The Arrangement |1|

Chapter Twenty-Two

   After Madeline had showered and dressed she walked down the stairs in search of Dylan. Her guard trailed in front and behind her, and while she wished she could block them out, it was impossible to do so.

   The moment her feet hit the bottom of the stairs, the brunette of her best friend was all the warning she had before Casey threw herself onto her. She held her friend fiercely.

   "Are you alright? You went into shock and I couldn't get anything out of you- Wait a minute." Casey paused. She leaned in and sniffed her. "You smell different. Did you and him- Oh my god, you guys did," she squealed.

   "Casey, you're going to burst my eardrums if you keep it up." Madeline had her hands over her ears for dramatic effect. She lowered her hands as soon as her friend quit squealing. She smiled shyly. "And yeah, we did."

   Casey started squealing again, but it didn't stop there. She grabbed her shoulders and shook Madeline until her teeth rattled.

   Madeline pushed her away. "Why do you seem more excited about this than me? I'm the one mated to him, not you."

   "Because my friend is finally happy. I mean look at you, you're glowing and everything. You look like you're in love. And I'm so happy that you're happy. I can't wait until you start popping out little pups. I want one of them named after me, or all of them."

   Madeline smiled. "I am happy and I am in love." She shook her head at her in amusement. "I am not going to name my children after you. So, forget about it."

   "And why not? Casey would make an excellent name for a girl. Or you could even do Cassidy, and Casey for short."

   "I said no."

   She pouted, but before she could say anything, the front door slammed open, shaking the walls and an angry voice bellowed through the House, "Where is she? Where is she!"

   It all happened in a blink of an eye. No one was able to move fast enough to stop it. First a fist flew at her head, connecting with her jaw. Then she was slammed up against the wall, with a very angry Dylan in her face. His hands gripped her neck, squeezing, cutting off her air supply.

   "This is your fault! It's all your fault that she's dead!" He all but yelled at her. Angry tears slid down his cheeks. "It should have been you in that body bag! It should have been you!"

   Madeline's guards were there in an instant, reaching out to pull Dylan off her, likely kill him too, for raising a hand against the Luna. But Madeline raised her hand, a silent command for them to back off. She could handle this herself.

   Madeline was not a trained warrior. She didn't have years and years of experience of training. But she didn't need years and years of experience to take down a seventeen-year-old boy whose head was clouded with rage. She just needed to keep a level head and she would be able to overpower him. Though it would help if she could breath.

   She let go of his wrists and quickly grabbed hold of his face, digging her thumbs into his eyes until he released his hold on her. She drove her knee between his legs and pushed him away from her. Her guards restrained him before he could jump her again.

   "Oh my god, Madeline! Are you okay! Do you need help? Should I get Emerson?" Casey frantically asked, though she stayed a few feet away, as did all those who were there.

   Madeline waved her off. "I'm fine. Just need to catch my breath." Her voice was a little hoarse but with some water and some time to heal, she would be perfectly fine.

   She stood from her crouched position. She faced her guards and the young, heartbroken wolf they had detained. "Let him go," she commanded.

   Her guards were flabbergasted. "But Luna, we can't just-"