Guys, I'm definitely going to write Whispered Secrets. But I can't write it while I'm writing Bitter Love cause Cadrian's story is like so entrancing to me. So, as soon as this one is finished, I'm going to write Whispered Secrets. Bitter Love will also probably have a lot of time skipping in the next few chapters and will not be very long. That is why the chapters are so short and not like 6 pages each.

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Chapter Six

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“Cadrian!” Holly smiled at me as soon as I walked in and I was instantly with the scent of her pregnancy hormones. I felt a pang in my chest as I heard the faint heartbeat echoed with her loud one when I concentrated on her stomach hard enough.

“Hey Holly,” I greeted, lips pressed together in a thin smile. Even after all this time, it still felt awkward being around her and Parker. The scars they had left on me, the damage they had caused to my heart was never going to fade, but I was trying to move past it. Forgive and forget. It was so hard to forget, though. But I didn’t want to lose them like I lost Xavier. I never realized how much he meant to me until he was at his last moments. And I didn’t want that to happen with Holly and Parker.

Giovanni looked up from his mate and smiled at me affectionately and I was reminded of the reason I liked spending my days here in the Midnight Pack mansion. He was the brother I always wanted. Giovanni gave me the unconditional love that only brothers could give you. And even if I’ve known him for less than two years, he had gotten insanely protective of me. Sometimes I couldn’t help but wish he was my real brother.

“Hello, my beautiful, little sister-in-law,” he greeted, strolling over to lift me up just like Hayden had done. I laughed, my eyes lighting up in joy. Giovanni and Holly had married a three months after the Battle at Springfield. I didn’t blame them; the need to be with your mate was hard to resist. I didn’t know how I had done it.

“Congratulations on the baby,” I told Holly over Gio’s head.

Giovanni gave me one last squeeze then set me down. “We’re really excited,” Holly said, happiness brimming her eyes.

I smiled at them and was about to reply when somebody coughed from behind me. Startled, I turned around and saw Parker standing there, giving me a sheepish smile. He was holding his arms out to me hesitantly. I paused, then stepped into his embrace. His arms weren’t as comforting as Giovanni’s were, but I accepted them because he was still my brother.

“Hey,” he whispered into my ear.

“Parker…Hey,” I said against his shoulder softly. I felt his breath wash over my skin as he sighed and knew he was hurt. I could hug Giovanni without a second thought, but with Parker, there was always a flicker of doubt going through my mind. I couldn’t help it.

He swallowed, trying to hide his nervousness. He was the Beta of the Midnight Pack. He couldn’t show emotions that would label him as weak. Especially to his younger sister of five years, who was from a different pack. “How are you?” he asked me, stepping back and rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m good. What about you?” I asked, my eyes meeting his. I struggled not to let my gaze drop.

“Good,” he replied, awkwardly.

I smiled tightly and looked around for Michael, who was nowhere in sight. I frowned and sniffed him out. He was somewhere upstairs and I sighed. “I better go see what kind of trouble Mike is getting into…”

“Michael’s a good kid, he never causes trouble,” Hayden said, as he came back to stand next to his Beta.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what you think.” I jogged upstairs, following my son’s scent and came upon him sitting on the end of Natalie’s bed, watching her one year old son, Flynn, sleeping. I smiled at the attentive look on his face and edged closer.

“What are you doing, baby?” I asked, running my finger through his hair.

Michael looked up at me. “He’s so small, Mom.” Natalie smiled shyly at me from her spot on the bed next to Flynn.

“Babies are meant to be small. You were that small once, too,” I said, kissing him on the head.

“I don’t remember being that small,” Michael replied, a frown tugging his lip down.

I wrapped my arms around him from behind. “I guess that’s just how life is, sweetie,” I said, pressing my face to his head. His soft brown hair tickled my skin.

“Do you remember being that small, Mom?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Oh.” Michael’s frown deepened. “Natalie, is Flynn going to ever wake up?”

