Clarke POV

When I got home, I went straight to the garage. I pulled a case of beer out of the fridge we'd bought just for this purpose and headed to my studio. I put the beer down, walked over to the door that led to the rest of the house, locked it, hooked my phone to the speakers and started blaring music.

I took off my jacked and stretched a bit. I grabbed a blank canvass and started to just paint. I had no specific goal in mind, I just let myself go and did whatever felt right at the moment. As I painted, I thought back to this afternoon. My appointment with Dr. Jackson had gone well. My shoulder had healed enough that I could start some light physical therapy. We'd set it up so that I'd see him twice a week. It wasn't a bad deal and as my shoulder got better, the more rigorous the sessions would become. He still wouldn't let me shift, but honestly, that didn't bother me so much. I could still hike through the forest, leaving me a chance to still connect with nature.

I sighed and changed out canvasses. Then came Lexa. I honestly didn't know how I felt about her. When I caught her spying on me, I became enraged at her audacity. Her curiosity. I growled at that word. Curiosity was dangerous and unfortunately, I found myself curious about her. When she had turned around after I spoke to her, I was not expecting someone so young or so compelling. There was a compulsion there that I didn't understand. Almost a need to know her. To know her intimately. I had shut that down immediately. I didn't need anymore complications in my life and she was definitely a complication.

But, I was curious about her and something told me that if I allowed her to explain, I'd gain a better understanding of the reasoning behind her actions. I'd been right. I now knew what started the whole thing and I sympathized for her. She was just as ripped away from her family as I was. Though of course, hers was probably over a hundred years ago considering the longevity of our kind. I could understand that need to reconnect with the past. Even if I wasn't sure that I wanted to reconnect with mine.

I could even understand her anger at being so close to her goal only to have it suddenly hindered. I was becoming very familiar with anger and rage because that seemed to always be just beneath the surface, simmering, waiting for an excuse to boil over. I shook my head to clear those emotions even as I painted them.

Instead, I focused on Lexa's eyes. They were as green as a forest in Spring. She even smelled like said forest. Spring with it's new growth combined with fresh air and a slight perfume of rose water. Going back to her eyes, there was a fierceness there. An undercurrent of strength behind those eyes. When I looked in her eyes, there was such intelligence and fearlessness, but I also saw vulnerability coupled with pain and sadness. There was something in her past that she still carried with her. Then there was her body. I was attracted to her even though she wasn't quite my type. I found myself staring at her ass quite a bit as she walked in front of me. Watching her slight hips sway, the play of her muscles that were prominent in her skin tight jeans as she walked. She was beautiful, but not in a typical fashion. I found her beautiful because of the way she held herself; the pride, the confidence, that inherent strength that all Alphas exhibit. I wanted her and maybe in some parallel universe our pasts didn't happen and things between us would have been different. As much as I wanted to trust her, I just simply couldn't. I wasn't sure that I'd ever trust a pack Alpha, not after Jaha.

Then my brain kind of shut off and I just continued to paint canvass after canvass. I painted throughout the night until nearly dawn when the beer finally caught up to me and I could barely stay upright. I just put everything down, pillowed my head with my jacket and fell asleep right there on my studio floor.

I was nudged awake by a boot in my gut. I groaned as I rolled onto my back, my body stiff from sleeping on the floor. I blinked my eyes and winced at the sunlight streaming through the windows. When my eyes could focus, I saw Raven standing over me with a steaming mug of coffee.

"What time is it," I asked groggily as I sat up.

She crouched down and handed me the mug, "It's just after ten."

"Shouldn't you be at work," I asked after I took a sip of coffee.

She shook her head and replied, "I go in at one. Did you know that you were in here all night?"

"I do," I said, nodding slightly. I jerked my head to the numerous paintings that surrounded me and said, "I felt a need to paint when I got home."

"You also felt a need to drink nearly an entire case of beer," she said.

I shrugged, "Apparently."

She settled herself more comfortably and asked, "So, what happened yesterday? Your text was a little cryptic."

I sighed and replied, "I caught Lexa spying on me from across the street from the clinic. I confronted her, she convinced me to give her a chance to better explain herself over a meal. I allowed her to ask a few questions, got upset when she asked why I stayed with Wells and left. Came home and started painting."

"So, what did she tell you?"

"Um," I said as I tried to recall exactly what she told me, "She said that she got upset when I bought the place and that she got even more so when the workers discovered the crate. It just so happens that the engraved stone we told you about, is a centuries old family heirloom that had been brought over by her family when they left Estonia. Apparently, her family was one of the original families of Eden. At one point it was a mixture of pack and humans until something happened and the pack was forced to leave."

"And the sheriff?"

"Dead. She killed him."

"That's one less worry," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," I replied, standing up and stretching. "I think the painting actually helped."

"Well, let's see what you painted," she said as she gathered the paintings and laid them out better.

Some of the paintings were no more than colors. Very angry colors. Dark reds and black. There was one painting of a werewolf, nothing to identify it as someone. It was snarling, teeth and claws exposed. There was one with the mill, pond, and Wells car. Raven leaned in closer to look at it and then turned to look at me.

"Clarke, look at Well's car," she told me.

I went closer and looked at it. I reached out and gently ran a finger over the passenger front window.

"It looks shattered and there's blood on the edges," I said. "Looks like I may have had my head shoved into it."

"Yeah, I think that's safe to say."

