Alpha Tristan

The next time I saw my mother was early into the next afternoon.

Tristan had gone on a meeting with his beta, Christian, which meant I was home alone. I had been deciding how to add a bit of life to the house. While the dark colours he had decorated with had a certain appeal, I noticed that he had no pictures up, not even of his parents. It made the house appear one dimensional with no emotional depth or warmth. 

I was in the middle of purchasing picture frames when a knock reverberated through the room. I placed my phone down on the coffee table and jumped up to pull open the door. Two pairs of eyes settled on me and my heart almost dropped to the floor when I caught sight of Matthijs' frown. 

"Are you okay?" I could barely finish my sentence before my mother brushed passed me with a stiff smile. 

"I-I had to tell him who your father was." The sadness was back in her deep brown eyes. "I'm pretty sure that's a huge dealbreaker for him."

Matthijs' frown deepened. "Dahliah, stop. I just wanted to get a good look at her." His gaze turned to me and there was a heavy silence in the air as his grey eyes seemed to zero in on every inch of my face. He stepped forward and I held my breath at the suddenness of it all. 

I knew it would have happened sooner or later, but I was expecting it to be later—much later. It hadn't even been twenty four hours and they seemed on the verge of their first argument. 

"I grew up with your father." Matthijs' voice was deep and quiet. "I witnessed the horrible change in him and all his cruelty. You don't look like you have a bad bone in you, Luna." His eyes were soft and he quickly glanced to my mother. "It isn't a dealbreaker for me. I don't see him in her."

There was a sense of relief that crossed my mother's face. But I watched her closely to see if she would defend him like she always did. I hoped she wouldn't because the last thing Matthijs needed to witness was her fierce loyalty to such a cruel man. 

"You grew up with Sam?" there was a wistful undercurrent in her tone and I stilled. "He was a sweet man when I met him. Before I was pregnant with Kara. He loved me—I'm sure of that."

Even if Matthijs said it wasn't a dealbreaker for him, I could tell he was having a hard time coming to terms with it all. I watched him sympathetically. 

"I know what kind of man he was. We were friends once. But that was before he turned into a monster. Before he murdered my parents."

I gasped at Matthijs' confession and glanced at my mother to see her expression. Her eyes were wide in shock and she seemed frozen in her spot. Matthijs' eyes held the same haunted look that Tristan's did. He too had lost loved ones at the hands of the cruel alphas. 

At that moment, my Luna instincts kicked in and I wrapped my arms around him. He seemed taken aback by the sudden show of affection but after a few long moments, he patted my back. 

"I'm okay, Luna. I've had many years to come to terms with it all. Nineteen years to be exact." He placed a hand on my shoulder and I pulled back with a deep frown. 

"I might not be able to feel your pain, but I feel Tristan's." I put some distance between us again. "I'm sorry you had to suffer at his hands. I'm sorry the whole pack had to suffer."

Matthijs forced a smile on his face, but it seemed pained. His stormy eyes settled on my mother again. "You having a child that it isn't mine was never going to be a dealbreaker or problem for me. You may have known Samuel before it all happened, but what is a dealbreaker for me is if you hold onto the memory you have of him."

It all seemed to dawn on my mother. 

"I won't be your mate if you're in love with another man. I would rather spare myself the heartbreak." His tone held a sense of finality. "But if that wasn't enough to open your eyes to who he truly was, maybe this will." He unzipped his jacket and pulled up his shirt to reveal his abdomen. 

My mother's gasp overpowered mine. 

From his hip bone to his lowest rib, his skin was marred. It looked as if a large wolf had dug his canines into his body with the intent to kill. I had no idea how he was still alive. My mother stepped towards him and her fingers lightly brushed over his skin. 

He stared down at her and there was no missing the look of longing, mixed with pain in his eyes. It was familiar to me because it was exactly how Tristan looked at the beginning of our relationship. A deep urge rose within me to tell my mother to not make the same mistakes I did. 

"If you think Samuel killing my parents was cruel. He tried to kill me when I tried to get him away from my mother." His hand covered hers and I suddenly felt like I was intruding on a personal moment between them. "I only survived because my mother sacrificed herself for me."

"Why?" my mother choked out. "Why did he do that?"

