Through eyes that are not entirely mine, I watch as I run through the forest, away from Kades packhouse. I cut myself off from my emotions, not wanting to feel a thing. Not wanting to feel the bitter sting of betrayal, again. I try not to question and dwell on why bad things are suddenly happening to me. I try to look on the bright side of things. But the only good outcome of my situation that I can see right now is that I'll always have a companion. Fatima will always be with me and with her I'll always be strong.
I let my consciousness of my surroundings slip and when Fatima brings me back to focus I see that she led me back to the town I lived in. Even though I refused to admit it to myself, she took me back where I wanted to go. She took me home. The place I've known all my life, although I look at it with a different light now.
Somehow during the shift, my clothes stayed on my body. I don't know how that works but I'll save that information to use at another time. I stalk towards my home and stand at the door. It feels foreign to be here now. Should I knock? Just go in? Should I even be here? Did they even ever really want me here?
Deciding not to think about the answers to those questions right now I square my shoulders and lift my chin. Opening the door, I walk in on a surprised man from Kade's pack and my Dad. I can smell the packs medic in Mom's room but I ignore him. Looking at the guy sitting on the couch near my Dad, I let Fatima to the forefront so he can see her in my eyes. He gulps audibly and stands, bowing his head.
"Give us some privacy." I say coldly, already dismissing him from my mind.
Dad watches me with fascination and curiosity. I look at him cold and calculatively. How could he lie to me all this time? The betrayals from him hurt so much I doubt I'll ever be the same again. He stands and my eyes track his movements closely, like a predator. " I am a predator." I think.
Dad takes in my less than welcoming features and his face falls. "So you know?" He asks quietly.
I narrow my eyes at him. Somewhere my mind tells me I need to cool off. Somewhere, the civilized part of me warns me not to be too harsh, to give my Dad a break, let him catch his breath. A lot has changed for him too and the stress could be too much.
But the wild side of me, the angry and hurt side, couldn't care any less at this moment. This side of me wants to lash out, hurt him the way I've been hurt, knock his world upside down the same way he did to me. But his world has already been turned upside down along with yours.
Fatima tries to reason with me but I can barely hear her right now. "Does Raya and Tora know, Dad." I sneer the last part, reveling in his flinch. In the way his eyes are downcast. Where I once would never want to see my Dad look small and defeated, I'm waiting for that look right now. I'm not myself, and yet I am. I've never been so whole, but felt so broken.
When my Dad shakes his head my lip curls, "So you've just lied to us all our whole lives. Do you even care about how that affects us?" My pulse throbs, my temperature is high, but I know I won't shift. I have full control over my shifting and I just hope it stays that way.
"Baby, I never thought you'd find out. We never thought you would find out. To us you are OUR daughter, blood or no. You're ours." He tells me.
I see red though. Never thought I would find out? Like I didn't deserve to know, or couldn't handle the truth. I wouldn't have loved them any less if they had just been truthful with me.
"Have you lost your mind?" I ask eerily quiet, calm.
His brows pinch and he looks sort of disappointed. "Sweety, I know this is all different. I know it's a change, but that's no way to talk to your father."
My eyes dilate and I ignore what he said to me. "It's obvious you know what I am, and it's equally obvious you've known for quite some time. Possibly my whole life. So did you never stop to think that I'd shift sooner or later? That I could hurt someone in this house? One of the kids? You never stopped to think you should have a conversation with me about who I really am!?"
By the end of my rant I'm screaming and I don't give a fuck but then Kade walks through the front door and I've had it with both of them. So well Kade looks at me and says, "Enough.", well you know that definitely couldn't be the end of it.
I turn on him, fury burning through me. And it's not only mine, Fatima is furious with him as well. Serves him right.
"Fuck you!" Fatima and I snarl together, making my voice sound distorted but powerful. Really, really powerful. "You sit there with that smirk and that smug ass expression like you own me and you don't! You never will."
I watch as Kade crosses his arms and tilts his head to the side. His face giving nothing away. "But I do own you, your father made sure of that when he signed our contract."
My Dad tries to step in, "I signed the contract but it wasn't like that. It was never like that. As a father I would never sign something like that and be content while my daughter is being treated as though she's owned."
I turn towards him slowly, ice flowing through my veins, temples throbbing to the beat of my heart. "But you signed it, and you aren't my Dad." As soon as I finish speaking I hear two little gasps. When I snap my head towards the door I see Raya and Tora, both have tears in their eyes. My own eyes widen in surprise that I didn't notice them there. The anger dissipates to be replaced by sadness. What have I done?