Blood Born (The Dark Hills Series Book 1)

by Hana Blue

“Consider this Daniel. The day she no longer loves you. You are fair game.”

  His nervousness quickly phased into rage as I mentioned a day where he would mean nothing to her. The day I longed for greatly. The day that she would no longer long for him,, and that I could be all that she would need or want. That would be the day where I could actually be an untroubled man.

  If anything could save me from the eternal hell that I lived with every single moment, it would be her. Her love. The love of the fiercest woman that ever crossed this world.

  “I hate to ruin this moment for you Alpha, but our Luna needs finding.” Ethan interrupted, taking a step towards me, who still held Daniel suspended by the neck.

  “You hear that ginger? My luna.” I scoffed at him. Releasing him to the ground like a sack of vegetables.

  Rising to his feet, he rubbed his neck and hissed.

  I looked around me once more, sucking in a deep breath to locate her scent again, and charged into the trees. My body now growing weak from the battle and the running, forcing me back from the beast I had just been. Back down into a man.

  Eagerly, I picked up my pace as her presence fell around me.

  “Dominic?”

  I spun around, Ethan and Daniel halting in place. Aine’s tear filled voice bounced off our ears.

  “AINE!” I shouted into the sky. Calling out to her achingly.

  Spinning wilding, scanning the dense trees for her. I finally saw her bare, broken figure appear, and I felt overjoyed. Before I even knew what I was doing, my body took control, causing me to charge at her, quickly closing the gap between us.

  As I made it in front of her, Daniel swooped in, in front of me, wrapping his arms around her. Quickly I reached for the back of his head to pull him away from her, but to my surprise, she beat me to it.

  Throwing the man from her, she gave a shove, causing him to lose balance as she leaped into my arms. Her own wrapping around my torso, holding me like I was her lifeline, her very last breath. Her face nuzzled into my bare chest, and I crushed her into me.

  “Are you ok?” I breathlessly questioned her. And she nodded.

  I felt a faint smile form against my chest. “You came to look for me.”

  Her soft voice sounded grateful as she whispered into my skin. Appearing she expected me not to.

  “Of course I did.” Was the only reply I could muster, far too lost in the feeling of her in my arms safe.

  She pulled her face away, taking the back of her hand and rubbing her nose. Then she looked up to me, and her face hardened before a shriek escaped her lips.

  “Damien.” She muttered at me, causing me to release her. Taking a step back.

  “What did you call me?” I growled to her.

  “Damien. You—- you look like….”

  “My father?” I finished her sentence and her eyes grew wide.

  Bitterness and bile filled my throat at the mention of my deceased father. This would be the second time today that I had been called by his name, and the daunting memory of loosing him forever sunk in deep. I snarled at her, but she stood unwavering.

  “Damien is your father?” She whispered, almost knowingly. Her eyes lighting up as she looking into mine in what almost looked like a realization of sorts.

  “We need to get back to the pack house before he does.” She muttered again, turning to run back in the way we had came. Ethan looked to me with concern and I shook my head.

  “My father is dead!” I hollered at her. Causing her to turn back to me as she ran.

  “Oh, no, he’s not.”

  Twenty

  Evil Made

  DOMINIC ~

  Alive? No. That couldn’t be possible. Sprinting behind her, the others following suit; I tried to call out to her. Beckoning her to stop and explain, but they left it on deaf ears. Driven by great determination, she pushed towards the pack house, taking the shorter way through the forest. My thoughts were unbearable as I remembered my mother telling me I would never see my father again. Feeding me the story of his death with such sadness and regret. It couldn’t be possible he was alive. The Blood Born killed him when they had attacked years ago. He fell by their hands. There was no fathomable way that he could have been alive this whole time.

  If he had been, why would he never reach out to me. Why would he stay far away from his own family? It had been such a long time; I didn’t remember much of my father, other than he was a loving man. One I couldn’t believe to abandon his own children and mate. I refuse to believe that.

