Page 27

I was nervous as we sat at the table. I didn't like the building we were in, but Weslie was holding my hand, which helped ease some of my nerves. The building felt cramped, and the lighting was too bright.

I glanced at Ayden, sitting in the chair next to us. He looked comfortable and confident, which was just one more reason he was Alpha. He wasn't scared of this place or of what was coming.

He explained the steps in detail and even apologized for any issues that might arise during the meeting. That comforted me until now.

"You okay, April?" Ayden glanced at me, softening his eyes. "You look a little sick."

I nodded. I wasn't, but I wasn't going to say that. My stomach twisted, but I knew we needed to do this. I had thought long and hard about what to do when leaving the hospital. I was scared and terrified of everything. I was scared that he would never stop and even more scared of what Weslie would do.

I knew my brother had killed Brad, and I didn't want that for Weslie. I knew people killed for the people they loved, but I didn't want that. I didn't want Weslie to have blood on his hands. It would follow him around for the rest of his life.

So, we were going a more mature route. I had asked Ayden if he would get in touch with my old pack and arrange a meeting. A meeting where we would discuss my rights and the problem with Ivan. And that Ivan needed to be there. Someone needed to get it through his head that I was no longer his.

I twisted the ring on my finger, staring at the door across from us.

"Deep breaths," Ayden said, his fingers tapping on the table. "Or you're going to pass out."

I took a deep breath in and leaned back in my chair. I offered him a soft smile. "I'm guessing you've done this before," I asked, tightening my hold on Weslie's hand.

Ayden smirked and nodded his head. "Many times. After a while, you get used to it."

I looked back at the door and swallowed. "Does it usually go well?"

Ayden shrugged. "It will, but there may be yelling and other information that will come to light. So, like I told you before, try to remain calm."

I scowled. "Other information? What does that mean? What information would they bring?"

"Yeah," Weslie nodded, wondering the same thing. "I don't know what that means. Is their divorce not finalized or something?"

Ayden shook his head. "No. Your divorce is final. I checked. But I'm just saying things could come up. Words will be said." Ayden looked at me. "Ivan will likely bring up embarrassing things to get you to agree to what he wants. So, just be prepared."

I frowned. "So you really have done this before."

He nodded. "Yeah, I've really done this before." Ayden rolled his shoulders. "This is not the first time I've had pushback when a new citizen moved here. I've had ex-husbands tell me how much of a whore their wives are, how they have vandalized their homes, or that they would kill themselves because they couldn't live without them. I've seen everything you can think of."

I heard the doorknob turn, and my heart raced as the door was pulled open. I watched Tristan, our old alpha, Zavior, his beta, and Ivan enter the room. They were all dressed smartly and looked the part.

As they entered, the room suddenly felt crowded. They took seats across the table. Ivan sat directly across from me, looking smug.

"Glad you guys could join us," Ayden said, speaking clearly as he leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. His entire demeanor shifted, and the sweet guy who was just speaking to me was gone. "And glad you brought Ivan."

"Why are we here?" Tristan asked, tilting his head. "I have other important things than to listen to someone complain."

I felt embarrassed, and Ayden tilted his head at Tristan. "Well, I take my citizen complaints seriously."

Tristan's jaw clenched, and I felt Weslie tighten his hold on my hand.

"We are here to discuss two things. First, we want to talk about April's official move from your pack to this one, as well as her rights and release of your pack since it appears you guys don't want to let her move."

Tristan looked at me for a split second before he looked at Weslie. He looked Weslie over for a moment before his eyes snapped to Ayden. "She is legally Ivan's wife."

"They are divorced," Ayden said, opening the folder we had filled with paperwork and evidence. We had made sure we had everything we needed.

"And she is legally married to Weslie now." He slid our marriage license across the table, including my divorce papers. "They have been married for some time now. She's got a job, and they just purchased a house. So, she is pretty settled into our pack now. There is no argument about that."

"This is bullshit!" Ivan growled, slamming his hands onto the table. "She's my wife!"

"She's not," Weslie snapped back at him. "She's mine. And don't think I won't punch you for leaving her in a burning building."

Ivan narrowed his eyes, and Ayden growled. "Watch yourself, pup. You're in my territory here, and I'm not above snapping necks to prove a point."

My eyes snapped to Ayden, and I didn't doubt his words for one moment. I'd heard how his relationship came to be and saw how he ran the pack. I didn't want to see what happened when he was disrespected.

"Hold your tongue," Zavior snapped at Ivan.

Ivan leaned back, his eyes growing angry. But he remained quiet.

Tristan sighed, looking irritated. "So, you've proven she is rightly yours. Is that all you wanted? Did you drag me out here for this?"

"If only," Ayden looked at Tristan. "I want you to do a better job watching your pups."

"I'm not a pup," Ivan growled.

"Only a pup would be stupid enough to come into another alpha's territory and set fire to several buildings."

Ivan snorted. "You can't prove that. You can't prove anything. Otherwise, you would have called the police."

Ayden slid a picture across the table. A picture that I had taken when Ivan broke into my apartment. It was pretty clear what he was doing as he unlocked my key and snuck inside. I knew right away that it was Liv’s doorbell camera.

"I also have video recordings from the cameras. I think you forgot that Weslie had those in his building. We have video footage of you sneaking into their other apartment and jamming the doors. We also have a video of you watching April and stalking here."

