Chapter 37: Ada's Mate

Ada

My head is fuzzy, and my eyes are puffy when I wake up. I spend most of the night crying over Tyler after we told Zayne. He did not take it well, but I must admit, he took it better than I anticipated. Today would be an excellent day for people to stay out of my way – especially Margo. I am in a terrible mood. I can feel it. I am stressed out, sad and did not have enough sleep.

I put on a black power suit and tie my hair into a bun. Today is all about death, I sigh inwardly as I walk to the dining room. Funeral, dying brother and a bad mood. A fatal combination.

The atmosphere is dire when I take my seat at the table. Zoe’s eyes are red and puffy from crying. Even Blake and Reese that normally greets me with bright smiles are sombre. I figure everybody has heard the news by now.

“Where’s Tyler?” I ask when I notice his empty chair.

“Right here, sister,” he smiles brightly at me as he kisses me on my cheek.

“Guess what?” He looks at me with sparkling eyes. “I just booked my ticket to Greece. I’m leaving in a week.”

“So soon?” Father’s voice is hoarse and I can tell that he too spent the night crying.

“Time is of the essence, Father,” he says jovially. “Or what do you say, Ada?”

“I couldn’t have said it better,” I force myself to smile. My heart might be broken, and I might be in my worst mood ever, but I will support Tyler and only give him my happy side. And he looks genuinely excited about his plans. “And I want a bottle of Ouzo for Christmas.”

“You shouldn’t joke about this,” Margo gasps indignantly. “You’re upsetting your father.”

“I’m not joking,” I glare at her. She obviously has not shed a tear and I am not even surprised by it. “And I think it’s only fair to warn you to stay out of my way today.”

“Theo,” Margo turns to Dad. “Are you just going to sit there and allow her to threaten me?”

“It’s not a threat, it’s a warning,” I say before Father could reply.

“Margo, please,” Father’s voice is tired and emotionless. “Let them deal with this the way they see fit and stay out of it.”

“Fine,” she huffs. “I just think they’re being insensitive and unfair towards you since you’ve already had to suffer through this once.”

“And I will deal with my suffering the way I see fit,” Father explodes. "I don't need your help."

“Excuse me,” Father stands up. “I’ve lost my appetite.”

He glares once more in Margo’s direction before he leaves the room.

“I told you,” Margo points her finger accusingly at me. “You’re upsetting your father.”

“And I warned you to stay out of my way,” I hiss at her.

“You only think of yourself,” Margo continues as if I have not said a word. “It doesn’t matter to you that your father is hurting. He lost his wife to this disease and now …”

“And we lost our mother,” I explode and jump up. “And worse than that, we had to deal with you as a replacement.”

“See.” Margo points a finger at me. “There you go again. It’s all about you. You lost your mother and you had to deal with me. How about you think about others for a change? Dealing with you was no picnic for me either. And now you’re adding stress by supporting Tyler to galivant around the world. Your father is going to be worried sick not knowing how Tyler is doing when he’s travelling. Not to mention the financial stress you’re going to inflict by funding it.”

“I have my own money,” Tyler growls. “I can support myself.”

“And what Tyler wants, he will get,” I slowly walk to Margo. “It’s his life and his choice. Just like Mother made hers.”

“Don’t you dare,” Margo hisses at me. “You can’t blame her for having the disease.”

“You hypocritical b*tch,” I sneer. “You can justify her decision but not Tyler’s. He is doing what's best for him. It's his life.”

“Your poor mother,” she pulls her nose like she smells something rotten. “Having a child like you must be such a disappointment. Blaming her after all these years and all she ever did was give her everything.”

“You should know,” I smirk. “Clyde is no price either.”

“He has nothing to do with this conversation,” Margo explodes. “Leave him out of this.”

“And you leave my family alone,” I place my hands on her chair’s armrests and lean closer until our faces are only inches apart. “In fact, why don’t you just pack your bags and f*ck off? You don’t like us and we don’t like or need you. You already overstayed your welcome.”

“I’m here to support your father,” she pulls back her shoulders. “And I will stay here until he tells me otherwise.”

“Then support him,” I hiss. “And leave me and my brothers alone. Because I swear, I will snap your neck and I will smile while doing it.”

I push her chair backwards with all my might, and Margo yelps quickly as she slides backwards.

“You’ll regret this,” Margo shouts at me as I turn around and walk away. “Wait till I tell your father, you ungrateful c*nt.”

All the pain and anger that I have been harbouring reaches a breaking point and I snap. I pick up the first object that I can reach on the table and the glass of orange juice shatters against the wall right next to Margo’s head.

A heavy silence fills the room and Margo looks at me with big eyes on her deathly pale face.

“Next time I will aim for your head,” my words are calculated as I fight to control my anger. “From this moment forward, you will only speak to me when spoken to. Do I make myself clear?”

Margo avoids eye contact as she rushes out of the room. I release my breath slowly to calm myself. This is spiralling out of control. Dad is too emotional to tend to anything other than his own sorrow. Tyler is going away and Zayne does not have the knowledge to tell left from right. That leaves me to take control of the situation.

“I’m sorry, Tyler,” I say as I turn to him. “This is not the way I wanted you to start your day.”

“Are you kidding me?” He grins. “I haven’t seen Margo the maggot so scared before. It was priceless.”

“I wonder if she will talk to Ada after this,” Zayne chuckles.

“Pfft, as if,” Tyler rolls his eyes. “She’s already halfway to Dad to tattle.”

“Okay, boys,” I call them to order and take out my phone. “Tyler, I’m sending you Nikos’ number. He lives near Athens. I met him during a conference Father attended. Back then he was the alpha’s son, but he could be alpha by now. Contact him and tell him I’m your sister. He will assist you in Greece. I will call him and confirm after the funeral.”

“Ada,” Tyler sighs. “I don’t need …”

“Yes, you do,” I interrupt him firmly. “You don’t want to risk being labelled as rogue. Nikos will vouch for you for as long as you stay in Greece.”

“Fine,” he sighs.

“And after that, you should spend time with Zayne and bring him up to speed regarding alpha duties,” I continue. “Dad is still processing all of this, and I doubt that he’ll be capable of training.”

“Shouldn’t I accompany you to the funeral?” Zayne asks.

“No,” I shake my head. “I have enough support.”

“You’re both coming,” I turn to Reese and Blake. “I’m changing our plans.”

“Zoe,” I look at her. “The plans for you and Violet stay the same. Get information about Leon and sort Violet’s mate.”

“Am I still going?” Cooper sounds so insecure that my mood almost lifts for a second.

“You’re welcome to join us,” I nod.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see Father,” I say as I walk out.

I know I am risking a lot to see Dad now. I am too upset and my mood is too foul. Honestly, I should be in a boxing ring with rabid dogs instead of among people. And Dad is hurting as only a parent can. I know he is not going to like what I have to say, but time is running out, and not just for Tyler.