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***Alex's POV***

I can feel how tense Alpha is. This twin bond can get suffocating at times, but right now it has come in handy. I gotta see what's going on.

I wonder if it has to do with Dad and Collin. Yesterday, Dad was cold towards Collin. This is extremely unusual. My dad is always so pleasant. It was hard to believe that the man that raised me even had a contentious bone in his body.

Alisa is off with the girls. All four of them are helping arrange the new daycare. Our girls are precious. They are gonna be great with our pups one day.

I walked up to Demetri's office to check on him. He was here early, earlier than normal. No doubt stress is keeping him from resting. I knocked on the large, heavy, wood door to his office.

"Come in, Beta." Alpha calls.

"Hey man. Came to check on you." I state while taking my seat in the leather chair in front of his cherrywood desk.

"I'm okay. Just doing paperwork. Ordering supplies. Same thing, different day." Demetri breathes out.

"You gonna cut the shit and talk to me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not sure if anything is actually wrong." Demetri groaned with his head in his hands.

"Better to talk it out though." I offered.

"Okay" he agreed.

"Goddess you're so stubborn." I laugh.

"I feel like Dad had an attitude with Collin yesterday." Demetri blurts our.

"He did!" I confirm.

"Why?" He asks with a quizzical look.

"That's what we will figure out." I promise.

"How?" Demetri whined.

"This isn't a good look for you Alpha." I said as I waved my hand over his disheveled form.

"Thanks Captain Obvious!" He rolls his eyes.

"You want to come right out and accuse our father?" I ask.

"NO." He whisper shouts.

"Ok, then get your head out of your ass and let's make a plan." I smirk.

I'm not worried about pissing Demetri off. I know how to handle him. He knows I'm just looking out for him.

<<<<<<

We spent the morning discussing possible motives behind our Dad's behavior. To be honest, none of them seemed plausible. Therefore, we decided to snoop.

Real mature, I know.

I feel like a juvenile pup looking for my Dad's collection of porn. Which we never found, if you are wondering.

We have turned the office in his house upside down, although carefully. We made sure that nothing was actually misplaced.

Mom gave us permission, under the premise we needed to look for the original blue prints to the pack house.

Bullshit, but it got us in.

Our parent's took Ari and Izzy to a friend's house so they could go out on a date. We may or may not have encouraged that.

"Found it!" Demetri breathes out a championed breath.

"What did you find?" I whisper.

"Dad's memory box." Demetri confides.

"Why were you looking for that?" I ask incredulously.

"Call it intuition." Demetri winks.

He might need medication.

Have you ever known exactly what you wanted but, were scared of what you would find.

This guy right here. That's me, worried about what we might stumble upon.

"I feel creepy." I whimper.

"If it turns out to be nothing, we drop it ok." Demetri levels.

"Sure." I concede.

Well, as luck would not be on our side, we find something. A would be lying if I said I wasn't curious.

We flipped thru the pages of Dad's high school yearbook, journal and his old photo albums. I'm not sure why until we catch a small little picture of our dad with his hands wrapped around a petite, beautiful woman.

Who is not our mom!

"Who is that?" I ask.

"Hell if I know." Demetri seethes.

"What year is that?" I ask.

"1995" Demetri reads the year off the front of the cover.

"Dad's Senior Year Book." I state.

"Dad didn't meet mom until college." Demetri whispered.

We all knew our parent's story. Dad went to college before taking over as Alpha. He and mom met then. They were late bloomers because mom came from a different state all together.

"Maybe they are just friends." I hoped.

"Really?" Demetri looks at me like I have two heads.

Okay, judging by the fact you couldn't slip a strand of silk between them, the idea is irrational.

Why wouldn't he wait for his mate? He has always enforced the importance of the mate bond.

"She looks familiar." I choked out.

"Don't remind me." Demetri cringed.

It's the eyes. It's the hair. It's the skin complexion.

"She looks like Collin." I feel bile rise in my throat.

"Let's go" Demetri demands as his eyes brim with unshed tears.

What the fuck did we just do?

<<<<<

It's been three days. Three fucking days have passed since we plundered our Dad's office. Three days of agony and questions.

Collin and Ivana left this morning. Dad had been avoiding them all week.

Demetri and I pass looks and unspoken questions between us. We are no closer to answers. Our expedition complicated things more.

We are currently sitting in Demetri's office. Like the last three days, searching the archives of the high school on the internet.

We already had Collin's birth certificate, part of the files we keep on our allies. Albeit, a new pack law, brand new, demanded we keep files on every pack member of our allies.

"Google Stacy Lilian Buchanan" Demetri instructs.