I felt a shiver roll down my back, hating that he'd been watching me so closely. There were photos of him in the school parking lot and in front of several parking lots in various places I'd been.

I watched as Tristan and Zavior looked at the photos. Their faces remained calm, but I could see their eyes shifting. They looked disappointed. And embarrassed. Ayden had proof that Ivan was here, and he didn't have permission.

"I think this proves enough. Ivan has been coming into my territory for some time now and stalking one of my residents. He set fire to not only one of my buildings but two, injuring several of my residents and landing them in the hospital. Alpha to Alpha, we have a fucking problem here."

Ayden's voice shook the space, and Tristan's throat bobbed, telling me he was uncomfortable.

Tristan remained quiet for a second, and Ayden knitted his fingers together. "I don't know about you, but I would certainly apologize if one of my citizens had done such a thing."

Ivan exploded. "She's a whore! She was spreading her legs for him when we were hardly even split up! She's my wife! And no fucking paper is going to change that! We made vows! We made promises to each other!" Ivan reached across the table, grasping at my hand, but I quickly yanked it away.

Ayden swung up, his chair slammed, and hit the ground. Tristan swung up next quickly pulling his hands up, stopping Ayden.

"Take him outside," Tristan ordered, looking at Zavior, who quickly moved, grabbed Ivan, and pulled him to the door.

Ivan looked at me and continued to yell. "April! Stop this! Just come home! You know it's where you belong. You know we belong together!"

The door slammed shut, and I felt tears build up. Weslie placed his other hand over mine, giving them a squeeze. He leaned closer, his shoulders brushed against mine.

I tried to think of last night. When we arrived at the house, I was blown away by its beauty. I was starstruck, and he'd bought it for us—for our future.

We hardly had anything, but we had a blow-up mattress, and he'd made soft love to me, promising me that tomorrow would be okay, that we would get through all of this together, that Ivan was no longer going to be a problem, and that Ayden was going to handle everything. We just had to be there.

Ayden reseated himself, and Tristan looked at me. "April, I want to extend my apologies. You are legally part of this pack, and Ivan overstepped. We will be reprimanding him for everything."

Tristan looked at Ayden. "And I apologized for the buildings. Please fax me the paper with the bills. One of my men created this problem, so we will help clean it up."

Ayden seemed a step ahead and slid a paper to him. "This is the cost of everything so far. I will expect a check within a week. And next time, maybe keep a closer tab on your people."

Tristan looked at the bill and then back at Ayden. "That is unacceptable. This is outrageous."

Ayden placed his hands together. "No, what's outrageous is the fact I had a man stalking one of my women, and I haven't called the police. If you don't want them involved, you'll pay. And trust me, Tristan. I am not someone you want to make enemies with."

Tristan looked at me, then at Weslie. He looked at the rings on our fingers, and then he looked back at Ayden. He gave him a nod before he pulled himself up and slipped out of the room.

Tears broke free. I wiped at them, hating how emotional I was feeling.

Ayden turned to us. "You guys did good."

I didn't feel good. My stomach was in knots, and something told me it wasn't over. It bothered me. I should have felt over the moon about this, but I didn't. Maybe it was because I didn't know how Tristan was going to handle everything.

"Thank you, Ayden." I looked at him, grateful.

Ayden smiled. "Of course. If you have any other problem, you can let me know. I have the chief of police on speed dial."

We left a few minutes later. I leaned on Weslie as we walked, feeling anxious. "Do you think Tristan is going to watch him closely?"

I looked at Weslie, who gave me a look. "I want to say he will, but he didn't seem to care. He did look a little embarrassed."

Weslie kissed my forehead. "How about we stop and have lunch before we go home?"

I sank into her shoulder and smiled. This was a fresh start.

We rounded the corner of the building when Ivan stepped in our way. I froze, and Weslie pulled me back, yanking me behind him. I could see the sanity in Ivan's eyes was long gone, and he had that crazed look.

"You're going to regret this," Ivan growled, taking a few steps towards us.

"If you don't step back, Ivan. I can't promise your life." Weslie yelled back, his fingers tight on my arms.

I inhaled slowly, just wanting this to all be over.

Ivan lunged at us, and Weslie moved quickly. I stepped out of the way as he shifted, smacking into Ivan and knocking him a few feet back. Weslie growled in his wolf form, a light red and brown color that matched his original hair.

Everyone was happening so quickly. Ivan shifted and lunged back at Weslie. They were a mess of fur and teeth snapping at each other. I held my breath as blood spattered the gravel road.

God, please don't let anything happen to him.

I bit hard onto my lower lip and watched as Ivan shoved Weslie, who went rolling across the road. Ivan lunged after him, but Weslie quickly pulled himself up.

Ivan quickly got the upper hand and pinned Ivan. He pressed onto his throat, and I watched Ivan try to break free.

"Weslie, stop!" I yelled, watching as he pushed harder on the wolf's throat. "You can't kill him."

Weslie paused, and his eyes flicked at me. I was panting for air and shook my head. I had always been the harder-edged person who could withstand anything, but I couldn't stand this. I couldn't watch him kill someone.

"You can't kill him."

And he didn't. Weslie knocked Ivan unconscious.

Weslie shifted back into his human form, and I hurried over and threw my arms around him. I inhaled his scent and felt the relief I wanted.

I could hear the sirens of police arriving as Weslie kissed my forehead. "It's over. He's going to jail, April. He won't bother you anymore."

I cried, sobbing into his shoulder.