William parked in front and I looked up to the small single floor, two-bedroom house. "This is it. He's home." I pointed to the run-down blue truck in the driveway.

"Let's go meet him then," William spoke, not an ounce of fear from his voice.

I grabbed the handle and pulled, but his hand was suddenly over mine. I looked up startled, and he was leaning across me.

"I'll let you out. Stay inside a second."

I smiled at the chivalry. "Okay. There's an umbrella there." I pointed behind the driver's side seat.

He grabbed the umbrella and walked around to my side of the car, opening the door. He held his hand out for me and I allowed his help.

We walked hand in hand up to the porch. I knocked and waited. As the dogs started barking up a storm, I giggled. His alarm system just went off.

William gave a laugh. You mean Luna and Lupin?

Yeah.

My dad opened the door. Late fifties, wearing work overalls with greying streaks through his dark hair, but still as muscular as ever.

"Hi daddy, this is..."

He took one look at William, a full gasp ricocheted through his body and he grabbed the front of my shirt, yanking me in the house, slamming the door behind me.

"Dogs! Hightop wolf!" He bellowed, jerking me through the small house to the backdoor.

Luna and Lupin immediately bristled and shot out the door in front of us, barking like mad.

"Dad!? What are you doing?!"

He pulled me up on the motorcycle he kept in the backyard. "I'll explain everything later! We just have to leave NOW!" He kicked the machine on and drove right through the yard of the backdoor neighbors.

I grabbed around his waist, afraid of being kicked off with the thrust of force. Rain pelted against us as he drove the back road at breakneck speeds. "Dad! William is back there."

"Can't talk now honey," he yelled over his shoulder.

My arm then burned in pain. I looked down to see nothing wrong.

Shit. Kara? I could use some help here. These dogs are not backing down.

"William!" My eyes opened wide in realization. "Did you sick the dogs on William?" I growled and tossed myself off the motorcycle, rolling through a rocky puddle.

I got up and whistled loud, running the block back to the house. "Luna Lupin! Heel!"

The water stung over my arm and I hoped William wasn't too badly hurt.

The dogs were then at my side, wagging tails through the rain, and following my run.

Dad had the motorcycle turned around now. "Caroline. Get on the damn bike! We need to get out of here, right now!"

I ignored him and raced around the house to William now huddled inside the car.

When William saw me, he opened the door and stood, hand shielding his eyes from the rain. I ran right to his arms and hugged into him.

He held me for a moment, then pushed me to arm's length, a hand rubbing through my wet hair. "Love, what happened?"

"My dad. He pulled me through the house. Took off with me on his motorcycle."

His brow lowered. "And you jumped off? Caroline, you have road rash all over your face and arm."

"I do?" I touched my forehead, and immediately recoiled with the sting. Ow. Then I looked at my arm and it was covered in grimy scratches. "Oh, I thought that was where the dogs bit you."

"Well, they did that too." He held up his bloodied arm and then checked over the happy dogs now at my feet.

My dad pulled up then, watching anxiously between us.

"Dad?" I called over the loud motorcycle, stepping protectively in front of Will.

"What do you want with us?" He asked William.

William's arms wrapped around me and he spoke in his Beta authority. "I have some questions Mr. Day."

My dad glowered at the name but gave a startle as his eyes slid over my neck. "Honey?" He asked softly.

"This is William." I leaned in, trying to shelter myself minimally from the rain.

He sighed deep enough I could see it tear his body. "Fine. Let's go inside. Get dried off." He looked down to the animals. "Dogs. Home."

The two labs looked up to me, eyes blinking in the rain. "Go on now," I gave a half smile and they ran to the back going for the dog door, following my dad.

"Maybe we should just leave," I turned to Will and suggested.

"I want to talk to him," he countered.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay. Come on," I grabbed his hand and guided him to the front door.

My Dad had already opened it by the time we made the first step. "Come in."

I held the cold at my arms, a shiver starting, as Dad disappeared to the linen closet. William noticed and wrapped himself around me, hands pressing warmth back into my arms. I melted into his heat.

Dad walked in on the scene warily. He handed us a stack of towels and used one himself over his hair and clothes. "Why don't you come into the kitchen."

I dabbed a towel over my hair and walked to sit at the circular oak table. William followed and sat next to me, an arm against my chair, wrapping my back almost protectively.

