Howling to the Heart (1)

31.

   "EVERYONE got their seatbelts on?" Stiles asked, driving down a back street after we had picked up a panicking Scott.

"No," I admitted, grabbing his headrest and Scott's.

"Just do it," Scott ordered from the passenger.

I braced myself, and only jerked forward the littlest bit as Stiles crashed the front of his Jeep into the back of my dad's car.

Within seconds, Scott was already out the open door, and I was scrambling over the seats as Stiles got out.

"Aww, are you kidding me?" I heard Melissa yell. "Stiles!"

Quickly, I got out of the car and faked a shocked expression, covering my mouth with my hand. "Oh, God," I gasped.

"Riah?" Melissa questioned, standing at the back of my dad's car with a furious expression. Yep, we were done for. "I swear you two!"

"Mrs. McCall?" Stiles questioned, acting like he had no idea.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, and a few people started to fill the street from their houses as I watched my dad get out of his car.

All it took was for me to see his face, and my heart ached.

For years after the fire, I took care of him as best as I could. I loved him more than anything.

He was my last parent.

And this was how we were now.

Enemies.

"Wow, this is...This is just crazy," Stiles breathed, walking toward Melissa. "What a coincidence, huh?"

"This wasn't on my bucket list," I admitted, placing my hands on my hips while shaking my head.

"I mean, I do not know what happened," Stiles said, lying horribly. "You guys just came out of nowhere."

"Came out of nowhere?" Melissa repeated with a disappointed look. "We were parked on the side of the road, Stiles."

"How crazy is that?" Stiles threw out his arms, and I took a step closer to him as my dad stopped near us, sending me a smile that I didn't return. "Man, we should probably call the cops, do like an accident report thing."

"I don't think that's necessary," my father objected with a wicked smile.

"Are you sure?" Stiles asked, grabbing the back of his neck. "I think I'm feeling a little whiplash."

"Whiplash? You hit us!" Melissa yelled, but I started to follow my father as he walked away from us.

"Going after his mom, really?" I snarled once we were away from Stiles and Melissa. "How much lower can you go?"

My father turned around with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, posture as careless as ever. "You know, I was expecting a more loving hello than that."

"You know what I was expecting?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "I was expecting my loving father, but obviously, he died in that fire."

Anger flashed across his features, and he took a step toward me, but I kept my feet rooted to the ground, not scared of him at all. "Everything I'm doing is for you, Neriah. All the revenge is for you, your mother, and him."

How dare he?

After everything he had done, he had no right to say it was for us, let alone him.

"I didn't ask for this, and they wouldn't have either," I scoffed. "Do you really think I want you killing people for me? How crazy are you?"

"Our family died!" he raised his voice, taking a step back. "You would be dead too if I didn't save you," he said, quieter that time. "I never tried to kill you. I could've in the video store and at the school or when you visited me, but I never did once."

"What do you want from me? A gift basket?" I rolled my eyes at him. "Why can't you just leave me and my friends alone?"

"I need you and Scott in my pack," he stated, but that wasn't new information. "We're family, Neriah. You are my daughter. The same daughter who visited me with all your achievements, drawings, and flowers. You would tell me stories for hours about your life and stay with me, worried I would feel alone. Is that still my daughter, or did you suddenly change?"

I hated him for bringing all that up.

I hated him for trying to make me second-guess my life with him.

I hated him for tearing us apart.

"Your daughter died the other night, and she's never coming back," I snapped, dropping my arms to my sides. "You've ruined our lives, Peter. You've ruined everything." Shaking my head, I knew I still loved him, but I could never forgive him. "I miss who you used to be."

Turning around, I walked straight back toward Stiles, where he was glancing nervously between me and Melissa.

"Maybe turning that boy will convince you."

Freezing, my heart dropped as I looked at Stiles, at his hazel eyes that were still human and full of life.

My father could never take that away from him. And I would make sure of it.

"If you ever get close to him," I said lowly, almost sounding like a growl as I faced back to my father, flashing my blue eyes, "I will rip out your throat with my teeth and set your body on fire."

My father grinned, squaring his shoulders. "There's my daughter."