Adrianna and Taylor arrived home about 10 minutes later after spending time at my sister Azia's house and was greeted by me, a bloody mess on our bedroom floor. Adrianna sent Taylor away to her room so that she could watch television before tending to my wounds. I was going to have to tell Adrianna the truth about her not being my mate, tell her that she was in possible danger if she stayed with me any longer, to tell her that our entire relationship was nothing but a lie to cover up a truth. But my love for her was indeed real and would never go away for as long as I lived.

"This is a nasty scar Kaiden, you have a knack for attracting trouble, you have to be more careful especially with you being an Alpha," Adrianna said worriedly as she cleaned up the last of my blood from my face.

"You have no idea," I chuckled.

"I was told you had to rush off to some business regarding the Divine Celeste pack, how were things over there?" She asked, trying to distract me from the pain but the pain no longer bothered me. Her face was all I could focus on, the mother of my only child, a lover for all these years, but someone I've neglected for too long and I've only realized now because there might be a chance I'll lose her.

"Adrianna I do love you," I said, clutching her hand into mine as I looked deep into her eyes.

"You know I rarely get the chance to hear you tell me that," She smiled, blushing heavily as she noticed my intense gaze never breaking contact.

I have to tell her.

I have to tell her.

For her own sake, for her own safety.

"Adrianna I have to tell you something that I've been keeping from you for years," I sighed, breaking away at our eye contact.

"What is it? You're kind of scaring me right now," She said worriedly.

I had to do it now.

Now was the moment for this.

"You...are not my true mate Adrianna," I said, closing my eyes, unsure of what to expect next now that the truth was out.

All I knew were that my next possible steps were to protect her and Taylor at all-

"Kaiden I know this already," Her sweet voice filled my ears as my brain couldn't process the words I just heard.

"What?" I asked without a second thought.

She knew.

How did she know?

Why did she know?

All this time I dreaded telling her this and after all this time she already knew? Did she know that Alp- Isis was my mate already? Could she tell from that meeting or did she know before? She couldn't have possibly known before then.

"I knew for a while now that you weren't my mate, at first I didn't want to accept it but then it all started to make sense why you would act weird sometimes towards me but I guess you have your reasons as to why you chose me to be your 'mate' and why you never told me the truth till now," She explained to me.

"How did you even found out?" I asked with a confused expression plastered all over my face.

This wasn't how I thought this conversation was going to go at all.

"You have to promise me that you won't get mad, I know how you get with things," She pleaded as she squeezed my hand.

"Adrianna there are far worst things out there right now to get mad about, the more I know the easier it will make our lives," I said, I didn't understand how it could possibly make me angry.

"Well...Azia was the one that told me one day when Taylor and I were over her house, she told me that she felt as though I had the right to know because she thought it was terrible that 'You were taking advantage of a half breed girl' for whatever reason but I know you would never take advantage of me right?" Adrianna questioned.

I was livid, my blood was boiling, my skin felt hot to the touch and my mind was beginning to go numb as Azia's name continuously rang in my ears.

My own sister.

For years I endured her verbal abuse, allowing her to continue living in the lie she thought was all too real while I took on the imagine of the bad guy and for all of that she does this to me?

I will not allow the abuse any longer.

I stood up from my spot on the floor, startling Adrianna as she stood up hastily with me.

"Kaiden what's wrong?" She asked frantically, unsure as to how I was going to react.

"I need to handle some business for a moment," I growled as I began to advance towards the door.

"You aren't going to visit Azia are you? You promised you wouldn't get mad," She pleaded with me as she tried to pull at my shoulder.

"I said there are far worst thing out there to get mad at but I guess I was wrong," I said, pushing her away and hurriedly made my way down the steps.

Just as I had opened the front door and prepared to step out I heard the pattering of her footsteps down the stairs as she huffed heavily, trying to keep up with my speed.

'WAS SHE WRONG?!" She screamed out as she noticed me stepping out of the door.

"I don't have time for this right now," I huffed, slamming the door behind me.

