Chapter44
“I’m not exactly the generous type, and I don’t make a habit of letting strangers hitch a ride on my plane. So,
what’s the plan?”
Alpha Gideon said, his tone casual but sharp as a blade, watching Alpha Adrian’s face darken with
frustration. Then, with a low chuckle, he shifted gears.
“Tell you what, I’ll give you the market rate. Alpha Adrian, don’t forget to wire the cash.”
Alpha Adrian’s lungs burned with rage, but he couldn’t lash out.
He was the one stuck needing Alpha Gideon’s damn plane,.
I pretended not to hear their exchange.
Adrian’s probably never swallowed this kind of humiliation in his life.
The old him would’ve stormed of.
Alpha Adrian shot me a look-I’m doing this for you.
I caught his meaning and scoffed inwardly.
Once we boarded, I pulled out my phone and posted to YikYak.
The photo showed the airport’s clear blue sky, the sunlit runway stretching into the distance, and, oops, a sliver of Alpha Adrian in the VIP lounge, his posture rigid
Caption: Vacation ruined by an uninvited guest. How do I shake this clingy pest?
Not long after, Alpha Gideon glanced my way, his gaze heavy with something unreadable.
I blinked, confused.
What had I done now?
I’d used my Cloud Pack phone, blocking most contacts-except I’d forgotten Frank, my old friend, could still
see my posts.
Frank, bless his overprotective heart, saw my “woe is me” caption, spotted Alpha Adrian in the photo, and assumed I’d been dragged along against my will.
Panicked, he screenshotted it and sent it to Alpha Gideon, begging him to “rescue poor Vivian.”
Poor? I was practically preening, milking the drama for all it was worth!
Was he actually thinking I was enjoying this?
Playing hard-to-get with Adrian while secretly craving him back?
I squirmed under it, uneasy.
I’d posted on purpose, sure-doubling down to rile Vanessa, to make her snap, to push her to come for Adrian
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with teeth bared.
“Wanna catch a nap?” Alpha Adrian leaned in from the seat beside me.
“Not tired,” I said, grabbing a in-flight magazine and flipping through it.
“You barely ate this morning. Want a snack?”
“Not hungry.”
“How about some berries?”
When I didn’t respond, he flagged down a flight attendant, who brought a tray of fresh fruit-strawberries, blueberries, a cluster of plump blackberries. He plucked a strawberry, held it to my lips, his voice low and coaxing, like I was just a pup throwing a playful tantrum.
One wouldn’t eat, the other wouldn’t quit.
We tugged and pushed, locked in a quiet battle.
With Alpha Gideon and Elliot in the cabin, I couldn’t yell or make a scene, so I hissed under my breath,
“Quit it.”
To anyone watching, it probably looked like a lovers’ spat-all flirty banter and lingering affection, the kind that makes other wolves roll their eyes.
Alpha Gideon’s brow furrowed, his jaw tightening, like he was half-tempted to toss us both off the plane
mid-flight.
“Fine, fine, I’ll eat!” I snapped, snatching the fruit tray and shoveling a handful of berries into my mouth, if only to stop Adrian’s relentless embarrassment fest.
He grinned, all indulgent charm, like he’d won.
“Knew you wanted it. You’re always saying one thing and meaning another.”
A blackberry slid down my throat, nearly choking me.
Arrogant bastard.
Cloud Pack
Vanessa, scrolling through Ruby’s phone and seeing my YikYak post, was practically foaming at the mouth- her rage so thick.
She’d made sure I could see her posts, leaking photos of her and Adrian together through mutual friends, rubbing their fling in my face like salt in a wound.
Now, I was returning the favor, playing her own game.
I’d left my post visible to a select few: the mates of Adrian’s buddies, and, of course, Ruby.
Last time, Ruby had lured me to a bar where Adrian was parading Vanessa around with his pack brothers,
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their arms slung over each other like they owned the place.
I knew Vanessa had put her up to it-Ruby’s mate was cozying up to the Quinn pack, so she’d become Vanessa’s lapdog, desperate for scraps of their influence.
Now, that lapdog would surely run to her master with this juicy gossip.
“I won’t lose to that she-wolf Vivian!”
Vanessa screamed, trashing her room.
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Since getting out of lockup, the Quinn pack had kept her under house arrest, but that hadn’t stopped her from blowing up Adrian’s phone-calls he ignored, texts he deleted, his frustration mounting by the day.
She’d even snuck out to the Blackwood villa once, only to get thrown out by Evelyn.
Then Cassie had dropped the bomb: Adrian’s begging Vivian to take him back.
That was it-Vanessa lost it.
The Quinn pack tried reasoning, scolding, even threatening to cut her off, but nothing could douse her
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obsession with Adrian.
She’d cry, scream, even threaten to throw herself off the pack house roof, and they’d back down, terrified of
the scandal.
“Vanessa, Vivian’s just bluffing,” Ruby soothed, her voice sickly sweet.
“Think about it-for the past six months, you’ve been the one by Alpha Adrian’s side. If he cared about her, would he have ignored her all that time?”
On the floor, a young she-wolf maid knelt, her hands bloodied from picking up shattered porcelain-Vanessa had taken her rage out on her, stomping her hand into the shards when she’d hesitated to clean up.
Ruby’s heart skipped a beat, but she signaled the maid to flee.
The girl stumbled away, trembling, her fear a tangible thing.
Vanessa, her face twisted and dark, calmed slightly at Ruby’s words.
“He loves me. So why’s he chasing Vivian to patch things up?”
“Vanessa, you’re young, you don’t get how wolves think,” Ruby said, her tone conspiratorial.
“A mate can stop loving you, stop caring, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to break the bond. More importantly, Vivian’s the one who asked to break it. A proud wolf like Alpha Adrian can’t handle his mate rejecting him. That’s why he’s after her-pride, not love.”
“So, he’s just pissed she wants to break the bond?”
“Exactly. In Alpha Adrian’s mind, a she-wolf like her should be begging for him, not walking away. If anyone’s breaking the bond, it’s gotta be him kicking her out, not her calling the shots.”
“You’re right! That’s exactly how Alpha Adrian thinks!”
Vanessa grabbed Ruby’s hand like she was a lifeline.
“But his focus is all on Vivian now. He won’t even answer my calls. What do I do?”
Ruby smiled slyly, her eyes glinting.
“Vanessa, I heard their plane lands at two this afternoon.”
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