Page 13 of Hadley's Heroes
“Hi, I’m Luna.” She looked at me. I was grateful the translator spoke most of the words for me, I still didn’t understand this different language. I had only just worked out how to speak Zalli.
“Aalee?” I replied. I wasn’t sure if she was requesting me to respond with my name as she stood there, blinking and watching me.
“Aalee,” I turned back to Hadley. “I want to make a deal.”
I ran my hands through my short hair. I was surrounded, there was no way I could escape these females now.
Chapter Eleven
Hadley
Luna and the girls all came at the worst time. I wasn’t expecting Aalee back here, but I was glad to see him. I could see Adee had been worried about him, and he went after him when he ran out of here the other day. But Adee hadn’t come back and Jaim said it was not usual for him. He thought at first he was keeping Aalee company in the tree he was staying in, that he worried about him after what happened at the mines.
I prodded Jaim about the mines and what they went through, but he didn’t want to say much other than Aalee received more punishments than most and had changed since they had been kidnapped. He used to be happy and so full of life, if not somewhat shy, but now he was angry and withdrawn. I was so upset that I cried for him. Vetok wasn’t happy that Jaim made me cry, but I told him it was pregnancy hormones. I didn’t know if that was true, but I felt so sad for Aalee.
The M’Mori were the cruelest… except K’Tem, he was good. And his brother who led us here with his datapad device thing, he was okay too in my books. All the rest could die.
Aalee must hate me right now. I came into his life and changed everything, and he probably feels like I have taken his hut, his friends… brother. His only support, and that was why I needed this deal to work.
“I want to make a deal,” I repeated to Aalee. I had been thinking about this. I didn’t want to choose Jaim and Adee and have him left out, that was the last thing Aalee needed. He needed to be with his family and I wanted to be part of that family, if only as a friend. I had grown really close with Jaim the last two days. He had come with me to speak with the girls earlier, and Jaka and Vetok left him with me as they went to work on the hut. I knew they trusted him, and I really liked him. A lot.
He was not like my mates, he was shy, and he would stare at me like I wasn’t real. Plus, he was so sweet. He told me stories of when he was younger and his fathers, that he was always excited to be able to take care of kits when they arrived and as a female’s healer he would look after their health. But he never thought one day he could be a father, until Brooklyn touched him. I loved the way his eyes lit up at the thought, and I wanted to be able to give that to him too. He was more than just mate material, he was someone I could see growing old with.
Plus, he told me I smelled different to the other girls, that he couldn’t help himself when he saw me at the waterfall. He was drawn to me and he didn’t know he was that close until he saw my face, and he has apologized so many times about it. I told him it was fine… I didn’t tell him that I liked being watched. I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell him that until I was sure he would be my mate.
“We will just wait outside. It’s good to see you again, Aalee.” Brooklyn nodded as they backed out. We were going to practice our new show routine, but I must have slept longer than I thought. Songs had been picked and we were gonna put on a real big show for all of Clan Freedom Wolf as a way of saying thank you for all accepting us, and for the merging of our two clans. Plus, it gave us something special to do for them all.
Aalee didn’t look like he was happy to see Brooklyn. I guess he was upset that she had left and found other males and that she never came back and chose him. While he ended up in the mines, Brooklyn was off getting other mates. So, I could see his dislike and distrust of her. I wondered if he felt the same about me, even though we had only just met.
“No deal,” was all he said as he stood in the hut. He was so tall, but the roof of the hut was built for his and Adee’s size.
“But you haven’t heard me yet, you don’t even know the deal.” Ugh, this guy was going to be hard to crack. But I could see he looked unsure of himself from the way he shifted his weight on his legs. Oh Aalee… he looked so messed up and confused. He really needed a hug, someone to care for him. But I couldn’t give him one, he didn’t have the mating hormones. And I didn’t think he would be impressed if I tried to care for him. He didn’t like talking to me as it was.
“You mate Jaim and Adee,” he repeated the same as before, but in English this time. I smiled, letting him know that I appreciated him speaking my language. I couldn’t just take them as my mates and leave him out… all alone. It was hard to swallow as a lump formed in my throat. I wouldn’t cry, he wouldn’t want to see my tears for him. He was too proud for that.
“I want to take them, but I won’t leave you behind. That’s what the deal is about. If you move to the hut next to us, you can be close, see them all the time. That’s all I want. That’s the deal I am asking you for.”
He looked at me warily, like I had a hidden agenda. I didn’t. I looked up to the roof of the hut and closed my eyes. I said a prayer that I wouldn’t raise my voice, I would stay calm. Even though I really wanted him to say yes, I knew I would have to accept him saying no. He didn’t need to be forced or yelled at, he was a grown man. I just worried about him.
“Look, I know you probably don’t believe me, but I worry about you. When you’re not here I worry where you’re sleeping, if you’re safe, happy, cared for. Jaim and Adee are not the only ones who worry about you. So, would you consider the offer of moving into the hut next to mine?”
He scuffed his feet on the floor and looked around. He moved around the hut, picking up an empty cup and setting it down. His hands moved from his hips to his chest, to his hair. So much hand movement it was dizzying. He would peer back at me every so often, so I made sure to keep the smile on my face and not move or speak. Just in case I scared him.
He paused and looked down at me, his eyes barely visible with all that wildly cut hair. My hands itched to push it out of the way so I could see his big, dark eyes.
“Okay,” he whispered. I blinked… Did he say okay? My heart started to race but I needed to be calm. I let out a small breath before speaking.
“Okay? Yes, you will move into the hut or okay you will consider the offer?” I wanted to be sure what he was agreeing to here.
“Move to the hut.” His fingers on his left lower hand started to tap his thigh and his tails were moving a lot. Something I didn’t really notice until now. He wasn’t completely upset with me, they were moving, so this was good. This was a huge step forward and I couldn’t keep the huge smile on my face from beaming at him.
I couldn’t wait to tell Jaim and Adee. I let out a deep sigh of relief. Now if Adee would only come back, I could talk to him and Jaim and by the end of the day I could have two new mates. I giggled a little. I felt the warmth spread through my chest.
“I will go find Adee,” were the last words Aalee spoke to me before he left the hut without giving me a chance to answer. Now, where the hell did Jaim go? Wasn’t he supposed to be my “keeper” of the day? The guys left him in charge, but he didn’t seem to be here anymore.
I groaned as I got up and out of the nest. “Jaim?” I called out. But instead, it was Elle who replied.
“Hadley, you should come out. I think they’re setting up a search party for Adee. No one has seen him.”
