Makayla stood frozen, her breath catching in her throat as her father’s inhuman gaze bore into her. The black void that had swallowed his irises was something unnatural, something predatory. It wasn’t the father who had once carried her on his shoulders or stayed up late telling stories until she fell asleep.
This was something else.
Something dangerous.
But she couldn’t run.
Because deep beneath that monstrous exterior, Gino was still there. She refused to believe otherwise.
Gino clutched at his head, his body trembling as if he were fighting some unseen force trying to rip him apart from the inside. A strangled sound tore from his throat, half growl, half plea.
“Makayla,” he rasped, his voice nearly unrecognizable. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Makayla took a slow step forward.
“Yo
