Xavier, Isabelle, Angel, and Nadia with Hallec in the lead accompanied Angel's parents to an unoccupied cabin not too far from Angel's house.
Angel's mother faltered on her feet after the walk, clinging to her son and Angel paused to lift her up in his arms.
"Aunty," Isabelle called with concern.
"It's been a long day. I am fine, Belle," she said. Isabelle nodded and threw a worried look at Xavier.
"Amelie is the pack's doctor. I will come to pick you up first thing in the morning. So she can give you a full body check."
"Thank you, Xavier. Cole, Belle's mate, already told us," Alpha Bardulf said, sounding tired too. "He seems like a good human," he added.
"He is," Xavier, Angel, and Nadia said at the same time. The old man grinned. Isabelle smiled.
"You have quite a number of humans here as security. Do you trust them all?"
"Well… they are useful for now. Cole hired them for specific jobs and I am certain that none of them would want to have him as an enemy," Xavier said.
"To add to that I'm going to tell you what he told me when I raised the same question," Angel said, paused and added, "he literally said he doesn't trust folks he has to pay to take up a responsibility.” Isabelle giggled. "So there you have your answer.'
Angel carried his mother inside the house. And Isabelle put on the light. Nadia smiled at the cosy comfort of the open floor living room.
The kitchen was at the other end of the room, fully equipped and looking like something out of a home decor magazine with a theme of grey and white.
The sitting area was to the left close to a chimney made of black bricks and the side wall to it was glass from the floor to the high ceiling. A flight of stairs that led to the upper deck was to the right and the floor was made with coffee-brown floorboards.
"This is—" Angel's mother said.
"Scary expensive. Believe me, I know," Xavier said.
"I was going to say beautiful," Angel's mum said. Angel, Nadia, Hallec, and Isabelle busted out laughing. The elderly couple watched in curious amusement. Especially when Xavier pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.
"He is concerned about the amount of money spent to upgrade the island," Isabelle explained.
"I’m not concerned about the amount of money spent anymore. I am, however, worried I will be indebted for the rest of my life!" he replied, gesturing. Alpha Bardulf sat down on a leather chair close to his wife's, signing as he looked from Xavier to Isabelle, Nadia and then his son. A warm smile hatched his aged face.
Nadia couldn't help noting how thin he was with his wife and her heart hurt to think of the hell they must have gone through. She reached for throw pillows to pile on the chair behind Luna Hera and then hurriedly did the same for Alpha Bardulf to rest on. The older man gave her a warm smile.
"Would you like me to make anything for you?" Nadia offered. The older couple shook their heads.
"We ate quite a lot on the plane. I am certain that's why I feel this tired," the older woman supplied. Nadia swallowed at the very telling answer.
"Where are you getting the money from? Are humans around here more accepting?" Alpha Bardulf asked with concern.
"No, the humans here are not. I had to learn to blend in with them to get work and make money to feed the pack members before—"
"Alone?!" the older man asked with concern.
"You must understand. I was scared to let any one of the pack members venture out. Sometimes they insist and I allow them to have their way, but I soon discovered the risk was too high. I didn't want them dying on my watch. We could live off of this land but sometimes we crave beef. It is a major part of our diet that gives us strength. Amelie's father used to help me and he was killed in a raid in which Isabelle was kidnapped by Cole's father," Xavier said. Alpha Bardulf sat up, listening keenly. "I wounded him and he died but not before he managed to get away and sold Isabelle off to the man who enslaved Angel."
"Heavens!" Angel's mother exclaimed.
"Cole was not on good terms with his father before the bastard died. He is a serviceman,"
"Which?"
"Seal," Isabelle replied with a tinge of pride. Alpha Bardulf nodded and his grey eyes clouded. Angel figured he must be thinking of the expert way Cole Miller killed Bradshaw with no emotion and set the property on fire.
"He helped me before Xavier could get to me…" Isabelle said.
