Asher and Westley looked at the map before them and seemed to realize it was well. We all shook our heads and sighed in unison.
“So, what now?” a young woman asked, her fingers knitted together. You could see that her blue eyes were hollow and had no sparkle. “Are…you going to send us away?”
I hadn’t understood why my father cut ties with them to begin with; my guess was the Alpha. But he was gone, and these people needed help. They needed a hand.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “We’re going to find you all somewhere to stay, and starting tomorrow, we will figure out the next steps.”
They all looked stunned at this. I wondered if they expected me to throw them out. It was what my father wouldhave done for sure, but I was not the same. I was not going to deny people shelter when they needed it the most.
“You are all survivors and deserve to rest.” I looked at the guys. “Can I hand this off to you so I can get home?” The guys nodded, and I thanked them before slipping out. I normally would have stayed back to help, but I knew Jade had gone home, and I wanted to make sure she was okay.
I found Jade was sitting on the couch with Ilsa. I had expected them to be both asleep, seeing the time. Ilsa, however, jumped up and ran to me. She threw her arms around my legs, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I was so scared.”
I looked at Jade, who looked like she was holding onto being awake with her last threat of energy. “She refused to go to bed until you came back.”
I was a little surprised by this until Ilsa looked up at me with her beady eyes. “I could feel something was wrong.”
I was shocked by her words. Jade pulled herself off the couch and cleared her throat. “I was waiting for you to come home to tell her.”
“You want to tell her now? We can wait until tomorrow after you’ve rested.”
Jade shook her head. “She’s ready to know.”
Jade bent down, crouching to Ilsa’s level. She brushed her hair back and grabbed her chin, softly smiling at her. Ilsa looked at her mother with wide eyes, waiting patiently.
“Brandon is your father,” she said softly, the words mostly a whisper.
Ilsa stared at her for a moment longer before she looked at me. She knitted her fingers together, looking down at them. “I thought maybe…”
My eyebrows shot up. “You thought maybe?”
She slowly nodded. “When we first met…I felt a tug.”
“You…” I felt like I couldn’t find words. I had wondered if it was just me. That tug for shifters that you knew someone was your family. Ilsa was still young enough; she might not understand what that meant, but she was smart.
I had thought maybe she wouldn’t, since I’d never been around to form a bond. I wasn’t at the birth, I wasn’t at any birthdays, and I missed so much. But yet, she felt it.
“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner,” Jade said, grabbing Ilsa’s hands, squeezing them. “We can answer any questions you have.”
Ilsa looked at me, her eyes filled with wonder and curiosity. She seemed to think for a moment before she spoke. “Why weren’t you around?”
I had wondered how I would explain that. I knew that when we told Ilsa, it would be one of the first questions she would ask. I looked at Jade, who seemed at a loss for words.
“I went to work,” I offer. “I went and saved lives for many years. I made a mistake by not coming home sooner, and I’m sorry. But I’m here now and I’m not going away.”
Ilsa’s eyes grew watery as she stood there, seeming so small. I wanted to scoop her up and take her pain away, but I couldn’t.
I waited for Ilsa to scream or start to yell. I wanted her to start denying it or stating that she didn’t want me around. I would understand. It was three years she had missed out on having a father around. Three years of confusion and not knowing the truth.
But Ilsa turned without a single word and walked away from us. I watched Jade’s shoulders drop, and she looked at me. “Brandon, I’m sorry. I just think she needs time.”
I guess quiet hatred was just as painful as someone screaming they hated you.
I nodded, offering Jade a tight smile. I knew this wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own. We shouldn’t just expect Ilsa to open her heart up to me just because I told her I was her father.
But Ilsa walked back into the entryway with a couple of books in her arms. She was barely able to carry them; one of them slipped free, falling to the ground just in front of me. I tilted my head as I realized it wasn’t just a book, but a photo album.
My throat tightened as she placed them down. She offered me a big grin. “We should probably go over everything you missed.”
