Chapter 189: Chapter 189: A Father’s Will
SONIA’S POV
My father was standing in the garden when I walked up to him. The morning light filtered through the leaves, casting soft patterns on the stone path.
The air smelled of fresh dew and blooming roses, a scent that used to bring me comfort. Now it felt heavy, like it was pressing down on my chest.
I had spent another night barely sleeping. My mind kept replaying the events of the past days, the images refusing to fade even when I closed my eyes.
At dawn when I was actually supposed to sleep, Lydia had told me my father wanted to see me. Her voice had been gentle, but the urgency in her eyes told me there was no refusing this summons.
I could only be glad I wasn’t disturbed after I ran out of the dining hall last night. My father I knew before I left the pack would definitely have given me an earful about my behavior. The thought of facing his disappointment again made my stomach twist.
"Father," I cleared my throat, standing beside him. My hands clasped in front of me, fingers twisting together nervously.
"Sonia," he replied, and gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. The lines on his face seemed deeper this morning, carved by years of decisions I was only beginning to understand.
I was surprised by his gentility. But I guess it was to be expected. He had always been more patient when he wanted something from me.
"Walk with me?" He asked, extending his arm.
I nodded, slipping my hand through his. We began to walk through the gardens. I couldn’t help but notice I was coming out more in the past two days than in my many years in the pack. The flowers bloomed brightly around us, their petals soft and vibrant, but they felt distant, like they belonged to a different life.
I would usually have to jump through hoops, or wait till night time before I could escape my room. The memory of those nights made my chest tighten.
"What’s on your mind?" He asked out of nowhere, his voice cutting through the quiet morning air.
My eyes were looking at a bird perched on a low branch, who looked like it was staring back at me. Its feathers caught the sunlight, gleaming with a soft iridescence. It chirped twice, then flew above the trees and very far away.
I blinked. It was a beautiful bird. And I felt reassured by it, as if it carried a small piece of freedom I no longer had.
"Nothing," I replied more confidently than I felt, forcing my shoulders to relax.
"That’s not true," he said. "Ever since you returned to the pack, I’ve been observing you. You seem distant. You barely even eat. I don’t want to force you, so I decided to give you some well deserved space. But you’re not meeting me halfway, Sonia," he said in a disappointed tone, his grip on my arm tightening slightly.
I felt sorry for disappointing him. It was something I never wanted to do. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t help myself. The knot in my stomach tightened further, making each breath feel a little shallower.
It was taking me longer than expected to readjust to life back at silverpaw. Way longer than expected. The familiar paths felt foreign now, the walls of my room too close, the air too thick with expectations I no longer knew how to carry.
"Hey, you’re lost again. Your mind is distant, Sonia. Do you want to tell me something? Are you bothered?"
"Father, I just feel weird, that’s all," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper as I stared at the ground.
"Well, I think I may just have a cure for that," he said, as he came to an abrupt stop in front of a fountain. The water cascaded gently, the sound soothing and familiar.
I used to sneak here with Freya, and just run around the water. The memory brought a small, sad smile to my lips.
The air was crisp, and the ambience was just embracing. The sunlight danced on the surface of the water, creating small rainbows in the mist.
Somehow, it even reminded me of my mother, despite not knowing what the connection was supposed to be. A faint sense of peace settled over me for a moment.
"It got even more beautiful," I whispered, as I stared tears eyed at the fountain, my vision blurring slightly.
"It is. Your mother loved it too."
I whipped my head to his direction the instant he said that.
My father never talked about my mother. Not to me. But here he was, bringing her up first, even before I got the chance to tie my affinity for this place to her.
No wonder I had always felt peace and immense joy every time I visited.
Her spirit was watching over me for sure.
"She did?" I asked, my voice soft with wonder.
"Absolutely. She would drag me here all the time. When she was pregnant with you. She would make me watch the sunset with her, standing here," he said, his voice carrying a rare vulnerability that made my chest ache.
I could hear the distress in his voice. It was real, raw pain. The kind that never fully healed, only learned to live with.
"Father? Do you miss her?" I asked, my hand tightening on his arm.
"Everyday. And that’s why I want you to be happy. You look so much like her, Sonia. Do you know the torture I went through every time I thought of the maltreatment you’d be suffering in the hands of Ramon? One too many times, I almost lost my mind with worry," he said, his jaw clenching as he stared at the fountain.
"But I’m fine, father. I really am. It wasn’t something I couldn’t endure."
I wished we could go back to talking about my mother.
How we had gone from that to Ramon, didn’t sit well with my spirit.
"If you’re really fine, then why is your wolf missing?" He dropped the bomb, and my heart skipped a beat.
"You– you noticed?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"You’re my daughter, of course I noticed. I didn’t want to ask until you were comfortable."
"Father, it’s nothing."
"It’s not nothing, Sonia! What happened to you?!"
I flinched as he raised his voice, and shifted back. The sound echoed in the garden, making the birds in the nearby trees take flight.
He wasn’t going to strike me or anything, but I didn’t want to take the chance. Old habits died hard.
"What happened, Sonia?" He asked with a softer voice, his hand reaching out to touch my shoulder gently.
"I can explain. I really can."
"Then explain!"
I cleared my throat, then decided to narrate the events of the full moon. The words came out slowly at first, then faster as the memories flooded back. The river, the cold water, the sudden darkness, the fear that had gripped me so tightly I could still feel its echo in my bones.
"That bastard didn’t take care of you. Cade says you’re mates? Well how come he left you to die?!" He screamed the second I was done narrating, his face reddening with anger.
"He didn’t know, father. He really didn’t. I told you I was in his room, and after I left, that’s when it happened. Only that I can’t remember anything that happened."
"That’s because he tried to hurt you, alright? That bastard did this!"
"No father!" I screamed at him in frustration, my hands balling into fists at my sides.
I didn’t want to take Ramon’s side, but it was like they both lost reasoning whenever any of their names were mentioned. The anger in my father’s voice made my stomach twist, but the need to defend what I knew to be true pushed the words out.
"Why are you defending him?" He looked at me with suspicious eyes. "Tell me why," he urged, his gaze boring into me.
"Father, I just–"
My words trailed, because I really didn’t know why exactly I was defending Ramon.
All I knew was I couldn’t bear to hear him get credited for something he didn’t do. The memory of his touch, his voice, the way he had held me by the river, all of it rushed back in a wave that made my cheeks warm.
"You know, I knew this would happen. He got under your skin. I’m just thankful I found a way to nip it in the bud, before it grows into something bigger," he said, his tone shifting to something colder, more calculated.
"What do you mean by that, father?" I asked, confused by the sudden switch of his tone.
"Ramon is not going to use you to get to me. That’s why I’ve decided that you’ll marry an alpha as soon as possible."
"What?!" I screamed.
This was even a bigger bomb than the previous one. My heart slammed against my ribs, the garden suddenly feeling too small, too confining.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to clarify that my ears had heard right, my voice rising with panic.
"You heard me, Sonia. You’re going to be marrying an alpha of another pack. He isn’t part of the seven packs, so you don’t have to worry about running into Ramon anytime soon."
He walked away, not even giving me the chance to question him, or process what had just happened. His footsteps were heavy on the path, leaving me standing alone by the fountain, the sound of the water suddenly too loud in my ears.
