Chapter Four
Logan was so excited about going to the amusement park and meeting the new Alpha face-to-face that Amanda had a hard time putting him to bed Friday night. Betty offered to come with them, but the morning brought with it a frantic call from Betty’s work, and so it ended up being Amanda and Logan going by themselves to meet Jace and Clarissa. Amanda would have liked the backup, but she wasn't going to disappoint her son by canceling.
Jace met them near the gate of the park. He was with a tall, shapely woman. She was thicker in the waist than Amanda had been expecting, and greeted her with a hug that wasn't entirely welcome. She was quite muscular, which made her even prettier.
Amanda felt shy and awkward, wishing she hadn't agreed to this. Logan, however, proved himself the Alpha's son and immediately began telling Jace all about himself. He had big plans for the playground at school, organizing it to minimize fighting and he wanted Alpha approval.
"You have a very friendly little boy," Clarissa mentioned several hours after they had been at the park.
Jace was helping Logan with one of those 'shoot the ducks' games, and the two of them were laughing as they played.
"Yeah, I do." Amanda smiled proudly at her son, her heart warming at the way he interacted with his father. Whatever she had decided before, looking at them together made her realize that she needed to tell Jace the truth. She should have told him a long time ago…
Amanda snuck a look at Clarissa out of the corner of her eye. There were similarities between the two of them that she found a little strange. Both of them had long, glossy brown hair, hazel eyes. There was even a similarity in the shapes of their noses. Clarissa was taller than Amanda, however, and even though she was dressed casually in a t-shirt and jeans, she had an air of sophistication about her.
"He's how old? Six?"
"Five."
Had Jace told Clarissa his suspicions that Logan might be his son? I don't even know if he has suspicions. Get your head straight, Mandy. You're becoming paranoid.
"So you're a werewolf, too, right? Or Wolf Shifter. Which do you prefer?" Clarissa's brows drew together and she bit her lower lip like she was worried that she had offended Amanda.
"It doesn't really matter to me. I always just call myself a Wolf. We have pretty strong integration here, and I'm not sure what's politically correct and what's not."
Clarissa nodded. "I'm not sure, either, to be honest. Politics around Shifters can be a little tricky to grasp. There's the negative association with werewolves – moon bloodlust and all that. But as long as you don't mind, I'll stick with Wolf. That's what Jace calls himself."
Amanda shrugged. The human smelled like lilacs, a pleasant scent. She could see why Jace was drawn to her. It's just my luck that she is politically aware and a nice person as well as being worldly and sophisticated.
Amanda bit back a sigh. Clarissa was perfectly suited to be the Alpha female. She'd get things done.
"Look at them." Clarissa smiled as Jace set Logan on his shoulders so the boy could get a better view at the ducks he was shooting. "Jace is so good with kids. It makes me excited to have our own someday."
Kids. Amanda felt like she had been sucker punched. Were they really that serious? Jace had mentioned that he was probably going to marry Clarissa, but the remark had been so casual that she hadn't really believed it, especially since he seemed to be quite satisfied with declaring that Clarissa wasn't his mate. Yet, if they were talking about having children, things were a lot more serious than they seemed.
And why should that bother me? Amanda shoved her hands into her pockets despite her desire to challenge Clarissa to a fight, as if she was a male claiming his mate. She'll make a great Alpha female, and it's clear that she and Jace care for one another. It's not like I have any claim on him.
"I wasn't aware that you two were talking about children yet," Amanda said cautiously, hoping her voice didn't give her away.
"Oh, well, we're not. I mean, not seriously yet." Clarissa wrapped her arms around her waist, a strange look passing over her face. It was gone in a minute. "Want to get a corndog?"
"Sure."
They headed off to the nearest food truck. Amanda tried to calm her pounding heart. Why did she feel like Jace was betraying her with this woman? It wasn't like they were together. But that feeling lingered, and she wanted to claw Clarissa's eyes out, drag Jace to bed, and claim him as her own.
Maybe it was the fact that she had decided to tell Jace that Logan was his child. It was her protective instincts rearing up, wanting to make sure that her child wouldn't have any competition. When Clarissa had Jace's son, would he be the next Alpha? Did it really matter?
The four continued through the amusement park, riding the various rides, playing games, and generally having a fun time. Amanda slowly relaxed from her talk with Clarissa, and by the time the day was winding down and Logan's enthusiasm was turning into a case of the grumpies, she had managed to push aside all lingering feelings of discomfort. She couldn’t help but like the human.
"I think it's time to leave," Amanda said at Logan's fifth yawn. "By the time we get home it's going to be bedtime."
"Oh." Clarissa looked disappointed. "I was hoping to get some ice-cream before we left."
"I want ice-cream too!" Logan cried.
Clarissa smiled. "I have an idea, why don't you two talk while I take Logan to go get an ice-cream cone?"
Jace's head whipped around so fast Amanda knew he hadn't planned this. Every muscle in his body tensed, and Amanda felt her own body echo it. So Jace did suspect that Logan was his son, and he told Clarissa. But how did he find out about him in the first place?
Stupid question. His parents know I have a son, even if I never told them he is their grandchild. This town is the size of a pinhead, everybody probably knows about Logan.
The real question was when he found out. He must have known she had a son for years, so did he just start to suspect that Logan was his? If not, why come back into her life now? Why wait all this time to confront her? Was he even planning to confront her, or was this all Clarissa's idea, to get the answers and find out where her future children stood with the pack?
By this time, Clarissa was headed away from them, Logan holding her hand. Amanda turned to Jace. He was paying far too much attention to a nearby clown. Should she break into his deliberate attempts to ignore her, or should they just stand here awkwardly until Clarissa and Logan returned?
Amanda wrapped her arms around her middle. "Jace."
"Sorry about Clarissa. She can be pretty stubborn."
"Jace."
The new Alpha reluctantly tore his gaze from the clown to look at her. His eyes were dark, and she knew what he was thinking. She stared back at him, hoping that he would just see the truth and she wouldn't have to say it out loud. But he was silent, waiting for her to speak. They didn't have much time until Clarissa and Logan returned. Her heart jumped to her throat and she felt sick.
"Jace, I should have told you."
He tensed even further if that was possible. "Told me what?"
Amanda flinched at his tone. Perfectly even. Perfectly controlled. When they were in high school it meant he was on the verge of losing control. He never flew into a rage when he lost his temper, but the words he would say when he was angry could be far more hurtful than shouting. She braced herself.
"Logan is your son. I got pregnant just before graduation. I was going to tell you…"
"But you decided to keep him from me as punishment for breaking up with you?" Still that calm voice.
Amanda shook her head. "You're angry and you have every right to be. But I'm not going to talk about this right now, Jace. I know you. You'll say things you'll regret. Besides, I don't want Logan to see us fighting."
Jace glanced over to Clarissa and Logan. They were walking back towards them, laughing. His face tightened and he grabbed Amanda's arm. "Don't think this is over, Amanda. You had no right to keep him from me."
"Let go." There was a slight growl to her voice, even though she knew Jace didn't mean it as a threat. "Now."
He released her at once, eyes widening.
"Like I said, I am not talking about this while you're angry. Call me once you've calmed down." She turned her back on him. "Logan, it's time to go. Did you thank Clarissa for your ice-cream?"
"Thank you, Clarissa."
Clarissa beamed at him. Amanda picked up her son, gave some vague goodbyes and walked away. She didn’t look back.