I stopped before she could make me seat on the couch so she would question every deatail, turning towards her, and making her look at me with slight surprise. My lips parted to say something, but I smiled firstly to calm her down, and saw some relief in her eyes. "Mom, look, I,-" I tried smiling again, before glancing at Marco and Jack that stood on the side like some body guards with their arms crossed over their chests and listened to what I had to say.. "I know that you and dad are probably aware why I left home.. And I'm not back because I changed my mind. I'm not going to go along with that madness and marry Alexander." She released a slight breath in a puff before she looked back at me and pressed her palms against the sides of my shoulders. "Lana, you know what kind of a ruler your father is.. He knows what he is doing and as our daughter it is your duty to support his decisions." And that was when I knew that, in fact, no, things did not change here.. Not one bit. They were still sticking to that decision.. I took a step back, unable to keep the ironic chuckle that escaped my throat. "I cannot believe that you are making me discuss this subject the second I walk in the house after a month." I could still see the slight surprise behind her eyes, perhaps because I dared to talk back to her, when she was so damn focused on that movie she was making in her head that she was so eager to turn into reality.. "This is my life. I do have a say in it. And I say that I'm not going to marry him." I made sure to be clear with that, and I was ready to repeat it as many times as I had to. Since I was 18 my mother tried putting that idea in my head.. That idea of course me marrying someone that she would choose.. I just could not believe that my father actually agreed on that when my while life he taught me how to be a strong individual, and how to crash everything that came in my way.. This was the complete opposite of his morals, of everything he taught me.. It was like he was brainwashed.. And I knew that my mom wanted the best as well, but that 'best" was actually the worst thing that they ever decided. I turned back towards the hall, looking around. "Where's father? I want to talk to him." I finally asked as I turned back towards her. Again, her eyes were still wide with surprise while she was glued to her spot, perhaps because I found the courage to stand against her and actually say that no, I was not going to marry Alexander Vesnetsov. After a few seconds she seemed to snap out of that shock from my courage in my own words, before she took a few steps towards me and reached her arms to once again direct me towards the living room. "He is already angry with you for leaving home. Do not anger him even more.." "There are things that I saw and went through while I was away that only he can explain to me.." My tone was sharp and edgy from how hard I was trying to sound convincing. Perhaps it made her think that I lost respect towards her as a mother, and my loud tone again only surprised her. But I was only trying to prove my point. I saw her frown and I knew what was next. I got her angry.. "After everything you did, where do you get the courage to talk back at me?" Her voice was pretty loud even though she was trying to control it. Her fists were clenched beside her, and I knew her scolding lessons always took a whole eternity. But I didn't have the time to deal with that at that point.. She rose her finger and had that even more serious expression on her face that always assured me that I was in trouble when I was a kid. "It was your damn choice to try and act like some rebel and run away from home.. Do you even know what you made us go through?" But I was an adult now. They could not make choices about my life without me having a say in them. "I am not going to let you ruin our pack," I once again talked with the same harsh tone that she used with me, and that made her even more mad at me than she already was. With the closeness she had, less than a feet from me, it was enough for her to reach her hand and grab my arm with a tighter grip than I had ever felt from her. I had never seen her like that before.. "This is not a game, Lana. Stop acting like a child!" She rose her voice, still holding me still.. I could tell that there was something far more complicated going on behind her eyes other than just anger.. It was fear.. And I knew it was not from me, it was from something that perhaps made her make this decision. Father too? "What has gotten into you?! I did not raise you like this." And it was obviously something that turned her against me.. I didn't say anything for a second. I didn't want to test her more. I just saw Marco's hand over hers, and her grip around my elbow loosened as she looked at him. "Enough," He told her looking her directly in the eyes, even though with his quiet and raspy tone he seemed to try and calm her down. I don't know if Marco standing up for me surprised her again, or just made her snap out of whatever she thought she was doing, I just know that she let go of me, and Marco instantly looked back at me, placing his hand over my back and making me turn around. "Dad is in his office," He said as he led me out of the living room and towards the strairs.