Chapter 112

Nathan POV

Andy and I returned to Silverfang, both of us feeling changed by what happened back at the Royal territory.

It was a struggle, trying to return to our regular schedules. Trying to pretend nothing completely life-altering had happened.

It wasn’t easy, and the news didn’t make it any easier.

Despite my best efforts, the news about Andy’s abduction had leaked.

And every day the headlines shouted nothing but half truths and rumors:

Alpha’s Son Abducted by False Princess in Jealous Rage!

Former Royal Nanny Arrested on Charges of Conspiracy!

Alpha’s Son Rescued and Healed by Princess Claire!

Princess Claire and Alpha Nathan: The Real Story

Who is the Mother of the Alpha’s Son??

The reports and “inside scoops” and interviews with supposed eye witnesses just went on and on, endlessly.

And that was bad enough. With my name and Andy’s constantly in the news, people were talking and gossipping and trying to ask us questions everywhere we went.

But then the reporters came.

Camped out on the lawn at home, trying to sneak their way into my offices at the top of pack headquarters, even trying to get into Andy’s school.

Everyone wanted an exclusive interview.

I knew Andy was dealing with kids at school demanding to know details, wanting to see his scar, asking about the princess.

It wasn’t much better for me at work. I tried to get back into my routine as both an Alpha and a Presidential candidate, only to deal with people staring, whispering, peppering every conversation with questions and curious looks.

It was a lot to deal with.

After a while, it became too much to deal with.

“I don’t want to go to school!” Andy said loudly one morning as I struggled to tie his shoe.

How could his untied laces somehow still have knots in them??

“Andy, please. Just hold still, would you? We have to get going, or you’ll be late.”

“I don’t care,” he said, stomping his foot just as I was about to slip the shoe on. “I hate it there. Nobody wants to talk about anything but me being taken.

“Even the teachers ask me questions!”

“Andy! Hold. Still.”

I grabbed his ankle and held it with one hand while struggling with the other to get the shoe on his foot. I sighed with relief when it finally went on, and tied his laces quickly.

Then I tried to take a calming breath.

“Andy, listen. I know it’s a lot, but all we have to do is keep going, ok? This will all pass eventually.

“Before you know it, everyone will find something else to talk about. You’ll see.”

But I was wrong.

Day after day, and then week after week. Life slowly returned to something at least approaching normal, but the headlines continued to rehash what happened, and speculate about what really happened that night.

Andy and I continued to struggle with the attention, the gossip and questioning looks.

And we both missed Claire and wanted to be with her. And that made keeping the secret of her identity as Andy’s mother even more difficult to keep.

Some days more than others.

Andy came home from school at the end of a long week, and I could tell by his face it hadn’t gone well.

Today had been “Bring your mother to school day,” allowing students’ mothers to tour the school, go to classes and eat lunch with their children.

My Aunt Beth had agreed to go in place of a mother, which the school allowed for several children.

Beth was elderly but always loved children, and always had a lot of time and energy for Andy whenever we visited her.

I had hoped having her visit the school would at least help him fit in for the day. He’d been standing out so much lately, and the strain was beginning to show.

But as he walked to the car where I sat in the pickup line that afternoon, I could see by the look on his face that it hadn’t been a fun day for him.

Not at all.

“Did you have fun with Aunt Beth?” I asked, hoping maybe he was just in a bad mood because he was tired and hungry.

Andy threw himself into his seat in the back, tossing his backpack onto the floor. Then he crossed his arms and stared out the window.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

It was a very long ride home.

I tried several times to ask him about his day, hoping that something fun happened that we could talk about.

But Andy just pouted, giving me one word answers and not wanting to talk about school at all.

By the time we got home my nerves were frayed.

“Andy, just tell me how it went with Aunt Beth,” I said as we walked in the door.

“Please tell me you weren’t like this with her all day, especially after she was nice enough to agree to come.”

Andy kicked off his shoes and stomped through the house. “I don’t want to talk about it, okay?!”

“Hey!”

I’d had enough. I stomped after him, grabbing his shoulder to make him stop.

“Andy, look at me. I need to know what’s going on.”

He turned around, but refused to look up at me. He stared angrily at the wall.

“I hate school! I’m never going back!”

I shook my head. “Didn’t you have fun with Aunt Beth? Don’t you like her?”

“I love Aunt Beth!” he cried, finally looking at me.

And I realized with a shock that his eyes were quickly filling with tears.

I thought he was just angry about something. But there was more than that going on here.

What had happened??

“So what’s the problem?” I said, trying to calm down so I could listen to him clearly.

My own temper had been so short lately, so it wasn’t easy.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Everyone knew she wasn’t my mother,” he mumbled.

“So? I know a number of other kids brought their aunts or even their grandmothers.”

“Yeah but those kids haven’t been in the newspapers for weeks! Those kids don’t have everybody asking them every single day who their mother is!”

Anger building, he kicked the wall. “Everyone asked over and over again where my mother was. Even their moms! Nobody would leave me alone about it.

“It was terrible.”

My heart broke for him. I knew just how stressful it had been for me lately, trying to handle the constant attention of the press.

And I was an adult.

How much worse was it for a child to deal with all of that?

I crouched in front of him, trying to put a hand on his shoulder. “Andy, look - ouch!”

I yanked my hand back in shock.

He bit me!

“Don’t touch me! I hate you!”

“Andy, that’s enough! What’s gotten into you??”

His face was red and his expression was thunderous.

As much as my hand stung from the little nip he gave it, the hurt and misery I saw beneath the anger hurt even more.

“I want my mommy!” he cried.

“Well, so do I!” I said, without thinking.

And then we just stared at each other.

I took a deep breath, feeling the air clear between us a bit.

We’d both needed to admit that missing Claire was the real problem here.

The press was a constant pressure and source of annoyance, but the real hurt was not having the one person we both wanted most.

I put my hands on my hips and looked down at him.

“So what are we going to do about it?”

Andy mirrored my stance, his face calmer, determined. “We’re going to make it happen. Right, Dad?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Right, son.”

And that’s when we put together our plan, talking about it and refining it over the course of the evening:

If nobody could know that Claire was already Andy’s mother, then we’d just needed her to become his mother.

It seemed easy enough.

People were already asking about my relationship with her. First because they thought I was courting her, and now because she’d helped me rescue and heal Andy.

“All I need to do is start actually courting her,” I said that night as we finished dinner. “Then the rest will fall into place.”

Andy grinned. “It’s perfect! And I’ll help.”

I grinned back at him, feeling lighter and happier than I had in a very long time.

Our plan was simple, because our goal was simple.

We wanted to be a family again. A real one.

So all I had to do was something I realized I wanted to do anyway.

I had to marry Claire.