Bound To The Broken Alpha (Amy and Daniel) novel Chapter 160

Chapter 160 Southern Pack Crest

CLARA

Finished

I stayed away for a few days after what happened at the cottage. Everyone probably thought I was hiding, but I just needed to breathe. The whole mess with Amy, Selene, and Daniel had gotten too loud.

I didn’t even know why I’d gone that far with Amy in the first place. It wasn’t just hate anymore. It was confusion and clearly jealousy. I could not stop. It was clear I was losing it and it would only confirm their opinion of me being mentally imbalanced. I could not risk that.

Selene had shown up again without warning. One minute, she was gone. The next, she was acting like we’d been planning together the whole time. I liked her, but she was too controlling. She spoke as if I was supposed to follow every order she gave. I wasn’t her servant. I wanted answers for myself now, not just her revenge games.

I stayed at a cheap motel outside town. It wasn’t much, but it was quiet. I tried to think clearly for once, but my mind kept circling back to one thing–my past. I didn’t remember much before I was about six. The people who raised me always said I’d been dropped off by a woman who couldn’t stay. No name. No reason. Just gone.

I kept wondering why I’d never asked more questions. Maybe I was scared to know. Maybe I liked pretending I didn’t care. But now, after everything, I couldn’t stop thinking about who I really was.

The next day, I went out to get a drink. I picked a small bar on the edge of town. It was almost empty and it had just a few people drinking quietly. I was halfway through my glass when someone called my name.

“Clara?”

I turned, and was really surprised to see Mark. He looked different. His hair was shorter, and there were dark circles under his eyes. I hadn’t seen him since our last argument and with the way he left, I thought I’d never see him again.

“Didn’t think you’d talk to me again,” I said.

He

gave a tired smile. “I wasn’t sure you’d want to hear from me, but I found something you should see.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

He glanced around before sitting across from me. “Old records. Pack files from before either of us were born. I didn’t mean to find them, it just happened while I was helping a friend clean out one of the southern storage vaults. And please don’t ask me what took me to the south pack, I

1/3

11:39 Fri, Jan 9

Chapter 160 Southern Pack Crest

cannot tell you

that.”

83

Finished

That got my attention. “And what’s that got to do with me?”

Mark hesitated. “It’s better if I show you. Not here, though. Meet me tomorrow at noon. The café by the train stop.”

I stared at him, trying to read his face. He didn’t look like he was lying. He looked… bothered.

“Fine,” I said. “But if this is a trick, you’ll regret it.”

He nodded in response. “It’s not a trick, Clara. You may be a pain in the ass but you deserve to know.”

That night, I couldn’t sleep. The room felt too small, too hot. I turned on the lamp and sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the wall. My mind wouldn’t shut up.

I thought about the foster home I grew up in. It wasn’t bad, but no one ever stayed long enough to care. The only thing they told me was that my mother left me because she had to protect me. I used to imagine she was some great person–strong, kind, maybe even part of a pack. But that fantasy faded the older I got.

I tried to remember her face. Nothing came. Just a vague image of dark hair and the sound of someone humming.

When morning came, I still hadn’t slept. I got dressed and went to meet Mark. He was already there when I arrived, sitting outside the café with a cup of coffee. He looked nervous.

“You look like hell.” I said as I sat down.

He gave a weak chuckle. “You’re not far behind.”

He reached into his bag and pulled out a sealed brown envelope. “Here. It’s from the Southern territory. I didn’t read all of it, but I saw your name on the first page. Not the name you go by now though. the one they gave you when you were born.”

I frowned and took it from him. “You’re telling me this is about me?”

“Yes,” he said quietly. “It’s yours, Clara. I found it in a file marked “Transferred for Safety.””

The envelope was heavy. I turned it over in my hands, and there it was–written across the front in faded ink–Liana. My old name. The one from before the foster home.

I hadn’t seen it in years.

I didn’t know what to say. My hands shook as I opened it. Inside were several old papers, yellowed at the edges. The first was a registry file. It listed my birth date, but what stopped me

2/3

11:39 Fri, Jan 9

Chapter 160 Southern Pack Crest

was the name under “Parent.”

The file read: Father – Alpha of the South.

My chest tightened. My breath hitched.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify