Chosen By My Mate's Father-in-law novel Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Disguised

“Michelle, remember to block your left side. I’ve been able to get past you every time,” I instructed.

The younger girl nodded but wouldn’t look me in the eye. I put my hands on my hips as I studied her.

It was a couple of days after the five of us went to dinner at Nicola’s. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any run-ins with Elliot since, and Isabella had been busy with wedding planning. I hadn’t seen Gareth either. Which I told myself was a good thing. He was a confusing distraction in my busy life. I had enough problems already.

Now, as I stared at Michelle, my eyes narrowed with suspicion. She had been acting strangely throughout our entire lesson. Usually, she loved training outside as opposed to doing worksheets in her room. Her heart didn’t seem to be in it today, and she refused to look me in the eyes.

“Let’s take a five-minute break,” I suggested.

Michelle shrugged and stalked off to the weapons rack, putting her dagger in the wrong spot. Then, she walked onto the patio, collapsed into a seat, and crossed her arms.

I grabbed two water bottles from the outdoor fridge and handed her one as I sat next to her.

“Drink up. It’s important to stay hydrated.”

Michelle stared at the water bottle like it had insulted her.

I sighed. “Michelle, what’s wrong?”

Her body tensed immediately, and she looked at the ground. “Nothing’s wrong.”

My eyes zeroed in on the yellowing bruises on her arms and one on her cheek. It seemed like she had attempted to cover it up with concealer, but our training had revealed it.

Being bruised wasn’t that unheard of when you were in werewolf training, but those injuries weren’t there the last time I trained her.

Anger made my pulse quicken. Had someone hurt Michelle?

I leaned forward and tried to keep my voice at a normal volume. “What happened?”

Michelle’s green eyes flitted to mine, but she immediately looked away.

“What do you mean?” She grabbed her water bottle, and instead of drinking it, she unscrewed the cap and started playing with it. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” I retorted. “You have bruises all over your arms and one on your cheek. Did someone hurt you?”

“What? No!” Michelle protested, but her voice was higher than normal. She tried to pull the sleeve of her shirt down to hide her bruises. “Those are from training.”

“I’m the one who trains you, Michelle. You can’t lie to me. Who hurt you?” I insisted through gritted teeth.

Just the thought of someone hurting her made me want to hunt them down and teach them a lesson.

Michelle threw her head back and groaned in defeat. “Okay, fine.” She was still playing with the cap of the water bottle and refusing to look at me. “I got into a fight with some of my classmates. It’s not a big deal.”

My hands balled into fists. It certainly didn’t sound like a small deal.

“Anyway, I won the fight, but it turned into this whole big thing, and now the principal wants to have a meeting with my parents. But my dad’s been super busy with work...” Michelle trailed off, and a disgruntled look crossed her face. “I don’t want him to waste his time coming to my school for my meeting. It’s not worth it.”

My head tilted to the side. “I’m sure that Gareth would make time for the meeting. You and Isabella are the most important part of his life, much more important than work.”

“No...you don’t understand. I don’t want him to come! I’ll get into so much trouble! It’s going to ruin everything... “ Michelle shook her head, and I was surprised to see her eyes glinting with unshed tears. “Finally Dad and I have been getting along. I don’t want to see that look of disappointment come back into his eyes whenever he looks at me.”

Michelle’s voice had gone soft. My heart ached for her. I could hear the undercurrent of pain behind her words. She was simply an insecure child who needed more reassurance than most, who simply didn’t want to disappoint her one remaining parent.

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