FULL NOVELXO Chapter 9 ~ Crickets…
Adrianna’s POV ~
My mate is a shit stirrer! Good to know! Little does he know, so am I. We are going to have fun with that! I glared at him and he just smiled benignly.
My father said “There will be a pack meeting in one hour! Mandatory!” Everyone in the pack.. looked nervous. Then, Evander said “The dining room looks good with people actually here!” Zander and Andrew choked back a laugh, and I growled “Stop! What are you doing?” He smiled and said “Pointing out the glaringly obvious flaws in the members of this pack! To disrespect an Alpha’s child is the same as disrespecting him!”
He’s right, in a way.. I just don’t want my dad upset with the people he has led for twenty years! I will be leaving here, soon. I don’t have to interact with any of them anymore. I shrugged and said “Water under the bridge, babe. I won’t be here to deal with them, anymore!”
My father stepped to the podium and looked out over the pack. Andrew stood to his left.. Zander on the right. When he spoke.. he did so clearly and adroitly “My pack. People I have thought of as family for decades.. I find myself ashamed.. disappointed. It has been brought to my attention that my family.. my own blood.. has been maligned, abused, disrespected.. with malicious intent. Even now, I see eyes darting toward my daughter with malevolence! How dare you! She hasn’t said a word to me about this appalling behavior of every one of you! Her mate informed me.. so, if you feel righteous anger is what you feel.. You are free to direct it at the future King of Dragons! As I have always been a fair and just man, I am going to allow you to explain yourselves.”
A man in the back said “She led the humans to us! I lost my mate because of her!” Abram said “And you believe this, why? When she was but a child, did she lead the humans here that abducted her? Did unspeakable things to her!? And they are unspeakable! I experienced a fraction of what my daughter suffered and was near death when she rescued me! Don’t be an idiot!”
A woman said “Look at her! She’s a freak now! She barely scents of pack! How do we know she won’t go crazy and kill us in our sleep?”
My father laughed “Are you shitting me right now!? What part of ‘unspeakable’ are you incapable of comprehending? She is my blood! She is my daughter! Had she come back home, humpbacked.. bald and blind, she would still be MY DAUGHTER! Alpha born.. Goddess blessed! Your ignorance astounds me!”
Another said “If she hadn’t come back, we wouldn’t have been attacked!” Abram said “In captivity, there was seven different species the humans were testing.. torturing.. is she the reason their packs, clans and prides were attacked? Help me out here, people. Are you blaming MY child for the evil that lives in the hearts of others?”
No one spoke.. and he waited.. watching and staring each one of them in the eyes. Then he said “I am ashamed. I have never been as disappointed as I am tonight. We are half human.. yet, you have proven to me you are without humanity. Enlighten me.. how are you any different than the humans?”
Again, silence reigned supreme. He finally said “You have tonight. Go home.. reevaluate your values.. your morals. I am of half a mind to simply banish you all! That is where you have brought me. That is how deep my disappointment goes. Reassess your lives.. you have some proving to do. Do not come to me with false humility.. do not think a simple apology will correct this.”
“Tomorrow, you will let me know if you are willing to do better! To be better! You have to change your way of thinking. I will accept no prejudices in my pack! Until then.. none of you will be considered pack! You didn’t bother to be pack, when Adrianna was left with no choice.. when my daughter had to go outside of her home.. to find someone to help rescue me! What none of you gave a single thought to.. was she was trying to rescue Your Alpha! Not just her father.. and none of you cared enough to help! That.. in itself, tells me you don’t want to be in my pack.”
A woman said “She went to the council for aid. Our trackers couldn’t find you.. they lost your scent by the third day. What did you expect us to do?”
A man yelled out “In all fairness, Alpha, we thought you were dead.” He grins an evil grin.. raising an eyebrow he responded “And you all felt my bond snap? None of you could feel your tether attached to my heart?” Crickets…