Chapter 94

Julian’s POV

The moment Amber called me and told me what was going on, that Alice was missing, had likely ran away, and was probably heading to the hotel to find me, I had felt like my entire world was hanging in the balance.

I’d been so far from the hotel, already having walked several miles in the opposite direction. I hadn’t been ready to sit still yet, wanting to clear my head from all the stray and worrisome thoughts that had plagued me since the debacle at the restaurant.

Since Chase kissed Amber…

Since Olivia claimed that Chase and Amber had been lovers…

That phone call had sent me spiraling. I changed directions so quickly that I still felt dizzy. Then I shifted, racing back here as fast as my Alpha werewolf legs would carry me.

Blessedly, I had found Alice and held her now. She seemed unharmed.

If anyone would have tried to hurt her, I swear they would know the meaning of pain.

“Alice… are you okay?” I asked, because though she seemed physically alright, she was crying.

“There were these scary men,” she said, briefly filling me in on some of what she had experienced. It was difficult to discern most of it through her panted breathing and her tears, but I understood she had been chased, and Olivia had intervened.

Looking up, I caught Olivia watching us now. I would approach her later, to find out what truly happened. If she could identify these men, I could hunt them down.

But that could come later. For right now, I needed to do what was best for my little girl. That meant keeping her safe. And also telling her mom where she was.

I shuffled Alice over so that I could hold her with one arm while I fished my phone out of my pocket with my other.

“What are you doing?” Alice asked, sniffling.

“Telling your mom where you are,” I said. “And that you are okay.”

“Don’t!” she said, and tried to reach for my phone. I moved quickly, pulling it out of her reach.

Amber had guessed that Alice would come to me, but I didn’t consider she might be running from Amber too. That didn’t seem right. By my estimations, Amber seemed like a great mom who would do anything for her daughter, and until now, Alice had always seemed happy.

“Did something happen?” I asked her. “Are you mad at your mom?”

Alice slouched a little. “Maybe…”

I gave her a look. I hadn’t really gotten to try out more fatherly looks yet, but this definitely was one. I was being stern, pushing her for more information without having to say anything or pry it out of her with words.

The look worked because she sighed and answered. “She kissed Chase…” Alice grumbled, frowning. “Chase is okay, but he’s not who I want to be my dad.”

My anger for Chase resurfaced. He’d cut so many wounds with that careless kiss, even making a few on himself, I suspected. No wonder Alice had thrown that bear out the window.

As much as I would have liked to bad-mouth Chase to get Alice onto my side, the truth of the matter was that while Amber was secretly still my wife, she didn’t believe herself bound to me in any way.

As such, as much as I hated it, she could still kiss whoever she wanted.

In this case, it was clear that Chase had forced a kiss on Amber, but… I didn’t know what to believe, really. If she and Chase did get together someday… Well, whatever happened wouldn’t change things between Alice and me.

She would always be my little girl.

“Alice…”

“You are my dad,” she said, and hugged me tightly around the neck, burying her face in my shoulder.

I hugged her back, squeezing her as tightly and comfortingly as I could without hurting her.

“I am,” I said. “But I don’t need to be kissing your mom to have that right. You are my daughter, no matter what else happens. Even if your mom and me aren’t together. You are my daughter, and that will never change. No matter what.”

“Daddy…” she whispered, her voice muffled against my shoulder.

“Your mother will be worried,” I said. “May I let her know you are okay?”

She paused a moment, and then I heard her, softly, “Okay…”

Ten minutes after a quick phone call, Amber and Anna pulled into the parking lot. The car hadn’t even fully stopped before Amber threw the door open and rushed forward.

She raced across the parking lot, her own tears falling as she found Alice and me at the base of the stairs.

“Oh, Alice!” Amber cried, and took Alice into her arms now. The mother and daughter cried together for a while, both overwhelmed with their emotions.

Minutes later, when they finally parted, Amber and I sat on the bottom stair of the outdoor stairwell, with Alice tucked safely in the space between us.

Amber spoke first, as she wiped away her own tears.

“You didn’t have to run, Alice. Anytime you want to see Julian, you only have to ask.”

“I agree,” I said. “I will always have time for you.”

“And I would never keep you from him,” Amber said. “Even if he and I have our own disagreements, you aren’t part of them, alright? You can see Julian anytime.”

It warmed me to hear her say so. I had been somewhat worried that she would try to keep Alice away from me, given some of our arguments, but I knew she wouldn’t lie to Alice about this. For Amber to promise Alice that she could see me anytime she wanted, meant that it was true.

Good. I never wanted to be at odds with Amber about our daughter. Though I suspected there were still many long arguments in our future about Alice’s care and education, we could face those challenges together, with the assurance that Alice would not be caught in the middle.

Alice leaned into me while smiling at her mom. “Okay…”

Olivia’s POV

Olivia watched from the window as the trio reunited. From here, they looked like the perfect little family. It got on Olivia’s nerves to no end.

“We have to break them up,” Olivia said. “And Alice is the weakest link. Amber is using that child’s existence as a way to cling onto Julian and keep him close.”

Deeper inside of her room, Chase reclined on the bed, his head and shoulders resting against the headboard, his hands behind his head, his elbows up in the air.

“Are you so sure?” Chase asked. “She’s a good kid. And with the timeline, it’s entirely possible she is Julian’s child.”

“I refuse to believe that,” Olivia snapped, turning enough to shoot him a glare. “We have to cut the ties of this family. I will not lose Julian to such a farce.”

Chase pushed forward, sitting upright on the bed. As his hands dropped down to his sides, he gave his own hard look to Olivia. “I will not hurt a child, if that’s what you are thinking.”

“You will do what I tell you,” Olivia said fiercely, but then she took a breath and somewhat regained her composure. “But I’m not entirely certain that is what is necessary… yet. For now there might be other ways.”

“Which are…?” Chase asked, brow raising.

Olivia looked away from him, returning her gaze back out the window and down to the precious little family below.

“There’s more to Alice’s necklace than Amber wants to admit,” Olivia said. “If we steal it, events might be set in motion that spare us further actions…”

Olivia knew the necklace was magical.

Which left only one question in her mind – what secret was that necklace hiding?