Mae POV
My father ignores my outburst and shuts the new heavy front door. I wander around the downstairs of the house, running my fingers through the dust that lies on everything. Twisting a clump of dust between my fingers, I drop it to the ground.
"Were you born in a barn?" Francesca snarls from behind me.
"No," I snap at her. "I was brought up here. When it was a respectable house."
Francesca steps close to my back and holds me by my neck. She turns my head awkwardly so I am looking into her eyes. "You will watch your tone with me, or you won't last much longer."
A sound that I have never made before rips from my chest. It sounds like a growl. Francesca laughs at my weak attempt to frighten her. But the noise continues to rumble with in my chest.
"Put my daughter down," my father hisses at Francesca, and I hear the sound of a gun cocking.
I was so busy trying to be intimidating that I didn't notice Francesca had lifted me off the ground. My toes are barely touching the floor. She flexes her fingers around my neck before she releases me.
My feet hit the ground painfully, but I manage to stay standing. Slowly, I turn around and stare at the scene unfolding in the living room.
Dad has a gun pointed at Francesca's head, and she has her teeth bared at him. Foam and drool are pooling in her mouth and dripping from her chin.
The standoff, between the two of them is becoming tense. I wait for one of them to make a move, but neither of them do.
Finally, I get bored of waiting for one of them to do something.
"Am I staying in my old room?" I ask, trying to break the tension.
My father lowers his gun and decocks it. He looks at me with a worried look on his face. "Yes, Kiddo. You will find that all of your items have been brought from your apartment."
"All of my items," I repeat slowly.
"Of course," my father smiles at me. "I couldn't have my favorite daughter walking around in rags."
I look down at the clothes on my body. They are dirty and covered in blood, but they are far from rags. Kieran made sure that he provided me with the best.
"I am going to head to bed," I sigh.
I push past Francesca, making sure I bump her shoulder with mine. She snarls in my direction, but she doesn't make a move to touch me again. Not with my father's eyes glaring down on her.
"I will show you to your room," my father says to me.
I look at him uncomfortably. Yes, he is the man who raised me, but he is not the man I knew. "I know the way."
"Please," my father begs. "I need to show you to your room."
"Whatever," I roll my eyes.
I stomp up the stairs, hitting each step as loudly as I can. I want to make sure my dad knows that I am displeased. I can hear him following me up the stairs at a safe distance, and I am suddenly aware that he never put the gun down.
'He is your father,' Celeste's voice rings out in my mind. 'He will not hurt you.'
'I don't know who he is anymore,' I whimper.
'Just remain calm,' she coaches me. 'It won't be long until I can protect you.'
I swallow hard as I reach the top of the stairs. I walk down the hall to the room that I used to call my own. Unfortunately, the pretty pink door that used to sit at the end of the hallway is gone, and a large metal door is waiting for me.
Stopping dead in my tracks, I stare at the prison door. Tears run down my cheeks. I should have known that I would not be free to move about the house while I was here.
I spin around and stomp my foot, wiping the tears from my eyes. "I am a prisoner," I state the fact.
"Only until we can rid the world of this Alpha Kieran," Dad replies.
"He is my mate," I scream at him.
"You don't have a mate," my father shouts back. "You are a human."
"Is this what you told yourself about Mom?" I snap at him.
"Your mother tricked me with her knowledge of the past and future," Dad says quietly.
"Were you her mate?" I ask boldly.
"I don't believe in mates," my father responds shortly. "I am not a monster."
"And I am?" I spit back at him.
"You aren't one of them," my father pleads with me. "You won't turn."
"It is too late," I laugh. "I have been marked and mated. I will turn on the next full moon."
"Who told you such nonsense?" Dad whispers.
"Mom," I tell him. "I have spoken to her."
Dad takes a step away from me and shakes his head from side to side. "Which Narah did you meet? The normal one or the crazy one."
"Both," I tell him honestly.
Taking a deep breath, Dad steps toward me. He places his hands on my shoulders and pulls me in for a hug. "Your mother cannot be trusted," he warns me.
"I am finding her the most trustworthy between the two of you right now," I tell him.
"I was worried you might say that," Dad sighs.
He holds my neck still and plunges a needle into my skin. The liquid rushes through my veins, and it burns. I whimper as I push him away from me. I pull the syringe from my neck and look at it glistening in my hand. It rolls off my fingertips and breaks against the hard floor.
Green liquid splatters onto the floor, and an earthy scent comes from it. I don't know much about what poisons a werewolf, but I am sure this is one of them.
The poison courses through my veins. It feels like every single cell of my body is on fire. I drop to my knees in front of my father, the man who raised me.
"How could you?" I manage to gasp out.
"I am saving you from a life of hell," he tells me as he drags me to the door of my new prison.