Stacy Lilian Buchanan, 21, died of natural causes during child birth. A beloved nurse at Riverbend General, a daughter and best friend. She is survived by her husband, Landon Buchanan Jr. and newborn son.

The obituary did little other than prove Collin's family history.

Searching records on a human web, for a wolf, is extremely taxing.

We spent hours sorting thru articles, hospital records and even school records, to no avail.

"Maybe, we should look elsewhere." I concluded.

"I'm unsure where else there is to look." Demetri sighs defeatedly.

"We can ask Dad where to find the blueprints to the pack house." I offered.

"He will just bring them to us." Demetri excuses.

"Maybe, maybe not." I shrug. "I can't see it hurting anything."

"Sure" Demetri gives in.

<<<<<<<

"They are in the attic" Dad states with no emotion.

"Is it okay if we go look for them?" I ask.

"Knock yourselves out." He chuckles.

He doesn't appear to be worried that we may discover a secret he would be trying to hide. However, we are running out of resources.

"We will be in the attic." Demetri thanks him.

We explained that we needed the blueprints for renovations. Unfortunately, our lies will require actually renovating the house.

"Ugh, we are in way over our heads." I groan.

"Nah, we will just add a room or something. This is easily justified." Demetri nonchalantly addresses.

We spent all day on the attic. There we're so many boxes. I swear our mom kept every single sticky note we scribbled on.

My thoughts were interrupted by a slew of curse words that ripped thru Demetri's lips.

"Holy fuck! Shit! What the hell! This is bullshit!" Demetri grumbles.

I walked over to the small box in Demetri's hands, prying it from his shaking arms.

Pictures, articles, notes and keepsakes all covered in dust, sat in a small white box marked receipts.

My dearest Grey,

I miss you. I miss our walks, our special talks and mostly I miss your kiss.

Love L

"Who the fuck is L?" I ask.

Grey,

He is beginning to question me. He asks me stories about my past. I hate lying to him. I am his mate. Tell me what to do.

Always L

"This is way more than I bargained for." I whine.

Pictures fall out of a blank white sheet of paper, as I dig thru the box of secrets.

Pictures of a newborn baby, a small boy and then pictures of a young man are laying at my feet.

"It's Collin." Demetri finally states.

"Why would he have pictures of Alpha Carter's son?" I ask.

"I don't know. I just don't know." Demetri whispers.

"Do we take the box or leave it?" I ask.

I'm ready to go. I need to get out of here. I need time to sift thru all the new information. I need to process this evidence, that my Dad may not be who I think he is.

"Let's go." Demetri orders.

"Leave it!" He demands.

"Right behind you!" I agree.

We climbed out of the attic and made our way thru the quiet house. We didn't even look for the blueprints. We will cross that bridge if it becomes necessary.

<<<<<<<

Dinner was quiet. Demetri and I were lost in our own worlds of revelry. I don't even think we ate. Honestly, I can't remember and I really couldn't care.

Maybe we were jumping to conclusions. Unfortunately, I couldn't help but feel like we weren't. A shit fucking day! It's been an exhaustive, shit fucking day.

I excused myself from the pack house dinner table. I kissed Alisa on the head and lied.

"I have a headache. Come up to bed when you are ready. Don't rush." I told her.

I laid down in my bed and let my pessimism saturate my mind. Images of my dad and that girl flooded my memory and set my worries ablaze.

Our prodding had opened Pandora's Box.

What's that saying?

Oh, yeah. Curiosity killed the cat.

Well, wolf. But, same difference.

***Demetri's POV***

There's so much we don't know. But, everything that has happened this week proves one thing, our Dad is hiding something.

This knowledge plants a small seed into my stomach. Minute by minute, the roots are digging into my sanity. I can't stop now. No, I have to find the answers.

"I'm going for a run." I kiss Livy.

"Want some company?" She asks sweetly, concern marring her beautiful features.

"That's not necessary kitten." I whisper as I grab her face gently and draw a moan from her lips with my kiss.

"I will be back later. I will come to bed." I promise.

This wouldn't usually be something I need to promise. However, the last few days, Alivia goes to sleep alone and wakes up the same.

The guilt is eating at me. The shame of having a secret from my Love.

I can't exactly explain that I am investigating a hunch. I can't air my Dad's dirty laundry. Especially since I am not positive there is even any laundry.

I'm not mad at my father, my Alpha. I'm just disappointed. We don't keep secrets. We don't pursue women. We wait for our mates.

These are familial rules, instilled since we were pups.

Yet, we have evidence that he has not always been so righteous.

I will not judge for the the things I believed have happened, but I will seek out answers to the those things that have.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it didn't kill the wolf.