Chapter 22 - Jade
I couldn’t help but feel loved as Brandon held me.
“Don’t encourage this,” Dale grumbled, shaking his head.
“She is wasting people’s time searching for something that is not out there.
I know my daughter, and this is just another tactic to get attention.
I would have thought a man of your status would be able to see through that and do what was best for the pack, but that’s clearly not the case. ”
I stared at my father in shock. I wasn’t surprised that he would react this way. That was how my father was, but I figured he would hold onto his control in front of Brandon, considering he was an Alpha.
“I’m not making this up,” I said, digging my nails into the palms of my hands. “I can feel it.” I believed Brandon’s words that I was powerful and we had no idea how much. Once this was all settled, I was going to look into it and start researching more about witches.
My father glared at me with the same eyes I had grown up with. There was no love in them, just disgust and irritation. They weren’t the same eyes that my brother received, and I always wondered when I would see them. When would I do something worthy of my father’s love?
“This is serious work, and you’re treating it like a game. You are a grown adult and should know not to waste people’s time.” He shook his head, repulsed.
“Dale…” Brandon’s voice came out short, and I could see he was physically shaking with rage. But I raised my hand, stopping him. I wanted to handle this.
“I’m taking this seriously. I’m doing this to protect the pack.”
My father rolled his eyes. “You do everything for yourself. You are doing this to get attention. A horrible habit you’ve never seemed to grow out of.”
I felt my face grow hot with anger. I had grown up always doing everything for everyone else. I tried so hard to please my father, worked my ass off to get him to see me for who I was.
“That’s not true.”
He laughed, but it came out sarcastically. “Oh, please! Your mother was the same way. Of course, you would take after her in every way. You look just like her. You talk just like her. You behave in the same way. You’re an exact replica of her. A crappy mother, unable to be useful, and a witch.”
I felt like someone had kicked me in the gut, and I physically couldn’t pull air in.
I knew my father didn’t speak lovingly about my mother, but this was a particularly low point.
I watched as my father shook his head. “How do you not understand that you’re dirtying our good name by acting like this is a gift?
It’s not. Think about how this looks, Jade. ”
I felt tears build up. I had ached for my father to just accept me, and yet he was making it very clear that no matter what I did, I would never be what he wanted.
I’ll never be good enough. I could save the entire Belrose, and he would still say it wasn’t enough.
And what hurt the most was the fact it wasn’t because of something I did.
I could hear it in the way he said witch like it was a sin. He would never love me because of what I was. My mother, being a witch and passing it along to me, was just a nail in the coffin.
I suddenly thought of all those times I tried so hard to get his attention.
The times I remained quiet and lowered my head.
I took everything he threw at me. I thought of the perfect grades and achievements I got in school.
I thought of everything I had given up because I wanted to be that good little girl.
I always thought he had been right and that I just wasn’t trying hard enough.
But I was done standing by. I had done it all my life, and I was tired of feeling like I was the bad person when I wasn’t. I knew what it felt like to have someone care about you, to have someone look at you and wonder if you were alright.
And I thought of how Brandon looked at Ilsa. There was so much love in his eyes. I knew that even when she made a mistake, when she grew up and did things we didn’t agree upon, he was still going to love her. He would never speak to her the same way my father spoke to me, and that hit deep.
“You do not get to make me feel bad about something great. About something that makes me useful. You do not get to downgrade me, or what I got from my mother, because you can’t understand it!”
My father’s eyebrows went up slightly, and I knew it was because he expected me to just duck my head and take it like I had time and time again. But I wasn’t. For once in my life, I was taking a stand.
I stepped closer to him. “You have told me my entire life that I am not worthy and that I will never amount to anything, but you’re wrong!
I am a witch. A good witch. I have a gift that has been dormant in our family for generations, and instead of praising me, you once again have to make me feel bad.
Why is it that my brother’s birth was the most amazing thing to you, and yet my existence is a burden? ”
I watched my father’s jaw clench together.
“Watch your mouth,” he growled low, his eyes looking around at the rest, but I didn’t care.
He was perfectly happy letting people hear him chew me out, but when the roles were reversed, it suddenly became a problem?
It was because he wanted to look like a good man. And for my brother, he was.
“I am a person. I have feelings. I had dreams, and no matter what I did, you never wanted to accept that. I will not just put aside my witch side so you can feel better about yourself. For once, put me first. Do you even care about me? Or have I always just been some obligation you had to take care of?”
I watched my father step closer to me. His left arm pulled up, and I watched as he was ready to strike me. I squeezed my eyes closed, waiting for the impact, but it didn’t come. I peeked out from my eyes and took in my father’s hand frozen in mid-air.
I opened my eyes further and realized that Brandon had caught his hand midway, stopping him from hitting me. Brandon threw his hand back, stepping between us, forcing my father back a few steps. Brandon’s back filled my vision, but I could hear his words crisp as he spoke in a deep warning tone.
“If you lay a single finger on her, I will be sure to remove it.”
I took a slow breath, watching the shock fill my father’s eyes in a different way. He looked almost broken, like he realized he couldn’t do anything to me. He looked at me quickly, his eyes narrowing on me, almost expecting me to step between him and Brandon, but I wouldn’t.
“She is my daughter,” my father snapped. “I will discipline her how I see fit since it seems you won’t.”
“And she is my wife. She’s not a child but a grown ass adult standing up to someone that doesn’t seem to understand just how powerful she is. It’s really a pity that you can’t pull your head out of your own egotistical ass to see that.”
Brandon stepped closer to my father, his shadow forming over him. My father looked small as he tried to step back, but his foot hit a large boulder behind him.
