Lunatics {Book 1 ✔️}

Chapter 36

With each step toward the cage, the electric feeling grew and grew. Strength and power filled my veins, and I breathed it in, ready to direct a similar attack that I was privy to on him. A smile ghosted his lips, and he looked so much like Harry I almost stumbled.

"Yes," I breathed, still slightly shocked that I was talking to the man I thought I'd never know. "You suck."

He almost seemed like he was about to laugh, but he didn't. Other than the incredible power that radiated from my father and melted into me, I sensed nothing telling from him. There was no darkness like Owein or Ben and there was no comfort like Tucker or Harry. He was just... electricity. Power.

"Sorry for the sleeping arrangements. You have to understand that it's for your protection as much as mine."

I tried to ignore the fact that he said 'sleeping arrangements' like this would be a long-term thing. He seemed sincere when he said the words but I reminded myself that he'd gotten Alice Galloway (a murderer) to collect me. He probably meant nothing he said.

"If you don't let me out, you will need protection from me," I promised and narrowed my eyes.

This time, he did smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. The smile seemed sad.

"I see you don't trust me. I suppose that's wise, given the information you've been told." He seemed to sigh, dejected. "But that's not everything. You don't know everything."

I rolled my eyes, feeling very much like a snotty teenager when I did so. Though, most long-lost fathers did not lock their teenagers in a cage. So, perhaps, he'd warranted the snottiness.

"I know that you hired the hunters. I know that those hunters have tried to kill my friends. I know that you did something to my head when I first saw you. I know that you're working for Owein-"

He cut me off by raising his hand. His expression silenced me. 

"You know nothing, Eloise." He shook his head, "you think we are meant to work for the werewolves? Those tiny, powerless creatures who are servants to the moon?"

His tone had shifted, and he was standing only a foot from me, just the chain link between us. He had my nose and he had Harry's mouth. But in his eyes... there was something else. They turned dark at his words and I resisted a shudder.

"Then why are you helping Owein overthrow the Denver pack?" I asked.

He scoffed. "I care very little about the pissing contests between the Heigl pack and the Denver pack."

My eyebrows narrowed. What was his purpose here? Why was I in a cage and how the fuck was I going to get out of it?

"I came," he put his hands on the chain wall, "because I want to get to know you and your brother."

I laughed in his face.

"You can't expect me to believe that? This isn't a hallmark movie where dear old Dad comes back to build family ties. This is the part in the movie where you tell me your master plans so I can foil them when I escape."

His eyes narrowed at my response. My fingertips were inches from him and I wondered what would happen if our skin made contact. Could I get a better read on him? Would I be able to incapacitate him like I did to Anna?

"No," he responded and for a moment I thought he heard my thoughts, "that's not this kind of story. And you, my dear, are not the hero."

With that, he turned and walked away, disappearing behind a large crate. His words shook me too much to comprehend what he'd said. Dear old Dad sure was an asshole and, it seemed, a big player in whatever the hell was going on.