"My parents were the only ones brave enough to stand up to him. He agreed with the neighbouring pack's alpha that Alpha Tristan deserved to die. Killing them outed the alphas' plans and they couldn't attempt to kill a young boy undetected."

A deep pain surged through my c.h.e.s.t at the thought of Tristan dying, and I suddenly found myself grateful for the tragic sacrifice Matthijs' parents made. They had unknowingly given me the chance to meet my mate. It made me realise that rather than this pack being built on death and cruelty, it was built on sacrifice and loyalty. 

Tristan must have felt my pain because his voice was in my mind seconds later.  'Kara, what's wrong? Are you okay?'

I blinked and brought myself back into the room. My mother stepped onto her tiptoes and pulled Matthijs into a passionate kiss. I quickly turned around before I could see any more and spoke in the link with Tristan. 

'I'm okay. I'm with my mother and Matthijs. I don't want to interrupt your meeting.'

'There's nothing to interrupt. I'm coming to you, αγάπη μου.'

I chanced a glance over my shoulder to see them still kissing, and before I could feel any more uncomfortable, I grabbed my jacket and left the house. I had only made it passed the gates when Tristan approached me, his arms coming around my shoulders. 

Before I could say anything, he checked me over in a slight panic and only seemed to relax when I cupped his face in my hands. "Tristan, I'm okay— really . Matthijs was telling my mother who my father truly was." My voice lowered to a very quiet murmur. "How he almost killed you."

Tristan frowned deeply. "Don't tell me your mother is defending him right to Matthijs' face." He seemed concerned for Matthijs and his alpha persona shone through as he seemed protective over the older man. 

I shook my head to reassure him. "I think she's understanding that he wasn't who she fell in love with. I left when they started kissing."

He sighed in relief and pulled me against his c.h.e.s.t. "Your mother is the last person I want to disrespect, but her blind loyalty to Carew makes me so angry and I hate that side to me. The side the rumours exaggerate."

I tilted my head to look up at him and I frowned. "I'm sorry, Tristan. I'm sorry that she's tried to come between us."

He closed his eyes and sighed softly. "It's not your fault, Kara. None of it worked." His lips pressed firmly against my forehead and he took in the scent of my mango-scented hair product. "There is nothing that could keep me away from you."

I went to kiss him when the front door opened behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Matthijs holding my mother's hand. I didn't take the time to acknowledge their disheveled appearance when they approached us.

"I'm going to stay with Matthijs, sweetheart. We all need our own space." There was a spark of life in my mother's eyes again and I quickly noticed how much she needed to find her mate—for her own sanity. She directed her gaze at Tristan. "I want to apologise to you—sincerely. It's hard to let go of someone that you've held onto for more than twenty years. But, I'm going to try."

Tristan looked wary but he regarded her with a brief nod. "That's all I want."

My mother mustered up a smile and then turned to me to pull me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around her frame and rested my head on her shoulder. The hug was warm and lasted for a few moments before she stepped back, taking Matthijs' hand again. 

"I'll see you later, sweetheart."

I smiled. "Bye, Mum."

When they walked through the gates, Tristan reached down for my hand and pulled me towards the front door of the house. He threw me a glance over his shoulder. "My schedule is free for the next two hours until training starts. Do you want to watch a movie?"

I shrugged my jacket off and looked towards the box of movies that Brielle had brought over weeks ago. It had been untouched since my time was preoccupied with many other things, mainly Tristan. I nodded as he crouched down in front of the fireplace, setting the wood alight. 

Picking out The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I placed it in the DVD player before kicking off my shoes and walking towards him. He pulled me into his arms as he laid back on the sofa. I rested my head on his c.h.e.s.t and my gaze flickered to my phone on the table. 

I suddenly remembered what I was doing before Matthijs and my mother came. "Tristan?" I tilted my head upwards to look at him and he hummed in response as the opening credits played. "How come you don't have any pictures hung up?"

He lifted his hand to gently play with my hair. "I'm not a pictures sort of guy, αγάπη."

I turned my body to meet his gaze properly. "Not even of your parents?"

He sighed. "I have pictures of my parents—a whole album full before their deaths. But, I'm never going to put them up. It's too painful of a reminder." His icy blues were staring into mine and he pulled at a curl, focusing on the way it bounced away from his fingers. 

