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๏ผฌ๏ผก๏ผต๏ผฒ๏ผฅ๏ผฎ ๏ผณ๏ผฉ๏ผฌ๏ผถ๏ผฅ๏ผฒ๏ผณ๏ผด๏ผฅ๏ผฉ๏ผฎ
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There was a storm brewing - how fitting for Adam's return. It was with a mild jealousy Lauren thought of her mate above ground at this very moment. She listened to the soothing sound of rain trickling down city drains and seeping through every crack to the underground. It had not been long ago that she heard this same noise and did not wish to be standing it. Where had her contentedness gone? When had she become so restless for the things she could not have?
She swung her legs off the fainting couch she was laying on and stood up, beginning to pace about the room. Her hand brushed over her abdomen and she hummed softly to herself. She had taken to wearing dresses with high waistbands and loose fabrics, doing her best to hide her ever expanding midriff that her ribbon thin frame only made more apparent. Thankfully it seemed her mate was too wrapped up in his plotting to take notice of any changes. She had become like a permanent installment in his room, like one of the many antique treasures that he every so often picked up and admired.
But it wouldn't be long before he noticed. She didn't even entertain the fanciful idea that maybe if he knew he was to be a father his whole outlook on life would change and he would find a new purpose other than to be the conqueror of mankind. His only interest in a child might be to train them to follow in his footsteps. In this case she would never leave, even if she could. She would stay in hopes of being a balancing force, even though she could see from the present such hope was futile and he would undo her every attempt to make them good.There would be nothing she could do to keep him from whispering venom into their little ears -- about how weak she was, how they should never be like her.
Lauren stopped in mid-pace in front the coffee table where the pile of Adam's papers were, something drawing her attention from her dark thoughts. She cocked her head sideways, the headline of a newspaper having been the thing to catch her eye amidst the clutter. Gently she tugged the corner of the newspaper out from under the other sheets trying to disturb the stack as little as possible then read it. The newspaper was full of sensational headlines about werewolves and updates on the "Wolf Rising" in Los Angeles.Adam and his generals used it as one of their sources to track what the humans were doing to arm themselves. She sighed despairingly when she was done reading and went to put it back before a thought crossed her mind that gave her pause. She looked back over it again, then instead of putting it back where it belonged tucked it under her arm.
She went to Sector 2, her mind racing, a puzzle piecing itself together a solution that she was not quite entirely sure she was deluded in following. The wolves in Sector 2 there looked away as she passed, down to their feet. It was true but unspoken, Sector 1 had dominated them, and therefore they treated her with just as much reverence as their own Alpha female. At Daryl's door she knocked. When Daryl answered she could sense some hesitancy from him to let her in. They hadn't spoken since Jared's exile, partially out of her own shame after what had transpired with her son but also because Adam had forbade her from ever coming.
After a tense moment of assessing her silently, Daryl stepped aside. Charlotte was in the room and greeted her politely, though also kept her distance. They all sat down in the seating area, Lauren taking a chair and Daryl and Charlotte sitting side by side on the couch across the coffee table from her in a united front. It was a touching sight, the closeness the two that had developed.. This wasnโt going to be easy.
"I have something to tell you both that I am very sorry to say. But thereโs a funeral being arranged that I thought you should know about.." Lauren informed them crossing her legs and looking over at Charlotte "..Itโs yours. Your father has called off the search, he believes you to be dead."
โHow do you know this?โ Daryl asked with a defensiveness Lauren was unaccustomed to having directed at her.
She couldn't help replying with a little of her own defensiveness and stated matter-of-factly, "Thereโs a lovely obituary written for her in the Los Angeles Times." She tossed the paper that she had under her arm onto the coffee table between them.
Daryl didn't pick it up, just glared at it then went back to eyeing her suspiciously "Why did you come all the way here to tell us this? We would have figured out on our own."
"I felt it urgent enough to deliver the news myself.. thought it might be easier too to hear it coming from me rather than figuring it out some other way after the fact."
Daryl let out a bemused hmph. "I'm sorry if I am having a hard time believing you - but given your actions lately - I can't help but think there's some ulterior motive as to why you're here, that Adam has somehow put you up to this.โ
Lauren recoiled back as if she had been struck in the chest. Her heart labored. Oh. It was still there. She continued at an even tone.
"Trust me, there's no design, I came here not as a mouthpiece for my mate, only as a friend." She could still see the skepticism in both their faces and knew she needed to give them more."Adam has no idea I am here. He's forbidden I have contact.โ" she admitted, looking at her hands with humility, "He would be very upset should he find out that I came and told you this." The tendons in her neck jumped lively with the force it took to say these words, but she knew it was necessary to hint at her risk in order to garner their trust. Her eyes peered out from behind her bangs, looking to Charlotte.
"I just thought you should know. The funeral is in three days. Do with the information what you will.. But I don't believe this man should have to bury an empty casket when his daughter is alive and well."
She looked between the two of them, sadness and shame coloring the hue of her brown eyes.
"I understand your mistrust in me. It's more than warranted. I'm not proud of everything I have done. But know as much as my actions seem to contradict what I am about to say - especially in the way I treated my son - everything I have done, everything I do, I do for love." she intoned. "But love is not always kind. It forces you to make tough decisions and sometimes that decision is whether or not you belong in the otherโs life. Sometimes you must cut yourself out of the picture so that the other person has a chance at real happiness. -- I know you two have become very close but you must separate your feelings and what the right thing to do is for the both of you."
