Duke Charming | Craig

Thirty-Two

We remained like that for what felt like lifetimes passing, just holding each other's gazes. I couldn't care less that he was naked or covered in those other wolves' blood. How could I when I still carried the scars he inflicted on me as a child?

My father might have never raised his hand or physically hurt me, but it's his fault that I've grown up believing I was weak and broken. If I had the wisdom then that I have today, I would've run from him sooner before the damage could become too great for time to heal. Before I was old enough to believe the things he told me.

But I shouldn't be caught in the past with my father this moment. Not while there was a creature heading for Craven Pride to hurt the people who actually cared about me.

"What are you doing here?" I finally broke the silence, keeping my voice even and low.

My father's eyes narrowed as if I just asked him a simple math problem. "Don't you think I should be asking you that question?"

So now he's deflecting questions with questions. What else is new?

Rolling my eyes, I started making my way to the SUV. "I don't have time for this right now."

However, I heard him following me by the crunching of his footsteps.

"You've been gone for twelve years, Chanel. Last time I saw you, you were off to find your mate, only for said mate to trespass on my territory a few years prior claiming that was also the last he's seen of you."

I bit my tongue to stay quiet. He was not worth the fight nor the energy that I so desperately needed to get home. Fortunately, the key was in the ignition when I opened the driver's door. Relief eased some of the tension in my shoulders and combined with the gratitude that I've taken the time to learn how to drive during my travels.

But before I could get in behind the wheel, a hand pulled me backward for the door to slam close in my face.

My father spun me around to face him, his expression tense and hard. "Tell me, Chanel, why I had to find out from your mate of all people that you had ran away? I gave you one simple task, just one. I thought it would fix your problem." He kept a death grip on my arm and looked at me like his always did: With disappointment and regret. "So, what happened, huh? Was it too much of a chore for you to get mated? Why. Did. You. Run?"

His interrogation hit the nail on the head with ever syllable he used to draw out that last question. I was done. He didn't own me anymore; he was never my father. I've been fed lies and insecurities about myself and my worth by a man who took me from my home, who robbed me of everything I lack today.

He had no right to even stand before me this moment and accusing me of being incompetent.

"Because," I seethed at him, "my mate rejected me."

The moment those words saw the light, his expression dropped, and his grip on my arm eased. At first glance, I knew he couldn't believe it. It was unheard of for werewolves to reject the person who were meant to share their soul. How could a werewolf exist without their mate after finding them?

"He rejected me because of everything you made me believe, that I am broken and weak." I held his gaze with ice-cold insincerity. He mustn't know how much that hurt me; he didn't deserve to know. "And I knew if I returned mateless and rejected, you'd only remind me once again what a complete and utter disappointment I was to you and the pack. So, I spared myself the pain and left, and I've never been happier."

"Then why would he come looking for you?"

"Because the bastard didn't stop to think that rejecting me would mean he'd lose his power and possibly his rank." As soon as I recalled what Dario told me in the grocery store, there was a pause in my head.