Chapter 44

ELEANOR

“Eleanor, how are you doing, dear?” my father asked me in an overly sweet voice, though I sensed a hint of sadness as well.

Karla was standing next to him. Her face was rather pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes as.

~What happened to her?~

“What are you doing here?” I asked, shocked to see them.

The last time I saw them was at the mating ball, which now felt like it was so long ago.

“We came to meet Beta Costa.”

“Who is it?” Xavier asked me as he came to stand next to me.

Xavier put on the clothes he wore last night, and his hair was still tossed messily to the side.

“Gamma Amato, it’s a surprise to see you here this early in the morning.”

“I didn’t expect to visit,” he retorted. “But circumstances have brought me here.”

“What are you talking about?” Xavier asked him with a frown.

My father looked around the surroundings before his eyes landed on both of us again.

“Can we go inside and talk about this, if you don’t mind?” Father asked, and Xavier nodded his head.

I opened the door wider for them to enter, and we led them to the living room.

Once everyone was seated, Father looked at us again.

“I heard about the latest updates regarding the rogue situation and Eleanor’s accident. And we even heard that you saved five women who were imprisoned by the rogues. By any chance, did you find more women in that camp?” Father asked.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that they didn’t bother to ask how I was doing with the accident, but it still hurt a little.

“No, Gamma Amato. We searched the entire place thoroughly, that was all the women we found,” Xavier said.

Suddenly, Karla broke into tears while my father wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.

“I can’t do this anymore, Peter,” she wailed while Xavier and I sat in confusion.

“What happened, Dad?” I spoke for the first time and both of them looked in my direction.

“This information hasn’t left our pack, but there’s no use hiding it anymore. Your sister, Avery, is missing, Eleanor. She’d gone shopping in the human town with her friends four days ago. And she was kidnapped there.”

“Did your warriors look for her?” Xavier asked, and my father nodded his head.

“My son has been in no-man’s territory for the past two days now, but she has vanished without a trace. I don’t know what to do, and the longer she’s missing, the more we’re losing hope of ever finding her again.”

My stomach dropped. Avery and I didn’t always get along. But I loved her. A deep grief struck me as I thought of her in horrible situations with rogues.

“I think someone else must have kidnapped your daughter, Gamma Amato. Because the rogue we caught didn’t have her.”

“Who could it be? And what reason would they have to take our girl?” Karla choked out. Her face was stained with tears, and her eyes were already red.

For the first time in my life, I felt sorry for her.

“Well, it could certainly be a different group of rogues. Did you receive any ransom calls or letters?”

“No. If we received something like that, I would have given everything to get her back,” Dad answered.

The room fell silent after he spoke, and then his eyes turned to me. The look he gave me—full of regret and guilt—left me confused.

“Eleanor,” he said, and every gaze in the room shifted toward me. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you all these years.”

For a moment, I could only stare at him, stunned that those words had actually come out of his mouth.

“Dad?” I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or if he truly said those words.

He got up from his seat while Karla moved away to give him space. He walked toward me and stood in front of me, making me arch my neck to look at him.

“After experiencing the fear that I might lose Avery, I’ve finally come to realize the importance of my own children, Eleanor. All these years, I was in denial, but you have always had a spot in my heart,” he said as he knelt down in front of me.

I started to get up, but his hand came down gently on my knee, stopping me in place.

“Dad, pl…please get up.” I was getting uncomfortable seeing my father on his knees in front of me.

“No, Eleanor. I should have treated you equally, I should have cared for you after your mother died. Even though I didn’t like your mother, I loved you, Eleanor. You’re my child, and I’m sorry for everything,” he said.

I never in my wildest dream imagined that my father would apologize and say he loved me.

“I should have treated you like I treated Avery. Even though you’re not my blood,” Karla spoke as she got up and walked toward me as well.

“But we are making a promise today. Even after we find Avery, we will treat you better.”

I couldn’t believe it. My dad and stepmother finally accepted me.

“Dad, please get up,” I said. I pulled him up and got up from my place as well.

“Do you truly mean that?” I asked him, my eyes shining with hope.

He smiled softly.

“Yes, sweetheart. I know you might be skeptical right now. But every human makes mistakes, and it takes time to realize it. Just think of it like that,” he reassured me.

My eyes glossed over with tears while a blissful smile formed on my face. Without a second thought, I launched myself into his arms, and he immediately hugged me back.

My heart swelled with happiness and a sense of wholeness that I never thought I would experience with him.

“I…I don’t know what to say,” I mumbled against his chest.

This made his chest vibrate in laughter.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just know that I’m here for you now.”