CHAPTER SIX – I am not going

Selene’s POV

“I am not going,” I muttered as I started walking away from my father.

I had no reason to be there anymore. My mom’s body was gone. I wasn’t going with my father and I didn’t want to talk to him again. There was no need for me to linger at the burial site any longer. I was going to go home, sleep on my mom’s bed, and scream my eyes out.

I wasn’t going with my father anyplace. There was no friggin way that I was abandoning my rucksack. There was no friggin way that I was going anywhere with that dude.

“Selene!” he yelled after me.

I didn’t react. I didn’t even turn around.

The dude left me. He deserted my mom. I didn’t need him or his sympathy money.

“Selene!” he called me again, but this time I heard him following behind me.

I started walking faster.

“Selene, stop!” my father shouted.

I ignored him.

My heart was thumping a mile a minute. I wasn’t leaving. I wasn’t leaving my pack. I wasn’t leaving my house. My mom’s stuff was there. I wasn’t going to leave the spot that reminded me of my mom. Her fragrance was still there. I couldn't leave. I didn’t want to leave.

I felt tears flow down my cheeks.

Someone grabbed my arm and stopped me.

I sensed wrath mounting.

“Selene, please,” my father begged.

I tried to withdraw my arm from his hold, but he merely tightened his grip on it.

“I know I screwed up, Selene,” he groaned as he turned me around. “Please let me make it right.”

I squinted my eyes at him.

“I don’t need you to make it right,” I said. “I don’t need your help. My mom and I were well on our own. I am going to be OK on my own.”

“You do need his help, Selene,” Alpha Jasper moaned. “You don’t have money. You are about to lose your house. You need your father’s help.”

A searing agony surged across my chest. I felt tears in the corners of my eyes, but these weren’t sad tears, they were furious ones. I always sobbed when I was furious and I despised it.

“I can work more,” I responded, my voice hoarse. “I can take more shifts. You can offer me a job in the packhouse. I can…”

“Selene,” Alpha Jasper interrupted me.

He groaned and withdrew my father’s fingers away. He drew me into a hug and the tears finally spilled on my cheeks.

“You need to go with your father, Selene,” Alpha Jasper remarked quietly.

“Why?” I asked, trying to stop my voice from cracking. “I don’t need him. I don’t want to go with him. I can remain here. I can remain at the packhouse. I can work as much as you need me to.”

Alpha Jasper moaned as he let me go. He placed his hands on my shoulders and bent down.

“You know the pack rules, Selene,” he added. “You can’t live in the packhouse until you get your wolf.”

I stiffened my jaw.

“Can’t you make an exception?” I begged. “I am 17. I will be 18 in nine months.”

Alpha Jasper took a big breath and exhaled it gently.

“I can’t do that, Selene,” he murmured, hurting my heart all over again. “You are not the first wolf to lose a parent. Usually, the wolves that are underage go live with their family. Your father is the only living relative you have.”

I attempted to gulp down the lump in my throat.

“So you are exiling me?” I asked gently.

“Goddess, Selene, no!” Alpha Jasper exclaimed. “The minute you turn 18 and get your wolf you can come back and live in the packhouse.”

I looked down and took a long breath.

“I am so sorry, Selene,” Alpha Jasper groaned. “Your mom wanted you to go live with your dad.”

I looked up at my father and his new mate.“My mom forgave him for what he did,” I added. “I never will.”

My father closed his eyes and took a big breath.

“You don’t need to forgive me, Selene,” he murmured as he opened his eyes and stared at me. “You just need to let me take care of you.”

I wanted to escape away. I wanted to disappear. I wanted to find another pack and start over.

But I knew what would happen the minute I left my rucksack. I still didn’t have my wolf and I felt unprotected. The rogues would devour me alive, and if they didn’t and I somehow made it to another pack, they would send out a message that there was a 17-year-old she-wolf on the run. I would end up back here or with my father.

I couldn't go away and start my life in another pack until I was 18.

“You won’t be taking care of me,” I answered coldly. “I will find a job at your pack. I shall feed myself. I will take care of myself. I will only go with you because I know what would happen to me if I didn’t. The moment I turn 18, I shall be out of your pack and out of your life.”

My father’s eyes expanded.

“We are fine with that,” his selected mate responded.

I didn’t even know that she was standing next to my father.

Of course, they were cool with it. My father never wanted me. If my mom hadn’t phoned him, he wouldn't even know that she was sick and dying.

“Selene…” my father said, but I interrupted him.

“I said everything I wanted to say,” I muttered, squeezing my hands. “When are we leaving?”

My father gazed at Alpha Jasper.

“Tomorrow morning,” Alpha Jasper replied. “Your father and his mate will stay at the packhouse.”

I nodded and turned around. I ran toward my house.

I couldn't comprehend that I had to leave my house. I couldn't believe that I wouldn't be able to stay here. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to go.

But I had to.

It would be for nine months only. Nine months and I would be free. Nine months and I would never have to see my father again.