<h4>Chapter 198: Breaking free...</h4>


    <strong>Charis</strong>


    I descended the stairs slowly, my heart pounding with each step. The shouting got louder as I got closer to the foyer.


    "WHERE IS SHE?" My father’s voice boomed through the pack house, filled with fury. "CHARIS! COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!"


    When I reached thending where I could see the foyer clearly, I froze.


    My father stood in the centre of the room, his face red and twisted with rage.


    Ss Greye looked terrible—worse than thest time I’d seen him. He was thinner, almost gaunt. His clothes hung off him like they were made for a bigger man. His eyes were wild, unfocused, darting around the room like a trapped animal.


    "You!" He pointed an using finger at Alpha Terry, who stood near the entrance with his arms crossed, looking both angry and confused. "You’re the one keeping her here! You’re poisoning her against me! Against her own family!"


    "I don’t know what you’re talking about," Terry said coldly. "And your daughter is here on her own ord. No one forced her toe here."


    "LIAR!" My father screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. "You Thatchers think you can do whatever you want! Think you can steal people’s children!"


    Behind him, I saw my mother, Eva. She looked terrified. Her hands were on my father’s arm, trying to pull him back, trying to calm him down. Tears streamed down her face.


    "Ss, please," she begged. "Please, let’s just go home. We can talk about this—"


    "NO!" He shoved her hands away. "I won’t leave without my daughter! CHARIS!"


    That’s when he saw me.


    His eyes locked onto mine, and I felt that old, familiar fear try to w its way up my throat. The fear I’d lived with for years. The fear that had made me small, made me silent, made me invisible.


    But I pushed it down.


    "There you are!" He pointed at me, his hand shaking. "Get down here this instant! We’re going home!"


    I noticed movement around the room. Students, the ones who’d been at Kael’s party, were still lingering, watching this unfold. Several of them had their phones out, recording.


    Rhett moved immediately. "Everyone, phones off. Now." His voice carried authority I’d never heard from him before. "This is private business. All students need to leave immediately."


    "But—" someone started to protest.


    "Now!" Rhett’s Alphamand, though not as strong as his father’s, was still enough to make people move. They shut off their phones and filed out quickly, though I could see them ncing back curiously.


    Within minutes, the foyer was empty except for me, Rhett, ter, Kael, my parents, Alpha Terry, and Luna ra, who stood off to the side with that satisfied smile still on her face.


    I looked down at my father from thending. Looked at this man who had made my childhood a nightmare. Who had screamed at me for the smallest mistakes. Who had hit me when I didn’t move fast enough, speak quietly enough, disappearpletely enough.


    This man, who had wished it were me who died instead of his precious son, Caden. Who had made that clear every single day of my life.


    Something hot rose in my chest. Years of hatred. Years of suppressed anger. Years of swallowed words and hidden bruises and silent tears.


    No more.


    I walked down the remaining stairs slowly, deliberately. Each step felt like shedding ayer of old fear. By the time I reached the base of the stairs, I felt different. I felt stronger. Like someone I’d been waiting my whole life to be.


    I stopped directly in front of my father and held his gaze.


    "No," I said clearly.


    His eyes widened. "What did you say?"


    "I said no." My voice was steady. "I’m not going home with you."


    "You don’t get to say no to me!" His face turned even redder. "I’m your father! You’ll do what I tell you!"


    "You were never a father to me," I said, and the words felt like freedom. "Fathers protect their children. They care for them. They love them. You did none of those things."


    "How dare you—"


    "How dare I?" Iughed bitterly. "How dare I finally speak the truth? How dare I stop pretending that you were anything other than a bully and a monster?"


    My mother gasped. "Charis, don’t—"


    I turned to her, and I felt something in my chest break. "And you. You stood by and watched. Every time he hit me. Every time he screamed at me. Every time, he made me feel like I was nothing. You just stood there."


