Blood Moon's Tears

Sama’el halted his steps as he reached in front of the packhouse. There, his father, Seth, the head of the Wolfen council, stood in front of the front doors, his piercing gaze fixed upon his adoptive son.

“I was waiting, son. Where have you been? You did not inform me that you were going out,” Seth questioned, his voice laced with a mix of concern and authority.

Sama’el hesitated for a moment, his mind racing to find the right words. “I had important business to take care of,” he replied, his voice tinged with an air of secrecy.

“What was so important, and why do you smell like that? Where did you go? What did you kill? I don’t remember raising such a selfish child. You went hunting and didn’t bring back anything for the pack?” Seth’s voice held a hint of disappointment and frustration.

Sama’el took a deep breath, struggling to meet his father’s intense gaze. “Oh, I hunted,” he admitted reluctantly. “But I couldn’t bring those things back to the pack.”

“Those things? What are those things? I’m sure ‘those things’ have a name,” Seth pressed, his tone growing more stern.

“Listen, old man,” Sama’el began, his voice trembling with a mixture of defiance and sorrow. “I’m going to save you the trouble, okay? I see the hurt in your eyes. You know fully well that the blood coming off me is not normal animal blood. In fact, I know that you are aware of what I really killed. And before you use your abilities on me and break my mind into a million pieces, forcing me into submission to tell you what you want, I’ll do it of my own free will.”

Seth folded his arms, his expression a mix of curiosity and annoyance. “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

Sama’el mustered up the courage to confess, his voice laced with regret. “I suggest you go pay your best friend a visit. Not my dad, he’s already dead, and you visit him religiously every month. He doesn’t need to see you. Maybe you might consider laying the next one next to him, seeing that he was also close to him.”

Seth’s brow furrowed, confusion evident on his face. “What did you do?”

“I’m sorry, I took your kindness, your hospitality for granted, and I did something that deserves death on my part,” Sama’el confessed, his voice laden with guilt. “It’s up to you if you want to kill me or not. I, for one, won’t be doing it myself. I can tell you that much.”

Seth’s voice caught in his throat as he struggled to comprehend the gravity of his son’s words. “What did you do, Sama’el?”

Sama’el whispered the words that would forever alter their lives. “I killed them all.”

Seth’s eyes widened in disbelief, his voice barely a whisper. “You what?”

Sama’el met his father’s gaze. “You heard me damn well. Your senses are more heightened than anyone else’s, so I know you heard me. You fricken Golden Alpha. I killed them all. I... I loved her. I loved her so much, and I couldn’t understand why she would leave. Why she would...” He trailed off, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. “Where is she?”

Seth’s voice held a mix of sadness and anger. “Where is who?”

“My daughter?”

Seth’s expression hardened, his eyes narrowing with a mixture of anger and disappointment. “I don’t think that girl deserves you as a father. Moreover, I don’t think you deserve her as a daughter. You killed someone.”

Sama’el clenched his jaw in annoyance as he realized his father was in denial about what he was telling him. “No, you misunderstood me, old man. I killed a pack.”

A mix of shock and disbelief washed over Seth’s face. “You... killed a pack? How does that...”

Sama’el’s voice trembled as he recounted the painful truth. “When you get there, you’ll know. I stalked her, okay? Like the animal that I am, I stalked her. Three days ago, she came here for you all to see our child, but she had something else planned. For two days, I begged. Two days! I begged her not to leave me, but she told me we could never be together. She found her mate, and I wasn’t him. So, I followed her back to her pack to see the son of a bitch. To the pack, she so desperately tried to keep a secret from us. And I saw him, I saw her mate. I saw them together, and I... I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t control the rage that consumed me.”

He paused, struggling to find the strength to continue. “I killed them, every last one of them. The pack, their innocent lives extinguished by my own hands. It was a senseless act of vengeance, driven by my own shattered heart. MaybeIf you’re lucky the alpha might have made it out somehow.”

Seth’s features twisted with a mixture of anger, anguish, and betrayal. “You... you let your emotions cloud your judgment, and you committed an unforgivable act. You’ve brought shame upon us all. I guess the saying that no good deed goes unpunished is true. I let you into my home, into my family and this is how you repay me?!”

Sama’el’s voice cracked with anguish. “I understand the weight of my actions, the consequences they bear. I’m prepared to face the punishment I deserve. But please, tell me... where is my daughter?”

Seth’s gaze softened slightly, his voice filled with a tinge of sorrow. “Your daughter will stay with us. She will be taken care of and treated like family. The sins of her father don’t define who she is, and you don’t deserve to have anyone near you if this is the way you handle things. Just pure unadulterated violence. I can’t believe I ever considered you my son”

Sama’el’s heart shattered at the thought of being separated from his daughter, his voice barely above a whisper. “Fine.”

Seth’s voice grew cold and resolute. “Leave now, Sama’el. I don’t want you here. I don’t want you stepping foot on my territory. May the Goddess help me if you dare to return after today. If I even catch the slightest scent of you near pack borders, I promise you I will kill you on sight. Your daughter will be shielded from the sins of her father, but you... you will face the consequences of your actions.”

Sama’el leaned against the counter at the Fading Rose Bar, his weary eyes reflecting the weight of his past. Kenji, the bartender, listened attentively as the troubled werewolf shared his story, his voice filled with a mix of regret and longing.

“Honestly, not wanting to piss the old man off any more, I left,” Sama’el confessed, his words heavy with resignation. “I thought he would have informed the council, considering his position as a member and leader. But they never came for me, and he didn’t send anyone either. It was the rogues, the outcasts who found me. They looked up to me, saw me as their alpha, and that’s how my pack began.”

His voice trailed off, a moment of silence hanging in the air as memories of that fateful night resurfaced. The haunting shadows of his past danced before his eyes, a constant reminder of the pain and darkness he had unleashed.

Kenji leaned closer, his gaze filled with curiosity and concern. “And what about your daughter? You never made another attempt to see her?”

Sama’el’s expression faltered, a mixture of sadness and frustration crossing his face. “The old man was a force to be reckoned with, you know. Terrifying, in his own way. And being not of the Golden Alpha’s blood, I couldn’t face his son in his full wrath. Lucian, he’s a fierce wolf, just like his father. Every time I tried to approach, he would sense me from miles away, taking charge of the patrols himself to ensure I never set foot on their territory. It’s like he inherited his father’s resolve, though he’d never admit it. The first time he laid eyes on me again, I could’ve sworn I would’ve been torn apart by his gaze alone.” Sama’el let out a heavy sigh, the weight of his unfulfilled longing evident in his voice.