'Marco, delay the meeting, I have some business I need to attend to with my sister' I spat venomously through the mind link.

'Should I be concerned for Azia?' I heard him interject.

I didn't bother to respond to him because all I had on my mind was reaching my sister and teaching her she could no longer disrespect her Alpha, if she wanted to paint me as the bully then so be it.

I sped through the pack at dangerous speeds for someone to be only walking but my adrenaline was pumping, my blood was flowing painfully through my veins and it felt as though I wanted blood, I wanted someone to feel pain, to feel my pain that I had felt all these years while she was pampered and spoiled because stress could affect a she wolf's ability to give birth to strong pups.

She was a fucking breeding cow.

I finally reached her the front of her house, raising my fist to her door as I hammered down on it, pounding against it so that someone, anyone would come to answer the door to feel my wrath.

Just the person I wanted to see answered the door.

"Who the fuck do you think you are banging on my fucking door like that?!" She snapped as she realized it was I at the door. 

I grabbed for her throat as I advanced through the door and slammed her against the wall, seething with fury as she screamed and struggled against my grip.

"GET OFF OF ME!" She screamed as she clawed at my arm but I felt nothing but rage.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COME BETWEEN ADRIANNA AND I! YOU CROSSED THE LINE AZIA!!" I roared in her face as I moved from the wall and picked her up, slamming her back against her glass table causing it to break from under her.

"You're using that half breed girl for whatever reason and you ruined her life! She deserves to know!" She screamed at me as her face began to turn slightly purple.

"THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!" I roared in her face, pressing her down harder into the broken glass as my fingers dug deeper into her throat.

I felt hands trying to rip me away from my sister, clawing at my back and faint voices from behind me but I couldn't tell whose they were, I was too focused on my sister. Did I want to kill her? Would I be alright if I killed my sister right now? Years of built up jealousy, anger, frustration, abuse and violence all directed towards me while I had to sit back and watch my sister be pampered. All to be labeled a monster and blamed for the death of my parents for the rest of my life.

If only she knew the real reason as to why I murdered them.

I think my mind would be at ease if I allowed her to join our deceased parents.

"ALPHA REMOVE YOUR HANDS FROM MY MATE RIGHT NOW!" I heard a roar behind me as my senses began to return to me and my hearing became sharper. I turned back to see Azia's mate Roman towering over me as his fingernails began to dig into my shoulders and arms, desperately trying to pry my hands from the throat of his mate, despite me being his Alpha.

I looked back down at the face of my sister who now was turning blue from the lack of oxygen.

I contemplated my own sister's murder...was I truly any better than Alpha Isis?

I finally released my grip as she loudly gasped for air, sitting up as she coughed and sputtered, tears falling from her blood shot and irritated.

I felt Roman tackle me to the ground and I looked up to see his eyes darkened, on the verge of shifting which I couldn't blame the guy, I nearly strangled his mate to death but he just didn't understand our difficult history.

"Are you going to kill me like you killed mom and dad?!" She tried to scream out but her vocal cords were too damaged by my own doing.

"You all deserve to be together, one big happy fucking family or so you think!" I yelled as I easily pushed Roman off from me and stood up to get a better look at her.

She had the face of my mother, practically the exact replica of her except for her eyes, she had the same dark grey eyes as my father. Those same eyes that made me fear the color, the same eyes I watched the life drain out of when I stole his last breath. Her face had sharp and prominent features like our mother except for her nose, she had a small button nose just like my mother that my father always hated, he told her it made her look too petite and innocent. He wanted a woman who looked fierce and in charge.

Just like I did my own mother I wanted to strangle her to death with my own bare hands.

If I did it once I had no problem doing it again.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO-" Roman began to scream out but I swiftly charged forward and pinned him against the wall, my elbow jammed into his throat.

"This is business between family and it doesn't concern you, need I remind you that I am your Alpha and you do as you're told," I growled in his face, my tone prominent and deathly nearly similar to Alpha Isis's causing everyone to shudder in fear including my sister.

