Hidden

Clement once again fought the urge to phase as the wind brought forth the enticement of the forest. He focused on his next plan of attack and that was finding Lenara and uncovering exactly how she had lied to him mere hours ago.

Part of him hoped she hadn’t because he liked Lenara, had been a part of her childhood as not only an Alpha but an uncle of sorts. She had shared her childhood with Alaya and the two of them had been thick as thieves since the time they could walk. They had gone through their first phase together, had shared a room for years and were everything best friends should be. Lenara had also stuck by his daughter when Alaya had discovered she was merely an Omega at the Ascendants ceremony.

Yes, it could be said that he held a particular fondness for Lenara. But lying would not be tolerated, especially not to the Alpha. It destroyed the foundation of trust. Every wolf knew that. What made this situation all the more confusing was the fact pack members couldn’t lie to their Alpha even if they wanted to. So if Lenara had indeed lied then he needed to discover how she had done that in the first place and then deal with the punishment after. However messy.

Clement reached Alaya’s house and strode right up to the door, opening it without caring to knock. He wanted to reach Alaya’s bedside once more as quickly as possible and so didn’t have time for formalities.

“Lenara,” he summoned her as he reached the hallway, a call he knew that if she heard it she wouldn’t be able to ignore. He waited a moment before grumbling under his breath, preparing to call out to her once more.

“Lena-”

“Quit your shouting, she can’t hear you all the way over at the clinic,” Namby’s voice carried through from the kitchen, her presence being felt long before she was seen. Clement looked over as she entered, a small smile at the sight of his old friend despite the hurricane swirling through his mind.

“Where is she Namby? I need to speak to her right away,” he asked, his tone softer than the abrasive shouts from mere moments ago. Namby continued over to him, giving him a hug that took him a little by surprise. It was short and sweet, just like she was.

“No, what you need is to remember your manners. This isn’t your house to just walk all on up in.”

“They are all my houses Namby. Literally. I’m the Alpha,” he replied, eyebrow raised.

“This is my house that you entrusted to me. You want to be greedy? Fine, take it. Have fun cleaning up after 8 teenage wolves,” she retorted, a smile big on her face. Her eyes twinkled as she pretended to head to the door, Clement grabbing hold of her arm loosely despite knowing this was all in jest.

“Sorry. Next time I’ll knock. Now, do you know where Lenara is?” Clement asked her, losing the hold on her arm.

“She is where you should be. I told you that already.”

“The clinic? Why didn’t you say that in the first place?” Clement replied gruffly, slightly annoyed that she had dragged this out instead of just informing him from the start that she knew where Lenara was. Namby stopped to look at him, a slight glare that hasn’t been there seconds before.

“Why hadn’t I? Seriously...more brawn and power than brain I swear to you,” Namby mumbled as she walked away, back into the kitchen. Clement moved to follow her but stopped, throwing his hands up instead as he realising that he had what he came here for, disappearing as quickly as he had arrived.

The walk to the clinic took moments, his strides breaching the distance as if it were only next door. He barged through the front door, barely catching it before it slammed into the yellow wall that clearly had already seen it’s fair share of knocks. Its edges were dented, flakes of yellow paint littered the floor like fallen petals from a flower.

Clement didn’t take in who was waiting in the waiting room, nor who was on the reception desk. He headed straight to Alaya’s room, intent on finding Lenara and trying to get his head around this mess. If he knew what was going on perhaps he could help his daughter.

As he came to her room his steps never slowed, all of him focusing on the task at hand. He saw his daughter instantly as she still lay peacefully on the bed as if sleeping beauty after touching the spinning needle. Lenara was curled up next to her like a pup, her body twisting around Alaya’s to ensure she would fit in the tiny hospital bed without squashing her. He watched her for a moment as she stroked Alaya’s deep chestnut hair, not wanting to ruin this small moment despite everything.

“You have to wake up you know. We are all counting on you,” Lenara whispered as Clement watched unannounced.

“Noah needs you right now, we all do. I don’t care which of you comes to the surface but it needs to be one of you,” she continued and Clement moved closer in interest, Lenara finally hearing him and turning towards to door.

“Oh, Alpha, I’m so sorry I hadn’t realised you were there,” she said as she scrambled off the hospital bed to her feet. Her eyes flicked around the room nervously, fully aware she had probably said more than she should.

“No apologies needed. It’s nice to see you here,” he replied but his gaze glowed a little, causing Lenara to shy away from him.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else. She was all alone when I got here and I couldn’t bare the thought of leaving her like that. But now you’re back I’ll get out of your hair.” Lenara tried to sheepishly slide out and away from Clement, eyes on the floor as she aimed for the door. Clement sidestepped easily, blocking her path.

“No,” was all he said causing Lenara to stop dead in her tracks. She still didn’t raise her eyes to him, gaze firmly on the floor, probably wishing it would open up and swallow her whole.