  However, I realize the answers that I am looking for, landed at the end of this trail. If Aine is indeed correct, and this man who supposedly is my father would come for her tonight. Which only left another web of questions to torment me. How did Aine know him? What was her connection to him, and why would he be going to the pack house for her?

  * * *

  AINE~

  A soft knocking sounded from my door as I finished pulling my jeans over my damp skin. Tacky from the shower I had just taken to soothe my aching muscles. Dominic had joined me, and made all attempts not to be distant, but I could sense that there was monumental pain haunting him, no doubt from the news of his father, if he truly believed him dead.

  I couldn’t imagine myself what emotions that kind of revelation would conjure up. After he had gotten out of the shower, he left me to regroup with his pack and discuss the recent knowledge he had.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  The rapping at the door sounded again. I rolled my eyes and sighed, realizing that it couldn’t be Dominic. He wouldn’t bother knocking, well he had bothered no time before, so why would he now.

  “Just a second.” I called out. Pulling a T-shirt over my head and straightening it. Taking one last look in the mirror to make sure I looked presentable before padding my way over to the door. With a soft creaking, I pulled it open and was met with a gentle smiling face.

  “Can I come in?” Caireen muttered unsettlingly, and I nodded, pulling the door open wider for her to enter. Making herself at home, she crossed the room and plopped herself down onto the bed, scrunching up her nose.

  “What?” I questioned her, taking in her repulsed expression curiously.

  “Your bed smells like man stink.” She answered honestly with a giggle. Pinching her nose with her thumb and finger. I shook my head at her playfully and came to sit next to her.

  “I’m sorry, Aine.” She whispered, dropping her hands into her lap where she picked at her nails.

  “For what?”

  She turned to face me, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t enjoy fighting with you.” She finally stated, looking at me for forgiveness. When yet again, it wasn’t my forgiveness that was needed. It was I who needed hers.

  I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my side, resting my head on hers. Holding her close to me. “I’m sorry too, Caireen.” I muttered into her hair, kissing the top of her head. She wrapped her dainty arms around me and squeezed. And just like that, we sat for a long while. Letting the silence and the embrace wash away the anger, letting peace and forgiveness warm the surrounding air.

  “You know, I named you after our mother.” I murmured down to her, a tear pooling in the corner of my eye. I wasn’t sure why I told her, but my mouth worked quicker than my mind, and I just did. For so long I kept the past under lock and key. Barricading it into my subconscious where it couldn’t haunt her. Where she could live normal and free without having to know the memories of her infancy. Maybe now it was time for her to know. Maybe she deserved to know.

  I knew all too well, if Damien was to come back the pack house, a whole flood of history would crash down on all of us. Including her. I guess I figured hearing some of it from me first would help ease the blow that was to come.

  “You named me?” She asked, swallowing hard, pulling herself away just enough to look up at me, but I couldn’t look at her. Lifting my chin, I looked out into the bare room and held her tight.

  “Yes, I did. I
did everything in my power to protect you, to keep you alive, even if it meant that I would die, even now, I would do it all over again. It wasn’t fair to you to have to be raised by you or own sister. I should have been your friend, not your guardian.” I choked down a sob and sighed.

  “Tonight you may meet a man that means very much to the both of us. He is the reason that the two of us survived the night our parents died. He may tell you pieces of our past you don’t want to hear, but I beg you to understand that all I have ever done, all the evil, was to protect you.”

  She nodded slowly, letting out a sniffle. “I love you Aine.” She whispered.

  “I love you too.” I replied finally looking down at her. Those same beautiful innocent eyes that looked up at me as a baby, looked up at me now as a grown woman. “Do you remember when you were little? When you used to take your markers and color flowers all over my arms, using my scars as the stems? You used to say you were making them more beautiful.”

  Caireen nodded, looking down at my arm. “You wouldn’t tell me how you got them, and everyone I asked said it wasn’t their place.”

