Chapter 115

Nathan POV

The weekend went by way too fast.

Andy and I arrived late Thursday evening, and he could hardly contain his excitement during the plane ride, or the car ride to the palace.

I had a hard time pretending to be calm, and not act just as excited as my son.

But it took everything I had not to sweep Claire up in my arms as soon as I saw her when we walked into the palace.

But by the end of the weekend, I realized just how much ground I had to make up between us before I could do something like that.

Claire was as warm and loving as she had ever been with Andy, and spent nearly every waking moment with him all three days.

Our son was over the moon.

But every time I reached out to her, physically or emotionally, she just backed away.

And it hurt my heart.

Feeling rejected like that stung, but what hurt the most was knowing it was all my fault.

I was the reason Claire was so hesitant to get close to me, or believe me when I said I wanted things between us to be better.

Yes, I had a lot of work to do before we could truly be together.

And I was more determined than ever to do it.

And to make the plan Andy and I had a reality.

Before we left the palace, I knocked on the door of Claire’s personal office, hoping to have a moment to talk with her in private.

She looked up from the paperwork on her desk, and gave me a small smile.

“Nathan, come in. I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to speak with you before you left.”

“That’s convenient,” I said, walking in and taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. “I was hoping to speak with you as well.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What about?”

I cleared my throat, trying to remember the things I’d been rehearsing in my head on the way up. “Well, first, I want to thank you for having us stay here this weekend. It’s meant the world to Andy.”

Her polite smile melted into something warmer, a wide smile that made her shine. It stole my breath.

“It meant the world to me, as well. I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to hear him call me Mommy.”

Recovering my breath, I cleared my throat. “I know it does, Claire. I…I’m so sorry for…Well, for everything.

“And I want to make things right between us.”

Her smile dimmed and faded, making my heart ache.

“Nathan, I just don’t know what that would look like.”

I did, I thought, but decided to keep that to myself.

It was too soon to talk about courting her, let alone asking her to marry me.

Far too soon.

But I was determined to start somewhere.

“I understand. And I get it. But I’d like to try.

“And while I know we can’t start over, maybe we can just start from here.”

I leaned forward in my seat.

“Claire, I’d like us to be friends. And then…Well, then we’ll go from there.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Friends?”

I grinned. “To start.”

Her lips twitch as if she was fighting off a grin in response. “Alright. Friends.”

She gathered the papers in front of her together and tapped them neatly into a pile.

“Now. Let’s move on to what I wanted to talk about:

“Sabrina.”

My mood immediately sank.

“Beta Evan has been trying to find her, along with Beta Garrett. I trust both of their skills and instincts, and I believe they’ll find her sooner rather than later.”

Claire folded her hands on the desk. “I agree. But…What are we going to do about her when we find her?”

“Sink my teeth into her throat?” I asked, only half joking.

Claire answered with a smile that was more like a snarl.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.

“But.”

I sighed. “Yes, but. We have to set a better example than that, as leaders.”

She nodded. “What Sabrina did was absolutely horrific. She deserves to be punished.

“But she needs to be officially punished, not just executed.”

“As satisfying as that might be, I agree. And anyway, death would be too quick.

“Sabrina deserves to suffer.”

“Oh, yes. Yes indeed she does. So, here are my thoughts…”

By the end of our meeting, we’d agreed on a plan to move forward with.

I would officially expel Sabrina from my pack, preventing her from ever even entering Silverfang territory without risking arrest.

And Claire would release her own decree, exiling Sabrina from the royal pack, and threatening anyone caught offering her safe harbor inside the territory with immediate arrest as well.

We agreed to talk to our allies, asking them if they would issue their own decrees saying the same about each of their territories.

In that way, we could slowly begin to close the net around Sabrina, making it impossible for her to go almost anywhere in the realm safely.

With any luck, she’d be spotted trying to hide in one of those other packs, and we’d be able to arrest her.

And send her to prison for the rest of her life.

I left the palace feeling satisfied that I was finally starting to put the whole terrible Sabrina chapter of my life behind me.

But, as Andy and I waved goodbye, I couldn’t help but still feel troubled about my relationship with Claire.

I had so much to make up for.

And I already missed her so badly.

While I loved spending that time with her, and having those moments together with her and Andy as a family, they only made me want more.

It only made me want Claire to be mine even more.

And Andy felt the same.

We returned home, walking into a house that felt sad, cold and empty.

Because Claire wasn’t there.

Andy turned to me as we set down our bags.

“Dad, we were wrong to think about Mom the way we used to, weren’t we?” he asked.

“Even if she was an Omega, she was still my mommy.”

Nathan nodded, unable to avoid the truth of how badly I had treated my mate.

“Yes,” I told him. “We were wrong. And doing that hurt her.”

“Do you think she’ll ever forgive us?”

I put my hand on his shoulder. “I hope so, son.

“I hope so.”

Claire POV

I watched, waving, until the car taking Nathan and Andy to the airport disappeared. Then I went back into the palace, struggling with a crashing wave of sadness.

I felt empty, and a little lost, now that they were gone.

Having my little family here at the palace had been wonderful.

And yet…

I still felt so conflicted about Nathan.

He’d made it clear that he was interested in rekindling our relationship, and despite everything I could still feel that bond, that connection, pulsing strongly between us.

But I’d been so hurt by him, and for so long.

Could I truly open my heart to him again?

Could I really trust that, this time, he wouldn’t break it?