11. Black Bane

Sablecrest Pack House

Himari's eyes go left and right, following Christine as she paces in the sitting room.

"Christine, are you feeling alright?" She asks, obviously knowing the answer to that.

Christine groans, covering her face with her hands. She stops pacing and rubs the sides of her forehead.

"This is bad, Himari. Like, really really bad," she strained out, looking around the room as if searching for something.

"Come sit down and talk with me," Himari says softly, patting the seat on the couch next to her.

While Soo-Yun was helping Vanessa and Yuliana bring the requested games for the Hunters and Scouts, Himari was relaxing in the sitting room typing on her laptop. The House was much quieter than usual days, and that was probably because Sandra's presence was in the building.

She would quickly switch up on anyone who ruined her scheduled nap and be a grouch for the rest of the day.

Damineh was helping Menena use her weak hand by picking up and gripping heavy objects. Haylee was with Liam for her therapy session, which she no longer avoided. Instead, she was excited everyday to go there.

Christine sits next to Himari, rubbing her hands together. The older woman tilts her head at Christine's anxiousness. She waited patiently for her to start speaking, and she finally opened her mouth to say something.

"It's about..." Christine pauses to chew the inside of her cheek.

Himari notices her tenseness and presses her hand against her shoulder for reassurance. Christine glances at her before dropping her gaze to the floor.

"It's about me and..." Christine gulps, finding the strength to say her next words. "...

Haylee's father."

Himari's face immediately dropped as her hands squeezed Christine's shoulder harder. She furrowed her eyebrows as Christine started to shake, a rare thing for a woman so confident like her. But, Himari didn't mind comforting her friend. She knew from the beginning that Christine was only putting on a front.

"Himari, I don't want that man to come back into our lives," Christine said with a pleading tone, as if Himari could fix her problems. "I don't need that... Haylee doesn't need that. My sister will be-"

Suddenly, Himari's hands pressed against her cheeks, lifting her head up to look at her eyes. Himari searched Christine's eyes, searching for the woman she knew. It was replaced by a fearful child who wanted to cower away from the world.

But neither Christine nor Haylee could do that.

"Christine," she said her name with a stern tone that brought her back to reality. "I'm sorry for that, and I wish I could do something to help. But, this is a battle you and your sister need to face. You can't avoid this anymore, and you know that. I- no, we will support you, but you and your sister need to make the decision on whether to hide and forget or to face your fears and deal with them head-on."

Christine shakes her head slowly. "B-but, my sister-"

"This is also her battle. All the advice I can give you is to prepare before you go see him. You will walk in there like the strong woman you are and show him that you have changed. That you aren't the same little girl that he did those horrible things to. Okay?"

She nods, Himari giving her a tight squeeze. She lets her go while flashing a small smile to calm her down.

"Now, go talk to Haylee. She may not be happy about it, but you still need to tell her."

Christine only nods before standing up. She looks back at Himari, who encourages her with a nod, and then leaves the sitting room.

She walks down the hallway, fiddling with her fingers as she makes her way to the room Haylee was in. She was currently in her session, so going in would be disturbing, but she needed to tell her now or she would explode with emotions.

Knocking on the door, she hears someone walking up to answer it. When it swung open, Christine was greeted by Haylee's therapist, Ms. Rosário. Her brown eyes shone with recognition and the woman smiled.

"It's good to see you, Christine," she says, pushing the door open for her. "Come in, come in."

Christine steps inside the room, seeing Haylee sitting next to Liam on a clean, floral sprint couch. The room looked less professional than Christine thought and more kid-friendly, which was a perfect design and atmosphere for Haylee.

Haylee's eyes light up when she sees Christine walk in. She jumps up out of her seat and walks to Christine, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug.

"Christine!" She squeals. "Sofia's so nice! You should come with me every day. And look what Sandra gave me."

Haylee raises up her hand in front of Christine's face, showing the charm bracelet that Sandra got during her study overseas.

"That's cool, Haylee," Christine says with a forced smile as Haylee beams. "I, um, I need to talk to you though. Ms. Rosário, can I have some time with Haylee?"

Ms. Rosário smiles and nods. "That's fine, our session is almost done anyways." She pats Haylee's head as she walks to the door.

'Thanks, um..." She looks at Liam.

