“You dare speak to me like that! You have no idea who that man is! What he has done! He killed my best friend!”
“I know exactly what he’s done, Father, which is trying to help us, and until you show proof of this friend or give up a name as far as I’m concerned, it’s moot. And quite frankly, I believe his actions were justified, and so does everyone else, or he wouldn’t hold the status he does! You can’t make assumptions based on conspiracy theories; there are two sides to a story, and then there is the truth! Everyone is quick to assume and point the finger. No one has bothered to look at the reasoning behind his actions. Shit, no one even can answer if he truly did it!” I yell back at him.
The moment my rant is over, my father’s hand connects with the side of my face.
My cheek burns violently, and my ears ring at the impact.
In shock at what he did, I touch my cheek, feeling how every finger had welted into my skin.
I stand there, staring at my father in disbelief. His handprint stings, and I know it will leave a mark. Linda gasps, and Lydia tries to hide her smirk as she leans against the counter and checks her phone.
At first, all I did was stare in shock. My father has never hit me. Never. What would my mother say?
However, if I am expecting an apology, I know I won’t get one with the way my father glares at me.
“You are grounded until further notice,” he says through gritted teeth. “And you are forbidden from leaving this housewithout my permission. If I catch you going behind my back again, especially to that mongrel, you’ll find yourself rogue.”
This is not fair. I had gone to do what was right for the pack, to keep them safe from the rogues who lurk just beyond our borders. My father, blinded by his own pride and arrogance, refuses to see the truth of the situation.
As he turns to leave the room, I speak up one last time. “You will regret this decision,” I tell him in a low voice.
He whirls around, his expression fierce. “You will not threaten me!” he growls.
I simply shrug. “I am not threatening you,” I say calmly. “Actions have consequences. And when our borders get breached again by rogues, you can have fun explaining to our pack why their loved ones are dead.”
“I don’t know what has gotten into you lately. It ends now. Disrespect won’t be tolerated. I don’t like punishing you; I’ve been a good father and a…” His words hang in the air.
I scoff at his words.
“Yeah, you have, Dad. You’ve always been a good father, but since Mom died, you’ve been a shitty Alpha!”
He seems taken aback by my words. Will he hit me again?
“Maybe if Mom were still here, things would be different, but she is just collateral damage right? Collateral to another shitty decision you made,” I spit venomously. I see the pain in his eyes. Even though my parents weren’t mates, I still mean what I said. The pack never had issues like this until Linda came along and got in his ear. Now, the pack is barely staying afloat with her outrageous spending habits and the stupid alliances she has with Samuel. The same alliance that got my mother killed when he canceled pack protection with Alpha Greyson, who is the Alpha of Lakeview Pack. For a little while, Alpha Greyson and my mother dated until my father put an end to it after Linda got in his ear.
Linda had convinced my father that my mother would marry Alpha Greyson, and they’d be without a pack if my mother removed my father’s title and merged packs. All because my mother had grown closer to the Alpha when Linda came into the picture. My mother never refused to let my father keep his mate despite them being married. He refused to let her divorce him out of fear of losing the pack, since it legally belonged to my mother. Linda worried about her status, had my father break the treaty alliance, and a few days later, my mother was killed in a rogue attack because our borders weren’t protected.
“Watch your tongue, Cleo!” he growls, his face turning red with a mixture of hurt and rage. I am sick of holding my tongue and just enduring his stupid mistakes.
Linda steps between us, her dark hair framing her eyes as she glares at me, pointing an accusing finger at me. “You ungrateful little brat. Your father has done everything for you, and all you do is cause problems!”
“Ungrateful?” I scoff, incredulous. “What has he done for me besides trying to control every aspect of my life? I am not some puppet he can manipulate!”
“Enough!” my father roars, silencing both Linda and me. “Cleo, get out of my face and do not disrespect my Luna. She is only trying to help.”
“Help?” My mind races with anger and confusion. How could they not see that I was suffocating under their expectations and rules? Lydia never has to attend meetings, train with the pack, or be used as his secretary. Yet, I am the problem child?
I am the one dragged to meetings and forced to work after school while Linda does absolutely nothing, just like her daughter, who gets everything handed to her on a silver platter. I take a deep breath, feeling the weight of their disapprovalpressing down on me and knowing nothing I say will get through to him.
Unable to find the words to express myself, I retreat, storming out and back to my room, where I slam the door shut behind me in frustration.
I lie down on my bed, flinging my arm over my eyes, blocking out what little light is in the room. The more I sit in the room, the more my anger at my father’s foolishness festers.
I spend most of the day in the room, refusing to speak with my father. However, later in the afternoon, I hear a knock on the door. Sitting up, I see it’s him. Though right now, he looks remorseful. He hesitantly walks over, dropping my car keys on the bedside table. I pick them up, looking at him questioningly.
“I’m sorry I slapped you, but you were not entitled or authorized to do what you did. Nor do you have the right to speak to Linda like that.” He sighs heavily. I say nothing to him. I know he’s not in a space to hear what I have to say, so I decide not to waste my breath.
At my silence, he scratches the back of his neck nervously, then grips my shoulder.
