Chapter 42

Claire POV

The next day, despite an evening spent researching and planning with Amelia, I was no closer to knowing where I was going to go when I left Silverfang pack territory.

But I was also no less determined to go.

My early life in this pack had been hell. Living as a wolfless Omega, surrounded by people who treated me like I was lower than dirt, had been an absolute nightmare.

When I met Nathan, when we fell in love, I felt such a sense of relief. At last, I wasn’t going to be alone.

I’d have a mate, a life partner, and with him I’d start a family of my own.

It was all I’d ever wanted: a home, a family. Love.

What I got instead was a life of secrecy and lies, the shame I had to bear through childhood only getting heavier. As the Alpha’s fated mate, my wolfless state and Omega class were both things we needed to hide to protect Nathan’s reputation.

And it was all at the cost of my heart.

I spent the day packing, sorting through the few belongings I had, deciding what I needed to bring and what I could donate once I went…somewhere.

And while I packed, my heart continued to crack and break. Everything I’d gone through just tumbled out of me, until at last I was crying as I packed dishes and clothes and toiletries.

The deepest pain of all centered on Andy.

My child. The light of my life.

And he only knew me as the nanny. Someone who made his lunch and folded his clothes.

The cruelty of never getting to hear my son call me “Mommy” wasn’t something I’d allowed myself to think of very much. When I did it was far too large a pain to know how to deal with.

But…

Maybe it was time I did.

I stopped what I was doing, a half-wrapped plate in my hands.

My plan was to leave the Silverfang pack as soon as possible. Despite my healing abilities and my wolf emerging, life was still too painful and complicated here. I needed a fresh start.

And that meant leaving everything I’d ever known behind. It meant leaving Andy behind.

Maybe even forever.

Did I really want to leave my son without giving him some sort of explanation - or without telling him who I really was??

I set the plate down on the counter, seized by the urge to rush over to my old house, to find Andy and tell him everything.

But he was so young. Throwing all of this at him like that, appearing out of nowhere just to leave again, would be heartless and damaging.

I needed a way to spill out my heart, in a way he could understand. Maybe not now, but eventually, when he was older.

Wiping away the fresh tears that had fallen, I grabbed a pen and some paper and sat down at the kitchen table I eventually planned to donate.

I was going to write my son a letter.

And I was going to tell him everything.

Andy POV

I looked up from where I was coloring at the dining room table when he heard Sabrina’s voice call out as she walked in the door.

And I felt a sharp clutching in my stomach, my hand tightened on the marker.

Not long ago, hearing Sabrina’s voice would have had me dropping what I was doing and hurrying out to see her.

I used to be so excited when she came over.

But now it just made me kind of nervous.

When Dad first introduced us, I was super excited to meet an actual Princess! And she was so nice and fun, I loved getting to spend time with her. We’d go to the park, or get ice cream, and it was always really fun.

But then it stopped being so much fun. Sometimes Sabrina would get angry with me, and I didn’t always know why. No matter how hard I tried.

It seemed like ever since Claire left my entire life was one big confusing thing.

Still, I knew I was expected to go talk to Sabrina, and at least said hello. Dad told me that an Alpha always has duties to take care of, and as his son I did too.

I put the cap on my marker and slid down off the chair, following the sound of Sabrina’s voice to Dad’s office.

She spent so much time there that she’d started calling it her office too.

As I walked toward the room I heard Sabrina talking to one of the servants. About a party we were going to have?

I loved parties!

“I want to review all decisions about the menu before they’re finalized. And of course, we still need to talk about decor.

No expense can be spared! It’s not every day an Alpha becomes engaged to a Royal Princess, after all.”

The servant nodded. “As you wish, Princess,” he said, before leaving the room.

I stood in the doorway, suddenly feeling really sad.

I knew what “engaged” meant. One of my friends at school said their dad had just become engaged. It meant their dad was going to marry his girlfriend.

Which meant Miss Sabrina was going to marry my dad.

And that was exactly what I’d wanted since the very first moment I met her at Dad’s work a few months ago.

So why wasn’t I happy? Why wasn’t I jumping up and down with excitement?

Why did it just make me think of my nanny Claire, instead?

“Are - are you really going to marry my dad?” I asked.

Miss Sabrina looked up from the paper she was reading. There was a big frown mark between her eyes.

“What?” she snapped. Then her eyes focused on me standing in the doorway, and her face got friendlier. “Oh. Hello, Andy. I am! Hasn’t your father told you already?”

Dad had been busy a lot these days. An Alpha had a lot of responsibilities. Plus now he was trying to become the Alpha President.

When I shook my head, she rolled her eyes. “Well of course he hasn’t,” she mumbled, talking to herself. “Why would he, when he could leave it to me to deal with?”

Then she looked up at me. “Yes, Andy. Your father has asked me to marry him. Which means I’m going to be your mommy! Won’t that be exciting??”

I wasn’t so sure it would be anymore, but I didn’t say that. I knew that would just annoy her. Or worse, make her mad.

When Miss Sabrina got mad, it made my belly hurt even more.

So I nodded and said, “Yes, very exciting.”

But then I realized maybe it would be.

“Miss Sabrina, when Dad marries you, that makes me a kind of prince, right?” I asked, walking into the room to stand beside the desk. “And princes get whatever they want, don’t they?”

Sabrina laughed. “That is what that means. And yes, Royalty gets what it wants.”

“Then I want a nanny again! And I want it to be Claire.” I stood up tall. “I demand it, as a soon-to-be prince.”

I caught the sneer that crossed Sabrina’s face when I mentioned Claire’s name. Then she looked down at the papers on her desk. And the sneer was replaced by a slow smile.

Grabbing a pen, she made some quick marks on a piece of paper, then picked it up.

“Andy, do you see this? Do you know what this is?”

Looking at it, I realized I knew that handwriting - it was Claire’s! I recognized it from the lists and notes she would make for the staff.

“It’s from Claire! What does it say? I can’t read. Tell me,” I demanded.

“Oh I’ll tell you, little prince,” Sabrina said, turning in her seat to face me. She waved the letter in the air.

“This? It’s Claire’s official resignation. It means she’s giving up her position as your nanny, forever.”

She tsked. “Can’t even tell you in person. Can’t even be bothered to say goodbye. Is that the kind of nanny you want, Andy? Someone who doesn’t care about you at all?”

I snatched the letter from her hand, trying to read it. I knew a few words, but not enough to know if Sabrina was telling the truth.

Until I got to the end, where I saw a word I knew. A word that hurt.

It was “goodbye.”