"Are you just going to avoid me?" Clara yelled, her voice echoing in Alaric's reception area, her heels clicking against the tiled floor.
Alaric groaned as he made his way to his office. His mother had been yelling behind him, saying things—things he had already zoned out from.
He didn't need this right now. He just needed Nicolette safe and back under his protection.
"Alaric?" Richard nudged him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
He turned to Richard, blinking in confusion. "What?"
"I said you should reply to your mother," Richard said, tilting his head toward Clara.
His brow furrowed and he shook head. "No." Then he stepped forward.
Clara was still shouting behind him, and Violet trailed after her like a puppet.
Alaric entered his office and went straight to his chair, his jaw tightening at the racket his mother was making. Clara didn't give him the chance to think of his next plan to find Nicolette, and that angered him.
