Chapter 103 BONUS CHAP. 13 - WHAT'S WRONG, ANGEL?
\-BLAYNE'S POV-
I avoided Duke and Vance for the rest of the day. I spent the majority of the day visiting all four central patrol stations and searching extensively for clues. As the sun retreated and freed the sky from its sweltering beams, it was time to pick up Zoe from elementary school and head home. For the first time, I felt like I had a family and intended to manifest this feeling into reality.
Luna Sianna thought that it was best to have Zoe attend school to be around other children of a similar age group to cope with being away from Cleo. Besides, she was bound to join our pack soon and be integrated into the system. Making friends would help her to settle down faster. While Cleo was in jail, I visited Zoe every day and
ensured that she was alright. I had been trying to bond with her and she started to let down her barriers.
When I parked in front of the elementary school in my Ford Bronco, Zoe was not at the front as I had instructed her. I marched through the corridor and found her classroom. The mahogany brown-haired teacher with cinnamon-brown eyes sat around her desk grading some work in a folder.
"Ms. Olson," I accosted, looking down at her. "Where's Zoe Carr?"
Her head snapped upward with a broad smile, and her cheeks flushed. "Hi, Gamma Blayne. Zoe is on the slide in the back yard with the other kids."
With merely a nod, I exited the classroom and went through the door at the end of the hall. A few kids on the left were having fun with a big foam ball. Zoe was not on the slide. My eyes precipitously changed their course and surveyed the area, and discovered her on the swing. Dismissive of the other children, she sat immobile in the swing with the tip of her sneakers digging into the ground.
Noticeably, all the other children were grouped except for her. I frowned. When I got to her, I crouched down and observed running tears.
"Hey, Angel." With caution, I reached out to cup her cheeks and she winced. I rescinded and let my hands plonk on my muscly upper legs. "What's the matter?"
Zoe sniffed and her gaze was directed towards the group of boys who were playing with the foam ball. Then her dewy amber eyes met mine.
"I'll help if you tell me what's wrong." Filled with concern, I vowed, hoping to win some trust for her to confide in me.
Zoe rolled her eyes and stared absentmindedly to the right, in the parking lot to avoid talking.
She stopped digging with her shoes when I resorted to doing the magic trick with the coin in my hand as she watched with fascination as it vanished and ended up behind her ear. I hoped for her to like it, but should she want another magic trick, I'd sink to the ground since it was the only one I knew how to do.
She sniffed again and the tears stopped. "Do it again."
After the second time, a half-smile crept onto her lips and I used the opportunity to probe her.
"Angel, I vow that if you trust me, I won't let you down. Remember when I told you that I would get you and Mommy to be together soon?" She nodded. I continued, "Well, I'm taking you to your Mom today as I promised." My words were sinking in, thank goddess. I wiped the tears under her lashes. "When you cry, it makes me sad. And your Mom will be sad too."
"How can you be sad when it's my problem?" She didn't understand the connection and began fiddling with her fingers, intently looking down at them.
"Because when people care about each other, we want the ones we cherish to be happy." Tilting her chin to bring her eyes to me, I was trying very hard to get through to her.
"I want to protect you and your Mom. And one way of doing that is to help you to solve your problems." Using one hand, I tapped the left and right of my shoulders. "These big broad shoulders are for you to lean on anytime."
Thinning her lips, she touched my right shoulder, leaving her hand there and seeking reassurance in my eyes.
"The right side is yours and the left is for your Mom," I explained the ownership.
This time, a broad smile that exposed her incisors decorated her face. Then her face saddened and she removed her hand, fiddling with her fingers again, and divulged. "The other kids are mean to me."
"How?" I managed to sound normal though cold anger brewed. My wolf was seething about anyone who would disrespect our pup. Technically, we claimed Zoe as ours in one of our private conversations. I took her hands in mine.
"They say Mommy is a murderer and that I don't belong here. So the
other kids don't play with me." Her voice was dry and broken. A singular tear perched on her lashes, taking its gradual time to fall over the brim to roll down her cheeks. "They call me names."
"I'm sorry, Angel." My thumbs wiped the shedding water from her cheeks. My heart felt torn that she was being bullied. Being a parent must be hard when your kids are in pain and you want to desperately take all that anguish away. "I'm about to do something but you must not be scared because I will never hurt you, okay?" I waited on her confirmation.
Zoe nodded. I kissed her forehead and then lifted her up in one arm and turned so that I faced all the other kids.
"EVERYBODY ON THE PLAYGROUND COME FORWARD NOW!" I roared and activated my command tone for immediate compliance.
Zoe trembled with fright and her eyes fluttered from the powerful sensations that unrolled from me, bombarding her fragile frame.
I used my free arms to rub her back. "It's okay, Angel. I've got you."
Unable to ignore my gamma command, they scampered over and assembled closely together. Quietly, they stood with heads tilted upward as my aura dictated.
Laced with authority, I tried to hold back since they were kids and a full dose of my power could permanently damage them.
"Have you all been harassing my daughter?"