Hideout

S E V E N T E E N

CHAPTER 

SEVENTEEN

A D E L A I D E 

I played with my hands in my lap anxiously, biting my bottom lip fiercely as the car drew closer to the territory of my old pack. Leo was driving and I could sense he was also uneasy. About what, I wasn't sure.

"If I were to change my mind, we could leave at any time, right?" I asked him. "Would you be mad?"

He shook his head, his knuckles turning white as we passed the first sign of a changing territory; a tree near the road had been scratched down to the bark. "Not at all. I would turn the car around now if you wanted," he assured me.

"I'm okay right now. But thank you."

Leo reached over with one of this hands and touched mine. "It'll be alright. And if it isn't, I will take you somewhere fun to spend the weekend, okay? Like a beach house or go up to a lake or something."

I nodded hurriedly. "That sounds nice."

He took my hand in his and brought the back of my hand to his lips tenderly. "This is going to be an interesting weekend to say the least," he said with a playful smile.

"Couldn't agree more."

~ ~ ~

Harrison was waiting for us at the entrance of the Pack House. The sight of him made my stomach churn in discomfort, but I couldn't place why. He had grown a lot in the time I had been gone. Not in height or anything, but work as an Alpha had already aged him. He had more facial hair, dark circles under his eyes, and seemed to have put on a little bit of weight.

Surprisingly, the new Luna wasn't with him.

Leo parked the car and got out, whisking over to my side to open my door for me and help me out. We made brief eye contact, Leo seeming to touch base with me on if I was okay or not.

"I'm okay," I whispered. "Hold my hand?"

The man smiled gently at me and entwined our fingers before we began the approach. Harrison stepped confidently down the stairs to meet us at the bottom. "Alpha Leo, Adelaide. How was the drive?" Harrison greeted politely.

"Long, but otherwise easy. Little to no traffic," Leo answered. "How are you handling things as the new Alpha? Do you have your system running smoothly?"

Harrison chuckled, shaking his head. "I have them running, but I'm not sure smoothly is the way I would describe it." His eyes fell onto me, where they softened ever so slight. "Adelaide, you look really good. Having freedom has completely changed you. Funny how that works, isn't it?"

I knew he was referring to the treatment of his father, the previous alpha. All I could do was smile and nod in response. Leo squeezed my hand and pulled me closer to his side. "How's Stella? I thought she'd be here, by your side."

"Stella is on bedrest. I was going to wait until this weekend to share the news, but I trust you two to keep it a secret. Stella is pregnant. Her morning sickness has been cruel to her, so our doctor advised that she rest and relax until it passes," Harrison explained, slowly guiding us up towards the massive house.

Leo reached his hand out to shake Harrison's to congratulate him. "Congrats, man. That's incredible. You two are very lucky."

I nodded in agreement. "I should have guessed it would be around this time, considering how long it has been since your ceremony. I'm happy for you."