Chapter 11. The Alpha's Father

* Isabella *

"Welcome to the Alpha house of the North Miss Bannister! This is a surprise; you should have informed me so that my son was here to greet you."

The old man walks down the stairs at a fast pace followed by the butler of the house who looks at us with a question written all over his face. Two servants greeted us at the entrance of the Alpha house aside from the guards standing on the gates. As expected of the father of the Alpha, he exudes power and authority unmatched by humans like us.

"Oh, it is alright Mister Vernice. There is an urgent matter that I must discuss with you or with your son. Regardless of who among you would help me in this desperate time."

His eyes turned wide and the gasp coming from my cousin Richard made me look behind me. He bowed his head to the old man when he stood in front of us.

"Please let us all be seated first. And I wanted to know everything that's on your mind Miss Bannister, I could feel that something terrible must have happened that you needed to come here asking for my help."

The classic comfortable couch of the living room did not help in giving me the strength that I needed. Martha remained standing in the corner so I waved my hand at her so that she could sit on a vacant seat not far away from me. The old man waited for me to get comfortable before sitting down on the opposite couch. He looked at me deeply, and I felt that there was nothing that I could hide from his eyes.

"Tell me what happened Miss Bannister."

His voice is direct and full it reminds me of my father when he used to make me tell the truth.

"The wolves of the South have inflicted so much harm towards my people and in my lands. They claim that it belongs to them, and I flee to save my life. I don't know how many more of my people they have killed just because most of them refused to leave."

His eyes turned wide and a low growl formed in his throat. The scared look on Martha has me worried.

"There are things that we should talk about alone Miss Bannister. Perhaps there is a reason why the Southern wolves made their claim. But hurting the people of your land is inhuman and I cannot tolerate such violence."

His eyes turned towards Richard and Martha. "I will let the maids show them to their rooms while we talk."

There was a hesitant look in Richard's eyes I squeezed his arm and assured him that it was all right.

"Thank you, Mister Vernice."

The old man nods his head and then stays silent until Richard and Martha are no longer in the living room. I couldn't help the tears swelling in the corner of my eyes.

"I just lost my father and now the land that I swore I would protect with my life. It was not long before I buried him and now I just let him down."

"Don't blame yourself Miss Bannister, or can I call you Isabella?"

I nodded my head. Perhaps the things that happened to me removed some of the dislikes that I felt toward the Vernices

"My son is the Alpha of the North now, I am sure that you are aware of that Isabella. However, I will personally investigate this matter. Now I will send my warriors to the lands that belong to your family and investigate with the wolves of the South. The Alpha of that region is not our friend but we have signed a peace agreement in the name of the Alpha King. This matter will be known to him if they fail to give me a good reason for their violence."

His statement although, emphasizing his will against human violence does not convince me that he is on my side. This old Wolf is shrewd and he knows more than I do.

"Thank you, Mister Vernice. I know that it's too late to apologize for my behavior from the last time you visited our residence."

My eyes got misty as I recalled my home and my father, but I bit my lips to keep myself from crying in front of him. I have to be strong and show him that he should side with me.

He looked away and cleared his throat. The sound of footsteps coming from one of the house's help made me turn towards the hallway. She is bringing a tray of two cups of tea.

"Thank you, Amanda."

His voice dismissed the servant quickly as soon as she served the tea on the table in front of us.

"Thank you."

I murmured softly which earned a bow from her.

"I have sent an urgent message to my son who's out with the warriors. He will come tonight so I guess you can get some rest and stay for as long as you can Miss Bannister. The investigation will start tomorrow and you can discuss with my son the details. It would be better if you two get along, an alliance between a human Hunter and an alpha will evoke fear in our enemies."

I looked at him in disbelief but thought of the best way to get back my lands.

"Thank you, Mister Vernice. I am honored to be here and to form an alliance with your son. However, there are no more hunters that left from the Bannister lands except for me and my cousin Richard."

His eyes turned wide as my voice trembled. With the emotions that I am trying to suppress inside my chest.

"It is not important that you are alone. But you have to convince my son to help you, this is not going to be in my hands anymore. The only thing I could do was to influence his decision. You can talk to me after you meet with him. I will help you with your goal and I have a proposition to give you if he refuses to give you a hand."

My eyes saw a bit of hope, I didn't understand why the old Wolf wanted to help me. But I am glad that one of the Vernice is giving me a favorable response. I don't know what to tell him but I could see the sincerity in his eyes. I lost my father on a very unpredictable day of my life, if it is a consolation that the old Wolf is giving me a hand I thank God above for his mercy.

"Get some rest, Isabella, you could use a nap, and don't hesitate to call the servants if you need anything to eat. They will be happy to serve you and your family."

I stand up and look towards the hall where a young girl in uniform is waiting for me.

"I'll be in your guestroom until your son comes. Thank you, Mister Vernice, I am grateful for your help and I will look forward to your preposition. I believe that it would be difficult to convince him to help me."

His eyes glistened. "Don't be so pessimistic Isabella, who knows? My son could be more kind than you think. Although I have given you a plan B it doesn't mean that he won't help you the first time you ask him."

"I hope you're right Mister Vernice."

I bowed my head and took a step back to follow the servant upstairs. The Alpha House is bigger than our mansion however I would not trade the house where I grew up if not for the danger that the wolves of the South inflected on me. My heart beat faster when my eyes caught the portraits hanging on the wall. Mister Vernice, his wife, and his son.

The servant stopped walking and looked back at me, I didn't realize that I was standing still when she let out a sigh I looked at her and followed her to the room intended for me.