The man notices her stare and slightly opens his mouth, nodding before getting up and walk out with Ms. Rosário.

Haylee turns to Christine, confused as to why she made them leave the room. Christine chewed the inside of her cheek, sighing as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Listen, Haylee," she says hesitantly. "It's something important."

Haylee tilts her head.

"It's about..." she pauses, her throat becoming dry. "He reached out to Adella, who told me that he said he is going to be let out of jail soon and wants to see us."

As if a flip was switched, Haylee's innocent demeanor was switched to a totally different one. Her eyes were filled with a mixture of fear and anger, her hands balling into fists. She looked up at Christine with shock.

"No," she whispered. She turns around and starts to walk around the room. "No, no, no, no."

"Haylee-" She was cut off by the tears that pooled at the bottom of her eyelids.

"That's not... it can't be true," her voice was strained. "He can't be coming back."

"I know, that's what I thought too."

"He can't come back, Christine!" Haylee's small voice turned up multiple notches as her tears fell. "Not after what he did to me... to you. Especially you."

Christine's eyebrows furrowed as she watched Haylee pace around the room. 'It was worse on you, Haylee.'

"Mom left because of him," her voice starts to crack. "Will he make you leave me too?"

Christine shakes her head as Haylee begins to sob, walking up to her and wrapping her arms around her weeping sister. She sways with her in her arms for a few moments before the door suddenly opens.

She looks up to see Liam in the doorway, a worried filled expression on her face. He walks up to Haylee and rubs her back, looking at Christine for answers.

"Our... our father."

She needed to say no more, Liam already knowing what that meant. He nods before looking at Haylee, who clutched her hair as she started to hyperventilate. He picks her up and holds her as she buried her face in his neck. He carries her out the room as Christine feels her own eyes being filled with tears.

She quickly wiped them away before they could fall. She needed to be strong for the both of them, and she would do that even if she had to bottle up all her emotions and lock them away deep inside her heart.

At moments like this, she was glad that Liam took up a role that most would find difficult. He took care of a girl with regular panic attacks, a personality disorder, an unattractive past, and a child-like mind to help her through all that pain. He showed her what true love was; unconditional and pure.

He took on all of that when even Christine had difficulty doing that.

Because of him, Haylee has a father figure to look up to that she never had before.

No words could explain how grateful she was to Liam, the man gave everything to her sister and never asked for anything in return.

Later,

The pen in Adella's hand drops as she sighs, making Beta Madden turn to her. He raised an eyebrow as he studied the stressed woman.

"What's up with you?"

Adella presses her face into her palm, sighing once more. She thought of what she did yesterday in the pool, the flushed face of her mate, how his body reacted to her touch, and his desire filled eyes. If Adella didn't know any better, things would have gotten a lot different than it did.

'Why does he have to be so tempting? Fuck this stupid mate bond,' she thought, groaning in frustration.

She drops her head down to the desk and Beta Madden shakes his head. He didn't know what was wrong with her, but he had a guess.

"Is it about your mate?"

"You really do know everything," she scoffs, lifting her head and brushing her hair back. "I think I fucked up."

"Wow, I don't think I've heard that from you before. It must be really bad," he says sarcastically. "Did you harm him?"

"I could have, and that's the problem." Adella taps her fingers on the desk rhythmically, feeling a wave of guilt settle in her chest. "It's so hard to stay away, but if I don't, it will hurt him."

"These are one of the few times where you've put another before yourself." The man pushed up his glasses before crossing his arms. "I think you are only afraid that you'll hurt him and pushing him away will only hurt the both of you. You are an Alpha, Adella, the Alpha King. I wouldn't imagine in a million years a boy much weaker than you could make you anxious."

"I wouldn't imagine in a million years that you would be the one giving me relationship advice," she snarkily retorts.

"I'm a married man, Adella. I charmed my way into Sandra's heart," he jokes with a small smile.

Adella laughed before she looked down at her lap with a thoughtful expression. 'Yeah, he's right.'

Beta Madden glances at her before another sigh leaves his mouth. His purpose as a Beta in Sablecrest was to give advice to the Alpha and lead when she couldn't. But in times like these, as a friend, he helped her up when she couldn't and comforted her when she broke down. He was both Beta Madden and Oskar.

