21. Claude

TWENTY-ONE

CLAUDE

A loud banging rattled the front door. The wolf shifters surrounding Claude seemed on edge, ready to pounce on whatever was at the door. Mason moved to the door slowly and with a practiced grace that made no sounds.

Claude felt on edge as well. Something about the air had turned. It wasn't just the alertness of the wolves around him. Something was very wrong, he could feel it.

"Oh, God, Holly, it's just you. We thought... Holly?" Mason asked.

Emma gasped, hand over her open mouth, and rushed to the door. "Holly, you look completely shaken. What happened?"

The woman at the door had wide eyes that seemed wild and full of terror. Her face was sickly pale, and her limbs had a slight tremor about them.

"I'm… oh no, your baby! I didn't know you had your baby already, Emma! I'm so sorry!"

"It's all right," Emma said as she put a hand on Holly's back and guided her inside. Mason closed the door behind her, but not before peeking outside and checking the perimeter first.

Emma helped Holly sit on a barstool, rubbing a comforting hand on her back.

"I swear, I wouldn't bring this to you if it wasn't vitally important. I have information the alpha and matriarch of the Central Pack need to know. God, I'm so sorry." Holly looked at Babs, currently cradled in Leigh's arms. The newborn had drifted to sleep not long before the knocking, and now with all the commotion surrounding her, she was ready to make a fuss herself.

"Here," Emma said, placing a glass of ice water down in front of her. "Drink. Please. Tristan, is there any food left?"

Tristan nodded and darted to the buffet table, putting together a quick plate of meat and salad.

"I don't want to trouble you," Holly mumbled quietly.

"It's no trouble at all," Mason said reassuringly. "Please, eat something. Get your strength back, and we can talk."

Claude looked at Leigh with a questioning gaze. She met it with wide eyes, her focus on keeping Babs settled and quiet.

Tristan placed the food in front of Holly, who seemingly ate with great reluctance. Every forkful of food shook while making its way to her mouth.

Mason looked back at his party guests, seemingly shocked there was anyone else still here. He went to them as Emma continued comforting Holly, and began speaking discreetly.

"I guess explanations are in order. This is Holly Crane. She's the widow of our pack's previous alpha, Lewis Crane."

Claude glanced at the ex-matriarch and began to understand why everyone in the pack was doting on her.

"There was a time when the Central Pack insisted I marry her since I was the only unmated brother. That and, you know, we were sort of responsible for his death."

Claude raised an eyebrow but didn't press any further. He'd only just found himself being welcomed into the pack himself. He didn't want to overstep and risk alienating them now.

"Things worked out though, and I was allowed to mate with Emma instead. Holly was incredibly understanding, and she's been a good friend to us ever since," Mason said.

"That must be hard, losing your mate like that," Claude said quietly. He thought of Leigh and how much her presence meant to him. The idea of her being ripped away from him now filled him with an uncontrollable bubbling of white-hot rage.

"Well… to be honest, Lewis wasn't her true mate. He was a real asshole too. Holly's true mate is still out there. Emma and I both know it. We hope one day she'll find him."

"Do you think this is related to that?" Leigh asked.

Mason shook his head. "No idea."

Babs quieted down finally, resting her tiny head against Leigh's shoulder and closing her eyes. The sight ripped Claude's heart into pieces.

"Mason?" Emma called. "Holly's ready to talk."

Mason walked back to the frazzled woman and his mate. The other followed but lingered by the doorway.

Holly took a large breath and nodded. "There is a plot afoot. Against you and the pack. I was approached by a woman named Kim."

Claude felt his stomach lurch at the name. Aria gasped, clutching Mai tighter against herself. Trevan leaned to his wife and whispered something into her ear. She nodded morosely and moved to another room.

"She claimed to be a widow by the hands of the Wolfe pack. She thought the two of us could make some sort of… allyship, or something, since I was widowed in a, – well – similar way."

