AUTHOR'S POV
"She had ways... leading to a cure. And I desperately agreed for the life of my precious daughter", he sighed. "In exchange, she asked me for something absurd. Lure some Alpha named Viktor to her hut. Let him bargain with her the same way I did", Daniel's gaze drifted somewhere far away.
"This Viktor", Diana frowned. "You're friends with him?", Diana kept being dismissive. She wanted to almost get to the point, find the cure for Scott, and leave.
"I can't call it that. We hunted Nagualli together a couple of times. Forced to sit together in clan meetings. But, it doesn't make us friends. You were young then, do you remember him?", Daniel asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Well, if you two hadn't hunted for them, we wouldn't be like this", Diana turned the blame on the Alphas. Trading their quiet life for something messy.
Daniel lifted his eyes to Diana with a stern look. Wolves hunt nagualli for a reason, not for leisure. "I doubt you have an idea what Nagualli are really like.", clasping his hands together on his lap.
"And still, you entrusted me to one. You should've let me die", Diana said, carrying a calm tone that stops an argument.
Daniel was taken aback as he choke on the things he had to say. He had more, but he chose to wave a white flag. "Maybe..", he pretended to agree. Nevertheless, he couldn't imagine seeing his daughter die without him doing anything.
"And Viktor, you led him to Tamara?".
"I.. never liked Viktor.", Daniel's faced hardened for a bit.
"Was it enough reason to betray him so easily?", anger flickered across Diana's face, folding his arms tightly.
"We were different in all ways. Being Alphas coming from different clans with divergent upbringing and distinct personal preferences, we were completely... different. I hated how he looked down on his people, how he used violence to teach his son, and how he punished his pack with whips", Diana noticed the change in Daniel's breathing as he clench his fist. Diana heard no admiration from her father's lips. No attempts to romanticize Viktor at all. Nevertheless, something in that confession seemed... acceptable. "It was easy to persuade that son of bitch. He was all about himself, and his delusions of being the greatest Alpha of all clans.", he sighed sharply. "I got the cure for my daughter, Tamara got Viktor", no triumph came with the words. Just a hollow smile.
"What that's look? Isn't it what you aimed for? Get everything you want lined up for you", Diana scoffed at his misery.
Daniel closed his eyes briefly. "Tamara offered him strength beyond Alphas. He turned him to a lycan.", his eyes darkened. "I couldn't sleep after that. His first howl as a lycan is still clear to my memories. Every full moon became his torture. The pain of his breaking bones. The beast coming out of his skin. And then the chase for his Luna.", Diana swallowed hard. It was difficult for her to hear that part of the story for she have heard it several times now... and worse, she had experienced that exact deadly chase. "Even your mother couldn't erase the guilt. Things got more difficult when Viktor and Karin asked me for help. Viktor never blamed me but somehow, I felt blameworthy. I thought I'd be responsible to get him out of that mess", Daniel answered, truthfully.
Diana felt her stomach churned. It wasn't an answer she expected from Daniel. She wanted other possible cure. "Did you?", Diana thought some things don't add up. Inconsistencies that let the truth to stand out. While Daniel's story aligns with Kristia, it didn't match Tamara's version. Tamara's was more of Nagualli being the victims. Always wounded and misunderstood. Eternal victims beneath cruel wolves. Daniel's side of the story is more humane. Alphas making terrible choices breeding worse consequences out love for family, and greed.
"No.", Daniel answered, briefly at first. "Wolves are very talented at turning desperation into justification. Viktor may have done things. He may have deserve the curse. But who are we to judge what a man should earn?", a bitter laugh escaped Daniel. He mistook Diana's silence for doubt. "You don't have to believe me" he said softly. "Nothing I say can bring your mother back. Nothing I can undo", Diana was shattered, making her drink the cold coffee on the table.
"Did you at least try to save him?", she asked.
"I tried the best I could. You know, fix him? Dedicated my craft to the man I wronged. Not one morning I wouldn't wake up without passing by his home, and ending the day not seeing his face. He was as desperate as I was that we both feared what he became. While I was too immersed on Viktor, I grasped something important. Nagualli don't exactly grant wishes, they twist them. One day, I woke up and realized there was one less wolf scent in our home", Daniel stared at Diana. "I turned to you and I became terrified of what Tamara had done to you. I studied you for a while. Your eyes. Your pale skin. And your blood. Then I discovered you had become... something valuable. A shackle, a living chain tying me to Viktor. The cure to a curse I helped create.", Daniel rubs his hands, as if there's some invisible blood on his palms.