"I'm afraid I wasn't as accommodating as he was with my sister but Cole is one human that grows on you. It is just that one minute you want to hug him and the next minute you are thinking of throwing him off a cliff," Xavier said.
"That's oddly specific," Isabelle said with a widened gaze. Everyone laughed.
"For a human, I could tell from his eyes that he has his own share of horror. He has a confusing aura – both dark and light. But when I saw his eyes on Belle, I understood why he would slay dragons for her."
"He told me I am his light," Isabelle said with feelings as she placed a hand over her stomach. Angel's mum nodded.
"I saw his eyes. I think you are much more than that to him," the older man said, causing tears to spill from Isabelle's eyes. Nadia moved to stand by her side and intertwined her fingers with hers. Isabelle gave her a grateful smile.
"Life has its way of taking us to the grinder. I look at my son, remembering the young man he used to be. His eyes were clear and full of mischief. I used to look into his innocent eyes and pray he would never know pain. Now I look at him and my heart breaks. The young boy is no longer in sight," Alpha Bardulf said, glancing from Angel to Xavier.
Angel lowered his gaze when everyone directed their eyes to him. Scenes from the experimentation room played in his head. Screams and pain washed him. He was lost in it for about a minute. His present seemed like a background chime of faint voices in a slow drawl. The only thing he could hear was the screams, cries and his own breathing. When Nadia touched his arm he flinched backwards with fists tightened by his sides.
"Angel?" her soft gentle voice pulled him out of the nightmare in his head. When his vision finally cleared and he realised what had happened, he settled an alarmed gaze on her and the look in her eyes floored him. There was no fear, horror or hesitancy. The only emotion he saw and perceived was her love for him.
She ran to him, wrapping her arms around his middle. Angel paused before slowly hugging her back.
"I'm sorry… I… babe," he muttered into her hair.
"It's okay," Nadia whispered against his chest. Alpha Bardulf rose to his feet and went to frame the side of his neck. Angel raised darkened gazes at him.
"The nightmare might take a while to fade away, but we will all learn to live again," Xavier said, patting Angel on the back of his shoulder.
Cole joined them later to get Isabelle.
Angel's mother had slept off on the chair with her head placed on her husband's lap. The older Were gently stroked her hair while he spoke with Xavier, Angel, Hallec, Isabelle and Cole.
Nadia felt warm inside watching the older couple. She directed her gaze at Angel, adoring him with her eyes. Isabelle sat on Cole's lap, resting her face on the nook of his neck.
"You have my blessings…" Alpha Bardulf said when Cole told him he would be getting married to Isabelle in a few days.
"Thank you," Cole said and pressed a kiss to Isabelle's forehead and then rubbed gently on her stomach.
"We should let you rest," Xavier said.
"My house is the closest here if you need me or anything at all. Just press here, "he said and walked to a red button with security written over it on the wall framing the doorway.
"Either Angel gets to you first or I will," Hallec said. Angel gave him a grateful look.
Xavier and Hallec left with Cole and Isabelle, leaving Angel and Nadia behind. Angel helped his father to carry his mother up the stairs and Nadia held his father's hand.
The room was equally grand and the bed was custom-made to accommodate the near-giant sizes of the Weres. Alpha Bardulf sighed when he saw the place.
"I still can't believe we are here… " he muttered. Angel placed his mother on the bed and Nadia helped to pull the covers over her. Angel rewarded her with a kiss on the forehead and walked around the bed to usher his father to the other side of the bed.
"Bardulf…" Angel's mother called in somewhat panic when she reached to her side and groped air. Nadia felt her eyes moisten when her husband quickly scouted to her side of the bed to gather her close to his body.
"I'm here, sweetness, you can sleep now," the older man cooed close to her ear. Angel smiled watching the two. When he raised his eyes, he saw Nadia sobbing quietly watching his parents. He walked around the bed to get to her and wrapped her up in a hug.