Chapter 7: Conversing With Claudia

Azia tried to make her way out of the Knowles compound as quickly as her legs would carry her. She could feel heat creep up her face with each step. Zeke's flirtatious smile kept replaying itself in her mind, and she felt like screaming. Who did he think he was, acting like that with her after what she had walked in on in the hallway? Did he expect her to have the memory of a goldfish?

"The absolute nerve," Azia muttered to herself, pushing the entryway doors open with a thrust of her shoulders.

The door made a strange thudding noise as someone from the outside caught it with their hands, preventing it from colliding with their body. Azia watched pale fingers with red, almond shaped nails curl around the edge of the door, and slowly pull it open. Claudia's puzzled face immediately dissolved into a smile upon seeing Azia on the other side.

"Ah, hello there, Azia," she said, stepping closer to the opened door to make room. "How are you today, dear?"

The Alpha's sudden appearance only added to Azia's jumbled nerves. "I'm okay," she replied, then quickly shook her head. "I mean, I'm great, and everything, it's just...I just..." She trailed off with a helpless shrug of her shoulders.

Claudia's deep blue eyes crinkled with humor. "Something tells me you've just met with my son," she said cheerfully.

Azia's cheeks grew a deeper tinge of pink as she sighed. "It's that obvious, huh?" she asked glumly.

Claudia laughed as she slowly stepped forward, gently scooping up Azia's arm to weave around her own. "Come," she said. "Let's take a little walk together."

Azia swallowed hard, but allowed Claudia to lead her away from the building, down the dirt pathway. They began a leisurely circuit between the compound, and the surrounding border of dense trees. The Knowles compound, which was composed of modern steel, and glass, looked massive from their vantage point. Claudia guided them at a steady pace, and seemed in no particular hurry to talk. Something about her undemanding presence had a calming effect on Azia. She could finally feel the tension begin to uncoil from her shoulders by the time they began their third circuit around the compound.

As if sensing the shift in the air, Claudia made a clicking noise with her tongue. "Now," she began. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

Azia audibly sighed. "It's nothing really," she began tentatively. "And I really don't want to seem like I'm complaining about your son."

Claudia tilted her head back as she laughed. "Honey, I love my son to death. But he is still a male," she said pointedly. "Just tell me what transpired."

Azia wrung her hands together, listening to the sound of leaves crunching under her boots as she gathered her courage. "I found Zeke, and some woman in an...intimate moment in the hallway just a little while ago."

"Intimate moment?" Claudia frowned. "Just what was my son doing? If it was anything inappropriate, I'll skin him."

"It wasn't that bad," Azia insisted, waving her hands. "Actually, Zeke seemed to be just standing there. It was the woman that was all over him. Like velcro."

"What did she look like?"

"Dark eyes. Brown ringlets. Idiotic expression," Azia recollected.

"Ah," said Claudia, nodding to herself. "Lila. She's the worst of them."

Azia paused mid-stride. "What do you mean, the worst of them? Who is THEM?"

Claudia laughed again. "The group of women who follow Zeke around everywhere he goes, fawning all over him because he's the heir," she explained. "Zeke despises them."

Azia turned to gawk at the taller woman. "He does? But I thought..." she faltered, suddenly feeling foolish.

"You thought he enjoyed the attention?" Claudia suggested.

"I thought he was dating around a lot," Azia admitted. "Friends in my pack were always spotting him going into restaurants or bars in the Overlap with women. A lot of women."

Claudia nodded again, nonplussed. "Yes, that would be his groupies, for lack of a better word. I'm always telling him to just tell them no when they ask him to go places. Going places with those nitwits gives them all silly ideas. But sometimes Zeke's just too polite for his own good."

Azia couldn't comprehend what she was hearing. It felt as though she had left the Knowles compound, and had somehow stepped into the twilight zone.

She raised her ochre eyes to see Claudia watching her, a knowing smile on her face. "I imagine when you saw Lila hanging all over my son you gave them a little piece of your mind."

"I may have," Azia said, looking sheepish. "I mean, just a little."

"Excellent," Claudia chuckled. "Your spunk will do him good. Zeke won't respect a partner who blindly worships him."

A lump began to grow in the back of Azia's throat. "I'm terrified to get married," she let out in a rush. "I'm going to do it, because I believe in unifying our packs, and it is my duty as a leader. But I'm terrified."

She had never said the words out loud before. It felt like a massive weight had just been pried off her shoulders, telling someone, anyone, the truth.

She expected Claudia to admonish her, but the Alpha only smiled. "So was I," the blonde woman admitted. "Believe me when I say that I loved Zeke's father, and felt so lucky when he asked me to marry him. But I was terrified beyond belief."

The twilight zone continued. Azia shook her head incredulously. "What were you so scared of?"

"What are you?" the Alpha countered softly.

The cacophony of crunching leaves momentarily took over again as Azia considered the question. It was hard to articulate her fears into words. "I don't want someone else to have power over me," she finally murmured. "I don't want to be at the mercy of someone else."

Claudia made a knowing sound in her throat. "It's hard to be vulnerable to someone else," she agreed, turning to smile at Azia. "It can be hard to know who to trust. But when you find someone who has earned your trust--earned it, and kept it? That is worth all the vulnerability in the world. You'll see one day."

Azia peered up at the woman, doubting what she said, but she didn't want to say so. "What was it that you were scared of? After Zeke's father asked you to marry him?"

Claudia's smile deepened as she stared at the gold and red colored trees. "I was terrified that he'd change his mind."

A loud rustling sound emanated from the trees, interrupting their conversation. Azia and Claudia barely registered the smell before Ralph came tumbling out of the trees, his arm covered in blood.