Claimed By The Protective Alpha

Chapter 8 Meeting Cain

LILA'S POV

As I drove into town, I could feel the stares of the residents. Some seemed friendly. They smiled at me as I drove past, and others looked curious but guarded. Which makes sense. I mean small town and some random stranger just drives through here.

Sonia said the farm was about 20 minutes outside of town, but that it should be easy to spot.

The closer I got to town, the more the butterflies in my stomach grew. I couldn't tell if it was excitement, anxiety, or just nerves. After all, it was my first time meeting Sonia's family, and meeting them under these circumstances is not exactly ideal. I was also anxious though about bringing them my problems. What if they didn't like that? I was also excited to see where Sonia grew up. She rarely talked about her family, just saying they were overprotective, but I guess, since I didn't have any family, she didn't want to talk about them to me.

After a while, I found the sign for the farm as I drove down the dirt road.

All I could think about was that I had to make them like me, but they didn't have to force themselves to help me if they felt burdened.

As I neared the end of the dirt path, there was a giant 2-story farmhouse in the center with a wrap-around porch. It was beautiful. As I was studying Sonia's family house, I couldn't picture city-life Sonia out here on a farm with cows and horses.

I came to a stop and spotted two people waiting out front. One was an older man. He had Sonia's shimmering silver eyes and a large build despite being in his late 60s. I would believe it if she said he was in his late 40s. The other was a woman who looked about 30. She was also tall like Sonia, but had sandy blonde hair and a slim build.

I let out a breath and got out of the car to greet them. Just as I was about to say hello, the woman was already pulling me into a hug.

"You must be Lila, right? Sonia told us so much about you. Oh! Sorry about hugging you. I just felt like I had known you since Sonia told us so much," she said as she pulled back from the hug. I looked at her and smiled, my cheeks flushing from the familiarity. They were definitely Sonia's family.

"This must be Jax. He's just as cute as she said," she said, pointing at the backdoor window.

I turned to look at Jax, who was staring curiously at the woman. I opened the door to let him out so he could also greet them.

When the older gentleman got a little cough, he got our attention. He looked stern. I was worried he would be upset. I hadn't really greeted him yet, but he smiled at us and held open his hand.

"I'm sure a boy your age would like these types of toys, right little man," he said, showing the toy train to Jax.

Jax looked up at me asking for permission to go. I smiled at him and said he could. He walked over to take the train and thanked him.

"You can just call me Grandpa Sam. No need for Sir, okay little man? Same to you too, little lady, no need for the formalities," he stated with no room to refuse. I smiled, my eyes tearing up from how kind they were already to complete strangers.

"How about I show little Jax here around the animals while you settle in? Would you like that, little man?" He asked.

Jax looked at me excitedly, almost jumping with joy. I laughed and said it was okay to listen to Grandpa Sam.

Isabelle and I got back in my car and drove around the house to a little cottage at the edge of the forest behind the farm. It apparently was a gift from grandpa Sam to his wife when they got married that he renovated every anniversary. I couldn't believe they were okay letting someone they didn't know use a place so special to them.

I learned quite a bit about Isabelle as she was shown me around the cottage. Like that she was Sonia's cousin and that her family lived with their grandparents, but that apparently their entire family lived within minutes from each other. Turns out, a long time ago, a large piece of land was bought by grandpa Sam's ancestors and as time went by, with the family growing, they sectioned it out, so the family was always near but lived in their own house for privacy. I thought that it was really cool how close they all were to living that close to each other.

Isabelle had two children, ages 6 and 8. She said they would be more than happy to play with Jax whenever. I thanked her, feeling relieved that Jax would have some normalcy at the very least, since I had just uplifted us.

Before she was going to leave, she told me where the market was if I wanted to go out and buy anything I needed, but that her grandparents insisted on making us a homemade meal tonight. I was about to thank her again when she got this serious look on her face.

"I know you probably won't say anything, but I just wanted you to know. No matter what you're running from, we have your back here. So you can rest at ease. Nothing can reach you here. Whenever you feel like you trust us enough to tell us, we are always ready," she said sincerely.

Tears started going down my face and I couldn't help but ask, "Why are you all so kind? I know I'm Sonia's friend, but what if I'm just a leech?"

She smiled a confident smile that looked just like Sonia's and said, "Sonia says you're like her family out there. That you always had her back. Sonia never trusts blindly. So if she says You're her family, you're our family too."

I couldn't help but laugh as I wiped my fallen tears away. Isabelle patted my shoulder and said, "Thank you for keeping her safe and out of trouble out there. Now it's our turn to do the same for you."