Clara“The packhouse feels so empty without you.”I almost covered my ears hearing Alice’s whine. She sounds like an annoying kid blabbering nonstop. “I’m here now,” Samuel convinced.“I’m glad you’re back, Samuel. What’s taken you—”“I’ve missed you too.” The moment their lips touched, I hastily averted my gaze away with my scrunched-up face.Gross.They even have the audacity to do this in front of me. And although I am certain I don’t have anything for Samuel anymore, I felt like my stomach was churning just watching them this intimate.Samuel pulled from Alice’s embrace and his eyes landed on mine the first thing. I rolled my eyes to avert from his glare.How does he expect me to react with this? Be happy and clap in joy because they missed each other too much?“How about you, Clara? You’re tired, that's for sure and isn’t it sad that you’ve got no one to wait for you?”Pursing my lips tightly, I stared back at Alice blankly. She had her usual wide mocking grin on her lips while
ClaraMy chest was tied in knots by just watching him gobble up the remaining distance between us. He doesn’t seem to have any plans on stopping from stepping so it was a good thing that I was still able to stick my shaky arms out to make sure Samuel won’t reach me.“Why do you have a habit of interrupting whenever I am having the moment of my life, huh?” I calmly asked though wrinkle lines on my forehead were deep enough to slash through his peering gaze.“Oh, really?” Samuel scoffed in return. He lifted his head, sticking his tongue out which then glided through his reddish thin lips. “So, is it my fault now? Why? Are you almost cumming and I interrupted?”I unbelievably laugh, hearing his wild accusations, “What?!”“You can’t lie, Clara. I was behind that door for minutes and I heard everything!”A wide grin was automatically flashed onto my beaming face seeing his brows heavily furrowed against each other. He’s indeed mad thinking there is something between Donna and me. The look
ClaraAlthough I wouldn’t say no to coming with him to check on his grandmother, Samuel still held me and tugged at me as if I was going to run from him anytime soon. He was in a rush with pure worry and fear written on his face.I don’t need to ask why as it is already obvious that he only has his grandmother when his parents weren’t there for him. That’s why he had this deep connection with his grandmother.Just as we arrived back at the Moonlit Pack with Carter, Samuel’s hand remained firmly attached to my wrist. I tried complaining about how tight his grip was but as usual, I was ignored.“You should get back and be in charge of the Pack in the meantime. We might stay here for a little longer this time.”Carter immediately nodded in agreement to Samuel’s command. He bowed his head once and turned his back to leave. But before Carter could take a step away, Samuel called him once again.“Do tell Alice about this. I was in a rush that I didn’t say goodbye to her,” he lowly added and
ClaraKnowing what I was being accused of was absurd, I squatted down to get a couple of medicines scattered on the floor.I know exactly what medications I gave and I am certain the ones on my palm right now aren’t one of them. The pack doctor said he examined it and found out that it was instead poison. However, this is not what I gave.“You’ve got to believe me, Alpha.”Looking back up, I found Samuel already peering at me. His breathing was heavy and rapid; his nose flared with anger he was still suppressing. I know him. If he would burst out right now, right here, he is capable of doing worse than this.But he is holding back because his Grandma’s still inside the room.“Let me explain. First of all, this isn’t the medicine I gave. This isn’t mine, Samuel—”“Don’t believe her, Alpha.”My brows shot up, shifting my glare to the pack doctor who was standing, almost hiding behind Samuel.“The servant can prove it.” I hastily showed the medicines to the Omega. “You know this isn’t th
Clara“That’s impossible! I wouldn’t do things like that!”Although Grandma herself made it clear that it was only Esther, the pack doctor, or both of them, Esther still firmly stuck to her words and denied it.“You know how much I’ve done for you. I was always here by your side while you just met Clara and you’re already favoring her over me?” her voice cracked with her eyes getting wet.My face crumpled. Regardless of determining whether she’s faking this or not, she’s being overly dramatic.Esther sniffled as she wrapped her arms around her body as if she’d been abused. “You don’t know Clara’s whole character, Grandma. Please don’t do this to me.”The whole room was filled with deafening silence which only made Esther look stupid with her own drama. As if she felt the humiliation running through her veins, she stepped up to reach Grandma.Wiping the tears that were nowhere to be found on her cheeks, she knelt down by the bed and stuck her hands out.But Grandma tilted her body away
