Rogue Spirits

Eighteen

Adrianna hastens her walking, feeling she's late to the meeting with Chris's uncles and father. At the same time, the thought of her sisters walking away together without her consent sends tingles of warning beneath her skin.

They could be up to something no good. No. They're always up to something no good when she leaves them in Heloise's care.

That playful girl twists minds like she's sucking lollipops.

She recalls Chris telling her he'd be in the meeting room and turns a corner just before she misses it. The meeting room and the dining rooms are probably the places she easily remembers most.

She hesitates before grabbing the knob and pulls away, fixing her sweater to be as perfect as possible and stretching the creased lines on her jeans.

She takes a deep breath and composes herself, blinking her eyes and making sure they look casual.

She knocks thrice before opening the door, her eyes catching sight of two men with greying and whitening hair standing next to a younger, sharp-looking man with oily, black hair and cold green eyes.

"Who's this werewolf? This is a private gathering, Christopher." The one with white hair says, his lips creased into a scowl.

Chris clears his throat, beckoning Adrianna to come forth with the wave of his fingers.

She reluctantly smiles at them as she walks to his side. Their frowns only seem to deepen when his hand clasps the small of her back.

"Uncle Russel, Uncle Wesley, Dad, this is my mate... Adrianna." He says, eyeing each man slowly, helping the red-haired woman puts names to faces.

"Pleased to meet you." She mutters, bowing her neck in respect.

"Call me Cyrus." His father states, his voice concrete.

"Hmph. I'm surprised you didn't choose other she-wolves over her. Isn't that what today's generation is inclined to?" Wesley says carelessly, his eyes seeming to be bored.

"I thought you're mating with Elena? Why did you reject her? She's the perfect candidate for your luna. She knows how to manage a large pack and she comes from an equally big pack." Russel scolds Chris.

The way his gaze doesn't even stay on Adrianna for more than half a second gives the feeling that she's unwanted, but how he enunciates each word clearly, only confirms it.

A bead of sweat trickles down the side of her forehead, now that she notices Chris's dad's stare has yet to move from her, critiquing her, almost making her believe he can see past layers of her skin.

"She's given to me as my mate. I think it's natural for me to accept her. I haven't found a reason to consider her to be unfit as a luna. She's been nothing but kind since she arrived." The words slide out of his mouth smoothly and his expression betrays not a single emotion.

"I heard she trespassed into our land and fought with another she-wolf which her sister took care of." Cyrus begins, his voice rising after each word, full of insinuation. "An act like that couldn't have gone unpunished."

Chris may have let her and her sisters off the hook easily, but his uncles do not favor her as a luna. His father isn't pleased with the news of her crudeness, but has he heard about their rogue status?

"We've straightened that out. They only have each other and they didn't mean to enter our territory. A group of thieves was after the gem her sister found and attacked them first." When it comes to countering his family's allegations, he adopts a harsher note for his father that she barely notices.