"You're from Hightop?" Dad asked William guarded, rifling through a kitchen cabinet.

"Yes sir." William answered professionally.

Dad moved to sit in the chair opposite us and the dogs laid down on the white tile floor. He pushed a first aid kit across the table. "You are mated to my daughter?"

"Yes sir."

Dad sat for a moment, studying William. "How did you find us?"

"I didn't." He paused and looked to me. "She found us."

Dad's eyes came to mine in question.

I took a breath under his heavy scrutiny and opened the kit. "I went to Catherine's wedding."

He looked back to William. "You know Catherine?"

"No sir. Her husband is a member of the pack. They held the wedding at Hightop."

Dad stiffened then peered at me. "He's from...? You actually went to Hightop?"

I nodded, realizing that my dad never officially met Blake.

He finally sighed and relaxed his posture into the chair. "I guess I always knew you'd find a way back there. You were always too interested in the woods."

We were quiet a moment while William and I cleaned and wrapped our tender wounds.

After a thoughtful pause staring at my marks, Dad spoke again. "Rick?"

William's teeth gnashed next to me, and I shook my head. "We're... broken up."

"How's that going to work with Wellsworth?"

"I already quit."

He sat tall. "What? Why?"

"What do you mean why? I'm going back to the pack. I'm going to stay with William."

He bristled. "No. You can't. I did so much to keep you from them. They'll use you honey."

"Use me?"

Dad watched over William. "Don't you think we can talk in private, Caroline?"

I sat high in my own anger. "No. Dad, William is my mate. You kept me from the pack and that includes keeping me from my mate. I'm not leaving him again." My eyes came down as sadness swept into me. "Why'd you do it?"

"Honey," he reached for my hand and I pulled back from the table like he was fire. He sighed. "Your grandfather and Alpha Samuel, they just wanted your power. They didn't care that you were just a child. You should have heard them, talking up about how the pack would be so much better with what you could do. My dad wanted to send you to Fremont with Mom's cousins there, to learn how to control it. I couldn't let you be in anymore danger than you already were. Honey, you can heal things. You have a gift and Hightop, they'll just want you for it."

William growled a challenge and his arms tightened around me. "Of course we need her. We have needed her, and you have kept her from her true home. And did you never tell her about her gift until now? She belongs with her pack. She belongs with me, her mate, whether or not she has some special ability."

"You can't take her from me!" Dad stood up, hands tight on the table. "I've done so much to keep her away from Hightop."

"Daddy?" I asked quietly between the notes of heavy atmosphere. He softened and looked to me. "What happened? After the fire?"

"You remember about the fire?"

I nodded hesitantly.

His whole air fell, and he sat back in the chair looking over our heads in desolation. "You had been having nightmares about some people who had hurt you previously. We fell asleep in the tv room. I woke up in the forest on Hightop property with you passed out. We were both red with burns, and clothes and hair charred away. The whole valley was lit with a glow coming from packhouse property. I picked you up and ran back but stopped at the clearing when I saw the fire. I cried out for my Emily and there were evil men there that heard and started chasing us. I transformed to wolf and carried you through the forest. I ran us through a river and all around the forest, but they caught us anyway. You had woken up by then and were crying, but I couldn't help you. I just put you behind a rock and fought the rogues. I killed them all."

"How many were there?" William asked.

My dad's eyes went to William. "Three."

"Killing rogues is difficult."

Dad nodded. "I wasn't without injury either. Caroline had come around the rock and watched and when I went to her as a wolf, she was obviously frightened." He bent to the table, remembering. "You were afraid of me. I shifted back and told you to go back to sleep. You did." He sighed. "I was walking back to the pack, you asleep in my arms when I heard the link announcement that everyone in the Day household was dead. I fell to the ground in sorrow for my family. After minutes of being consumed with Emily's death and the rest, I realized I couldn't take you back there. You would just become a puppet in their hands, and I couldn't let that happen. Wolf life was always dangerous and with your power, they would make it all the worse for you. Everyone was already gone. I couldn't handle you being taken from me too. So I made a rash decision to pretend we passed in the fire as well. The pack were not looking for survivors. And werewolf bodies disintegrate so quickly to dust after death, I knew they would not look for our bodies in the ash or find the rogues. So I ran."

