Returning to my childhood home was akin to going back through time.
Me as a little girl running through the halls while I chased my dad who was pretending to be the suspect on the run.
With my finger pistols on auto fire and his flare for the dramatics.
A death scene that put his shakespeare’s romeo and juliet inspired sob fest on the list as, “the world’s most saddest remake.”
Was somewhat subdued by the black cloud that hovered above Seth’s usual halo in disguise.
His eyes sunken in from the undoubtly raging thoughts that were running rampage inside his conscence mind.
The shaphire tinge of his iris’s that accompanied his usual, “I got this.” Attitude gone and buried under layers of, “what ifs.”
“Have a sit. I’ll go get the coffee’s.”
Still in the foyor of the mansion posing as a house that was my home away from home I started to enter the living room.
My shoulders slumped like a cold sasauge not packed hard enough to stay inside it’s skin.
When out of the corner of my eye I noticed Seth’s hand make a grab for my wrist.
In a blur of soundless reaction the movement almost undetected.
My father’s own hand now clawed with wolf shifter genes grasped Seth’s arm.
His wolf nails digging in so hard I was sure he would cut off circulation as well as drew blood.
Stupified by the events unfounding one word escaping my throat holding a note of gravel that grated against my esophagus rising up through my vocal cords.
“Dad?”
With no awknowledgement of my questioning perplexity his attention fixated on the wolf cub in his clasp.
At an octive lower then I’d ever heard emit from him.
Brewed from the very pit of his shifts predetory nature my father ground out with a snarl of the most highest ranking alpha in a wolf pack of kanines.
“You’d do well not to scoff at my daughter’s continuation to remain within your company young pup.”
Without taking his eyes off Seth the two wolves chellenging each other so close to baring thier fangs I was afraid they would indeed start shifting to duke it out.
My father’s voice still deeper then the abyss of a black hole.
About to suck us all into it’s lightless nothingness.
He all but dragged Seth away with a, “it’s hide time we had a chat. Don’t you agree?”
No answer was given to his rhetorical question.
Yanked by his arm.
Seth’s soft dangerous growl eminating from his chest that even from here I could see the vibration of it’s power.
Righting himself after being released two seconds later to tag along after his 6″7 elder like he wanted nothing more then to take his place as top dog.
Now behind closed doors I found myself unable to sit meakly by and wait for them to settle thier differences.
Making my way into the room next to thiers with the grace of an unruly giraffe.
A well placed glass from the bar in the corner now pressed against the wall hell bent on finding out what was so dammed important that it couldn’t be said in front of present company.
Meaning me.
Having missed the first line of discussions.
If you could call it that considering all I got was a mid drift muffle of my father’s voice of, “I thought so.” Before exuding the power of ten alphas in his next words. This chapter was copied from novelping . com without permission.
“Can you with absolute clarity say that every kill you’ve made was your last resort. The only choice you could of made given the circumstance?”
A sound like wood cracking followed my father’s line of questioning before Seth’s voice interjected with a far less, “sticking it to the man.” Tone.
Albeit still with what sounded like clenched fangs.
Somewhat of a growl in the under tone that I was sure was two parts involoutary and ninty eight parts intential.
“No. I can’t.”
A sigh drizzling with pity for Seth and his predicament.
The sound of foot steps approaching where I asumed Seth stood brooding in a, “why me.” Kind of way.
“You’re touch depends on whether the soul she becomes has excepted that the lives they’ve taken were not by choice but by necessity. It’s why she can’t control it. Unless you’re certian of your past choice’s you will never be able to touch her.”
“How do you know this?”
“I’m a detective. Did you really think that I wouldn’t know my own daughter?”
More footsteps as someone walked towards the exit.
“I’m trusting you to keep her safe. Rexy can be too trusting. Too willing to see the potenial good in others. It make her careless. She needs you to be her voice of reason. Protect her from herself. Do that and you’ll always have a home here.”
The door sqeeked as it started to open stopping only when Seth asked in a soft whisper that I just barely caught cursing the wall that seperated us.
“So we can never touch. Ever?”
“Didn’t say that lad.”
“But you just said-”
“What I said was unless you’re certain. Certianty comes with exceptance. Find that exceptance and you will have a chance.”
“How will I know?”
“Only you can answer that boy.”
Quickly returning the glass I sprinted my way into the living room jumping on the couch with crossed legs and a huff of breath like I’d been there the whole time.
My mind a labyrinth of twists and turns complete with, “what the hell else was he hiding.” Coupled with the realisation that I had been kidding my self all these years.
To think I actually thought my father knew nothing about my kill or be killed side of who I wished I wasn’t.
It seems the niaviety that I was sure I didn’t have was a miscalculation of epic proportions.
My amber sparks of narrowed bewilderment riddled with uncertainty now taking up space within thier rounded sockets behind which my limbic system was busy backflipping to the sound of music singing the hills are alive with omitted truths and unshared information.
Something I was trying and evidently failing to hide as Bane Silver detective legend smirked down at me from his great hieght.
His next words proof of his perceptive evaluation of my whereabouts during thier absence.
“Learn anything new while we were gone?”
Of course he knew my clumsy arse had been listening in with the finesse of a medievel maid in her servents quarters writing down secrets to later spill the unaudlterated truth to persons unknown unwittingly exposing what was previously, “just between us.” In an unmitigated disaster that of course blows up in the faces of all involved.
Taking note of the undeniable sparkle in his eyes a tell tail sign of his priori of theorize evalutions based on years worth of known facts about my to recognizable spy networking powers having known me for as long as he has.
“You knew?”
Two words summing up what I was thinking.
The tangible evidence of his contriary appearance morphing on his person like a light switch that had just been turned on by the truth fairy without the money left by my pillow for payments unknown.
A bid for the honest recount of what had transpired in the years he’d hidden what he knew under lock and key.
Thereby withholding what could only have been vital particuliars that given the chance to process the omited material might have been counselled in the ways of murdering soul nomatic wayfaring.
In conculsion.
I was pissed.
All this time he knew what I could do.
What I’d been going through.
About the inner workings of my shifers form.
For all these years I’d been hiding it from him.
From them.
All in an attempt to save them from having a monster for a daughter.
“How long have you known?”
Seth’s shadowed figure appeared behind my father.
His gaze travelling between us as the tension in the air grew.
“How’s about I go make those coffees.”
“Thanks lad kitchens two doors down and to the right.”
Alone my father sat on the coffee table in front of me.
Taking my hands in his.
His eyes staring into mine were full of repentance.
“There are some things a father has to do to protect the ones he loves. You’re my daughter. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means that I kept your secret. Even from you. For fear that you might try to circumvent your ability to touch.”
“My ability to touch? ”
Reaching up to tuck a stray hair behind my ear his hand resting on my shoulder with a brief squeeze letting me know that he loved me in way a father always would.
“You can’t change the nature of those you touch sweatie. Only they can.”
“Dad?”
“Do you want me to come back?”
Rising to his feet like a wood sprite half his age Bane Silver.
My father, grinned down at me with a smile that had not yet reached his eyes.
“They are who they Alrexia. You have to except that. Or it’ll rip you apart.”
Turning towards Seth he rubbed his hands together like a magician about to astound us with his magic.
“Let’s put all this mess behind us and enjoy a nice cupa joe.”
That was my dad as cryptic as ever.
In other words.
Utterly useless.