“Um, ah, no?” Lenara stuttered, her body tensing as the pair stood in front of the door frame. Clement took a step towards her, hand falling on her shoulder as he manoeuvred her back towards where Alaya lay. Lenara’s eyes shot from the floor back over to the door longingly before resting on her sleeping friend.

“I need to ask you some questions?” Clement explained as he sat opposite the chair he had directed Lenara to. She shook her head, her eyes darting around like the room was on fire and she was trying to plan her way out. He wasn’t even pushing his wolf to the surface yet so she had no cause to act this way. Unless she was hiding something from him?

“Lenara? Are you ok?” Clement pressed, letting just a small amount of power twinkle in his eyes, filling the air with just a hint of what he contained. Just so her wolf would sense him properly, remember who exactly she had to obey.

Lenara got up and paced for a moment before she went over to Alaya, grabbing her hand and muttering something softly under her breath. Clement rose from his seat, looking over at Lenara in confusion. What on earth was she doing?

“Lenara. She cannot hear you,” he said firmly but Lenara ignored him, her pleas becoming louder and more insistent.

“Come on Alaya. You’ve got to wake up. You can’t leave me to take the fall for this. That is royally unfair,” she insisted, her hand gripping Alaya’s tightly as if she was scared to let go.

“Lenara,” Clement insisted, annoyance creeping in as she continued to ignore him. He had intended on doing this kindly and calmly but his patience was wearing incredibly thin, incredibly quickly.

“Alaya, please. I need you. We all need you,” she continued, hand still firmly grasped around Alaya’s. Clement could take no more of this and stood, eyes glowing brightly as he pushed his wolf to the surface. He filled the room with his power, forcing those nearby to buckle to his will. Lenara’s eyes widened as the air was squeezed from her lungs, her Alpha demanding her to kneel. Clement was so wrapped up in bending Lenara, in making her listen, he didn’t hear the alarms explode into the silence. He watched as Lenara released his daughter’s hand and staggered over to the chair, the weight of his presence suffocating.

“Alpha, please,” she begged, her eyes wide and staring at Alaya. Clement pulled back his wolf, Lenara’s gasps telling him when he was finally more in control. He looked over at Alaya who now was no longer peacefully sleeping, instead her body jerking forcefully. Alarms wailed as staff flooded the room, so many touching her as everything blurred into chaos.

Jeremiah was the last to file in, anger or frustration in his gaze as he met Clement’s. Clement went to ask him what was happening but stilled, the words frozen on his tongue, his body following suit. The room turned into a flurry of activity, alarms echoing around the four walls, nurses and Jeremiah busying themselves as Clement stared on.

“Clement! Clement!” The sharp tone pulled Clement from his trance. He had somehow moved closer to his daughter which unfortunately meant he was also stood right in the path of the nurses trying to help her.

“Clement! You need to move,” Jeremiah instructed now he had his attention. Clement growled at him a little, his wolf escaping to the forefront by accident and erupting the sound in his chest.

“No! She cannot take it in this state,” Jeremiah exclaimed as he stepped closer to his Alpha and friend. Clement looked back at his daughter and then stepped back, almost collapsing as he did so. Jeremiah was there to steady him, guiding his steps away from the chair and out of the room entirely.

“We need room to work. Grab some air, a coffee maybe. The Omega in her is clearly sensitive to your presence and in this weakened state, I worry what that could mean,” he explained, gently but firmly. He held Clement’s gaze for a moment, just long enough to be reassured he actually understood, before leaving him and heading back into the chaos.

Clement stood there dazedly while he watched the mayhem unfold in front of him. Alaya had been merely sleeping moments before. And then Lenara had touched her and now she looked like something was seriously wrong with his daughter.

Lenara.

He looked around as his mind cleared slightly, focusing on something other than the stress that lay in that room. Lenara wasn’t in Alaya’s room anymore, must have slipped out while everything started to tumble into disarray. He looked down the corridor and was shocked to see her stood still right down the end. She met his gaze briefly before it landed once more on the floor. His steps carried him to her within seconds, a slight worry she might try and run. Lenara stayed almost statue-like as he approached though, only taking one step back as he came within touching distance.

“I understand you are angry Alpha but I think I know how to make Alaya better,” she offered quietly. Clement’s anger that was trembling in his limbs calmed a little at this promise of help. Punishment could wait if Lenara truly knew how to help her.

“How?” he asked, making sure his wolf stayed caged in case it was indeed the cause of Alaya’s deterioration.

“You need Noah. He will know what to do to piece her back together.”

Clement didn’t even reply, he just took her by the arm and marched out down the remaining corridor and out the front door. Lenara didn’t hesitate nor complain as he accosted her, just followed his lead and tried to keep up. He marched her swiftly in silence through the houses that scattered around the hospital, ignoring all else around him. He wasn’t even going to try and force Lenara to tell him the truth if he was in touching distance of Alaya. Hell, even if he was a mile from her bedside. He would do exactly as Lenara instructed and drag that stranger there himself. He had better know how to fix Alaya, for his and Lenara’s sake atleast.