Filed To Story: Secret with Betas Daughter: Skylar Story Series
“What does she mean by catching up with you?”
Audrina snarks over my shoulder and I jump a little. I didn’t even notice her coming up behind me.
“Is that really any of your business?”
Lillian asks and I raise my eyebrows at her. That was either a really brave question or really stupid.
“It is if one of my team members is going to be missing training.
“Missing training has nothing to do with Skylar catching up with the Luna Queen. You were obviously eavesdropping enough to hear that the Luna Queen has invited Skylar to the Royal packhouse this Saturday and next so she will be missing training. That’s really all the information you need, isn’t it?”
Lillian is playing with fire, but she’s not wrong.
Audrina looks at Lillian for a brief second and clearly makes a decision. “If Skylar is going to be a part of my team, she needs to be present for all of the required training. I am already forced to put up with her frequent absences since she hasn’t had the capacity to even finish school yet.
“Are you serious? She’s ahead by two years and probably smarter than the rest of us combined ”
Wyatt adds in.
“Let’s not get carried away. Audrina, the Luna Queen has requested my presence, there’s not really anything you or I can do about that, is there?
“What does she mean you’ll be Prince Alexander’s escort?”
I think she’s whining now.
“I’m pretty sure that part is the most self-explanatory.”
Nathaniel responds.
I cut them off with my hand as all my friends seem to want to keep stepping in to defend me. They won’t always be there to buffer the animosity she seems to radiate around me.
“Prince Xander and I are friends and she clearly wants me at this event. Since he hasn’t found his mate yet he is vulnerable to all of the social climbing people in attendance. By having an escort it allows him a level of protection from them and anyone else who may want to cause trouble or harm. The protection becomes two fold since I am also a warrior.
“You aren’t an Elite Warrior yet, don’t get ahead of yourself.
“I didn’t say elite warrior’ just warrior, which I am and plenty of people here can attest to that. Having a warrior assigned as his escort allows other warriors to focus on the King and Queen’s protection if they aren’t in the same social groups all evening. It’s a strategic move and less conspicuous having someone closer to his age attend with him than having a guard flanking him all night.
“I still want to know what you did to get all of this special treatment from everyone.
“It’s not special treatment. I worked my ass off to get here just like everyone else. My circumstances are not normal, but if it was necessary for you to know more than you do, Warrior Osiston would have given it to you. Like he said yesterday, at any given time a third of us have orders that may conflict with what the group is doing. Do you trust him?
“Of course I do, he is my mentor. Warrior Brogen saved me after my pack was attacked and brought me here. What I want to know is how you got him to tell you his first name and let you use it? How did you become friends with the Alpha Prince so quickly? You talk about social climbing people wanting to get to him. How do we know you’re not one of those people?
My friends are just watching the conversation like a tennis match. If I was on the outside looking in, I would probably find it very funny.
“In all honesty, you don’t know. But, I have clearly been looked into by Warrior Osisten, the Alpha King and whoever else handles all of that and been found to be trustworthy for this job. If you don’t agree with the decision, I suggest you take it up with that team. I will continue to follow orders.”
I stood up and grabbed what’s left of my food. I know I need to finish it, but I’m done talking to her and she won’t leave so I have to.
I grab the shaker bottle from my bag too so I can take it into the kitchens to Stella and Jack and take up just a little more time.
When I get back to the table Lillian has my bag and all my friends are waiting for me, Lillian has a big sh*t eating grin on her face.
“You should have seen her after you walked off and basically dismissed her. She isn’t done trying to imply that you shouldn’t be here. She’s just mad because she isn’t the favorite she thought she was. She’s had a bit of a hero worship problem with Warrior Brogen and sticks to him like a shadow. He has never treated her any differently, even as a team leader, she’s treated the same as the rest of them, I just don’t think she sees it.
“It is a little weird though,”
Nathaniel says as we start walking back out to the open space behind the bunkhouse. “It’s almost like she has a crush on him, but that’s impossible with the brand. We don’t get any of those emotions. Love, lust, infatuation, desire of any kind is overridden by the warrior brand. No one dates here, no secret hook-ups. We just don’t get those desires at all. We can’t afford to have the drama that relationships can cause, especially being with each other twenty four seven.
“Maybe it’s from before she got her brand. She remembers him saving her, it could be just that, hero-worship.”
I say. “Does anyone know anything about her pack or what happened? Maybe she lost her mate. If she was eighteen, it could have been shortly after finding him and she transferred her feelings in her grief and that’s the last of that type of emotion she remembers.
“It still doesn’t excuse the way she keeps treating you, so stop trying to make me feel bad for her.”
Lillian snaps playfully at me.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.