Chapter 153
Chapter 153
And I knew exactly who could help me start that process.
I picked up the phone, pressing the familiar buttons, and waited. The line clicked once before Lance’s voice, groggy but sharp, came through.
“Nolan? What is it p>
“It’s time we talked,” I said, keeping my voice steady despite the tension coiling in my chest. “About everything. About our parents p>
There was silence on the other end, heavy and hesitant. Then: “Everything? You mean… the ambush p>
“Yes,” I admitted. “I never told you the full truth p>
Lance’s tone sharpened instantly, a mix of disbelief and old irritation. “You never told me? You mean to tell me all these years I’ve-believing what I wanted you to believe, yes,” I interrupted, though my voice lacked the coldness it usually carried. “I was trying to protect you. I thought… I thought shielding you from the truth was best p>
“Best?” Lance’s voice rose, and I winced at the echo of raw anger. You think that was best? You left me in the dark, thinking I understood what happened p>
I remained silent, letting the weight of my brother’s words land.
“Why do you do these things? Why do you have to be such a control freak p>
“I made choices then I couldn’t undo. Choices that shaped the man I am now. And I’ve failed since. With Mom and Dad. With Ellie. With everyone who trusted me p>
The line was quiet for a long moment, and I felt the weight of years pressing against me. Then Lance spoke again, voice trembling, almost a whisper.
“You… damn it, Nolan. Tell me what you called to tell me.” He waited.
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. “I don’t expect forgiveness,” I admitted. “I just needed you to know. You deserve to know. I
I lied when I told you that they both died before I found them p>
I could hear Lance’s voice catch through the phone. My stomach twisted. I didn’t know if this was easier or harder over the phone. I deserved to be punched, and part of me wished he were here to do it.
“Dad was still alive. I found him… I spoke to him p>
There was a long silence. I could hear Lance moving on the other end, perhaps pacing. “What did he say to you?” he asked, his voice thick.
“He told me I sighed heavily. “He apologized. For the way he was with me growing up. He told me to be happy p>
“He told you to be happy?” Lance said with disbelief.
The words landed heavily, Lance made a sound like an aborted laugh, then went silent. I thought that he’d hung up for a moment before his voice came again, soft and uncertain.
“What was he apologizing for, Nolan p>
“I know that you were too young to be aware of it all… they were always different with you. You weren’t sent to the alpha camp. You weren’t put through the predawn training. Dad used to beat me when I couldn’t keep up with the warriors p>
“But… Nolan, you were just a teenager when he died. How could he have expected
you to keep pace with trained warriors p>
“Because I was the firstborn son, the
heir. I was supposed to be better.
Always. I was the one who was supposed to make Silver Fang a great power, to elevate the pack to the status they thought deserved Maybe he had some clarity in the end, maybe he was just losing blood and not thinking… but that’s what he told me. Be happy with Felicity p>
Then: “It’s… a lot to process,” Lance said slowly. “I need time. But, thank you for telling me. I can’t promise I’ll forgive you. But at least now, I see why you were so unwilling to break up with that nutjob p>
“I’m not asking for forgiveness,” I said quietly. “Just thought you deserved to know.” Another pause, then: “It’s a start.
I hung up and leaned back in my chair. My chest felt heavy, but the act of confession had lifted some small part of the weight. I was still guilty. I was still fractured. But at least now he knew.
Even so, I couldn’t stop thinking about Ellie. About the way she’d looked when she left, holding the twins. About how she had fled from
me, not in anger, not
but
in fear and exhaustion. The thought gnawed at me.
I rested my head in my hands, feeling the old ache return, the same one that had haunted me since the forest that night, the one I had never managed to shake.
I was not the hero of this story. I was a man trapped between the past and the present, a man who had failed everyone I loved.
And yet… even in that dark space, a faint, stubborn ember of resolve glimmered. I would fix this. Somehow. I didn’t know how yet, but I would.
For Ellie. For the twins. For myself.
Because no matter how many mistakes I had made, no matter how far I had fallen, I could not let the world-or my own failures -steal her from me again.