“So, take this warning in, Dale. If you so much as speak to your daughter, my wife, in a snooty tone, I will have no problem throwing you out of this pack. I will have no problem telling the surrounding packs how you behave and that they shouldn’t welcome you; your only option is to be a lone wolf.
I bet you would enjoy that after years of having everyone praise you for being at my father’s side. ”
“You wouldn’t dare,” my father seethed, his hands in tight fists. “All for her? Do you even realize who you’re standing up for?” He waved his hand at me, and I hated how my heart clenched. My own father didn’t see my importance.
“Shut. Your. Mouth.” His words were clipped, and I could tell Brandon was trying his hardest not to lose his cool against my father.
“If you don’t stop talking, I will have to tell Kaleb that his only living family is going to be his sister.
I will have no problem putting you down like the dog you are. ”
Dale looked stunned and took a step back.
Brandon turned, looking at the rest of the guys. “I do not stand for bullying and downgrading. I will run this pack with equality for all. If you don’t agree with that, then maybe you should look for a new pack to live in.”
Everyone remained silent, looking at each other, unsure of what to do. Dale didn’t seem to want to take this lying down. “You have no idea what you’re doing. You’re going to run this pack into the ground.”
“I’m changing what needed to be done!” Brandon yelled.
“This pack is divided and for no good reason. We no longer live in a world where women stay home. I believe in equality between males and females. I believe everyone deserves the same respect as we do. If any of you feel different, do raise a hand.”
No one raised their hand, so Brandon turned to my father. “Looks like you stand alone, Dale. We live in a different world where women aren’t just bearing our children. If you can’t get in line with that, then maybe you should leave.”
My father’s lips remained sealed. He looked at me for a moment before he walked past, heading back toward the pack. I felt like all the air was sucked out of me, and I stood numb for a moment. Brandon looked at me, offering me a sympathetic look.
“Brandon, what’s the next step? Are we still searching?” someone spoke up in a meek voice.
Right, we were searching before this big blowout.
“Let’s head back and regroup.” Brandon tilted his head as he looked at me. “Does that sound good? We’ve been out here for hours, and we didn’t exactly come prepared.
I nodded in agreement.
We headed back to the pack, and everyone was quiet. No one spoke, and I was left with my own thoughts. I kept looking at Brandon, wanting to thank him for standing up for me, but I couldn’t. I felt broken.
I knew my father, and I had a rocky relationship, but it seemed like it had just shattered into a million pieces, and there was nothing I could do to fix that.
We arrived back at the training ground, and Kaleb’s group was already waiting for us. Brandon and his team spoke together for a few minutes, and I made a quick call to Nora asking if she could pick up Ilsa from daycare and watch her until we were done.
By the time I got off the phone, the guys were done talking and had called us all back to the group. Brandon had his arms crossed as he stood in front of us all. Kaleb stood next to me on the right, looking tired. He yawned, placing his hand over his mouth.
“Since we didn’t catch the hybrid, we are going to branch out and travel, but since we are going outside our pack border, we will be gone for a few days. During this, I’m leaving some people behind to watch the pack.”
I frowned as everyone started talking at once. I turned to Kaleb. “Wait, you guys are going to go search more?”
Kaleb nodded. “Brandon decided sitting and waiting wasn’t getting us anywhere, so we needed to start taking action.”
“And what about me?”
Kaleb raised an eyebrow at me. “What about you?”
I knew that indicated that I was staying, which wasn’t going to fly. Without me, they wouldn’t even know where to look. I turned, walking toward Brandon. I didn’t even give myself a second to think before I spoke. “I’m coming with you.”
He shook his head. “No, Jade. You’re staying here. I need you safe.”
“You go out there without me, you won’t even know where to look. You wouldn’t even know one was close unless it was for me.”
Brandon wet his lips and sighed. “Jade, it’s safer here. And someone has to stay back and watch after Ilsa.”
“Nora can. You aren’t going out there without me. You just said that I was useful and that no one should underestimate my ability, yet you want to leave me here? How does that make sense?”
Brandon’s expression softened. “I’m not saying you aren’t useful, Jade. I just want to keep you safe. Out there, I don’t know what could happen. We could be out there late into the night.”
“And I don’t need you to keep me safe. I can protect myself. You saw that.”
I walked closer to him, placing my hands on his chest. “Brandon, you have to trust me that I can protect myself and don’t need a savior.”
He lowered his head, his voice barely a whisper. “I know you can, but I will never stop saving you, Jade. I won’t let you walk into a fight if you don’t need to.”
I was grateful for that because it just meant I had someone in my corner, but I didn’t need that right now. I need to believe in myself, to know that I am more than capable of protecting myself and the people around me.
“Let me go. Either you let me go, or I’ll follow you.”
I watched him work his jaw, his eyes remaining on me, seeming to think it through. He ran a hand over his face and sighed. “Fine. But you are to remain near me at all times.”
I smiled, curling my fingers around his shirt. “Really?”
He nodded, his eyes stopping on my lips. “Near me at all times,” he repeated, his hand reaching up to cup my face. “If you can’t do that, then do not come.”
“I can do that,” I said, nodding my head.
Someone cleared their throat, and we both pulled our gaze away from each other toward Kaleb, who looked ready to hurl.
He waved a hand between us. “This is beautiful, truly. I’m imagining how my niece was conceived, but we still have shit to get going on, so if we could get a wrap-up on this and move on. ”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a child, Kaleb.” But even though our moment was over, I could still feel the happiness deep in my chest. Once this was over, Brandon and I needed to talk because it was clear I was holding him at a distance for no reason.