ClaraGiven the current situation, I don’t need to think twice because I knew Samuel wouldn’t believe me if I denied it, hence, I still did, “I didn’t push her. I would never hurt her, believe me.”For some reason, the sudden urge to protect myself rose. I had no idea where it was coming from but it was strong enough to make me sound as if I was begging for Samuel to believe me. Regardless, the fact that he didn’t actually say anything nor do anything, but his eyes were like a torment to my pounding heart.I don’t care what everyone around me thinks, but today seems a little bit different. I wanted Samuel to believe me even though everyone would be against me.“You’re a liar! What do you mean you would never hurt me? Just look at what you did!” Esther grumbled.“You did that to yourself!” I yelled back at her.Esther scoffed, “Look at how desperate you are to save your ass that you will make up silly reasons.”“Honestly, I don’t know if you’ve gone crazy or you’re just born this way,”
Samuel“Search every corner and whatever you might find should be brought to me!” I shouted as soon as the door pushed open.I, with a couple of other warriors, barged into the pack doctor’s room. It was in the middle of the night, but I didn’t mind.I mean every word I tell Clara that I will take care of this. Not because of her, but because in the very first place, this is our family’s mess I should fix and Clara’s not part of our family.The warriors quickly attended to my command and went through every corner of the cabin. The pack doctor rose from his bed, confused and shocked at the same time.He had no idea what to do first: stop the warriors from searching or come to confront me. But the latter part is what he ended up doing.“What is this, Alpha?”“This is just to check on you, doctor,” I playfully sang, smirking at him which he returned with a forced and fake anxious smile.“Don’t worry, this is harmless,” I added, assuring him with a nod.His eyes were restless, keeping an
Clara“Calm the hell down, Henry! Sit back!”Henry was left with no choice but to abide by Arthur’s firm command. He furiously dragged himself down to his seat, still glaring at Samuel. A hot and intense tension was starting to build.Samuel and I think that it was not only Esther but rather Henry knew about what Esther did. It’s just impossible for Esther to have the courage to do such a vicious thing without any support from anyone. She will be dethroned as the Red Claw pack’s Luna if ever she is caught. But because she has Henry on her side, she’s gone confident and too complacent.We suspect that it might not be Henry’s desire to kill Grandma, but the fact he did nothing to stop his Luna’s plan also made him the culprit. Perhaps that’s why Henry must be anxious that their compliance; the pack doctor, was starting to be consumed by fear, and at some point, sooner or later, he will eventually fold and snitch on them.“So, are you sure you don’t want to say anything?” Samuel added
Clara When the dawn had fully broken, I was exhausted. I’m trying to conserve my remaining energy by not resting hoping it would be better and of course I’ll save more time. But when I felt my vision spinning, I had no choice but to stop for a while. I tied the horse’s leash on a small
SamuelI don’t know what’s gotten to me. I wanted to tell Clara about how the pack elders had already turned their backs on me because as much as possible, I don’t want to hide anything from her. I trust her so much, but I don’t want to add more burden onto her shoulders. She’s already doing too much for the pack. But the guilt that I was having for not telling her is getting far more question
ClaraThe night had already set so deep, the moon was up high and looming bright into the window of my room that I left open. The cold breeze outside blew so hard that all of the papers I had sitting on my table for a while now flew. I sighed, watching all of them scatter onto the floor while I rested my back on the chair’s backrest. I yawned, my eyes getting heavier each second and my head aching.
