Chapter 178
HANNAH
Alpha Wallace continued. "After the war, we might find that he's escaped again. No. He must be brought to justice now. As soon as possible. He can't defy the werewolf council and it's laws. If he does, he will only be proving himself of the charges brought against him. I will personally take this up."
"So you're going to duel with him?" I asked slowly, trying to wrap my head around the concept of this duel for power. "And then if you win, you become the Alpha."
Alpha Wallace didn't hesitate. He nodded once.
"Yes," he said. "Dawson must be stopped now."
*******************
I held on to my father's arm as we walked through the garden. It was almost evening now. In the sky, some stars had come out of hiding and were already twinkling in the sky.
"You're almost as tall as me now," he said, looking over at me. "When I left, I could have sworn you were only this tall."
He showed a spot not much higher than his knee.
"Not as tall as you yet," I said with a laugh. "I still have a long way to go."
He grinned then sighed. "All this time I was scared I would die somewhere out there without seeing you grow into a wonderful young lady as you are now. That fear was more real to me than the fear of Dawson's men breathing down my neck, hunting me down."
I felt wetness on my cheeks. Sniffing, I wiped the tear away.
"I'm sorry I didn't come looking for you, dad," I said. "I'm really sorry."
Once when Asher had just begun tormenting me, I had planned to run away, to find my father and start a new life somewhere, anywhere far from Dawson and Asher. But too much had happened since then. I felt guilty now for focusing on other things and not finding my father.
"Don't beat yourself up, honey," my father said. "Your life was hard enough as the white wolf. How could you possibly find me in the midst of all that?"
"Yes, I know. It was hard but at least I should have tried, made some effort. Mum was devastated after you left. Some nights I heard her cry when she thought I was asleep. I think the worst part for her, for me was not knowing if you were still alive or... dead."
"I know," he said sadly. "I couldn't contact any of you. Dawson had spies everywhere, especially at Breakstone. Even if I had managed to send a message across, there was no way of knowing whether it would get intercepted. It was a risk I couldn't take. I just... went on hoping that something would happen that would make me see you and your mother again. I'm sorry you both had to worry so much."
"It's doesn't matter." I patted his arm. "I guess everything worked out in the head."
After we had walked for a while, he said, "So... my little girl who isn't so little anymore, tell me about your mates."
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. I peeked at him out of the corner of my eyes. I supposed there would always be a hint of awkwardness when daughters and father's spoke about their daughter's love life even though the said daughter was grown.
I told my father everything from being mated to Asher to meeting the triplets and discovering they were also my mates.
My father's brow drew into a frown when I had finished.
"It couldn't have been easy, being mated to Asher," he said. "He's the last person I would have allowed you to be mated to. I would have said to hell with the mate bond. I remember him as a pompous, sadistic brat only slightly better than his father. I don't imagine he's changed."
"He's not. He's even worse now. Being mated to him was worse than unbearable. It was torture. Julia, his jealous girlfriend, poisoned me. I almost died but then I woke up as the white wolf. So I guess, like Alpha Wallace likes to say, the goddess allowed all those things to happen for a reason."
"I suppose he's right. I still wish you could have gotten your powers without having to suffer so much. I wish I had been there to protect you from all of them." He gave me a wry smile. "Between us both, I can't say who's suffered the most. I think it's probably you."
"Let's forget all that," I said when his eyes turned sad. "You're here now and that is all that matters."
He stopped walking so he could pull me into a hug.
"Yes," he said, resting his chin on top of my head. "You're right. That is all that matters."
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