Surviving Him (ON HIATUS FOR UPDATE AND FIXINGS)

How Did I Get Here?

"Or is that a lie too?"

I was looking at a man. A handsome man. A man who has been so sweet to me since I met him at the dinner meeting with James. A man who I think is my father. I didn't think I had anyone else.. I thought I lost everyone I knew.

I've just asked him if he is my father.. he hasn't responded yet. He was looking at me for the longest time then he looked away. He looks like he's gaining his thoughts.

"Am I wrong?" I ask. He's still quiet.

He turns to me after a few silent seconds. "How bout.. we go on a walk?" He asks me softly. I'm not sure it's wise due to James probably destroying the house already from me coming out with him now. But I really want to know..

If I go, will things be worse with James? Will he hurt me again? Or will this familiar stranger take me away?

"Yes." I make up my mind quickly. A walk won't hurt. And it would be nice to get away from the house that I know is holding a fuming man as we speak. I don't want to go back to that. Not ever, but that's holding onto a lost wish.

We walk through the quiet village, side by side. We didn't talk for a while till we were just away from all the homes.

"You aren't wrong. You are completely right..." Clark finally speaks softly. He hasn't looked at me since we've left the house. "Maybe I should start from the beginning?" He glances to me.

I nod and look to him. "That would be nice.. I am confused on all of this."

He smiles and nods. "I would expect such.. since we lost you when you were so little." He sighs leading me to a bench lined against the tree side to the right. He sits and offers me the seat beside him.

"I am sure you have a million questions. And I will answer them all. If not through the story then after, okay?" He informs me and I nod, agreeing.

He sighs trying to relax. I watch him, intrigued to know everything. Where has he been? Why am I not with him? Why am I here? Why.. why doesn't he take me away right now?

"Do you remember any of your childhood?" He asks me and I nod. "I remember some. Pieces, but not much." I answer him.

The wind is blowing to give us a small chill, but it isn't enough to freeze us. I pulled my knees up to hug them to my chest and break the wind from me a bit. I look up to him for him to continue.

"Well.. something I am sure you know of is, it was you, your mother and me. Our little family. But we weren't alone. We had a much larger family. A whole pack. Similar to this one. A bit bigger but close. And I ran it" He smiles as if remembering a long ago memory. I watched him with bewilder eyes.

He continued, "Your mother helped me run things. She was my Luna and I was her Alpha. Then we had you. Our princess. The one thing in life that we couldn't believe we were gifted.." He looked away. Trying to hide his emotions from me. "I'm so sorry Sabriana You should have never ended up here. Your mother would slap me now if she could see.."

I furrow my brows wondering what he means by if.. "If? Did she not come with you?" The lady he came with to the dinner wasn't my mother. I had noticed. but didn't ask. I was waiting for him to tell me.

"No... Your mother died 4 years ago.."

I gasps from a breath of shock. She's..

"How?" I asked quietly.

He looks to me with sadness and longing. "Let's just stay on track for now biscuit.."

I sighed wanting to know, but I obeyed his words. Something I have had to learn to do over the last few years of living with the devils spawn, James.

He continued telling me my life before.

"We were happy. Very happy.." He got quieter. "Your mother and I spent every moment with you as we could. Never leaving you alone unless we needed to, but we had you being watched by our pack pup sitter. She was great with you." He smiled then it faded. "We left you with her one morning due to us needing to join an important pack meeting. One we couldn't miss. It revolved around the attacks our pack was getting those previous months. We had been trying to track down who it was. We gained a member of that pack, a killer. Kept him held in the basement for questioning. My Beta wasn't easy on him. He did well."

I look up to him and tilt my head. "He beat on him?"

"As he should. I gave him those orders. He killed five of our loyal warriors. And fifteen innocent pack members.. men, women and children. They were trying to get into the secured bunker for protection. They were harmless and he slaughtered them like they were paper in a shredder" He fumes speaking about this.

