Brenna
"Shut the hell up!" Hailey yelled.
"Hailey!" Ember shouted, capturing her attention as she pulled on her arm. "You're making a fool of yourself! Let's go!"
Just then, two guards walked up behind her, and one placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hailey."
She shrugged away. "Get off me! I'm going!" She pointed her finger at me. "But mark my words! This isn't over!"
"As I said before, yes it is." I doubled my fists at my sides, ready for her to bring it on.
"Hailey, it's over!" Adan growled, using the Alpha timbre in his voice that all wolves in his Pack had to obey. "Now, go!"
Tears ran down her cheeks as she nodded.
Ember slid her arm around her shoulder as she looked back at Adan. "You didn't have to do that. I hope you're happy with yourself."
"For one," Adan growled, "it's none of your business. And for another, she knew what she was getting into when she started seeing me. I'm sorry—"
"Save it for someone who gives a damn." She walked out with Hailey as the guards followed.
"Okay, everyone!" Mason raised his hands as he faced the Pack. "The show's over. Now, go back to what you were doing."
Everyone did as he said. Some resumed eating, and some got up with their trays, giving us one last look over their shoulder as they left.
"Not to worry!" Mason patted Adan's shoulder. "We knew this was inevitable."
"But it doesn't make it any easier." Adan turned his attention to his plate and stabbed a piece of his pancake.
I just stared at him. "Are you in love with her?"
He shook his head. "No, I cared for her, but I was never in love with her."
"And you knew this from the start?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What if we got together, and he found another? Would I become like Hailey? Just an afterthought when he found someone else?
He nodded. "Yes. I told her so from the beginning. I never lied to her." He looked up, and his eyes met mine. "I never lie to anyone."
I stared at him in disbelief and started eating, making a mental note to speak with Magenta about this later.
"So, let's plan strategy." Mason happily took a bite of his bacon, appearing to be the type not to let anything faze him.
"Not now." Adan finished off his pancake and started on his bacon. Then he glanced over at my plate. "You'd better eat."
"I want to be a part of the Pack discussions."
Both Adan and Mason stopped eating as they stared at me.
Adan shook his head. "No. You're the future Queen—"
"No, she's right," Mason cut him off. "She may be the Pack Luna very soon, too." He raised his chin toward me. "You saw how powerful she is already. Could you imagine how powerful she'll be after she's a Luna?"
My head snapped up toward Adan. "What's he talking about?"
Adan let out a deep breath. "Hailey is one of our best warriors, and you just grabbed her throat and nearly choked her out as if it were nothing."
My mouth opened. "You're kidding."
Adan started stacking his dishes. "No, I'm not." He looked between us. "Mason's right. You're already very powerful, and it would be foolish of me not to utilize it. So, both of you. Meet me in my office in fifteen minutes."
"Adan, I'm sorry—" I jumped to my feet, shocked that he was going without me.
He held his hand up as he walked away. "I need a moment." Then he hurried to put away his dirty dishes and pushed open the doors so hard as he left that they slammed against the wall, causing everyone to look. Then, all eyes were on me.
I let out a deep breath. "Well, it looks like I've made a good impression." I took a bite of my bacon, but it had already lost its flavor. "I don't think I'm hungry anymore." I pushed away from the table, ready to leave, but Mason caught my arm.
"No. Don't." He shook his head slightly as he looked into my eyes. "Give him a minute."
I nodded, sitting back down. "So, what happened between them? Do they have children together?"
I don't know what I'd do if he had children by another woman before we met and had left them for me. How could I split up a family like that? But if that was the case, I'd deal with whatever comes.
Mason shook his head. "No, nothing like that. He and Hailey had been together so long that everyone thought he would eventually give up trying to find his Mate and claim her instead. But then he met you, and he knew."
"Knew what?"
"That you were the one he'd been waiting for all this time. Just don't break his heart." Mason nodded toward my plate. "Hurry up and eat. Adan will be expecting us."
The conversation went to casual topics as we finished eating, and then we dumped out our trash and slid our trays and dirty plates in the window that was obviously used for breakfast and maybe lunch.
As Mason and I walked out, I realized there was a lot I didn't know about this Pack. Each Pack was different, with its own dynamic and rules. Since I was now a part of this Pack and possibly its future Queen and Luna, I needed to start coming downstairs for meals and get to know everyone. If I had been doing that all along, this thing with Hailey wouldn't have happened. Or maybe it would have happened sooner. Either way, it was time for me to stake my claim on this Pack, and make my presence known.
When we walked out, I heard Adan's voice coming from the side hallway to the right. I followed his voice, afraid of what I might see.
Mason grabbed my arm. "No, Brenna—"
"Let me go." I ripped my arm away and headed down the hallway. When I looked to the right, Adan had his hands on Hailey's shoulders, talking to her. She was crying, and I couldn't tell if her tears were genuine, or a ploy to play on his sympathies. His head snapped toward me, and he looked directly into my eyes, his expression unreadable.
I turned away and headed with Mason toward his office, not sure what to think.
***
A/N: So, do you think Brenna will break Adan's heart... or will Adan break Brenna's?
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