Adan
When I glanced up and saw the look on Brenna's face, I knew her seeing me with Hailey would take a lot of explaining. But in good conscience, I couldn't let Hailey walk away like that. I owed her that much.
I would deal with the fallout with Brenna later.
"Hailey, please try to understand. I never wanted you to hurt you—"
"Well, the time for that's over." She sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Obviously, you never loved me."
"I tried to tell you that when we first started seeing each other, but you still wanted to see me. You knew I was waiting for my Mate. I never lied to you." It had sounded good at the time. But now, seeing her distraught face, I felt like a heel for having used her like that. But then again, she knew what she was getting into.
"I know." She placed her hand on my cheek as she looked into my eyes. "From here on out, I will work with you as one of your warriors, but nothing more."
I nodded as guilt raised its ugly head within my chest. "Agreed."
She nodded, letting her hand fall. "Have a good life, Adan." Then she turned and walked away.
Before I could say something I'd regret, I turned around and headed toward Mason's office. I didn't love Hailey, but I couldn't let my guilt over her overshadow my love for Brenna.
I should have known better.
Even though I had told Hailey the truth the whole time, she thought she could sway me. That I'd grow tired of waiting for my Mate and choose her instead. But the love I felt for Brenna was already stronger than any other I'd known in my life, even though I hadn't known her nearly as long. I don't know if it was the Pull of the Mate, but I already loved Brenna more than life itself.
Even though I was over two hundred years old, I'd never been in love... until now.
I quickly pushed Hailey from my mind as I approached Mason's office door. What was done was done. Now, it was time to mend things between Brenna and me.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Come in!" Mason yelled from the other side, obviously knowing it was me.
When I walked in, Mason was sitting, and Brenna was leaning over his desk, looking at a diagram that Mason was sketching.
He looked up and motioned me forward. "Adan! We were just going over our battle plans—"
"Let me know when you plan to attack, and I'll be ready." Brenna rose to her feet. "I need to speak with Magenta about the Luna Choosing Ceremony coming up."
"Breanna...." I caught her arm as she walked past.
But she yanked it out of my grasp. "Do not touch me right now!"
Mason jumped to his feet. "Brenna, you should really be a part of the planning—"
"No!" I yelled a bit louder than I had intended.
Her head snapped up as a mischievous grin lit her lips. "On second thought, I'd love to, Mason."
I clenched my jaw. "Brenna, you have no business being in a battle—"
"I'm one of the best warriors you have now." She tilted her head to the side. "Can you really afford not to use me?" She thought about it and added, "In battle, that is. You'll be lucky if I ever let you come near me again after what you pulled."
"After what I pulled?" I scoffed, shaking my head. "Surely you didn't expect me to remain celibate my whole life!"
"Hell, no!" she yelled. "But you could have told me that you were going to go speak with Hailey when you left the Main Dining Hall! But no! Instead, I had to catch you in the hallway consoling her!"
"I think I'll give you two a minute." Mason kept his voice low as he snuck past. "I'll be right out here in the hallway when you're ready to talk strategy."
He nearly ran out the door.
"Brenna, I didn't set out to 'go after her.'" I let out a deep breath, wanting to word this correctly. "I was headed toward my office when I heard her crying."
"Was Ember with her?"
I nodded. "Yes, and I told her to go."
Brenna rolled her eyes. "So you could be alone with Hailey—"
"Yes, but just to talk," I cut her off. "Brenna, we were seeing each other for a long time—"
"How long?" She folded her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes.
I shook my head, knowing she wasn't going to like it. "About fifty or sixty years, give or take."
"Fifty or sixty years?" Brenna's voice rose several octaves. "And did you ever cheat on her?"
A crease formed between my eyes. "Brenna, we weren't actually together."
"So, do you have children I should know about?"
I shook my head. "No. I always wore protection, and they were on birth control."
She took a deep breath, obviously trying to make sense of this. "Because you don't want to have children."
"No, because I was waiting for you." I rubbed the tops of her arms, defeated. "Brenna, please understand. I've been alone all these years and—"
"And a man has needs." She scoffed, shaking her head. "Well, bub! So does a woman."
I caught her arm as she tried to storm past. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means just exactly what you think!"
"Brenna." I sighed, trying to keep calm. "That happened before I met you. But from the moment I saw you, I haven't been with or laid eyes on another woman."
Her eyes slowly met mine. "Seriously?"
"Yes." One corner of my lips curled into a smile. "Now, can we put this behind us? What I did with any other woman was before I met you."
"I'll try." Brenna stared at me for a long moment. "I knew you would have been with women before me, but I didn't expect to have met one." She arched an eyebrow. "Are there any more I should know about?"
I lifted one shoulder. "Maybe."
"Oh, dear Lord." She shook her head. "How many?"
I let out a deep breath. "Let's just agree that the past will stay in the past."
She stared at me for a long moment. "Yeah. Maybe that might be best... at least for now."
***
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