Chapter 7: Runaway

Adira followed after Braxton, maintaining a reasonable distance between the two of them. She didn’t like how desperate it made her look, but she also didn't see another real solution right now.

“Braxton, please, I didn’t mean-”

“What?” Braxton snapped as he stopped and swung around to face Adira, making her jump, “What didn’t you mean? Because you were so desperate for my help yet somehow you can't trust me! Why would you even keep me around if that was the case? The guards are gone, why not dispose of me as soon as possible, right?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it like, Adira, because if you can’t trust me-”

“I can!” she cut him off, “I do! I do.”

For a moment, Braxton just stared at her, seemingly trying to assess how honest she was being with him. His suspicion was written across his face and Adira couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty. Not because she cared about him but because she knew that she had been harsh and that she shouldn’t have reacted in the way she did. Especially when she didn’t even know why she did.

“I don’t think you do,” Braxton spoke bluntly, “I don’t think you know how to trust anyone.”

It was Adira’s turn to be mad with that comment.

“How dare you?! You don’t even know me!”

“On the contrary, I think I know you better than you know yourself - at least in some ways. I’ve met people just like you before. I’ve watched them grow up and I’ve seen the way that their inability to let people can ruin their lives. I’m not going to pretend like I know what you’ve been through but I’m not as clueless as you may like to make me seem. So stop treating me like I’m an idiot.”

“Really?! You know me? You know me because you’ve met people with trust issues before and we must all be the same, right?” 

“That’s not what I said!”

“No, but you implied it well enough!”

Braxton took a deep breath before speaking again, “Okay, that was wrong of me to suggest. I’m sorry.”

An awkward silence fell over the two of them, neither really knowing what to say or how to pacify the situation. Adira knew that Braxton still didn’t believe her trust and she couldn’t blame him. After all, she wasn’t even sure if she trusted him. All she knew was that she was needed to at least make him think she did if she wanted him to help her. She took a deep breath to prepare herself. She knew one thing that might sway the man but she wasn’t happy about it.

“Brax is my brother’s name,” she mumbled.

Braxton looked up at her, trying to act cool and unbothered but she could see the slight trace of shock in his eyes. It wasn’t hard to tell that he was surprised Adira was opening up to him, even just in this small capacity, and Adira herself wondered if she was going mad to be doing so.

“You don’t have to call me Brax, you know? You can just call me Braxton.”

“I will.” Adira stated bluntly.

She could see the silent question in Braxton’s body language, the way he longed to ask more but held himself back. There were so many questions he could ask her right now that Adira wasn’t sure what route he would take even if he did speak up but she knew she didn’t want to answer them regardless. Where is he now? What happened to him? Do you miss him? It didn’t really matter what the question was, the reminder of Brax and his absence hurt bad enough, regardless of how innocent the questions were.

“I ran away.”

Adira looked up at Braxton as he spoke, surprised by his sudden openness.

“Camden…he was my alpha. I guess technically he still is but I left. Yesterday. I didn’t bring anything with me, I just got up and left.”

The man took a deep breath and Adira just stayed quiet, not wanting to say anything to upset him, just giving space for him to keep talking or change the topic. Whatever he needed.

“I can take you to Camden, but he isn’t going to be happy to see me back there.”

Adira looked confused then, “You don’t know that. He’s your alpha maybe he-”

“You don’t know him like I do. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“Then tell me.”