Brenna
As old as Adan was—two hundred twenty years old—I never expected him to wait for me to have sex. No, it would have been too much to ask of anyone, let alone a sexy Alpha. And although I knew he had many women in his life, I was also glad that he had stuck mainly to one over the past several years. But because of that, we both were now paying the price.
As I sat at the table waiting for Adan to return, I wondered if our relationship would survive. It was as if it was doomed from the start. But many relationships started off rocky and lasted for years.
But that was yet to be seen.
I opened a bottle of wine while I waited and filled two glasses. Mine, I made a double. When he came back, I hated to have to dump more on him, but I would have to tell him about my confrontation with Hailey now. She had been pretty busy today.
Growing tired of waiting, I took my wine with me and flipped on the gas fireplace in the living room, and it roared to life. Then I opened the sliding glass doors, headed out onto the balcony, and looked out over the courtyard at the front gates.
The sun was setting on the horizon beyond the gates when a sports car pulled up. When I looked closer, it was Nikoa. I sighed. What he was doing here, I had no idea. Right now, he was the last person I wanted to see.
Then, to my surprise, Hailey walked from the castle past the gates with a duffle bag over her shoulder. Then she stopped and looked up at the balcony. I looked over, and Adan was dressed and watching her go through the sliding glass doors of his suite.
Nikoa got out of his car and opened the passenger door for her. Hailey looked up at Adan one last time and then slid into the car. Then Nikoa closed her door, slid into the driver's seat, and pulled out a moment later, never coming inside the gates.
Knowing Adan needed time alone to process, I went into my suite and locked the sliding glass door. Then I took my plate and curled up on the couch in front of the fire, wondering if this horror show would ever end.
I had every intention of giving Adan time to grieve. After all, you can't be with someone for sixty years and not feel something for them when it ended. He wasn't a monster.
After a while, I flipped on the television and set my plate aside, unable to eat. Then I lay on the sofa and clicked through the channels, settling on an old movie. But I ignored the figures that entered and exited the screen and didn't hear what they said, unable to concentrate. It was just something to watch.
Suddenly, the adjoining door opened, and Adan peeked in. "May I come in?"
I nodded, sitting up as I pulled the pillow onto my lap and turned the volume down as I watched the figures on the screen. "Yeah, but if you need time to grieve, I understand. I'll see you tomorrow."
He walked in, took the remote control from my hand, and clicked it off. "I don't need time. I know what I want."
I lifted my eyes to his. "But you can't spend sixty years with someone and not feel something when they leave."
Adan sat beside me on the edge of the sofa and clasped his hands. "In all the time I was with Hailey, I never felt anything for her like I feel for you."
I nodded, leaning against his chest as he slid his arm around me. "If you want to talk about it, I'm here."
He smiled as he kissed the top of my head. "Thank you, but no. I already talked it out with her."
I pulled away, remembering what I needed to tell him, and hating myself for having to. "Hailey coming here wasn't the only thing that happened with her today."
His head snapped up. "Is that what you were talking about earlier?"
I nodded and then told him about going shopping for groceries with Cory and Harper, about Hailey approaching me, and then me throwing her out. "Then I told her that if she came near you or me again, I'd kill her."
He listened, his expression unreadable.
"When Hailey asked Cory and Harper if they heard my threat, Cory told her he would testify to you and the Council that I was in the right, that she was the one who approached me." I let out a deep breath. "I told Cory that we needed to place a guard on her so nothing would happen to her."
"You said that?"
I nodded. "Yes, of course. Adan, I don't want anything to happen to her, no matter how much of a hard time she's been giving us lately."
"Neither do I." He sighed. "That's why I called Nikoa to come for her. He extended an invitation to her to join his Pack. I just hope she can find happiness again one day."
"Who knows? Maybe she and Nikoa will hit it off and become Mates."
Adan shrugged. "That's what I'm hoping. But then she thought I was passing her around now that I was through with her."
Anger raced through my chest. "Are you serious?"
He nodded. "Yes, but I straightened her out, telling her that I only want her to be happy and that I was hoping they would hit it off and become Mates."
"You don't think he'll use her, do you?"
Adan shook his head. "No. I was careful to tell him not to. No matter what happened between us, she's been through enough and doesn't need to go through any more."
"I agree." I headed over to the table and slid his plate into the microwave. "I'm going to be honest with you, Adan. I don't know what I'd do if you did that to me."
He wrapped his arms around me from behind, his voice close to my ear. "It won't happen. I was honest with her from the start. But it obviously meant more to her than it did to me."
I nodded, understanding. "But it doesn't make it any easier."
"No, it doesn't."
***
A/N: So, what would you do? What do you think of Hailey? Do you think she should just move on?
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