Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Julian’s POV
Alice’s outburst had pulled the attention of the entire table. It had been so extreme, over something as
innocuous as a necklace, that worry stirred within me.
Did she simply adore that necklace so much? Or did she hate Olivia enough not to want to show her
anything? Or was there some other reason?
“She’s protective of it,” Amber said. “She doesn’t like others to take it.” Amber said the words lightly, but
there was a kind of tension in her face that made her mouth into a hard thin line and her eyes tight.
This might have been the truth, but I didn’t think it was the full truth. There was definitely something more going on here. But… what?
Thinking back, I remembered a time in my own pack when, after the gala, Alice had come running to me.
She had clung to me so tightly, that my suitcoat jacket had even suffered some pin–prick holes where her
fingernails had dug in.
At the time, I had wondered how her little human fingernails had torn through the fabric. A child that
young shouldn’t have been able to shift, yet those markings had looked so much like claws…
Since that night, a concern had laid dormant inside of me. This encounter, for whatever the reason, was stirring up those memories again.
“It’s just a silly necklace,” Olivia said. She held out her hand toward Alice. “Give to me. I just want to see
it p>
Alice shrunk back in her chair, curling her body away from Olivia and around her necklace. Anna touched her shoulder protectively and glared at Olivia. Amber leaned forward, like a mother bear about to
retaliate.
Yet I beat her to it. “She said no, Olivia p>
“So what if she did? She’s a child
“No,” I said, adding more Alpha command to my voice, to show her I wasn’t fooling around.
Alice was my child, and regardless of her reasoning for not wanting to allow Olivia to see her necklace, if she didn’t want to share, she didn’t have to.
“Back off, Olivia,” I said.
Olivia scowled at me, clearly taking my command personally. I’d hear about it at some point in the future, I was sure, during the next argument Olivia hoped to win.
Let her be angry.
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I would not let her bully my child.
“Well,” Carla said, reclaiming the attention of the table. “I think we all have some heirlooms that we treasure. My grandmother left me a mantle clock. It’s a simple thing, nothing of great design or value, but it would be the first thing I’d save if my apartment went up in flames p>
Others at the table latched onto this topic, each discussing something that was important to them, something left from their parents or grandparents. If it wasn’t a family heirloom, it was something else that held personal significance, like a gift from a child or a friend or even a patient.
The table had returned to its usual bustle, the outburst seemingly forgotten as the sudden tantrum of a six -year old.
I hadn’t forgotten it though, and made sure to keep an eye on Alice.
Amber and Anna were whispering to her. I assumed they were speaking words of comfort, trying to help her feel better. Instead, she seemed deeply unhappy and uncomfortable.
When our meals finally arrived, it was a blessing to have something to focus on. The food was good, and
the conversation about heirlooms continued while we were eating.
Alice, however, barely picked at her food, her face downcast, her eyes tired. Amber and Anna kept
glancing at her with worried eyes.
So did I.
After dinner, I finally spoke up. “Alice, I saw there’s an ice cream bar for dessert. If your mother allows us, how about you and I go over there and make a couple of sundaes p>
The thought of ice cream seemed to perk Alice up and she looked at Amber with pleading eyes.
Amber looked at me as if sizing me up. Did she still not trust me with Alice? Did she think I would hurt my own daughter, or abscond with her? Had I not proved myself reliable?
Did she not believe her when I said that I wanted to rebuild a family with her and Alice?
My worries started to compound – until she must have seen and understood my sincerity and said, “Very
well. But only a small sundae p>
“Okay,” Alice said. She and I both stood.
“Don’t take all day, ” Olivia scoffed. She was clearly still mad at me. I didn’t care.
Holding out my hand, Alice immediately took it and together we walked to the ice cream bar.
There, two self–serve ice cream machines were positioned right next to each other, one vanilla and the other chocolate. On the counter beside the machines sat several bowls of various toppings. Rainbow sprinkles, chocolate flakes, marshmallows… It was a smorgasbord of children’s dream food.
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I could see now why Amber had warned for Alice to only get a small sundae. They’d almost certainly been
to this restaurant before and had this exact same experience. Probably more than once.
“Chocolate or Vanilla?” I asked, starting there.
“Chocolate,” she said.
Grabbing one of the small dishes that were stacked by the machines, I used the machine to get Alice a bit
of chocolate ice cream. As I did, I glanced over at her.
Alice was holding the pendant of her necklace with both hands, looking down at it.
“That necklace seems important to you,” I said.
“Yes p>
“Is it because your mom gave it to you?” I asked.
“Sort of,” Alice said. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth for a moment, before sharing, “It helps me
feel calmer p>
I frowned a little. “Is that a problem you sometimes have?” I asked. “Feeling calm p>
“Before the necklace….” Alice said and nodded. Looking up at me, she said, “The necklace helps p>
I had so many more questions, but it didn’t feel right to pry the answers from a child. For now, whatever the necklace was, it seemed to be helping her, and for that, I could be relieved.
“I’m glad it helps,” I told her and passed her the bowl of chocolate ice cream. “Now… the really important
question p>
She seemed worried a moment, so I quickly continued.
“Which toppings do you want p>
The worry immediately cleared and she smiled. “All of them p>
Oh, her mother was going to kill me, but I couldn’t say no to that smile.
As Alice and I were on the way back to the table, Alice’s sundae overflowing with toppings, I happened to
glance toward the bathrooms again.
There, curiously, I saw Olivia and Chase talking.
No, not just talking. Not with that aggressive body language, Chase crossing his arms while Olivia pointed at him a lot.
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They were having a full–out argument.
I knew they had to know each other more than they were letting on. Part of me wanted to go over there and demand the truth. The other part of me, the bigger part, wasn’t going to abandon my child to go do so
Alice was and always would be my top priority.
Whatever was going on with Olivia and Chase, though very suspicious, would have to wait.