Page 12 of Alpha's Claim

He turned his eyes to me and stopped, waiting between my father’s office and my rooms. I gritted my teeth but tried not to let on how it frustrated me to see him do this, again, thinking forcing time on me would somehow work to his purpose. My footsteps didn’t falter, though. I just kept moving toward him with the hope that I could just squeeze past without incident, but as I tried to pass he reached up and plucked something from my hair.

“Firefly,” he said, dropping it on the floor and crushing it. “Where on earth did you find one of them at this time of year?” I didn’t cow under his display of cruelty or the odious way he made me feel. I simply walked past, turning my head away from him in silence.

Something about the situation had made me feel uneasy. It sounded like he knew where I was. Who I was with. Everything, really. It felt like he already knew everything about my day old secrets and I hated it whether it was true or not. I wouldn’t be pushed to giving him a reaction, though. Tomorrow would be a better day, I thought as I climbed into the shower to wash off the rest of the run. Maybe I would even get my father’s undivided attention at some point. Doubtful if he didn’t smell Weston on me, but I couldn’t be certain either way. Henry Onyxian was nothing if not observant. When I was washed and dried I collapsed into bed, falling asleep near instantly.

I spent much of the next day resting. It had been an eventful few days, I thought, and I didn’t particularly want to spend my downtime in the company of the top of the proverbial ladder. Even with my father. What Weston had told me yesterday had upset me, and I couldn’t put it down yet.

“Miss Onyxian,” one of the staff- father called her my lady’s maid like it was the nineteen twenties and she wasn’t called Ava- knocked at the door meekly. “Your father requests your presence for dinner.” I nodded once and moved to get changed.

“Just us tonight?” I asked him when I got to his private dining room, feigning curiosity. He would hear it in my voice, but it wasn’t like he didn’t understand the unspoken question. Was Preston to join us tonight?

“Just us.” He agreed, and I smiled wider. More genuinely this time, now that I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about my foe.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” I asked, seating myself across the table from him. I moved back to let them serve the meal, surprised. Either it came out very fast or I had been keeping him far too long.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in a week, Cora.” I looked up at him and tilted my head slightly. “Of course you may come and go as you please. You’re an adult. As your father, though, I do miss you when you’re not around. As strange as you might find it I still do love you.” He said, steepling his fingers in front of his chest. It was as though he was trying to be sinister here at dinner with me- his daughter. It set me on edge.

“I’ve spent a few days in Philadelphia, that’s all.” I explained, cutting into my food. “After my argument with Preston I needed to get out and get my head straight.”

“Drinking rarely straightens your head, Cora.” He said, but he looked slightly amused.

“And yet you do it every night, father.” I retorted, raising an eyebrow at him. He chuckled at that, and I took it as a small sign that he was in a good mood.

“But I don’t do it in public and dance around for hours. Are you feeling alright? I know that the clubs are hard on the body. Maybe that’s why I haven’t seen you all day.” He was smiling more, though. It was his real smile as well- not his false one he lured people in with.

“I’m just very tired,” I explained, leaning forward slightly. “I’ll recover. I didn’t even get a hangover- it was mostly just being out and with people who don’t know me. I get to be someone without any expectations I have here.” I kept my eyes on his, wanting to gauge his reaction to my honesty. He nodded a few times and finally relaxed, starting in on his own meal.

“I can appreciate that. Leadership is hard work- it’s very easy to burn out if you don’t have something to take your mind off of it. I just wish it weren’t a risk to you, Cora. So many things can go wrong so quickly in the city. Think of what would happen if something happened to you? It would kill me.” He said, and I thought he might actually be serious.

“I can take care of myself, father.” I ran my thumb over the handle of my fork, trying to take off the edge of unease I had.

“The reason I’m talking to you about this is because you’ve never been gone so long with only brief trips back to the estate. I worry about you. I miss you. You’ve been distant all week,” he set his fork down to continue the conversation uninterrupted.

“I’ve just been busy. Between learning here, school, and… well, and Preston, I’ve got my hands full. I just wanted to take a break, that’s all.” I said softly, hoping he would understand where I was coming from. He was young once, too, and surely he remembered what it was like to be in my position. Well, of course he never had to fight like I did just to be respected by the pack Beta. His ascension had been without contest. It was a given that he would carry on the name and lead the Onyxfang pack.

“I see.” He paused, and for a moment we were simply eating in silence. “Just remember to make time for me too. I know we don’t always get along but I still love you very much, Cora. We can still love one another while disagreeing, even over large matters.” While that was true, I was finding it harder to like my father through everything I was learning about him and myself. I loved him so much, but it broke my heart that he was so hellbent on being some kind of mob boss in Schuylkill rather than just a decent person who earned loyalty through loyalty and strength through community.

“I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting our time together. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, though, you know that you’re almost never alone. I usually have to deal with Preston as well, and that’s not exactly quality time.” I said, pursing my lips slightly. “It feels like you prefer work to me. I do understand that you’re a busy man, but I’d like some one on one time with you as well.” If I could talk to him alone I might be able to counter the influence Preston had over him. It was a small chance, but I just couldn’t give up on my father. I had to hope he could change, even a little.

“You’re right.” He said, unclasping his hands in front of him. “This is a street that goes both ways.” He agreed with me. I had expected him to, though. What interested me more was whether or not he would have any follow-through. “We’ll find some way to schedule in some time one on one.”

“We can do that.” I agreed, starting back in on my food.

“It still doesn’t address why you’ve been away so… sporadically. You left for a night, came home, left hours later, came home, then left again after a few hours. That’s not like you, Cora, and I’m not sure I like it.” He was going back into interrogation mode. Clearly he hadn’t believed me.

“I told you, father. I’ve just been so stressed and busy from school and work here that I needed to get away.” I explained. I left Preston out of it so that he wouldn’t think me biased. I was, but I didn’t want him to think so. “I’ll be around more, I promise.”

“Good.” He finished, nodding. “Good.”

Later that night I was restless. I knew I had to tell my father at some point, but tonight wasn’t the right time. I already felt like I walked into a trap with Preston and if he suspected something surely my father did too. Maybe that’s why I felt so uneasy- I knew Preston must have said something to my father, I just didn’t know what or how much he actually knew. Then again an incorrect inference could be just as bad as or worse than just outright telling him the full truth. Besides, if anyone was going to do anything to try to diminish me in my father’s eyes it would be Preston.

For a while I lay in bed just going over and over the dinner, Preston, my night with Weston. I felt flighty and like I couldn’t quite place my thoughts in order. The moment I would concentrate on one thing another would come up unbidden, so after an hour or so I sat up. If I was going to be up I might as well be doing something useful. Or visiting my mate.

I wrapped a robe around my shoulders and tied it at the waist. After I took a deep breath I made my way down the stairs successfully. I hadn’t seen anyone while I crept down the stairs, so I felt fairly confident in slipping out to the back garden. The night air felt soothing on my skin, and I walked as quietly as I could to the edge of the forest.

Once I was far enough out of the estate I glanced around myself. That eerie feeling was still there. It felt as though I were being watched and I hated it. The feeling of being watched, the same one I had gotten as a child after a scary story- that was it. It was just that, right? Just a feeling. Nothing real. I had spent so long overcoming my fears that I refused to let them rule me again. Not tonight, not ever. I wasn’t going to live my life at the beck and call of a man who couldn’t even make up his mind if I was his heir or not. I pulled the robe off and shifted.

I would make it to his house in record time cutting through the woods like this. But as I ran that ominous feeling welled up inside me again, and as I was trying to focus my senses I caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of my eye. Another shifter. I didn’t have time to even scent them properly before they slammed into my side, knocking me into a tree. I grunted and tried to stand but they were on me too fast. I felt my hair pull away from my skin, teeth rupture the flesh of my neck, and claws raking down my side. Then I felt nothing.

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