Page 37 of He Claimed Her Heart

Once we arrivedat our suite, I was not allowed in until it was cleared and deemed safe for me to enter. Ooookkkay. This is going to get interesting. I went in and went straight to my bedroom. I plopped down on the bed. I groaned at the events that had transpired. What the hell happened at breakfast. I screamed into my pillow a few times and then I got up. I need to find my bathing suit. Where did I put it? When was the last time I wore it? I finally found it. I put it on. I put on a pair of jean shorts and tank top over it. I found my beach towel, hat, sunscreen, beach shoes, and my go to beach shirt to put on over my bathing suit. No, my bathing suit is not a bikini. It’s a one piece, sort of, to make my nutty mother happy. The black and white top looks like a halter top/tank top with separate black bottoms that are not skimpy like bikini bottoms are.

After I finished packing my beach bag, I sat back down on my bed. I heard my phone ping. I picked it up and saw I had a message from Drake. He wanted to come see me. Should I let him come see now before we leave without the others? Would that be fair to the others? Just listen to me. There’s a part of me that wants him more than anything in the world. My wolf is standing at attention wanting him to be near us. Another ping came in. I put my cell phone in my beach bag and laid down across my bed. Before I knew it, I was asleep.

I awoke to someone gently rocking me awake and calling my name. I opened my eyes to the most beautiful emerald, green eyes. “What a beautiful sight to wake up to. Hi Drake,” I cooed as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I knew there was a reason you didn’t answer my text messages.It’s time to go. Are you ready my love?” he cooed as he brushed the hair out of my face.

“Yes, I got ready before I laid down,” I replied before I reached up for a kiss.

He greedily accepted the kiss as if his life depended upon it. When we parted, he stated, “We really need to go. The others are waiting in the living room for us.”

“Alright. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.That’s what happens when I don’t get a lot of sleep the night before. I take cat naps during the day to catch up,” I added as I got up from the bed and grabbed the beach bag from the floor.

Drake took the beach bag from me andheld my hand as we walked out of my bedroom. Tom was the first one to say something. “I told you she’d be asleep. She always does that when she gets less than six hours of sleep the night before,” he bellowed as he approached me from the kitchen with some water.

“Do you have to be so loud?No? Then, lets tone it down, shall we. Thank you,” I mumbled at him as Drake escorted me to the living room.

“Boy aren’t we grumpy. Didn’t the cat nap help you at all?” Tom taunted me as he threw the water at me.

Drake caught the water bottle before I could. He handed the water to me, and I gladly accepted it. “Give her a break, huh. She had a busy night last nightand this morning. It was very emotionally draining for us all,” Drake retorted to Tom who didn’t seem fazed at all.

“Hey, can I ask a question Bree,” Rexquietly asked as everyone found their seats.

“Sure, what is it?” I replied clearly at a loss.

“Last night when I first approached you. You almost fell. Why? Did I startle you or did something happen? Ijust got the sense that I did something to you. What was it?” he cautiously asked as everyone looked at me.

“Well, to be honest. Sigh. I had a mate. He died the day after we met. We didn’t complete the mating process. Your eyes remind me of his eyes. When you approached me, it caught me off guard is all. It shocked me,” I tried to explain without tears.

“Oh Bree, I’m so sorry,” he began to say before dad interrupted him.

“Bree and I talked aboutit last night. There is nothing anyone can do about it. She is okay, it just shocked her, but she is over it now,” dad explained to everyone present.

“So, when you look at me, you see him?” asked Rex with a sad face.

“No, I don’t. You may have the same kind of eyes, but everything else is completely different,” I answered truthfully. “Drake, will you please hand me my cell phone. I’ll show you a picture of him so you can see for yourself. Will that help put your mind at ease?” I asked Rex.

“I’ll take your word for it, butI would like to see him with my own eyes. If you don’t mind,” Rex replied as I opened my pictures.

“You still have his picture on your phone,” Drake asked me with a frown on his face.

“Yes, I do. I don’t know why, but I do,” I answered him. “Do you still have pictures of your first mate?” I inquired as I showed Rex a picture of Andy with his parents.

“Yes, I have them stored away in a box in the basement.I even have one on my phone. Like you, I don’t know why I still have it. Why don’t you have one with him. You have a picture of him with his parents and not together?” Drake asked confused.

“Like I said, we met at night. Then, the next day he was killed in a rogue attack.There really wasn’t enough time for stuff like that. There was, but we didn’t think about it,” I sadly answered him as I thought about what I just said. “Hold on. Everyone come here. Group photo. Then, one-on-one photos. Agreed,” I cheerfully commanded as everyone jumped out of their seats and surrounded me.

We took photos of each other using our phones so we could remember and not miss the moment. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity again. Thanks, Drake, for that moment of clarity. Dad chimed in, “It’s time to head out to the lake. Let’s go everyone. I mean let’s go Alphas and Bree.”

We allheaded down the stairs in a much better mood. We were met at the bottom of the stairs by Alpha Lorenzo. We all became quiet. Travis got in front of me, Elias moved to my left, Drake moved to my right, and Rex remained behind me. Drake was the first one to say something, “We thought you left, why are you here Lorenzo?”

“Well, I had to get my things and I wanted to apologize for my rudeness to Breonna before I left. I shouldn’t have been disrespectful to her and to all of you. Breonna, please accept my apology for being disrespectful to you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me,” he added as he bowed toward me.

“I forgive you Alpha Lorenzo,” I stated as I watched him look at the other alphas around me.

“Good, now can I come back now,” he asked with a smirk on his face.

“No, I don’t believe we would work out as a matedpair. I’m sorry Alpha Lorenzo,” I stated as his smirk faded from his face to be replaced with a vicious scowl.

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