(Timeskip, five days later)
"Come on, my sweet child, walk with me", Darcia encouraged his daughter, her small hands held in his larger ones as he gently pulled her up from the couch to stand upright: for the first four days, he had been more than happy to carry her around in his arms, but now he thought it was time for her to learn how to walk for her own good. Alyssa let out a frightened whimper, she wasn't used to walking and didn't want to fall, she knew it would hurt, but when she looked up into his eyes, her fear melted away: her dad would never let her fall.
She knew she was safe with him, he had showed her nothing but kindness, care and love since the first moment she met him. And unknown to them, thanks to a small concussion she had gotten when she fell after fleeing the lab, she had completely forgotten everything that had happened before he found her, so the only memories she had were the happy ones forged with her father.
With a deep breath, she lifted one leg and took a small step forward while he took an equally small step back, leading her slowly. "That's it, you're doing really well", he praised her, "Can you take another step for me?", he asked, moving back a bit more. She nodded and followed him, one wobbly step at a time, until her knees stopped shaking.
He guided her around the living room and his smile grew wider as he watched her steps grow more confident and more fluid, his chest was about to burst with pride and love for his daughter, "See, my dear, you're walking! I'm so proud of you", he cooed. She beamed at him, letting go of his hands only to walk closer and hug his leg tightly, "I love you, dad", she chirped, looking up at him with an adoring happy smile. "I love you too, darling", he picked her up and kissed her cheek and she giggled, "Do you think you can walk a bit more with me? We'll go visit your mother".
The toddler nodded and when he put her down, she grabbed his hand and they walked side by side to the room where Hamona's body was resting. He guided her slowly down the staircase and couldn't help chuckling when she made a game of their descent, hopping on each step like a playful bunny.
After a while, they finally reached the room where an advanced life-support system was. Inside it, on a wide and very comfortable bed covered in purple velvet, slept a fair skinned woman with floor-length green hair, dressed in a white silk dress, several tubes attached to her body. Alyssa stared at the beautiful woman with a mixture of awe and curiosity, "Dad? Is she hurt?". Darcia shot her a sad smile as he knelt at her side and stroked her hair tenderly, "Your mom is sick, my dear", he explained, "I'm trying to keep her safe until I can find a way to make her better".
"Oh", the little girl got on her tiptoe and then, much to his surprise, she hugged the unconscious woman as best as she could, "I love you, mom. Get well soon", she added, pressing a kiss to her cold hand since she was too short to reach her cheek. "Oh, Hamona…If only you could see what a sweet, wonderful, precious daughter we have", he whispered, feeling an odd mixture of joy and sadness bubbling in his chest.
The child turned to him with a smile, but then she sniffed the air and a growl slipped past her lips, "Bad", she said, her nails growing longer and black fur sprouting on her little body as she began shifting in her wolf form unconsciously. Darcia's eyes widened, then softened, "You're just like me. My little, perfect daughter", he murmured, "What's wrong, my sweet child?". "Bad. There's smell of evil", she answered, pointing with a half-formed paw to the stairs.
He sniffed the air as well and grimaced recognizing the particular brand of perfume that wafted to him, "Stay here, darling, I will be right back. And while I'm upstairs, you will protect your mother, all right?", he kissed his daughter's forehead and she nodded. "Yes, dad. I will keep mom safe", she said as her golden eyes shone with determination.
He felt another wave of pride wash over him and tenderly stroked her hair, then he stood, pulled his eyepatch down and quickly went upstairs, his serene expression replaced with a scowl at the sight of the person waiting for him, "Jaguara", he said, his tone icy, "I told you that you're not welcome here". The woman, who looked nearly identical to Hamona and was wrapped in a very elegant yet seductive purple dress, shot him a sickly sweet smile, "Why are you always so hostile towards me, Darcia? I could make you happy, if only you…". "If only nothing", he cut her off, "I'm not interested. Soon, I will find a way to heal Hamona and our family will be complete".
She arched an eyebrow, "Family? What family? She never even gave you a child, while I cou-", her voice became a choked wheeze when he grabbed her by the throat and squeezed without mercy, cutting off her air supply until she was on her knees and her face began to turn blue. "Never dare to talk like that again in my presence, or I will make you regret it", he snarled, enraged, then he let her go with a rough shove that sent her flat on the floor, "Now leave. I don't want to see your face in this house ever again", he spat, turning his back on her and starting to leave.
She coughed, rubbing her sore throat and shot him a look that was in equal parts love, anger and desperation, "Why can't you love me?! I would do anything for you! I would give you a child, a family, everything you want!", she cried. He sighed and looked at her one final time, "Leave, Jaguara. I neither need nor want anything from you, aside from being left in peace", he said, then walked away, leaving her behind. While the woman dragged herself to her feet and left his house, he pulled his eyepatch back up and went back to his child, only to find her in full wolf form sitting patiently by her mother's 'bed'.
