Seeing my father be this way, him seeing us as enemies troubles me, way too much.

But I have to take control, at least I'll have to try. I have to reach deep within where his memories are stored. The need to bring him back to his senses and see us, urges me to take a step forward but Ryker's big body is blocking my way.

" Ryker." I call Ryker, placing my palm on his neck as I communicate with him.

His head turns my way, though his body is alert with my father's presence.

" My alpha, I need to speak to him. Allow me to calm him down." His body grows rigid at my request.

" We need to ease him into believing that we are not the enemy here." I lightly scratch him under his ear, needing him to understand me.

" You are my mate and my alpha, I have no reason to fear. Please alpha, allow your Luna to do this. Let me try."

A minute or two passes before he takes steps back and gives me room to move. I nod my thank you to him, before taking cautious steps towards my father.

He bares his teeth at me but I show no sign of fear, only remaining calm with my hands slightly raised up in surrender.

" Papa!" I call out to him.

His growl ceases a bit and I take that into my advantage.

" Papa, it's Catherine. Your pup. " I say as I close the distance, only remaining a foot apart.

Getting down on my knees and bringing my hand to my chest, I lightly pat three times, on the spot in which my heart beats, looking him into his eyes. " Papa?" I say in a low voice.

My action makes his wolf to no longer growl but grumble deep within his chest, as he stalks towards me. What I have done now is taken from one of my childhood memories, a moment in which my father and I used to share together. It was one of our signiture moves in which we expressed ' I Love You ' to each other.

With no space remaining between us, I slowly rise to my feet, reaching out my hand to touch him but stop short when he starts moving his head, trailing his nose along my body and letting his focus linger on one spot, where my heart beats.

I can sense it so strong on what he is doing. His actions are not in the form of simplisity, but are of him searching for something. He is searching for my wolf. Unfortunately my wolf is not here. She is dead and he doesn't know this.

He was there from the beginning, he was my support system when I had my first change, he guided me through the whole process, he encouraged me and then gave me room to explore this nature. But now it's gone. It's all gone.

He growls lowly in frustration, not understanding why he can't feel her, why his connection with his child's wolf is blank. His frustration leads him to act out and soon, I am shoved back, this resulting in me landing hard on the ground, this knocks the wind out of me and causes a whimper to slip out right after.

A loud threatening growl sounds and the next thing I know, Ryker has jumped infront of me, having knocked my father out of the way. The impact is so strong and powerful, that it throws my father mid air and his body crashes into a tree. I feel myself being surrounded by both Ryker and my brother, both shielding me from my father, who I sense regret along with confusion swirl within him.

Ronan is conflicted, because before him is the man who abandoned us, in his eyes yet he's our father, who we longed to reunite with. If he ever was given a choice to either choose me or our father at this moment, it would be me he chooses, yet the heart of the little boy who had to grow up quickly, seeks answers and closure.

" I'm okay. I'm okay." I announce to both Ryker and Ronan as I rise to my feet.

I take a deep breath before looking at my father.

" One last time!" I say, not tearing my eyes away from my father's wolf.

Growls of protest are heard around me yet stubbornly, I head towards my father's wolf with intention, to make him hear me out and take in my words.

" Papa! " Like before, I get down onto my knees and repeat the same action with my palm against my chest.

Yet again my action calls out to him and he closes the distance, this time with no hesitation in lightly rubbing his soft fur coat along the side of my face and arm. Opening both my arms, I wrap them around his neck, though not fully reaching the whole of his neck due to his large size, I transfer my calm energy to him, opening my mind and connecting both of us through my energy into our memories.

I feel him start to relax as the words he used to say unto me, ring between our intuned senses, him calling me as his little flower. To him I am his little flower.

" Papa." I whisper out.

I earn a whimper then from him. He crouches down to my size and I run my fingers along his fur.

" We are not a threat papa, we are your family. We are your pride, your joy and your heart. We love you papa." I speak to him, wanting him to store my words within him and use them as some sort of defence against anything, that may trigger him to act out or hinder him from returning to us mentally.

I feel his body tremble slightly, this making me aware of how vulnerable he is right now, due to the inner fight in his head.

" Come back home with us papa."

He hears me once and responds, shifting slightly, telling me that he will come back home with me.

I let go of him and rise to my feet, glancing over my shoulder at my mate, his gamma and my brother. I nod to them, telling them it's okay though they already know.

The nudge on my hand calls me to attention and I look at my dad's wolf.

He wants me to stay close and I accept. When he lowers his body slightly, wanting me to climb onto his back, I take a quick glance to my mate and that's when I feel his disagreement. He doesn't want me to do this and now I am caught in the middle.

" Come on papa." I sigh, patting his wolf's back before starting to walk off, thankfully this time he follows.

Ryker walks close to me, ignoring the the threatening growls from my father each time he comes near me. The walk is quite long but I bear it, seeing no other option since both these alphas are territorial over me.

I can sense Ryker's concern for me when there's a change in my breathing, it's coming a bit short due to exhaustion but I push through, transferring through a mindlink that I am okay. When we finally make it back, coming out from between the trees and walking through the clearing, I pause in my steps, taking calming breaths.

All the wolves seem to take notice and therefore turn to face me. With them coming closer, I hold up my hands, continuing my way as I see a glimpse of my grandmother's house.

