On her dad’s request, Claude spent the next hour on the balcony with her dad, relating the entire ordeal to him. This time her mom didn’t protest because they all knew it was necessary. Her father’s men were out there looking for the dangerous criminal that was Vladimir and anything she had to say may prove useful. Claude reached for another piece of the amazing butter cookies her mom had baked. “Dad, I think you guys should just stop looking for Vladimir.” He frowned and narrowed his eyes, “What? Why? What do you mean?” She sighed, “Dad, Vladimir stood behind me when Denver came into my room in the pack house and Denver did not know. Why? He had turned himself invisible! And now that I think about it, there probably is a spell to mask scent as well because that should’ve given him a way when he carried me and basically walked passed the entire of Denver’s pack members and nobody could sense a thing.” The alpha was massaging his temples before he knew it, “He turned you invisible.”
The next morning, Claude woke up early even though she could’ve slept in. She wished she had slept longer but since her body decided to get up at this time, so be it. She made her bed and took a shower before leaving her room to the kitchen where her parents would no doubt be.“Morning mom, dad.” She greeted chirpily, determined to give off the vibe that she was fine and no longer needed to be watched as though she was going to evaporate right in front of them. At the thought she supposed she would not be able to get rid of their watchful eyes what with a witch out for her life on the loose but she was sure her emotional state seemed fragile to them.She didn’t like that.They seemed to pity her immensely about what happened with Denver. She didn’t think she took it quite as serious as her parents did. Did one really need a mate? Was it that sad that she did not have one? But even as she asked herself those questions, she knew the answer. She knew the answer in the way Denver’s image
When Claude got home she had gone straight into her room and locked the door before proceeding to sit on her bed, yoga style as she stared at the door. Anyone who saw her would think that she was actually meditating from the way she sat still, in one position, barely blinking, barely breathing.The conversation she had with Amelia would not leave her head and from the conversation she opened more and more thought pathways as she connected everything. She could not believe that Denver and her had been so wickedly deceived that she had had to reject him as her mate.Her shoulders hunched and she choked out a sob, finally mourning the loss of her mate. What could be done to remedy such a thing. Victoria had somehow coerced Tasha to make Denver hers by any means and while Victoria was out for Claude, Tasha was out for Denver. Now what she wanted to avenge, Claude did not know but she knew that Tasha was out for Denver and although he was a strong wolf, one could never be a match for stron
Denver listened as Claude told him everything. He didn’t say a word but his expression kept changing by the second until he looked absolutely livid. Claude left out the part about her rebirth. Maybe she would tell him, some other time but for now, she didn’t think she should tell him how he had abandoned her to die because he thought their child was Eric’s. She preferred to think of it as a bad dream. She preferred to tell herself that this Denver and that one were two different people.Immediately she was finished, Denver was up and pacing the room. “None of it was real.” He said, running his fingers through his hair, over and over again until Claude felt the urge to go over and make him stop. “I…when I saw you and Eric, it wasn’t real…I trusted you, Claude I did, I do…I just…It was right in front of me…I…”Claude grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the bed, “I know.”“Now I know why I felt the mate pull towards Victoria.” Denver shook his head, “As if.”“I felt it towards Eric t
Claude’s food has long been put aside and she had long taken her pills. Now she lay down on Denver’s bed as he talked to her about everything and nothing. She had missed this, she had missed him and she realized that this was important. To banish the thoughts of a past with them and other people, they needed to spend as much together as possible. They needed to remember what it was like when their worlds revolved around each other.And for the third time that day, Claude’s gaze dropped to his lips, thinking that she needed to remember what it felt like to have Denver’s lips on hers. She had barely completed that thought when Denver’s door slammed open with a force that could’ve very well removed it from its hinges. Claude jumped in shock and Denver grabbed her hand before standing protectively right in front of her.Before he could completely block her view though, she saw the intruder and her heart dropped at the sight of her dad. In the midst of it all how had she manged to forget t
For the first time since the meeting begun, Claude was finally present. For the entirety of it, she had felt like she was outside a box and the rest of the room was in it and she was just watching and hearing echoes of what was going on.Now, she sat up straighter and looked around the room, her eyes finally stopping at the two girls at he foot of the table. The two people that had plotted to kill her, succeeded in killing another and destroyed her relationship with her mate. Could she really let them just be exiled like that? She felt thoroughly unsatisfied in advance of such a turn of events. “No. I don’t want that.” She suddenly spoke and all eyes turned to her. Her father raised a brow and Denver’s hand found her thigh. “What do you mean?” Denver asked softly.She transmitted to her father through the mind link that she wanted to speak to her family alone, including Denver without the other people. He gave her a look but still complied and in the next second, it was just her dad
