In the library, Polly and Norman sat at the plush sofas near a towering bookshelf, and Malcolm stood behind them. An ornate chandelier hovered from the ceiling, with lit-up candelabra illuminating the spacious surrounding.
Albin settled himself on the opposite sofa, and his voice resonated within the entirety of the room as he said, "I still remember when your father left the crescent moon pack those years ago, you and your brother were just…newborns. It's certainly amazing, how children tend to grow so fast, right, Malcolm?"
Albin's gaze darted towards Malcolm, but it was only fleeting before they returned to the twins, "you see, your father was the Alpha of this pack, the protector of our kind, but when he left, I took on the responsibility to keep our pack thriving, as the second protector of crescent moon pack."
He crossed his leg over the other, and Norman's eyebrow furrowed deeply at Albin. The man surely exuded another kind of energy, but if he knew his brother died, why didn't he come for the funeral?
"You say you're my father's older brother, right?" Norman inquired, and his sister spoke in his place afterwards, as though she had been thinking the exact thing he pondered on a few seconds ago.
"Why didn't you come for his funeral?" Polly's eyes were skeptically locked on him, "you knew he died, which means you're also aware that he committed suicide. Why didn't you come to see what had happened to your brother, to his children if you were really that concerned?"
"I tried." Albin answered with a flick of his tongue, "I tried to come, but my absence in the pack would only leave them open to danger, and your father certainly won't want that to happen to the pack he left for me to handle. I had to stay because the lives here depended on me. I run this pack."
"You don't." Malcolm interjected in a more serious note, but when all eyes turned to him, he realized that he may have spoken out of tone and hesitantly corrected himself. "What I meant to say was, Alpha Bernard left the pack in your safety, it was a temporary measure till his children had come of age to claim it. The pack can't be run by someone else, not when he has a child to take over from where he stopped."
"Oh really?"
"Yes." Malcolm's tone was clear, "you agreed on it, remember?"
"I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one confused right now." Norman broke the tense air that was starting to cloud both Albin and Malcolm, "My sister and I are experiencing some situation in the city, which is why we're here. Being here, we learn that our father has a brother he's never told us about, and now you are here, telling us about packs and kinds. Listen, I don't have time to solve all your riddles, what exactly are you implying?"
Norman's expression displayed how he's had enough of the back and forth dragging between Albin and Malcolm. He didn't come all the way here for this, however, he noticed how Albin's eyebrows shot up in bewilderment, and the man's gaze shifted to Malcolm in disbelief.
"No, don't tell me…. You never told them?" He questioned Malcolm.
Polly's eyebrows creased in befuddlement, and her gaze was transfixed between Malcolm and Albin who seemed to be undergoing some sort of silent feud.
She asked. "What are you talking about?"
"That explains so much," Albin added yet again, his gaze returning to the twins like his suspicion had been confirmed. "I don't sense their wolf. They've been kept in the dark for way too long, and it has affected their wolf it seems. You are nothing but a caretaker to my younger brother, so this would have been his idea, wouldn't it?"
Albin's expression turned cryptic, and his lips curled subtly as he leaned back into the comforting sofa, "the crescent moon pack is one of the most powerful wolf packs in Aleyska. We are wolves, shifters, descendants of a strong bloodline. My brother, your father was the Alpha of the crescent moon pack, but no one is allowed to become an Alpha when the Alpha himself has an heir. You are supposed to be the next Alpha, Norman, but with your wolf's absence, and that of your sister's gone, it will be difficult to convince the others that you are their Alpha. It's a huge disappointment, and no one will care whether it is your fault or not. An Alpha without a wolf cannot lead."
Norman was bewildered, including Polly, and they barely understood a word that left his lips.
Malcolm exasperated and stepped forth for them, "you can't be so straightforward," he said to Albin, "they need to be more aware of who and what they are first, not about what the rest of the pack have to say in this matter. It will be better if we get them acquainted with what you're talking about."
"And who's fault is that?" Albin feigned a smile, "you should have told them the truth before deciding to bring them over. You've lived with them, you've watched them grow into what they are right now, yet you kept something so important buried from them. I'm the pack's historian, Malcolm, I'm only fulfilling my duties."
Malcolm's hands balled at his side, and he restrained himself from gritting his teeth, since Albin was right to some extent.
"Wolves?" Norman glanced between Malcolm and Albin, "what are you two… where are all these silly myths coming from, what is he saying? That we're wolves? Do I look like some animal to you?" Norman was offended at the thought of being compared to an animal, but Albin motioned with his eyebrows at Malcolm.
"Ask him." his smile broadened, "I'm sure you'll believe the words that come directly from the mouth that has nurtured you and known you better. In the meantime, I will be in the living room waiting for everyone to join us for dinner."
He rose to his feet, "don't take too long, else the food might get cold." And he walked away, exiting the library.
Polly was left dumbstruck and speechless, she looked at Malcolm whose glaring eyes followed Albin's figure till he was no longer in sight. Her heart raced, and it picked it up speed when she noticed the discomfort settling in her brother's countenance. He rose from the sofa and faced Malcolm, confronting him regarding what Albin had spilled.
"Why did he say those things?" Norman demanded, "what is it you know that we don't??"