Something inside Diana shifted. Sadness, perhaps. Just listening to him makes him far more different in Scott's depiction of the cruel doctor that he was. Admitting his mistakes. Mourned for the man he betrayed. And destroyed himself to make up for it. Her walls break down brick by brick for this man whom she thought would just be someone she'd only seek for truth. And yet, she sees him now as a quality father she didn't had."My blood... Are we the same?", Diana thought, glancing at the lanterns.
"No", Daniel disagreed quickly. "I'm just old now, and I like those lanterns".
"So it's just me...", Diana's dismay tightened her lips. There are no other options to save Scott - it's either her death or her blood. She looked away, swallowing the sting in her throat.
"Yes", Daniel nodded. "Only your blood calmed the lycan in Viktor. And of course, Viktor had to figure that out. He became obsessed and desperate to keep the blood source as his personal livestock to keep him stable. I refused, so we ran", Daniel's eyes lowered. "I just can't leave Viktor, Diana. Fortunately, I found an alternative to help him.", Diana flinched as if she won the lottery. "On the night of our escape, I insisted to drop by his house, and leave the alternative there. My mistake was, it just got to be on a night with a full moon. The Lockwoods never found it. And our chances to live led to the killing of two Lunas by the consequences of choices made by their Alphas. And the daughter we struggled to protect, got hurt in the process", his composure cracked completely. Face turning crimson and eyes glistening in the firelight. "You almost died. The Nagual saved the day. And your life was the price to pay".
"Hold on, what alternative was it?", Diana leaned forward, need not to hear where the story leads.
Daniel frowned, confused. "It doesn't matter, Diana. Viktor is long gone".
Diana's hands trembled. Her eagerness tipped over the cup, spilling the coffee on the table. "It does to me. I imprinted on a Lockwood", Diana finally admitted.
"What?"
"I imprinted on Scott Lockwood, son of Viktor. He carried the same curse. Tamara cursed not only Viktor, but also his entire bloodline", Diana answered as she watch her father gape in disbelief. "What is the alternative?", she repeated.
Daniel's jaw twitched. The color on his face drained as the realization struck him with merciless clarity. He saw it all at once. Viktor chained beneath the moonlight, bones snapping inside out. His claws against stone. The blood. The madness. The look in the lycan's eyes every time he chases his luna. Her death in the lycan's hands. And now, his daughter faces him carrying the same fate. Only this time, his daughter searched for him, instead of a Nagual. A way for her mate's salvation without turning herself into a monster. "No...", he breathed.
Loud heavy footsteps interrupted to the two.
Daniel and Diana were startled when Kate slammed the door open and shut it close again. Kate stumbled against the door, breathless. Eyes wild in fear. "We've got company", she panicked.
Diana immediately straightened, while Daniel barely looked up from the fire. "Who?"
"Randall, and his guys!", Kate gasped.
Daniel tilted his head as his eyebrows twitch. "Randall is here?", he said calmly. "It just might be a consult, or supplies. We signed a blood pact that they can come to me for remedies, while I stay here in their territory".
"You don't understand, Dad", Diana said quickly, taking out the revolver and checking for bullets. "We ran into them earlier".
"And nearly killed us!", Kate nodded frantically.
Daniel was still stuck with Diana calling him father. The title returned to him brought about the fragile situation. Despite knowing it was only brought by impulse that the word slipped out instinctively, he felt undeniably pleased. He went numb all over for a moment. His knees couldn't make him stand, until something snapped in him as he look at Diana. His daughter fully grown now. Stronger, despite fear is buried somewhere deep beneath her surface as danger creeps in the cave. He realized he had missed an entire lifetime seeing her become this person. "What do you mean?", Daniel asked as he finally stood on his feet. Hurrying to the bookshelves crowded with books, journals, loose parchments and leather tomes. "What did you do that have angered the werewolves?".
"I guess they are just thirsty misogynists!", Kate gruntled, holding the door. "Tell me this thing will hold, Mr. Woodsworth".
"Calm down, they can't shape shift without the full moon", Daniel reassured, taking one specific book from the thick clusters, as if he knew this day would come. Diana watched his father yank the book hard enough for dust to explode in the air. His hands moved urgently through the pages. His face tightened on a page, tore it, and shoved it in Diana's hand. "If they are angry, then you gotta go".