Page 61 of Betrayed Alpha Bride

“Of course it is,” Clara counters, brushing his hair back and stroking his cheeks. “Youare a blessing, my love. So your power must be, too.”

“We just have to find something for you to focus on,” I say. “Something other than poor old trees. As good as this is, we can’t have you blowing up entire forests when you feel a surge coming on.”

“Yeah,” Nico agrees. “I feel like I’m all used up now, but it will come back.”

“And I still need to help you connect with your wolf,” I say. “You must have turned away from the moon because of your magic, but I promise, Nico, you will run with the pack by my side.”

“I felt this inside me, my whole life,” Nico admits. “But it wasn’t until my wolf woke up that it started to take me over. It was really scary, Dad, having those nightmares and stuff.”

I feel a sharp pain slice my chest, and I have to swallow a lump in my throat.

My son needed me, and I wasn’t there for him.

“I’m here now,” I say firmly. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

Nico jumps into my arms, squeezing me as hard as he can. When I look over at Clara, she’s standing next to me with tears welling in her eyes. I hold out my arm for her, and she joins the hug.

Knowing that both of them needed me and I wasn’t there cuts me to my core. No matter what Clara says or does, I will always carry the blame for this because I didn’t look for her.

I should never have broken up with her in the first place. All of this is mine to carry.

I snuggle both of them closer to me, as if holding them to my chest can heal all the guilt shredding my heart.

I might not be able to heal the past, but I can be here in the present… and never, ever let them down in the future.

Chapter 19 - Clara

I’m wrapped in soft, comforting dreams when I hear an odd, far-off scraping sound. I try to ignore it and dive back down into the dream, but it persists, a whisper of dissent at the edge of bliss.

The bright happiness of my visions surrounds me, a place where I’m relaxed and free. A place where I don’t have to be scared, and I know that Nico is safe. When I look around, I see Galen’s eyes clearly through the glow, and I reach out to him.

The ugly scraping sound cuts through again, dragging me towards consciousness. I know now I can’t hold on to this bliss. And even if I do, it’s still a dream I’ll have to wake from, eventually.

Sleep falls away, and I blink my eyes open. The weird scraping has been joined by a sharp bang.

It’s probably just a loose door caught in the wind.

Even though I tell myself it has to be mundane, my anxiety rises with every escalation of the sound. I’m about to wake Galen when he grumbles and sits up, rubbing his head.

“What the hell is that noise?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I reply. “I’ve been wondering that myself.”

“How long has it been going on?”

“A few minutes, I think. I’m not sure.”

“I’m going to have a look. Go and check on Nico.”

Nodding, I jump out of bed and grab my robe, hurrying down the hall. Galen heads towards the kitchen and the back door.

When I look in on Nico, he’s peacefully asleep, his blanket wrapped around him and a little stuffed dinosaur in his arms. With his long lashes resting on his cheeks and tousled hair falling across his forehead, he looks like a little angel all tuckered out from doing good deeds.

I shut his door quietly and go down the hall to the kitchen. I find Galen at the back door, peering through the window.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I saw someone moving around the garden shed. I think there’s more than one of them, so I’m trying to get an idea of how many before I bust out there.”

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