Finding Closure (open m/m)

Clara raised a brow when the door opened and Travis was on the other side, frowning a little at him she followed after Travis upstairs. Looking at the door of the room he brought her too she raised a brow before she stepped inside with him, putting her duffle bag down on the ground like he told her to she couldn't help but let out a shocked breath when the door shut and everything went quiet, "Jesus" she breathed. The calming feeling that washed over her and her wolf was an odd one for her, "That is so weird" Clara said with a shake of her head as she looked at Travis with a frown. "I take it no one else can feel me while I'm in here either, right?" she asked wondering how on earth the ward on the room worked.

The door opened and a rapidly healer Travis stood there. His eyes were duller than normal and it took him a moment to come out of his mind and smiled faintly. "Ah. Clara. Come with me." He turned and lead her upstairs, opening a door that was painted to look like a woodland landscape. "stepping aside he let her inside. "Set your stuff down, and listen." He shut the door and went quiet. The room's ambiance shifted, and it took on a calming feeling. "This is Mia's room. Can't feel anyone else in the house, can you?"

Clara watched everything Mia did, as soon as she stepped through the portal with Travis she couldn't help but frown. She had no intention of getting in touch with the Moon Goddess as she didn't want to deal with all of the drama that came with that woman. Clara then spent the next few hours fighting with her wolf about what they were going to do, packing up her duffle bag that she kept her whole life in she left the motel. Against what she wanted her wolf convinced her to go back to James' pack as it was the safest place for them to go until they were ready to move on, stepping up onto the porch of the packhouse Clara reached out and knocked on the door. "This is fucking stupid" Clara grumbled to herself as she shuffled her feet unhappily both her and her wolf now in agreement that this was probably the stupidest idea they had carried out.

Mia looked down and frowned faintly when a slightly emerald green mist collected around her hand, and she shook it off. Standing to her feet, she pulled another black orb out of her bag and tossed it at the portal. "I know it was not easy to ask him for help. Keep alert for his return for the agreement to come. The first warlocks learned a lot from the Fae, including about their blood pacts. In turn, warlocks internally absorbed some Fae tendencies. You never know when those that you form blood pacts with will come calling for their payment."

The woman walked over and with a slightly glowing hand, she woke Travis from his sleep with a gentle touch. It took them a couple of minutes, but the man was finally able to get on his feet. Her bag on his left shoulder, she let Travis lean on her right shoulder for a bit of stability. "If you truly do not like the connection, you can call on the Moon Goddess." Mia said as the two of them walked over to the portal. "She'd get rid of that connection for you in a heartbeat." The two then stepped through the portal , the thing closing behind them quickly.

"I just don't want to be a bother" Clara said with a shrug of her shoulders, watching as Mia checked her watch she raised a brow a little as she mentioned the connection between her and James still being there. "Just because I can still handle connections, doesn't mean I want them" she said with a smirk before she shook her head slightly at Mia's offer "Even now, I can feel that buzz of the connection between me and James and I'm not a fan of it" she added with a grumble to her words. "Thanks but, we are used to handling things ourselves" Clara said honestly before she sighed softly, "Eric was a necessary evil...I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I didn't get him to try."

Mia laughed behind a hand, letting out a soft sigh afterwards. "I offered my room to you, so it wouldn't have been unfair. It would have been fine." Lifting her right hand, she glanced at her watch, quiet for a few moments. "Just know... if you need help, you can reach out to me." She turned slightly, holding out a hand. "Because that connection with James is still there, even if stuffy and hard to reach, it lets me know that your soul can still handle connections. If you two agree, I can set up an independent connection that you can use if you have no other option and need help." She shook her head with a faint smile. "I can be the final stop before you have to ask that friend of yours for help."

Clara shook her head a little when Mia offered to let her stay in her room, "Thanks but no...I'd rather not stay somewhere I could get attached too" she said with a soft sigh. Even though a part of her liked the idea of being somewhere safe Clara's wolf didn't like the idea of being so close to James and his wolf, at least not while they were both feeling so unsure about everything now. "Besides, it wouldn't be fair on you taking your bed" Clara said with a frown "And I don't want James asking questions about why I am there" she added as she waved her right hand a little in a small dismissive motion not caring how silly it sounded that she was worried about what James would think of her staying with his pack.

