Chapter 11 - Diana
One Week Later
I hadn’t been in this house in eleven years, but it felt like no time had passed. I hadn’t thought I’d ever see these walls again, have a full kitchen or room to myself.
It took a week for witches to reconstruct the houses on our old territory so we could move into the homes we had before we were chased out of town. Now that the pack was significantly smaller, there was an excess of houses, but perhaps we’d gain new members over time.
That was a little laughable, I realized. No one aware of the Bluemoon Pack’s exploits would join us. Unless they were delinquents who wanted to partake in Jackson’s foolery with his band of baboons.
It was unreal that tonight I’d be able to sleep in the house I grew up in. It was strange to imagine something or wish for something for so long and finally get it. In moments like those, what was imagined was rarely the same as reality, good and bad.
In this instance, though, the reality was even better than imagined.
Standing at the entrance to the living room, I watched Dad while he unpacked. He looked more at ease than I’d seen him in years, and this was what I wanted, for him to be at peace. We didn’t have a lot of furniture, only the ones we’d left behind that the witches fixed, but I didn’t mind.
We had our home back, and Dad and I had each other, which was enough.
“Are you okay?” Dad asked while positioning the sofa by the wall. “How about we have movie night today? I’ll be heading into town tomorrow to find a job.”
“You know, I won’t be staying in the pack like back in the day,” I said while entering the room and plopping down on the sofa beside him. “I can get a job and provide for us both.”
Dad shook his head. “For the last couple of months, you did that because I couldn’t find a job. But we’re home now, and I know people won’t be excited about our return, but I know a few folks that might be willing to hire me.”
I didn’t even want to think about the trash town we just moved from. I was incredibly excited to never hear a train again, but with the lack of job opportunities there, Dad could not work like he wanted to.
“It’s good to be back,” Dad mumbled more to himself than me while looking around the room. “I haven’t breathed air this clean in quite some time.”
“That’s why you started aging, old man,” I teased, and he laughed. “But yes, it’s good to be back. The town has changed so much, though.”
“How so?”
“There are new streets, cafés, restaurants,” I answered while picturing the town. “It’s the same old Wolfcreek but also not. In the few days I’ve been here, only one person recognized me because there were so many new faces. I doubt you’ll have issues in town, Dad, not like some other pack members.”
“I suppose Wolfcreek isn’t as off the map as it once was,” Dad rebutted. “But that can be a good thing. It means more opportunities.”
“How about we take tomorrow for ourselves?” I suggested. “I can show you around. We haven’t had a moment to ourselves in years.”
Being here, remembering my childhood and all the moments I spent with my Dad, I wanted us to revisit that. I wasn’t too grown to spend time with my old man. I knew nothing about my mother since she left us when I was born, and I didn’t need to know anything about her.
Dad raised me, and he did a damn good job. I didn’t need to know about a woman capable of abandoning her child. While Dad had been strict with me as a child, I quickly learned why. He only wanted to protect me, and I developed that same feeling toward him.
No matter that he was an adult, I’d vowed to do anything to protect him at a young age.
Dad turned to face me. “We should.” He reached out and moved my hair over my shoulder. “But I’ve been worried about you, Diana.”
I knew where he was going with this, and I didn’t want to talk about it—I didn’t want to talk about Kaleem.
“I’m okay,” I told him. “I came, I did what I needed to, I faced my past, and our future is looking brighter than it has in years. I’m fine, Dad, truly.”
“A woman is never fine whenever she saysI’m fine,” he chuckled, but he still looked worried. “You know you can talk to me, right? I don’t know Kaleem personally, but I knew he was an honorable wolf worthy of you.”
I didn’t want to hear this. It simply hurt too much.
I took a breath and stood up. “Yeah, well, we’re all moving on from the past. You haven’t shifted in a while, have you?”
Dad stared at me for a second, then nodded. Of course, he saw through my act of trying to change the subject, but what was I supposed to do? I didn’t want to tell him I slept with Kaleem, and now I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
When he stood up, Dad pulled me into an unexpected hug. “You have a right to be happy, you know that right, and with whomever you wish?” he whispered. “Never fight your true emotions because you’ll only make them stronger. I always tell you that.”