Hunters and The Summit

Book:My Sister's Boyfriend is My Mate! Published:2024-6-3

The wolf was dying. Gerald signalled his men around him to take their formation. A wolf was most rabid when it was on its last legs. He knew from painful experience and the scar across his face marking him distinctly was a constant reminder.
It howled again. Probably for reinforcement. They had to finish this one off quickly.
He moved with his team, their entire movement in sync. Their every step trained and coordinated to remain soundless. The sniper above spoke into the comms. “Clear shot sir. Shall I take it?”
“Take it.”
A grunt came from the wolf. Gerald nodded and his men surrounded the creature.
It was dead and had morphed back to its unnatural human form. A naked female lay on her side. Her body was riddled with bullets and her leg was bleeding from the trap they had laid for her.
Gerald resisted the urge to make a cross symbol. The fact that the creatures could wear their skin had always been disturbing to him.
He kicked her corpse. There was no reaction. Then he bent and checked her pulse. She was truly dead.
“Take the body to the van.”
One wolf at a time, he would eradicate them from this world, rogue or not.
**********
Ava was anxious. She tried breathing exercises that didn’t seem to do anything.
“Are you alright? You are hyperventilating.” Adrian asked.
He was the perfect gentleman. As though last night he hadn’t practically blown her mind away with his declaration.
“I’m fine.” She replied grumpily as the car sent by the pack neared the pack location. In upscale Washington, the pack house masqueraded as a private boarding school.
The first driver drove up to the gates and the gates were opened remotely automatically and they were in.
Adrian was still looking at her as though she was going to break down anytime now. It was exceedingly annoying and aggravating. She ignored his inquiring looks and got herself mentally ready.
The car came to a stop. Adrian got out and went around to open the door for her. She would have fought about it but he’d explained that they would need to play the part of a newly marked and mated couple.
Adrian would touch me intimately, at least by our standards and she would do the same for him. They would laugh, giggle and hold hands almost throughout and they would need to go through the motions so that the other leaders wouldn’t know the extent of the problems that their pack was facing.
“You are here! I’ve been waiting for you to come here. Gabby! Where is she?” Janine, the Luna of the Blue Moon Pack, Washington hugged Adrian and looked around for Gabby, her eyes glossing over Ava completely.
She was stunning with her flawless caramel skin and defined curls that she swept into a classy bun and she wore a designer dress looking like a belle in a ball. She could have been anywhere from twenty-two to forty-five years old. Ava suddenly felt underdressed in her hair mussed from the flight and her simple sweatpants and sweater. The party was at night so there was no need to dress formally while arriving or so she thought. Plus had she been expected to wear such clothes during a six-hour flight?
Janine turned around as though Gabby would magically appear from the sky.
“Adrian, where is she? The welcoming ball is tonight and she needs to help me out with all the arrangements. Don’t tell me she is getting gifts again, I already told her she didn’t have to, we already have so much.”
Adrian opened his mouth to speak but the whirlwind of a woman spun on Ava.
“And who might this be? A friend?” She looked at Ava’s clothes, and she winced. Like actually winced as though Ava’s clothes were that bad. “The help?”
Ava’s cheeks coloured. This was going even worse than she had anticipated. She wasn’t sure if she could attend a ball with people like this who would pick her apart while pretending to be into Adrian all the way. Ava moved. To leave, to just excuse herself from the situation, she didn’t know but if she stayed here for one more minute, she would ‘help’ introduce the woman’s face to her fist.
Ava was no diplomat but she knew that would not go over well with anyone.
As she was about to move, however, Adrian grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. Ava gasped softly looking up at him as she was plastered to his side.
“Janine.” Adrian’s voice was steel. “This is Ava, my mate.”
“What?” Janine looked extremely shocked and looked between both of them like Adrian was telling a really bad joke.
“Please extend my apologies to Arthur about not coming in to see him. My mate and I are exhausted from the flight. We will be down for the ball. We’ll take the usual room, please send our luggage up for us. It is good to see you too.”
Adrian took the woman’s limp hand and pressed a kiss on it before taking Ava’s hand again and taking her across the courtyard to a large expansive building that could have been an ancient boarding house.
Adrian walked with sure steps that even if he had not spoken of going to their usual room, Ava would have known that he had been there before.
The place had a large foyer that could have doubled as a reception area. They went to the elevator where Adrian clicked on the fourth floor. He didn’t say anything but he didn’t let go of her hand either.
He picked a room with the number 112 on it and stepped in. The room was large. Larger than Adrian’s room back in California. The bed was massive and made with black and white bedding and a black duvet with splashes of red all over the room. It looked classy but still cosy.
“What was that about, Ava?” He looked angry for some reason.
Ava wrinkled her brow regarding him.”What do you mean?”
“When Janine spoke to you, you wanted to leave. I understand what she said was rude and uncouth but what would leaving have achieved? You are the Luna of our pack now. You need to act like it.”
“Adrian, I wasn’t…”
“You can’t just leave at a slight inconvenience. I know socializing isn’t really your thing but I emphasised how important this meeting is to us. To the pack.”
“I wasn’t going to leave. I just needed a freaking moment. I am not Gabrielle. I don’t know what to do when someone talks down to me and I’m not allowed to hit them because it would be impolite.” Ava inhaled deeply.
“A week ago, I had dreams. I had a life. My family cared about me. I am trying my best Adrian to adapt to this impossible situation and if it’s not enough, screw you, Adrian.”
Ava wiped her tears and walked away.