SamuelWhen the outbreak happened, I was determined not to tell Clara and bring her closer to another danger just after she almost died. Not for her, but for me because I don’t want to go through the same exact situation where I hold her in my arms as she bleeds to the brink of death. Having that kind of fear is something I would avoid for the rest of my life. But, things didn’t go according to my plan. The disease got worse and half of our population were infected. I never knew I’d need her much as I depend on her now. That first night, just right after she recovered, when she found out about the disease outbreak, I’ve never seen her sleep anymore. Every single night, I would watch her drown herself into the endless bunch of papers, studying how to end this virus. On mornings, she takes rounds into the area we isolated only for members who have the disease. Seeing her trying her best to prolong each person’s life while risking her’s made me accept one thing: she’s not the Clara I
ClaraI spent another day lying on the mattress as if I was a disabled person. Boredom was slowly filling me as time went by. My routine seems static: I will wake up, get checked by the pack doctor, eat, drink my medicines and go back to sleep.“Why is Donna not visiting me?” I asked out of pure wonder. For sure, she was the first to realize I left the pack that night. She was probably the one who informed Samuel about it. I just couldn’t help but to wonder that it’s been days since I woke up and she never bothered to show up…not even once. “She’s busy,” Samuel briefly answered. Aside from the pack doctor, only him regularly visited me every single day. It’s not like I was expecting more people to come by, but the only person I expected to be with me at times like these vanish like a dust into thin air. “Busy? How?” I sat down on the mattress, my brows shot up at Samuel. “Who would she be busy with? I’m right here, so Do–” “She’s got other work to do, okay?” Samuel abruptly cuts
Clara Just as what the old lady promised, she accompanied me to the peak of the Valley to get the plant I needed. Being with her made my way a lot easier. With her expertise with medicine, she got everything we needed to outplay the monsters blocking our way. I’ve never had the chance to a
SamuelIn the middle of the deep night, where everyone is definitely resting, Carter came banging my door, telling me Clara left. The news was so sudden that I was immediately awakened from my sleep. “Left? Why? Where did she go?” Carter was lost for words on how to respond to my unending questions. “How long has she been gone?” I kept on asking as we made our way down the pack mansion’s lobby. “Donna said the last time she got to see Luna Clara was before dinner.” I asked Clara to join me for dinner and this is what she did? Left?“Ask one set of our warriors to track her down immediately,” I ordered, but as if I said nothing Carter just stood before me, confused. “What? That’s an order. Move!” Probably because of the urgency in my head-splitting voice, Carter then moved. Donna, Clara’s personal servant was by the pack’s veranda, anxiously pacing back and forth. “Out of everyone here, you should know where Clara is planning on going.” “Alpha,” she exhaled, bowing her head.
ClaraMy steps were big and rapid as I made sure my sight was fixed ahead of me. I overheard Samuel calling for me. I know he’s just behind me, probably running after me. So as if I heard nothing, I kept on striding forward. It wasn’t so long when Samuel gave up. His voice eventually fades and my will to look back at him is growing bigger but I fight that urge and walk back straight to the packhouse until I get myself inside my room. I feel bad about leaving so abruptly because I know what it takes for him to push himself to say those words—to actually thank me. But I was just as well caught off guard at the moment. Blowing out a sigh to remove those thoughts building up in my head, I didn’t waste any more time and began packing up. I need to have a clear head, not to think about this twice but to make sure I am in the right mind to decide things. I am leaving. And I need to leave before tomorrow. After making sure I’ve got everything I will be needing for my trip, I hid the bag
Samuel“Are you really fit to work, Alpha?” My sharp stare shifted back to Carter who remained standing in front of my table. “I was stabbed, not paralyzed.” Clicking his tongue was the only thing he could do before he ended up nodding. I drifted my focus back onto the papers before me. “There’s actually nothing to work with, Alpha. Luna Clara made sure everything was settled. She handled the pack too—” “So you’re now her Beta?” I bitterly chuckled. “I’m just saying that she did more than enough. Treating you and managing the pack? That’s a lot to do.” Blowing out a deep sigh, I cleared out every piece of paper on top of my table and faced Carter with the back of my palm supporting my chin. “It seems like you and Clara were such good friends now, huh?” His brows furrowed until he nodded. “Then, why don’t you, as my Beta, ask her to talk to me. How does it sound to you?” “I’m on it.” “Just tell her I’m conducting a meeting with the pack elders so she won’t think I need her th