Chapter Five

"Mila..." He groaned her name. She was more than being persuasive, reasoning and being so inquisitive to the extent it somehow blocked her senses of reasoning.

He tried explaining, but it seemed as though the young lady wouldn't take a negation for an answer. He heaved a heavy sigh before he continued, "Mila, you know you don't have the skills for that".

Yet the more he tried explaining to the younger one, the more she countered with more questions and more of her facts.

 Her stubbornness began the moment she refused hiding from something as powerful as the phantom, especially for a person who knew what it entailed.

He couldn't still place hands on what had fueled the courage to face the beast alongside him. Her statement at that moment had showed she had considered family more than anything, yet she forgot she was meant to be thought of first by her parents rather than the other way round.

"But you have those skills..." Mila intercepted. Her words interrupted his train of thoughts, and he felt a movement around him. She dragged herself closer to her father, placing her hands on his thighs as she stared at him.

"You once said it's impossible to beat the beast because you considered it a curse right?" She paused immediately she asked, swallowing hard and then adjusting the thick clothe which her father had placed on her body before she continued.

The cold winds still never ceased, and at every moment she released a statement from her mouth, visible cold breath could be seen accompanying. She sniffled her nostrils as she spoke, making sure the thick clothe on her body was as firm as what she could describe.

"But look at the way you fought the beast, the way you made the phantom feel the pain of an angry citizen" she whispered with a certain energy, making sure the words she spoke were fierce enough to stir his heart into doing what she felt was necessary.

"That shows it could be hurt. You did that once, father, you can do it again" she said again with a firm stare at his face.

He inhaled from his side, looking at the ground as she spoke and as he thought of all he said. He clenched his hands into fists, staring at it furiously as he remembered the events.

What he had done at that moment to the beast was intrigued with the feeling of making sure his family was secure. Those same fists which he stared at had made the phantom feel pain.

And perhaps she was right. The same phantom which others considered as being so invincible and untouchable was the same beast he had thrown towards large bundles of trees, the effect of that being very powerful.

"Mother died trying to protect me." She sniffled harder, continuing her statement, "What would she say if she was present? Would she agree with the decision of letting that beast go?"

"How many more families would it devour before it gets too satisfied to stop?" She asked again.

She sounded more than zealous, feeling as though she had finally realized what her purpose really was. She wasn't insensitive to what the phantom could do as long as she lived in the land just as her father had thought.

But she felt issues like these would be resolved by the one whom they called their leader, whom they all called alpha, not until this very moment

And as she sat, she still couldn't get over her mother's absence. Her mother had died from the phantom's rage, and she felt angered to her bones having a feeling of squashing the beast of it's size into nothingness.

Yet when she sat to consider what her father had said about her lacking the skills necessary for that kind of mission, she thought of her father being the best option to make her vision a reality.

But what would he say? Would he disagree again as he always did?

The other sat quietly with the winds blowing through his hair, thinking deeply about her statement. She had uttered some powerful words which caused him to finally break within.

"What would mother say?" That was the one which has struck him most. What would Ashley have said if she was ever present? It was safe to say that Mila had inherited so much from them both, not just looks alone, but zeal and passion to make things work.

Somehow the latter would obviously been from her mother. He considered himself to be the one who had died from fighting valiantly for his family's safety. There was a higher possibility that Ashley would have given her all to make sure the phantom felt the anger which would rise within her.

So he asked himself: was he failing her?

He remembered his statement before his first punch to the phantom, “You can't take anyone from my family.!”, but at the end of the day, Ashley had sacrificed herself for her daughter's safety.

"Maybe you're right." He finally spoke up. It seemed as though he had realised the truth in all her statements, the hidden reality in her urges. He wasn't going to let the phantom move on to destroy other families and other homes.

He had lost his mate, and his daughter had lost a mother. He was never going to let others go through the same pain as they both went through.

“ Maybe it's time I do what you've always wanted” he said again as he turned around and stared at his daughter. She wore a smile on her face, as though she had actually succeeded in convincing her father into doing the things which seemed appropriate.

The smile on her face had also caused him to smile. That was the first she had worn ever since the phantom had attacked them both, and it forced him to do same. He smiled as he placed his hands on her cheeks and stared into her eyes.

He couldn't tell or explain if the wetness of her eyes were caused by the fact that her mother had died or that he was willing to fight the beast on behalf of his pack, but he immediately had his thumb placed under her right eye as he wiped off the tears which rolled down.

“I'll do it.” she heard him say. The excitement burst out from within her as the smile on her face widened up the more and the tears rolled down more.

She couldn't wait for him to complete his next statement as she immediately pushed herself towards him and wrapped her hands around his abdomen, burying her head on his chest as her ears picked the sound of his heartbeat.

“For your mother's sake, I'll make sure this monster is killed” he said with all sincerity. He wasn't speaking based on the fact that he wanted to satisfy his daughter's urge, but on the truth that his mate would have done so if he was the one who died for his family.

She was elated, excited to some extent, yet there was something else which bothered her. She was willing to state it out to him, but she wondered if he would be of agreement to it.

“There's something else Father!” she uttered again while she still wrapped her hands around him in a warm and lengthy embrace.

“Lets hear it Mila” he answered in a low tone. His left hand was wrapped around her and with his right hand, he stroked her hair slowly and constantly while he awaited her next statement.

“Can I join you?” she asked with her eyes closed tightly. Her expectations of his reply was evident in the abrupt pause of his soothing stroke on her hair and the manner at which his heart rate had decreased.

“Join me in what?” he asked with raised eyebrows. He never released her from his grip, but he stared down at her while he tried debunking the thoughts which happened to be in his mind.

“Fighting the phantom?” she asked again with an unsure tonation.

He sighed for a second, rolling his eyes and shaking his head slowly. Just as he had thought, her optimistic nature had forced her into imagining herself taking up a sword and going after something thrice her human size.

He would give a reply, but he was so sure she would find the right words to convince him of letting her partake.

“I have built a bed for your mother's cremation process” he changed the subject matter immediately before he continued, “It'll be lovely if you're present to let your mother travel to the world beyond.”

He dragged her away from his body slowly before he stared into her eyes and continued, “When we're done, we'll talk about that part”, he smiled at her.