  I nodded with a hollow chuckle. “This one arm.” I noted, lifting the more marred one up a little, the one she used to draw on. “Was the arm I held you with, using it as a shield to keep you unharmed as I fought our way out of the battle. It looks the way it does, because I wouldn’t let them touch you. Every mark as a testament of how much I loved you, how much I love you.”

  Tears slid down her face as she traced the flower tattoos that now covered many of the scars, much like she used to draw. In fact, that’s why I got them. A tear fell from her chin down onto the center of a soft watercolor daisy that bloomed on my forearm.

  “I’ve been hard on you, Caireen, but I was so afraid that I would lose you. That something would happen, and they would take you away from me forever. I need you much more than you even know. You’ve been my strength and the driving force that kept me moving forward, even when I wanted to give up all of these years. I can’t imagine a world where I don’t have you here to protect.”

  As I spoke I heard my voice crack as my own tears forms and flooded down my cheeks. “Now stop apologizing to me. I am the one who owes you millions of apologies. So Caireen, will you forgive me? For hiding things from you, from lying to you, for stopping you from living your own life because of my own fears?”

  “Of course I do!” She sobbed out, pulling me in closer, holding on for dear life as we cried together.

  The soft pattering of heals echoed out in the hallway, causing us to pull apart and collect ourselves. Giggling amongst each other as we wiped our noses and eyes, realizing how silly we looked.

  “Aine dear, there’s the elderly gentleman at the door for you. Calls himself Damien Echo.” Lilith peaked into the room with a sweet grin. I gave her a smile and hopped off the bed, giving Caireen’s hand a quick squeeze as I did.

  “Thank’s Lilith.” I remarked, walking past her, bumping her with my hip playfully.

  My heart pounded in my chest nervously as I walked down the hallway to the staircase. As I descended the stairs, I felt like I would pass out from the uncertainty building in my gut. Right out that front door was the man who had saved my life, who I now know to be the father of my mate. So many questions and reservations pooled within me as I made it to the front door, my thoughts racing wildly.

  What was I to say to him?

  With one last deep breath, clenching my eyes closed tight, I pulled the massive door open. Opening my eyes, letting them fall on the man who was sitting on the front step, a cigarette hanging from his fingers. His wavy hair pushed back behind him.

  Here we go.

  Closing the door behind me softly, I walked out onto the porch. The click of the doors finally shut causing him to look back at me, where he smiled genuinely. Patting the step next to him.

  “I see you made it home safely.” He commented as I took a seat next to him, nodding.

  “You’re a father.” I blurted out, catching him off guard. His demeanor shifted, and a sadness washed over him as he took a drag off of his cigarette.

  “Yeah, I was.” He agreed with a nod. “I had a son, a few years older than you. And a daughter I never got to meet.”

  I scoffed, shaking my head. “A son named Dominic?” I questioned, looking over to him confidently. Determined to get the truth.

  His eyes grew wide as he heard Dominic’s name. Looking at me like he had just seen a ghost. “You know my son?” He asked shakily, his voice breaking.

  I nodded, scoffing again. Watching as he searched my face for further information. His eyes crying out in agony. With a deep breath, mocking how he questioned earlier, I tapped my neck. The tips of my fingers bouncing off of the mark on my neck.

  “I know your son.”

  Damien bolted to his feet, his eyes still wide and panicked. “That’s why.” He grumbled under his breath, reaching up to clutch his hair in his fists. The family resemblance much more clear. Looking at him now, I could see clear as day, Dominic was no doubt his son. Their features so similar, the ebony hair and icy eyes. The mannerisms so much the same.

  Dominic seemed to very much be the younger version of his father, which cleared up a minor wonder in my mind about what Dominic was, and why I felt his beast form was familiar. He got it from his father. Though I was still uncertain what either of them were, at least I had a connection why Dominic was what he was.

  “I did what I promised, I came and made sure that you were ok. I have to go now.” Damien remarked, looking around him frantically.

