Call of the Wolves

15. Forest in Our Eyes

"You look like her." After all of the years imagining what I would want to say to my father, what he would say to me, all those moments of dreaming could have never prepared me for now. Observing every detail of him, studying his face, I try to find any link, any connection, between us. Though he holds the same green embers in his eyes, I've never expected to know him as more than a blurred face within my mind. Even to think of him as a name, but never an actual person, it made it easier to hate him. To not care for him. Yet here he is now in front of me.

Words escape and any possible response I could say is lost in my chest. 'Hey Dad, I know you abandoned me for almost eighteen years, but hey, since I'm a werewolf now, I guess it's time for a family reunion. Should I even mention all of those years that you missed, or should I get straight into saving your pack?' Probably not the best introduction.

The two of us stand frozen between the charms of pine greens and stillwater blues, rosewood red and a burning sun orange. Ancient trees casting shadows that shapeshift along the lush grass and dirt. Tears of sunlight kissing the ground and flowers sheltering themselves in the green below. My own personal slice of heaven, but a moment in hell.

"Funny, she used to say the same to me about you. Though, I could never see the resemblance before." Through the sarcasm that tries to emit with each word, a soft whimper follows behind. Damn it. Shaking my head, I force myself back towards the water. Picking up a small stone beside my foot, I skip it across the crystal lake.

One... two... three... I count the number of skips the smoothed rocked takes as ripples form in its trail. After a few more jumps, the weight of the stone allows it to be swallowed by the water below.

"I did what I had to. For your protection, for your mother's. There was no other choice to make," his voice remains steady as his words draw out.

I attempt to wait, knowing that anything I say in these next moments won't be what I truly want to say. My heart and my brain working against one another, being out of control of either. But eventually, like the stone that is now descended beneath the water, I sink.

"There's always another choice," my emotions consume me and any willpower is being pulled down with each second. The heaviness of my mind is drowning. "There is always another choice," I repeat, my voice more forceful now. "You didn't have the courage to look for one."

"If I had stayed, both of your lives would have been in danger."

"Look around," my arm rises up, gesturing to the forest around. "I am in danger right now. This great plan you forced on everyone has failed. I'm being hunted and had to leave behind everything I've ever known. But I made that choice. I made the choice to come here and help you. If you had ever wanted to stay, and wanted to truly protect us, you would have done it."

"I never wanted this for you, Serelia. I tried my best and if I had any other options..." His voice remains monotone, never once faltering as he remains in his place. "I never wanted you to be involved in this life. That's why I delayed your transformations, that's why I left. This isn't what I wanted for you or your mother."

"I saw you with her. You didn't seem to try so hard to keep her out of this life all those years ago. She would have never known about it if it weren't for you."

Aryce remains silent for a moment, only staring at me as I wait. "Your dreams... an ability so few ever have." He changes the subject. Well, there appears to be one connection between us. "I didn't know it was something you had gained until Caesar mentioned his visits with you. The last person I've known who had the sight was years ago, but before then, it had been decades. Perhaps that's why the incantation wore off before its normal time. It's not surprising, especially because of your mother. She has a rare gift so many Maleo's never possess—to believe in the unbelievable. She was special, and when I learned about her, I had to know her. To figure out why her. Instead, I fell in love..." He pauses once again, a quick gulp as his eyes break from my direction before bouncing back up as quickly. "I never wanted any harm to her. We had discussed leaving, going off somewhere far. She leaves Lupa Valley and I leave the pack, but those were plans from long ago."