Adriana flinched with the sound and crawled further down the cave. Soon, however, she heard voices."You could have let me know it was you. I almost jumped you!" Rowan sounded furious. "How did you find us?""Us? Aren't you alone? And some of us can actually track people." It was a woman's voice.That almost scared Adriana even more than the growl, though a few seconds later, the logical side of her brain kicked in, telling her it wasn't Ravenna."What is that supposed to mean?" Rowan said. His voice was getting louder."I'm the one who should be asking questions. What on earth are you doing here? And why didn't you wait to attack? Right now, I don't know if you're stupid or suicidal. We lost people.""We were going to lose people anyway," Rowan replied, sounding very angry."Where are you going?! Come back here!" The woman kept cursing at Rowan as their footsteps grew louder, coming towards the cave.
Rowan didn't know what to make of the girl he had just brought home. She had attacked one of his wounded men in a frenzy inside the medical convoy, and he was sure everyone in the pack had heard of this by now. They wouldn't say anything to his face, of course, but they must all know that the girl their Alpha had personally rescued from Crimson Blood had tried to hurt an omega. Now Adriana lay sleeping restlessly in his bed. There were many other rooms in the house, but he didn't want to take any chances in case she attacked someone again. When he got up to bring some water for her in case she woke up, he heard her stir. "Alaric?" she mumbled, half asleep. Who the hell was this Alaric man she kept mentioning? He didn't even know the man's face, but he gathered he was responsible for hurting Adriana, and that was enough to make him want to kill him. Rowan's muscles tensed as Adriana slowly woke up and opened her eyes.&
“No!” Adriana said quickly. “I mean, not directly. Maybe you should talk about that with him.” This took Adriana by surprise. If Luna Marie knew about their fated match, it meant that others knew too. It would explain why Rowan looked so angry at her before and gave her more reasons to speed up her departure. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t meddle in these things. But I don’t think he’s realized what a blessing the Moon Goddess has bestowed on him, and I just can’t stand by while he makes the worst mistake of his life.” Luna Marie sat on the corner of the bed and shook her head. “You don’t waste such a gift like finding your fated match.” “Shouldn’t it be up to him, though?” Adriana blurted out, and she instantly regretted it. The revelation that Alpha Rowan was her fated match had thrown her world upside down. If it hadn’t been for him, she could already be miles away. Away from the Turnbulls, away from Ravenna… She would have never even been in that horrible creature’s clutches if
Rowan had not expected his night to go like this. Running in the forest had almost a magical effect, making him calm down and clearing his head. He had no idea how long he had been running when he smelled Adriana—and she was too close. And he had found her, talking to that guy who could only be the same miserable person who hurt her. The run had been in vain. All the pent-up rage he felt exploded, and now he was after Alaric, winding through the trees and catching sight of him fleeing like a coward. He was going to murder him. But before, he'd get some much-needed answers about what he did to Adriana. Then he'd make sure the guy suffered three times as much as whatever he did to her. He pushed away the gnawing feelings of betrayal. What if Adriana had planned to meet the guy there? What if her hesitancy to tell Rowan anything was because she was secretly in love with Alaric? Rowan stopped abruptly and changed direction. In his state, he'd never be able to outrun Alaric. Not
Adriana didn't know what overcame her to act this way, but she did know that this was all she wanted. She wanted Rowan like she never wanted anything before, and right now the world around them could fall apart and she wouldn't care. It was just her and him, regardless of everything that had happened. Instead of the passionate hunger with which he began, Rowan now gently accommodated Adriana on top of him, rubbing his hardness on her. At first, he seemed hesitant to go further, kissing her softly on the neck and cheek, moving on to her mouth, and expectantly waiting for her to let him in. "Please..." Adriana moaned, swaying back and forth, asking him to enter her. He slowly shifted positions and his hardness was inside of her, slowly and softly, as if he was scared of hurting her. It did hurt a little, but it was nothing compared to the explosion of pleasure she felt when she finally felt him inside, swaying rhythmically back and forth.&
Adriana had a hard time looking at Rowan in the face the next morning.After a very insistent Luna Marie had her come down for breakfast, Rowan was there at the table, looking tired and distant, as if he, too, was trying to forget what happened the night before.What had come over her? She had planned on getting away from the pack, Rowan, and everything just a few minutes after Alaric had lured her to the forest. Then, somehow, they ended up... entangled."Is everything alright?" Luna Marie's eyes darted between Rowan and Adriana. "Your eggs will get cold.""I have to go into the office." Rowan stood up abruptly, grabbed a loaf of bread, and began to head out of the kitchen."Rowan! Sit back down here this instant." Luna Marie said softly. There was no need for her to raise her voice. "I don't know what is going on between the two of you, but you need to sort it out. Make up your mind. And no one will go ANYWHERE until the two of
Rowan wasn't sure he had made the best choice regarding Adriana and Jaina, but he needed to find something for Adriana to do before she decided to leave again. And if she was going to leave, he needed her to be able to defend herself. Last night had been a whirlwind of emotions. Behind that reserved facade she usually put up, Rowan could see that Adriana was still the vulnerable girl that he had met back at the Turnbull's. So he had gone to speak to Jaina in the middle of the night and asked her to evaluate Adriana's powers. And train her how to fight. Now, sitting at his office, he was unable to keep still, thinking about what Adriana must be enduring. Jaina was insufferable most of the time, but she was one hell of a fighter. And she knew more about hybrids and special wolves than anyone else he knew. "We... have a problem." Lucien barged into the office without knocking. That was pretty much normal, but he usually didn't take anything seriously, so his words made Rowan tense u
Adriana hadn't seen that one coming. The next time Jaina lunged at her, though, she was ready. She ducked and extended her leg forward, spinning so quickly that she didn't even realize what she had done. In a second, Jaina fell back, ungracefully landing on her rear. "Good," Jaina said, giving Adriana a not so happy smile. "Your reflexes are quite fast." "I've never done that before," Adriana said honestly. "I've never fought anyone in my life." Because she was never able to. How many times had she wished she were able to punch Rhonda in the face, or at least push her away when she inflicted pain upon her? And Alpha Darien... he was so much bigger and stronger, which should have given him a clue that the punishments he inflicted on Adriana were much more painful... She pushed back the tears that threatened to gush out of her eyes. "I don't pretend to know what you've been through," Jaina said as she stood up.