“Cage!” the man shouted, staring after him.
Katalina looked at the man who claimed to be her biological father. He looked nothing like her. His hair was red and his eyes green. She’d always thought she’d feel a connection if she ever met the people who made her, but she felt nothing looking at this man. He was a stranger and at that moment, she hated him more than anything else.
His eyes focused on her. “What are you shouting about?” he snapped.
Is he for real?
“I want to be alone. Get out!” she snapped back.
“Do not talk to me that way. I’m your father. You’ll do as I say.”
Katalina nearly laughed at the audacity of this man. “You are not my father! My parents are dead because of you. You have no right to say anything to me. Now, GET OUT!”
“Your adoptive parents are dead because of Dark Shadow. You would be too if not for me sending help.” His gravelly voice grated against her skin.
“They only came after me because you decided it was convenient to have me back. What kind of father gives his daughter away until he decides he’d like her back to breed? You’re sick and you’ll never be my father. My dad raised me. He was there for me when I was hurt or upset. He took me to the doctors when I was sick. My dad supported me. You have no idea what it means to be a father. You claim to have given me DNA, but you look nothing like me. I don’t want to know you, so leave me alone.” She glared at him with hostility, feeling breathless, and with her heart hammering in her chest. Closing her trembling hands into tight fists, Katalina waited for him to leave.
He stared, looking a little lost, as if no one had ever spoken to him that way. He looked as if he contemplated shouting again, but then appeared to think twice about it. Turning sharply for the door, he paused before he stepped over the threshold. Looking back with haunted green eyes, he said, “No, you look just like your mother and she died protecting you. I may have given you away, but it was the only way I could think of…to protect you.”
He left and Katalina slumped back, angrily. She cried out in pain. The tears she’d been holding back burst from her eyes. With a trembling hand, she gingerly touched her wounded side, running fingers over the fabric of the dressing.
Arne jumped back on the bed and licked her face. He lay back beside her and she buried her head against his fur. “At least I still have you, hey, boy,” she whispered through her sobs.
As she stroked his fur, Katalina realized he was covered in bite marks. She looked up and scanned the room; on the far side were medical supplies. As carefully as she could, avoiding hurting herself further, she slipped from the bed. Gingerly testing how much weight her injured leg could take, she hobbled over to the tray, Arne following.
“Let’s fix you up, my brave boy,” she whispered.
After wiping away as much blood and dirt as possible, she covered what wounds she could and stood, surveying her handiwork. “Not a bad job, aye, boy?”
Pausing, she tilted her head when she heard the rumble of arguing below her. “Let’s get out of here, Arne. I’ve seen and heard enough.” She found clothes and boots set out on a chair for her, and after checking she couldn’t hear anyone behind the door, she quietly opened it. Slipping out and making her way slowly toward the stairs, her leg slowing her down. She bit down on her lip to keep from gasping in pain.
She’d made it down the stairs and to the front door, her dog on her heels, without being seen. Her hand slowly inched the door handle down, pulling it toward her as voices drifted through the door at the end of the hall. The door creaked as it fully opened. Katalina froze, not daring to breathe, but their conversation carried on.
“What did you say to her, Cage?” her father shouted.
“Nothing. I just told her the truth,” Cage replied, his voice irritated and sharp.
“Now, Jackson, give her some time to adjust. She’s been through a lot.” This was the female voice from earlier – Karen.
“This is such a mess! I wanted you to help her adjust, Cage, but all you’ve done is made her think I want her for nothing other than her bloodline.”
“Well, that’s all you want her for, isn’t it? Hell, that’s all you want me for. Did any of you ever think I’d maybe like to choose who I am with?”
“Cage!” another female gasped.
“No, mother, I’ve had enough! Katalina has every right to be upset. I understand why she was given away, but she’s lost her parents and she’s just been told she is a shifter, yet you want me to be all, Hi, I’m Cage. Will you have babies with me? It’s fucking stupid!”