"Tamsin, we need you," Dyson said, walking into Tamsin's bedroom.
He saw the way Tamsin was looking at his daughter. A look of deep thought across her face. She was in protection mode, over watch mode.
"With what?" she said, not breaking her trance.
"Is everything okay?" he asked, looking from Taylor, and back to Tamsin. He walked into the room slowly, as if the floor was made of lava.
"What are you so afraid of?" Tamsin asked Dyson. She was talking about the secrets he was keeping, not his fear of entering the room.
"Losing her," Dyson said as he reached the bed where Tamsin sat, looking over his child. He looked at Taylor now, with only love in his eyes and heart, wondering where she had been, and how lucky he was to end up with her now.
"She's not going anywhere," Tamsin said in her usual condescending tone.
"Well, Tamsin, I have a feeling you're right," Dyson said, studying her face for some type of response. "She seems to have grown on you."
"What are you talking about wolf?" Tamsin asked, taking her eyes off the girl to look at Dyson.
"You know," he said.
"No, actually, I don't or I wouldn't have asked what the hell you were talking about."
"What you did, to calm her down. She was out of her mind, she slashed me, but somehow you still managed to calm her down, how did you do that?"
"She slashed you, because she's still angry at you. You deserve it."
"Tamsin, you don't understand," Dyson said, trying to forget what she just said.
"No, you don't understand, haven't you already caused enough trouble for her, why can't you just leave her alone?"
"Because I'm all she's got," Dyson said sternly. He looked at his daughter and back at Tamsin. His face turned from hard and cold, to calm and quiet. It wasn't only her that needed him, but him that needed her. He wanted a reason to live, to feel like he found a place in the world, and with her in his life, he felt like he accomplished something, like he wasn't a complete failure.
"She's got me now," Tamsin said, rising from her spot on the bed to face him down the same way she did Bo.
"Since when did you two become so close?" he said, not moving his face an inch.
"Since I became the only person in her life to actually give a shit about her feelings and not just her safety," she said.
"No you mean only her feelings and not her safety. We are doing what we're doing to protect her, what's more important, her feelings or her life?"
"Both are important," Tamsin spoke again, thinking about what he had said, she backed away from him now, so ever slightly that Dyson did not even realize.
"No, her life is what's important. I am her father, I know what's best for her."
"And where have you been the past two decades? Chasing tail from here to Timbuktu. You didn't even know she existed until the other day. How can you sit here and act like you've been there her whole life and know what's best for her? Have you even asked her once what she wants? No, because you haven't even seen her, and the only reason you're here now is to study her for some science project with Lauren and the light Fae."
"How am I supposed to know when her mother took her and ran, literally. I know what's best for her because she's here now, and as long as she is, I'm going to do whatever I can to help her. Lauren is here to help me figure out the best way to do that. I've been away tracking that hunter who is trying to kill her. That's what a father does. Protect." He stepped closer in her face this time, the same way she did to him. He stared at her, eye to eye, challenging her next words.
"She needs me because I'm the only person in her life that gives a damn about what she wants, who listens to everything she says, and protects her at the same time, it is possible, no on else cares enough to try." Her speech brought tears to her eyes, although she dried to make her eyes drier before Dyson realized it.
"Except you're not her mother," Dyson said coldly. "Her mother is dead, dead and long gone, she doesn't need trouble like you. When she wakes up, I'm taking her home with me where she belongs," Dyson said.
"You're not taking her anywhere," Tamsin said, pushing him hard in his chest. He stumbled backwards before catching his balance. He felt darker, stronger, capable of hurting anyone, even Tamsin. He thought, that after all of these years that his anger would be under lock and key, that he would have control over himself, but when Tamsin pushed him, it felt like fire roaming through his veins, running free. He wanted to walk away, but his body would not let him. His eyes changed, his face changed, his teeth changed. He was starting his shift. He let out a low growl.
"Get away from me, Tamsin," he said through bared, sharp teeth.
"Make me," she said feeling the same change within herself, although hers felt more powerful, more forceful, and less dramatic. Her eyes sunk in and became dark, her who face looked like that of a skeleton. Beautiful wings sprouted from her shoulder blades. They stepped closer to each other, ready for a fight.