Chapter 29

KATHERINE

“What the fuck are you doing here?!”

‘Oh, here we go.’

“Uh, Poppy–” Jackson started and she whirled to face him.

“No, no. What the fuck is she doing here?! Why did you guys let her take the test? How did she pass the test?!” she yelled before returning her attention to me once more. “How did ‘you’ pass the test?!”

I wanted to shoot that last question back at her because she wasn’t very bright, but I kept my mouth shut and ignored her presence instead.

“What the fuck is up with this fool?” Josie said.

“Excuse me?!”

“Poppy,” Hunter called and my gaze slid from the wall I’d been staring at to him. He had a small frown on his face like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

“I don’t want her here!”

“Dawson.” It was Theo who spoke now, his tone full of authority while his harsh gaze was directed at her, and Poppy didn’t respond immediately this time. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I– Theo… she sent Patel after me,” she replied and Theo’s gaze grew harsher while I frowned.

‘Patel?’ I thought before figuring out that was Priyanka because she said she clocked Poppy two days ago.

“You can’t let her be a member,” Poppy continued, her voice quivering, but Theo’s expression didn’t soften and when he spoke, his voice was ‘cold’.

“You either take a seat or get out. You do ‘not’ raise your voice at anyone here.”

Silence settled over the room after that and the tension that filled it was so thick, it felt like we could cut it with a knife. The urge to glance at Poppy to see what expression was on her face filled the air, but I didn’t turn my head in the direction she was standing in till I heard the door shut.

“Now that that’s settled,” Theo stated. “Let’s begin.”

Theo led the orientation, starting with the history of the club and what the club was about, and I listened attentively for a couple of minutes before my gaze drifted to Hunter who was working on a laptop. Then I spaced out.

Like I’d said before, Hunter was sweet and humorous and I wondered what being his mate would be like as I watched him. His gaze caught mine a couple of times and for the first two, I immediately looked away, but after that, we exchanged smiles.

‘Really sweet,’ I thought as he grinned at me again while shaking his head before gesturing for me to listen to Theo.

The corner of my mouth twitched at that and as I also shook my head in response, Josie suddenly nudged me, drawing my attention, and I raised my brows at her.

“Theo’s talking to you.”

‘What?’ My eyes rounded and I quickly faced Theo who was watching me with a small frown before embarrassment heated my cheeks.

“Are you clear on the dos and don’ts of the club?” he asked.

“I, uh–” ‘Dos and don’ts?’ “...Yes?”

My unsure answer earned me a displeased look from him and my shoulders sagged a bit as I swallowed.

“Yes,” I repeated and he set his mouth in a hard line before looking away from me.

“Any questions?” he asked us while moving backward to the table at the other end of the room and Josie’s hand shot up. “Yes?”

“What’s our motto?”

He narrowed his eyes. “We don’t have one.”

“What about ‘who ya gonna call’?” she replied and a few chuckles went through the room while Theo rolled his eyes.

“Shut up.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Any ‘serious’ questions?” he asked and when nobody raised their hands, he continued, “None? …Okay, you’re dismissed.”

People rose from their seats, talking amongst themselves as they headed for the door while the old club members headed into different rooms in the club house.

“Do you want to go to the dining hall now?” Josie asked as we got to our feet and I shook my head sideways, glancing at Hunter who was packing up his stuff.

“I want to talk to Hunter. I’ll catch up,” I replied. He was my potential mate after all.

She nodded before going after Theo who was heading up the stairs and when Hunter and I were finally alone, I walked up to him. I’d been thinking of talking to him ever since the orientation started but now that I had the chance to, the first thing that came out of my mouth was, “So how’s the painting going?”

Hunter paused and lifted his gaze to me before his forehead creased. “Huh?”

‘What the hell? That was dumb. Try again.’

“Hey,” I tried again and he flashed me a smile as he resumed packing up without taking his eyes off me.

“Hey. It’s nice to see you here,” he replied and I realized that if not for him, I wouldn’t have gotten the key to Blackwood’s ship.

“The knight was a fine detail.”

The smile that lit his face told me he understood what I meant and he nodded before zipping up his bag. “And how are you finding the club so far?” he asked and I pressed my lips together, remembering Poppy’s tantrum.

“Not so welcoming,” I muttered, moving around the paperweight on the table, and a line appeared between Hunter’s brows before realization dawned on him.

‘Ah, Poppy… She’s always like that. Sorry about that.”

“Yeah.” The conversation began to taper off after that and wanting to stop that, I asked, “What pack are you from?”

“Blue Blood.”

‘Oh for fuck’s sake.’ That was Blake’s pack too. ‘So my mate’s from Blue Blood? What kind of luck do I have?’

“Oh God. What did we do?” Hunter spoke in a grave voice, his eyes slightly widened at whatever expression I had on my face at the new piece of information, and I couldn’t help but laugh at his tone.

“No, nothing. You didn’t do anything,” I replied, still laughing.

“No, seriously. That look was something.”

“It’s just…” I wondered if I should tell him about it –my pack having issues with Silver Bow and his pack supporting Silver Bow – but I decided against it. We barely knew each other, it would be weird to dump all of that on him, and besides, he couldn’t control his pack’s actions. “Nothing,” I repeated.

His expression told me he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t ask again and just nodded as he slung his backpack over one shoulder. “Where are you heading to now?” he asked and I glanced at the stairs Josie had followed Theo up.

“The dining hall. Josie and I are going together. What about you?”

“To the studio. I need to complete what I was working on on Monday,” he replied, reminding me of the day we met, as he walked backward to the door.

“The sunset painting?”

“Yeah. You wanna see it when it’s done?” he asked and I bobbed my head without hesitation. “You can drop by the studio at any time, you know?”

“Really?”

“I could use the company.”

I smiled brightly at that, looking forward to spending more time with him. “I’ll be taking you up on that,” I replied and he paused, returning my smile.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”