Denver couldn’t believe how things had changed overnight…literally. He had prepared to go to bed that night with the despair he felt, giving up on ever getting his mate back when she had ran up to him, shivering and drenched in rain. He had been given a second chance and for that he was grateful to the moon goddess. She really wasn’t going to allow her children, especially an Alpha and Luna to be torn apart like that, was she?He promised himself that he was going to be very careful with this second chance he had been given and he would spend everyday, loving Claude and proving himself worthy of her love as well. Maybe that was why he was standing in front of her door with a modest bouquet of her favorite flowers.It wasn’t her pack house, but the smaller, more personal house she lived in with her parents. He knocked hoping it would be either her or her mother that answered. Having Alpha blood himself, he would puff out his chest in front of Claude’s dad any day. There was this confid
“Can you even cook?” Claude teased as she walked beside him into the house.Denver raised his brow, “Better than you, I bet.”She chuckled, “We’ll see.”She slipped of her shoes once inside and Denver took them along with his to the closet and bringing back a pair of soft, fluffy slippers for her. She even smiled once she slipped her feet inside it. It was so comfy!She glanced up at Denver, “It doesn’t look like you plan on letting me go back home today. Did you let my mom in on your plans to kidnap me?”Denver chuckled, “I told her there might be a possibility of you staying the night. Not you getting kidnapped. You are too dramatic.”Claude hummed, making her way to the kitchen. So he did have plans for her to sleep over. She wasn’t even informed. His house was empty too…was this really a spontaneous date? Or was she just the only one in the dark. “So, um, what are we cooking?” She asked.“I was thinking pasta. But you can decide.”She smiled, “I love pasta.”Denver grinned and wen
“Oh come on, you only give them so many gifts 'cause they don’t see you in person as much as they do me.” She laughed and Claude’s mom rolled her eyes.“The question is which grandparent gives them the most gifts Kristy.” She shrugged, proud that she had won in that category.“You’re too smug for your own good.” Denver’s mom complained just as her mate came in, twins latched unto him. Claude and Denver’s son Ricky was resting quietly on his chest while Krystal their little girl was more interested in pulling her grandfather’s hair until she got a reaction.“Someone should take her, please. My scalp is burning.” He complained and the two women giggled. He had loosened up a bit since officially handing over the Alpha position to Denver yet anyone who saw the way he played with his grandkids would still be shocked out of their minds. “I think she’s going to try to get you back all the days of your life for wanting to pick favorites between her brother and her.” Claude’s mom laughed.“Yea
“Oh goddess, Denver! Why didn’t you take her to the hospital?” His mom ran in looking very anxious with the pack doctor coming in after her. He had called Claude’s parents as well but he knew that they’ll come a bit later due to distance. Denver thought he was going to faint with how anxious he was. He had read all the books about babies but he never thought he’d need to have any basic knowledge of the whole labor process because his mate would be in labor for thirty minutes with no professional at all and only frightened old him. Claude was in so much pain, it was tearing him apart.“I didn’t think we’d make it in time.” He said, raking his fingers through his hair. “Her water had broken and she suddenly started having contractions. I was scared she might start crowning in the car.” He paced as he spoke and his mom went to place a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it.“Breathe my boy.” She said softly but it only seemed to break him because he practically collapsed on her while she wra
Telling everyone ended up being as big a task as Denver anticipated. His mom was glad obviously and she had to have been the easiest to break the news to. She had cried as she hugged him saying that they didn’t know how much joy it brought her. He remembered the way he had treated her when he was under Tasha’s spell and the guilt was about to do him over when Claude placed her hand on his back and rubbed gently as though she could immediately feel the damp in his mood.It was the little things like that that made him swear all over that he’d sooner put a bullet in his head than hurt her again. He was already struggling to tell himself that he deserved her as it was. She was the stronger one out of them, he decided. Even when her parents had taken the news not as well as she would hoped, with her dad vehemently against it and refusing to give his blessing and her mom worried that he’d hurt her again, she had been the strong one. Telling him that they should give it time and that even t
