Adea
Finally.
I’m as ready as you are, Adea to leave this room.
Seriously. Let’s hope we can dip out of here before anyone attempts to spark up a conversation, Kor.
As long as we don’t have to talk to him, I’m fine. I know.
I’m sure Ethan will stand up soon. We can’t appear anxious.
But we are anxious.
Are you whining like a pup?
Maybe.
Korra’s whining lightened the mood and I had to fight a smile from spreading across my face. Since Alpha Rich had ended the meeting, it had grown loud with conversation.
Most of the members were still seated but a few had gotten up to chat with others. Alpha Jax was approaching Shane and I was thankful Shane would be distracted.
I waited not so patiently for Ethan to stand up first. If we were going to get out of here now would be the time. The last thing I wanted was for someone to make their way over to us.
I about cried for joy when my mate stood to his feet. Instead, I got to mine. Leo pulled the chair out from behind me and I followed after Ethan. He waited for me to catch up and continued when I was by his side. Odis and Darci followed close behind.
Alpha Jax was talking enthusiastically to Shane. He wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were on me and I felt my heart rate speed up. We were about halfway to the door. We were close, so close.
Without a second glance at Alpha Jax, Shane stood to his feet and strode to the left of the table, effectively blocking the exit. All too quickly, his Beta, Gamma, and the three men that had been by the door were by his side.
Damn it, we had been so close!
I know, Kor. Shh. I need to focus.
Now that I was standing, I realized how tall Shane had gotten. He stood two feet away from us and he was about the same height as Ethan. Even with my heels on, I had to crane my neck to look up at him.
“Watch yourself,” Ethan warned.
Shane didn’t look at my mate, he didn’t say a word as he stood across from me. He didn’t need to, his eyes had trailed down the rest of my body and locked on my legs. Remembering the night of the ball, his opinion on my dress flashed through my mind. The one I had on today was shorter. When his eyes returned to my face, I knew he was angry but that wasn’t my concern. I was dressed to impress, my mate, and I wouldn’t apologize or cower under his eye.
“See anything you like?” Ethan said quietly. It didn’t matter how quiet he spoke, even with the loud noise, everyone in this room would hear him. Shane didn’t speak or look at him but he growled in response. A low threatening sound.
“My mate is beautiful, isn’t she?” Ethan taunted.
Ethan’s hand wrapped around my waist and my eyes almost popped out of my head. At no point in time, had I ever seen Ethan jealous. Other than with Gabe but that was playful. This… this… was something else entirely.
The temples in Shane’s jaws ticked violently, his nostrils flared, and the yellow flecks in his eyes grew bright. His eyes darted between my eyes and the mark on my neck. I wasn’t going to encourage a fight here but I also wasn’t going to push my mate away. I stood tall, my chin firm, and my eyes on Shane.
“Hey, Ad-y,” Devin called from beside Shane.
He called me by Gabe’s nickname. The same nickname Shane liked to use while teasing me. What was this? High School? Was he really trying to make me feel small? Here of all places?
“Devin,” I said, keeping my facial expression stoic. I was not about to give him the satisfaction of seeing my annoyance.
“Hey, Adea,” Liam said.
“Hi, Liam.”
The Liam I remembered used to smile a lot but the man in front of me now was a shell of the boy I knew. There wasn’t a smile anywhere to be seen and I wondered what he could have been through or done since being under Shane’s command to make him this way.
Wait, no, that’s not right. That would have been the right way of thinking had we still been children but we weren’t. All of us are adults and can make our own decisions.
Liam is a full-grown adult now and could have made the choice to stop following Shane’s every command and whim. Whatever choices he’s made or crimes he’s committed are his own. If Liam was here, especially as Shane’s Gamma, it was because he wanted to be.
“Are you not going to say hi to me?” Shane asked.
I looked at him. Shane’s appearance and position may have changed but his jealousy and temperament were still the same.
“I have nothing to say to you, Shane.”
His eyes darkened and he shivered. I hated knowing that his name on my tongue turned him on. He was so close now, his scent was overpowering. My natural instincts were telling me to run but I didn’t back down.
“Come on, Ady,” Devin said. “You don’t know what he’s done to get here.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was he actually defending Shane right now? I can barely stomach it as Olivia pops into my mind. The things he did to her.
If I hadn’t had Ethan by my side, I might have emptied out my stomach. Not only did my pack lose a Gamma, but we also lost a warrior and a true friend. My best friend lost the woman the Moon Goddess made for him, he lost his life partner.
“Oh, I think I do,” I spat. “And I don’t give a flying fuck.” The words spilled from my mouth without thought. I clenched my jaw and glared at Devin as I tried to calm myself.