Chapter 26: Ada's Mate
Ada
“What the hell happened here?” Cooper asks as he and Zoe approach us.
“What does it look like,” Blake says over his shoulder. “I shifted.”
“Congrats on getting your wolf back,” Cooper hands Blake his clothes.
“Oh, dear goddess,” Zoe exclaims as she looks at me. “What happened to your arm?”
“I bit her,” Blake confesses as he pulls his shirt over his head.
“You did what?” Cooper grabs Blake threatening by his shirt.
“It’s not like that,” I say quickly. “I nearly fell off the cliff and he saved me by biting into my arm and pulling me up.”
“But to be fair,” Blake removes Cooper’s hands from his shirt. “I did startle you that caused you to lose your footing.”
“We can discuss the details after the doctor examined Ada,” Zoe intervenes.
“That’s all that I’m willing to say on the matter,” Blake says as he looks at me intensely. “Ada can tell you everything. The choice is hers.”
“Whatever, let me help you inside,” Zoe pulls my healthy arm around her neck.
“Nope,” Blake steps forward and picks me up. “I’ll carry her.”
“I can walk, Blake,” I protest weakly. Being in his arms is a delightful experience. My body is still tingling from where he touched and kissed me.
“I made you a promise, remember?” He winks at me, and I rest my head against his shoulder.
My eyelids are suddenly heavy and I have a hard time staying awake. This has to be one of the longest days of my life.
“I order you to stay in bed tomorrow,” Zoe says firmly.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I yawn. “I only need sleep. It’s three in the morning and normal to be tired.”
“But you’re injured and don’t have a wolf,” Zoe argues. “You need bed rest.”
“I agree with Zoe,” Blake says.
“So do I,” Cooper chimes in.
“Since when is my health a voting issue?” I huff. “I know what my body is capable of. Besides, we have things to do.”
“Everything can wait for a day,” Blake sets me down gently when we reach my quarters.
“Not the food parcels,” I shake my head.
“What food parcels?” Blake asks as we enter my quarters.
“Ada,” Reese immediately rushes towards me. “Your neck and arm. Are you okay?”
“What happened?” Willow and Violet fuss over me.
“What food parcels?” Blake asks again.
“Please,” I say loud enough for everyone to hear. “It’s not a big deal. I fell, Blake got his wolf and saved me. End of drama.”
“And the food parcels,” I turn to Blake, “are for the rogues. I made a deal with them tonight. They don’t kill us and we feed them.”
“Now,” I take turns looking at everyone. “Can I please go to bed?”
“You made a deal with the rogues?” There is a dark frown on Reese’s face.
“And when did this happen?” Blake’s lips are pulled into a thin line, and I can tell he is ready for a fight.
“I said good night,” I shout over my shoulder as I limp to my room.
“I’ll help you,” Reese steps closer to me, but I hold up my hand.
“Alone,” I say softly. “I need to be alone.”
“But you haven’t taken your pills,” Zoe shakes the bottle as she walks to me.
“The pills can come, thanks,” I smile as I take it from her.
“Ada, the doctor …”
“Let the man sleep, Zoe,” I cut her off. “I won’t die. I just want to sleep.”
Reese
“Somebody needs to explain to me what the f*ck is going on here?” I growl as soon as Ada closes the door firmly behind her. The girls were supposed to have a pyjama party and have pillow fights or whatever girls do on such an evening.
“Yeah,” Blake crosses his arms and looks at Zoe. “I would also like to know. And don’t try that b*llshit story about practice. Those marks around Ada’s neck are too big for your girls’ hands.”
“Urgh, fine,” Zoe rolls her eyes. “You’ll find out eventually. We met the rogues and had a conversation with them.”
“Hold on,” Cooper steps towards Zoe, distraught written all over his face. “Did you deliberately leave the castle to find the rogues?”
“Calm down, Romeo,” Willow snorts. “We did, Zoe stayed behind for communication purposes.”
“And you better watch it,” Zoe raises her eyebrows as she crosses her arms and lifts her chin. “Or you’re not marking me tonight.”
“Okay, okay,” I intervene. These girls are nothing like the females at home. Aggressive tactics do not sit well with them and if we want the truth, we need to approach them differently. “What happened when you met the rogues?”
“Ada made a deal with them,” Willow smiles and informs us word for word what transpired. A part of me is impressed with Ada but the bigger part is furious that she put herself in harm’s way.
“Dear goddess,” I sigh when Willow stops talking. “Are the four of you always this impulsive and irresponsible?”
“Define impulsive,” Violet snorts.
“And irresponsible,” Willow adds.
“Because we talked it through and were prepared for everything,” Zoe concludes.
“Except for the part where a rogue had Ada dangling by her neck,” I growl angrily.
“She’s been in worse situations,” Violet says. “In fact, we all have.”
“Then she had her wolf!” I explode.
“Hush,” Zoe hisses. “You’re going to wake the entire castle.”
“Reese has a point,” Blake steps in. “Ada is wolf less and more vulnerable. Go look at her. Broken ankle and bruised neck …”
“Don’t forget your bite marks,” Willow sneers and Blake lowers his gaze in guilt.
“If you keep this up, Ada’s organs will end up getting damaged from all the painkillers she has to take to cope,” I say sternly and for the first time, the girls do not have a snarky remark. “You’re her friends and you all look out for her. That includes stopping her from putting herself in dangerous situations.”
“You’re right,” Zoe sighs. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Willow and Violet mumble.
“We should continue this discussion in the morning,” Cooper pulls Zoe into his embrace. “It’s almost daylight.”
“Good night,” Willow and Violet immediately scurry away.
“You and I should talk,” Blake says softly as Zoe and Cooper leave.
“I’m listening,” I look at him curiously and notice he seems a bit uncomfortable.
“If Ada’s my mate, I’m not going to reject her,” Blake says directly, and my stomach gives a nasty turn.
“What changed?” I ask as I concentrate on my breathing. This is a shock to me. From the start, Blake made it clear that he is not interested. After Cooper matched with Zoe, I was certain Ada will be my future Luna. Hell, I already started planning the perfect date to mark her.
Even if Ada was not my mate, I already connected with her. I care for her and I will easily fall in love. Things were in place. If Blake was her mate, he would reject her and I would have done everything to convince Ada to be my Luna. I had a plan, a future and now it is hanging in the balance.
“I came to my senses,” he grins sheepishly. “You were right, she’s nothing like June.”
“Does Ada knows this?” I look at the floor so that he cannot see how upset I am right now. Blake has been stuck on June for years. Why does he have to get over her now?
“Yes, I told her after I saved her,” he admits.
“And you’re certain?” I look at him seriously. “You’re not just feeling like this because you shared a moment with her when you saved her life? Because it’s going to be a f*cked up move if you change your mind and break her heart.”
“I was having doubts about my decision before tonight,” he answers directly. “Her nearly dying only confirmed it.”
“Well,” my smile is strained. “Then there’s not much to do than to wait until she gets her wolf.”
“I also kissed her,” he confesses and I burst out laughing. For the first time since he started talking, I feel like I have the upper hand.
“My friend, I have done so much more,” I pat him on the back before I walk away.