Chapter 6 I Am Not Going

• Selene’s POV
• “I am not going,” I muttered as I started walking away from my father.
• I had no reason to be there anymore. My mom’s body was gone. I wasn’t going with my father and I didn’t want to talk to him again. There was no need for me to linger at the burial site any longer. I was going to go home, sleep on my mom’s bed, and scream my eyes out.
• I wasn’t going with my father anyplace. There was no friggin way that I was abandoning my rucksack. There was no friggin way that I was going anywhere with that dude.
• “Selene!” he yelled after me.
• I didn’t react. I didn’t even turn around.
• The dude left me. He deserted my mom. I didn’t need him or his sympathy money.
• “Selene!” he called me again, but this time I heard him following behind me.
• I started walking faster.
• “Selene, stop!” my father shouted.
• I ignored him.
• My heart was thumping a mile a minute. I wasn’t leaving. I wasn’t leaving my pack. I wasn’t leaving my house. My mom’s stuff was there. I wasn’t going to leave the spot that reminded me of my mom. Her fragrance was still there. I couldn't leave. I didn’t want to leave.
• I felt tears flow down my cheeks.
• Someone grabbed my arm and stopped me.
• I sensed wrath mounting.
• “Selene, please,” my father begged.
• I tried to withdraw my arm from his hold, but he merely tightened his grip on it.
• “I know I screwed up, Selene,” he groaned as he turned me around. “Please let me make it right.”
• I squinted my eyes at him.
• “I don’t need you to make it right,” I said. “I don’t need your help. My mom and I were well on our own. I am going to be OK on my own.”
• “You do need his help, Selene,” Alpha Jasper moaned. “You don’t have money. You are about to lose your house. You need your father’s help.”
• A searing agony surged across my chest. I felt tears in the corners of my eyes, but these weren’t sad tears, they were furious ones. I always sobbed when I was furious and I despised it.
• “I can work more,” I responded, my voice hoarse. “I can take more shifts. You can offer me a job in the packhouse. I can…”
• “Selene,” Alpha Jasper interrupted me.
• He groaned and withdrew my father’s fingers away. He drew me into a hug and the tears finally spilled on my cheeks.
• “You need to go with your father, Selene,” Alpha Jasper remarked quietly.
• “Why?” I asked, trying to stop my voice from cracking. “I don’t need him. I don’t want to go with him. I can remain here. I can remain at the packhouse. I can work as much as you need me to.”
• Alpha Jasper moaned as he let me go. He placed his hands on my shoulders and bent down.
• “You know the pack rules, Selene,” he added. “You can’t live in the packhouse until you get your wolf.”
• I stiffened my jaw.
• “Can’t you make an exception?” I begged. “I am 17. I will be 18 in nine months.”
• Alpha Jasper took a big breath and exhaled it gently.
• “I can’t do that, Selene,” he murmured, hurting my heart all over again. “You are not the first wolf to lose a parent. Usually, the wolves that are underage go live with their family. Your father is the only living relative you have.”
• I attempted to gulp down the lump in my throat.
• “So you are exiling me?” I asked gently.
• “Goddess, Selene, no!” Alpha Jasper exclaimed. “The minute you turn 18 and get your wolf you can come back and live in the packhouse.”
• I looked down and took a long breath.
• “I am so sorry, Selene,” Alpha Jasper groaned. “Your mom wanted you to go live with your dad.”
• I looked up at my father and his new mate.“My mom forgave him for what he did,” I added. “I never will.”
• My father closed his eyes and took a big breath.
• “You don’t need to forgive me, Selene,” he murmured as he opened his eyes and stared at me. “You just need to let me take care of you.”
• I wanted to escape away. I wanted to disappear. I wanted to find another pack and start over.
• But I knew what would happen the minute I left my rucksack. I still didn’t have my wolf and I felt unprotected. The rogues would devour me alive, and if they didn’t and I somehow made it to another pack, they would send out a message that there was a 17-year-old she-wolf on the run. I would end up back here or with my father.
• I couldn't go away and start my life in another pack until I was 18.
• “You won’t be taking care of me,” I answered coldly. “I will find a job at your pack. I shall feed myself. I will take care of myself. I will only go with you because I know what would happen to me if I didn’t. The moment I turn 18, I shall be out of your pack and out of your life.”
• My father’s eyes expanded.
• “We are fine with that,” his selected mate responded.
• I didn’t even know that she was standing next to my father.
• Of course, they were cool with it. My father never wanted me. If my mom hadn’t phoned him, he wouldn't even know that she was sick and dying.
• “Selene…” my father said, but I interrupted him.
• “I said everything I wanted to say,” I muttered, squeezing my hands. “When are we leaving?”
• My father gazed at Alpha Jasper.
• “Tomorrow morning,” Alpha Jasper replied. “Your father and his mate will stay at the packhouse.”
• I nodded and turned around. I ran toward my house.
• I couldn't comprehend that I had to leave my house. I couldn't believe that I wouldn't be able to stay here. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to go.
• But I had to.
• It would be for nine months only. Nine months and I would be fr ee. Nine months and I would never have to see my father again.