Mia shook her head, yawning lightly behind one of her hands. "My room is protected by wards that my brother set up. I am a notoriously light sleeper, and so the wards keep anyone's power or any noise from coming into my room. It's even impossible for me to tell where James is in the house. If you are worried about that piece of trash vampire, I can camp out in the infirmary and you can stay in my room until you are ready to leave town. I'll probably be able to move Travis in a couple of hours...."

"I guess you could call him interesting" Clara said with a laugh and a shrug of her shoulders, she had never seen him as anything other than being a friend. Clara was sure that he was going to have a talking to her when he found out she was trying to set him up with someone without him knowing, "I say do it, even if it is just to get under your brothers skin. I am sure that Eric would find it highly amusing to piss off another warlock" she said with a smirk knowing that was just the kind of person Eric was. Crossing her legs on the couch again comfortably she sighed softly, as she placed her elbow on the arm of the couch and propped her head on her hand "This is going to be a long night isn't it?" she asked with a raised brow. A part of her wondering if she was even going to stay in the motel now that she knew that Louis knew where she was and she didn't want see that man again as he scared her and her wolf.

Mia was lost in thought as Clara had went to change. Blinking when the woman came back out and sat down, she let out a laugh, a faint smirk on her face. "I wondered why his name felt so familiar... Oh, yeah. Njord would hate that possibility." She looked over at Clara, her head tilted to the right slightly. "Kind of makes me want to try, for more than one reason." She shrugged faintly, relaxing back into her seat. "Guess it's a bit of a sister wanting to do something to annoy her brother... But then again, Eric is simply interesting...."

Clara smirked slightly hearing Mia's stifled giggle, "He says he doesn't like the council because he used to run it and now it is filled with whiny little toads who don't deserve to be called warlocks" she said quoting Eric's exact words from when she had asked him why council members were not allowed in his club. "And I am sure your brother would have a heart attack if you started seeing Eric" Clara said honestly with a shake of her head, she was all for helping others find their mates and those they were meant to be with as she had come to terms with the fact that she would never have what they did. Frowning a little Clara looked back over towards Travis, "How much longer do you think his going to be passed out on my floor?" she asked thoughtfully before she tilted her head to the side a little, "I'm going to bet another hour." Clara looked down at the jeans she was wearing seeming to suddenly realize she had blood on her jeans, "I'll be back" she said before she got off of the couch and grabbed a pair of clean shorts from a bag on the floor before she went into the bathroom and changed before coming back out and plopped back down onto the couch.

When she mentioned what he cared about, she couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Sounds like someone I used to know. He was only one of a very small few vampires I could stand." Sitting with her legs crossed under her, she leaned forward slightly so that way her hair would swing forward to hide her face. Her head tilted slightly to the right, jumping slightly when he felt her wolf retreat deeply into her mind, leaving behind a faint trace of fear in her. Quiet for a moment, she put a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggle she suddenly let out. "A warlock that doesn't like the council... I can only imagine how annoyed my brother would be if that did happen."

Clara raised a brow when Mia was dismissive about Eric and she couldn't help but smirk when she heard Travis speak, glancing over at him a little she watched him for a moment before she looked back at Mia. "Eric doesn't care where people come from or who they are related too" she said with a shrug of her shoulders, "He only really cares about his club and the people who owe him debts" Clara added. Running a hand through her hair she knew Eric was going to milk it when it came time for her to do whatever he wanted her to do so she would be debt free, "I say you should get to know him. His a party boy...loves a good party and he throws great parties" she laughed with a shake of her head. She had been lucky enough to go to some of his parties and they had always ended with her not remembering much the morning after, "But, if he likes you, he'll take care of you" Clara added with a smile as she had no doubt that Mia was the kind of woman that Eric would chase after for the thrill of it.

Mia make a light snort like sound, waving her hand in front of her face in a dismissive way. "As if. It is hard to find people who not intimidated by the pack I am in. Most of the time when I am out and about, if men find out what pack I belong to, I get one of two reactions. Either they try and act like they are the top of the top when it comes to men or they practically run away. It was just interesting meeting someone who couldn't care less."

"You really shouldn't lie like that, Mia." The woman sat up straight with wide eyes, looking over at Travis, who had his head tilted a bit towards them, looking at her through half closed eyes. "When have you ever shown true interest in someone, hm?" The man let out a tired laugh, feeling the pulse of pure embarrassment that flashed outwards from Mia. "With your bloodline... You are going to outlive us all. Why not try to cultivate some kind of relationship with someone who has been around for a while, and will continue to be around even longer?"

