Tasting All My Mates by Alexis Dee

376-The Child Grew Up Cursed

Author's POV:

Years Ago:

"What?" Shepard asked in shock.

"It is a clear warning. They don't want the real culprit to get caught. I am pretty sure the real

culprit is way more powerful than the council itself, which is afraid of him," Makenzie sighed

when talking about the bastard.

"Powerful!" Shepard stopped crying, "It has to be alpha king Shaun." His skin felt goosebumps,

and his eyes formed tears. "It has to be him. He used to be deadly in love with her. He kept

persuading her to reject me and accept him. And then something happened, something as if he

got his hands on the most powerful tool ever, started using it, and somehow got out of every

mess he created. Nobody dares go against him because--- because he has someone who is

securing him.

Makenzie! It is Shaun," Shepard stated confidently, nodding his head as he understood the

entire case now.

"Oh yes! So what can we do?" Makenzie looked at Shepard, who looked lost for a moment

before he spoke.

"Why don't you call the council and let them know that we have a suspect in mind?" Shepard

looked hopeful after so many days.

"All right," Makenzie nodded and dialed the number the next minute. They forgot what they said about it

themselves. Shaun would never get into trouble because someone had his back.

While Makenzie talked, Shepard tried to sober up. He kept running his hands over his face as he kept remembering

how painful the night must be for his Luna.

"But that—," Makenzie finished the call, but it seemed like the other person hung up on him. The look of

disappointment on his face was enough to tell them it didn’t go as planned.

"They told me if I ever said his name again, we would get in trouble. There is no proof against him that could tie

him to the case." Makenzie growled angrily, and just when Shepard was going to suggest some plan, his phone

beeped.

"I will go see Janet and come back to speak to you, okay?" Makenzie sighed while getting up from the couch. He

hadn't seen his daughter the entire day. Shepard seemed busy with his phone, so Makenzie thought he should leave

for now.

Shepard gave him a faint head nod, and soon Makenzie had left. Shepard was staring at the text he had received

from an unknown number.

"What is this?" he frowned, grabbing a bottle of wine and trying to understand the text. It was a simple text, but the

context is what kept bothering him.

There was a blurred picture of a child in front of a grave. It took him a minute to recognize the child, but his heart

raced inside his chest when he did.

It was Thiago's picture.

Was it a threat?

He then received another message with an edited headline.

He cried as he read the headlines: "Alpha Shepard found guilty of assaulting and murdering his Luna in order to be

with his mistress."

It was definitely a threat to him. There were other edited images that showed kids with depression, foreshadowing

what will happen to Thiago after he finds out his father killed his mother.

It was pretty clear that whoever was sending him the pictures was trying to scare him into not proceeding with the

investigation.

He was left with no choice but to quit. They had cornered him well and badly. Shepard cried loudly, putting his

phone down and realizing there was nothing he could do anymore.

Dragging his body up, he left the room to visit his son. Thiago had fallen asleep, so it was easy for Shepard to sneak

in and plant a kiss on his son's forehead.

"I am sorry that you have to face this and much more in the future. But I have to take this step. They won't let me

investigate. They are forcing me to quit and live like nothing ever happened. I cannot do that. If I have to stop the

investigation, I must give up on my life too, or else I won't be able to live. I know this will be utterly unfair to you, but

you

need to understand this: if I don't die, they will come after you. I h—ope you stay strong and can forgive me,"

Shepard broke down in tears beside his son's bed.

"Goodbye, my little alpha," he whispered before he walked out of the room again. His heart was

filled with pain and agony. He couldn't tell exactly why this happened to them. They had always

considered others* feelings, so why?

Going back to his room, he did what he thought was the only option left to him.

End his life.

"Ah!" Thiago jolted awake in the middle of the night, dreaming about dark figures coming for

him. It was as if something woke him up.

Instead of trying to go back to sleep, he rolled out of bed and approached his father's room. He

had a feeling he would be safe with his father. After knocking on the door a few times, he gave

up and swirled the doorknob. The door opened itself, and through the dark room; he sensed

something eerie.

Not thinking too much of it, he turned on the light to see his father lying unconscious.

"Dad!" he screamed, approaching his father and trying to wake him up.

"What happened to you? Why is there so much blood?" He was crying as he tried to wake up his

father.

"No! You cannot go. I will be so alone if you don’t wake up," Thiago cried for hours beside his

father's body, and then he eventually fell asleep with his head on his father's chest.

The night passed, and Makenzie found them in the morning. The news broke, and sadly, it

wasn't in Shepard's favor. The rumor was that Shepard ended his life after feeling guilty and

afraid of going on trial.

For Thiago, it was a new beginning, or perhaps an ending.