Chapter 11: A Phone Call
1517 คำ
-Logan-
My phone rang, and I answered it, seeing that my daughter was calling. I smiled as I placed it at my ear.
“Hey, Lara," I answered.
“You and Lauren are mates?!” she inquired.
I sighed and groaned a little, knowing Noah had not listened to me when I told him not to tell Lara and that I would do it myself.
“Let me guess… Noah?”
“Yeah, but that is not the point. Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked me.
“I was going to. I told your brother not to, so I could get the chance, but now he kind of made sure I wouldn’t,” I said.
“Oh… but you were going to tell me?” she questioned.
“Yeah, I was," I confirmed.
“When?”
“Soon. I still had some things to figure out with Lauren, so I just wanted us to talk things out before I told you, but I would not have made you wait for long,” I told her.
“Good, and now tell me everything.”
I chuckled.
“There is not a lot to say,” I said. “I found out the day she woke up.”
“And what did she say?”
“We didn’t get a chance to talk much that day. I sought her out yesterday though, and we talked a little,” I replied.
“And?”
“And, if you’re okay with it, we would like to figure out if we might be able to be mates,” I proposed.
There was a little silence, and I worried my daughter was not happy about the idea. Her mother had been my first true mate, and I feared she might not like the idea of me being with someone else, but then she spoke again.
“I’m happy for you, Dad,” she affirmed.
“You are?!”
She chuckled a little.
“Of course, you and Lauren deserve to be happy, and Lauren especially needs to feel what it is like to have a real mate. One who knows what it means to honor the bond. I think you will be good for her,” she assured me.
“I’m glad to hear it, Lara,” I replied.
“Did you really think I would tell you not to be with her?” she inquired.
I shrugged a little, even though she couldn’t see me. I had just come back from a run and was now just standing in one of the living rooms, looking outside, where the sun was shining, but I could not really feel its warmth anymore.
“I don’t know… Your mother… Your mother was kind of the love of my life,” I admitted. “She was my true mate.”
“And now you get a second chance. I know she broke your heart. I believe she broke her own as well. Don’t let the past stop you,” she advised me.
I smiled, proud of my daughter. I knew she had been through a lot throughout her whole childhood and some of her adulthood, and later on, after finding her mate, she had a lot of trouble with him too, but they figured it out and came out stronger.
I knew she was happy, even though I had wanted to beat the crap out of James for leaving my daughter like that. I had gotten the whole story now and understood things a little better, and I could see James loved my daughter and was devoted to her. I would just let time prove to me if what I saw was really true. I could not do much else because Lara had chosen him.
“I will try not to,” I assured. “But there is more to it than just what happened between me and your mother.”
“You mean with Camilla?”
“Has Noah talked to you about that?” I asked, finding it surprising that he would even mention it.
He never talked about his mother, so I found it interesting if he had shared something with Lara, despite the fact that they had gotten close.
“No, just that I know you lost her too. Is there something to talk about?” Lara asked.
I started to think about the day she died. Many believed it was just a terrible car accident, and only a few knew there was more to her death, but I could not talk about it. At least not over the phone.
“It was horrible,” I admitted.
“I can imagine. I know you cared for her despite not being true mates,” she said.
“I did. Does that bother you?”
“Of course not. You and I lived very different lives before we found out we were related. I can’t hold you against what happened in the past or for not knowing I existed. I get you moved on with someone else after my mother.”
I smiled a little, glad to hear what she was saying.
“I am sorry. I truly didn’t know. I tried to stay away from any news about her in order to survive what had happened and not go challenge Michael,” I explained.
“He would have killed you.”
“You don’t think I could have taken him?” I teased.
Lara chuckled a little.
“I know you’re strong,” she said. “But Michael was cunning and cruel.”
“You believed it would not have been a fair fight?”
“Definitely not,” she affirmed.
“You might be right about that,” I conceded.
“He did try to kill me and use his beta against me,” she recounted. “I know for certain he would not have fought you fairly.”
“Trust me, if I could revive him and kill him, I would for what he did to you,” I vowed.
“It’s okay. He may not have treated me well, but he also taught me a few things. He taught me to be tough,” she reflected.
“Maybe a bit too tough.”
Lara chuckled a little.
“Yeah, I was a bit cold to begin with, but it did help me keep my luna position.”
“Which suits you perfectly.”
“You think so?” she asked excitedly, like a little child.
I knew how much that position meant to her. She was born for it, but she had been born second, so it was not really supposed to go to her, and she wasn’t even Michael’s daughter.
Good thing she was close to her half-sister Selene, who did not want to be luna and had signed over her rights to Lara, so there was no doubt who was going to lead the pack.
“Of course,” I affirmed.
“Thank you, Dad.”
She almost sounded like a little girl when she thanked me. It made me think about what she was like as a little kid, but even though the thought made me happy, it also made me rather sad.
I didn't like that I hadn't been there for her all those years. I would have loved to see her grow up and turn into the brilliant, grown-up luna she was. I didn't like how much I had missed out on.
She was an adult now, mated, and running her own pack. She didn’t really need me in the way a child did when they were small. A child would always need their parent, though, but not always in the same way, and even though I knew I could not change the past and should just be happy, I had a relationship with her, it still saddened me sometimes.
“So, will Lauren move in with you, or you with her?” Lara asked.
“We are not there at all," I said.
“Where are you then?” she inquired.
I sighed a little. “I’m not sure, honestly.”
“Don’t you think you should figure that out?” she chuckled.
I nodded a little.
“Yeah, we probably should, but I will give her some time to rest first,” I said.
“Good idea, but don’t wait too long. She shouldn’t start to think you have changed your mind, because you do want to be with her, right?”
“Yes, of course. I do.”
“Then just make sure you make it clear to her,” Lara instructed.
“I already have.”
“Continue to do it. I can imagine Lauren needs a confidence boost,” she advised.
She might just be right about that, I thought.
“I will do my best,” I promised.
“I will talk to you soon then.”
“Yes, soon,” I said, and I hung up before I continued to think about what would happen between Lauren and me. How would we make it work?
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