Chapter 89
Claire’s POV
55 vouchers
During breakfast, Leo’s plate was first given to Lola, who steadily lifted a piece of bacon to her mouth and chewed. Everyone else at the table was watching her, including Leo and Nova.
I hated this. I didn’t know much about Lola, but she likely had her own family and friends. She was on the younger side, with most of her life still ahead of her.
The taste testing job should be mine. I was Leo’s bodyguard and his mother. If anyone should put their life on the line for him, it was me.
Ivan, sitting at the head of the table, glanced over to me like he could tell what I was thinking and wanted me to stop.
We’d already had a conversation, back in the kitchen when I had tried to get my coffee.
After Lola had stepped away, Ivan told me, “Lola volunteered on her own, and is being paid handsomely. We also will have medical staff on call, ready and waiting should the worst happen. No one wants to see anything happen to Leo. Even the members of this pack want to protect him.”
I was happy for it, truly, and incredibly grateful. But it still didn’t feel right.
“It should be me,” I said.
“No,” Ivan said flatly and definitively, leaving no room for argument or even further conversation. He had turned and walked away from me then.
Now, he stared at me with the same hard looked that had accompanied that earlier no.
“I can taste my own food,” Leo said softly, looking around.
Ivan and I had also both agreed to keep Lola’s true purpose a secret, not wanting Leo to know that he remained in danger. even here, simply because outside food and spices were sometimes brought in. The food grown in the pack could be trusted and was prioritized, but there were some things that needed to be imported from other packs.
Those things were what needed testing.
“This is her job,” I told Leo. “She just needs to make sure it’s… good enough for you to eat.”
Leo frowned. “Then why is she only tasting mine? Shouldn’t she caste everyone’s?”
Ivan cleared his throat. “Yes. She should. You don’t mind, Lola?”
“I do not,” she replied.
It was unnecessary, but we all played along for the children’s sake, allowing Lola to eat from all of our plates to ensure the flavor of the breakfast was correct for each of us. When she was done, she excused herself.
Leo frowned. “Shouldn’t she get to eat?”
“She’s probably full,” Nova said.
“Lola has her job to do,” I said. “The rest of us should eat now.”
Everyone seemed to agree and we began our meal.
Nova’s POV
1/4
Gal, Jail /
Chapter 89
28%
at 55 vouchers
Mom’s been acting weird since she got this job protecting Leo, but sometimes she did and allowed things that were even stranger.
Like how she lied about that food taster today.
Leo and I might be kids, but we aren’t stupid. That every adult in the room would try to lie to us about what Lola was doing was too much. Leo and I both knew Lola was there to check Leo food for poison.
We were talking about it now, while we were supposed to be playing outside. Mom and Uncle Ivan were talking, which gave Leo and me some alone time to talk.
I don’t like it,” Leo said.
Yeah,” I said. “But an adult could probably handle the poison better than you. Lola has a strong wolf. You’d be dead in an
instant.”
Leo paled a little, and I felt bad for talking about his death.
“Sorry,” I said.
He hung his head. “It’s true.”
“I still shouldn’t have said it like that.”
“It’s fine…”
It wasn’t but I had already apologized once. Maybe if I changed the subject? Or we could just start playing like we were supposed to be doing.
“You want to play tag?” I asked, though it would be lame with only two people. I didn’t know if the other kids were coming to join us today.
“No,” Leo said. He looked up at me again. “Nova… how much do you know about your mom before she came here to this pack?”
That was a weird question. Everyone was acting strangely today, I guessed.
“Not a lot,” I said. “She doesn’t like to talk about it. But I’ve been here since I was baby.”
Leo hummed, frowning a little.
“Why?”
“Well… I was wondering… I was hoping, maybe…”
“Out with it, Leo,” I said, impatient.
“What if you are my sister?” he asked at once.
I stilled, my eyes going so wide they hurt. “Huh?”
“Your mom’s name is Claire, right? So is my mom’s. Miss Warrior has big brown eyes, like my dad said my mom has. The only thing that isn’t right is the hair.”
My eyes, impossibly, went even wider. “What color hair does your mom have?”
“Red,” Leo said.
My heart started to race in my chest, a fast pitter–patter against my ribcage. “Mommy’s hair was red before. She dyed it
2/4
1711 Sat, Jan 17 D D M
Chapter 89
black right before becoming your bodyguard.”
Leo’s expression matched mine. “That’s it, then! She has to be!”
28%
65 vouchers
“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe.” I would have liked Leo to be my brother, and Gideon to be my dad. But I was scared too, like accepting it would be too good, only to lose it all if it wasn’t true We need to make sure.”
“Okay,” Leo said. “But if no one knows Raven’s past, and she’s not talking, then how will we know for sure…?”
I thought about it for a minute.
“Uncle Ivan knows,” I said.
“That’s true,” Leo said, excited again. “Do you think he’d tell us?”
“Maybe,” I said. “If I could ask him without Mom there. She wouldn’t like it.”
“Okay,” Leo said, and together we began planning a way to get Ivan alone. Since Leo was the one Mom was supposed to be protecting, the plan was simple. Leo would distract Mom and I would sneak away to find and talk to Uncle Ivan.
We waited for Ivan to go inside and Mom to be alone. I knew Ivan was probably in his study. He often went there at this time of day to do his super important Alpha business, whatever that was.
“Ready?” I asked Leo.
“Ready,” he replied.
We touched our knuckles together in a fist bump. Then we separated, Leo rushing toward my mom while I moved to the deck, ready to sneak in through the back door.
“Miss Warrior!” Leo said. “Can you show me that self–defense move again?”
“Which one?” Mom asked.
“Oh, you know, the one that looks like this…” Leo did a crude reenactment, so over the top that he ended up falling on his butt.
Mom quickly leaned down to help him back up.
With this distraction, I slipped into the house.
Since I had lived here all my life, I knew just the right way to go to find Uncle Ivan’s office.
When I reached it, the door was open a crack. I lifted my hand as I peeked inside, ready to knock.
I stilled my hand, my knuckles an inch from the wood of the door.
Ivan was sitting at his desk, his shoulder to the door. He was holding up a framed picture, looking at it lovingly.
From this angle, I could see that the picture was a red–haired woman.
Even from this distance, I could tell that was my mom.
At once, any hope that Gideon was my father and Leo my brother vanished at once.
I loved Uncle Ivan and wasn’t disappointed exactly that he was likely my real dad. Though I was kind of hurt that no one just told me that.
But I was sad that I didn’t actually have the connection I wanted with Leo and his dad.
3/4
17:11 Sat, Jan 17 DDM.
Chapter 89
Friends was okay but…
It would have been nice to have a brother.
Silently, I sneaked out of the room before Uncle Ivan could catch me.
AD