Mia shook her head, ignoring the blush on her face. "You hush your mouth and go back to sleep. The medicine needs time to work at getting rid of that bastard's blood out of your system, you fool." The man let out a tired laugh, closing his eyes and almost instantly falling back asleep. "Jerk...." She muttered, reaching up to rub her face.

"Eric?" Clara asked when Mia asked about her friend making her laugh a little, "His an acquaintance...he likes to influence people, says its a party trick for him" she said with a small shrug of her shoulders. "I met him when I first came to the city, at his club, some guys were trying to start trouble with me and he stepped in and threw them out. Said only he is allowed to cause trouble in his club" Clara laughed. After that night he had given her a job in his club, Clara was sure that he only did it to keep an eye on her. "He likes to mess with people with his magic, says his too old to not have fun. But it seems like he might have caught your eye" she said with a raised brow. Most people didn't ask her about Eric even though women did find him fascinating Clara had never had anyone talk to her about him and his magic tricks, "As far as I know Eric isn't seeing anyone, if that's helpful to you" she added with a small smirk.

Mia tilted her head to the side, resting it against the back of the couch as she looked over at Travis. "I am sure you have. I apologize if I sounded like I was insulting you. It's just... Travis is such a nice guy, despite what he has gone through, and knowing that the reason he is in this state right now is because of the one who was supposed to love him... I'm just being a bit silly and protective, I guess." Wanting to take the conversation in a different direction. "So... You know some pretty interest people, I've seen. That 'friend' on yours is an interesting one. Right away tried to pull a trick of sorts on me." She chuckled. "It was honestly kind of funny. Seems to me like he tends to do that a lot."

Clara rolled her eyes a little when Mia said that if she hadn't sent James home he would still be there and that he had a pack to calm down, "I may not be a doctor but I've patched up myself enough times to know what to look for on someone else who is badly hurt" she said honestly before she looked at Mia when she sighed and tilted her head backwards making her raise a brow slightly before she chuckled when she said that she hated seeing the two of them in pain. "You get used to being in pain...I don't mind it so much anymore" Clara shrugged honestly as she crossed her legs on the couch "Of course there are days where getting out of bed is almost impossible but, we get through it" she added with another laugh. She was sure after all of this trouble and having seen James again that she and her wolf would end up in bed for a few days unable to do anything but Clara didn't care in that moment, she just wanted to help the wolf on her motel floor as much as she possibly could.

Mia smiled faintly, reaching up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. "Had I not sent him home, James would have been here too, and I could feel how uncomfortable you were. Besides, the news has probably hit the pack, and so he needs to be there to keep them calm, and assure everyone that Travis is okay." She leaned back slightly where she was sitting, staring up at the ceiling. "Travis is well loved by all of us, myself included. I wouldn't be okay, especially as the pack doctor, leaving him here." She let out a light sigh, closing her eyes as she tilted her head back. "I hate this whole thing. Louis attacking Travis... Seeing you two in pain..."

Biting her bottom lip a little Clara looked at Mia when she finished talking, "I wouldn't be surprised if he was seeing...some of the stuff that happened...we probably were reaching out to him without even knowing it" she said with a shrug of her shoulders and a small laugh. When he added that he had wanted to find her Clara couldn't help but give a more hearty laugh, "Please, if he had really wanted to find me, he would have found a way" Clara pointed out with a shake of her head. "Having been packless for so long just makes pack issues seem so...pathetic" she snorted with a laugh, sighing a little Clara moved on the couch a little getting more comfortable "You know you don't have to stay here, I can keep an eye on Travis...and get him home when his up and walking" Clara said casually as she looked over at Travis. She knew she wouldn't be in all of this mess if she hadn't gone out drinking just to wake up in James' pack.

Mia lightly pat the sleeping Travis' shoulder before standing up. Brushing off her knees, she walked over and took a seat to Clara's right. She rested her hands on her knees, looking at the wall across from her. "It was a year after we had taken over his uncle's pack. I was taking inventory in the infirmary, when James woke up the entire house, screaming in his sleep. I ran up to his room and found him sitting up in bed, in the middle of a panic attack. It took many psycho-therapy sessions before I figured out what was going on. This man... who had always been so careful with his emotions, he was breaking down in the sessions. He said he kept seeing flashes of you... and the way he described the nightmares, it was intense. He and his wolf... the stupid, ignorant decision they had made tore his soul, and it had finally caught up to him.

