Rhys 🌖

I was pacing in my office, waiting for my parents to arrive. I couldn't help but replay the awful scene from hours ago, When I had to inform all the parents about their children's grave condition.

It was by far, the worst part of being Alpha.

Having to inform any family member about the condition of their loved one.

A soft knock sounded on my door and I stopped pacing "Come in"

My mom poked her head in "Can we talk?"

"Sure" I went to my desk and sat down.

Mom came in and I noticed that Dad was right behind her. They sat down in front of me and I raised an eyebrow "I assume you're here to finally tell me about the Royals?"

They nodded and I continued "And how the Royal Prince was Mated to a Hunter"

Their mouths dropped open wide "How did..."

I rolled my eyes "It isn't hard to figure out Mom. First she refused our help and asked for only protection for her kids. Then Everly stated that her daughter, Kassi, felt off. I had Shawn look into her before..." I trailed off, knowing that they understood what I was about to say and continued "Plus, I'm Pretty sure the old Legend was about them"

"A Royal and Hunter will forever be bound, for they will produce a child that will wear the crown. Once the child meets their Mate, will their destined fate await"

Dad nodded grimly "You're right son. The legend is true"

"But..." Mom said softly "Kassi or her brothers were never supposed to be born" Mom said quietly

"So? She was unplanned? That's common to happen now a days" I stilled, processing what she just said "Wait? Brothers? My report said she only had one?"

Mom shook her head "No son, I'm not talking about an unplanned Pregnancy. I'm talking about how Carrie, Kassi's mother, was physically unable to have children"

"And Kassi has 2 brothers" Dad added with a sad smile "Kassiopeia is the middle child. She had an older brother"

My eyes widened "But...how"

I was absolutely shocked

Dad halted my questions "Let your mother explain"

I nodded but my mind was scrambling with hundreds of questions

This could not be possible

"When Carrie and Nico got married, they started planning for a family right away. No matter how hard they tried, they never could conceive a child. When I found out I was pregnant with you, Carrie was the first person I told. I was just so excited that I didn't think about how painful it must have been for her to watch her best friend have something she'd been wanting to have for a long time. Of course, they were happy for us but they started to lose hope. As a last resort, Nico began praying to the Moon Goddess. Being that he was descended from the first blood lines of Wolves ever created, he felt that he had a special connection with her. According to him, he felt that throughout his life, she was always there watching and guiding him on the right path"

"And boy was he right" Dad chimed in "I swear that Man had Nine lives. He was like a danger magnet. Always getting into trouble. But somehow, every time, he managed to escape unscathed"

Mom smiled "A week after we announced our pregnancy, Carrie found out she was pregnant"

"So if she was pregnant, why aren't there three kids with the Dimitriou last name? Only two?"

"I'll get to that" Mom scolded "Patience is a virtue Rhys, you should get some"

Dad snickered and I shot him a look

"Nico was only suppose to be in town for a month to help situate the rouge problems on your grandfather's land. Nico's pack was stationed primarily in Greece, with a few member scattered around here and there. When he met Carrie, his mate, he ended up staying in the town permanently. They married as soon as Carrie finished college and were temporarily staying in the old Pack House a mile from here until their new house was done with some much needed renovations"

"During that time, Carrie found out she was pregnant and the renovations took much longer than expected. She ended up giving birth to their son in the pack house"

"Did something happen to the child, health wise? I mean, if she carried her child to full term without any complications than why isn't he listed on my reports with the other children?"

Mom started tearing up "After their son was born, a pack of Hunters and rouge wolves attacked Our Pack"

"Nico and I fought our hardest to keep them away from your mother, Carrie, and her baby but nothing worked. For every ten we killed, twenty more would pop up"

Dad winced "One of the hunters shot Nico with something that took him down immediately. He was knocked out for 2 weeks"

"I tried to protect her but they hit me over the head with one of their weapons. The last thing I saw before I went unconscious was Carrie fighting off three wolves" Mom sobbed "The next thing I knew, your father was pulling me and Carrie out of the burning house"

"The lit the house on fire?"

Dad nodded "We're lucky you weren't there Rhys. I don't know if I could forgive myself if I lost you or your mother"

"Where was I?"

"You were at Nana and Papa's house. They've been bugging me about seeing you and something told me to let them babysit you for an hour. I'm glad I listened to my gut feeling"

"And what happened to the baby?"

A stray tear fell down my father's face "I wasn't able to get to the baby in time. I was fighting one wolf while another wolf held on to the baby. Right before I killed the wolf, the one holding the baby jumped into the fire. Ending both of their lives"

My mouth widened in shock and my heart mourned for Kassi and her family.

"A couple of days after the fire was completely put out and it was safe to go in the house, we confirmed that the first born son of Nicolay and Carrie Dimitriou was dead"

"Are you sure it was him? Maybe..."

Dad shook his head "It was him. He was the only baby present at the time"

"How do you know?" I asked, my mind whirling with different possibilities "I mean Hunters are deceitful. Maybe they might have set everything up? I mean, think about it. What would be the motive behind killing the son of the most powerful Alpha in the world? If they were smart, they would have at least kept the kid for ransom or raised it as one of their own"

"Honey..." Mom said quietly "Don't you think we thought about that? Before Carrie became pregnant again, both her and Nico would spend any waking moment they had searching for leads about the attack. They never gave up hope. I don't think they every accepted the fact that their child was gone"

I sighed

Maybe I was just reading too much into the situation. I was over analyzing a situation I didn't even have most of the facts for.

"What was the child's name? Where was he buried? As an Alpha, I would like to honor the Royal Heir and brother of my Mate"

Mom starting crying and Dad gave me a proud yet sad smile "Nico and Carrie thought that it was best for his ashes to be spread in Greece, where his wolf ancestry came from. And as for his name, they never shared it with anyone"

"Anyone? Surely they had to..."

Mom shook her head "No, they didn't tell anyone. Not even Nico's family or Pack. I think it was their way of protecting him, even if he was no longer with us"

I was about to ask more questions when the phone on my desk started ringing.

"Hello?" I asked in annoyance "This better be important"

"Alpha" The Pack Nurse said in excitement "The Betas are waking up!"