Chapter 39

Poppy.

I stand there in complete awe-struck as I watch Adrian’s wolf run away. The look in his wolf’s eyes before he ran has me completely confused.

I’m mad at Adrian for taking back his promise of allowing me to stay out in the woods for the night, but his wolf, the way he looked at me before he ran away. I can’t explain it.

My eyes begin to sting with tears, but I wipe them away before they even start.

I want to hate Adrian for his behavior and how he treats me, but then I see the look his wolf gave me before he left. There was a look of need and want towards me I’d never seen before.

Does his wolf feel the bond?

A whirlwind of thoughts came rushing through my head at that moment. I shake my head to get these awful thoughts out of my head. I can’t think like that right now.

Ugh, why does Adrian have to be so complicated?

An image of his face flashes through my mind at his reaction when I accidentally said Gabriel’s name to him. It seems like he knows who Gabriel is, but how?

“Come on, Poppy. It’s time to take you home,” the warrior says behind me.

He attempts to grab me by the arm, but I pull it away before he’s able to touch me.

Why do men constantly want to try to manhandle me?

“Don’t touch me! I can walk on my own without you having to drag me there,” I yell.

I roll my eyes while shaking my head as much as I want to run away from this warrior and figure out my own solutions for the night. The last thing I want is for the warriors to spend the rest of the night trying to find me and learning my secrets.

I have to be a good girl and follow orders. I say in my head sarcastically.

I can’t believe Adrian is having him take me to the last place I want to be right now. I don’t understand why Adrian suddenly changes his mind so quickly and passes me off to the first warrior he sees and then leaves.

Unless he’s upset about the Gabriel situation, my wolf points out in my head.

Oh yeah, that.

I close my eyes as guilty feelings filter through me.

I didn’t mean to bring up Gabriel’s name, but I got so mad when I found out about Adrian killing that wolf all because of his ego and pride. He always has to show off his dominance instead of trying to use his brain to outsmart the wolves as Gabriel did.

There are other ways to show strength and power within a pack besides using your fists and killing people.

The warrior stops short in front of me, causing me to almost run into the back of him. Luckily I pull myself out of my thoughts and stop before I get too close to him. I look around and notice we are still in the middle of the forest and nowhere near my house.

“Why are we stopping?” I ask him.

“This is as far as I’m going to take you. I’m sure you can find your way back home from here even without your wolf,” he says to me with a smug look on his face.

Asshole.

I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him. As much as I don’t want to be at home right now, I can’t believe this guy is going against his Alpha’s orders. “This isn’t close to my home, the Alpha said…”

“The Alpha isn’t here, and I have more important things to do than waste my time babysitting a wolfless girl,” he snarls.

I lick my lips as I start to laugh crazily inside as petty thoughts fill my head. My fingers begin to tingle with magic; oh, what I could do to this guy, but he’s not worth it.

“Fine.”

The warrior turns to start heading back to his fellow warriors when he stops short, looks back over his shoulder and says, “Try not to get into trouble, Poppy. The Alpha has enough to worry about, and he doesn’t need you to add more problems to his plate.”

My anger boils inside me as I bite my tongue from saying something I might regret. Like, it’s no wonder now why your mate doesn’t want to get pregnant with your cubs. She worries they will grow up thinking and looking like you. That might come off as being a little harsh, but it doesn’t mean it’s not the truth.

He’s just a warrior who thinks he’s protecting his Alpha.

Ugh, the Alpha, stupid Adrian.

Why does it always come back around to him? I’m getting tired of him invading my thoughts and making me feel things for him that I don’t want to feel.

He’s our mate. My wolf reminds me.

I release a heavy sigh.

Well, maybe I don’t want him to be our mate anymore. I don’t understand why the moon goddess thinks that Adrian and I are a good fit together. We have nothing in common except that we come from the same pack.

What if I decide to reject him? Would he even feel the bond break between us?

NO! Don’t think like this, we need our mate. My wolf cries out in my head.

Yeah, well, our mate doesn’t want us. I yell back.

I take off running, unsure where exactly I’m going, but all that matters is trying to dull the senses and feelings that constantly remind me of my absentee mate. I race around the trees, leaping over roots that are above the ground, dodging lower branches until I see the light at the edge of the woods. I head for the light to see where my instincts have led me.

I leap out of the forest in hopes that I’m somewhere where I will be able to seek salvation. I come to a dead stop when I recognize where I am. My brows furrow as my heart continues to race, panic filling up in my chest as I stare at what’s in front of me.

The pack house.