CLARA

#Chapter8 CLARA I find myself incredibly pleased when I notice that Samuel looks just as he has always looked. There were subtle frown lines on his forehead and his hair was starting to grey but other than that, he pretty much looked the same. I smile hesitantly at him, but it slips away when he just looks blankly at me, his face set in stone. I cross my arms across my chest. If he had been a little more friendly, I would have felt free to occupy one of the armchairs across from him. As he wasn’t exactly eager to see me, dictates state that I stand submissively and let him demonstrate his superiority to me. “Why are you here?” Samuel’s voice seemed to boom in the office, and I visibly flinch at his unexpected outburst. His voice was different; it had become heavier and gravelly. It had been so long since I had faced an Alpha’s power that it made my wolf restless. Back home, I was a respected member of the pack and had never been on this side of Richard’s anger. “Um, that’s a little difficult to explain,” I chuckle nervously. How do I explain everything to the man who had practically rejected me and Kyle two decades ago for someone else? He wasn’t very sympathetic to me then, who’s to say he would be more sympathetic now? But I’d come this far, and I had to try. For Kyle’s sake. If he decides to flip out and wants to do nothing with Kyle, then we can just reverse the jeep out of the pack and head back home. At least, then we will know it wasn’t for nothing. “Remember when I told you eighteen years ago that I was pregnant with your child and you rejected both of us? And I ran away as a result? Well, um Kyle is that child.” I fidget nervously, trying to figure out what Samuel was thinking. His face remains blank as if the revelation of his living, breathing son didn’t make any reason whatsoever to him. “Yes, I did reject you. Why are you here, then?” Samuel regards me closely and narrows his eyes at me. This interrogation would be easier if I was sitting; at least, then my shaking legs wouldn’t threaten to give out from under me. Shock waves travel through my body at his careless interrogation. I had never really expected him to be so callous about everything. I wanted to see some emotion from him, surprise at having a son, regret at not being there for him, and maybe joy that he finally had the chance to be with his son. Did this not matter to him at all? “So, um after leaving this pack I went to another pack and started a new life there. Long story short, Kyle’s wolf even though was born there doesn’t exactly recognize that pack as his own. Alpha Richard explained to me that since he was the son of an alpha, his wolf needed to be close to the pack land of his father, otherwise he would slowly lose his mind. I didn’t know what to do, or how to help him. So, I brought him here so that his wolf could be closer to the pack he considers his own.” I explain and refuse the urge to jump about in frustration at Samuel’s expression of boredom as if he couldn’t care less about what has been happening to his son. To be clear, he did reject us. “What do you want from me, then?” Samuel spread his hands on the desk while he waited for me to answer. With a sudden burst of courage, I walk forward and settle down on one of the armchairs across from him, bringing us at eye level with each other. For the first time since I entered the room, I feel that we are on the same level. “I know that me showing up here with my kids today throws you off. I’m sure it will also be very uncomfortable for Lily and any children you might have with her, but I can’t just take Kyle back. He belongs here and you are his father. Does that mean nothing to you?” “What about your other children? Should I expect your chosen mate to enter my pack borders within a few days, eager to move with his family?” I flinch at his casual and insulting manner of speaking. How dare he speak about my family that way? Brad was ten times the man he seemed to be. As soon as my thoughts move to Brad, I involuntarily move my hand to the mating mark on my neck like I have been doing since he passed away. Samuel’s eyes follow my movement, and his eyes harden when they land on my mating mark. “No one is going to follow us,” I whisper. “What do you want from me, Clara?” Why are you here? That story was nice and everything, but what do you want?” Samuel asks and I lean forward so that he knows that I’m serious about what I’m asking of him. “I want you to let us stay here, in your pack. I want to see if being here does help Kyle rein in his wolf. I want you to let me and my children stay here for six months. By that time, I hope I will know if there’s a change in Kyle’s wolf. If he does need to stay here to keep his wolf sane, I will ask you to please let him join this pack and stay behind, while me and the twins will move back home. If there’s no change in Kyle’s behavior, all of us will pack our bags and you will never hear from us again.”   #