Finally Free

Chapter 4

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Sapphire's POV

My heart was thumping in my chest, not because I was afraid. No, a very different emotion was coursing through my veins, one I had never really felt before. As I gazed into the man's dark wolf eyes, I felt helpless to look away, even though through my peripheral vision I could see Eric gazing at me questioningly.

He didn't look away either, and we both stayed stuck like that, our eyes glued to each other. We must have stood there, stuck in our daze for an awkward amount of time since Mandy cleared her throat. "Uhh, guys?"

And that was what it took to break the spell. I immediately became aware of my surroundings, and it belatedly sank in that not only was Eric looking at me strangely, but Mandy was looking at both of us with confusion on her face.

Shaking off the weird moment that had just occurred, I mentally brushed myself off, and chastised myself. I was trying to make a good impression on the new Alpha, and instead, I had just spent who knows how long ogling him. And to make it worse, it was someone who was involved with my cousin. 

Trying to recover from the awkwardness I smiled. "Hi. I'm Sapphire. It's nice to finally meet you." While speaking, I tried to keep my eyes away from his face, afraid that whatever had happened before would happen again. I couldn't make a stupid mistake like that again. 

But when he spoke, the deep timbre of his voice caused me to look right back up into his eyes-which were thankfully now back to their normal, but beautiful shade of green. "Nice to meet you too..Sapphire," he spoke my name hesitantly, yet with purpose, as if the word itself held a hidden meaning. 

Ignoring that, I smiled at him once more, ready to excuse myself to escape the situation. That proved unnecessary however, when the sound of a spoon clinking against glass was heard. I immediately turned towards the noise, beyond grateful for the distraction.

Even as I faced the front of the room, where Uncle Al was, I could feel eyes on me. His eyes. I didn't know why I was so unnerved, since attention didn't normally bother me. Still, the hairs on the back of my neck remained stiff, and I still felt shivery.

Reigning control over my weird reaction, I focused on Uncle Al, who was standing in front of the room, waiting for everyone's attention. Once he had it, he began speaking. "I normally hate mushy speeches, but this moment requires one, so I thought I would take one for the team," he began with a wry smile.

There were some chuckles, and Uncle Al waited for them to subside before continuing. "Today is a special day because today, my family is once again complete. Now I know you hate emotional, cheesy moments as much as I do Sapph, and I'm sorry, but I can't help it. I need you to know how much we all love you," he paused and took a deep breathe, as if bracing himself.

Knowing this was only about to get more emotional, I burrowed deeper into Eric, who tightened his arms around me.

"I just...I hope you know that no one blames you for leaving after what happened. We all understand. We're family sweetheart, and we're here for you no matter what..." he paused again, while a rueful smile took over his face.

"While I do wish things had been different, I don't regret the way they turned out because I got to raise not one, but two beautiful daughters. Sapphire sweetheart, welcome home," he finished with wet eyes.

Unable to stop my own emotion, I untangled myself from Eric and walked over to Uncle Al who immediately took me in his arms. Tucking my head into his chest, I closed my eyes and took a deep breathe, my wolf enjoying his scent-pine trees, and the wild.