    "I tried to protect you," Eva said, tears falling faster now. "I did what I could—"


    "You did nothing!" The words exploded out of me. "You watched him destroy me piece by piece, and you did nothing! You chose him over me every single time!"


    "That’s enough!" My father roared. "You ungrateful little—"


    "No, YOU’VE had enough," I cut him off. "I spent years being afraid of you. Years of making myself small so you wouldn’t notice me. Years wishing I could disappear so I wouldn’t have to face your anger anymore. But I’m done. I’m done being afraid. I’m done letting you control me."


    I took a step closer, and he actually stepped back.


    "I am not your property," I continued, my voice getting stronger with each word. "I am not your punching bag. I am not your disappointment or your shame or your failure. I am my own person. And I choose to stay away from you."


    "You can’t do that," my father said, but his voice wavered. "You’re underage. You’re still my responsibility."


    "I’m eighteen," I yelled. He didn’t know my actual birthday anyway. He’d never cared enough to remember. "I’m an adult. And I’m making my own choices now."


    My father’s jaw clenched. "You think you’re so brave now? Think you’re all grown up? You’re still that pathetic little girl who couldn’t do anything right."


    The words should have hurt. A few months ago, they would have.


    But now? Now they just bounced off.


    "If that’s what you need to believe," I said calmly. "But it doesn’t change anything. I’m noting home. Not now. Not ever."


    "I will disinherit you if you don’te home," he threatened onest time. "You’re letting that half-wit feed you with lies, right?"


    "Go ahead, Ss Greye," I said with a half smirk. "I’d rather sell myself to the highest bidder than crawl back to you and beg to be your daughter."


    I turned to leave, to walk back up the stairs.


    And that’s when his hand shot out and grabbed my neck.


    His fingers dug into my throat, cutting off my air. My hands flew up automatically, wing at his arm, but his grip only tightened.


    "You will do what I say!" he snarled, pulling me closer. His eyes werepletely ck now. "You wille home! You will obey me!"


    Spots started dancing in my vision. I couldn’t breathe.


    Then suddenly the pressure was released.


    Kael was there. His hand had locked around my father’s wrist, and with a quick flick of his hand, he’d broken the grip and shoved my father backwards.


    I stumbled, gasping for air, my hands going to my throat. It felt bruised. ter was immediately at my side.


    "Don’t touch her," Kael said, and his voice was deadly calm. More frightening than any shout. "Ever again."


    My father, enraged beyond reason now, turned to Kael. "How DARE you put your hands on me! Do you know who I am?"


    "I know exactly who you are," Kael said. "An abusive coward who attacks his own daughter."


    "I’ll kill you!" My father swung at Kael, his fist aimed at his face.


    Kael dodged easily. My father’s momentum carried him forward. His legs tangled, and he crashed to the ground.


    Hey there for a moment, gasping like a fish out of water. His face was purple with rage and exertion. His whole body shook.


    "Ss!" My mother rushed to him, kneeling beside him. "Ss, please! You need to calm down! Your heart can’t take this—"


    "I DON’T CARE!" he screamed, though it came out wheezing and weak. "She’s COMING HOME! Right now! This instant!"


    "She’s not going anywhere," Rhett said firmly, moving to stand beside Kael. "Especially not with someone who just tried to strangle her in my house."


    "Your house?" Luna ra spoke up for the first time, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Terry, are you going to let our son harbour someone like her? She’s on trial, and that could affect Rhett’s already fragile reputation. Think of the implications that will have on the pack."


    "My son is right," Terry said, and ra’s smile faltered. "No one whoys hands on a young woman is taking her anywhere. Least of all from my territory."


    My father tried to get up, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate. He was still on the ground, shaking with rage and something else—pain, maybe. Or exhaustion.


    "You can’t keep her!" he wheezed. "She’s my daughter! She’s MINE!"


    "I’m not yours," I said, my voice hoarse but clear. "I never was. And I never will be."