Chapter 12

Claire’s cool response stunned Sabrina. Instead of the shy, mousy Omega she’d known before, Sabrina found herself eye to eye with a confident woman who refused to be intimidated by a threat.

Claire had changed. When did that happen? And how?

While Sabrina is still processing the change in Claire’s demeanor, a nurse approached them, asking Claire specifically for assistance.

So that’s it, Sabrina thought. The little wolfless got herself a job as a lowly nurse’s assistant. Now she thinks she can go toe to toe with me.

As Claire left and Amelia followed - with one last glare at the princess - Sabrina realized this was an opportunity to do more than just threaten Claire.

Chances were pretty good the patients here didn’t realize a lowly Omega was helping to treat them. If Sabrina put that evidence in the right hands, Claire just might find herself without a job.

And Sabrina would be one step closer to driving Claire out of the pack, for good.

Shaking off the unexpected meeting with Sabrina, Claire walked into the exam room the nurse directed her to. When she saw who was there, she couldn’t help but smile.

“Hello again, Beth,” she said to the little girl already up on the exam table. “And hello to you too, Oliver.”

The girl’s father, standing beside the exam table, smiled back at Claire. A dimple winked in one of his cheeks.

“Dr. Green, we’re so glad you could fit us in.”

Oliver had brought Beth to the clinic just a few days ago, to treat a sprained ankle she got on the playground. Claire had immediately connected with the child, who was the same age as her son. She’d also enjoyed her conversation with Oliver, and hadn’t been surprised when he asked her out to lunch afterwards.

Though she’d refused, politely, Oliver had insisted on bringing her coffee the next morning, and chatted with her for a while. Though Amelia teased her about the crush he obviously had on her, Claire was just happy to have another friend.

Now she saw with some concern that Beth looked tired and feverish, not her usual perky self. After conducting an exam, Claire prescribed a small dose of medicine - and a booster shot.

Beth, usually terrified of needles, gazed up at Claire with complete trust. Beth’s parents divorced a few years ago, and Beth responded immediately to the gentle, maternal care Claire gave to all of her patient

“There we go!” Claire said, after the nurse gave Beth the shot. Relieved, Beth climbed into Claire’s arms for a hug.

Surprised, Claire laughed and exchanged a look with Oliver. Getting to hold Beth for a moment both reminded her of her Andy and helped ease some of the pain of missing him.

Oliver and Claire smiled at each other, enjoying the moment. Neither one of them heard the sound of a camera shutter from the open doorway of the exam room.

Sabrina lowered her phone, carefully saving the picture she just took. Then she went to her appointment, not surprised when she received a perfect bill of health.

Satisfied that things were finally looking up, she went to Nathan’s house to put the next part of her plan into action.

Later that day she went to Nathan’s house, where she found Andy playing in the living room. He was building a large castle out of blocks, a sullen look on his face.

Nobody wanted to play with him anymore. When Claire was here she played with him all the time.

Andy missed Claire intensely, but didn’t know how to show it, or even how to really understand what it is he was feeling. Like his father, Andy insisted that he was fine.

Everything was absolutely fine.

“Hello, Andy. It’s nice to see you!” Sabrina said, kneeling beside him on the floor.

Normally when she said that it was a lie. It was never nice to see him. But today, with the photo in her purse, she couldn’t have been happier to find him at home, and alone.

“Hi, Princess,” Andy muttered. Seeing Sabrina no longer brought a smile to his face. It was clear to him now she didn’t really want to be his mommy.

Maybe nobody did, and nobody ever would.

That thought made Andy want to cry. Instead, he kick down the building he’d spent the morning building and started all over again.

Studying the obviously miserable child, Sabrina decided her timing couldn’t have been better. She pulled the picture she’d had printed out of her purse.

“Andy, you’ll never guess who I saw today. It was Claire! Come look.”

The mention of his missing nanny’s name immediately grabbed Andy’s attention. He immediately took the picture Sabrina handed him. What he saw shocked him.

It was Claire, holding a little girl and smiling up at the tall man standing beside her.

“See? She’s already found another job, taking care of someone else’s child.”

Andy stared at the picture, frozen. How much he missed Claire washed over him. The songs she used to sing to him, the games they’d play together, the special meals and treats she made.

It was all too much.

Crumpling the photo in his hands, Andy threw it onto the floor. “Claire is stupid! Let her do whatever she wants. I don’t care anymore. I don’t!”

Knowing he was about to cry, he ran up to his bedroom and slammed the door.

Hearing the noise, Nathan walked out of his home office just in time to see his son run by him and up the stairs, tears running down his face.

When Sabrina stepped out into the hall he eyed her suspiciously. “What happened?

Sabrina unrolled the picture, doing her best to smooth out the wrinkles. “Nathan, I’m so sorry. I had this in my purse to show you and Andy saw it. I didn’t mean to upset him.”

Nathan held out a hand. “Give it to me,” he demanded.

Acting reluctant, Sabrina did as he told her. She watched his face as he studied the image.

“I was with my father at the clinic and saw Claire standing in an exam room. I was so shocked! But I managed to remember to take a picture.”

She walked closer to him, putting a hand on his arm. “I overheard two nurses talking. They said Claire’s the mother, and the affair she had with that man is the reason his marriage ended. I’m so sorry. Are you alright?”

Nathan stared at the picture for a long moment, everything about him still except his eyes. Those darted over the image, taking in every detail.

Claire looked…happy. Not just happy, though. Something about her was different.

It took him a moment to realize it was the way she held herself, her head up high, her gaze at the man direct and confident. This was someone very different from the timid, eager-to-please woman he was used to.

Nathan shrugged and handed the picture back to Sabrina. “Obviously the idea of that child being Claire’s is ridiculous. How could she have had a child without me knowing it? Especially one that looks to be about the same child as Andy.”

Sabrina took the picture back and stared at him. Was he really not bothered by what she’d shown him?

Did he not actually care for Claire at all?

Nathan excused himself and left her standing in the hallway. He returned to his office, where his Beta, Evan, sat waiting for him.

“Everything alright?” Evan asked.

“Yes,” Nathan assured him. “Sabrina just showed me evidence that Claire has been at the clinic. The one I told you to research.”

“Yes, I just finished looking into that. It’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I can now confirm that Claire has a friend Amelia, who works at that clinic. It would make sense that she found work for Claire to do there.”

No wonder she hasn’t come back yet, Nathan thought.

The idea of her having a child was indeed ridiculous. And he also didn’t believe she’d ever fall in love with someone else. They were, after all, fated mates.

He changed the subject, turning to other business and putting the picture out of his mind.

But Evan, keenly attuned to his Alpha, had felt the shift in Nathan’s mood. After a moment’s hesitation, he finally spoke up.

“Alpha, I’ve…Well, I can’t help but notice how unhappy you seem.”

Nathan paused in opening a file, and stared at his Beta.