Page 78 of Silent Secrets

Hadley’s eyes are wide as she stares at Hunter. I know that he’s been avoiding her, though neither of them has told us what happened. And then there’s the fact that I don’t think he’s said a kind thing to her since she arrived. So I can understand her dismay. But now that I know why he acted that way, I understand his actions better.

“Thank you,” she manages when he lets go of her hand and steps back.

A throat clearing causes all of us to start, turning to find Grace standing there with an eyebrow raised.

“Gentlemen, this isn’t exactly protocol,” she says as she glances between us. “You know that you’re supposed to wait to greet the princess.”

“Stop it, Grace.” Hadley shakes her head. “They’re literally the only four people that I know here. I’m glad that they came over when they did. I’m nervous as hell about meeting all of these Fae—I want them with me.”

Grace sighs. “I know that you don’t understand protocol—“

“No, I just don’t care. I made my entrance just like you wanted, and now everyone is staring at me while we argue. Is this protocol?”

Grace grinds her teeth before taking a deep breath and smiling. “You may keep one of them with you while you’re meeting everyone. They can’t all be crowding around you.”

“Kai,” she says as she turns to look at him. “Would you stay with me?”

Kai glances at me, and I nod. Honestly, he’s the best one to have with her. He’ll set her at ease, and he needs to be more comfortable in these situations as well. Plus, it’ll keep him away from his and Hunter’s dads. Glancing at Marcos and Hunter, I see they agree with me.

“I’d really like that,” Kai tells her as he steps up beside her, offering his arm to her. Hadley smiles, looking up at him as she slips her arm in his.

“Save a dance for me, Addy, yeah?”

Hadley nods. “I’ll save a dance for each of you.”

“Even me?”

Hadley turns to Hunter, eyes narrowing. Now that the twins are safe, Gabe’s hold over Hunter is gone, and it seems that he is interested in Hadley and is letting it be known. I knew he was into her. I will have to give him as much shit as possible about that later, when she isn’t around.

She chews on her lips before inclining her head. “Sure.”

“Thank you, princess.”

“Come, come.” Grace waves for Kai and Hadley to follow her, glaring at me, Marcos, and Hunter as if we’re going to cause a scene. I wait until she’s facing away from us before I roll my eyes.

“C’mon, our parents will be the first to greet her. Let’s go wait for them to finish, so we can duck out.” Hunter sighs, running his hand through his hair. “I want to get this over with and be done with it, so we can try to enjoy our evening.”

“You mean so you can enjoy your dance with Hadley?” I waggle my eyebrows at him, not put off at all when he turns to me with a glare. “C’mon, Hunt. I don’t know what you expected. I knew you were into her.”

Hunter clenches his jaw, letting out a low growl. But he doesn’t deny my words, which just makes me grin bigger. I love pushing his buttons.

“Knock it off, Cade. Please don’t piss Hunter off before we meet with our parents. That’ll just make things worse.”

“Fine.” I hold my hands up in mock surrender, falling quiet as I follow the other two to the edge of the ballroom to wait for our parents.

We don’t have to wait for long, Gabe and Kam appearing within seconds of one another. Gabe nods at a side exit and we follow as he leads us away from the crowd. Glancing over my shoulder with a frown, I don’t see my parents or Marcos’s. I don’t like the idea of meeting with just Gabe and Kam, but at least Kai isn’t with us—that’s something, at least.

Within minutes, Gabe is leading us into a parlor. He shuts and locks the door behind us. I tense at the sound of the lock tumbling into place, realizing that he doesn’t want the Summer and Spring courts here for this conversation, which is worrying.

“Boys, you’re really fucking lucky that we need you, or I wouldn’t hesitate to kill you for what you did—for what you took from me.”

Gabe’s face is red with anger as he faces us, but what he doesn’t realize is that we’re not afraid of him. He can’t touch me or Marcos—our parents wouldn’t stand for it. With the twins gone, he has nothing to hold over Hunter any longer, and Kai isn’t here for him to touch.

“What we took from you?!” Hunter huffs. “They’re your fucking kids and yet, you don’t give a shit about them. And to think that I spent so many years looking up to you, wanting to be like you. Thinking that you were beating me to strengthen me. You’re a coward.”

Gabe snarls, rushing at Hunter. His hands wrap in Hunter’s jacket before he slams his back into the wall. “I’m not a fucking coward.”

“Yes, you are.” I shake my head, stepping up beside them—though my eyes lock on Kam when I speak, “Only cowards beat children. That’s something that you and Kam have in common. Now, how about you let go of Hunter before he proves to you who is actually the strongest out of the two of you?”

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