Page 51 of He Claimed Her Heart

Wow! The letter was short, sweet, and to the point. Talk abouttelling me he wants me to give Elias a chance but don’t forget about him. I know Drake cares about me. It shows in everything he does for me. I fold the letter up and place it back into the envelope. I’m not aware that Elias was stealing glances at me while I was reading the letter.

“Are you alright?Did the letter upset you?” Elias inquired with a frown on his face.

“No,I was just thinking about everything that has happened in the last few days. It’s a lot. It’s kind of hard to process it all. I mean, I can’t understand … why … sigh never mind. I just don’t want to think about why she would do it. How could a mother do something like that to her own daughter? It’s just so much. It’s sad really,” I lamented as I looked out the window at the scenery as it passed by.

“We’ll probably never know whyshe feels that way. Not really. I personally don’t understand it. I know I will do my best to make sure nothing happens to you. You have my word,” Elias vowed as he kissed the back of my hand.

I really couldn’t say anything at the moment. I just nodded towardhim with a sad smile on my face. I turned my face once again towards the scenery. I closed my eyes to see if I could get myself in a better head space before we arrived in Elias’s territory.

Imust have fallen asleep because Elias was gently shaking me, “Bree, wake up. We’re here. I want to introduce you to everyone. I need you to wake up. That’s it, hello beautiful,” he cooed as he kissed my lips before he unbuckled my seatbelt.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” I whispered to him as he was helping me out of the SUV.

“No worries. You’ve had a tough couple of days.I think you’ve earned a few extra hours of sleep. Now, I’d like to introduce you to some very important people. Breonna Mathis, these people are my Beta, Delta, Gamma, and their mates. Bree, this is Beta Steven Michaels and his mate Lana, Delta Henry Riley and his mate Rebecca, and my Gamma Owen Stillwater and his mate Hannah. Everyone, this is Breonna Mathis, daughter of Beta Theodore Mathis of the Blackhawk Pack and maybe your new Luna,” Elias announced as we walked by each one, I bowed to them.

“Why did you bow to us Lady Breonna? We should be bowing to you?” Hannahinquired as we came to a stop in front of her.

“I am not a ranked wolf. I amjust the Lead Trainer and Warrior in the Blackhawk Pack. I do not hold a rank. So, I am showing you the proper respect due your rank,” I replied as Elias came to stand next to me.

“Bree, I think she is showing you the respect you would have if you became the Luna of the pack. And to be clear, Lead Trainer and Warrior is a rank within the pack,” Elias explained as he reached for my hand to guide me into the pack house.

I knew it was, but I didn’t want people bowing to me just because. Oh boy, it’s going to be a long week. Elias’s pack house was very modern. It looked a lot like Drakes pack house. The style, the furnishings, the landscaping, everything looked almost identical. I was impressed with Drakes pack house and how it was laid out. Now, I am experiencing De-ja vu.

Elias introduced me to more people in the pack house. I know I’m not going to remember their names. Everywhere we went, people were happy to meet me. They were equally happy to see Elias and I holding hands. Elias had a goofy grin on his face. He asked me if I wanted to freshen up before lunch, and I said yes. So, he started to lead me to my room.

Wewent up the stairs. We were on the Alpha floor before I realized he was taking me to his suite. “Why are you taking me to your suite?” I inquired as he opened his door and ushered us in.

“I thought you could stay in one of my guest rooms. That way, I won’t have to worry about your protection. I’ll know where you are,” he replied with a smirk.

“But, I’m not … I can’t …” sigh. I stopped and put my hands on my temples and started to rub them. “Why didn’t you ask me before you brought me up here? I mean … I don’t know what to say,” I replied as I just stood there not really sure what to do at the moment.

Eliaslooked like I just burst his balloon. His smirk was gone. Suddenly, he started to panic, “I’m so sorry Bree. I didn’t think. Drake and I thought that if we put you up in one of our guest rooms in our suites, we wouldn’t have to worry about your protection. We talked about it. I did forget to tell you about it. I’m such an idiot. Please forgive me,” Elias babbled as he paced back and forth from me to the couch and back.

“Elias, stop pacing please. Calm down.You and Drake discussed this? Why didn’t you both just ask me about it? I would have agreed. I just felt thrown off is all. I don’t like surprises. I guess it’s the Beta in me that likes things organized and very detailed. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” I tried to soothe him as I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest.

“No, you’re right, we should have talked to you about it.We should have no surprises or secrets,” he cooed as he wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly while kissing my temple.

We just held each other like that for a few more minutes. He was the first one to break ourhold. He cupped my chin and lifted my face towards his. “How about a tour of the territory which includes the lake property? We can do that after lunch. Does that sound like something you can handle today?” Elias asked softly while gazing into my eyes.

“Yes, that sounds lovely. Am I properly dressed forthat, or do I need to change?” I gushed as I stood up on my tippy toes to kiss him on the lips.

“No, you can stay in what you have on. Unless, you want to change. I’m going to stay in what I’m wearing,” he exclaimed as he kissed me back soundly.

We freshened up for lunch which was served in the dining room. When we left, he took me on a tour of his territory. We left the pack house, hand-in-hand. Everyone who saw us had huge smiles on their faces, bowed respectfully, and waved. I got the same kind of greeting I got from Elias’s pack that I got from Drake’s pack. You could almost feel the hope in the air. They wanted a Luna for their alpha and I guess they approved of me.

We walked around the recreation center towards the tree line. Next to the tree line, I saw a bench. On the bench was a satchel, just like Drake. I started to chuckle. “What’s so funny?” Elias asked the closer we got to the bench.

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about a joke that Tom played on me a short time ago in a place that looked a lot like this,” I explained as we sat down on the bench.

“Tell me about it,” Elias cooed as he put his arm around my shoulders.

“Well, it was the day Alpha Bennett asked me to be Lead Trainer and Warrior. He wanted me to participate and train the team for the Grand Forks Tournament. I left the pack house and headed towards the training grounds when I heard growling. Tom leapt out and tried to tackle me. I flipped him and he got angry at me because he got dirty. I told him he shouldn’t try to play tricks on me. It was a tree line just like this one,” I explained with a faraway look in my eyes.

“You two are close, aren’t you?” Elias asked softly.

“Yes, we are. Always have. When mom did hernutty things to me, Tom would always find a way to come into my room and comfort me. He always found a way to include me in things when she excluded me,” I revealed with a soft sigh.

“I wish I was close to my sister.After I became Alpha, my parents moved away and took my sister. I haven’t seen her in a while. I miss seeing them and her. I see my brother, but not my sister,” Elias stated sadly as he squeezed my shoulders softly.

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