Chapter 4: No More Secrets

Leaving Kayla's house, Selena walked down the road as she took a short cut towards her house. She lived just a few meters away from Kayla's and it was a distance she could walk on foot. Getting to her street in the dark eerie night, Selena felt a chilly aura.

Sighting her house from her distance, a sudden fear gripped her heart. Her house was unusually silent, she couldn't see any light lit on.

"What's happening?" She whispered as she started walking fast towards her house.

Opening the door, her mouth fell open and she covered it with her hand. "Mum, Dad... what happened?" Selena rushed to her parents' side.Her father was lying on the floor, all covered in wounds and her mother, though not critical like her father, she was still covered in bruises.

"Mum, please what happened? Why is father lying on the floor all covered in wounds? He's bleeding and mum, why are there bruises on your body?" Selena asked as she crouched down beside her mother.

Her heart clenched in pain at the sight of her parents, the two people that cared for her from her infancy till now, the people that meant so much to her, the people that always wanted to see her smile no matter what.

"Mum, please let's take dad to the hospital. I don't know what happened but dad needs medical care, he's losing a lot of blood." Selena said, her voice beginning to break. She was holding back her tears that were building up and ready to burst at any point.

"No, I'm fine." Mr Riley winced in pain. He was lying on the floor in pain, his breathing was steadied like he was taking a nap, but his body said otherwise.

"Fine? How can you say you're fine when your body is covered in wounds and you're bleeding?"Selena wanted to scream but she maintained her calm voice. Right now, raising her voice or getting angry won't answer any of her questions, neither would it change what has happened, but what really happened she wanted to know.

"Dad please can you just let us take you to the hospital?" Turning her head to her mother, her heart throbbing in more pain as she watched her mother frozen on a spot.

Her mother kept on looking at her father's face without saying a word. Selena was fully aware that what ever had happened was really an imaginable thing to leave her mother in this state.

Shaking her mother lightly, Mrs Riley regained herself. "My dear, you're back?"

"Mum, what happened? You didn't even notice me all this while?" Selena said, her voice carrying a mixture of emotions.

"I'm sorry dear, but you see we can't tell you what happened," Selena heard her mother's voice.

"Dad please, you and mum should tell me what's going on. What happened?" The last thread of her restraint broke and tears fell down from her eyes.

Mrs Riley, seeing her daughter crying, embraced her. Settling her head on her mother's shoulder, she cried uncontrollably.

Stroking Selena's hair gently, "I'm sorry sweetheart, but it's something you shouldn't know for your safety." Hearing her words, Mr Riley barely raised his back from the floor and stood in a sitting posture.

He looked at his wife, a woman of understanding, care, love and tolerance. He was surprised at her no outburst. He never knew she was going to keep what happened to herself, but hearing her words now, he knew that he made the right choice of marrying this woman and not caring about the consequences.

"Selena," Mr Riley called in a low voice. "It's all my fault, everything that happened. The only pain I feel right now is dragging you and your mother into this life when I shouldn't.

Removing herself from her mother's embrace, wiping her tears with her palm,

"Dad, please tell me, what happened while I wasn't around?" Selena begged.

"We were attacked..." Mr Riley wanted to say but was cut off by Selena's mum.

"Sweetheart, I've told you it's nothing to worry yourself about. Your father and I are perfectly okay."

"Perfect? Did you just say perfectly okay mum? Tell me what are you trying to cover up? What don't you want me to know? Dad is in pain, thank God his bleeding has stopped and Mum, you're covered in bruises. So tell me, what is your definition of perfectly okay?" Selena said, sobbing.

"It's okay my love, let me handle it." Mr Riley said to his wife and turned his attention to his daughter.

"Selena, we were attacked." observing her expression, he continued. "I tried protecting your mother but I guess I'm already old. I'm just glad you were not around. If not, I wonder if I would have been able to protect you."

"Dad, I don't understand. Attacked by who? By what? And protect me from whom? You're making me confused."

"I'm sorry my dear, but you see, I don't want you to worry about who I'm protecting you from, because I'll protect you from any harm no matter what it is and who it is."Mr Riley said, he didn't want Selena to worry about the latter because he knew it would affect her.

How would he tell her that he is a werewolf and they were attacked by the same thing he is? How would he tell her that they were creatures seeking after her life? Would she not hate him? Would she understand just like her mother did when she found out everything?

He knew that he couldn't hide the truth from her, he was going to tell her at the right time and now wasn't just the right time. Stretching his hand to Selena's face, he caressed her cheeks gently.

"We were attacked by armed robbers and I tried fighting with them but it led to this," Mr Riley said. It was all a lie, but to him it was partly true because they were attacked but not by armed robbers.

Selena, looking at her father's expression, didn't have an explanation of what happened, but a part of her doubted her father's words, though she couldn't do much about it as her father's facial expression gave nothing away.

She hugged her father gently in concern, trying to steady her breathing. She sighed. Even though her father was wounded, she still felt happy and relieved that he was okay.

"Dad, please go to the hospital or should I call the family doctor to come and treat you?"

"I'll be fine dear, just don't worry about me okay, I'm alright." Selena heard her father and she wanted to say something but decided against it as her mother joined the hug.

"I'm so glad to have you both as my parents." Selena enjoyed the warm embrace of her parents' hug. The feeling of warmth and security it gave, a feeling she would forever cherish.

Remembering the state of her parents, she broke from their embrace. "I'm calling the doctor right now so you both can get treated." Selena said and stood up, taking her phone, she dialed the doctor's number and walked away leaving her parents alone.

"Why did you tell her we were attacked?" Mrs Riley asked immediately she was left alone with her husband.

"You know our daughter so well, she wouldn't give up asking if we didn't give her an explanation. Besides, she met me before I could heal up." Mr Riley said.

Scanning his body with her eyes, Mrs Riley sighed with relief. "I'm still very surprised at all this confession. I don't know why you never told me any of this before we married."

"I'm sorry my love, I was scared of telling you just as I'm scared of telling our daughter. I don't want the smile on my daughter's face to ever fade, if Selena finds out she might not be able to take it in...."

Cutting him off, Mrs Riley spoke, "So what do you plan to do now? I doubt if those people won't come back."

"They definitely will, but I already have a plan to keep our daughter safe. I'll explain everything