Howling Fury (Book 1) (Being Edited)

Chapter 28

"So this means that my father wasn't my father?" I ask Marcus in a small voice. I had removed the chain from his wrist just after he told me about my mother. I don't know why, but I have the sudden urge to trust him.

"He wasn't your biological dad," he replies. "You have the DNA from hundreds of shifters within you, including Garbaroth's. I'm sorry, but the man your mother ran away with had no blood ties to you."

I feel like screaming. The man I loved and thought of as a father turns out to be some guy who decided to flee Garbaroth with my mother. An arm snakes around my shoulder and squeezes gently. I look at Mark and see that his eyes reflect my own. Disbelief and pain.

I return my gaze to Marcus whose face is riddled with regret. "I'm sorry. He may not have been tied to you in any blood related way, but he was your father all the same. He left his own life to be with your mother and you. In the end, he even gave his life to protect you. He loved you every bit as much as any father could."

He is right, of course, but I can't help but feel the slightly hollow feeling in my chest. I'll just have to accept it and more on. Marcus is right; my father gave his life to protect me and I won't disgrace his memory by doubting his love for me.

"You're right Marcus. He loved me as a daughter and I loved him as a father. As far as I'm concerned, he is my father. There is nothing more valuable than that." I look between Marcus and his father and raise an eyebrow.

The relationship between me and my father will never change, but the relationship between Marcus and his father can. It can get better. Their fragile relationship is slowly shattering because of their refusal to admit their feeling to one another. Marcus feels that his father doesn't have time for him and blames him for his mother’s death. Alistar feels the exact same way because they don't speak. They don't express their feeling to each other. Well, I plan on changing that.

"From the surprised look on your face at the fact that your father was genuinely afraid for your safety, I would guess that you feel that he doesn't love you. Well, I'd just like to let you know that I put a wall of fire between you and him and he was willing to walk through it in order to get to you. The sound of your screaming tortured him and the only thing that stopped him from being badly burnt was Mark restraining him. I think the fact that your father was willing to, quite literally, walk through fire to save you proves his feelings."

Ok, so maybe I'm not telling the whole truth but if this helps their relationship, who cares? "Alistar, Marcus loves you. He always has and he always will. But he feels that you don't love him and that you blame him for his mother’s death. He doesn't know how much you love him, so show him."

The pair look equally shocked but the look at each other. "Life's too short. I'm sorry about her death but you have to move forward with your lives. It's what she would have wanted."

Ok. I'm not the best talker in the world but at least my words are striking home. I see tears well up in both their eyes and I can't help but feel happy. Hopefully they can have a proper relationship and move on from the past.

"Dad. I'm so sorry about what I did. You have to understand. I though you didn't love or care about me and Garbaroth used that thought to ensnare me. I fell for his lies and I'm so sorry." A single tear trickles down Marcus's face as he speaks to his father.

Alistar nods slowly before beginning his own apology. "I understand son. I haven't been the best father in the world and I'm sorry for that. After your mother’s death, I felt like I had died as well. Every time I looked at you I saw her and my heart ached. But I don't blame you. I blame myself. I never should have left our old pack in the first place. I thought your life would be better without my in it, but I see know that I was wrong. You mean the world to me and I was foolish to push you away."