Emma looked at Mason sternly.

"Kim is a vampire," Claude explained. He felt every pair of eyes in the room settle on him.

"She's Damon's widow," Leigh said, speaking up quickly. She stood close to Claude as if lending emotional support. Or maybe just her wolf-shifter credibility. Claude nodded.

"I killed him," Trevan said. His hands balled into fists, anger radiating from him. "She has a vendetta against me and Aria and wants to seize power of the vampire coven."

From Claude's point of view, Kim approaching Holly made no sense. The Wolfe pack had nothing to do with Damon's death. So why lie?

"She was probably just making stuff up to try and connect with you," Leigh explained, shifting Bab's from one side to the other. "She might be recruiting allies now. It'd make sense she'd reach out to anyone she could think of."

Holly swallowed hard, her face still pale. "It was… unnerving to be approached so suddenly by a vampire."

Claude crossed his arms defensively without meaning to. He couldn't help it. He'd just started feeling relaxed around these people. And now another vampire was creating further divisions.

"So, I told her I would consider her offer," Holly said meekly.

"What?" Barbara snapped. "Why would you do that? She'll find you to follow up on that."

Holly shook, tears in her eyes. "I don't know! I was scared. I didn't know what else to do. I said maybe, then I came directly here."

"Shit," Mason whispered.

"I would never betray you," Holly said as if pleading to be believed. "I said what I thought I needed to in order to placate her, but I would never even think about hurting you or your family."

"We know," Emma said sweetly, taking Holly's head in her arms. "We know, Holly."

"I don't know what to do. I'm scared of what this woman might be capable of," Holly admitted.

"Holly, Emma and I can-"

"We can help," Tristan interjected, folding his arms and lowering his brow. "Barbara and I are more than capable of protecting you, Holly."

The poor woman seemed ready to burst into tears.

Emma opened her mouth to object, but Barbara put up a hand to stop her. "You and Mason have a newborn to take care of. You don't need to handle a rogue vampire starting a coupe as well."

Emma looked forlorn but nodded in agreement. She walked over to Leigh and took her sleeping baby in her arms.

Mason sighed. "Thank you, Tristan."

"Why don't you go home, pack a bag, and meet us back here? We'll take you to our place in Blue Creek," Barbara said softly.

Holly nodded quickly, her lip trembling. "I don't know how I'll repay you."

"Nonsense," Tristan said. "We take care of each other, don't we?" The room erupted in soft murmurs of agreement.

Claude felt a hand on his shoulder and noticed Trevan motioning for him to meet with Aria in the living room. He did so, following his coven leader.

"Claude," he said. "More than ever, I need you to step up and take command."

Claude nodded, feeling a sense of urgency flood his limbs. If there were ever a time for him to prove himself, it would be when someone was actively plotting against the coven.

Trevan stood next to Aria and ran a finger over Mai's cheek. "Track down Kim and end this threat," he commanded.

"I will," Claude replied. Nothing else needed to be said. Claude returned to the kitchen to find Leigh lending comfort to Holly, nodding along as the other woman spoke about her experience.

"Leigh," Claude said. She looked up at him questioningly.

"What are we going to do?" she asked. Her voice was full of purpose like she was ready to fight Kim herself immediately.

"I'm going to track down Kim. You, however, need to go with the others to Blue Creek."

Leigh's mouth dropped open. "What? No! We're a team, right? We should do this together."

"Leigh." Claude reached out and took her by the shoulders, gripping tightly. He needed to protect her above all else. None of this mattered if Leigh didn't make it out alive. "Go. Take care of them. This is my job, and I'll do it alone. You need to make sure the others stay safe."

Leigh looked behind herself, lingering on the image of Emma cradling baby Babs in her arms, and sighed before looking back up at Claude with immense hurt in her eyes.

"Okay," she said meekly. It sounded nothing like the sassy wolf shifter Claude had fallen in love with, but as long as she was safe, he didn't care.