Natalie smiled at my son. “Babies like to sleep a lot, Michael. He’ll wake up in a few hours,” she explained to him softly. “Cade, are you staying over?”

I nodded as my reply and turned away. “Mike, your bedtime is in an hour,” I murmured to him before walking out the door. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait for this trip to be over.

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Michael and I left for home around two in the afternoon. He played with the friends he made from the Midnight Pack and Hayden and I talked about the hunters. The war seemed like it was in the favor of werewolves. I didn’t want to jinx it, but all the fighting may come to an end in a few months.

Apparently one of the packs from Russia had met up with a man, Andrei Karvosky. He was the descendent of Dmitri Karvosky, the famous Circle leader. The old Circle leader. The Circle that didn’t kill all wolves and only hunted the ones that had lost their humanity. If Andrei could take over the Circle, then the war would be over. And all this senseless killing would come to an end.

This was news. It was a silver lining.

“Mom, I’m hungry.”

I looked at the rearview mirror. “You just ate a while ago,” I said.

“I’m hungry, Mom.” Michael crossed his arms over his chest and huffed, glaring at me. “Please?”

“Are you tired of being cooped up in here, Mike?” I asked. He nodded, pouting. “You’re the one who wanted to come. You knew it was a long drive.” Michael glared again. “We’re almost home.” His lip quivered. I relented. “Fine.” A smile lit his face and I decided I didn’t mind waiting another thirty minutes to get home.

“Thank you, Mommy.” As soon as I parked in front of McDonalds, he jumped out of the car and came around to the driver’s seat to hug me tightly. I dismissed the hug and reveled in the fact that Michael just called me ‘mommy’ again. A smiled graced my face and I held him back tightly.

“Would you like to stay here or eat in the car?” I asked.

“Stay here!” He pointed at the brightly colored playground attached to the restaurant. “Can I go play?” he asked me.

I laughed a little. “Alright. Want me to order for you?” I asked him.

Michael nodded and ran towards the door to the playground. I set towards the entranced to McDonalds and walked up the counter, ordering the things that I knew Michael liked. Then the smell of food made me hungry, so I ordered some things that I liked. When I was done, I walked to a table and sat down, looking out the window to where Michael was, charming parents and disappearing up and appearing down the slides.

I heard a door open so I looked up to see if someone new had come in, but my eyes instead were drawn to the men’s bathroom. I froze as Tristan walked out of it, running his hand through his hair. My breath left me in a whoosh and I wondered, why did we always end up in the same place?

As if he felt my gaze, he lifted his head and our eyes locked. It was instinctive to hold his gaze. Being a Beta, I never dropped eye contact first. That was a form of submitting to a higher power and I was the higher power in this entire restaurant.

He walked over towards me, biting his lip, almost nervously. “Hey,” he greeted. Tristan looked almost….shy. It was kind of endearing. But I didn’t reply: only watched him with blank eyes. “I know you shot me down at the mall that day, but…damn, I don’t even know your name. But do you want to, maybe, go out with me sometime?”

I knew I had been harsh the time he asked me for my number. Maybe he thought I was being hard to get. Would letting him down easy give him a message? “No,” I said, shaking my head. I tried to be as gentle as possible. “I’m too busy. I can’t.”

It looked like his hand was itching to brush the stray lock of hair that had fallen across my face, but he resisted. “Please? Going on a date can’t seem that horrible.”

I decided that maybe he had never been rejected before. He was a handsome guy. Human women must be falling over him all the time. But there was a look in his eyes that suggested he had been through a lot of pain. Damnit, I didn’t know what to think.

“No, I’m sorry,” I said flatly.

Tristan’s hand tightened into a fist and he looked down at the table. That’s when I heard my number being called from behind the counter. The food was ready. I got up and stepped past Tristan to retrieve the two trays. When I turned back around, Tristan was gone. I pushed away the twinge of guilt that bubbled up in my stomach. But I ignored it and went out to the playground where Michael was. I ignored the urge to look over my shoulder to see if I could see Tristan again.