Ditched Cheating Alpha, I Led My Daughter to Life's Peak novel Chapter 44

I rub my forehead and sigh. I don't even have the mental energy to consider this right now. I just need to get us upstairs. "It's nothing. Some people at the party were just talking shit about me."

His expression falls. "Mia-"

"Can we go upstairs? Please." I look towards the kitchen. I don't see any lights. "Is everyone up there?"

He nods. "But I think they're sleeping. Do you want to talk down here?"

"No, no." My eyes dart towards the back door. "Let's go to your room or something."

We walk upstairs. I all but drag him up. He pats my shoulders sympathetically. I keep watching the front door until I can't anymore. What if they try the back door? Or Jacob-style through the windows? I consider locking everyone's rooms, but then I remember my success with unlocking the front door. That would successfully trap them with anything else in there with them, and we wouldn't be able to go in and save them. I don't want them to be trapped in a room with man-eating shapeshifters.

Do werewolves even eat people? Or do they just change them?

"Come on." Michael opens his door for me to walk through. "You can tell me what happened."

I stare in horror. I didn't think this through. I can't leave my family defenseless. I have to tell him. We have to leave this place! Right this second. I fight the urge to start packing, or worse, to not pack at all. To not try to get away.

I feel crazy, but it's just like in all those teen movies and novels. I always wonder why the girls freak out when they find out about the fantasy creatures. Isn't that cool? I think. Isn't that a dream come true? Who wouldn't want a werewolf to love them?

Those are the thoughts that would always course through my mind, but not now. All I can think is we've gotta get the hell out of this town before they kill us. For some reason I don't think a peaceful love story is what's on their agenda. We're dinner, that's for sure. Maybe not me, as I saw outside, but Michael. Charlie! What if they're like lions that hate other men.

My Dad!

Michael sighs, shaking my arm a little. "Was it that bad?"

"Huh?" I look up at him.

"What they said?" he gives me a strange look. "At the party?"

"Oh, yeah." I nod. "It was pretty bad." I laugh nervously.

He waits for me to elaborate.

"Not now Michael." I listen hard for the sound of an intrusion. We need the box cutters. The scissors. The knives. I'm about to tell him as much, that we need to go back downstairs to the kitchen and raid Mom's drawers for anything silver, but he cuts me off.

"It's almost like karma don't you think," he says to himself, walking grandly into his room. "Liars never prosper or something like that." He grins, looking over his shoulder maliciously.

"Michael." I glare at him, following. Our lives are in jeopardy for crying out loud. Not that he would know, but still.

He looks surprised. "What?"

We're under attack, by werewolves. The words just don't flow from the mouth as smoothly as one would assume. I just can't say it. I don't even believe it myself, and I'm the eyewitness. I can't see how telling him would make it any better. Would he even believe me? There's a difference between lunchroom speculation and genuine belief.

I walk past him and look out his window. It's nearly pitch black outside, but I can still tell that there's no one in front of the house. They either left, or they're hiding.

Michael looks over my shoulder. "Is our house going to be TPed or something? What did you do?"

I make up my mind. "Nothing, just..." I look around the room for something to distract him while I go downstairs. I see his game is still on the TV, paused. "You're still playing?"