I don’t bother probing him. Whatever it is he’s so desperate to tell me, he can tell me when he’s ready.
“You know... you’re even prettier than your mother was at your age, Ylfa.”
My eyes blur, and now I gawp at him. “What? How do you know my mother?”
For the first time since I’ve met him, he finally has the gall to look sheepish. I growl and stomp closer, waves splashing in my wake.
“Well, speak? How do you know her?”
Finally, he lifts his head, grinning tightly. “I never told you what pack I was banished from, hey?”
The sand gives way beneath me, and now I stagger on my feet, almost tripping over a clump of seaweed. “You... came from the Northern Pack?”
“Yes. And your mother was an old... friend...”
Friend? My heart pounds, and now I look at him with brand new eyes. Oh, God. Oh dear God, no...
This can’t be happening.
I run, run as far away as I can. I can’t deal with this bullshit right now. Tears are streaming down my cheeks as the salty air burns my eyes, yet I don’t stop.
I keep running.
“Ylfa!” Butch shouts behind me, but I’m already halfway down the beach.
Shit. I guess I finally met the man who abandoned my mother...
Butch is my dad.