Chapter 52|The Traitor.

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**Isabelle's P O V.

"Welcome back, Luna." The old seer's thin lips pulled into a wide smile as she held the thick, all-too-familiar ancient parchment between her fingers. For a frail woman who appeared to be light-boned, Old Ynes possessed a bewildering amount of strength to be able to hold the heavy object as she was doing.

"I've saved you the trouble of securing it back, your grandfather is awaiting your return. Come," She looked over my head and saw Francis staring oddly at her. "You forgot to mention your friend. Welcome young man, I've always heard stories about the De Luca Pack Beta's courage and charm and I believe in the stories even though I've never beheld any of his heroic acts. I believe you're Francis Rossi, the man with a tinge of the Opium Pack blood running through his veins and of a lineage of Faeries among his ancestors, just like our darling Luna here."

Her words made me turn to look at him once again. I've ways felt a strong sense of kinship towards him but never thought it actually went way back to such an extent.

I skirted away as she took his palm into hers smiling jovially. "You'll fall headfirst into it and soon she'll come barging your way." The seer's words were lowly spoken and the smirk on her lips never wavered as she spoke in riddles.

Without bothering to explain further she ushered us both out of her hut and into the Knight family residence where my grandfather preferred over the Pack's main manor.

I thought of how some things never changed while a lot did, tremendously. The buildings were all renovated to a modern style like the other buildings I came across in New York unlike how they were when I left several years ago, ten years ago, turning eleven in a few days. Francis was quiet beside me until we were only a door away from my grandfather.

Old Ynes urged us in after pushing her head through.

When I went in all I could see were memories of my mother, father, uncle, grandmother and grandfather. My whole family.

My eyes tinged as I stared at the lying figure of my grandfather, the hurt and pain of the cause of his accident hurtled itself at me making me feel like the wound was torn open and had salt poured over it. I felt like screaming at the top of my lungs and avenging my loved ones for the evil done to them.

"My little Red." He whispered, his hands opening up to accomodate me and I didn't hesitate one bit in rushing into his arms as though we were never separated despite how dirty I felt and actually appeared. I laid my head on his chest feeling the bum-pa-dum beat of his heart. I felt his lips pressing on the center of my head.

He pulled me back, gave me a once over and a frown settled over his features naturaly. I noticed his lips slightly parted, knowing he was about to comment on my appearance I beat him to it.

"It's a long story Pa but I'm unharmed, I promise you this. Meet Francis, the De Luca Pack Beta." I urged him closer by gesturing with my hand.

"Oh I know who he is, he was here yesterday with his Alpha." My grandfather's announcement sounded bizarre to my ears. I whiplashed to Francis so fast and all he did was nod before exchanging pleasantries with the bedridden man.

The two explained everything to me including how Alexander heard from Francis about my disappearance.

"Speaking of which, I need to apprise him about you being here, I left him on the verge of running mad." Francis suggested, pulling out his phone before his fingers went bearing on his screen fastly in a way that indicated that he was typing a message to Alex.

"Done, he'll hear of the details when we return. We need to return to NYC as early as possible or he'll turn the world upside down looking for us." Francis surmised after putting his phone into his pocket.

I nodded in agreement and felt a slight pull on my hand that had my grandfather's tight grasp on it.

The former Alpha asked for a detailed narration of everything I've been through from the moment Alpha Alexander found me, or rather, the moment I found him at the Forest till date. Myriads of expressions flicked on his face as I went on about everything that happened, Leah's betrayal included.

Francis got livid to the burning point at hearing that point in words, he cursed, muttered profanities at the men involved in the betrayal but most of all the part she took in it.

"I was with her just before I caught you in the woods, she was acting devastated. I would've strangled her when I had the chance to. Fuck! What did she do?" He fumed.

"She clouded me with false information. I don't know why I took it to my head but she hurt me, said that Alexander had claimed Arabella as his. I felt dazed like my thoughts were foggy, she assured me that she knew the perfect place for me to stay at to get past his acclaimed betrayal. She took me from Alexander's penthouse at Manhattan assuring him that I was safe with her. The only thing I could remember was getting into the car, when I woke up next I was chained to the wall in a stinking dungeon and Skorr was ordering the ways to torture me and have me speak."

Francis clamped his jaw hard, "Whoever brainwashes and manipulates them must be very clever."

"It's none other than the man who killed Stephano de Luca with his bare hands. None other than the man who was behind my family's downfall and whose hands are tainted with too much blood they reek of it." Christopher Knight's gaze turned bleak as his lips parted to speak, "When I ruled the Bane Pack, I ruled alongside Martin Sebastian Miles, he was a man of honor and integrity, a man I trusted more than anything. With Stephano de Luca on our side the three of us could've conquered the world if we wanted to, but we didn't. We were contented with what we had, we were utterly comfortable but as Old Ynes once said, do not let your heart rule you for it will ruin you. When I heard those words the first time I did not comprehend the depth of their meanings but a short while later I did." He paused and a very distinct nod from the seer had him speaking, this time louder.

"My daughter, her husband, as well as five more highly respected and greatly loved pack members were lost the moment one Pack member of a high rank let their heart rule him. Martin's wife, Vanessa was the cause of their deaths all because she wanted her granddaughter to be betrothed to the de Luca Pack Alpha and not my granddaughter. You see, initially the betrothal was for the De Luca Pack heir and the first daughter gotten from the Bane Pack's Alpha or Beta, true her daughter conceived first but my daughter gave birth first at seven months and it got her enraged. She felt like her right was being wrenched from her grasp forcefully. Old Beatriz was there, she helped your mother with your impromptu birth. Her labor came as a surprise to each and every one of us." His dark eyes had a strange tinge to it, recounting the days obviously brought forth the emotions he felt then back to him now.

"Vanessa never for once acted like she hated you, you grew up alongside Arabella with nothing but sleep keeping you apart but I noticed her slight withdrawal after your birth, she became strangely but not noticably detached. I couldn't find any basis for my observation so I let it be as it was."

"Years later, after the incident that took away my Pack members, My son Alpha Drake traced the source of his sister's death and found it to be the former Beta's wife, Vanessa. Knowing my knack for compassion he sought out the disciplined Stephano De Luca for advice and found out that he had only two punishments for the woman, to kill or to banish her to the former Octagon Pack's ground, the Forest of Doom. He chose the latter to favor Martin and as a show of respect towards the man he held in great esteem. But Martin didn't see the good that was done to him, it changed him from the trustworthy man we knew and so he took his granddaughter away as part of the punishment lest aggrieved Pack members take matters into their hands and kill them. They sought refuge in the Lichen Pack after his daughter, Arabella's mother died of grief, Arabella was raised by her aunt, Julie, wife of the Lichen Pack's Delta while Martin planned his conspiracies elsewhere, no one saw him for a while until the day he returned to me pleading to be forgiven."