I squeezed my eyes shut when his arms tightened around me.
My eyes beamed. I snuggled my head in his chest, and his arms to hide my tears. His gesture warmed my heart when he wished me a ‘Happy Birthday’.
“What would you like for your Happy Birthday?” When he asked and waited for a few minutes for my response. “Oh, you can’t talk right now, can you?” He gently dropped me on the floor.
What is he doing? Is he abandoning me because I can’t talk in my wolf’s form yet?
I couldn’t talk in my wolf’s form because I hadn’t developed properly. I was still young and the family’s doctor said it would take time to fully develop into a full-fledged wolf.
I was afraid that if Sihwa, my father, discovered I wasn’t like other wolves, he would hate me.
But he didn’t.
“Change back into your human form and speak to me?”
I nodded and morphed into my human form. I stood in front of him, naked. Felt embarrassed, and my hands covered my private parts in front of him. I felt ashamed to look at his face. I tightened my lips and looked down at my feet.
“You took your mother’s hair and her eyes, too.” He commented and patted my shoulder-length black hair and ran his fingers through the strands of my hair. “You are a handsome alpha.”
“You think so?” I beamed in excitement at him for complimenting me. No one has ever told me I was handsome.
“Yes, Shiva.” He agreed. “Now, tell me, Shiva, what do you want?”
“Cookies.” I replied to him. “And you.”
“What! Me?”
“Yes.” I cackled. “I want to stay with you for a whole day. That’s my wish.” I couldn’t stop laughing.
“Why?” He squatted in front of me with his hands wrapped on his knees. “Why do you want me to stay close to you?”
“Because…because you…” I didn’t want to say the word. My fear got the best of me to say anything. I thought if I said the word, he would hate me. Maybe I shouldn’t judge him so fast because of what people gossip about him.
“Say the word, Shiva.” He gently urged me.
“It’s because you are my father.” I let out with my eyes closed. I slowly opened them to see his reaction wasn’t what I expected.
He was chuckling.
“Did you escape from your quarters on the day of your birthday to see me and want to be with me?”
To be honest, I didn’t come out to see him because of my birthday. I came out to see him as his son. I needed to know what he acted like and what it felt like to be around him. That love I didn’t get from anyone. I thought he would give it to me.
In simple words, I wanted my father, and that’s why I went out to meet him.
“Yes.” I nodded obediently.
“Is your great-grandfather mistreating you?” he asked, and I shook my head and in a low tone I said. “No, he isn’t like that. It’s just…he doesn’t let me out. He always locks me in my room all day long. If I ever escape, he beats me up and punishes me. I couldn’t take it anymore. I heard from the maids in the pack that maybe if I meet you, you could save me. They also said you probably didn’t know how the alpha treated me…” I kept talking to my father. I went on and on, about how doesn’t let me eat what I want, do what I wish to do and give me my freedom.
I told him how he refused to let me play the piano and go out with my friends. How he was so strict about my diet and wouldn’t let me have cookies.
Ice cream, candies, biscuits and so on.
He pours water on me and flogs me if I wake up late. He lets me sleep on the floor if I forget a simple task. As I kept explaining the mistreatment, I got from my great-grandfather. My father listened attentively to me without a word. I didn’t know, as I was speaking up about everything to him. My tears streamed down my cheeks.
My father focused on me.
No one has ever listened to me before. Or bothered to hear what I had to say. If I speak a word my great-grandfather doesn’t like, I get beaten up for it and slapped on the cheeks multiple times. Or if I go below a certain mark in my test or exams, it becomes a living hell. My childhood wasn’t okay. Every night I would pray to grow up pretty fast so I can take care of myself.
My little hands wiped off my tears.
My father cupped my face and leaned his forehead on mine. “In the future,” he began. “I’m sorry if I don’t open up to you about certain things. I grew up without opening up to anyone.”
Even though I didn’t know what he meant by those words, I nodded my head as if I understood what he just said. He kissed my forehead and cleaned up my tears with the tip of his fingers.
“SHIVA.”
My body jerked at the thunderous roar behind me. I ran to my father’s back and held his right hand as he stood up from his posture. I tightened my little hands on his hand, forgetting I was naked earlier.
“What are you doing here?” He glared. “You escaped from your quarters? How dare you, insolent brat!” He yelled and his index finger pointed at me behind my father. “Come back here this instant, Shiva.”
My eyes welled up. I shook my head, not ready to follow him back to my quarters. I won’t sleep tonight. He would punish me by telling me to bend forward on my toes and push my arms backward till dawn like a bird.
“I heard you treat him like a puppy on a leash.” My father uttered. “Can you see the way he is holding onto me, grandfather?”
“You know nothing-”
“Of course I do.” My father cut in. “Didn’t leave you in his care to mistreat him. Though you volunteered to take custody of my son since I was too young to take care of him. Nearly 16 when my son was born. I’m 24 years old now, grandfather. I can take care of him.”
“Sihwa-”
“Remind me of our age difference again, grandfather?”
“He’s 8 years old. He needs to learn how to take care of himself. If he acts clingy like this, he will never be independent. He’s an alpha. He learns to be a werewolf and an alpha. Now, let him go, Sihwa.” He roared and came up to me to snatch me away from my father.
Sihwa held his arm and pushed him away from me. “Stay off my son.” He darkly spoke and held my left hand. And at that moment, my father’s furs grew on his skin. As the moon shone brightly upon us, I saw the beautiful red furs of my father and his claws forced out his nails. “Don’t lay your hands on him again.”