Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 70 Give Me a Chance
Narcissa’s shrieks echoed down the corridor as Ann pushed herself out of her chair reluctantly and made her way over to the office door, glancing at her watch as she did so.
Thirty minutes she had been here and already the day was getting off to a terrible start.
‘So much for a drama-free day.’ Maeve snorted sarcastically.
Ann stood at the office door with a blank expression on her face as she watched the chaos in front of her with mild amusement.
Narcissa was being manhandled by the guards that Adam had put in place, completely preventing her from proceeding down the corridor as Ada watched with wide eyes and an expression of frustration written all over her face as she hovered helplessly in the background.
Suddenly her eyes flicked up and locked with Ann’s and her face morphed into a simpering, pitiful-looking expression as she reached her arms out towards her, holding up a large basket in her direction.
“Please, Ann, I just want to make amends. Look, I brought a peace offering.” She said as she lifted the cloth covering the top of the basket and tilted it slightly so that Ann could see the contents.
She beamed hopefully at her as she continued trying to coax Ann into seeing them privately.
“Look, see? It’s all your favorite cakes and sweet treats from when you were a child. I know we didn’t always get along, but I paid attention to everything you liked as we grew up together. Please, Ann… just give me a chance…”
Ann’s forehead wrinkled slightly as she chewed her cheek.
‘No. Don’t you dare! This is going to be some sort of ploy to cause chaos for you again, Ann.’ Maeve growled warningly.
‘But what if it isn’t?’
Maeve almost ch*oked on her indignation as a wave of incredulity at Ann’s naivety swept over her.
‘Are you for real right now? After everything that’s happened so far, and your suspicions about them… you’re STILL going to put yourself at risk?!’
‘Maeve, calm down. I still suspect them of everything we talked about, but they don’t know that I hold suspicions about them. All they know is that I’m still hurt and angry about Ada’s betrayal, but how else am I going to be able to gather information if I shut them out completely?’
‘What are you talking about?! Have you lost your mind?! No. I think you should let me take over and attack them both. Finish this once and for all. There will be nothing left of either of them by the time I’m done.’ Maeve roared furiously, causing Ann to visibly wince.
She could feel her fury, but it made sense to Ann. She knew this was probably another trap they were trying to set her up in, but how else was she going to be able to enter the castle freely?
If she shut them out completely then her father would be completely at the mercy of their schemes and at least for now, if anything untoward happened, she at least had access to the castle, enabling her to intervene if needed.
Narcissa was clearly poison, as was Ada, but for some reason, Ann had the feeling that Ada wasn’t as skilled with her craft as Narcissa.
Despite how Narcissa felt about her, and as miserable as her childhood had been, she hadn’t physically harmed Ann, when she could have gotten rid of her as easily as she had her mother.
She was clearly more restrained and a lot cleverer with her manipulation than her daughter was.
‘No, Maeve. I want to see what they have planned this time. Whatever it is, whatever issues it causes, we’ll find a way to overcome it. But for now, it’s better that they continue thinking of me as the clueless and pathetically forgiving person that I used to be.’
‘You’re an imbecile, Ann, I think you’re making the wrong decision. As soon as this is over, I demand you call Lexi. At least she might be able to get through to you. If nothing else at least I’ll have the satisfaction of listening to her tear s*tri*ps off you.’ Maeve fumed before shutting the link down violently without warning, startling Ann slightly.
Ada’s eyes were still firmly fixed on Ann in the same wide-eyed innocent and pleading expression that had gotten her everything that she had wanted in the past.
Ann’s eyes drifted downwards and the slight bump of the growing child in her stomach was starting to show under the soft material of her dress.
Her stomach turned slightly at the sight of it, but there was no longer the stab of betrayal in her heart that she had felt so keenly before.
The realization that she had moved on from Brad’s betrayal so quickly made her heart leap a little, and she was sure that it was because of her relationship with Adam, as complex as it might be.
“Ann, please…” Ada tried again as she watched her mother argue helplessly with the stoic guards, unrelenting in their professionalism.
With a sigh, Ann pushed herself off the wall and looked them both over disdainfully before looking across at Eva and nodding slightly.
“You can let them through. I’ll see them briefly and hear what they have to say. Eva, would you mind grabbing drinks for us please?”
Eva nodded hesitantly.
“Of course, Miss Veritas. I’ll have them brought right up.” She said with a curt nod to the guards.
They exchanged a look between them both and instantly moved to the side, staring ahead impassively as Narcissa straightened her slightly disheveled appearance up.
“Filthy mongrels. How dare you obstruct your Queen’s passage!” She hissed furiously as she passed.
One of the guards narrowed his eyes at her back as the other guard shook his head almost imperceptibly towards his colleague.
But it didn’t stop him.
“Queen? You’re no Queen of mine. I’m a mongrel in your eyes yet you have no wolf of your own. What wolfless Queen can possibly rule over the kingdom of werewolves? You’re delusional if you think you will ever be accepted by the people you rule.”