Alyssa looked up at the sound of her father's footsteps and yipped, wagging her tail, then pointed at her mom, as if to say 'see? Safe!'. Darcia chuckled, picked her up and placed a kiss on the tip of her snout, "I see, darling and you did really well", he praised her, causing her tail to wag faster, "Can you shift back for me?". She nodded and turned back into her human form, "Dad, can you shift too?". "Yes, my dear, I can. But we need to be outside and it must be dark, or the others could see us and get scared". "Oh", she pouted, disappointed at having to wait, "Okay".
"Come now, don't be sad: as soon as it's dark, we'll go outside, shift into our wolf form and play in the snow, would you like that?". "Yes! Thank you, dad!", she cheered, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back with a contented sigh, thinking of how nice it was to be able to share such a special thing as shifting with his child. In the past, he had only shifted a couple of times and only because Hamona asked him to as she knew of his hybrid nature, yet since she fell ill, he had promised himself he would never do it again.
But now, he had a reason to become a wolf once more, for their daughter: he was sure that his beloved would approve of it, actually he knew she would encourage him to share some wolf time with Alyssa and to teach her what it meant to be a human wolf. He could nearly hear her sweet, angelic voice talking to him…
Alyssa suddenly whipped her head around to look at her mother quizzically, "Mom?", she seemed to be listening to something and then nodded, "Okay, mom. I will and I love you too". Darcia blinked, "What is it, Alyssa?". "Mom said she loves us and to keep you safe", she answered and he felt his heart stop for a second. "She…She did?". "Yes. She has a sweet voice", she added with a cheerful smile, "I like mom's voice!". "I like it too, darling. She has the most beautiful voice", he agreed, smiling back and holding her close to hide the tears filling his eyes as he realized that Hamona was still there somehow. She was not lost, he could still bring her back, he only needed to find the cure.
And he would find it, even if it was the last thing he did in his life.
oxoxoxoxoxo
When darkness fell, Darcia led Alyssa outside the palace and in the park, of course after wrapping her in a warm thick coat tailored for her to protect her from the cold. "Are you ready to play, my dear?", he asked with a soft smile, but he frowned when he saw the fear etched on her little face, "What's wrong?". She held his hand more tightly and huddled closer to him, "Scared", she whimpered. "Of what, darling?", he then remembered of when he had found her, naked, bloodied and bruised in the snow, "Is it the snow?". She nodded, sniffling, "I don't know why".
"You…You don't?", he asked, receiving a headshake in response, "Alyssa, what do you remember before you woke up in my lap five days ago?", he queried, kneeling next to her and tilting his head to meet her gaze. "Nothing", she admitted, "Sorry, dad". He couldn't help smiling at that: if she didn't remember whatever had hurt her, then he didn't have to worry about her having lingering trauma because of it, "It's all right, my sweet child", he reassured her, stroking her hair, "You were running out to avoid taking a bath and fell, simple as that. Snow is not bad, it can be nice to play in if you're in your wolf form".
His daughter hummed and then smiled back, "Okay, dad. Let's play!", she cheered, making him chuckle. They both shifted in their wolf forms: where Alyssa stood was now an adorable pup with obsidian colored fur and golden eyes; where Darcia knelt was now a majestic wolf with obsidian colored fur and heterochromatic eyes, one ocean blue and the other golden. "Are you cold, darling?", he asked her in wolf language, worried, but she shook her head and jumped around him cheerfully. "No, I'm fine, dad".
He gave her a tender lick on the head (the wolf equivalent of a kiss on the hair), "Would you like to play wolf tag?", he proposed and she wagged her tail and touched his left front leg with her small paw. "Yes! You're it!", she said before sprinting away with a giggle. Darcia narrowed his eyes playfully, "Oh, not for long!", he challenged, running after her with a laugh. They played in the snow for nearly an hour and he was impressed with her speed and agility, they were way above average...Just like his had been when he was her age.
He smiled to himself as he thought that this only confirmed her being his and Hamona's child. Of course he knew she was not of his blood, but since Alyssa didn't remember her past, he decided to let her believe she was, mostly because he wanted to believe it with all his heart as well. And besides, don't they say that, if you tell a lie often enough, it becomes the truth? He was brought out of his musings when he saw her yawning and chuckled again, "Come on, shift back, my dear: it's bedtime". "But I want to play…", she whined, only to be cut off by another big yawn.
"We'll play again tomorrow, I promise, but now we need to go to bed". "Okay", she obediently shifted back and took his hand, "Will you read to me?". "Of course", he ruffled her hair and she beamed up at him. "Yay!". After changing into her pajamas and washing her teeth, she climbed into her soft pink bed and hugged her teddybear as he approached the small bookshelf to the side. "What do you want me to read tonight, my dear?". "One where the wolf is not the bad guy", she answered.
"All right, so how about…Ah, this one is nice", he grabbed a book and sat on the side of her bed, choosing a random fairytale and when he was barely halfway into the story, Alyssa's eyes started closing. "I wanna be a princess", she mumbled sleepily, holding her teddy more tightly. "You're my little princess", he said softly, kissing her forehead, "Goodnight, my sweet daughter. I love you". "Goodnight, daddy. I love you too", she replied, kissing his cheek before drifting into a peaceful sleep.