Jules straightened and snorted. “You know what I see when I look at your pictures? All of them are finished. All but one.” he tugged out the smirking self-portrait she had made for Shepherd weeks ago. “Tell me, Miss O’Donnell, why the portrait of yourself is only an outline?”
“Why don’t you tell me, Jules.” Her voice was as unfriendly as her expression.
“I once thought it was cowardice that held you back.” The man shook his head. “I was incorrect. You are no coward. And yes, you are clever... just as clever as you are stupid.”
Claire quirked her lips, fighting a smile at his lecture.
Jules ignored her and continued. “But I know what it is. I see you now.” The painting of her was pulled from the others and turned so that it faced the artist. “You’re willfully incomplete.”
“It sounds like I fit perfectly into Shepherd’s army of psychos.”
“You lack unbiased perspective and throw so much motivation at the wrong problem... and you know it. Had you met Shepherd under different circumstances, this painting would have color. You are very lucky Shepherd fights for what he wants.”
Gritting her teeth she snarled, “I fight. I fight every goddamn day.”
The man shook his head of unkempt hair. “Not for him.”
Looking away, sullen she grunted, “I fight for Thólos.”
“Stop fighting for Thólos. Fight for your family.”
With narrowed eyes, Claire leaned forward in her chair to confront the standing male. “And just who would I be fighting against? To me it looks as if the enemy is the same.”
Jules put his hands on the table and leaned down menacingly. “You cannot have both and you know it. Thólos or your son—a city full of murderers and rapists, of people who have turned their backs on you—or your own innocent flesh and blood.”
Frowning, ready to throw the barb back in Jules’s face, Claire asked, “What would Rebecca have done? Would she have sacrificed her ideals?”
“In every way. My Rebecca willingly gave herself to Senator Kantor to save the lives of our children.” The man spoke as if it was nothing, taking on his mask of lifelessness. “Yet he mounted her and made her watch as his soldiers executed our boys the very moment he made the claiming marks. He wanted a free Omega.”
There were very few things in life that cut as deep as what Claire had just heard. It trumped everything she had seen in Thólos and pained her greatly. Slack-jawed, it took her a minute to speak. “I am sorry.”
A flash of something dark came to Jules’s expression. “No you’re not. If you were sorry, you would want to make certain such a thing never happened again, no matter the cost.”
Claire echoed his words. “No matter the cost.”
And then he knew. “You still think your death would make any difference? You would throw away your life for nothing, destroy the child growing in your womb for nothing. Do you understand me? It would change nothing. Remove those thoughts from your mind.”
Spine ramrod, Claire made no reply.
Cocking his head, Jules came to a decision. “Shepherd needs to be told that you are struggling in this manner.”
“There is no need,” Claire offered, her own voice laced with weariness. “Shepherd is standing right behind you.”
Jules was still. There was no look of disbelief on his face or even a trace of fear, simply placid acceptance. At the first obvious sound of another man’s breathing, the Beta turned and nodded at his leader. “Sir.”
Looking at Claire, the Alpha barked at his subordinate, “You’re dismissed.” Jules moved at once towards the door. Once the sound of the locks was thrown, Shepherd took the seat across from her. “You know his name and history... he has freely told you these things.” Shepherd seemed amazed and equally unsettled.
“You should not be angry with him. He is your greatest advocate, and I was the one who initiated all conversation.” Urging him to not react negatively to what she’d revealed, Claire admitted, “There were times I needed someone to talk to, and he only did it for you. I know he doesn’t like me.”
There was a look in Shepherd’s eye, buried under heaps of disapproval was a large dose of envy. “He has spoken on your behalf more than once. Jules likes you a great deal.” Something was going on inside the Alpha, a stiff calculation of odds. “Do you always argue with him?”
“Always.” She fought back the tick at the corner of her lips. “Your friend greatly enjoys reprimanding me.”
Hooking a finger on the tray, Shepherd pulled it before his mate and gestured for her to eat. “You are behaving as if you feel playful, but you are upset. I am willing to discuss Svana and Corday.”
“I don’t doubt that for an instant.” She knew he was trying to maneuver, and offered him a sullen smirk at his attempt. Claire picked at the fresh fruit. “I, however, do not want to hear you gloat about how my friend has been manipulated by your beloved.”