Hybrid Aria by Jessica Hall novel Chapter 39

Aria’s POV

Alpha David got up from his seat and walked over to the cupboard that sat next to the window overlooking the vast forest. His back was to me, I couldn’t see what he was doing but could hear the clink of glasses and him pouring liquid into them. When he turned around, he held out a glass of whisky to me. I accepted the glass believing this conversation definitely warranted hard liquor. I could tell David was starting to get nervous and a little uncomfortable with the conversation topic.

I took a sip of the brown liquid. It was smooth tasting and had an oak taste to it. David downed his in one go and poured himself another. Finally, he sat back down across from me looking a little more confident with his glass in his hand. I took another sip from my drink and watched him over the top of my glass. “I knew she was my mate for five years. Your mother knew about me too but didn’t want to break up her family. Your family Aria, not mine.”

“So, what happened?” David ran a hand through his hair nervously and sighed, becoming resigned with the fact everything was about to be out in the open.

“I was pissed off that she would turn me down, reject me even though she never officially did reject me. She tried once but couldn’t say the words. Couldn’t bring herself to reject me. I told my friend about there being a Hybrid living in the city. I wanted to get rid of your father and try and have a life with my destined mate. I could tell your mother would never leave him for me. So, I took matters into me owns hands,”

I thought his words over trying to remember anything, but I was only two years old, so I had no memory of my father.

“It took another five years afterwards for your mother to accept me as her mate. She refused to move on, and I kept what I had done a secret for years, but I think your mother knew all along it was me. She just didn’t say anything.”

“So basically, you killed not only my father but my grandfather? Why didn’t you just wait for the mate bond to work. The pull is stronger than anything I could have imagined. She would have given in eventually,” I asked.

“I didn’t want to wait. I waited five years before I acted, and as for killing them, they never died by my hands. I thought your father was dead. I thought he died along with Joe. They never found his body, and by the time your father came back, your mother was already dead.”

“Came back? My father is dead.”

“No, Aria, your father isn’t dead, I saw him at the diner the other day when I had the meeting with Alpha Reid,” I shook my head trying to wrap my head around what he just told me. How could my father be alive and not contact me?

“Are you sure? Why wouldn’t he make contact?”

Alpha David looked confused for a minute and didn’t say anything. He looked as confused as I felt. My father was alive and not only is he in the city, but he has also been at my work. Why didn’t Zoe say anything, why didn’t she tell me he was there? I have longed for my father for years, wanting to know him so I could know more about my past. The one I didn’t know I had, to know more about my lineage.

How could he sit back, knowing I exist and not say anything?

“So, what’s next then?” asked David.

“I’m not sure. We need to fix this Hunter's mess then I need to try and find my father if he is alive” I suddenly felt very sceptical.

“The Hunters won’t be so easy to fix. When I told them you existed, they seemed really keen to get their hands on you, I’m not sure why. I think we will have a war on our hands. I am sorry Aria, I didn’t mean, well I did, but I wasn’t expecting everything to turn out the way it did, I promise to help with the Hunters, even if it means fighting alongside your Pack and as for your father, I won’t say I’m sorry seeing as he isn’t dead, but I do know where you can find him.”

My head perked up, suddenly excited. Some good news has come out of this conversation, after all. I wasn’t expecting what came out his mouth next, and the next few words shocked me to my core, how I had not put two and two together.

“He works at the diner; he is the cook there. He has changed his name but is definitely him. Marcus? I think his name is,”

My lips parted astonished, my father has been there all along, I didn’t know how I felt. Shocked, angry? How could he sit idly by and not say anything he knew who I was all along. Also, how did I not recognise him, he looks nothing like the photo’s Zoe showed me or like my necklace. I just assumed he was human until Zoe told me, what hurt the most was knowing Zoe kept this secret from me. I thought I could trust her completely now I was starting to wonder what else she was hiding from me.