Ian:
I had not slept the entire night. The papers were spread across the wooden table, so open and so stacked, all covered in dust.
There were diary pages laying in front of . The handwriting on so of them had faded, but it was still clear enough to read.
I had gone through everything again and again, trying to make sense of how long this had been happening and how this brutality had continued for so long.
When footsteps echoed down the stairs, I rubbed my face and kept reading.
My father appeared with a cup of coffee in his hand.
"This is your fifth cup, Ian. Why don’t you take a little rest?" he remarked, stepping closer and placing the cup on the wooden table for .
"I can’t rest," I replied, feeling a roughness in my throat. "This is horrible. All of this. Everything they did. Everything you are doing. All this ti, we were wronged about everything." I complained, rubbing the side of my neck.
My father did not sit. He stayed still. His posture was firm and straight, like the truth had locked him in place.
"I understand they were wrong," I continued as I got up from the chair so quickly that it scraped against the floor. "But what you are doing is not right either." I let him know instantly that he was not being seen as a hero. He watched quietly, waiting for to finish.
"Why, father? Why didn’t you finish it? Why did you drag it on for so long? You had the power. You should have told them that you would help them kill the monsters, but no entertainnt. That you would not allow them to make more monsters from the criminals," I argued.
None of it made sense to . He had disappointed more than ever.
"Soone had to stop it," my father uttered. "Your mother wanted to stop it. I am carrying out her wish," he added.
"No. Doing this to the new crusaders is not her wish. Punishing the lurkers is not her wish. You wanted revenge for sothing that happened years ago. They have already suffered enough. They are so used to pain that they send their own children without thinking twice," I snapped, realizing he was only making excuses.
How was he better than them?
"And those alphas," I added, "they are cruel enough to have so many mates that even if they send one of their children to the North, they don’t care." He stared at while I continued.
"You know, the monsters were not always monsters. They were my family. The people of the North," my father mumbled, tilting his head at .
"Well, they are not anymore," I countered, leaning on the table with both my hands. "The ones you are sending from here are also criminals. Even the ones who used to live in the North are too. They don’t know what they are doing. They don’t know right from wrong. You cannot bring them back. They are gone, father. But it is on you. The cris they are committing in the North are on you."
My voice grew louder without aning to.
"And soon," I added, pointing at myself, "after and the others die in the North, all the pressure will go back to the ogas. Their children will be sent out to the North too. The ogas were never part of this entertainnt." I grunted.
"You are not saving anyone, father," I whispered. "Not even an inch. You are continuing the sa cycle."
I paced around the basent, running my hand through my hair, unable to stay still.
My father’s eyes followed , but his body did not move at all.
"So I guess you don’t see a problem with any of this," I muttered bitterly.
When I stopped and turned to look at him, I noticed he was not going to say anything anymore.
"Well, I have finally realized today, Father, that it is not always the children who disappoint their parents," I comnted, watching him without seeing a single frown appear on his forehead. At this point, I wanted him to react. "So let’s play fair."
The minute I said it, his face finally ford a scowl.
"What are you planning on doing?" my father asked, sounding concerned for the first ti.
"I’m heading back to the academy. And since you think you did nothing wrong, then I will stay among the others. I will perform until my last breath," I replied.
As soon as I said that, my father moved.
"You are not returning, Ian. It is already decided. We will tell them you were sent to the North for attacking Troy as a punishnt, and that now you are dead there," my father grunted as he grabbed my arm to stop .
I stared at him in disbelief.
"This won’t work. They would want to see my body. Clentine will want to see my body," I snapped. My father looked upset.
"That woman. You need to stop thinking about her," he remarked, finally showing what was bothering him.
It was not only that he wanted away from the North. He was clearly upset about Clentine and my relationship.
"She is filling your mind with dirt and disobedience," my father stated.
I watched his face in disbelief.
"No. I will go back. I am not going to let you make every decision for ," I replied, shrugging my arm free.
Before I could step away, the lurkers rushed downstairs. They carried needles filled with a thick liquid.
"What are you doing?" I yelled, stepping back.
The lurkers moved toward , and I could tell it was an order from my father.
"You will be sent to sowhere safe. I told you, I have found a chosen mate for you. She will give you the peace you deserve. She will give you a family you deserve," my father continued, but I had already lost my patience.
They tried to push the needle toward my skin.
I slamd my shoulder into one of them and threw another across the basent.
My father stepped forward slightly, panic crossing his face when he realized I was not going down easily.
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