Page 21 of The Witch’s Daughter

“Of the two, I like the white.” Dad scratched his beard, looking away.

I glanced down at the tight black little number. “Oh.”

“Now, ask me if I think you should be packing either dress for what I’m hearing is a recon mission into what might be enemy territory,” Dad said. I blinked.

He shrugged. “No.”

“And there he is.” I struggled to hold back my smile. My dad was all grizzly-wolf shifter—more beast than man most of the time, unless Mom was around. He’d taught us three girls how to hunt and fish and encouraged us to train with Alpha Kera on the days he didn’t run us himself.

But he was still a girl dad through and through.

“I’m not telling you how to dress your body or what to wear.” He spoke slowly, motioning with his eyes to the dresser. “But might I suggest a good, sturdy pair of pants for this mission?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not an idiot. I’m packing real clothes. The dress is just… extra.”

Dad visibly relaxed. “Good. Now I want you to go over the plan.”

I was sure Alpha Kera had already told him, but Dad worried like Mom did. The difference was that he’d always trusted me.

“Meg and Alec will travel with me to the Anubis-Ossory border, where they’ll set up camp on Uncle Jareth’s lands and stay close by in case I need help. If anything goes wrong or we get a bad feeling, the three of us are to abort mission and come running home,” I recited like a good little wolf-soldier, only slightly annoyed that my sisters were being dragged into this mess with me.

I doubted I’d ever hear the end of it.

But I wasn’t challenging the plan, despite how much it hurt that they didn’t trust me to do this alone. I wasn’t stupid. I had no clue what I was getting into and no idea how my magic would react. If something bad happened, I trusted my sisters to help.

And Jaxon will be there.

I’m not his problem, I shushed my wolf.

“What’s wrong?” Dad frowned.

“Nothing.” I shoved both dresses into the bag so I had options, hoping my dad didn’t scent the lie.

No such luck.

“You can talk to me, kiddo,” Dad said. “I know you’re worried about dragging your sisters into this, but trust me, they’d be lying around complaining you were off on an adventure the whole time you were gone.”

“That’s not…” I shook my head. Of course, he knew what was bothering me. Maddock may have been the Sigma wolf enforcer of our pack, but he was still my dad.

“You know what?” He stopped, then started again, “Your grandmother would be proud of you.”

He never talked about Gram, and hearing him speak of his mother now, even all these years later, made tears burn behind my eyes.

If only it were the truth.

Gram was a powerful wolf-witch. I was a broken genetic offshoot.

“I’m serious,” Dad growled as if he could hear my inner thoughts. “I know how much you’ve given up to keep the peace between your sisters. She valued loyalty like that.”

He’s going to make me cry.

I shrugged. “Just fulfilling my oath.”

Dad sighed. “It’s more than that. You’re a Cerberus wolf and your mother’s daughter, but you have something the rest of us don’t.”

“And what’s that?” I sniffed.

“If you don’t know yet, you’re going to have to figure it out.” He shook his head sadly. “Your mom says this trip will be good for you. In case you forget, she didn’t come into her powers until she was almost thirty, and then she needed some help to figure it all out.”