TWENTY-SIX: His Good Side

CORNELIA ARRIVED AT the bottom of the stairs and she heard a commotion coming from somewhere. She heard people talking and she was sure that she heard a child's voice too. She felt something poking at her knee and when she looked down she saw a small child looking up at her with wide bewildered eyes.

Her heart melted right then and there and she scrunched in front of the child. "Hello sweetie, my name is Lia, what's your name?" She gave him her sweetest smile.

"I'm Seth." He said and out his hand up, a gesture for her to carry him, "Can you carry me to the kitchen?"

Cornelia nodded her head, "Sure thing. But you'll have to tell me the way." She carried him in her arms, even though it strained her arms and back. Seth was very young, she imagined he wasn't older than four. His hair was Chestnut brown, and it fell softly onto his forehead.

They arrived at the kitchen after going through two different hallways. Once they arrived, Seth said, "Put me down please." He asked politely, and she when she did and kneeled down in front of him, he kissed her cheek softly. "Thank you, Lia."

Lia grinned widely, "You're welcome, Seth."

"I see you've met my wayward son." A woman said while chuckling loudly and lightheartedly.

Cornelia turned around and saw a woman who seemed to be in her early thirties, but she looked nothing like Seth; they held no similarities whatsoever. Cornelia wondered if he looked more like his father. "Hi." She greeted her shyly.

"Oh my God! You're so adorable." The woman gushed over her, before she carried her son and put him on the kitchen island. "I'm Stella Summers, and you've already met my son Seth."

"Nice meeting you, Mrs. Summers. I'm Cornelia Cooper."

"I know." Stella said with a wide grin. "Everyone around here knows you."

"Oh." Cornelia mumbled unsure of whether it was a good thing or not.

Stella smiled softly, "You're the first one around here. At least during my lifetime." She then began making a sandwich. Cornelia took a seat on the barstool, but she didn't say anything. "Alpha Amarok isn't a usual man, I'm sure you already figured that out."

"I think this is the understatement of the century." Cornelia mumbled softly.

Stella chuckled again, "I think for a human you're taking all of this in a stride."

"I think I just didn't process it all yet."

Stella nodded, then a soft breath left there mouth, she handed the sadwich to Seth and put him down on his feet. "Why don't you go to your room?"

Seth pouted, "You just want me out of here." He said in his baby voice. He then turned to Cornelia, "I hope I get to see again, Lia."

"I would love to." She retorted with a smile. Seeing him like that, Cornelia felt his presence warming her heart.

Once Seth was out of sight, Stella turned to Cornelia with a more sombre look, "You'll hear so many things about our alpha, some of them are good and some are bad. But I can tell you that he's got a heart. Many don't believe that, but he does."

Cornelia furrowed her eyebrows, "I don't think he's a bad guy."

"I know." Stella smiled, "You know when he found me, I was banished by my family, because that's what pack is, it's family. I was beaten, abused, mistreated in every way you could imagine."

"But why would they do that?"

"I can't turn into a wolf. I was human in every sense of the word." She explained with a sad look on her face. "He found me when I was barely sixteen and he took me in. And he later did the same thing with Seth."

"But I thought Seth is your son."

"In every sense he is, except biologically. Seth's pack was raided by another pack, an alley of our pack, they're called the Black Shadow Pack. Anyway, his family passed away during the raid, and no one in the Black Shadow Pack wanted him, so Alpha Amarok took him in. And I decided that I wanted to adopt him."

Cornelia smiled softly, "That's really nice of you, the both of you. Nothing is harder than growing up without parents."

Stella nodded her head and leaned forward on the kitchen island. "Being with our alpha, it comes with a lot of dangers, but from what I saw and heard, he really cares about you, Cornelia. And I think he really has your best interest at heart, even when he doesn't express it properly."

Cornelia was somehow glad that she could talk to someone about it, and Stella gave her the older sister vibe, the one she could confide in. "He's all hot and cold." Her tone reflected her frustration. "I don't understand him. You say he cares about me, but he doesn't say anything."

"But he showed it, didn't he?" Stella said with a knowing look. "He saved your life. He's not a man of many words. And he didn't have an easy life. Just imagine living for as long as he had."

Cornelia could see the point in what she was saying. She could understand how living for three centuries could burden a soul, human or not, it must have been hard on him. However, there was a question that she really needed an answer to. "He told me he's the only immortal werewolf." Stella nodded, already knowing what was coming, "How? Why?"

"That's his story to tell you. A story so old, that people now say it like some folk tale, Lucien Amarok is like a legend in our world."

Before Cornelia could ask more questions, she heard Lucien's voice. "I see you've met Stella."

She couldn't understand how his voice still had the same effect on her, how it startled her entire body into attention. She nodded her head once he was standing in front of her. She noticed a strange look on his eyes, a strange softness.

"Yes, and we talked too." Stella retorted, "She's sweet. We can get used to her presence."

Lucien glared at her, then turned to Cornelia again, "Come on, I should take you home. We wouldn't want Jerry to worry about you."

Cornelia nodded, and hopped off the stool mumbling softly under her breath. "I don't think he even noticed I wasn't home."

She didn't expect Lucien to hear her, however his enhanced senses allowed him to do just that, and he gritted his teeth. Cornelia looked down on her bare legs, "I'm not sure I can go out like that."

His shirt barely reached her knees, and it was pretty light. She didn't think she could tolerate the coldness of Formid Root in such an attire. Lucien regarded how she looked, and his fists clenched. She was temptation on legs. He breathed in and gave a look to Stella who nodded her head and said, "Give me a second, I'll get you something to wear."

There was a second of silence, tension was cackling in the air, and Cornelia could feel it burning her skin, "So did Mill give you that medicine she was making?" Lucien nodded his head, "And what of Luke? I really think it wasn't his fault, especially with the rumor thing. He had a onenight stand with Lana, and I think it just slipped of him."

Lucien nodded, "I know that. I looked up the Swanson family, but there's nothing on them. For now, there's nothing that ties them to witches."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "I've known Lana and Her father Jack my entire life. She's a bitch yeah, a witch? I don't think so."

"Well, we still have to figure out who's behind the two attacks. But for now, someone is always going to be protecting you. Either me or Daniel will always be around. And put my number on your speed dial, if there's anything, call me."

Cornelia nodded her head, but she wondered what would happen next.