War Claim (The Claim: Book 3)

Chapter 7 - Chloe

Chloe was grounded before she even stepped foot into her house.

Her father was waiting for her at the front door, as she dragged her feet across the dead grass, leaving Animkii behind her and carrying all of the painful uncertainty deep within her gut. He nodded his thanks to Animkii as she stepped inside, knowing that she would be faced with punishment for getting caught sneaking out.

Once she was inside, the tears started falling again as her father closed the door and locked it behind her. Her mother wrung her hands in front of her as she stood up from the couch. The fireplace crackled and popped in the silence and was anything but soothing and calming.

"I'm sorry," she immediately said, hanging her head.

"What do you think you were doing out there alone after midnight?" her father demanded. "Thank the Goddess that I can count on that male to bring you back home in one piece."

"I'm sorry."

"You have to stop this, Chloe."

"I know."

"I mean it."

The tears began to pour down and she couldn't stop them. The pain inside her heart hurt too much. "I'm sorry! I just want things to go back to the way they were before! I want my best friend back!"

"He has a mate now, Chloe. You have to understand that things will be different from now on and that's the way it is."

"Cam," her mother scolded, getting up from the couch and coming to Chloe's side. "Can't you see this is hard for her? You're right that she shouldn't have been outside alone after dark, but you know what it's like to lose a best friend too. She's just trying to regain some kind of control over her life."

He gritted his teeth. "Don't bring Andrew into this."

"You lost a lot that day, more than you knew and you coped with it poorly too. She's just a little girl."

Deflating, remorse pulled at her father's face before he pulled Chloe into a hug. "I'm sorry, Chloe. It sucks, I know. But please—please—promise me that you won't sneak out again."

Sniffling, she nodded her head and buried her face into his shirt. "I won't, Daddy. I promise."

"And you need to give him and his mate some space and respect boundaries."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't tell me, tell him."

Mashing her lips together, she nodded her head again. "Okay, Daddy."

***

She was grounded for two weeks. That meant the only time she was permitted to leave her room aside from going to the bathroom was for going to school. Even then, she was to come straight home afterward.

It sucked. The worst part of it was the next day—the day after the Welcome Ceremony and celebration for Madison.

Animkii called her in the late afternoon. Her parents wouldn't have let her out of her room to talk to anyone if it hadn't been him.

Sitting on the couch, anxiety gnawed at her as she greeted him on the phone. He sounded upset.

"I'm sorry, Chloe," he said. "I don't want to do this, but I have to. For the sake of my relationship with Madison and the betterment of the pack..."

Her heart crashed against her ribs as her eyes widened.

She couldn't breathe.

"I don't think we can be friends anymore..."