After absorbing the low-hanging sun for a few seconds, my father returns his eyes to mine. “An hour. Possibly two.”
His eagerness to get the hunt underway isn’t surprising. He’s on the brink of a mental breakdown. That’s why he’s acting so manically. Megan is his ticket out of Crazyville. She will give him the relief he needs without requiring him to move a piece on his chessboard.
He’ll just destroy mine instead.
“Are we doing it here or at the stables?”
My father’s lips quirk. “We?You’re joining the hunt?”
Ignoring the bile burning my throat, I nod.
“Good.” My father smiles, welcoming the challenge. “We’ll do it at the stables. I don’t want to scare my little pet too soon.”
His reply would make most people assume he is referring to Megan. I’m not most people.If he already has a pet, why does he want Megan?
My unasked question is answered when my father curls his arm around my shoulders to guide me into the house. “Come, son. Let me introduce you to your new mother.”
* * *
My father’schoice in captive is nothing out of the ordinary. Early thirties, big worldly eyes, slim frame, and naked head to toe. Her hair is the same burned charcoal color my mother’s was, and her nipples are a similar shade of brown. She is pretty, but with her eyes brimming with fear instead of psychotic tendencies, she is demure. Boring.Nothing like Megan.
“Please,” she whispers when we return to the hall. I assume her plea is for me until she adds on, “I did as you asked. I won’t disobey you again.”
Now my father’s desire to hunt makes sense. He wants to punish his latest plaything for disobedience by showing her what will happen if she doesn’t follow his command to the T. He could hunt her instead of Megan, but since she is nearly an exact replica of my mother at the age she was before he killed her, he’s giving her one final chance to make amends.
He offered the same mercy to my mother.
She didn’t conform.
I can only hope Megan doesn’t follow her footsteps.
