Filed to story: Offered to the Lycan King Novel by Misha K (River & Hunter)
The cottage that belonged to her father, Shawn Mendez, was looking worn down. It was at the end of the block sitting between a park and another well-tended house. Paint peeled from the siding. Old leaves filled the unkept garden and porch. The front lawn was full of tall weeds.
Lia stood on the sidewalk in front of her father’s home as she inspected if she could find a way to go inside. She was surprised that there was no one in the house. Did her father abandon it already? Or did he sell it to someone else? Either way the house was looking like no one had lived here for ages. Her heart sank a little because now she didn’t know what to do.
She rounded the house and when she came to the porch, she turned the knob to go in, but it was locked. She let out a rough exhale, depositing her bags on the dust-ridden floor. All she needed was to get inside it. She took out a hairpin from her bag and started to pick the lock while keeping a watch over her shoulder. It took some time, but she managed to breach it. With a triumphant smile, she opened the door and stepped in.
Lia was shocked as she took the interiors of the cottage in. White sheets covered every piece of furniture. Thick dust had collected over it. Spiderwebs hung overhead. The floor had a thin line of dust and as she walked in, her footprints got imprinted. She walked in further and found a small bedroom with only a table and a chair. A small bathroom was on the right that was again covered in dust and grime. So she came back to the living room and removed a sheet from the sofa. Feeling weak, she sank on it.
The place was a hub of dirt and very unhealthy, but she couldn’t do anything with such little money in her pocket and the growing pain in her stomach. She didn’t even feel like eating anymore. Lia closed her eyes and let the world be.
When she opened her eyes, it was already dark. Moonlight streamed from the window. Feeling scared, Lia got up and realized that she had slept for the whole day. She was shivering a lot and when she placed her h*and on her forehead, she realized that her temperature had increased. She didn’t even have the energy to sit, but decided to take a bath just to feel better. She had one granola bar left which she ate half-heartedly and after just one bite, she felt like puking. She rushed to the bathroom and puked. An excruciating pain emanated from her stomach and she stifled a scream as she clutched her stomach and dropped on the ground on her knees.
“Please God, I can’t bear it!” she rasped as tears ran out of her eyes. When the pain subsided, she caught the edge of the counter and got up to rinse her m*outh, but the tap water was muddy. She didn’t have much choice and so she used that water to wash her face and m*outh. When she returned to the sofa, she lied down again. Weak and frail, Lia wondered if this was the end of the world.
She pulled herself up to find a pharmacy and get Advil for herself, but when she reached the door, her head reeled.
She grasped the table nearby to stop herself from falling, but it was futile. Darkness surrounded her rapidly. Her l*ips curled up when she welcomed the darkness and succumbed to it. She neither had the energy nor the will to live anymore.
Nightmares of being locked in a basement plagued her. Piss and poop covered little Lia rushed up the stairs calling someone. She cried and yelled at the woman who locked her inside. “Daddy!” she shouted. But her daddy never came.
Her dreams shifted to someone covering her up in a blanket when she was sleeping. She was grabbed by strong arms, picked up and rushed upstairs. Her muffled screams of daddy and mommy died when someone slapped her h*ard, replaced by sobs. “Hurry!” a man hissed. She heard engines starting. She was thrown on a cold floor of a truck which sped away. “Daddy!” she shouted. “Daddy!”
Lia wanted to get up but strong h*ands gripped her and pinned her. She thrashed against them to free herself, but it was impossible. She cried and reached out for the person who was holding her, but more h*ands grasped her.
Finally, she couldn’t do anything and felt happy as inky darkness consumed her. “Sleep, Lia…” a warbled voice sounded like it came from above the water surface.
Much later, she didn’t know when she heard more quiet and muffled voices.
“She has got a very high fever. We have given her strong intravenous antibiotics,” a woman said. “How long will it take for her to come out?” a gentle voice asked.
“Poison had spread everywhere. If nothing works, we will have to arrange for blood transfusion.” There was a soft gasp and then Lia lost contact with the world.
Nightmares swallowed her again. She was thrown into a basement with no lights. She jerked open her eyes only to find a scream working its way up. Strong h*ands surrounded her and caressed her. “Shhh… I am here. Your daddy is here. I will protect you.” Perhaps she was already dead.
“Daddy?” she murmured and gave into his embrace.
When Lia woke up again, she found herself in a hospital room with a dim white light illuminating it. She turned her head to the right. An elderly man with blond curls was sitting on a chair. His head had rolled to the left in his sleep. Stunned, Lia tried to get up and managed to support herself on the bed to stare at him. “Daddy?” Was that Shawn Mendez? There were dark circles beneath his eyes and he looked extremely tired.
The man woke up instantly and rose on his feet. “Lia!” he rasped and rushed to her. “Lia, you are awake!”
Eyes wide, she couldn’t peel them off the man who was now sitting at the edge of the bed with her h*and squeezed between his. His eyes became red and tears rolled out. “You are awake!” he said in a low voice full of emotions. “Are you-” she was sure that this was heaven. How could her father find her so soon?
Shawn laughed and cried at the same time. He cupped her cheeks. “I am your father, Shawn Mendez.” Her m*outh dropped to the floor. She lifted her h*and that had a tube running out of it and pinched herself. “Ouch!”
“Silly girl!” Shawn said, grinning at his daughter. He leaned down and hugged her t*ightly. “I knew you would come back. I knew I would find you!” His shoulders wracked with sobs.
Everything that she was fed about her father that he abandoned her or that he used to hit his mother or hated her, vanished in an instant. How could a man who embraced his daughter so beautifully after all those years of separation be so loving? She clenched her h*ands as her c*hest t*ightened with emotions.
There wasn’t a shred of hatred in his demeanor. The way he cried for her and the way he hugged her, spoke volumes about him. Her t*hroat choked with emotions as tears stung her eyes. She was starved of this kind of love. She never allowed anyone to t*ouch her for intimate t*ouches scared the s*hit out of her, but a hug from her father was all she needed, all she craved for.
Lia opened her arms and curled them around her father. “Daddy…” she muttered.
“Lia! My baby girl. I missed you so much.”
When she pulled away, from the corner of eyes she saw a very beautiful woman with her teenage daughter, standing at the foot of the bed, looking excited.
“That’s your mom Lena and your sister, Shiloh,” Shawn introduced them.
“Hi!” Shiloh chirped and was next to her in an instant. “I am Shiloh!”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?