth were out like shards of sharp glass, and he panted and huffed in anger as blood dripped down from the lengths of his claws. He stood there looking like a monster, and for a moment, I wondered if that was how I looked to other people. Was I this cold, unfeeling, blood-stained beast? Or was I something more to someone else?

"Disgusting..." My father said after wiping his bloodied hands on his shirt. I glanced down at the head and shook my head at it before returning my attention back to my father.

"Was there a reason you killed this man, father?" I honestly tried to keep my voice steady and calm. My mind, however, was in a crazy swirl of raging anger. This man had just mentioned my mother, and there were very few people who actually knew about her. But what was worse was that he also mentioned this man standing before me. Ambrose Michaels, the man I considered my father.

My father didn't answer at all. Instead, he glanced only at the dead body in front of him, as though I weren't here. And so, I asked again, "Why did you kill him... *dad*."

That immediately caught him off guard, and slowly but surely, he began to crane his neck so that he was looking at me. His claws retracted, his eyes turned back to their normal hazel colour, and his elongated fangs began to disappear beneath his lips. “I didn’t want him bringing up your mother. I know how important she was to you. You understand that don’t you daughter? I was just trying my best not to let this foul man upset you with what would no doubtedly be lies.”

"Daughter?" He repeated after a long moment of complete and utter silence.

I paused a moment more. He didn't honestly expect me to believe that blatant lie, did he?

"That can't be all father. Is the reason you're lying to me now somehow related to why you felt the need not to tell me that my sister was alive this whole time? I need answers, real answers, right now!"

My father's eyes widened in surprise. It was not like me to raise my voice or to question him. But I was nothing if not desperate for answers, especially regarding the family I thought I once lost.

But my father was nothing if not defensive and said, "You better watch your tone. I am not only your Alpha but your father as w-"

"Oh please. You are *not* my father." I yelled out angrily. It was the angriest I'd ever been in a really long time, and I could practically hear my heartbeat throbbing in my ears and the raging heat burning through my every vein. In fact, I was so angry that I feared if I didn't calm down soon, I'd burst into tears for the first time in years.

I expected my father to be unaffected by what I said. Instead, I was met with something I never ever thought I'd see in my life. My father was ... saddened.

"After everything you and I have been through. After I took you in and raised you as my own child. After I provided for you and showed you nothing but kindness. You lacked nothing. Whatever you asked for, I’d provide. And now that you’ve found your sister again you want to toss me out like I meant nothing. Is that the young woman I raised? And as for your mother, I loved that woman more than I loved anything in my life. The reason I killed that bastard was because I didn't want him blabbering about things that were untrue."

I froze when he said this, and a soft gasp left my lips. The idea of my adoptive father being in love with my mother was unbelievable, and yet when I stared into his eyes, I saw no sign of him lying. And that only made the fact more unsettling.

"I-in love? How could that be. You told me you hardly knew my mother." I uttered softly.

His eyes softened and he let go of my shoulders before saying, "I figured it was easier that way, not only for you, but for me as well."

I knew he was trying to make this situation seem better, but he was honestly doing a terrible job at it. So much so that when he uttered those last few words, I grew even angrier.

"*Easy*?" I spat. "You were only thinking of yourself. Is that why you didn't tell me about my sister either? Was it *easier* for you to let me go on believing she was dead?"

But it seemed I wasn't the only one angered and soon, my father let out a low, warning growl and his eyes flashed a deadly shade of red. "Watch your tone."

But I wasn't afraid, and I was certainly not about to back down, and so I folded my arms and raised an eyebrow expectantly waiting for the reason he'd lied to me all these years.

Once he saw that I was determined to find answers he sighed and shook his head. "The reason I never told you about Jasmine was because I didn't think that it mattered that she was alive. Family doesn't mean anything. I thought you would have learned that based on my experiences."

Ah yes, the time old tale about my father's family's betrayal. It was one I had heard many times over and the real reason he wanted to destroy Damon. According to Ambrose, he was once the Alpha of the Blood Moon pack which he led with his human mate. However, Damon, his nephew, was jealous of his power and constantly threatened to take it from him which was why Ambrose never let me anywhere near the Blood Moon pack. He was afraid that if Damon had found out about me that he would have killed me as a way to spite Ambrose, or worse, that he would have found out about my abilities and used me for his own personal gain. One day, however, Damon finally resorted to murdering Ambrose and shortly thereafter his wife. But Damon was not alone, and it became apparent to Ambrose that his entire family had betrayed him and resorted to siding with Damon. And so, after I saved Ambrose in secret, he decided to go into hiding, trusting only a handful of people. And while he and I were in hiding, he began to help me get stronger, and in return, I began to help him get stronger. There was a reason I was so different to other Alpha wolves. In fact, there were only a handful of werewolves like me- the mythical blue-eyed Alphas. Unlike normal Alphas, our eyes weren’t the rich, powerful shade of scarlet like theirs were. Instead, they were a soft, luminous blue and our fur was a silverish white shade. But those were not the only differences. Blue-eyed Alphas were much stronger, faster and we had the unique ability to heal others, and if we were strong enough, bring them back from the dead. However, there was a huge consequence to bringing the dead back to life, especially if you were inexperienced. Unfortunately for me, I was too young and too unaware of these consequences when I attempted resurrecting Ambrose. And so, shortly after bringing him back to life, I began to fall seriously ill. But my ill state only lasted for a short period of time. It wasn't however until I tried to use my healing powers again that I began to feel ill once more. Soon I realised that the more often I used my healing ability, the sicker I got and the weaker I became. I would, however, only fall ill for a short, temporary period of time before I returned back to my original, powerful state. But that was why I kept the fact that I was a blue-eyed Alpha a secret. If I trusted the wrong people with my secret, then I'd be exploited to the point that I'd face the most serious consequence of them all- death. And that was why I never left Ambrose's side and he never left mine. He was eternally indebted to me for saving his life and helping him recover his strength from him having his heart literally ripped from his chest. And I was eternally indebted to him for not only taking me in, protecting me and giving me a home but also helping me get stronger, so much so that I could now repay him by helping him get revenge on Damon for the awful things he'd done him. But there was still more to it. I didn't just want to destroy Damon because of what he'd done, I wanted to destroy him because he stood in the way of the one thing, I'd wanted all my life- power. I wanted to be the Alpha of the Rogues. I wanted to be the ruthless, fearless leader they needed, because that was all I was ever taught to want. My father always taught me that you were nothing without power and eventually, I started believing him. But things had changed now, and I wasn't so sure I could sacrifice my sister... or Lucien for a title.

"Just because your family betrayed you, it doesn't mean mine will betray me. My sister had nothing to do with what happened to you, and she loves Damon with all her heart and it’s clear that he loves her too. I don't want to do this anymore... I can't do this anymore... I-"

"Wait a minute. In the time that you and I have known each other you’ve not once mentioned the word “love” before. In fact, you have never even cared for the concept.” He then paused and let out a scoff before saying, “This isn't just about Jasmine, is it. No... you've developed feelings for Lucien, haven't you? You thought you were playing him this whole time… but the truth is, dear daughter, that he’s been playing you.”