"Adella."

The woman looked up at him, not saying anything.

"Do you love Kieryn?"

At that question, the woman jumped up and looked at him in utter shock. She sputtered out excuses. "Huh? What, no, that's not- I'm not- where did you even get that from?"

Beta Madden raised an eyebrow at her denial. He shakes his head, about to say something, but that was when the office door burst open. The two turn their heads to the noise, seeing Sandra walk in with a wide grin on her face. She holds two cups in her hands, filled with a green liquid that sloshed as she set it down on the desk.

"Menena made tea," she says, pushing a cup to Adella.

The woman clears her throat, her head down as she tries to hide her reddening face. It doesn't go unnoticed by Sandra, who turns to Beta Madden. He was narrowing his eyes at Adella, knowing she was trying to find an escape from his question.

'She's so brave until you call her out on something,' he thought, a sour expression on his face.

Sandra furrows her eyebrows, her gaze switching from Beta Madden to Adella. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, knowing that they were keeping something from her. She crosses her arms as she looks at her husband.

"I don't know what happened, but it better not be something about me."

"It's not," Beta Madden sighs, rubbing his temple. 'It's just that this woman is too stubborn to say how she truly feels.'

Even Adella didn't know how she truly felt. Her thoughts were filled with Kieryn, but she forced herself to keep him at a distance. No matter how bad she wanted to control his mind and body, she stopped herself from getting too far.

At first, she tried to tease him to make him dislike her, but it became something that she did without thinking. And he only gravitated towards her, just like she did as well.

'Letting him live in the House was a mistake,' and yet she didn't regret it.

"Well," Sandra drags out before skipping over to Adella's side. "I want to know now. Let me in on the details."

Beta Madden glanced at Adella once more, seeing her tense up. Once Sandra was determined to know something, she would do anything to find out. They both know that she wouldn't ever let this go.

"It's about," he started, seeing Adella tense up even more. "It's about Kieryn."

"Oh, Adella's mate?" Sandra said with a giggle. "What about him?"

"You see, she's in a bit of a predicament because of him. It's not anything bad, it's just... Adella is trying to stay away from him but she... can't," he strained out, watching as Adella's eyes narrowed in a deadly gaze. He looked away, avoiding the stare that burned into his head.

'I'll get you back for that, you bastard.' She hears Sandra gasp and look at her with a sigh. "What he said."

"Wait, wait, so you're being affected by the mate bond?" She asks before covering her mouth with her hand. "Or are you getting closer to him because you want to?"

"It's the mate bond!" Adella protests, but then she bit her lip.

Sandra wiggles her eyebrows as she places her hands on Adella's shoulders. "Oh really? But I've seen the way you look at him."

"Can we not talk about this right now?" She groans, avoiding a long conversation with Sandra.

"Oh, we are so talking about this right now," Sandra says with another giggle, a mischievous smile resting on her lips.

Adella buries her face in her palms again. Sandra cackles while gripping onto her shoulder.

"You have to be honest with yourself, Adella," she said with a smooth voice. "As your best friend in the whole world, I'm available to talk. If you ever feel like you did something wrong, come to me. I'm a relationship expert after all."

Beta Madden narrowed his eyes, not wishing to remember the fact that his wife had other lovers before him.

"Now, tell me your worries."

Adella rolls her eyes and looks back at her. "It's nothing big, Sandra."

"It's definitely big if it's about you and your mate," she said, her smile widening.

'There's no point keeping anything from her. I'll just say enough for her to be satisfied.' "Fine," Adella says reluctantly.

Beta Madden suddenly hears the long-distance radio transmitter in his ear buzz. It connected him with the other security guards. He presses his fingers against it, listening to what the person on the other end was saying.

His eyes widen as he opens his mouth to respond. "Yes, I understand. I'll relay the message to the Alpha."

Adella and Sandra turn their heads to Beta Madden. The Alpha raised an eyebrow, wondering who he was talking to.

"Alpha," Beta Madden said with a thick voice. His eyes darkened with uncontained anger as his jaw locked. "I've received a message from the security at the gates."

"What was it about?" She turned her body towards him in the chair, raising an eyebrow at his sudden anger.

Beta Madden let out a harsh breath.

"That man is here."

