Half Bad // Harry Styles

Chapter 27

♡ chapter 27 - Rose ♡

            Fear pulsed through my veins at the sight of so many guards surrounding us. I knew we would never get out that easily, but I'm more surprised we even got this far. However, our plan was not thoroughly thought through like it probably should've been. I suppose that's what happens when you're desperate for freedom; you rush to get it.

            So much has happened in so little time, you'd think they would give us a little bit of slack. I did just find out that the boy I'm in love with is my brother, so it would be nice to have a day to just relax and let my thoughts roam. But I guess the Council is too selfish to even give us some privacy. Would it hurt to let us be for a while? Would it hurt to let us actually escape and then they come after us in a few hours or so? Even a bit of fresh air without guards in my personal space bubble would be nice.

            While the guards kept their guns raised, four figures moved towards us from the building; the Council. The old lady—Cecilia—was in the front, the other three following her like lost puppies. It was then that I realized the male that had been staring at me was replaced with my mother. I stiffened as they got closer, not wanting to remember the horrifying information she had told me.

            But then I squinted, and my mother was no longer my mother. She was now the creepy guy that had been studying me like a science experiment. The one with the sadistic grin and cynical eyes. And when he changed back, he still wore that infamous smirk that sent goose bumps down my spine.

            And then it clicked.

            Another shape shifter.

            As if that wasn't shocking enough, my jaw nearly dropped to the floor when Daniel breathed out, "Dad?"

            I hadn't caught the resemblance before, the sharp jawline and chocolate brown eyes. But the more I stared at him, the easier it was to tell they were related. To know that Daniel's father had pretended to be my mother was more than baffling; it was repulsing and absurd.

            Cecilia began shaking her head the more distance she closed between us. "We gave you a warning, and you still tried to run off with a criminal—a disgrace." She scowled at Harry, her eyes patronizing.

            Daniel was still gaping. "Dad, w-why are you—?"

            He held up a hand to halt his son, a smirk gracing his lips. "Some colleagues of mine informed me of your... association with Marcus Styles. I'm very disappointed in you, Daniel. But I couldn't bypass the opportunity to keep another certain Styles locked up, like he well deserves to be. Something must have gone horribly wrong in your ancestry line, Harry Styles, because you and your father are quite the screw-ups."

            "Hey, he's actually a decent guy," Daniel retorted, all of us now facing the leading members of the Council. "I've known him like four days and he's been there for me more than you have in eighteen years."

            "It's called having other priorities," Daniel's father—Jordan, I think was his name—grumbled under his breath.

            "Wait," I spoke up, narrowing my eyes at him. "So my mother wasn't here at all? This was all a stupid setup?"

            Cecilia pressed her lips together, clasping her hands in front of her. "I prefer the phrase 'teaching a lesson.' There was no reason for you to be... frolicking about with such a distasteful human being when you're one of us, Rosalie. You are a pure, beautiful White Witch. None of us comprehended why—"