What Claire saw first when she stepped into her father’s room was her parents sitting in the living room, with Clem, their backs hunched, the air filled with pregnant silence, waiting. They were waiting for her.
She knew it from the moment she had dropped a note in Clem’s mind that she was on her way home. That he hadn’t bothered with a response, should have been enough to let her know that her twin was still angry with her. But she had held out hope, until she had reached the borders of the pack and he hadn’t been waiting for her.
This was very different from the times they had quarrels. She knew, however, that this quarrel was different. She had denied her mate, because of the throne; had gone ahead to push Emma away from the pack; and when Derek still hadn’t chosen her, she had returned to Curtis because he was an Alpha.
Would she have returned to him if he wasn’t that? She didn’t know. That was the truth. She didn’t know.
She might have gone back to Curtis, even if he wasn’t an Alpha, if she had seen him…
It was the reason why it had been better in the dark; the rejection. She didn’t see her mate. But seeing him fully, had upturned her. His Alpha-ship had only been an icing on the cake.
Curtis.
They had been cordial at best back in his pack, but she had grabbed it with both hands because it had been better than his coldness. She couldn’t help but wonder if the cordialness had been because of his father.
She couldn’t help but wonder why the wicked man had been talking with Zoe; she had seen them while she had been leaving. He hadn’t even acknowledged her greeting when she had passed.
But Zoe had, with a glare, and then a smirk. A knowing smirk that told Claire what they had been talking about. She had known that Arnold wanted to match Zoe with Curtis. She had wanted to shout at them then, to ask the old man how he could do that to his son, how Zoe could go for a male that wasn’t his mate. But the only thing that had stopped her was her past. She had done it too.
Maybe this was her punishment. It didn’t make it any easier to bear still. If she could turn back the hands of time, and stay away from Derek, she would have. Sadly, her magic couldn’t do that, at least not yet.
“Good morning, Dad. Good morning, Mom. Good morning, Clem.” She greeted, finally stepping into the sitting room, pushing her sorrows and worries back to the base of her mind, allowing a thin smile to seep through her lips.
She inhaled sharply when her mother stood up from the chair, rushed at her and hugged her tightly as if wanting to immerse herself in her. She didn’t return the hug. She hadn’t forgiven the woman yet. She was expecting something from the latter too.
And when her mother disengaged from the hug, and then gave her a heartbreaking slap, she sighed. Finally. It had taken barely two seconds.
“What is the meaning of that, Claire! Why didn’t you tell us that you were going to the Wind Winders pack?! What did you go there to even do? Shouldn’t you be getting closer to Derek?”
Clem darted a surprised glance at her.
Yes, she hadn’t told her parents anything about her mate finding; about Curtis. She had lied to the ancients; she had lied to her parents again.
She ignored her mother, for the first time in her life, which showed on the latter’s face, and walked to one of the sofas and sat down. She dropped the bag by her feet, and looked at Clem. He was staring at her; he was wondering why she was acting up. But she gave him no response, not even when he dropped the question in her mind.
So, he wanted to play brother now?
She was suddenly angry, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of the slap, or that she was just tired of her family. Why couldn’t they be like the Alpha’s family?
She remembered Emma, however, and her anger deflated. Emma didn’t even grow up with her family, and she had made the girl’s life harder. She sighed, and reclined deeper into the chair. She wanted a lot of truths now, and she didn’t care if it would usurp her family. She was tired of living a lie anyway.
“Claire, why did you leave the house to Wind Winders pack? Did Arnold send for you?” Caden asked, folding his arms across his chest, his eyes soft as he looked at his daughter, whom he could sacrifice his life for.
But Claire pitied her father the most. He seemed to be the one out of the loop, because of her, and now the Alpha’s family was suspicious of him. Worse, their suspicions hadn’t been fake. Her father had actually worked for Arnold, but that was only because of her. Her. She had done a lot of bad to her family. And it was because of her mother.
She looked at the woman. Her mother was still gob-smacked. When their eyes connected however, Chyra walked back to the seat that she shared with her husband. So, Claire returned her gaze to her father.
“No, Dad. The Alpha didn’t send for me. I left with Aunt Jan.”
“Jan, that’s right. Why was she here?” Her father looked between her and Clem, but neither of them gave up an answer. After moments of waiting, her father repeated the question, this time on a higher octave.
“She came, because she had some issues with her mate. She wanted peace of mind. She left after she had gotten her wits back. I left with her because Curtis is my mate.”
“You didn’t tell them that either?” There was a frown on Clem’s face.
Claire shrugged her shoulders. Yes, she had lied about that too. But so what?