Let Go Of The Truth

Once he saw her reaction he didn’t need an answer. That hesitation and realization were answer enough. But still, he waited till she confirmed the fact, giving him a hesitant yes before putting the pieces together herself. He was her father. To say he was floored was an understatement. He stared at her in shock, mouth agape as he searched for words - any words - but they all failed him. Of all the possibilities he had ever considered for his life this was never one that had even crossed his mind.

“I… I’m so sorry,” he finally managed to say after a few long moments of silence. Guilt settled in on his shoulders, a realization that this girl had grown up without her father because he had never considered the possibility that one night together could have had. “If I had known… I would have been there if I had known…” There were plenty of times when he felt that he had been a poor excuse of a father, but this was perhaps his lowest moment. He still remembered that night with Bella, a sudden and spontaneous fling, and never in the last two years had he wondered what had come of her or ever paused to consider if he had gotten her pregnant.

And how he was standing face to face with the consequences of those actions. “I lead a pack near by,” he told her after a moment, feeling completely at a loss for what he should do. “I’d understand if you don’t want anything to do with me, but if you do then you’re welcome to join me there.” He gave her an invitation without a second thought. She was his child, his flesh and blood. He didn’t get the chance to know her as a child, but he would take the chance to get to know her as an adult if she would allow him. He thought of Eska and more guilt twisted at his gut as he wondered if the gorgeous, intelligent woman would be so forgiving a second time.

“You have siblings there… half siblings, I guess,” he added, wondering to himself if that would be a selling point or a deterrent. “They just turned a year old this season. Their mother disappeared several seasons ago now…” And where was Bella? He have expected the similarly lavender eyed woman to appear behind her, but she didn’t. Was there more? Did she have littermates? He had far more questions than answers, but he left room for her to speak, feeling like he was rambling now that he got himself talking.

Ulric Adravendi