Chapter Eight
1191 Words
Chapter Eight
Morning settled gently over the house on Alder Street.
It was a beautiful house.
Not grand. Not imposing. Nothing like the sprawling stone manor that had once overlooked the cliffs of Ashton, where servants moved quietly through endless corridors and the Nouveau crest hung proudly above every doorway.
This house had no crest.
No servants.
Just two floors, newly painted walls, polished wooden floors and recently purchased furniture so carefully maintained it almost felt apologetic.
Lionel preferred it that way.
Everything had its place.
Everything except his son.
He swallowed. They had stripped him of his title but not his savings. And if he and his walking hurricane of a son were going to blend quietly in Belcaris Town, they needed a permanent residency. He had bought this house. And the car.
The second hand black Chevy Silverado that stood defiant and polished outside. Chace had a license and could drive himself. If he didn't drive to his death, Lionel scowled.
In the old days they had had a chauffeur. Well not anymore.
The aroma of toasted rye and smoked venison drifted from the small kitchen into the dining room.
The table had already been set for two.
Two mugs of steaming black tea.
Chace appeared a moment later, carrying a tray of food set in two plates of glittery china.
Belcaris Academy's navy-and-blue uniform somehow managed to look less like a school uniform and more like something borrowed from a delinquent.
The blazer hung open.
The first three buttons of his shirt remained defiantly undone.
The crimson crown tattoo at the base of his neck caught the morning light, glowing faintly against pale skin before disappearing beneath the shadow of his jaw.
Lionel looked sighed "You couldn't button one more?"
Chace dropped into the chair opposite him, setting the plates with a shrug "I could. I chose not to."
Lionel said hurriedly "First day." He picked his fork "I'd appreciate it if Belcaris didn't expel you before lunch. I didn't pay that outrageous amount to watch you fling this opportunity away."
Chace said rather flippantly "I do not need the reminder of our disgrace, Father."
"Because of you" Lionel muttered then instantly regretted it. Chace's eyes flickered towards the rest of the vast room, one couch slithered instantly into the air. His jaws tightened.
The leather couch hovered a full foot above the polished floor.
Lionel did not flinch "Put it down" His voice was quiet, years of disappointment had frizzled out even the embers of resentment. He had come to finally accept that his son was forever to toe the thin line between being a wolf and a demon. And each did not have the soft restraint of humanity.
Chace's breathing slowed.
The invisible pressure holding the couch aloft loosened.
It crashed back onto the floor with a heavy thud.
Chace went back to his breakfast with the flippant nonchalance of a boy unaccustomed to apologizing for his anger.
Lionel closed his eyes tiredly. Eighteen years and nothing had changed. Nothing would ever change. His son was a dangerous wrecking ball.
Opening his eyes, he tried again "You understand why we're here."
"Because nobody else wanted me."
"Because this is your last chance."
Chace bit into a piece of toast. "Beautiful."
Lionel said firmly "You will attend every class without skipping any."
Chace nodded, completely unruffled "Of course "
"No fighting."
Another nod.
"No threatening students."
"I'll try."
"No setting anything ablaze"
"I'll definitely try."
Lionel narrowed his eyes. "I'm serious."
"So am I."
The older man sighed again.
"You know... when you were eight, I imagined our conversations before your first day of senior year would involve careers."
"They do."
Lionel scoffed "'How many expulsions before prison?' sounds career-related.?"
Chace said drily "Maybe"
Lionel clenched his fists but said nothing. That demon spurn sarcastic sense of humor. Chace had inherited more than enough of that unruly blood.
Lionel said "You will not skip Dr. Sullivan's sessions."
Chace drank his tea and set his mug down with something like interest "And Dr. Sullivan is?"
Lionel reached for the admission folder lying beside his plate and flipped through a few neatly arranged documents.
"Belcaris Academy's resident therapist."
Chace laughed. A single, disbelieving sound. "...You're joking."
"I'm not."
"You enrolled me in therapy?"
Lionel met his son's stare without wavering. "Yes."
"Without asking me."
"Yes."
Chace leaned back in his chair, studying his father as though seeing him for the first time. "You truly have become desperate."
Lionel ignored the remark.
"Every academy we've attended has tried punishment."
He counted quietly on his fingers.
"Suspensions. Expulsions. Isolation. Combat restraint. Sedatives." He looked directly at Chace. "None of them worked."
Chace folded his arms.
"So your solution is to pay someone to ask me how I feel?"
"My solution," Lionel corrected, "is to let someone who understands the mind determine whether there's anything we've missed. Dr. Sullivan specializes in adolescent wolves."
"I am not a wolf" Chace said flatly. His voice lacked the usual mockery. They sounded matter of fact. Blunt.
"You are not a demon either. " Lionel scowled.
"Then what am I? Chace snapped.
"You are my son." He stiffened.
Chace Nouveau was half wolf, half demon and neither part seemed particularly thrilled about sharing.
Lionel slid the school files over to him. "It also contains a hand written note on everything you need to know about Belcaris Town so you don't go making enemies instead of friends."
"I prefer being on my own" Chace groaned.
Lionel ignored him. "The town's military and protective arm is headed by the Jade Claw Pack, presided over by the House of Thorne." Chace raised an interested eyebrow at the mention of the name Thorne but his father did not notice "The town is governed by the dominant eternal ruling pack, The Blue Canine Pack, presided over by the House of Ash."
He reached into his pockets and extracted the car keys, sliding them across the table to Chace. "Well, scurry off. The car is all yours."
Chace snorted ”You trust me enough to drive? I could drive myself into oblivion"
Lionel Nouveau did not flinch "Well, you have a history of killing other people. Not yourself."
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD