Chapter 19 - Flora
The absence of a father had never been a source of discomfort for her daughter, but now that Camden knew the truth, Flora knew it was time to complete the circle. It was time for Sofia to be told the truth.
Her heart was pounding in her chest as she sat on the couch with Sofia. Camden sat in the chair next to her, a silent support as Flora took a deep breath and looked into Sofia’s eyes.
“Sofia, did you know that I used to live in Silverrose pack before you were born?” she began.
Her daughter shook her head.
“I moved in with Stella and Ben when I was a little older than you are now, and we moved away just a few months before you were born.”
“You lived here when I was in your tummy?” Sofia asked.
Flora nodded. “Yes, I did. This is where your father lived, but Stella and Ben moved me away before he found out about you. Now that we’re back, I think it’s time that you were told about him.” She glanced nervously at Camden and reached out her hand to him. “Sofia, this is your father.”
“Cam is my dad?” Sofia asked.
“I am,” Camden answered with a smile. “Your mom told me earlier today, and I couldn’t be happier. Ever since I met you, I knew we were going to be friends. But now I know we’re more than that.”
Flora held her breath, bracing for whatever emotions Sofia would have.
She was fully prepared for her daughter to be mad that she had kept the secret from her, just as Camden had been, or to feel sad about not having a dad for the first few years of her life.
But unlike her parents, Sofia had never been one to hold grudges or get upset when things turned out better than she expected.
Sofia’s face broke into a wide grin, her eyes lighting up as she glanced between her parents.
“You married my dad!” she told her mom excitedly. “Now we get to be together forever! Right, Mom?”
“Yes, honey,” Flora said, relief evident in her voice.
Sofia jumped off the couch and ran toward Camden, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.
Camden returned it, his eyes closing as he hugged his daughter for the first time.
He rested his cheek against the top of her head, their blond hair mixing.
Looking at them together like this made it impossible not to see the resemblance.
Flora could hardly believe she had been worried about how either of them would take the news.
They were family, meant to be together. Only Flora’s fear had prevented this from happening sooner.
“I was thinking the three of us could go out and do something together,” Flora said.
“What did you have in mind?” Camden asked.
“The park!” Sofia exclaimed. “Please? Can we go to the one you took me to last time?”
“Actually, that’s a really good idea,” Camden agreed, grabbing his phone from his pocket.
Flora saw him checking his calendar and peeked over the armrest of the couch to look at it.
“Yes! I’m not sure they’ll still have it going on, considering what happened yesterday, but there is supposed to be a fall festival at the park tonight.
Nothing crazy, just some games and activities for the kids. Should we do that?”
Sofia bounced up and down at the mention of games. Her excitement was contagious, and soon the three of them were beaming at each other and heading into town.
Sofia walked between her parents, alternating between holding their hands and skipping ahead of them. Flora’s heart nearly burst every time Camden and Sofia held hands as hopeful feelings about their future filled her mind.
Despite the incursion of the Ironbrand pack the night before, the town park was a hive of activity tonight.
A face-painting booth, pumpkin decorating, and a handful of other games were scattered around.
Another line of tables had been erected where people were selling their homemade wares and produce.
Flora’s feet crunched on fallen leaves as the smell of kettle corn and apples wafted through the crisp autumn air.
“What should we do first?” Camden asked.
Sofia immediately tugged on his hand, pulling him toward the face painting.
With a laugh, he grabbed Flora’s hand, pulling her along behind them.
When Sofia had been turned into a purple and blue butterfly, they made their way over to a food stand where Camden bought caramel apples for each of them.
Flora had never felt relaxed while in the company of the pack before, but tonight was different. Camden, the father of her child, was by her side. His steady presence calmed her and made her feel more protected and at peace than ever before.
“Camden Hughes!”
His uncle, Alpha Harold, was striding towards them. His face was red with anger, and his eyebrows turned down, displeasure apparent on his face. As he came up to them, Flora looked around, aware that the confrontation was drawing the attention of nearly everyone at the festival.
“Do you care to explain why I’m hearing rumors that you want women to have a vote in the pack council?
” Harold continued. “Haven’t you and your human girl done enough to endanger the pack without striking it from within?
I’ve tried to be patient with you, but your negative opinions about how things have been run for decades are influencing the pack. I can’t have it!”
“Alpha,” Camden said, his voice a quiet warning that was barely above a whisper. “Now is neither the time nor the place for this conversation.”
He looked around meaningfully, trying to show the alpha that they had an audience. Flora didn’t know much about pack politics, but she had a feeling that a public disagreement between the alpha and the leader of his top-ranking special ops team wouldn’t be good for morale.
“I decide when things happen!” Harold shouted. “I am the alpha! You’ve been back in town for two months, and you suddenly think you run this place!”
“Enough!” Camden interrupted. “Keep yourself in line, uncle, or I will do it for you.”
His threat hung in the air, and a few of the people watching looked at each other with alarm.
Was Camden really threatening the alpha with violence?
What did this mean? It reminded Flora of their previous confrontation, when members of the Silverrose pack had taken sides with Camden and Harold.
This time, though, Camden’s following seemed to have grown.
It made her wonder how much work he had been putting in behind the scenes to influence the pack toward a new way of life.
“You want to talk about how my ‘negative opinions’ are influencing the pack, but you haven’t considered that your opinions are outdated and harmful,” Camden said.
“I have done nothing except try to help you and our people. It seems like no matter how much information I give you or how helpful my ideas will be, you cast them aside because they don’t allow you to keep other people down.
We have all had enough of it,” he finished with a growl.
“Things were going great before you came back here,” Harold scoffed.
“No, they weren’t,” Camden argued. “The threat from Ironbrand started long before I came back home. Just because you don’t have information about what he has been up to doesn’t mean our pack is safe from him. We have to stick together and trust each other if we are going to make it.”
“Trust!” Harold said with a laugh. “You think I can trust you when you’re running around telling people that women should have more of a say?”
“That’s exactly what I mean. It’s not just me you should trust. The women in Silverrose deserve just as much trust and respect as any of the men do. They’ve been sidelined for too long, uncle.”
There was a murmur of agreement from the crowd now. Whatever conversations Camden had been having lately seemed to have paid off. He was winning over the pack with each word he said, and Harold was losing ground.
“He’s right, Alpha,” Thompson agreed. The rest of Camden’s squad had materialized, standing shoulder to shoulder with their leader as he faced down against Alpha Hughes.
“If we don’t make changes to how things have always been done, we’re forcing the pack to be stuck in the past,” Jasper said. “And that’s going to hurt all of us.”
“It already is,” Flora said, daring to speak up.
There were a few murmurs from the crowd. She wondered how long it had been since a woman dared to speak to the alpha in public.
“I know firsthand what Alpha Sier is capable of. I’ve seen it. The world is changing, and you have a choice to make. If you keep making the same choices you always have, Alpha Sier will be able to take down the entire Silverrose pack.”
“I know you care about your people,” Camden said, taking Flora’s hand. “I don’t want to fight against you, uncle. I want to fight with you. Come to the women’s training grounds. Let us show you how things can change for the better.”
Outnumbered by Camden, Flora, and the squad, not to mention the rest of the pack who were watching in rapt silence, Alpha Harold waved his hand dismissively. “Fine,” he said. “Tomorrow morning, you can show me whatever you want, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to agree to go along with it.”
***
Flora was surprised when Alpha Harold showed up at the field the next morning, but even more surprised when a dozen men showed up as well.
They came forward hesitantly at first, but when the women welcomed them to the field, they seemed to relax somewhat, joking around with each other as Camden’s squad set up their training session.
“Everyone, gather over here, please!” Jasper called. “Groups of four!”
Naturally, they started to pair up, joining together in groups that were separated into men and women, until Camden started moving people around. Flora was the first to catch on to what he was trying to do.
“We need to mix up the groups,” she said, grabbing Tessa’s arm and pulling her toward a group of all men. “Can two of you go over to that group?” she asked, pointing to the pair of women they had just left. “Camden doesn’t want the groups segregated.”
She expected a little resistance to the idea, but both the men and women seemed, if not enthusiastic, willing to comply with the squad leader’s request. When they were sufficiently intermingled, Jasper began the training session.
For the next hour, they drilled together, pushing their bodies to their limits as they worked to become stronger, faster, and more in tune with each other.
That was another thing that Camden had been drilling into their heads: being a part of the pack meant that no one needed to be a lone wolf.
Fighting alongside your pack mates meant you could rely on each other to fill in for your weaknesses, and that you should cover them with your strengths.
By the end of the session, Flora was exhausted. Everyone was sweaty and red-faced, but happy with their progress.
“Great job, everyone!” Camden announced. “Make sure you drink plenty of water and stretch at least two more times today so your muscles don’t seize up. We need to stay in a constant state of readiness.”
Flora saw that Harold was watching from the side of the field. He didn’t look upset, as he had been with both Camden and Flora last night, but he was far from being impressed with them, either.
“Think he’s coming around?” Camden asked her quietly.
“I hope so,” she replied.