She stopped, allowing her words to sink in and the conversation to continue in silence. She knew she did not have to oversell the idea. Without further convincing what was being discussed would take all possible routes, and with patience she waited for them to come to the right conclusion โ Her conclusion.
She swung her legs off the fainting couch she was laying on and stood up, beginning to pace about the room. Her hand brushed over her abdomen and she hummed softly to herself. She had taken to wearing dresses with high waistbands and loose fabrics, doing her best to hide her ever expanding midriff that her ribbon thin frame only made more apparent. Thankfully it seemed her mate was too wrapped up in his plotting to take notice of any changes. She had become like a permanent installment in his room, like one of the many antique treasures that he every so often picked up and admired.
But it wouldn't be long before he noticed. She didn't even entertain the fanciful idea that maybe if he knew he was to be a father his whole outlook on life would change and he would find a new purpose other than to be the conqueror of mankind. His only interest in a child might be to train them to follow in his footsteps. In this case she would never leave, even if she could. She would stay in hopes of being a balancing force, even though she could see from the present such hope was futile and he would undo her every attempt to make them good.There would be nothing she could do to keep him from whispering venom into their little ears -- about how weak she was, how they should never be like her.
Lauren stopped in mid-pace in front the coffee table where the pile of Adam's papers were, something drawing her attention from her dark thoughts. She cocked her head sideways, the headline of a newspaper having been the thing to catch her eye amidst the clutter. Gently she tugged the corner of the newspaper out from under the other sheets trying to disturb the stack as little as possible then read it. The newspaper was full of sensational headlines about werewolves and updates on the "Wolf Rising" in Los Angeles.Adam and his generals used it as one of their sources to track what the humans were doing to arm themselves. She sighed despairingly when she was done reading and went to put it back before a thought crossed her mind that gave her pause. She looked back over it again, then instead of putting it back where it belonged tucked it under her arm.
She went to Sector 2, her mind racing, a puzzle piecing itself together a solution that she was not quite entirely sure she was deluded in following. The wolves in Sector 2 there looked away as she passed, down to their feet. It was true but unspoken, Sector 1 had dominated them, and therefore they treated her with just as much reverence as their own Alpha female. At Daryl's door she knocked. When Daryl answered she could sense some hesitancy from him to let her in. They hadn't spoken since Jared's exile, partially out of her own shame after what had transpired with her son but also because Adam had forbade her from ever coming.
After a tense moment of assessing her silently, Daryl stepped aside. Charlotte was in the room and greeted her politely, though also kept her distance. They all sat down in the seating area, Lauren taking a chair and Daryl and Charlotte sitting side by side on the couch across the coffee table from her in a united front. It was a touching sight, the closeness the two that had developed.. This wasnโt going to be easy.
"I have something to tell you both that I am very sorry to say. But thereโs a funeral being arranged that I thought you should know about.." Lauren informed them crossing her legs and looking over at Charlotte "..Itโs yours. Your father has called off the search, he believes you to be dead."
โHow do you know this?โ Daryl asked with a defensiveness Lauren was unaccustomed to having directed at her.
She couldn't help replying with a little of her own defensiveness and stated matter-of-factly, "Thereโs a lovely obituary written for her in the Los Angeles Times." She tossed the paper that she had under her arm onto the coffee table between them.
Daryl didn't pick it up, just glared at it then went back to eyeing her suspiciously "Why did you come all the way here to tell us this? We would have figured out on our own."
"I felt it urgent enough to deliver the news myself.. thought it might be easier too to hear it coming from me rather than figuring it out some other way after the fact."
Daryl let out a bemused hmph. "I'm sorry if I am having a hard time believing you - but given your actions lately - I can't help but think there's some ulterior motive as to why you're here, that Adam has somehow put you up to this.โ
Lauren recoiled back as if she had been struck in the chest. Her heart labored. Oh. It was still there. She continued at an even tone.
"Trust me, there's no design, I came here not as a mouthpiece for my mate, only as a friend." She could still see the skepticism in both their faces and knew she needed to give them more."Adam has no idea I am here. He's forbidden I have contact.โ" she admitted, looking at her hands with humility, "He would be very upset should he find out that I came and told you this." The tendons in her neck jumped lively with the force it took to say these words, but she knew it was necessary to hint at her risk in order to garner their trust. Her eyes peered out from behind her bangs, looking to Charlotte.
"I just thought you should know. The funeral is in three days. Do with the information what you will.. But I don't believe this man should have to bury an empty casket when his daughter is alive and well."
She looked between the two of them, sadness and shame coloring the hue of her brown eyes.
"I understand your mistrust in me. It's more than warranted. I'm not proud of everything I have done. But know as much as my actions seem to contradict what I am about to say - especially in the way I treated my son - everything I have done, everything I do, I do for love." she intoned. "But love is not always kind. It forces you to make tough decisions and sometimes that decision is whether or not you belong in the otherโs life. Sometimes you must cut yourself out of the picture so that the other person has a chance at real happiness. -- I know you two have become very close but you must separate your feelings and what the right thing to do is for the both of you."
She stopped, allowing her words to sink in and the conversation to continue in silence. She knew she did not have to oversell the idea. Without further convincing what was being discussed would take all possible routes, and with patience she waited for them to come to the right conclusion โ Her conclusion.