Chapter 213

Amber’s POV

I waited until we were in the car to point it out to both Alice and Julian. Turning in my seat, I said, “Alice, you don’t have to be scared anymore. Didn’t you see? With everything that happened… Even when you were afraid the most, you didn’t shift.”

Alice sniffed, even as her brow crumpled with confusion. “I didn’t turn into a wolf…”

“No,” I said, agreeing. “You didn’t.”

“That means the cure worked,” Julian said. Despite everything we had just faced at the restaurant, with people being cruel to us, Julian now looked at me with a big smile on his face. He pulled the car to the side, parking, so that he too could turn around and look at our daughter.

“I’m so proud of you, Alice,” he said.

“But I didn’t do anything,” she said.

“You did,” I told her. “You are so brave and strong.”

At this, finally Alice’s waterworks seemed to dry up and she started to smile.

Julian might have been the one to say it, but I was so proud of her as well. I might have been the one who made the cure, but Alice had been the one to face the disease and overcome it. Truly, she was a wonder, and I couldn’t believe that Julian and I could make such a perfect little werewolf.

With Alice properly comforted, and even Julian smiling, I could tell that we were all starting to feel a little bit better. Thank the Gods.

The night didn’t go exactly as we planned, but at least we were still finding some comfort.

“Now, how about that fast food?” Julian asked as he pulled the car back onto the road.

Usually we ate healthier than this, but a treat once in a while couldn’t hurt. It was something nice to look forward to.

As Julian was driving us, Alice made a few humming sounds like she was thinking.

“What’s the matter, Alice?” I asked, glancing back again.

“Am I going to have to see the tutor forever?” she asked.

“What makes you think that?” I asked. I fully intended for Alice to return to school once the worst of this situation blew over, wanting to have friends her own age and experiences that only a school could offer her.

“Well… if everyone hates us, aren’t we going to have to hide away forever?” she asked.

Her small voice made my heart crack. She was far too young to have to face these issues, to think that people hated her! No one hated her. It was only Julian that everyone was mad at, but I didn’t think pointing that out would solve anything.

Alice was a very sensitive child. If she knew that someone was mad at Julian, she would take that personally.

Which was mainly why we had to keep her out of school right now. If she were teased for this…

Well, perhaps it was time for Julian and I to properly discuss things like this.

I waited until we were home, with Alice good and distracted, first by the food, and then by her toys.

Then I tugged Julian aside, down to the kitchen were Alice was least likely to overhear us.

“What is it?” he asked once we were there. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Alice,” I told him.

“She’s a tough kid,” Julian said. “She’s been doing very well.”

While that was true, I was still worried about her, so I replied, “I think we should send her back to Rafael’s, or even to Anna’s. I’m negotiable here.”

Julian immediately straightened, his eyes going a little wide. “This doesn’t sound negotiable.”

“Things aren’t safe for her here,” I said. “Even if we just keep her at home, she’s frightened. You heard the things she said. She deserves to feel safe.”

“We can’t send her back,” Julian said. “How would it look to send my own daughter to a rival pack? It would make me look weak. Right now, we need to show the pack that I can provide for my family.”

“You are a fine protector,” I told him. “You kept us safe tonight, but those looks and these situations… even our stress… it’s all taking a toll on Alice mentally. That’s not something you can protect her from by keeping her here.”

Julian frowned at my words, his brow furrowing unhappily. I could tell that he didn’t want to agree with me, but that he was considering my words very carefully.

Fortunately, I didn’t feel that I had to point out to Julian that his daughter was more important than his appearance in his pack. He already knew that. His saying so, valuing Alice and me above his pack, was part of the reason we were all dealing with such fallout now.

Julian glanced at me, worry in his eyes. “Would you want to go back with her?”

“No,” I said. I reached out and took his hand in mine. “I’m not going anywhere, not without you. We are a team now. But Alice… this is too much for her. I just want her to be happy.”

“I agree,” he said. “Let’s contact Rafael and see if he’d be willing to take her in until this all blows over.”

“No!” Alice cried out, suddenly appearing at the doorway.

Such a sneaky girl. Even though I had chosen to speak in the kitchen because it was so far out of the way, I hadn’t been smart enough to fool Alice.

She must have realized what we were doing and followed us.

Now, she ran out of her hiding space with tears in her eyes.

“You can’t send me away!” she cried. She grabbed the bottoms of both of our shirts and hung on for dear life, her little knuckles turning white. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I could see she was furious and upset about our decision, but still I hoped to calm her.

Keeping my voice steady, I told her, “You are just going to visit your Uncle Rafael. Once things are safe for you again, you will come right back to us, okay?”

“No!” she shouted again. “That’s not fair! You can’t do that!”

I glanced at Julian, and he tried next. “Alice. We just want you to be safe. You shouldn’t have to be scared.”

“I am scared! But I know you are too,” Alice said. “If you are staying, than so am I. I can be brave! I can help! You have to let me help!”

Again, I looked at Julian, and he looked back at me.

“There might be a way,” Julian said. “Tony is really awkward with kids. If people saw that side of him…”

“I can do it!” Alice said.

I gave Julian an exasperated look, then looked at Alice. “You don’t have to do anything, Alice. You can go stay at your Uncle Rafael’s and –”

“I want to stay, Mom. Please. You have to let me.”

Looking at her, at the determination in her eyes, it was very difficult to say no to her. Even though I wanted to shield her from everything that was happening here, I had the feeling that to do that would only succeed in hurting her even worse than she was hurting now.

She needed me to believe in her, to be proud of her strength and bravery.

To turn her away would stilt that side of her.

With a sigh, I nodded. “Alright. You can stay.”

“Yay!” Alice cheered.

“We’ll bring down Tony together,” Julian said.