“You sure you still don’t want to see the baby?” The doctor asked. “I know you want the gender to be a surprise but we can keep that part hidden.Claude thought for a second, “Hmm.” Then she turned to Denver, acknowledging him for the first time since he came in, “What do you think, Denver?”Caught unawares, his eyes widened and he sat up straight, restraining himself from looking back to check if there was perhaps some other guy named Denver behind him that she was speaking to. He cleared his throat, “Whatever you decide is alright.” He said quickly.“I want you to decide though.” She pressed and Denver felt his heart rate quicken. Was this some sort of trick question?“Well, sure.” He finally said, “I’m sure it’ll be alright to see the baby as long as yo keep the gender hidden.”The doctor nodded once before turning to Claude who nodded back. The once dark screen was suddenly turned on and Claude gasped. It wasn’t picture clear but you could see the child moving inside her.“There’s
Immediately the curfew was dissolved, Nuella was shifting and running through the woods from her pack to her best friend’s. A curfew had been called the morning after the attack and had only been pulled once the woods and entire area around the two two packs and even the other neighbouring packs had been combed thoroughly for any lingering rogues.Once that was done, Claude’s father had demanded that his family and other pack members be brought back to complete their treatment in their pack. That night of the attack, when he was finally able to and had gone back to his house, he nearly fainted when he found it splattered with blood and dead bodies and his mate and daughter were nowhere to be found. Luckily, his Beta came in right on time to inform him that they were safe.It was the first time Claude would see her father cry. He had bent over her bed, holding her hand and his mate’s who sat beside him and wept. He cried for how close he had come to losing them, he cried for the loss o
She was still contemplating whether to go straight or drive around and go back to the front of the house when she saw a large black wolf charging in her direction. She felt her wolf begin to grow restless and when her baby kicked in her belly, she gasped.“Denver.” She whispered to herself but he ran past her and her heart sank when she realized who was behind her until she saw him pounce on Tasha through the rear view mirror and without hesitating, he sank his teeth into her jugular. Her blood sprayed out and Denver spat out a chunk of her flesh. Claude immediately averted her eyes, and bringing the car to a stop, she opened the door and bent over before throwing up her entire dinner from the night before and still retching painfully after she had emptied her belly.Sidestepping her vomit, she came down from the car. Now that she was sure that Tasha was dead, she wanted to get back home and make sure her mother was alright. Her father had asked them both to stay safe. She wouldn’t be
When Claude woke up it was obvious that it wasn't morning yet and it was also obvious that something was very wrong. She soon heard her father racing frantically down the stairs and her mother calling after him. If she wasn't fully awake before, her eyes were definitely wide open now. She jumped out of bed and threw her door open just when her dad was saying that their pack was under attack. She froze as she saw her mother’s face crumple as she pressed her hand to her mouth knowing that her mate had to go and fight and possibly not come back. Her father must’ve noticed too because he came back and gave her a tight hug before whispering something in her ears and pecking her on the forehead. Sighting Claude at the top of the stairs, he sprinted up and did the same before calling out that they should lock all the doors and stay safe and he’d send someone to them soon.Claude’s heart began to beat madly against her ribcage as she feared the worst. It was like dejavu, she thought remember
When her mom opened the door that day only for Denver’s parents to walk in, Claude went through a lot of emotions at once. There was surprise and then joy and relief for the fact that the Alpha had finally woken from his coma, then came self-consciousness, fear and lastly sadness because he reminded her too much of Denver.But when he sighted her and beamed for a man who didn’t smile much, she pushed all the other emotions aside and focused on the joy and relief first and when he stretched out his arms, she swallowed the lump that formed in her throat before going in for the hug.“Forgive me child.” He whispered before ending the brief hug. Although brief, she found that it really meant a lot. He didn’t seem like a big hugger but she had felt so calm and loved in those few seconds that hug had lasted and when he called her child something in her told her that she had a bigger support system than she realized and it gave her some kind of strength. And when Denver’s mom pulled her in fo
A long silence ensued after that before Claude broke it, her voice shaky and her breath even shakier, “They know I’m pregnant?” Her head immediately began to swirl with thoughts of people laughing at her just like in her dreams where there were three set of people. The ones that laughed, the ones that shook their heads in pity when she walked by and then there was Denver, a set on his own. The one that was indifferent about it all.From the look on her face, Eric was quick to ease her concerns, immediately getting the hint that she didn’t want them to know, “No, of course not. I only found out, when I got here. All I got from my few days there was that the entire pack was practically against him for his choices.”Claude bit her lip and Nuella threaded her fingers with hers, hoping it would calm her down a bit. “Oh.” She said.“Denver is a real dick for this.” Eric said, his jaw clenched. He felt like going back over there and throwing a punch right at his face but for Claude’s sake he