The two women didn't need a name to know exactly who he was talking about. The mood in the room immediately turned sour. Adella turned in her chair, resting her elbows on the desk and clasping her hands together. A rage-filled expression burned on her face as she glared at the floor, as if it was the source of all her problems.

"Sandra," Beta Madden said, looking at his wife.

Sandra's face hardened and she crossed her arms. "No. I have some words I need to say to that gilipollas myself." Her fist shook as she thought about the one man she hated most in the world.

He glanced at Adella, who only nodded without looking at him. Beta Madden pressed his finger on the radio before answering;

"Bring him in," he said smoothly, bottling the anger built up inside him before it exploded.

The caller then disconnects after given instructions. Beta Madden clasps his hands behind his back as Sandra stands up straighter. Adella stares at the door, waiting for the man to come through it.

She then heard footsteps getting louder behind the door as multiple men approached it. Her eyes narrowed into slits as someone knocked on the door.

"Enter," Beta Madden says with a cool voice.

The door swings open by one of the security guards. He stepped back, allowing a man to enter the room. As soon as his Oxford shoes touched the floor, Adella immediately felt her skin crawl. His cocky smile stretched out when he laid his blue eyes on the woman.

His blond hair was slicked back into place and a tailored, unwrinkled suit hugged his tall stature. Expensive cologne filled the room and Adella almost gagged, resisting the urge to hold her nose.

The two guards outside promptly bow before closing the door. The man strolls in and sits back on an armchair, placing his ankle on his knee. "It's good to see you again, Adella."

"The hell do you want, Gates?" Adella sits, glowering at the man for sitting on her clean chair. 'Now I have to get a new one.'

"Please, Adella, call me Arrion." He smirks, making Adella all the more angry. "You know, when I walked inside I immediately saw the maids running around like little children. The mansion was disorganized and the Pack members walked around freely. I thought after all of these years, you would finally take up your role as an Alpha and be stricter."

Adella's eye twitched as she leaned forward with a menacing stare.

"Excuse me?" She seethes. "Are you telling me that the way I run my Pack is bad?"

"Oh, no no, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that you can use some help from a fellow Alpha like me," he says with a smooth tone. "Sometimes, we need some advice from others who have been Alphas longer than others."

'That tongue of his. I just want to cut it,' Adella thought, imagining ripping out his tongue and watching him writhe in pain. The day he died would be the day Sablecrest won't have to worry about his Pack.

"And even though I'm a newer Alpha, I've still accomplished what your Pack and other Packs couldn't," Adella bites back, watching the satisfying way his face falls. "Tell me what the fuck you want or I'll have my security throw you out. You're lucky I even allowed you to come inside."

Arrion's jaw clenched for only a second before he put on his signature prim smile.

"You see, my Pack is having some conflicts with others. We don't have as much power as before because of that. I would like to make a proposal in which we both benefit from it. A mutual agreement is more like it."

Arrion knows exactly the way Adella was when it comes to meetings. She would never make a deal with someone if it didn't benefit her or her Pack, and he would take advantage of that.

Adella scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Anything you offer wouldn't be worth my time."

"Oh, but it is." He folds his hands together, taking a more professional stance. "I offer you some of my magical weapon production factory as well as me."

"You? You think you're worth as much as a magical weapon production factory?" Adella asked with a raised eyebrow, mocking the man.

Sandra snickers under her breath, which was heard by Arrion. The man narrows his eyes at her.

"Anyways, you can keep your factories. Sablecrest's are much more advanced and bring in more money than yours ever will." She crosses her arms, resting a leg over her other one.

"But my Pack possesses a factory that would be beneficial for yours."

"It seems like you're desperate for my help," Adella says with a sardonic smirk.

"There's more," Arrion says, his smirk almost faltering because of the mocking. "I've proposed to you before. If you were to join hands with me, Sablecrest and Black Bane will merge into a force that the no other Pack can stop-"

Adella raises her hand to stop him before he says anymore.

"I've already said this before and I hate repeating myself. So just for your miniscule brain to understand what I'm saying, I'll use simple words." Adella sharply looks into his eyes, making sure he got the message. "I am not interested in marrying anyone ever. My Pack is already a force no one else can stop, and we will only continue to grow."

