War Claim (The Claim: Book 3)

Chapter 4 - Chloe

Headlights broke through the late evening darkness as a pickup truck pulled into the valley in the second week of December, almost three weeks after Animkii left. Traces of snow still lingered in shady corners of the valley with the influx of temperatures hovering just above the freezing zone.

Chloe saw the lights when she glanced out her bedroom window while studying for a test tomorrow. She froze, staring at it as it drove over the narrow lane before turning toward the Alpha and Luna's house. Her heart jumped in her throat.

It's him. He back.

Running down the stairs, she hollered to her mother in the kitchen drying dishes and putting them in the cupboard. "Mom, they're back!" She dashed to the front door and pulled her coat from the closet and started yanking it on.

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down there, Chloe-bear. Where do you think you're going?"

She spun around, seeing her father emerge from the kitchen. He smelled of steak and sweat, having just come home from training the warriors and having dinner before a shower.

"I'm going over to say hi."

"Sweetie, it's late and they've come a long way. Give them a chance to settle and you can see them tomorrow," he told her.

"But Daddy—"

"Boundaries, Chloe." Assertiveness tinted his tone. "You're thirteen-years-old and he's an older male with a mate. There are boundaries between you two now. You can't simply go over to see him whenever you want."

An ache filled her chest as her heart climbed up her throat. "I-I just want to see him real quick and make sure he's okay."

"He's fine, Chloe. But I'm sure he and his mate are tired and need rest. Besides, you have a test to study for. You can see them after school tomorrow."

The finality in his voice rubbed her the wrong away and her eyes prickled with tears. She hated that he was right.

She hated all of this.

Ripping her coat off, she dropped it on the floor and ran back up to her room and slammed the door behind her. Camilla started crying from somewhere and the sound of it only irked her more.

This sucked. Everything sucked. It wasn't fair. From the moment she and her mother joined Daddy and the pack, Animkii was there. And she didn't know when her crush developed, but he had always been there for her. Now she had to back off. He had a mate and she had to respect that whether she liked it or not.

She tried to focus on her studies after that but couldn't. She kept looking out her window but couldn't see the pickup truck in the darkness anymore. The lights were all on in the Alpha and Luna's house and she couldn't help staring at it.

Maybe things might not be as awful as they seemed? Maybe she and his mate could become good friends? That might not be so bad...

If she could get over her crush on Animkii...

That would be the real challenge. So much of her life was spent with him, it would be hard not to hang out whenever she felt like it. Not to mention she could feel jealous of his mate... That would not sit well with anyone.

***

She didn't know when she had fallen asleep but her alarm woke her up and she had to get ready for school.

She could hardly focus in her classes. All she could think about was going home and seeing Animkii and meeting his mate and hoping and praying that she was a nice female.