“Nina,” her father said, “or—or whoever you are. Your mother has missed you so much that it doesn’t matter to her what sort of unnatural creature you’ve become. But I came to see for myself whether you’re a human or you’re truly—something else.”
Nina looked him in the eye, surprised at how unafraid she was. “Dad,” she said, “I’m truly something else. I’m a shapeshifter. I have a human side and an animal side, and that’s always been true of me, and it always will be true.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tear trickle down her mother’s cheek. Something inside her despaired.
“Then we’ll be going,” her father said.
That was when Joel took a step forward.
“You sorry excuse for a father,” he said.
Her father looked at him. “Excuse me?”
“How dare you abandon your daughter like that,” Joel said, getting fired up. “Kicking her out of the house for who she was? At sixteen? Coming all this way only to reject her again? What sort of man are you, to do something like that to your child?”
“A man who knows what’s right and what isn’t!” her father shouted. “People turning into animals isn’t right. It isn’t natural, and it’s dangerous. I love my daughter, but she’s turned into something I don’t recognize. I have to protect myself and my wife from it.”
Joel looked furious. “You can take your protection and—”
“Joel!” Nina stepped forward, and Joel fell silent, tugging her into his side. She could feel him shaking with rage. “Dad,” she said, “I haven’t turned into anything. This is what I was always like. And—” she couldn’t believe she was saying this, but the words felt so right in her mouth. “And if you can’t handle that, then that’s okay, because I don’t need you anymore. So you can turn around and go home, and we never have to look at you again.” She slipped her arm around Joel’s waist.
“I was hoping for a different outcome to this trip,” her father said heavily, “but I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting it. Come on, Mavis.” He started to turn away.
Nina’s mother stayed standing where she was.
Her father looked over his shoulder. “Mavis, come on. We’re leaving.”
“No,” said Nina’s mother.
Her father turned back, frowning. “Mavis. We agreed that if it turned out that Nina was still some kind of monster—”
“Darryl, stop it,” her mother snapped.
Her father’s face turned angry. “Mavis, you aren’t going to keep insisting that—”
“I am going to keep insisting!” Her mother stepped forward, standing between Nina and her father. “We agreed on nothing. You dictated what was going to happen, even when I explained that I felt differently. Well, guess what, Darryl: you can’t force me to leave if I don’t want to.”
Nina’s heart was beating fast. She clutched hard at Joel, who leaned down to kiss her on the top of the head. Could this be happening?
Her mother turned back. “Honey, please believe me—I was shocked when we learned what—what you are. I was afraid of what it might mean—for you, for us. But I would never have wanted you to be gone for so long. I looked for you after you left, but I could never find you. I just wanted you back. All of you. I feel differently now, and I want to learn better.”
“Mavis,” her father ground out.
Her mom shot a look over her shoulder. “But he hasn’t changed his mind one bit in seven years, and in my mind, that’s no kind of father. So, Darryl, if you’re insisting that I choose between you and our daughter, I choose Nina.” Her eyes teared up, but she blinked them away. “You’ve turned into a hard and bitter man, and I don’t want to live with someone like that anymore. So go home. I’m staying with Nina.”
Her father glared. Joel took a step forward.
“You heard them,” he said, and his voice was hard and implacable. “Your daughter doesn’t want you here. Your wife doesn’t want you here. So get out, and don’t come back.”
The glare transferred to Joel. “I suppose you’re one of those unnatural beasts, too.”
“That’s right.” Joel’s voice had gone low and dangerous. “So it’s not the smartest idea to get me angry, now, is it?”
Nina saw fear dawn on her father’s face. She wondered if that fear was what was fueling all of this anger and hatred, if he was just scared of something he didn’t understand.
It was a sad thing to think about her father, that he might just be a scared man who didn’t know how to deal with being afraid.
“Dad,” she said, “if you ever want to come back, and get to know me, and learn about what I am, you should. I’d like that. But if you can’t do it, then you should leave now.”