I released Roman from my grip and watched as he slumped to the ground in obedience not daring to look at me even as I approached my sister.

"You were nothing but a fucking breeding cow to them, all they cared about was hoping that you would find an Alpha mate and give birth to his strong pups, you disappointed them when they found out this piece of work was your mate and not even of Alpha or Beta blood," I snarled at her as she looked up at me with such trepidation and cowardice in her eyes, she didn't want to believe the words I spoke to her. She wanted to continue living in the lie planted in her mind for so long and continue to view me as the big bad wolf that murdered her parents for power but I could see that a small part of her in the back of her mind knew that I was right.

I bent down to her level as I maliciously smiled in her face, leaning ever so closely so that we were inches apart.

"If you ever interject yourself into my family situations ever again I will strangle you just like how I did our mother except I won't be doing it to free you from the pain like I did her, I'll do it and Ill enjoy watching your eyes roll to the back of your head as you take your last breath on this Earth. You will stay far away from Adrianna and Taylor and I never want to see your face ever. Fucking disappointment," I spat in her face, standing up as I walked towards the door to leave.

"Roman you are on leave as of right now, do not return to your duties until I schedule a meeting with you and Nicholas, then we will discuss where to go from there, I suggest keeping your mate in check if you want to continue your ranking this pack," I ordered Roman, looking back at him as he bowed in front of me.

"Yes my Alpha," Was all he said before I walked out of the door, slamming it behind me.

She crossed a boundary, I let her get away with too much for too long all because she was my sister.

No more.

I made my way towards the pack house to attend my own meeting that I decided to last minute conjure up but I couldn't even pay attention to the danger that was ahead currently. Adrianna knew all along that she wasn't my true mate so maybe this could actually help me in aiding to protect her and Taylor, all there o figure out was how.

"Kaiden, is everything alright? I was just about to go to Azia's house to look for you," I walked up to the pack house to see Marco standing at the entrance with a slight concerned look on his face.

"Address me properly, have you gathered everyone?" I asked, ignoring his question towards me.

"Yes everyone is gathered in the meeting room waiting for you Alpha," Marco corrected himself as we walked through the pack house, heading towards the meeting hall.

As we finally reached the hall and opened the door I noticed all of the high ranking wolves such as warriors, commanders and Nicholas all gathered around the table as they all turned to me and bowed in respect.

"All we are missing is Roman Alpha," Nicholas said as he lifted his head back up.

"Roman will not be joining us tonight, he will be placed under investigation to see he is still capable of keeping his rank," I informed the group.

"Did something happen Alpha?" Nicholas asked as we all took our seats.

"He attacked me, nothing more. You will evaluate him and deem whether he is capable or not Nicholas," I dismissed.

"Yes my Alpha, I will get to that right away," Nicholas smiled in my direction, a smile that sometimes made an uneasy feeling settle in my stomach.

"Vial patiently waits for your presence so that she may choose her apprentice to continue on her legacy in your pack," Nicholas reminded me.

Shit.

I had forgot all about that, I was so busy being wrapped up in the drama between Isis and I that sometimes I forget I have an actual pack that I need to run. Nicholas have put me on edge sometimes but he always kept me on top of things, he was one of the most important people to help keep this pack on track and his loyalty would cause him to do anything to keep this pack thriving.

That's one thing I admired most about him.

"Yes that will be my top priority after we discuss these current plans, what we are about to discuss will throw our pack in a tough predicament but I believe we can handle it," I lectured as I looked around the table at all the familiar faces I appointed to hold these powerful positions.

"Alpha, if I may speak out..... there have been rumors that the mate of Alpha Michael of the Divine Celeste pack helped plot against him, leading to his murder," My general of war, Prometheus interjected.