He stood and looked out the window over the sink, into the heavy rain. "A human buddy from my high school days still lived in the county, so I ran to his place. He made me fake ID's in high school, so I knew he could forge some documents for us. We stayed with him a few days, and when you finally woke up you acted like you were in shock. I told you the lie about the rest and commanded you to forget everything about wolves. When we were no longer under Hightop's power, I became the Alpha over you. When our documents were finished, we hopped a ride to Seattle. I had hoped the large city and constant rainfall would cover our scent trails. I started fighting in the underground on the side to get enough money to get a house and keep us on our feet. But I always worried that Hightop would find us eventually."

His speech had stopped, but I wasn't prepared to say anything. I was dumbstruck.

He had commanded me to forget everything?

I felt like he took my whole life away by wiping my memories away and hiding me. I couldn't even begin to process the betrayal I felt.

William spoke, trying to make sense of it all. "And when I marked her she became part of the pack again. Her memories started to resurface."

I bit my lip and picked my fingernail in an old small scratch in the table. "Why did you never tell me what I could do?"

"What do you mean?" Dad asked.

"The healing."

"It was easier. You go into some strange trance and don't remember it afterward anyway. When you didn't shift on your sixteenth birthday, only your eyes changed, I figured I had stopped the werewolf in you well enough. It was easier hiding it from you then trying to tell you why you could do it and what you used to be."

I took a deep solemn breath. "Rick knows," I told him quietly. "He's seen me heal."

He eyed me carefully for a moment, then announced. "I know."

My eyes dashed back to him. "You know?"

"Yes. I've paid him off to keep it quiet."

"You paid him?" William asked incredulous, grabbing my hand in a protective gesture.

"Would you rather she be known? Be a science experiment somewhere?" He bit back. "I pay him five grand each month for his silence. In turn, he makes sure that you are not discovered by others while you work. You always liked helping others. You cured a girl on your high school cheer squad after she fell in a game. No one realized what you did in the moment, but I knew. You always wanted to be a doctor. No matter how I worded the alpha command you still needed to release the energy in healing. But I knew it would be difficult to keep you hidden had you went into medicine."

He came and sat back at the table, looking down at the labs. "Luna got hit by a car. Your healing charged and you cured her. I realized that was the answer. I then pushed you into vet work instead. Animals wouldn't understand they were treated oddly. Your energy would still get released and you seemed happy doing it."

"You .... You made me be a veterinarian?"

"Don't make it out to a bad thing. You enjoy what you do."

I paused, looking around the kitchen unhappily. "Yes, but it feels wrong that maybe it wasn't what I should have done."

William's grip tightened over my hand.

After a pause, I spoke. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Dad worried. "No, you can't."

"There's nothing for me in Seattle anymore. I'm moving back to Hightop. With William." I met Dad's eyes. "You should come too."

He startled in the chair. "Caroline. No. I couldn't."

"They need me dad. I want to be there. I want to help them with my gift. You can stay here, but I'm going. You can't stop me this time."

"Caroline, be reasonable," he snarled.

"No dad. You be reasonable. You've controlled my whole life. You paid someone off to keep me close and out of trouble. My fiancé, who I thought loved me dearly, I'm finding out has only been using me for personal gain the whole time. You forced my career choice. You've been keeping my true self from me. You've commanded me to stop remembering everything about my family?" My eyes glimmered with tears. "Dad. You took away the memories of Mom. Of Jonah. Of Jared. Grandma, Grandpa. Don't you think you've done more harm than good here? I need to go back."

"Honey." He reached for my hand.

I slipped away and stood from the chair. "I've got to go."

"Caroline. Don't leave like this."

William followed, eyes watching intently. I started walking us through to the front door.

"This isn't fair Carol." Dad stepped after.

I turned back. "What's not fair? That you decided how I should live for twenty years? Or that I finally realized that I don't need to live like that anymore?"

"Caroline," he threatened.

I opened the door and ushered Will and I through. "My name is Kara, Dad. You'd do good to remember who I am too." I stood on the porch, rain seeping back into my damp clothes. "I'll call you in a few days, but I need to think about things for a while. Bye." I looked to the dogs flanking his heels. "Take care of him for me."

With one last glance at Dad stuck petrified in the front room, I closed the door like I was closing the door on an old unnecessary part of myself.

I said goodbye to Caroline.