War Claim (The Claim: Book 3)

Chapter 25 - Chloe

"Was your brother here?"

Anwaatin wrinkled her nose as she walked alongside Chloe. Sweat glistened on her brow and she swiped at it with the back of her hand. "I don't know... Was he?"

Chloe sniffed around the path as everyone headed home in high spirits and chatting excitedly amongst themselves, waving to Chloe, thanking her, and telling her they'd see her tomorrow.

"Yeah, I thought I smelled him during our training but I didn't see him," Chloe told her, her eyes roaming around the path for any physical trace of him. "I didn't look around too much, though. I was too focused on what we were doing. But his scent is definitely on the trail here."

Anwaatin rolled her shoulders. "That's so weird. I don't know. He's so busy these days, I hardly see him."

Chloe hummed to herself as Oliver jogged up to them and the subject dropped. He'd been talking with their cousins before joining their side and tromping through the brush toward home.

Their conversation diverted to include Oliver until they dropped him off at home and Chloe continued onward through the valley to take Anwaatin home. They still liked to be careful and take precautions since they were both daughters of high ranking wolves. Thankfully, they only received respect from everyone they encountered—probably because of their families' positions.

"So what now?" Chloe asked as they approached the Alpha and Luna's house.

"First things first, I demanded to know why my brother was spying on us! He's usually home around this time."

"He was probably curious. You told him about our training, right?"

"Yeah."

"So he was probably checking it out. As long as he doesn't tell anyone who will break it up, I don't care."

"I know. I love my brother and all but I don't want him spying on me. It's unnerving."

"That's true." Chloe had to agree with her there.

When they were a few yards away from the house, Animkii came out the front door, his long braided hair dripping wet and soaking the back of his workout shirt. He glanced at them and hurried down the porch steps and started to jog toward the pack house.

"Hey!" Anwaatin called after. "Where are you going?"

"Training," he grunted and disappeared.

Glaring at his back as he dashed off, Anwaatin huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Guess I'll have to get it out of him later. Come on, let's go inside. Lemonade?"

Chloe followed her in and Anwaatin gave her a glass of the sugary-sweet yet sour juice before hopping in the shower for a quick scrub. They played a board game until her parents returned an hour later.

Alpha Noodin was still in rough shape and it ached Chloe to see him like that. She couldn't imagine how hard all of this has been on them. First Madison disappeared and died, and then they almost lost their father too... It was all too much. She didn't know how she'd feel if her father was challenged in a battle to the death that he barely scraped out of alive.

And yet, it was this battle that awakened Animkii out of his comatose state of grief and liberated him from his prison.

She hadn't spoken to him since that day of his father's fight. Not that she wanted to—he'd been busy, as Anwaatin said. She hardly ever saw him until he started training out in the valley with the other warriors.

It was so weird seeing him and Mik constantly together like a tag-team. Where Animkii went, Mik tended to follow. They made for a quiet and elusive pair that had many wolves whispering.