Chapter 8

Third-person's POV

Returning home after looking for Claire at the clinic, Nathan walked into a house that just felt wrong. Empty, off balance.

That sense only grew worse every day that followed. Every day she wasn’t there.

Dinner was never on time, and never tasted right. Finally, Nathan couldn’t take it anymore.

He called his butler in and demanded, “What is going on here? This meal is terrible.”

The butler bowed his head and apologized. “Miss Claire usually makes the dinners, Alpha. This meal is, um… Well, it’s been prepared following a new recipe Princess Sabrina created.”

Sabrina, again. She was directing the servants to help him out, but continuously failed to make things run smoothly.

No matter how much Sabrina or even Nathan tried, the house seemed to be falling apart.

One servant served Nathan tea at night, even though tea kept him awake. Another servant got shampoo in Andy’s eyes while giving him his evening bath. It took an hour to calm both the stinging and the child’s tantrum.

Everything was chaotic, and both Nathan’s and Andy’s nerves were stretched thin. Nathan began to work more from home, just to keep an eye on his son and try to keep things running smoothly at home.

But Andy interrupted yet another meeting with Sabrina, running in crying.

“I want Claire! Where is Claire? I demand you bring her to me, please!” he said.

His lip trembled, and despite the commanding tone he looked exactly like what he was: a little boy who missed his mother. Even if he didn’t know his mother was what she was.

Nathan struggled to hold onto his temper. He was only four, and missing the person who took care of him was natural.

It was Claire Nathan was actually angry at.

She was the reason everything was falling apart at home, just as Nathan’s campaign to become Alpha President was beginning to take off.

“Andy, I know you miss Claire. But you can’t barge in here whenever you feel like it. Where is the servant I told to watch you?”

Andy sniffled. “She’s making me a snack. But it doesn’t matter, I’m going to hate it. I only like Claire’s food.”

Sabrina smiled at him, “Things aren’t all bad, are they? You’ve had good meals to eat for dinner at least, right? I planned them myself!”

Andy started to tell Sabrina what he really thought about her attempts at meal planning, but caught his father’s warning look just in time. “Uh huh. But I still want Claire. Bring her to me.”

That stupid Omega again, thought Sabrina. Even when she’s not here she’s still a thorn in her side.

She knelt in front of Andy. “I know you miss your nanny. But we can have fun together too, darling. How about I take you somewhere fun tomorrow? How about the amusement park?”

Andy brightened, temporarily forgetting how miserable he was without Claire. The amusement park was one of his favorite treats.

He agreed, then ran out of the room to get his snack and tell the servants about all the rides he was going to go on tomorrow.

“Thank you, Sabrina,” Nathan said, going back to his paperwork. “I appreciate your help with him.”

“Of course,” Sabrina said, putting a hand on his shoulder as she came back to the table. “Claire left both of you in a terrible position. It was so selfish. The least I can do is help out.”

Relieved to actually be able to go into his office and get some real work done, Nathan left the house the next morning feeling confident his life was about to get back on track.

But Sabrina’s frantic mindlink interrupted him in a meeting at midmorning.

Nathan! Andy fell off a ride, his forehead is bleeding.

Sabrina sounded frantic, not her usual cool, collected self. Alarmed, Nathan quickly excused himself from the meeting and rushed to the amusement park.

“Thank god, there you are,” Sabrina said when a staff member escorted him into a back office.

“It’s these terrible people,” she continued. “They’re incompetent, Nathan. It’s all their fault!”

“Our apologies, Alpha,” the staff manager murmured as she escorted him to where Andy sat in a chair, holding an ice pack wrapped in a rag bright with blood to his forehead, crying quietly. “The Princess buckled him into the ride herself, and we believe she didn’t latch it properly.”

Sabrina huffed. “What absolute nonsense! Nathan, are you going to let them—”

“Enough,” Nathan cut everyone off, not listening to any of the chatter. All he could see was his son, and the blood on the rag.

He knelt in front of his son and took the ice pack away from his head gently, then swore at the sight of the gash underneath. “This might need stitches, son. We’re going to take you to the hospital and get it fixed.”

"No!" Andy snapped, his voice trembling. "I don’t want to go to the hospital. I want Claire!"

He fought to hold back his tears, but his face scrunched up with the effort, his little body shaking.

Nathan stood up, exchanging looks with Sabrina. It was clear from Andy’s reaction to just the mention of the hospital that actually taking him there would cause a major meltdown.

After a brief internal debate, Nathan finally decided to reach out to Claire. He hadn’t since his first attempt went unanswered days ago, his pride not letting him look like he was begging her to talk to him.

But this was different. Their son was hurt, and needed my help.

Claire's POV

Claire, listen to me. Andy needs you.

I paused midway through the paperwork I was filling out on my latest patient. Nathan’s voice in my head out of nowhere was startling, and my first instinct was just to ignore it.

But his next words changed that.

Andy’s hurt, and won’t let us take him to the hospital. I - I need your help.

There was a pause, and then he said something he’d never said to me before.

Please.

Shocked, I realized the situation must actually be serious. Worried, I asked where they were, then rushed to the amusement park.

I hurried into the back office, briefly taking in the scene. Sabrina arguing with the staff and Nathan trying to end it, and little Andy, all by himself in the corner.

“Claire!” Andy cried out, running to me.

I fell to my knees and held him, overwhelmed both by the relief to see he wasn’t more seriously injured and because I’d missed him terribly over the last few days.

Then he pulled away and faced me with what I thought of as his “little Alpha” attitude. “Where have you been, Claire? You left without saying goodbye, and that was not okay.”

I saw that Andy seemed like he was about to cry, but he stubbornly held it in, not letting it show.

I smiled at him despite the pang his words gave me. “I know, sweetheart. I’m very sorry. Now, let me look at your head.”

Using the park’s emergency medical kit, I carefully cleaned and bandaged my son’s cut, quietly using a touch of my healing abilities at the same time to soothe the pain and aid the healing process.

And also while ignoring the not so quiet whispers of the staff, wondering why the Alpha was letting an Omega treat his child.

It wasn’t easy, especially now that I’d spent so much time in the clinic, openly using my abilities and being both accepted and praised for them.

I finished bandaging Andy’s forehead, then picked him up. He snuggled against me, feeling like his world was right again for the first time in days.

Comforted, he fell asleep in my arms as everyone walked out to the parking lot.

Nathan asked me to help him take Andy home and settle him in bed. I hesitated, but finally agreed. It felt too good to hold my son, and I wanted to get all the time with him I could.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at work, Sabrina,” Nathan said, clearly dismissing her.

Sabrina was left standing there as they drove away, fuming.

At home, Nathan carried Andy upstairs to his bed, and I tucked the blankets around him. We watched our son sleep peacefully for a moment, then went out into the hall.

“Nathan, I want to explain. So many things have happened. I - I don’t know where to start…”

Nathan shook his head. “We can talk about things later. I want you to come home, Claire. You need to stay here now.”

I looked at him, touched. He was asking me to stay. Maybe his attitude really had finally changed.

“The house has been a mess since you abandoned your responsibilities here. And as an Omega we both know you can’t make it without me.”

Shocked, I stared up at him. What was happening?

“I know you felt you had to run away, but surely you’ve had enough fun by now.”

Nathan said.