Page 22 of He Claimed Her Heart

I gasped and almost fell over. Alpha Drake caught me and held me up. He wrapped his arm around my waistand held me close to him protectively. My father walked over to my mother and announced, “I, Theodore Antonio Mathis do hereby reject you Ann Marie Wentworth as my fated mate.”

Gasps were heard all throughout the room. I was sure ifAlpha Drake hadn’t been holding me, I would have been on the floor by now. “Gentlemen, please escort Ann out of the building to the awaiting car and to her final destination,” Alpha Bennett commanded.

“Yes Alpha,”four burly men answered in unison as two of them took her by the arms and led her out of the room.

I stood there in stunned silence. I know I was shakingbecause Alpha Drake was shushing me and trying to calm me down. A look of disbelief was on my face when my father came over to talk to me. “Puddin’, it’s all right. This was a long time coming. We should have done it years ago. Don’t worry; everything will be all right,” dad soothed.

“Dad,why did you reject her after all this time? I don’t understand?” I whispered.

“Because Alpha declared her a rogue. I had to doit, so she has no claims over you, Tom, or the pack,” he answered truthfully.

“Okay. Dad, have I … sigh … have I disgraced …” I started to ask dad, but he cut me off.

“No, you have never, ever disgraced me, your family, or your pack. You have always honored usin the best way possible. Never forget that” he explained as he held my face with his hands and kissed my forehead.

“Thankyou, dad,” I whispered as I kissed his cheek.

“Alpha Drake, do you think you can let go of my daughter now so she can go sit down?” dadcautiously asked him.

“I don’t know. Bree, would you be able to walk over to your seatwithout falling if I let you go?” he questioned me with a sly grin.

“Truthfully, I’m not sure,” was all I could say before I was picked up bridal style and whisked away to my awaiting chair. He placed me gently into my chair.

My teammates all had looks of awe and fascination on their faces as Alpha Drake walked away.My face was red as a tomato. I couldn’t believe my mother showed her ass like that. Tom leaned over to ensure I was all right and kissed my cheek. At this moment, I knew I was loved by many people—dad, Tom, Edward, and Angela. They were my family. But now, I was admired by others, not just my family.

After dinner, the awards were given out to the winners. Perry of Rock Hollow was the male winner, and of course, I was the winner for the females. Bonnie placed third, and Zaria placed fifth. Javier placed fourth for the males. I think we did good this year. We had four that were placed. Overall, not bad at all. After the awards were handed out, Alpha Drake announced, “Let the dancing begin!”

CHAPTER 5

Alpha Drake—Will You Date Me?

I walked over to Alpha Bennett with my trophy and presented it to him. He looked surprised that I was offering the trophy to him. Then, he took it from me and placed it on the table with a smile. “I’ll keep this safe for you Bree,” Alpha Bennett gushed.

The first dance was always performed by the Alpha and his Luna.“Ladies and Gentlemen. The ceremonial first dance is always performed by the Alpha and his Luna. Since Alpha Drake does not have a Luna, he is requesting the visiting Alphas and their Lunas to come and dance. He in turn will find a partner to dance with,” Alpha Drake’s Beta explained.

Alpha Drake walked up to meand bowed at the waist and asked “Breonna, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?”

“I would be delighted,” I replied as Icurtsied.

He took my hand and led me to the dance floor where he once againbowed, and I curtsied. We began to dance. He was a magnificent dancer. It was at that time I noticed his fine features. He had jet black hair cut close on the sides and slightly longer on top. He had emerald, green eyes, with thick long lashes, a handsome nose, which led to plush pink kissable lips, and a strong square jaw. He was handsome with broad shoulders that I wouldn’t mind touching and running my fingers over and over again. His chest was well-defined with muscles everywhere. I was so lost in checking him out, I guess I stopped dancing. He looked at me and chuckled.

“Are youall right Bree?” he wondered aloud as his eyes swept over my form.

“Yes, I was just thinking abouteverything that just happened. I got lost. Sorry,” I replied.

“It’s quiteall right,” he chuckled as we began to dance again. “I’m sorry for what your mother did to you. She was wrong. You are not a disgrace, rather you are someone to be very proud of.”

“Thank you for coming to my defense. That was very chivalrous of you,” I remarked as he twirled me around.

“Twas my pleasure ma’am. Anytime you need to be saved, please call me. I’m available 24/7,” he chuckled as the danced ended.

The danced ended, but his hold on me didn’t.When the next song began, we started dancing again. We danced for two more songs before he led me back to my chair once again. It felt good being in his arms. It felt, normal. It felt, comfortable. It felt, perfect. Why am I thinking this way? Am I going crazy or something?

As I’m lost in thought, someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn to see Beta Edward smiling down at me. “May I have thisdance, Bree?”

“Yes, you may,” I answered him with a smile. As we started dancing, I thanked him for what he said in my defense with my mother. “Thank you for what you said about me always being considered your daughter to my mother. Does that mean I get to call you mom and dad?”

I must have said something wrong, because of the look on his face. He stopped suddenly andled me off the dance floor towards Angela. We came to an abrupt stop in front of her. “Do you know what she just asked me? She just thanked me for telling her mother that we will always consider her our daughter to her mother. And then, she asked if that meant that she could call us mom and dad,” he explained as he looked at his mate with tears in his eyes. My dad, Tom, and Alpha Drake saw Edward drag me off the dance floor followed us over to where we were standing, and heard what Edward told his mate.

---