  * * *

  DOMINIC ~

  “So what you are saying is, your father might be alive. He just disappeared?” Dylan asked calmly, climbing from his bike. I nodded, getting off mine, looking out into the back courtyard of Micheal’s pack house.

  “That makes little sense.” Ethan added, straightening the collar of his jacket. “Your father wouldn’t have just left you guys. She could just be confused, she has had a lot of traumas.” He then added with a shrug.

  “If Aine says Damien is alive, he’s alive. I trust our Luna.” Allea remarked, going to stand next to her mate, shooting me a prideful glance. Making it more than clear that her opinion would stand unchallenged.

  “I agree.” Ciri added with a nod. “I trust her.”

  “I guess I’m outnumbered.” I grumbled, brushing my hair back with my fingers, trying to make light of the situation. “Is this how it’s going to be now? Everyone is on her side now?” I chuckled out my query, bringing a unanimous nodding amongst them.

  “She’s a hell of a lot nicer than you, so yes.” Allea spat, strumming her fingers on her hips sassily.

  I rolled my eyes and scoffed at her. Of course she would be a constant bitch to me, but stand on Aine’s side. Hell, she doesn’t even know Aine, none of them really do, but they will blindly trust her just because she was their Luna. That says a lot about Aine’s character though. She instills a feeling of trust and security just by being around, something I admire. She commands respect and they follow, even bossing no one around, or proving she is stronger or more powerful.

  She earns it just by being her. She has no front, no drive to prove herself like I did. She just was, and what she was drew others in helplessly.

  Rubbing my hand over my face and down to my neck, I sucked in an irritated breath. “I’m going to go find her now.” I remarked and left the group, eager to get away from them. Feeling a little betrayed that Aine would receive more respect than I have, but maybe it was because she was a woman. Naturally the women of my pack would gravitate to her. Maybe that was what my pack needed, they needed a female to look to, one that they could trust.

  As I made it up to the back door, I heard Aine’s voice sounding stressed from the front of the house. Her tone was rough and agitated. I redirected myself to walk around the side of the house, the closer to the front of the house I got, the clearer her words became.

  “Don’t be a fucking coward.
That’s your damn child. How long do you plan to hide? Huh? Do you realize that he believes you are DEAD! Dead! You let your own son believe that his father died years ago, but no, you’ve been out playing knight in shining armor, hiding away.” Aine practically screamed through hushed tones and my blood ran cold.

  There was absolutely no question in my mind who she was talking to, but still a part of me wanted to deny that.

  “He can’t see me yet Aine, don’t you get it, I’m trying to protect him, much as I protected you. I have always been here, making sure the both of you were safe. Now, I have to continue to do that. I have to go.”

  I heard my father’s voice, a voice I hadn’t heard since I was a child and my heart shattered in my chest. I bolted to the front of the house, determined to see him. To confirm that was truly the man that I heard. I rounded the corner and saw the back of the man that carried Aine away, Aine standing in front of him, her fists clenched at her sided, a murderous expression on her face.

  Once I was in front of the house completely, she looked over at me and her eyes filled with regret. And he noticed. Slowly I watched the man turn to face me, and my knees almost buckled. Standing there in front of me was indeed my father. My dead father.

  Talking with my mate about protecting us.

  “Dominic.” He muttered, his face twisting with pain.

  Silently I took a step forward, looking into the aged version of the face I looked up to as a young child. The living, breathing man that I so achingly tried to be as I grew up. The unseen marker for my growth. The driving force to be the alpha that I was, to take his place. When he wasn’t even really gone.

  Anger boiled in my throat, and what should have been a touching reunion of father and son, turned into an uncontrolled rage on my part. A low snarl ripped from my throat and I took another step closer, mind over matter driving me to fight him. To take out the pain of loosing him I had held onto for so long.

  My sight went black and the only thing I could feel was my livid hatred. Never even noticing that Aine stood in front of me until I felt her hands on my chest. The lock I had on my father broke and I looked down into her pleading eyes. Looking up at me, begging me to calm down. Begging me not to hurt him.