Adea
“We’re not expecting war but we’re taking precautions. We know how unstable Shane is and we don’t want to take a chance of being blindsided if he decided something crazy. That’s why we’ve started today on the off chance he makes a move.”
“I know we’re doing the best we can with the situation but I can’t wrap my mind around the fact we’re not going after him. The piece of shit we’ve been searching for has finally been located but we’re not going to do anything about it? They’re expecting us to just sit here?” Gabe shook his head, his eyes were wide in disbelief. “This is insane. When I see him, I’m going to rip his head off.”
“When? Gabe, I know I have no right to say this but… I can’t… I can’t have you going after him for revenge. We need to do this the right way. I know, he didn’t play by the rules and this is so shitty. I know this sucks and I’m sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. I wish I could bring you justice for what’s happened. I need you to believe me when I say he’s going to get what’s coming to him.”
I was also trying to come to terms with Shane being back. Every time I thought of him it put my body into fight or flight mode. Images from my dream flashed through my mind. “I can’t bear the thought of losing you. Please,” I choke.
Gabe doesn’t say anything but he grabs my hand and squeezes. Closing my eyes, I pushed them back. That was the last thing I wanted to focus on today. I could only handle so much and I definitely couldn’t do this today, wouldn’t. After we ate our food, we sat in the living room and waited for Leo.
A door closed and both of our heads swung in the direction of the noise. Leo strode down the hallway, a sly smirk spread across his lips when his eyes landed on Gabe. He took a seat next to Gabe.
“How’s Briana?” I asked. His eyes were on Gabe as he answered.
“She’s fine thanks to Doctor James. He said she’ll need a few days to heal but he’ll make sure to keep an eye on her to ensure it heals properly.
“What’s with the sad face?” Leo asked Gabe. “Did you miss me?” He leaned into my best friend, who in turn leaned away.
“You’re in my bubble!” I couldn’t help but laugh. Trust him to act like a kindergartner who just found out boys have cooties. I was glad to see him smile. I wish I could make it better for him but I knew he just needed some time. “It’s time for us to switch.”
“Trying to get rid of me so soon?” Leo asked as he crossed his arms in front of him.
“Yes,” Gabe said with a straight face. Leo pretended to be hurt as Gabe stood to his feet. He was quiet on the ride up. When we stepped off, we stopped at Gabe’s door and he gave me a hug goodbye.
“Goodnight, Ady. Get some rest,” he said.
“Goodnight, Gabe,” I said as I squeezed him.
“Goodnight, Gabe,” Leo said as he opened his arms. Gabe used his index finger to push Leo back by the forehead. “Rude,” Leo muttered as Gabe opened and shut his door.
Leo walked me the rest of the way and stood by the door. I said goodnight to him and he nodded at me when I went in. Ethan was still gone after I took a long hot shower. I couldn’t help but be disappointed. I had hoped he would be back. Sighing, I grabbed one of his shirts and pulled it down over my head. The material fell to my thighs and I wrapped my arms around myself. After turning off the lights, I crawled into bed and waited for my mate.
***
I woke from my sleep when the bed dipped. My eyes fluttered open and I tried to blink the sleep from my eyes. Squinting, I attempted to peer through the darkness. A large silhouetted frame hovered above me and I jerked back clumsily. I was about to scream when I inhaled. I relaxed when my mate’s scent filled my senses. My mate was home.
“Goddess, Ethan. You scared me!”
“I’m sorry, my love,” he murmured as he lay beside me. Ethan’s large sculpted arms wrapped around my body and I sighed as he pulled me in close. Remembering that I had been waiting for him, I huffed.
“What time is it?” I grumbled into his chest.
“Late, go back to bed,” he said as he yawned. It was infectious.
“How did it go?” I yawned as I asked.
“It’s late. I missed you.”
“Then make it quick. I’m not going to bed until I hear about your day,” I said stubbornly.
“I said I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” I laughed. “Now tell me.”
“Okay,” he chuckled. “After I briefed everyone on Shane, the Deltas were dismissed. They went back to their section and gathered the warriors. I went with Odis and Darci one section at a time. We’re working on a shift schedule. We want there to always be someone at the specified posts. Our people are on edge, seeing us prepare made some of them fearful. There were a lot of questions and Odis did his best to answer them. It took all day but after tallying our numbers, Odis feels confident. That’s not counting the new warriors either. Darci is Gamma but she’s been overseeing the new recruits. Tomorrow she’s going to gather them up so we can get them set up. I wanted to get to it today but as you can see by the time we returned, it was too late.”
“Wow. Well, you had a busy day and you were on my mind throughout mine. I was worried when we didn’t see you at dinner. You’ve done an amazing job. Thank you for doing everything you can to keep our pack safe.”