I freeze in place, my heart beating wildly. Even if I could shift at will, my small fox would be no advantage against Hunter’s bear.
As I watch, he lifts onto his hind legs and grows even taller, his upper body morphing until his arms elongate and form into a humanoid shape, his paws changing into hands and face shifting so that his jaw and eyes hold a more human expression. He steps forward, towering over me, aggression radiating from the spiked fur at his scruff and the low growl in his throat. “Where is she?”
TWENTY EIGHT
Bastien
Dad is tense on the drive back from the picnic. He barely said a word to anyone, and once Mom left he checked out. I thought at the very least he might make conversation with Jamie, even if he didn’t have much to say to me.
“Did Linda say anything to you about a headache this morning?” he says out of the blue as we turn onto Main Street.
“Nope.”
He growls, winds down the window, and scents the air.
Feeling like something is off, I immediately reach out for Vera through the bond, but it’s as if someone unhooked the bridge or put a wall up halfway across.
What the fuck?
Dad bolts from the truck as soon as I stop the engine. It takes me a moment to react, and then I’m stumbling out the door, looking for the threat, every sense on high alert.
You would have thought I would have learned by now my dad is the threat. Always has been.
That realization finally thunders through my thick skull when he shifts and charges through the door like there’s nothing there.
Cursing, I tug off my shirt and then a flash of fear from Vera socks me straight in the guts, and suddenly the state of my clothing after I force a shift is the last thing on my mind.
I hit full beast so fast my jeans tear clean in half down the seams and my shoes are left in tatters on the drive. I smash through the door after my dad to find him standing over my mate, growling at her, and something in me just snaps.
I’m bigger than he is now. That thought taps at the back of my skull as I grab him by the scruff of fur at his thick neck and slam him back against the kitchen cabinets.
There’s a crash, and Vera gasps and ducks out of the way as wood splinters go flying.
Dad snarls and rounds on me, snapping sharp teeth at my neck, but he’s not strong enough to break out of my grip.
“Don’t you ever fucking threaten my mate again. Do you hear me?”
He snarls.
I slam him back against the cabinets again with a crunch.
“Where is she? What did she say to you?” My dad obviously has a very thick skull. Even using it for demolition on my kitchen isn’t getting through to him.
What the hell is he even talking about? I can’t see past my rage, but Vera’s hand on my arm stops me. “Linda’s gone, and if she knows you at all, I’m going to bet you won’t find her.”
Dad roars, but I grab him and throw him toward the front door, and he rolls and gets to his feet again, shaking himself off.
“Mom left?” I try to keep my voice controlled, but I can hear the roar beneath the surface and hate that.
Vera nods.
That’s what this is about. To be honest, I’m not sure now why she gave dad a second chance. It hurts that she would leavewithout saying goodbye, but I guess I see why she did it. Is this what it was like when I was younger? Did they fight like this the first time and I just somehow blocked out how bad it was?
I shudder wondering if I somehow normalised that sort of conflict, made excuses for him.
“This was your idea, wasn’t it, you little bitch?”
Rage blinds me for a moment, and Dad’s thick musk fills the air, dulling my instincts, making me want to lay down, to submit.
