Page 28 of Broken Souls

“We were each other's firsts for everything. Now you want to throw that away for some unknown bullshit,” Joel's voice rumbles deeply and with anger.

I hear loud footsteps so I quickly move along to my class. All throughout class I can't help but think what they were talking about. Are they breaking up? I thought they were the it couple. Joel was clearly angry about what Jenna was talking about. But she said she doesn't want to break up. She wants to wait until... until what? Ugh, why do I want to know what they are fighting about? I've moved on. Maybe not entirely, given my wolf's still broken over Joel's rejection, but I'm starting something new with Axe. I try my best to ignore my pestering thoughts about Joel, but they still manage to fill my brain.

Chapter Twenty-Three

After school I go into town feeling like something sweet so I stop at a cafe. The cashier gives me my order and I happily eat my muffin till I reach the parking lot.

“Elora.”

I look up and see my father standing by my car. Ugh, this will be good! I go to my car and stop in front of it, giving him a look as if to say, 'get on with it'.

“I'm so glad to see you. I've been going mad imagining where you were. Where are you staying? You look well,” he says. I scoff at his words.

“It's none of your business,” I say furiously.

“Honey, I'm sorry how things went down but you have to understand, a mate comes before anything,” he tries to justify what happened.

“Bullshit. Mates aren't the most important thing. For God's sake, there was a rejection situation with mine and you don't see me being a little bitch about it.”

It seems I always lose my temper with my father. I obviously feel resentment towards him. Actually, I never really lost my temper with him until I started getting older and realising his neglectful parenting.

“You rejected your mate?” my father asks incredulously.

Wow, he thinks I did the rejecting. He is the definition of stupidity at its finest. Instead of telling him the truth, I go along with it.

“Yes,” I say emotionlessly.

“What's wrong with you? First you tell me you want to leave the pack. Now you're telling me you don't want your mate. How is your wolf coping with this?”

“I manage. I always have, no matter what's thrown at me,” I say, but of course he doesn't realise how loaded my statement is.

“I don't understand. Do you want to go rogue?” He frowns.

“Rogue or not, you never loved me anyway,” I remark. His eyes go wide.

“You're my daughter. I'm just confused by what you want.”

“What I wanted was a father who would stick up for me.”

Every sentence I say seems to be affecting him.

“I'm sorry. Tell me where you're staying and we can rebuild our relationship,” he says softly.

“Why are you trying? You know I'm a burden to you. I always have been. You just won't admit it,” I spit my words at him.

“Elora, listen...”

“Did you rape my mother?” I cut him off, finally getting the balls to ask him the question I've always been unsettled by. His face pales, his eyes go as wide as I've ever seen them, he looks absolutely distraught.

“Do you really think that low of me?” his voice wavers.

“Yes,” I say sinisterly.

I get in my car and drive off, letting him wallow in what I think of him. Taking the back road into the pack residence, I park beside Axe's car. When I walk inside, I see Axe sitting on the couch. All my thoughts of Joel disappear now that I'm staring at Axe. And when Axe stands up and greets me with a hug, all my stress about my father goes away. I breathe in his scent. He is my sanity.

“How was your day?” he asks.

“Better now. How was yours?” We walk to the couch and sit down.