Chapter 18
Claire's POV
By the time night came, I was exhausted. There had been too many emotions, too many surprises. It had just been too much. I'd basically been a zombie during my patrol shift. I just wanted to cuddle Nova and sleep.
However, Nova had other plans. As soon as I walked into her room, she pounced on me. “Mama, was that man that came to pick up Leo really my dad?”
I inwardly groaned. As much as I loved my daughter, her curiosity would be the death of me. The bed was only a few feet away, mocking me with how close it was.
“You saw him?”
“Yeah, I was watching out the window since you told me I couldn't leave the room.” Of course she was. I should have known better. Maybe I should have stuffed her into a closet instead.
“Yes, little wolf. That was your dad.” I didn't really see any point in denying it. I had told Leo his dad was here to pick him up right in front of her. A mistake on my part.
“Then why couldn't I meet him?”
The question was innocent, but I could hear the slight tremor in her voice. She was just so young. There was no way that she could understand any of this. I hated that she was in this situation. Hated that Gideon had put us in this situation. Hated that he didn't even know she existed.
Instead of answering her, I pulled her with me to the bed and climbed in. Holding her close, I ran my fingers through her red hair that was the exact same shade as mine. “Mama is very tired, Nova. I promise that you'll meet him one day. Just not right now. At least you got to meet your older brother.”
At the mention of Leo, Nova began talking about him excitedly, momentarily forgetting the question she asked. As she talked, I could feel my eyelids getting heavy. I drifted off to sleep to the sound of my daughter’s voice.
The next morning, I woke to find Emma tidying up the room and Nova nowhere to be found. I jolted upright in bed, still wired from yesterday's fiasco. It wasn't like me to sleep that heavily.
“It's okay, Claire. Nova's just in the kitchen eating breakfast. She's safe,” Emma told me, once again understanding what I was feeling without me having to tell her.
I buried my head in my hands, willing my heartbeat to calm down. Nova was safe. Leo was safe. Both of my kids were safe.
“I don't mean to overstep, Claire, but I couldn't help but hear what Nova was asking last night. All Nova wants is a father's love. It's all she talks about most days. I know she loves Prince Ivan, but it's just not the same. He'll never be her biological father. It's something to keep in mind,” Emma told me and I knew she was right.
I knew it. And yet I couldn't let Gideon know that Nova existed. I just couldn't. There was the very real possibility that he would try to take her away. And I was not going to lose another child. I wouldn't survive it.
“You could never overstep, Emma. And I know. She deserves to know Gideon. But…” I trailed off. I couldn't give voice to my thoughts. It would make it too real.
“I know. You don't have to say it. It's a shitty situation, all around, pardon my language,” Emma said as she finished tidying up. I rolled out of bed to get ready for the day, wondering what kind of shit storm I would be walking into once I entered Gideon's house.
Surprisingly, everything seemed pretty normal at the house. It was like yesterday never even happened. At least, until I ran into Gideon before he left for the day.
“You're still here,” I said, not too kindly, and Peter coughed, warning me to watch myself.
I bit the inside of my cheek. It was just so hard when Gideon was around.
Gideon's eyes narrowed at my tone, but he wisely decided to ignore it. “Leo is still a little upset from yesterday. I think it would be really good for him if you were to stay the night. Just tonight, of course.”
I took a step back, not expecting him to invite me to stay the night. There were so many things that could go wrong. Staying would be a very stupid decision. But I also didn't want to leave if my son was that upset. It would also give me the opportunity to spend even more time with him.
The longing to be with Leo overrode the logical part of my brain. “Yes, of course, Alpha Gideon. I will stay the night. I just have to tell Prince Ivan that I won't be returning this evening.”
Gideon nodded and was walking out the door when I called out to him. He stopped and turned, raising an eyebrow expectantly.
“With your permission, I would like to start training Leo. I'll start with self-defense. He should have started a long time ago, especially with the threats on his life,” I said, but honestly I was going to do it with or without his permission and I think he knew that.
“Do what you want. Just keep him safe.” And with that, he left.
I blew out a breath and looked at Peter. “What are the chances that Ivan won't mind me staying here?”
Peter chuckled. “Absolutely none. Good luck with that.”
I took out my phone and dialed Ivan's number. He answered on the first ring. “What's wrong?”
Goddess, he was overprotective. I ignored the warmth that pooled in my stomach. Nothing good could come out of it. “Nothing's wrong, worrywart. I'm just…not coming back tonight. Leo is still upset about yesterday.”
That statement was met with such a long silence that I looked at my phone to see if we got disconnected. No…we were definitely still connected. This was such a fun phone conversation.
“Raven, I don't think that's a good idea. What if Gideon is just trying to keep you there?
Did you even think of that?”
“I don't think that's the case, Ivan. I promise I'll be careful. I'll be safe. Plus, Peter is here. He'll make sure nothing happens,” I said and Peter shot me a don't-put-this-on-me look. I stuck my tongue out at him. Which he couldn't see because of my mask. Wonderful.
Ivan let out a sigh. “I won't force you to come back, but if anything happens, I'm pulling you out of this job. End of discussion.” And he hung up.
“That went well,” I told Peter and he just shook his head.
For the rest of the day, I stuck to Leo's schedule. Playtime, lessons, lunch, playtime, lessons, dinner. Once dinner was over, I took him outside so that we could begin his self-defense lessons.
Although he wasn't in the best physical condition, he took his training very seriously. He listened attentively to my every word. He wouldn't move on to the next step until he got the current one perfectly. Underneath his fragility was a fire that burned bright.
We were going through another drill when I heard a twig snap in the woods. I trained all my senses on the trees, making sure that Leo wasn't aware that I was now on high alert.
There was definitely abnormal movement. Predators were lurking nearby. I couldn't tell how many, but enough to know that Leo was in danger. How the fuck had they made it past the patrol units? I was going to have to have a very serious talk with Gideon if we survived this.
I nonchalantly put myself between Leo and the trees and began herding him toward the house. We barely made it three steps before three rogues jumped out and rushed Leo all at once.
I turned and grabbed Leo, making a mad dash for the house. The rogues were right on my heels. One misstep and they would be on us in a heartbeat. I couldn't allow them to hurt Leo. No matter what.
“Peter!” I shouted his name, but there was no answer. Where the hell was he? I swore to the goddess if he was in the bathroom, I was going to kill him.
The door was ten steps away when I tripped on rock, sending Leo flying away from me.
Shit, shit, shit. But the rogues didn't go after him. They descended on me instead. Working purely on muscle memory, I managed to get one of my daggers free. I stabbed blindly, satisfied when I heard one of the wolves yelp.
Getting to my feet, I tried to put myself back between Leo and the rogues, sure that he was their target, but they didn't seem to be interested in him. They actually seemed hell bent on getting my mask off, judging by their continuous attempt to attack my face. It wasn't their normal MO.
One of the wolves suddenly got by my defenses, swiping their paw across my face and nearly succeeding in taking my mask with them. I hesitated and that was my undoing.