Deciding to not take it any further, I turned back around and focused on the television. A few long moments passed before Tristan settled his hands on my shoulders and sat up.

"Wait here." He murmured quietly, striding up the stairs a few seconds later. He only took a minute and came back with a photo album that was thinner than most. 

That alone tugged at my heart painfully. Their life as a family was cut short and I was sure that they didn't get near to enough memories together. I sat up properly as Tristan took a seat and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. He pulled me closer as his fingers brushed over the writing engraved on the cover. 

οικογένεια πρώτα.

"What does that mean?" I looked up at him and a wistful smile was on his face. 

"It means 'family first'." He turned the cover and showed me the first picture.

I gasped quietly and I didn't even have to ask who the people were since Tristan looked identical to his father. They had the same silky black hair and expressive azure eyes. His smile was what took me away first though. It was a smile of pure happiness and I knew that it was the day Tristan was born. 

His mother, a true beauty, was standing beside his father with a baby Tristan cradled to her c.h.e.s.t. Her dark brown hair was wavy and equally dark eyes were captivating as she smiled softly at the camera. I could tell they weren't in Greenland because there wasn't a fleck of snow in sight. 

"Your parents were so beautiful." I leaned my head on his shoulder and lifted my hand to touch the picture. "Were you born in Greece?"

He nodded and tenderly brushed his fingers over his mother's face. An ache pulsed in my c.h.e.s.t and I knew it wasn't my own. Glancing up at him, I tucked my legs under my body as I sat up higher. Resting my elbow on his shoulder, I combed my fingers through his soft hair in a gesture of comfort. 

"My family came to Greenland when my great great grandfather settled here with his mate. My father went back to Greece six years before he was going to be alpha." His gaze dropped to his father's grin and he smiled softly back. "It was there he met my mother and they stayed there for a few years. I was born in Chania, a city in Crete. We came to Greenland when I was two years old…my father died four years later."

I hugged him tighter and he turned the page. The next photographs saw Tristan slowly grow up and it all came to an end with a final picture of him and his parents together. It must have been the last time they were all together and happy. 

There was a sense of numbness in his c.h.e.s.t and he closed the album with a rueful smile. "I miss them so much. I wish you could've met them—they would've loved you." He glanced up at me and pressed his lips to mine softly. "You would've loved them too."

I cradled his face in my hands. "I wish I did. They would be proud of the man you've become Tristan. I'm proud of who you are."

Before meeting him, I had allowed the rumours I had heard to form an opinion of him. A wholly incorrect opinion since the rumours demonised him. They made him appear as a cruel and cold hearted monster who left death in his wake. I had been so terrified of who I had heard about because I couldn't imagine someone being that evil. 

It was why I resisted against the mate pull so much. I didn't want a soulmate who had become so used to death and even brought it upon people by the hundreds. I hated the fact that I was the one who was forced to feel things for someone so malign. I was torn between wanting to hate him and what the mate pull forced me to feel. 

I had no idea that I had determined his character so incorrectly. He didn't leave death in his wake, he was tormented by it. He wasn't evil, he was a victim of it. He wasn't a monster. 

His heart was cold, but for good reason. And that didn't change the fact that even cold hearts yearn for love. 

Tristan deserved to be loved. He deserved love in all its entirety, pure and fierce. 

"You're everything to me, Kara." His eyes shone with honesty. "If I didn't meet you…" he trailed off, leaning in to kiss me delicately. "I'm  so  glad I met you."

He gently placed the photo album on the coffee table and reached for the remote to pause the film we had forgotten about. Laying me down across his l.a.p, he lightly c.a.r.e.s.sed my cheek and lowered his mouth to mine. 

The kiss was slow and deep, and when he pulled back, he gazed at me almost reverentially. I pushed the fallen strands of his hair back from his forehead and stared back at him. Emotion swam in his deep blue eyes and I sighed into the air. 

I didn't know how to decipher it, but it felt strong and unwavering. 

"I'm pretty sure we're not going to finish this film." He lightly exhaled a laugh and then cleared his throat to break the silence. "Can I take you somewhere instead?"

I slowly smiled at him. "Are you asking me out on a date, Tristan?"

"I am." He nodded and smoothed his hand over my hair. "Are you going to say yes?"

I leaned up and locked our lips for a brief moment. "Always."