Matteo remembered clearly that night when his entire world shattered due to one tragic incident. It was a memory that still haunted him every day.
"Matt, you have to come out." Someone shouted from outside the establishment.
But the sound was swallowed by the loud music from the different speakers surrounding the dance floor. The rowdy crowd was too boisterous for anyone to hear anything other than their laborious breaths and laughter.
"Matt, come out quickly." The man repeatedly shouted, hoping that Matteo would heed his call.
He would have entered the place if not for the shock he was still experiencing at that exact moment, preventing him from moving away from his car.
"You know I am happy when I am with you," Matteo said, but he immediately halted his words upon hearing the faint call.
He had run his fingers through his jet-black hair, straining his mind and ears to focus on the barely audible sound coming from somewhere around the perimeter. He eventually pinpointed the location just outside the entrance.
He heard the distinct sound and recognized the voice of his younger brother, despite the glaring music enveloping the entire room. He knew that the message was for him. It was finally loud and clear.
"I'm sorry, Kelsey, but I need to leave." He whispered to the girl sitting on his lap. "I'll see you some other time." He gave her an intense kiss to satisfy her for the night. Other than that, he could not promise her more.
He quickly nodded to his companion, who probably heard the voice, and left the girls beside them. The girls could only pout in disappointment but did not complain or say a word.
Kelsey, like the other girls, knew the drill. She had accepted her role in his life. "Stay safe." She whispered as he continued to walk away, but she knew he heard her.
All she could do was wait for him to return to her whenever he called for her. She was happy and content that she was his, and he was hers for however long they had.
Matteo and his pack met his brother outside the bar. "Aldric, why did you not go inside?" Matteo quickly greeted his brother.
When his brother failed to answer, he became suspicious. "Is there something wrong?" He questioned, alarmed upon seeing the distressed expression on his face.
It could mean several things, but anxiety shrouded his entire aura. He hoped it was not as worse as his intuition needled at him. But unfortunately, his instinct had not led him wrong, not yet.
"Something happened at home." Aldric began but stopped as he took a deep breath. It was as if he found it difficult to utter the following words.
It was the first time he saw his brother having difficulty speaking his mind. It meant that it might be far worse than he initially thought.
"What happened? What did Father say?" Matteo spoke louder this time, assuming his father called and finding his younger brother's action frustrating.
He stood closer to him while the rest of their group was not far behind him.
"Father is dead." Aldric finally spoke up as anguish took over his voice. "And mother, too." He rushed the words out of his lips, afraid he might fail to say them if he stopped.
He was on his way to meet Matteo at the club and was just about to park his car in front when he received the call. They could not contact Matteo, so they decided to call him instead.
"How?" Isaac, one of their friends, asked with a stunned expression, unable to believe the news.
It was a shock that the leader of their pack would suddenly die. Although he was one of the oldest members of the Blackwoode pack, he was still fit and healthy, and for her mate to die, too, at the same time was alarming.
"They could not explain it on the phone. The elders requested our immediate presence at the house." Aldric said as he put his phone back in his pocket.
"Anyway, what happened to your phone? They were trying to call you earlier." He asked, still shaken by the news.
"I think I have forgotten it in my car," Matteo answered as he quickly went to his car while the rest of the pack marched to their vehicles to follow them back to the mansion. "We need to get home."
"I'm going with you." His brother decided to ride with him instead, not in the mood to drive due to his agitated condition.
Unlike Matteo, Aldric was the more sensitive one. He never believed in fighting using force but preferred to do it through peaceful means, like negotiation and treaties. He was more diplomatic in his approach.
However, hearing that their parents, whom he loved with his life, died in an unnatural death was not easy for him, especially his mother, who he adored.
Matteo quickly started the car and put it into gear, roaring the engine into life as he pulled out of the parking lot and into the road in a lightning speed. Well, the fastest that his sports car would take them.
In a few minutes, he parked the car outside the mansion his father and mother had bought when they married. It was swarming of their pack members, all sporting the same expression as theirs.
What happened to their parents? It was the question lingering in the air.
"What do you think?" Aldric asked his older brother as he looked at the different families that arrived from all over to show support in times like this.
"It is not good." Those were the only words he could impart as his mind ran a million scenarios.
He grabbed his phone from the holder where he had left it and jumped out of the car in a hurry, with Aldric following behind him. They quickly followed the path until they were inside. They had to determine what truly transpired inside the mansion.
As they entered the empty hallways leading to the living room, they were not surprised to see all the leaders of their packs converging in the center of the spacious room.
From their various expressions, Matteo could conclude that his parent's death was not due to natural circumstances. But he already had suspected that earlier, but what could have caused their demise?
That remained his question as they walked to join in the conversation. "Where are they?" Matteo asked the eldest of the group.
"They are still in their room." Knox Trumane, the Beta of the pack, informed them. "The examiners are still processing their bodies."
In the meantime, the Beta would temporarily take command until the new alpha had undergone their rituals and then proclaimed the new leader.
Nevertheless, most pack members and the Council only expected one man worthy to undergo the ritual ceremony. And that was Matteo Sullivan.