The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn

~ALARIC~

"I'm here for you if you need me," Nicole says.

She was trying to make things better between us. Trying to make our marriage work. At times, I wasn't sure if she loved me. When we first married, she was this bright light in my life. Now, I'm not sure what she is. All I know is that I don't want to lose her.

I planned to spend the rest of my life with her. I don't want anything to change that. Not now. Not ever.

"Thank you," I whisper as I hug her. "I need to find out who messed with our cameras. We need to find Scarlett before Carter wakes up. I don't want to let my brother down."

"Why are you always burdening yourself with the problems of everyone else?" She asks me. "Carter will find Scarlett when he wakes up. Why is that your problem?"

I stiffen at her question.

"Carter needs me. Of course, it's my problem. I must protect my family; you are part of my family. If anything happened to you, I know my family would help."

She rolls her eyes, "your family despises me. If anything happened to me, they would celebrate."

"Why can't you try to get along with them?" I ask her. "I need you, Nicole. I need your support. It's hard for me to see my brother suffer like this. I knew from the start that electrocuting him was not a good idea. I should have listened to myself. All of this is my fault. He's in this position because of me."

She sighs, "Okay, if you need me. I'll support you. However, you should rest for at least a day before you start searching for Scarlett."

I shook my head, "I can't rest. I need to find her."

I pick myself up from the bed.

"Where are you going?" She asks.

"I need to check on Carter," I answer her.

She frowns, "isn't that girl inside there taking care of him? Why do you need to be there?"

"You mean Clara?" I ask her.

Her eyes narrow, "you know exactly who I'm speaking about. I don't want you near her."

I exhale loudly, "Nicole, how many times do I need to remind you that Clara is my brother's ex-girlfriend? I would never be interested in someone that dated any of my brothers. She's a kind girl and I like her personality, that's all. And she's much younger than me. There is nothing for you to be upset about."

"Fine!" She snaps. "I'm not staying over tonight."

"Why not?" I ask. "I just said that I need you with me."

"I have things I need to do." She tells me. "I'll be back first thing in the morning."

She walks over and gives me a long kiss before leaving the room.

After I watch her leave, I rush back into Carter's room. Clara was right where I left her earlier. She hasn't left his side the entire time.

Did she still love him?

I try not to think about that question too much as I approach her.

"Are there any signs of him waking up?" I ask her.

She shook her head, "he's in a deep sleep. The doctor said that he probably isn't going to wake up again for the night."

"I think that's for the best," I confess. "If he were awake, he would be killing himself to find her. He would also blame himself for everything."

Clara nods, "Did you find anything to help us find my sister?"

I shook my head, "nothing so far. We're trying to find enemies that she may have had. Are you sure that there is no one that she knew that would do something like this?"

She shook her head. "I can't think of anyone. However, we all know how popular Carter was with the women at our academy. But still, I don't think any of them would go this far to get her away from him."

"We've questioned all of our guards, but no one saw anything," I inform her. "One of our guards was found dead. He guarded our secret entrance. Whoever came in knew a lot about the inside of our home. They knew about the basement and the secret entrance. They could get in easily and get out without being spotted. I don't know how they knew how to mess with our cameras either."

"It sounds like someone close to all of you was responsible." She suggests. "It has to be someone who knows your secret. Someone capable of doing something like this."

It was true. But who in our family would betray us like this? Who would do something like that? Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

"Did you invite someone over?" Ares asks as he walks into the room.

Clara and I look at each other.

"What are you talking about?" I ask him.

"It looks like we have company." He tells me.

I follow him outside with Clara right behind us. I don't stop walking until I see our uninvited guests.

I pause in surprise.

The Fawns.

What were they doing here?

"Clara!" Autumn Fawn cries as she runs into her arms.

"You didn't have to come here," Clara tells her as she returns her hug.

"Of course, we had to," Clarissa says as she joins in.

"The second I heard what had happened from you, I told Atticus that I had to see you," Autumn tells her.

"This means so much to me." Clara cries. "Scarlett would be so happy for your support."

"We're going to find her," Autumn promises her. "Our family will help in every possible way to get her back. No one messes with my friends and gets away with it."

I was surprised that they were willing to help. The Fawns and Carter didn't get along very well. Especially not after what had happened in the past.

They must really care about Clara and Scarlett to be here right now.

I didn't mind.

The more help we got, the better for all of us.