"That's where you are wrong, my dear Adella," he says, making Adella glare with disgust. "A Pack cannot survive on its own with few allies. It's only a matter of time before Sablecrest falls, which can be prevented if you become one with Black Bane."

Adella's hands grip the edge of her desk, pressing into it hard.

"Don't you ever say to my face that my Pack will fall," she says cooly. "It's your Pack that will fall if you keep edging me to do it."

That infuriating smirk didn't leave his oily face. "The Black Bane Pack is one of the strongest Packs in the world, so we won't go down easily. I'm only warning you of what would happen if you don't listen to me. Even your friend will face the consequences with you."

Sandra rolls her eyes before looking Arrion up and down with a scrutinizing gaze.

"My net worth is four times what your Pack is making," she laughs. "I'm one of the best damn doctors out there and I won't let some arrogant white man try and tell me what to do."

She flicks her nails and brushes her hair back. A small unnoticeable smile rests on Beta Madden's lips, proud of his wife. He also won't let him speak badly to her.

"I'm not trying to offend you, Ms. Rochella. I only want to help both you and Sablecrest's growth."

"It's Mrs. Rochella," she corrects. "I don't give a crap about why you're here, but you will not come into my friend's house and talk down to her. You say you're not trying to offend me, but all that you've done since you came here was say shit like that to us. And the only growth that's needed is what's in your pants."

A flash of anger crossed Arrion's face as he watched Adella cackle under her breath. A vein swells in his forehead as he clenches his jaw.

"This is a serious matter. Your ignorance will only make your Pack fall and you will see that happen in due time. If you continue to neglect what I'm saying, the consequences will come to you. An Alpha should prepare for something like that." He scoffs, crossing his arms. "Well, I suppose a woman wouldn't understand-"

Before Beta Madden could lunge at him and put him in a chokehold, a pen flies at Arrion and hits the door behind him. He felt a liquid drip down his cheek and fall onto his tailored suit. Blood.

He looks up at Adella, whose hand was raised at him. In a split second without him seeing, she flung a pen at him with precise aim. It cut him like a dagger too.

'This is how strong Adella is,' he thought with astonishment.

"Get out."

The man raises his eyebrows at that, opening his mouth to say something. But Adella didn't allow him to.

"You've been disrespectful to not only me, but to my Pack members as well. Forget about me helping your Pack and get out of my House. You are also banned from entering Sablecrest territory ever again, and if I see you, you will be jailed. So, get out."

Arrion clenches his jaw once more before standing up, wiping the cut from his cheek.

"Fine then. I see the hostility you're all showing me, so I won't bother you. Just remember my words, Adella."

And with that, he turns around to open the door. He glances at the pen that is stabbed right into the solid door with a small amount of blood on it. He tsks and then walks out, being escorted by the two guards that waited at the front.

Once he's gone, Adella lets out a long sigh.

"God that man hits a nerve I didn't even know was possible," Sandra says, rubbing her temple. "My head hurts just thinking about him."

Adella looks at Beta Madden with a dark expression on her face. Thunder was rolling around in her eyes as her nose scrunched up in disgust.

"Oskar, tell the maids to air freshen the whole House and get me a new armchair. That guy's stench is everywhere and it's going to make me barf," she gags, fanning her hand in front of her nose.

Beta Madden glances at where her hands were on the desk, two cracks in the wood from the pressure of her hold.

'You might also need a new desk.'

Arrion was escorted out the House and to the gates where his driver was waiting. The driver gets out of the car to open the door for Arrion, waiting for him to get inside.

That's when Arrion's eyes gravitate to the side, catching sight of a head of colorless white hair on a tall, lanky man walking with a maid into the gardens. Before he disappeared from sight, Arrion could see his soft, but defined features.

A smirk stretched onto the Alpha's face as his eyes brightened in recognition.

'So he's here,' he thought. 'He'll be so happy to hear the news.'

The man chuckled a cruel, sadistic one and the driver raised an eyebrow. Arrion runs his hand down his face as the smirk grows wider.

'Just wait, Adella. All the humiliation you've made me suffer will come back to you one hundred-fold.' His chuckle became a laugh. And he held his stomach as it started to ache.

'You and your Pack will become mine, in one way or another, even if I have to destroy everyone around you to do that.'