Alliance of Shadows: NEIL

Aftermath

“Yeah," I said with a nod. Rising to my feet, I raised a brow at the woman seething in her chair. She was peeved that she couldn’t control the narrative, but it was her problem. "There’s a doctor's clinic closer to our land. Dad and I go there, mostly because he is an old family friend.”

I watched Izaria grab her shoulder bag as she got up, “Okay. Can we go there instead?”

“Absolutely,” I answered without pause.

Snatching a pack of morning-after pills from the pharmacy, I paid for them on the way out. The cashier gave me a dirty look, but I paid no attention to it as I quickly came up with the excuse that I had a hot date later that evening. In reality, I had been so caught up in what we did the night before that I'd forgotten to use protection with her, so Plan B it was. When we got out to the car, I gave the pills to Izzy and watched as she swallowed them with some bottled water. For a few moments, we sat in complete silence. Neither of us knew what to say to the other.

Not that it would make a difference.

Finally, I asked, “Are you okay?”

She shook her head, apparently ready to be open and honest with me as well as her aunt. “Neil, why was she so cruel to you?”

Did I want to tell her the painful truth? No, but I couldn’t stop the words that rushed out of me. “She accused me of sexually assaulting her three years ago." I stated as I opened another bottle of water, this one for myself. The topic wasn’t one I often visited. I didn’t see the need to keep hashing it out, but she didn’t know anything about me. Not yet, anyway.

Frowning, she stared out the windshield. "That's not a nice thing to blame someone for."

"She played it pretty well and almost had my father eating out of her hand. Clara challenged her out, and Molly changed her story. Your aunt had to threaten to sue for false accusations before Molly finally backed down, but she never gave up trying to make me look like the bad one.” I explained.

That’s when it hit me. I’d been hateful to the woman married to my father, so much so that I forgot who actually stood up for me in a time of crucial need. I would have to apologize later, but it didn’t take from the fact dad was right about me. I couldn’t keep acting like a brat that didn’t care when, deep down, I just wanted to make him proud. To keep my Mate and my people safe from harm. I was only hurting myself in the end, and it had to stop.

“Oh snap,” she said, breathing a hesitant laugh. “Having Aunt Clara steamroll Molly with her legal jargon must have been like rubbing salt in an open wound.”

I laughed, reaching over to caress her face. However, when she flinched, I pulled my hand back and sighed. She'd shown me she had a temper, but her mind was still a tangled mess she had yet to overcome.

Baby steps, i***t. I berated myself mentally. We both needed to heal, her moreso than I. “My reputation was destroyed in a single day. I lost everything and had to move back in with my dad and Clara.”

She leaned back, gripping the seatbelt with both hands. I could tell that she was nervous just by watching her body language. “Then I moved in a few years later, right? By the way, you can call me Izzy.”

“Yeah,” I replied. As I watched her fidget with the seatbelt, my mind raced with the weight of everything left unsaid. I wanted to comfort her, to bridge the growing gap of uncertainty between us. The words that finally escaped my lips were unplanned, but they carried the truth I couldn't deny. “You are so beautiful, Izaria."

She blinked, staring at me in wonder. Uncertainty echoed in the blue depths, and her next question left me with nowhere to run. "What did you say?"

"I, uh…" scratching at the back of my head nervously, I repeated the words. Her eyes flickered, but I didn't catch what it was as I waited for her to tell me off. I jumped as someone tapped my window. Having not heard or scented anything approaching because I was so focused on her and her comfort, I turned to see an officer smirking down at me.

"What now," I muttered. Turning the key in the ignition ahead just enough so that I could lower the window. “Can I help you, Officer?”

He ignored me, crouching as he smiled and looked over at Izaria. “You alright there, Miss?”

“Did Molly call you?” Izaria asked with a sneer. It was clear to me that our bond, even one-sided as it was, had taken root. Giving her just enough of my courage to speak up for herself.

I gave the man a forced smile. Would we never catch a break or was the Goddess testing me? “We were just talking, Sir."

“Didn’t look like that to me,” he replied.

“Seldom do the eyes see the whole story, Officer,” Izzy snapped. “I was about to have a panic attack, and he was trying to calm me down. Now that you’ve interrupted that, I’m angry and upset.”

He chuckled under his breath, turning his head to spit on the ground as he indicated to me with a finger. “Well, you see, we had a complaint come to our attention about him being in the company of an underage girl. By the way, aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

I felt my forced smile falter as the officer's skepticism hit me like a punch to the gut. Izzy's sharp response echoed in my ears, a mix of pride and fear bubbling up inside me. The officer's dismissive chuckle only fueled my frustration, but I knew I had to stay calm for Izzy's sake. As his finger pointed accusingly at me, I couldn't help but wonder how we were going to get out of this mess.

Damn, he was right about one thing. School had started a little over a week ago, and she should have been in class, but Clara never mentioned it to me. I glanced over at Izzy and noted the murderous look on her face. She sighed, aggravated. “Fine. Have it your way, then.”

“What are you up to,” I asked quietly.

Izaria asked me for my phone, and I smirked as she dialled a very familiar number. When the other person answered, she said, “Hi, I’d like to speak with Clara Dane, please?”

“Whoa, girl. There’s no need for that,” he said quickly.

“Hi, Auntie. No, I'm not at home. Neil took me to get information on birth control from the pharmacy nurse. No, I didn't get anything because she kept treating Neil like a monster. Now a cop is saying he got a call about it.” Izzy replied as Clara questioned her.

I snatched the phone from her, catching the tail end of Clara’s rampage. Taking a deep breath, I said, “Clara, it’s me. I’m going to take her to Phillip. He might be able to help more than Sinclair did.”

“Please keep me updated. I’m going to call the Commissioner and have him come by to discuss a few things.”

The reality was, the Commissioner was my father, the Alpha King. His position in the local standing and in the pack were nothing to laugh at. I sighed heavily, pulling the phone away to put it on speaker. “No worries. Hey, Clara, did you call the school about registering Izzy?”

“She’s not getting registered,” Clara replied with a sigh. The silence that stretched between us was vast, broken only by the rustle of papers as she worked in her office. "It's complicated at the moment, but I'm working on it. The school’s policy about keeping kids with their age group is suffocating the rising stars and forcing them to dull their shine. Since when did you start calling her by a nickname?"

Did I slip up? No, I don’t think so, I thought as a small, slightly smug smile tugged at my lips. 'She told me I could,' I said, feeling a surge of warmth at the memory. Her permission meant more to me than she realized, marking a small but significant step in our growing connection.

“Oh, alright. It’s nice to see her opening up a little. It’s also nice to see you finally getting out of your rut. What was that noise?” She asked as she heard the squeal of tires on the pavement.

“The officer she told you about just left in a big ol’ hurry.” I barked a laugh. “I think his shoes caught fire the way he ran off.”

Clara chuckled. “Good, now get her to Phil’s clinic, and please make sure she’s taken care of until I get off work. I’m trusting you with my only niece, Neil, so don’t let me down.”

“I’ll try not to disappoint,” I said. Her trust was both a comfort and a burden – a reminder of the responsibility I bore. I glanced at Izzy, determined to protect her and live up to Clara's expectations. I disconnected the call, reaching over to brush her hair back from her face. Tucking a lock of it behind her ear, I said, “You’re going to be okay, Izzy. I’m going to take care of you.”

She nodded as tears rolled down her face. I could say that I didn’t know why she was crying. I could deny that it had anything to do with me, but I would be lying through my teeth if I did. My Mate was in pain, and I was at a loss for solutions.