"After therapy, he wanted to find you, but... the pack was still in shambles. He took it over in a time that other packs were attacking, knowing they were weak. It tool all of his attention to protect us."

Listening to her explain how James had become an alpha she raised a brow slightly, "Never would have guessed that" she said with a soft laugh before she looked back at the floor when Mia said that she shouldn't blame herself. "Can't help but blame myself...I mean, obviously something was wrong with me for him to reject me in the first place" Clara said with a small bitter laugh before she looked back at Mia, "I've kind of just gotten to the point in my life where I just...don't care anymore...nothing holds my interest, its why I move so much" she said as she got comfortable on the couch. "Did he ever...regret it?" Clara asked wanting to know if James had ever spoken about regretting what he had done or if he spoke about being happy with his choice in life, "I doubt he wondered where I went after it" she laughed a little.

Mia stayed sitting on the floor next to Travis, not wanting to move him right now. "You are right. He wouldn't have." She remembered the day vividly, as she had been the only person to go with him. "The week after he rejected you... He was violently tossed out of the pack. I was the only one that went with him. He ended up taking over his estranged uncle's pack." She laughed lightly. "We are a pack of misfits no one else wants." She was quiet for a moment, before looking over at Clara. "It's not stupid, Clara. After living with Travis for so long, seeing him go through what he did because of Louis... I can understand, to a point, but you shouldn't blame yourself. He made the decision, not you."

When Mia said that she was in a territory protected by another alpha she couldn't help but raise a brow a little, she had never heard of two packs being so close together. Looking over at James when he left she stopped herself from showing any emotion before she looked back at Mia when she said that she might go to Eric club the night she was going to leave to give her one good memory of the city making her laugh and shake her head, "I prefer not to make memories in cities, makes it easier to leave...it's harder to leave somewhere if you have good memories of the place" Clara said with a small shrug of her shoulders before she sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh that was one of the reasons why it had been so easy for her to leave her pack when they shunned her. "If we had known this was the city James was an alpha of, we would have stayed away" she said with a shake of her head before she ran her fingers through her hair, Clara knew this time leaving this city was going to be hard for her as she tried not to leave from place to place so close to a full moon but it felt as if she didn't have a choice.

"Want to know something stupid?" Clara asked after a moment of being quiet, "A part of us truly hates him for what he did, but another part of us doesn't blame him in the slightest for rejecting us" she said softly with a small sigh. "Kind of feels like we deserved it...I mean, if he didn't I doubt he would have become an alpha" Clara added with a small laugh.

Mia shook her head slightly, remembering something. "Louis is managing to get around undetected. You are in the land protected by another alpha." She looked down at Travis, frowning slightly. "Travis' younger brother is that alpha." Thinking for a moment, she glanced over her shoulder at James. "Go home. I will stay until he wakes up, making sure there isn't any internal damage I cannot see on the outside."

James stood up and let out a low breath, a portal opening up in front of him. The great wolf hesitated for a moment, but he hardened his heart to the feeling that had raised up in him. He damaged all rights to feeling like that. He stepped into the portal, the thing closing behind him a few seconds later.

Mia shook her head, sitting back on her heels. "I might go there the night you leave." She shrugged with a faint smile. "Give you at least one good memory of the city before you leave."

Glancing over at James when Mia scolded him, "I learnt a long time ago that being mad at what he did to me isn't worth the energy" she said with a shrug before she looked back down at Travis as she listened to Mia talk about how her brother was in regards to men being around his sister. "I would suggest going to Eric's club if that is the case, he doesn't allow anyone from the warlock council into his building" Clara suggested before she got to her feet. Walking into the bathroom she washed her hands off before she came back out as she didn't want to annoyance of dry blood on her hands, "If you need, Travis can stay here until his ready to go home. I was planning on moving on a few days anyway" Clara said with a shrug. She hadn't been planning on leaving the city so soon but since she knew that James was there it didn't feel right for her to be so close to his territory and in a place they could easily bump into each other, "Since I know some Alphas don't like lone unmated females around their pack areas for too long" she added with a shake of her head. A small hopeful part of her and her wolf wanted James to tell her to stay and that he was going to make up for what he did but Clara wasn't going to hold her breath for that to happen.