We continued to look at the paintings and I could make out there was a change slowly happening. It looked like the anger or rage I had been feeling were fading and based on the colors, more melancholic, depressive. We came to the last painting. It was Lexa and it looked like I had actually taken the time to do it right.

"Who's this," Raven asked.

"Lexa," I said.

"So, that's Lexa. The Polis pack Alpha."

"Yeah," I said as I continued to study the painting.

"She's young."

"Uh-huh, but she carries herself pretty well."

"I can tell. You can see that there's strength in her. Power. She looks like a leader. A good one, but her eyes look haunted."

I glanced at her eyes and I could see that, but I saw much more than a haunted look. I saw pain, sadness, guilt, honesty, vulnerability. Everything I had noticed about her yesterday, I had painted that into her eyes. I had used a very striking green for her eyes. It drew you immediately and for me, it made it hard to breathe. They were beautifully captivating.

I tore my gaze from her eyes, sighed and turned to Raven, "I'm going to go eat something."

"Alright," she replied and we left the studio.

I rummaged around in the fridge and pulled out some eggs and vegetables. I decided to make a couple of omelettes. I started chopping up the vegetables as Raven regarded me with a hooded look.

I paused, looking at her and said, "What?"

"Nothing," she said a little too hastily.

I laid the knife down carefully and leaned more fully on the counter, "That look you're giving me is not 'nothing,' Rae. So, what's the deal?"

She sighed and replied, "It's just the way you painted Lexa."

"What about it?"

"You're attracted to her."

I nodded, "I am, but that doesn't mean that I'm going pursue her or anything like that. Rae, we're attracted to people all the time. It doesn't mean anything."

"It's just that there seemed to be familiarity in your strokes. Like you'd painted her before."

"Let me be honest," I said, staring at her intently, "When I met her yesterday, it was like I'd met her before. There's something familiar with her. I don't remember ever having met her, she just maybe has that kind of face. Anyway, it doesn't really matter. We don't ever have to cross paths again, and I much prefer it that way."

"Do you really," she asked as I started cutting the vegetables up again.

"Yes. She keeps her word, the stone goes to her after the new year. Once I'm done with the PT, I don't ever have to set foot in that town again. I don't want to get any more involved than that."

"Alright."

"Thank you," I said as I started mixing the eggs and vegetables.

She sat there silently, watching me as I made my omelette. I regarded her a moment and I could tell that she was thinking and I wasn't sure that I wanted to know what it was. I finished and after making myself another cup of coffee, ate.

"Do you have plans today," she asked as I was finishing up.

I shook my head, "Not really. I haven't thought that far ahead. I'll probably take a hike later. I may not be able to shift, but there are other ways to move about," I said with a soft smile.

"A hike would be good," she said, nodding. "Gets you out of the house. Maybe later, we could meet up at Rosie's and grab dinner?"

I shrugged, "Sure. We can do that."

"Cool," she said, standing up. "I'm gonna head into town now, grab some lunch before I have to be at work."

"'Kay," I replied and she leaned over and kissed me on the head.

"Make sure you have your phone on you when you go out," she said as she grabbed her keys by the front door.

"I will," I called after her.

I cleaned off the dishes and went upstairs to my room. I took a shower and made sure that I took my medicine. I wasn't really experiencing any side effects, but it was still too soon to tell if it was helping me or not. Not after only one week.

I headed out to the north and trying not to think about anything, focused on the surrounding landscape. There was a bit of chill in the air and a sharp scent of rain. I looked up at the sky peeking through the bare branches. It was overcast and the clouds looked swollen. It would probably rain sometime today. The temperature hadn't dropped low enough for snow, but it would soon enough.

I dug my hands deeper in my pockets as I moved further away from the house. Occasionally, I would catch sight of a deer or two as they foraged. The wind was blowing away from me and they couldn't catch my scent, so I was afforded a beautiful view of the creatures. I'd only hear their movements when I was downwind of them. I lost myself in the hike and didn't notice that I was coming up to the ledge.

I stopped short as I realized that there was someone there. I quietly moved around until I could see who it was. My eyes widened in surprise because it was Lexa. It looked like she had arrived shortly before I did as her chest was still heaving after a good run. I leaned against a tree as I watched her. My eyes roamed her body and I liked what I saw.

She was lithe and even though she was alone, her body still gave off controlled power. Her back was bisected by a tattoo running down her spine and I felt my fingers twitch with want to trace it. The tattoo ended at her waist and I followed it downward to the slight curves of her hips to her round, yet firm ass. The legs of her muscles flexed every once in a while as she moved slightly. My eyes traveled upwards to the muscles of her back and I noticed that there were scars there, some of them crisscrossing. Claw marks which were probably from when she fought for pack Alpha. She had raised her arms, her hands on top of her head as she continued to calm down after the run.

I moved again until I could see her more fully. My breath caught as my eyes wandered over the small swell of her breasts, the flatness of her stomach, to the small triangle of hair. Seeing all of that, I could have sworn that I had once traced fingers along the lines and planes of her body. That I had once memorized every inch of her, but I knew that I'd never seen her before yesterday. It was so strange as my eyes settled on her face. Her eyes were open, but she wasn't looking towards me, but rather out and over the valley. She was lost in thought and in that moment, I thought she was the most beautiful creature in the world.

I continued to watch her for awhile longer and then there was a tug deep inside of me telling me that it was time to leave. With a sigh, I straightened up and left, sparing one last glance at her, and headed home.