I reach over and lightly rest my hand over his. He was shaking, but calmed at my touch. I have never affected someone like this other than Josh.

He looks to our hands and gently moves his to hold mine. It a lifeline for him. "So.. during the meeting, we discussed over what my Beta retrieved from the wolf. He found who the Alpha, the leader, was of this terrible pack. His name was Zachariah."

The name is familiar to me. I've heard it before. Or more seen it. "James's father.." I whispered when I remembered. "I seen a photo and his name was on the back. I asked James about it once. Told me it was his father he lost and didn't want me to ever ask again." I sighed at the memory. He slapped me for touching his things.

Clark, my father, seemed to read me well. He doesn't like what he sees. "Sabriana.. How badly has he hurt you? You flinched from my touch before, why?"

I didn't look at him. Instead, I stared hard at my feet below me. "Sabriana." He spoke more firmly and I didn't like it. Not him. Not him too..I don't want that kind of tone from him. He isn't to be that way.

He leans forward in hope to grab my eye. I give it to him. I look to him with teary eyes. "Why did you let me end up here? Why are you leaving me here with him?" I whispered so quietly, I barely heard myself.

But he must have great hearing because he heard. "I am so sorry biscuit.." He reaches out to touch me and I move away. He is the cause of me landing here. I'm sure of it. If he is my father, he never would've allowed for me to be in this place. To have gone through all this hell. All this torment.

"I'm sorry." He repeats. "Let me finish telling you. So you can get all your anger out on me at once, alright?" I nodded, knowing this is going to get worse.

He bites his lip and turns in his seat to face me better. "I searched Zachariah out till I found him, here. We attacked and avenged our dead. But he overpowered us. His wolves were to strong.." He looks away as he speaks. "He got us all on our knees before him. Begging for our lives and forgiveness like animals.."

I try not to laugh at the obvious reality that..we are animals.

"I was so glad that your mother hadn't come with us. Or she might've been taken..killed.." He shakes his head of the thoughts. "She was safely gone on a trip to a council meeting to represent our pack, that we were worth staying as a pack and still needed necessary supplies that they gave us every month." He glances to me, "That isn't important right now" He answered the questioning look I was giving him.

Clark smirks, liking how curious I was being. "Anyway.." Any laughter faded. "Zachariah asked me if I wanted to make a deal.." He looks spaced when I looked back up to him. "He said that when his son turned of age, he wanted him to have a lady of his own. One he knew he could count on to do as his pack needed." His jaw tightened. "He somehow knew of you. I don't know how, but he did. He wanted you to be his daughter-in-law. Of course I disagreed. No one, especially him, was getting anywhere near my little girl."

I stared blank. "But yet here I am." I said it more harsh than I meant and he flinched. I silently was okay with that. He could take some hard words with me enduring all this.

"It was never meant to happen.. I didn't even know he had you till I seen you at the dinner with him. He never told me. He knew who you were ever since he saved you and never told me a word. I would've come for you Sabri-"

I interrupted. "Then come for me now. What is stopping you, hmm? Nothing. And yet I am still sitting here. You knew it was me during the dinner. You should've taken me home right at that moment and you didn't!" I pushed out my anger on him. Why didn't he take me then? Why still let me go..

"James is a terrible person and you're letting me stay. Not doing anything! He hurts me. Everyday and every night. I hate seeing myself in the mirror anymore for I don't want to see what looks back at me. I am reminded all the time by him how worthless I am and you did this! You caused this!"

He took all my words. All my pain. I was tired.. tired of everything.

He goes to reach for me, but I stand. I don't want the man who put me here to ever feel my skin.

"You can leave..." I strongly tell him through my tears.

"Sabriana.. please don't. Come with me now.. he isn't watching." Clark looks around to check. But I know better.

I shake my head. "He's always watching me." I sigh trying to calm down. "I think it's best you go.."

After a moment, he stood and nods to me. "I will get you away from here Sabriana."

Watching him stand and leave was torture of itself. My ticket out of hell was leaving with him. And I was screaming for it.