Ridian’s POV
The crowd cheered loudly as the fight ended. The smaller man had won. Roger Bundog yelled into his megaphone as he went to the ring and lifted Joe Slater’s hand. Behind them Danny Munther struggled to stand up. He didn’t look to happy after being defeated by the smaller man he had vowed to crush.
He tried to lunge at Joe but he moved just in time for the big man to fall on his face. Loud, mocking laughter filled the air as Joe and Roger moved out of the ring, leaving the defeated man alone.
“That ol’ Danny finally got someone to beat his ass,” John Delvey said. He was a beta from a nearby pack.
“That was great to watch,” I told him. “It was great seeing that man getting beaten finally. His arrogance was getting out of hand.”
“Tell me about it,” Nigel Thomas from Redmoon pack joined in on the conversation. He placed both hands on his hand and used them to brush his hair back. “I didn’t think this skinny Joe had it in him. He has never dared to fight such a big guy before.”
“Apparently, Danny tried to steal his land from him. I think Joe decided he’d had enough of Danny’s bullying. After this, I don’t think Danny will try him again. Serves him right.”
“Danny has been winning for too long,” another man piped in. “It had started to get into his head and he was beginning to think he was unbeatable. I think more fighters will be determined to go against him. Hey, Ridian, heard you bought back a slave you’d sold.”
“Wow, people gossip a lot nowadays, don’t they? You’ve all turned into a bunch of middle-aged housewives.”
“I would have bought back a slave like that as well. I heard what she did to those Frey kids. I hope she can straighten up that little sister of yours. She’s turning into a spoiled brat.”
“Hey, don’t speak about my little sister like that.”
“It’s just the truth. Besides, the older one is amazing. Girl is hot. Where does she hide? I never see much of her.”
“She’s too busy with her project.”
“I wonder where she got the charitable heart from.”
Ridian sighed. “Enough about her. Hey Nigel, come with me. I need to talk to you about something.”
“No problem, man.”
Nigel and I walked away from the crowd which was quickly dispersing since the wrestling match was over. In a distance, I could see Joe Slater and other fighters jubilating while drinking beer direct from bottles.
“What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk to you about the last order. We might delay a little, possibly by two days. The material we needed is currently unavailable at the dealers but it will be arriving in the country in two days. Our seamstresses will do their best to make up for the lost time.”
“That’s it,” Nigel said. “I thought it was something serious. That’s okay. The uniforms are not very urgent at the moment. The interstate run is still a week from now. We just wanted them earlier so we can be adequately prepared. As long as we can get them two days before the event, it’s okay. Just make sure not to disappoint us because you will not like the consequences.”
“Understood.”
“Now about that pretty sister of yours,” he said. “You need to come out with her more often. I speak for all guys when I say we miss seeing her.”
“My sister is not an object for you to feast your lusty eyes on.”
“But you do feast your eyes on other people’s sisters. I saw you staring at Karen Milner earlier. I don’t blame you. She looked absolutely ravishing.”
I chuckled. He was right. Karen Milner was striking but that was not the reason I was staring at her. It was something else, something that Nigel did not need to know.
After talking for a while, Nigel and I went back to the grounds and socialized with other people. I grabbed my own bottle of beer and sat with some of the other alphas. The majority was glad that Danny had been beaten. He had a few loyal supporters who did not like the outcome of the match. They viewed Danny as the greatest champion at the time.
Eventually, the evening wore off. I changed into wolf form and took a run deeper into the woods. I ran until I came to a small lake. Turning into human form, I walked along the shores naked.
I had been trying all day to block out thoughts of Cilla Markle but they kept haunting me. Now that she was back, feelings for her were killing me and I was beginning to question the wisdom in my decision. Maybe it would have been better to just let her go. Her presence was definitely not going to make things easier for me.
I could still remember vividly how I felt when I saw her after her returne. How my heart had been filled with joy and a calming sensation. For days, I had been feeling anxious. Her return made everything feel alright. It was magical, and I did not like it. The mate thing was not working for me.
I couldn’t make up on my mind whether to continue ignoring her or just accept her into my life. What was so wrong with being with a slave anyway? Sure, many people wouldn’t be so impressed with the news that she was my mate, but did it really matter?
After all, it was the moon goddess who made the match, not me. In any case, Cilla had not been born a slave. She had been born into a proper family, but her father decided to get a little greedy which had terrible consequences for him, his wife and children.
Soon, it started to get dark. I turned back into wolf form and went deeper into the woods. After running around to clear my head, I decided to head back home.
I could hear my mother shouting as I approached the house. Remembering that I had asked Mrs. Conway to let Cilla continue working at my mother’s unit, I feared the worst and decided to investigate.
I got off the elevator on their floor and started walking towards mother’s unit. I didn’t bother to knock.
When I walked inside, I realized there was no need for me to worry. Cilla was standing, confidently talking back to my mother whose face had gone red with anger.
I smiled.
“It’s good that you’re here, son.” My mother said. “This slave girl clearly doesn’t know her position in this pack.”
I raised a brow. “Really?”
“Yes, you idiot.” Mother said.
I knew things were about to get interesting. Did I really want to be caught in a battle between my mate and my mother?