CHAPTER TWO
Sara sat on the window seat, arms wrapped around her knees, and watched the rain come down. Thick drops hit the window and ran in rivulets down the pane. The weather had been like this for three days straight, and despite it matching her mood of late, she was going stir crazy. Resting her head against the glass, she sighed.
“You can still go out there, you know. A bit of rain won’t kill you.” Alpha Celia Cornell stood in the doorway to Sara’s bedroom, arms folded. Her dark hair, now streaked with grey, came to just below her shoulders, but her high cheekbones gave her a far more youthful appearance than her age suggested. And that was down to good genes, apparently. Bitten as a child in the forests aroundSeraïdiin northern Algeria, Celia fled to England with her parents before being discovered. Not everywhere welcomed shifters with open arms.
Sara was lucky enough to have inherited those cheekbones along with a strong jawline. With her own hair in a similar style, she resembled her grandmother more than her mother. Still looking out at the rain, she sighed again before replying. “I want to feel the sun on my fur, dry grass under my paws… I’m just so sick of everything being wet.”
With a roll of her eyes, Celia came into the room and joined her at the window seat. “Perhaps you’re antsy from the full moon?”
“That was days ago,” Sara said with a huff, but her grandmother was probably right. The effects often lasted a few days, the pull of the moon gradually easing off until it was barely felt.
Celia laid a hand on Sara’s knee, giving her a gentle squeeze. “I have a council meeting this afternoon,” she said, matter of fact.
Sara looked up, curiosity piqued despite her best efforts. “Oh?”
“With Karin and Curtis back from London, they want to brief us all on what happened with the Regent’s Hill pack, so we’re all up to speed should anything else arise.” She left it at that, and Sara curled her fingers into fists.
She shouldn’t ask.
She’d come here looking for help, but her grandmother was in a difficult position. Sara didn’t want to jeopardise her place on the council. It was done, her father had seen to that, and knowing about Rachel’s life wouldn’t change that.
Rubbing a fist against her chest, she fought to keep the words in, but they found their way out anyway. “Did they see her?” An image of Rachel, red hair tumbling over firm shoulders, filled her head, and the ache intensified, stealing her breath.
In an instant, Celia’s arms were around her, holding her tight.
“It hurts,” Sara whispered, voice cracking. “Still…”
Kissing the top of her head, Celia asked, “Do you wish it didn’t?”
Sara shook her head, because that would mean their connection had faded to nothing, and no matter how much it hurt now, knowing that their potential to bond was gone for good would hurt so much more. “No.”
“Then hang onto that pain and keep it inside. While you still have it, there’s always hope.”
“Is there?” She’d been at her grandmother’s house for a little over two weeks now, and nothing had changed. Her father still refused to hear any more on the subject of her and Rachel. “Mum’s tried to talk to him, but he won’t listen. Grandad can’t because he doesn’t want to interfere with another alpha’s orders, and you can’t because you’re a council member.”
Celia hummed. “Yes, unfortunately your father’s a stubborn bast— man.”
Sara barked out a laugh. “You were right with the first one.”
“He’s still your father, though.”
“At this moment in time, I wish he wasn’t,” Sara muttered. “He should be happy for me.”
“He should.”
“Not… not…” She waved her hand about, knocking it against the window. “Exiling me.”
Celia huffed. “I thought coming here was your idea?”
“It was. I couldn’t stay there knowing she’d left. But he was more than happy to ship me off.” Tracing the path of a raindrop on the glass, she said softly, “He’s just waiting for the connection to fade, isn’t he?”
“I suspect so.” Her grandmother let go of her and stood. “Your father has some very outdated views, which thankfully not many alphas share these days.”
“I’m just lucky, then.” Sara rolled her eyes.
“If I could order him to change his mind, I would. That man needs a good shake.”
Sara couldn’t agree more.
