Page 16 of Hadley's Heroes
“Come sleep on me, my heart.” Jaka reached out for me, but the grip on Adee’s hand grew tighter. I laughed.
“I think Adee wants me here. Beside him, yes?” I asked. I would happily lay with him in the nest. I was just so relieved that he was talking and getting better.
“Goddess, yes.” I giggled at the nickname he had decided to give me. I could be his goddess if that was what he wanted. It made me feel good to know he wanted me here. I was upset that Aalee hadn’t come back to see his brother, but he should know he was okay.
“Can you let Aalee know that he is okay, he is awake and stuff?” I looked to Vetok. He nodded with a small smile.
“I will go find him now. He will be glad to hear the news.” I moved carefully into my nest and laid beside Adee. My hand in his, resting against his belly, he gave a small smile and my heart burst.
“Go to sleep, I will be here when you wake up,” I promised him.
A few days had passed since Adee was injured. He had healed, but slowly. Jaim thought it was because he was outside in the elements a lot longer than usual Aashi were so it slowed the healing. But after speaking with him, I was thinking something else had gone on. He had no idea how he fell. I thought maybe he didn’t want to tell me that he slipped. All the Aashi were good at climbing trees, and I had never seen one fall before, so maybe he was embarrassed.
But after, he said things about how he hadn’t even climbed the wall. He didn’t remember it. That was different. He also said it was a dumb place to climb, that he would have gone up the way I had fallen. The place he was found was a sheer cliff wall. Even Vetok said he wouldn’t climb that.
“We move into our hut today. We have made you the bed.” Jaka smiled widely at me. I chuckled as I shook my head.
“Oh, have you now?” I flirted back, but Vetok just stood there with a funny look on his face.
“Yes, we did. You wished for a bed and we made you one. Even bigger than Elle’s bed.” He was so serious about it too. I laughed. Oh dear, I couldn’t ever tease Vetok.
I hugged them both. I was excited to see the hut. I had told them what I wanted. It was similar to Elle’s, but I wasn’t keen on the two levels so they made a hut that was one large level. I hadn’t been inside yet and I was very excited.
“Jaim, Adee.” I turned to them in the hut. They were both sitting beside each other, looking over at me. I could see the sadness in Jaim’s eyes that I was leaving…
“Did you want to come move into our hut today with me… mates?”
Adee’s mouth dropped open. It made my heart stutter a little at the sight. I made him speechless. Jaim stood, then bowed to me.
“I… are you wishing to choose me as your mate, Hadley?” he asked, his voice laced with hope. I nodded.
“Yes, if you will have me. I want you and Adee to be my mates.” Adee stood, but he swayed slightly. Jaka reached out and caught him before he could fall again. His head injury was not good still and he was a little uneasy on his feet at times.
“Hadley, my goddess. You bring me great honor of being your mate. You have my heart, always.” I couldn’t help but go to them both and wrap them both in my arms. Swoon-worthy words from Adee.
“I will always take care of you, Hadley-who-came-from-the-sky,” Jaim whispered into my ear.
I took a step back and held onto Jaim’s hand with one and took Adee’s tail in the other as Jaka helped support him.
“Let’s go home.” I turned to Vetok, who was beaming. He led us out of the hut and to our future.
Chapter Fourteen
Aalee
Apak was a good male, he had accepted me into his hut just as Hadley had said. It was a well-made hut. A male named Koh, who was mated to the female with hair the color of the suns, had helped build it. I had never seen one constructed in such a way. I was very impressed with his skills, and you could see it every time you walked into the hut. It was large with two levels, raised high above the ground as all huts were. You never knew when the wet season came if we would have floods here. The waterfall and the fact we were so low meant the chances were high. It happened every so often, that’s why all clan huts were usually above ground level.
I could hear some talking outside from where I slept on the second level. I had a large area. I had never had my own space like this; there was a half wall between me and where another area was for another single male but ,so far, we only had Apak and a male named Wolan from Clan Wolf. They were down below, on the first level.
I looked outside and found my litter brother Adee was walking with assistance from Jaka. I felt sad that I had not been there for him, but I couldn’t be close to Hadley. My hands wanted to touch her, I wanted to be close to her when she was near, and I couldn’t do those things. She would kill me if I did. But now she was there. Jaim held her hand, his smile the largest I had seen since she had considered him as a chosen mate. Adee’s tail was gripped in her other hand.
“Chosen mates,” I whispered to myself. She had chosen them, just as she promised me. I moved into this hut as she had asked, and she had kept her word to me that she would take them as mates. I leaned outside the window a little more to see them, and her face arched, the twin suns hitting it in such a way she glowed like the Goddess. She took my breath away as her eyes found mine.
A small smile spread on her lips as she nodded to me. I found myself nodding back at her, a smile now breaking across my face at the sight of her, my brother and best friend now with a female to call their own. I was happy for them. I was glad she had picked them… but in that moment I wished she had chosen me. I was broken inside, and she knew that. But deep down, just a little part of me wished she would have seen me as more than broken, that she would have pushed harder for me. I wanted her as my mate, but now I was too late.
I stood tall and watched as she looked away. I knew then I needed to get out of here. Run, climb some trees, and think about what I was going to do, where I could go.
I didn’t belong here in Clan Freedom Wolf anymore.
