Chapter 69: Chapter 69

When Nadia woke up the following morning, her eyes immediately went to Angel's side of the bed and saw it was undisturbed like it had been hours before. The couch to the side wall didn't look like anyone had laid on it either which meant Angel hadn't returned since he left after his bath the previous night.

She got up and went to have her bath and brush her teeth. When she opened the wardrobe to see if there was something she could wear, she found a pair of denim trousers with a black shirt. She quickly wore them and found her way down the stairs. The smell of fresh coffee assailed her. And as she got to the stairs landing leading to the foyer, her eyes settled on the back of a tall, dark-hair lady standing very close to Angel. The two were oblivious of her presence and the lady was pouring coffee into a cup Angel was holding, and at the same time using her free hand to stroke his shoulder in an obvious flirty way.

The lady whispered something to Angel and he laughed. She then leaned into him, leaving only a few inches between their lips. Nadia felt winded. It was as if someone just sucker punched her in the gut. Tears threatened and stung the back of her eyelids as scenarios played in her head. She wonder if he had spent the night with the girl and that was why he didn’t bother to come back to their room.

And as if he could feel her eyes on him, Angel turned in her direction and their eyes met. Nadia immediately avert her gaze and before the lady could look back, she rushed out of the side door to the back of the house.

To her indignation, tears pooled and fell down her face. She angrily wiped them away, shaking her head to keep them at bay.

To the left corner of the grounds, she saw Tiana, standing with four other women serving the little ones and hurried her steps to join them.

"Hey, can I help?" she said, trying to smile at the taller woman but her lips trembled. Tiana watched her calmly and raised her eyes to something over her shoulder. When she reverted her gaze back at Nadia, there was a knowing glint in her dark brown eyes. She nodded and gave up her post to Nadia.

Nadia quickly took the spoon from her and pointedly lowered her gaze to serve the food.

"He is gone," Tiana said close to her ear after a while. Nadia pressed her lips together to keep from sobbing. She hated how he was able to reduce her to some emotional blob. She was never the type to get jealous, but with Angel, it was as if she was a totally different person. The sight of him being so close and carefree with that she-wolf when she knew he resented her for being human and knowing he had not spent the night in their room tore at her inside making her feel raw.

After a while, Tiana offered her a cup of coffee and ushered her away from the serving table to the side woods.

"You know, our kind is quite a horny bunch," Tiana said. Nadia sighed. "However, Angel is your mate and although other females may flirt with him, he can not allow them to do more than that," she added. Nadia raised her eyes to meet hers. Tiana gave her a warm smile. "He is Wulfblood though, which means if he doesn't like you, he can cast you aside and pick anyone he likes to mate with as a second chance mate…"

"He will have to reject me first, right?"

"Yes, and you have to agree. Being mated to a Wulfblood is both exciting and dangerous…"

"Dangerous because him rejecting me would kill me?"

"Yes, and you rejecting him will be near death. But that particular Wulfblood of yours has his eyes only for you… if he tells you otherwise, he is lying," Tiana said and gave her a wink. Nadia smiled despite herself.

"Our relationship is a little … complicated," Nadia said.

"So is Isabelle's with that lunatic, Cole Miller," she said with a raised eyebrow. Nadia chuckled. "His father had her kidnapped, chained, starved and sold her. What could be more complicated than that? And look at him now. We are enjoying all these luxuries because he loves her.”

"I don't see him flirting with any other woman though… neither is Xavier."

"No one here would dare flirt with Cole Miller, he is unstable for one, and constantly letting people know he would kill for Isabelle," Tiana said. Nadia giggled. "Plus, Isabelle is an alpha, an original Wulfblood, a bloodline directly from our ancestors just like your mate. The she-wolf who dares must surely have a death wish. And Dr. Amèlie almost got killed by Xavier's first mate…" Nadia gasped in disbelief. Tiana nodded in confirmation. "Nothing good comes easy, you just need to hold your head high and let people know Angel is yours. And I can assure you, running off and crying would not do it," Tiana said and bend over to pull out a hunter’s knife from her boot and handed it over to Nadia. She took it and tucked it into her boot.

"Thank you," Nadia said, appreciating Tiana’s advice but she knew it would not be that easy to fix the problems between her and Angel. "So you and Ash…"

"He is growing on me, we started off with just enjoying each other's body and now I'm kinda hooked. He is … um very good with his tongue," Tiana said with a comical frown. Nadia almost spits out her coffee. She busted out laughing. Tiana grinned widely into space.

* * *

Angel watched Nadia's mood transition from the Foyer window, he didn't like that he had made her cry and was glad Tiana was being a friend to her. He and the other Weres had had early breakfast together and Hallec had introduced them to the gammas on ground. The other guys had been excited to mingle with the she-wolves and he didn't want to act standoffish. One of the gammas, Elena, had taken interest in him and started being attentive. He figured it would be best to just be polite and not slam the door of his status in her face just in the first few minutes of their meetings. The others had paired off and left and she had stayed behind with him. Hallec had told him earlier that Xavier and Cole Miller called a meeting and would soon come downstairs. He said they had requested he join them too. He figured since he was an alpha, he would have to be part of the decision-making in the pack now and had decided to stay back.

He trailed his eyes all over her, noting her bruises were beginning to look less visible now. He thought she looked hot in the fitted denim, showing off her wide hips. The shirt, although loose, accentuated her full bust. He felt his body stir and he turned away. He had left the room the night before to escape her. It was either that or had her whether she wanted him to or not. The foyer couch was big and surprisingly comfortable. He had pretended to be watching a movie and slept off on it. There were a lot of things to catch up on anyway. The world had changed from the last time he was free. And he knew it would take a little time to get to the present with everyone else.

Pretending to check up on Kurt and others at the break of dawn, he had used their bathroom to freshen up, ignoring Kurt’s scrutiny. The older Were was damn nosy, nothing gets past him and he wasn’t in the mood to care anyway.

Xavier came down the stairs snapping him off his thoughts

"How long have you been here?" Xavier said as he patted Angel on the shoulder.

"Awhile…" Angel said with a self-mocking smile.

"Trouble sleeping?"

"You can say that…"

"If you need anything you can always tell me, Angel. You are home now. We are brothers." Xavier said. Angel nodded. Elena came back inside and paused when she saw Xavier.

"G--good morning, Alpha Xavier," she greeted.

"Morning, is that coffee for me? Thanks!" he said and took the coffee without waiting for a reply. The she-wolf opened and closed her mouth without a word coming out, then she bowed and retreated. Angel hid a smile.

"I take it the coffee was meant for you?" Xavier said in amusement.

"It was the third cup actually. It appears I have to develop the act of saying no thank you," Angel said. Xavier laughed.

"No, thank you to what?" Cole asked as he joined them, walking in from the back door.

"Angel is getting special attention," Xavier teased, gesturing with an air quote. Angel groaned. Cole grinned.

"Special attention is harmless if you are not mated," Cole replied. Xavier chuckled. "If your woman finds out I don't want to be you," Cole added. Angel smiled into his cup, keeping it to himself that she had already seen enough.

"Coffee?" Xavier asked Cole as he walked to the door as if he wanted to get someone to get them more coffee.

"No, thanks, Isabelle already fed me," he replied, grinning. "I'm now forbidden to eat anything she didn't cook," he said, looking a little sheepish.