Chapter 3 Hello I'm your daughter

“Three days in the car, seriously what the hell my grandfather found”, Keith thinks irritably. They've been going into the forest for hours, along a strange little road, Keith doubted that it would end up in a city, maybe not much in a village, "goodbye technology, goodbye civilization", sighs Keith.

Keith's mood was getting worse by the minute, and not to mention this strange feeling that she felt like the forest was calling her.

Finally, after a sharp curve, she sees a small town, the kind you only see in movies, cute houses all the same, changing little from one to another, all with fences and beautiful lawns, "I don't think they know privacy around here", is Keith's sarcastic thought.

She quickly checks her cell phone and sighs with relief when she sees that there is a signal at the end of the world, now they go deeper into the city called Verdeval, a name that for Keith was perfect because she had the impression that she was in the middle of the forest, now they can see some shops, a snack bar, a supermarket that looks more like a little sale compared to the big cities, a police station, a medical clinic, and further on what would be her personal hell the school, why for Keith to transfer in the Senior year was torture no one deserved.

She turns to face her mother, and is instantly concerned, her mother is pale, white lipped and trembling slightly.

“Mom, are you okay?”

“Yes of course, we need to find somewhere to stay, they know we are not from here”.

When Estela says that, Keith turns to the window and notices that everyone on the street is looking at their car, Estela pulls up close to a store, rolls down the window and asks some little boys if they know a man called Dilan, Keith feels a tremor in his hearing the father's name for the first time, and is frightened by what he hears.

“The former alpha Dilan?”

“The ex what? Don't tell me I ended up in the middle of one of my wolf books, I must have heard wrong” Keith thinks.

Soon a woman comes out of the store and scowls at the kids, and it's like they're talking, not talking.

She looks at Estela with a smile that slowly turns into a frown, and then hatefully looks at the mark on Estela's neck who, because of the heat, is wearing a spaghetti blouse just like Keith, and says: "You You are not welcome here.”

Keith straightens up, ready to tell this obnoxious woman some truths, but when he threatens to speak, his mother says:

“Keith please don't”, and turning to the woman in a pleading voice she says, “please she's my daughter and only he can help if she's like him”.

The woman looks scared at Keith and she's pretty sure she sniffs in her direction, which scares Keith but at that time she's overcome with an anger she's never felt and something inside her literally says she should attack the woman, Keith is taken from the fever, her head begins to spin and a voice that seems to come from inside her tells her that she must let go and accept the pain that will soon pass.

Keith turns to the woman and asks:

"What did you say?"

The woman replies with an understanding face: “I didn't say anything”, and turning to Estela who was now looking at Keith worriedly says, “Dilan is patrolling the borders, he'll be back soon, go straight to the last house on the street on the left side it's his house, you must come in the spare key is in the vase outside”.

As soon as she finished giving the instructions she turns and enters the store calling the boys, “how unfriendly” Keith thinks, “well as she knows where the spare key is and that we should wait inside, it was as if she had spoken to Dilan”, Keith was determined to call him by his name, she didn't know him after all, “and there was no way the woman could have spoken to him, she didn't use a cell phone. My God what a weird place, well at least Dilan must not be a monster, he must be a policeman after all she said he was patrolling the borders, the alpha term the boys used must be nickname of policeman or chief”, but that didn't matter and turning to his mother Keith asks:

“Mom, I don't think it's a good idea for us to enter a house that doesn't belong to us, what if he is as receptive as this woman? What if she sent us in just so we could accuse us of trespassing?”

“A good agent will only know how to take a risk, and we've come this far, I'm not leaving, your place is here”.

Something inside Keith stirs in his head, as if agreeing with Estela's madness, Keith rummages in his bag looking for his pepper spray, which he got from his grandfather before the accident, with the promise that if anyone threatens to bite his neck she would empty the tube into the assailant's eyes.

Dilan's house was bigger than the others, except of course the mansion that was right across the street, which was breathtakingly beautiful, but Dilan's, close to the one they lived in, counting every penny to pay the bills, was a palace, it was all white , surrounded by a hedge with beautiful flowers in the well-kept garden and the back overlooked Floresta and had a deck with cushions and hammocks , in addition to a swimming pool , “seriously the guy had a pool at home when she learned to swim in the public pool in her old town” thinks Keith and a stab of anger hits her, even though she knows it wasn't her father's fault.

Estela takes the keys and goes inside, leaving Keith no choice but to follow her, “shit mom”, Keith thinks.

The house inside is beautiful, everything is clean and organized, they go to the living room and sit next to each other to wait, Keith grabs the spray with one hand and Estela's hand in the other, who looks at her scared and says: "honey you're burning up with fever again, my god it's getting worse".

At that time they hear the back door open wide, and a man who looks very similar to Keith enters as if he had run a marathon, and his gaze is fixed on Estela and his expression shows several emotions, pain, anger, longing and love, “wow, does he still love mommy?” thinks Keith and turns quickly to Estela who is caught in Dilan's gaze, and it seems to Keith that she is also in love, "there goes my hopes of him kicking us back home", is Keith's sarcastic thought.

He slowly turns to Keith and stares at her, and to Keith it seems he smells her too, “What the fuck is this? I'm sure I'm sweaty but I can't smell, I used deodorant”, thinks Keith.

Understanding dawns on Dilan's face and he moves towards Keith, "damn, damn, damn" Keith thinks, "he's not going to touch me is he?"

He seems to notice Keith's reaction and stops a few steps from her, and holds out his hand saying:

“Um hello I am Dilan, your father”

She hesitates for a few seconds and takes your hand and says stuttering

"Hello I'm Keith...hmmm I mean hello I'm your daughter".