Saturn

Luna XVII

Hadley's dreams following the party were consumed by the presence of Xavian's wolf and her own, tussling in the forest. It was refreshing to revert back to the form she'd spent much of her life in, and it was a reminder of what she'd be leaving behind if she decided to stay amongst the pack wolves.

Hadley slept like a baby through the night, whether it was her makeshift blanket, the alcohol, the energy loss from her shift, or a combination of them all. She was woken up in the early afternoon by the noise downstairs of doors opening and closing and loud conversation. She groaned and rolled out of bed. Her head ached dully in the back and her stomach was churning. She stumbled her way into a pair of sweatpants and thick hoodie and peeked out into the hallway. The hallway was empty, and her guard was nowhere to be seen. She tiptoed to the banister and peeked over the edge.

The Alphas of the visiting packs and their higher-ranking associates were lining up for the door, shaking the hands of Lucian, Xavian, and Dominic. The rest of the visiting pack wolves had headed out in vans earlier in the morning or during the night, unbeknownst to her.

Hadley hadn't had much time to observe the pack in their natural habitat, doing their daily activities without the focus directed at her. The only time she spent around these males was when they were talking to her... or fighting with her.

The sound of footsteps behind her pulled her from the trance of watching each person shake hands- like they'd practiced their whole lives to smile and nod and act like they all knew one another so well. Hadley whipped her head around. It was Theo, the guy from last night with Braya. He was disheveled and looked sleepy. His torso was naked and sweatpants hung low on his hips. She eyed him warily. Was he going to reprimand her for being out of her room without permission? She fought the innate urge to cower at his presence-- after all she had practiced her whole life to stay the hell away from pack wolves and stay out of their line of sight. Now she was being approached by one and had to act like it didn't bother her.

"Hadley, right?" He confirmed as he walked up beside her and leaned on the railing casually. He watched those leaving too. Apparently, he wasn't leaving with the rest of them, nor did he care that she was out on her own. Maybe he hadn't heard the mandates that kept her isolated in a room. "So you're mates with the big man, huh?" He chuckled to himself and watched Xavian. The look on his face was hard to decipher; he cared about Xavian she could tell, his eyes held the softness she'd expect. There was something else though, perhaps jealousy or disdain, though she hadn't a clue why.

"I used to hate him, you know." Theo looked at Hadley lazily. Well, that was easy. "I trained in a bunch of the packs as a kid and trained alongside Xav for a while. He was always better than me. We were the same age and he beat me every time we were paired for sparring. I despised him and couldn't wait to go back to my pack and train harder so I could beat his ass the next time I saw him."

Hadley wondered why he was telling her this; they barely knew one another. She crossed her arms over her chest, glancing back over the railing while keeping an eye of Theo. She felt like he was divulging secrets to her. The honesty was... refreshing.

"He's not bad though. Maybe a prick sometimes, but he's got a heart in there and there's this bit of innocence to him that drives me insane," Theo laughed haughtily. "I did beat his ass, by the way. Still could." He stood up straight and faced her. He extended his hand to her and she warily accepted, holding firm and giving a shake. Part of her didn't believe that Theo could best Xavian, though she hardly knew either of them. Theo was built narrower and leaner. His shoulders weren't nearly as broad, and his arms were built but perhaps not as much as Xavian's. Last night gave her a better insight on Xavian's physique than she had expected. Her cheeks heated at the memory. She would desperately try to shake those thoughts from her head. She had told him she'd rather die than be his mate, after all. She wouldn't let herself turn back on her words now.