" You guys go, I'll stay here." I tell Ryker, Ronan and Evan when we are infront of the house.

Ronan and Evan head on to meet Stephanie, who comes out of the house with clothes in hand but Ryker stays behind. As he comes near me, dad's wolf suddenly stands infront of me, placing a barrier between Ryker and I. This earns us a round of wolf growls echoing in the silent night.

I frown at my father's behaviour towards Ryker, not understanding why he sees Ryker as some form of threat.

He is feeling overprotective over me while Ryker has a great need, an urge to be close to his mate. A father against a mate, this could have dire consequences, if one were to strike now.

" Papa!" Ronan's voice breaks through the tension, making all our heads to snap at him.

He had quickly changed, along with Evan, who I hadn't noticed go in and out of the house, to fetch Mica a change of clothes.

My lips part when our father suddenly growls at him, as if warning off a stranger instead of his son.

Ronan's frown doesn't go unnoticed.

" Papa?" He turns to face me. "It is Ronan, your son and not a threat. " I tell him.

A troubling feeling takes over when I sense my words not getting through to him. Something is wrong here,  it's clear as day and this, has brought about an immense tension between all of us.

" Leave us be please, let me talk to him." I say to everyone, not tearing my eyes away from my father's wolf.

Glancing at Ronan, I can see that he is going through a mixture of emotions right now. " Ronan...." I trail off, letting the plea run through the silence.

He doesn't say anything but walks off into the house, followed by Stephanie. When I turn to Ryker, expecting him to have changed back to Mica, a resigned sigh slips out when he stubbornly crouches down by the porch steps, watching my father like a hawk.

Evan isn't too far from him.

I turn to my father, blocking Ryker's view in order for his attention to sorely be on me.

" Papa, we need to talk." I tell him.

I glance over my shoulder at Evan to ask for assistance and thankfully, he's got spare shorts in which he throws at me.

I bet these are all my grandpapa's clothes that nana couldn't help but stock in safety. I watch my father walk off into the shadows with the shorts in his mouth, leaving me to face Ryker and Evan.

" Ryker?" I swear that he huffs at me before he cheekily starts to change into his human form and I quickly close my eyes, still feeling shy after all this time when he changes infront of me.

Once he's done, I'm not given a minute to react when he is suddenly infront of me, his eyes running up and down my frame, a deep frown playing on his features.

" We need to talk." He says, his eyes searching my own.

" I know but please, be patient a little longer."

I hear my name being called before he can say anything, making both of us to turn to my father as he comes out of the shadows, his footsteps unsteady.

"Papa?"

I gasp when I take notice of his many marks and scars on his body. These are part of the results from what he had endured where ever he'd been. I open my lips to speak but my breath is soon stuck in my throat when my father, before my eyes, collapses on the ground.

                             ******

We wait patiently for news, after my grandmother had gone with the men, when they carried my father inside. She has been in there for some time now and though I know that he will be okay, I can't help but worry about him. He wasn't himself in wolf form, he didn't recognise his own son and he found a threat in my mate, in whom he should have felt some significance in our closeness.

Something is amiss here and no matter how much I want to figure things out, tonight isn't the best time. We are exhausted, well my nana and I are, emotions are high and the tension is quite thick.

" She's so beautiful."

I look at Stephanie, who cradles Ulana in her arms right now, a soft smile taking over her lips as she stares down at her.

" I think she looks like you but there's also a part of Alpha O'Connell. Maybe the big ears." She looks up at me then, making me smile.

" Don't let him hear you say that." We chuckle at each other.

Her smile suddenly drops and I know that she has something, in which she would like to voice out.

" I don't mean to speak out of turn but your father being back, more so with Ulana, there must be a big reason and no doubt your father has the answers."

I don't say anything and she continues.

" It doesn't make sense for him to just come back, after years of abandoning his children and having left them vulnerable. He must want something, isn't it?"

Again, I don't say a word and not because I don't wish to speak, but the time is not right.

She frowns at my silence.

The sound of footsteps earns our attention, before she can say anything. Mica comes into view and our eyes meet. Knowing that he wants us to talk, I excuse myself after kissing Ulana's forehead, silently following him up to my room.

The silence seems to grow more after closing the door and having turned to face him. He walks on to stare out the window, his back to me and alot of thoughts heavy in his mind.

" I don't want to offend you." He says.

" But you are worried." I finish for him.

" About my family, yes." He turns around to face me.

He sighs, running his fingers through his hair.

" I'll speak the truth."

"In which I appreciate."

" I don't think I like your father being around you or Ulana. Especially Ulana - he is unstable emotionally and we can't determine anything about him."

" Yes we can't determine anything right now because it's only been one night, hours even, since I discovered him."

" And look what he has shown us in the hours he's been with us." He takes a breath before continuing. " I know that it's both a shock and a happy moment for you, to be reunited with your father but....." He stops himself, shaking his head slightly.

" You don't trust him."

" I don't trust him around you or Ulana right now. I'm sorry but I don't."

I go on to take a seat on the bed, my back facing him.

" You want us to leave." I point out.

" I see no other option at this moment. I should go see Ulana." He mumbles the last part, walking past me and heading for the door.

" We can't leave right now." He stops in his tracks.

" Why not?" He asks, back tense.

I take a breath before speaking.

" Ulana is unwell."