Preface

It was overcast when I found out the truth on a cool autumn day.

I sat on a stone outcrop, thinking—overlooking the rushing river across from me. The breeze was swift, taking anything wispy along with it. Leaves were brown now and the treetops were bare. Winter was around the corner.

Sighing, I rested my heavy head on my forepaws. My tail wrapped around me. My black and gray fur coat kept me warm; I was quite comfortable laying there.

Well, I was until my cousin interrupted my thoughts.

“Don’t let him get to you.”

I turned my head reluctantly towards him. “Huh?” was my plain reaction.

“He’ll come around.”

“Oh, you’re talking about my father.”

“Who else would I be talking about?”

“I don’t know.”

Akita sat down beside the rock, and then he looked up at me with a grin. “I’m sure you didn’t mean what you said.”

“Do we really have to talk about this?” I grumbled. “I just want to be alone.”

But he continued. “I think it is the perfect time to talk about this.”

“What’s there to talk about?”

“You and your father...”

“Hmm, I’m not interested.”

“I know he can be a real jerk sometimes,” Akita said. “But deep down, he really cares about you. He’s just trying to protect you.”

I snorted. “Yeah, a little too much...”

“Ace, he loves you.”

“I don’t...”

“You’re his only son. Uncle Blackjack would do anything for you.”

“Sometimes I wish that I wasn’t his and that I wasn’t even part of this family.”

Akita sighed. “You’ve come from a good family.”

I laughed mockingly. “Right, okay then; tell me where my mother is.”

He frowned, looking away from me. “She is no longer with us,” he said sorrowfully, which made me guilty for bringing up a sore subject.

I never knew my mother. No one ever told me about her, not even my own father. I’ve always wondered why. They didn’t talk about her at all. I was always curious but I didn’t have the courage to ask.

I bit my lower lip. “Oh, I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know.”

He smiled at me reassuringly. “It’s not your fault.”

“What was her name?” I asked then.

Akita took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he beamed brightly which had me taken aback. I haven’t seen him look more alive. “Her name was Sada,” he told me at last.

I repeated the name, letting it roll off my tongue for the first time. “Sada,” I spoke softly. “What was she like?”

“Very kindhearted and friendly, loveable, and she was indeed beautiful.”

“Hmm, do I look like her?” I asked.

Akita laughed. “Yes, you have her eyes.”

My face lit up with excitement. “Wow, really?”

“Yep, and some of her color too. The thick black that you have, you got that from your dad.”

“That’s so cool!”

“Yeah,” Akita chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s good to see you in a chipper disposition instead of a gloomy one.”

I frowned, shrugging in response. “I have my moods.”

Akita sighed pleasantly at the memories going through his mind. He stared, looking pass the woods and valleys that lay beyond the river. My head was also spinning, filled with questions that seemed to be going nowhere in a circular motion if I didn’t speak up. Clearing my throat, I turned back to him and he looked at me.

“How did they meet?” I mulled over out loud.

“Love at first sight,” he told me.

“Oh,” I said, thinking about it more. “Thus it was destiny, so to speak?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“Wow, who could fall for a guy like him? Their personalities sound completely different!”

“I don’t know but she did. I’ve never seen him so happy before he met Sada. Uncle Blackjack’s best moments were when he was with her. She changed him.”

I frowned. “And when she was gone...?”

“You’ve seen the results,” Akita pointed out. “He went back to his old self.”

“Oh, that sucks.”

“You have no idea.”

I sat there in silent for a minute, letting the words sink in gradually. I sighed, finally coming to a conclusion. “I’m the reason why he is so miserable, aren’t I?” I said.

Akita narrowed his eyes at me. “Don’t even think that,” he told me, his face shadowing over. “You mean everything to him now. You’re all that he has left. Ace, you’re the only good that he’s ever done.”

“What happened to her?” I demanded.

He frowned. “It’s a long story.”

“I’d love to hear it.”

Sighing, Akita looked up at the stormy sky. “I guess you have the right to know. He shouldn’t have kept it from you for so long.”

“She’s my mother.”

“I know.”

“Carry on,” I pressed.

Akita looked at me gravely. “I’m going to be in serious trouble when he finds out that someone told you.”

“What’s the deal, then?”

“It’s huge; it’ll change your innocent mind into a new way of thinking.”

“I’m old enough.”

He laughed, a cheery sound breaking through the solid tone. “To your generation, it would be considered a legend.”

I gave him a puzzled look. “Huh?” I thought he had changed the subject on me. He completely lost me. “What are you talking about?”

“Okay,” Akita said finally. “I’ll tell you. Maybe I’ll give you a different view about your father.”

I smiled. “Go on!” I said eagerly.

Akita began the introduction. “This is a story of wolves and man,” he said, “and it starts with love...”

Now it’s my turn to tell you the story.