He was a strong and proud man, someone who would rather die than to see wither away. Protecting this pack meant more to him than life itself but he was a quiet and gentle man, preferred gardening with his mate on his free days, always enjoyed nature walks and constantly talked about the beauties of the Earth itself. It made sense because his mate was in charge of our pack's agriculture. He stood nearly as tall as me, deepest shade of brown skin so that whenever he was in the sun there wasn't a blemish nor scar in sight as his skin glistened. He was blind on his left eye but you would never be able to tell due to how he carried himself, losing partial sense only seemed make heighten all his other senses. He'd be able to smell the enemy right before they even came in his peripheral vision and he could hear just how far out they were from us.

The entire room grew deathly silent as they all looked in my direction, eagerly awaiting my response because depending on what I say next could mean dramatic changes for our entire pack. There eyes longed for an answer, hungrily waiting and watching as I delivered the final blow.

"It is true that Alpha Michael and his family have been murdered by none other than Alpha Issac of the Supreme Blood Deity pack, he somehow convinced Luna Astra to aid in the demise of her Alpha but it is unclear whether she truly helped or not but the Divine Celeste pack has fallen and will most likely be under rule of Alpha Issac," I partially lied.

"First the Golden Light pack and now the Divine Celeste pack, that's almost all of the surrounding territories Alpha he must be stopped," Nicholas said with urgency in his voice but it didn't quite reach his eyes, he seemed almost like he was satisfied.

"Could this be a declaration of war from Alpha Issac?" Prometheus questioned. 

"I'm not sure but we are taking it as one, we cannot sit around as he takes control of all surrounding areas. It will only be a matter of time before he gets the courage to try and challenge us, we will beat him at his own game," I shouted out loud, rattling the table as I brought my fist down, shaking everyone to their core. 

"Is a war an appropriate response Alpha?" Nicholas questioned. 

Both Marco and I looked over at Nicholas with curious expressions, wondering what was going through his mind.

"What kind of question is that Nicholas? Don't be so idiotic, this is disrespect indirectly to conquer all surrounding lands," I growled, shooting a glare in his direction which instantly made him quiet down.

"I'm sorry my Alpha," He chimed in. 

"We need to start preparing our warriors for battle, this pack hasn't been in a war this impactful in years and it's time to show those outside what my fathers before me have worked on," I said darkly with a sinister smirk plastered on my face. 

"We need to start training our wolves properly for war, start thinking of battle strategies and plans to possibly infiltrate the areas and seek out Alpha Issac to stop this abomination," I growled. 

"Yes my Alpha!" They all shouted all at once. 

Just then commotion rose up within the room, a wave of nausea washed over me causing me to feel light headed and dizzy.

What was happening? Was is Isis? Was she in danger? She no longer saw me as a mate so what was I to do? 

'Alpha your Luna urgently needs you by her side,'  Vial's raspy voice echoed in my head. 

I rose u[ from my seat almost immediately, the thought of war abandoning my mind and the only thought was to be by Adrianna's side. 

"Marco, Adrianna needs me by her side. You are in charge of this meeting and you will inform me of our next steps once I'm free," I ordered Marco. He bowed his head as he stood up and gently placed a hand on my shoulder for reassurance, telling me everything was going to be okay without actually saying the words. 

I quickly dashed out of the meeting hall and out of the room as I made my way towards my house, faster than the normal speed I usually go. I always had a bad habit at abandoning Adrianna at the worst times, thinking of her as an afterthought because she wasn't my mate but she was still attached to me, she still bore my mark around her neck rather painfully which meant she was attached to me no matter what. 

I burst through the door and up the stairs to see Adrianna lying in bed with Vial at her bedside, mixing liquids together in a cup, requesting for her to drink it. She laid across the bed with such a fragile look to her, reminding me that she was a human. Half human but still very much like a human. 

"Alpha her heart is weak but I am mixing a concoction to give her a bit more strength to make it through," Vial informed me. 

"Adrianna what's wrong? You were fine before I left? What happened?" I urged.

Scared that Isis had something to do with this.

She looked at me with a faint smile as a single tear slid down her face before her smile began to fade. 

"That woman, Ms. Talia, she's your mate isn't she?" She asked me as she looked me dead in my eyes. 

Fuck.