Mae POV
The clock on the dash of the car is broken. I have been watching the sky, trying to keep track of the hours that have passed in the car but it is impossible to tell.
Francesca has only made one stop for gas and she refused to let me out of the car. Jameson's body is being to get stiff from rigor mortis. I am desperate to get away from his body. Despite my efforts to not to look at him, I keep glancing at the dead body from the corner of my eyes.
My father hasn't said a word to Francesca or me since the accident. In the dim light of the car I can see a large lump forming on his forehead and blood dripping from wounds on his neck. I reach forward and lay my hand on his shoulder, but he shrinks away from me.
The reaction is not missed by Francesca, and she laughs hysterically. "Do you really think he cares for you?"
"He is my father," I snap back at Francesca.
"That doesn't mean he loves you," she grumbles.
My father glances in Francesca's direction but he still doesn't speak.
Leaning back in my seat, I stare out the window. The sun is beginning to rise on the horizon and I recognize where we are. We are heading toward the shore. I get excited. I know where we are going. We are heading to my father's beach house. If only I could communicate with Kieran.
I close my eyes and reach out through the mate bond. I can feel the tether between us become thinner the farther away I get from him.
'Kieran,' I call out his name in my mind but there is no response.
'Our mate is too far away,' Celeste tells me. 'He cannot be reached.'
I let out an audible huff and cross my arms over my chest. Francesca looks at me through the rearview mirror with a smirk on her lips.
"Judging by the mark on your neck, you thought you could reach your mate through the bond," Francesca says slyly.
I meet her glaze in the mirror, but I don't give her the satisfaction of an answer, but her words catch my father's attention. He spins around in his seat and stares at me. Instinctively, my hand covers the mark on my neck, but it is too late. He has already seen it.
He sighs loudly and turns his attention back to Francesca. "Why didn't you tell me she was marked?"
"I didn't think it was necessary information," Francesca says with a shrug of her shoulders.
"You didn't think it was necessary!" My father shouts at Francesca. "How long has she been marked? We only have a limited amount of time to break the bond before it is complete."
"It is too late," Francesca says evilly. "The mate bond between them is already complete. Your daughter has marked Alpha Kieran in return."
My father scoffs loudly, "Impossible. She is not a werewolf."
"Are you sure about that?" Francesca smiles.
"She would have shifted by now," my father replies confidently. "She is too old."
"For a hunter, you are embarrassingly uneducated about our kind," she sneers.
"How to we break the bond?" My father demands to know.
"We have to kill her mate," Francesca says as if I am not even in the car. "But that is not part of the plan."
"What is the plan?" I can't help but interrupt their conversation.
"The plan is to make Kieran suffer for the way he abandoned us," Francesca tells me freely.
"You will not be killing my daughter," my father hisses at Francesca. "That was never part of the deal."
"That is not the only way to make someone suffer through the mate bond," Francesca grins. "But with Jameson dead I will have to find another to take his place."
I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I don't want to know what she is talking about. It appears that my father doesn't want to know what she is talking about either because he doesn't ask anymore questions.
Pulling my feet up onto the backseat, I draw my knees to my chest. Resting my head on my knees, I try not to fall asleep. I squeeze my eyes shut and I try to pretend like I am on a road trip with my dad and step-mom. Just like when I was a child, we would pack up the car and head to the beach house for a long weekend.
While I am stuck in my world of pretend. I hear the sound of gravel underneath the tires. That sound used to be exciting to me. It meant that we were getting close to the beach house. But now the sound fills me with dread.
I open my eyes and peer out of the front window. I can see the light blue beach house in the distance. As we get closer, I can see some major differences. The windows are blacked out with bars on the outside. There is a large metal door in place of the beautiful wooden one that used to be there. It no longer looks comforting and inviting. My father has turned it into a prison.
Francesca stops the car in front of the beach house and pulls me out of the car. My shoulder is still dislocated, but it isn't as painful as it should be. I get to my feet and roll my shoulder awkwardly. There is a loud pop as my shoulder moves back into place.
I can't suppress the look of surprise on my face and Francesca laughs at me. She leans in close and whispers in my ear, "One of the perks of being a werewolf."
Ignoring her comment, I let her drag me toward the house. My father opens the door with a key and a security pin. The door creaks open and I step into my childhood home.
All of the furniture is covered with large blankets and there is a thick layer of dust on everything. It has been years since anyone has been here.
I turn to my father and glare in his direction. "Does Susan know what has come of this place?" I ask him referencing my step-mother.
"What your mother doesn't know won't hurt her," my father says.
"Susan is not my mother," I say bitterly.
"She will be sorry to hear that," my father responds harshly. "She helped to raise you."
"Only because you kicked my mother out," I scream at my father.
"That is not how it happened," Dad replies. "Don't you remember?"
"You can stop lying to me," I snap at him. "I am an adult."