The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn

~CLARA~

I couldn't stop myself from saying what I truly wanted to say. I knew this was one of those times when I should have remained quiet, but I couldn't, not with how my heart felt right now while looking at this man.

There was a look of shock on his face, but there was also something dark; it shone brightly in his eyes, and a part of me hoped that he wanted to take me up on my offer.

I truly wanted to be in that room with him. I wanted to take care of him. I didn't want to run from the part of him that he was so terrified of. Nicole was disgusted with that part of him, but me, I knew that it wouldn't change the way I felt about him; in fact, it would bring me closer.

"Clara?" he whispers as he looks around to examine our surroundings before turning his attention back to me. "Do you know what you are asking for?"Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

I take a step closer to him, and his body stiffens, "I know exactly what I'm asking for." I assure him. "I wouldn't have asked it if I didn't mean it."

He inhales sharply, "I'm sorry, Clara. You have no idea what you're speaking about. Maybe you're still drunk from before; I'm unsure what's happening here. All I know is that I will never allow you to be in that room with me. I lose all control. I can't take that risk with you in there."

My heart hurts, but I still persist, "I want to be there for you, Alaric. I know what happens to you on a full moon, and it doesn't scare me one bit because I know the kind of man that you are."

He swallows hard and looks down at me in wonder, "What kind of man am I, Clara?"

I wanted to say that he was my kind of man, the kind I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. However, I knew I had to keep that part of my feelings to myself.

I take another step closer, and his eyes never leave mine. "You're kind, caring, respectful, generous, selfless, you care about your siblings more than yourself, you would give your life for them. To me, you're perfect; there is not one thing about you that I would ever want to change, not even this thing that happens on a full moon. I know that it's a part of you, and I would never want to change it."

Not to mention so freaking handsome that I couldn't stop staring at him no matter how hard I tried.

"I never knew you saw me that way." He says softly as he gazes at me. I felt weak in my knees with the look he gave me. No one ever looked at me like that, not even Carter.

"I've always seen you that way," I confess. "Even while I was with Carter."

He growls softly at the mention of his brother, and I wonder if I have somehow made a mistake.

"What's wrong?" I ask, sensing the change in his mood.

He puts space between the two of us, "Clara, I will not put your life in danger like that. There's no telling what could happen if you were in that room with me. Besides, Carter and Scarlett will never forgive me if I do something to you. Fuck, even I wouldn't forgive myself if I ever hurt you. You are convinced that I wouldn't, but I am not. Believe me, I'm used to the full moon now. I'll be fine. And I'll be even better if I know you're safe and locked up in your room."

Why was he so convinced that he would come after me? There were so many girls that he could go after on the full moon; why was he worried about me?

"Is everything alright in here?"

My eyes move towards the door to see Carter looking between the two of us. I remembered what Scarlett said; he thought of me as his sister now and wanted to protect me. I didn't need protection from Alaric; he was the last person I needed protection from.

"Yes, Carter," I answer him. "Everything is fine."

"I thought I heard something about the full moon." He mentions. "What about the full moon?"

Alaric's jaw clenched, "I told Clara that I wanted her to stay in her room during that night, just to be extra cautious."

Carter looked at his brother, and the two of them were practically in a staring competition; neither one was looking away.

"What does she need to be safe from?" Carter asks him. "None of us will go after her. We've never gone after her. What makes you think that it would be different now?"

It felt like Carter was trying to get Alaric to confess something, but I could be reading too much into this. I don't think I've ever seen this much tension between the two of them before. They've always been loving toward each other; they teased each other while playing sports, but that was about it.

"I just want her to be safe. That's all." Alaric answers him.

"Since when have you ever been this concerned over Clara's safety?" Carter asks him. "She's like a sister to me. I'm married to her sister, and you're my brother. But I want you to give me an honest answer: why are you this concerned about Clara's safety?"

What the hell was happening here?