Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 97 Because of You
Both Adam and Ann were f0rced to cover their eyes as soon as they stepped out into the glaring sunlight that greeted them when they exited the long winding tunnels of dull light that the Elders called their home.
Once their eyes had adjusted to the sudden intrusion of light, Adam turned to grin widely at her as he pulled her into his chest.
“I’d say that went quite well, wouldn’t you?” He smirked as he planted a kiss on her forehead.
Ann chuckled and grinned up at him, masking the emptiness that she felt inside at the whole ordeal. “It could have been a lot worse, yes.”
“I say we go and celebrate. I’m thinking fancy restaurant, champagne, the whole works.” Adam murmured as he nuzzled his face against the spot that he had placed his mark on.
Ann grunted in response, willing herself to ignore the shiver that made her weak at the knees as he pressed against the fake mark.
“I need to message Eva first, and then, we’ll see,” she replied finally, wrapping her arms around his broad waist and inhaling the deep masculine scent of him.
Why did he always smell so damn good? It was kind of addictive.
Adam sighed as he stepped back and took hold of her hand, pulling her towards the waiting car.
“Okay, well, in any case, let’s head home. I’d rather not hang around here any longer than necessary. We can decide there at least.”
As she leaned against his shoulder in the back seat of the car, Ann pulled her phone out and sent a message to Eva.
They had already discussed the plan multiple times, all she had to do was to give the word.
“It’s done.”
The message was short, sweet, and to the point. Eva wasn’t stupid, she knew the drill now. She replied with a thumbs-up emoji and Ann put the phone down on the seat, leaning her head back against Adam’s shoulder and closing her eyes, smiling serenely to herself.
Perhaps her father was right.
Since she had met Adam, she had changed, but it was a matter of pride for her to admit that a man was capable of changing her.
In all honesty, it was probably the fallout of discovering her step-sister and her fated mate f*uc*king each other on the eve of her wedding… that was most likely.
But Ann would prefer to think that Adam had changed her, in all the best ways. He had liberated her s*e*xually, trusted and supported her, protected her, and stood by her, no matter what happened.
Now she had the confidence in herself to actually accept and acknowledge that watching someone receive their comeuppance after such a long time, well… it was actually something that she would relish.
She felt Adam’s arm tighten around her, and his chin rest on top of her head as they just enjoyed each other’s company in silence as they made their way back to the pack house.
By the time they pulled into the driveway, their Beta Allen was waiting with a slight frown on his face.
“You couldn’t have sent me a message and let me know how things went?” He muttered angrily as they made their way inside and toward Adam’s office.
Adam shrugged with a devilish smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye.
“I figured if we didn’t come back tonight you would know something went wrong,” he said as casually as he could, tipping a wink toward Ann who stifled a giggle.
They watched his shoulders tense as his strides became stiffer until eventually he stopped abruptly and whirled around to face them.
“You really need to work on your communication Alpha… there were no contingency plans in place… nothing!” He bl*stered, struggling to keep his voice level as he held back his temper.
Adam maintained an emotionless expression on his face as Allen ranted and when he ran out of steam Adam c*oc*ked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow inquisitively at him.
“Are you quite finished?” He asked flatly as Alien’s face flushed a furious shade of red.
Ann could see that he wanted to comment further but miraculously, he swallowed whatever retort he had wanted to spit at them and nodded curtly.
“Yes, Alpha. It would be very much appreciated if you would consider this in the future.” He ground out between gritted teeth before he turned on his heels and continued marching forward stiffly.
Ann shook her head admonishingly at Adam who shrugged defensively with his hands held wide and an innocent expression on his face.
Poor Allen. He had no idea that Adam was messing with him and still didn’t make a big deal out of it.
As soon as the door of Adam’s office closed behind them, Allen stalked over to the table, retrieved his laptop, and whirled to face them.
“Look at this! Just look! All this time that I’ve stood by your side Adam, and you couldn’t even tell me that you knew that it would be fine.” Allen fumed.
Adam and Ann stared at the video playing on the laptop screen and Ann recognized the handiwork of Eva almost instantly.
The snappy work of Eva’s public relations wizardry glared outwards from the headline and Ann snorted loudly as Adam read it out loud.
“Pretender Princess Exposed In Her Own Lies!” Adam whistled lowly as he flicked his eyes up to smirk at Ann. “Don’t stop there… read the rest.” Ann encouraged with an excited wave of her hand and a wide grin.
“Holy sh*t Ann… Eva really doesn’t take any prisoners does she?” Adam muttered quietly as he continued reading the subheading of the article.
“The One, True Heir to the Alpha Throne Completely Exonerated And Cleared Of All Alleged Wrongdoing as Pretender Princess and her Inadequate Parents are investigated over competency concerns… Watch the video evidence submitted in court yourself…”
Ann chuckled at the astonished look on both of their faces.
“As scatty as she may appear on the surface, she’s incredible at what she does.” She grinned before focusing her attention on their Beta.
“Allen, please don’t blame Adam. I wanted things kept quiet until we had gotten through the trial. I had no way of knowing whether or not things would go our way. For all I knew, the Elders could have been affected by whatever has gotten under my father’s skin too. Now we know that this isn’t the case, we need to be ready in case we’re called on again for anything.” Ann continued seriously.
“Why would you be called again?”
“The investigation could be complex, it very much depends on what the elders decide to focus on, and how far back they wish to delve. They were pretty thorough in this though, Allen. They had already been out and gathered evidence of their own volition including witness statements. There’s no knowing who they might call on.”
Allen nodded thoughtfully before his expression changed and he looked up guiltily at Ann.
“I’m sorry Luna, I almost forgot. Lexi has been trying to contact you for the past few days, but with everything going on, I thought I should leave you and the Alpha alone until it was all over.” Allen shrugged apologetically. Ann sighed internally and pursed her lips.
“It’s fine, Allen. It’s no big deal. I’ll call her and catch up with her as soon as I’ve eaten and showered.”
In actuality, it wasn’t fine.
She had been waiting to hear from Lexi for days and as it turned out, Lexi had already tried to contact her of her own volition.
Now Ann would have to face her best friend and her sullen att*itude at being left in the dark about the recent events.
Ann could only hope that she wouldn’t be too agitated with her.