Chapter 76: A friend

Chapter 76 Adrian Neta I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a long swallow of whiskey, the city lights glittering outside the hotel window like they’re mocking me. For all their brilliance, they don’t warm a damn thing inside me tonight. The door clicks open and shut, and Austin comes in. His stride is sharp, impatient. He pours himself a drink before even answering. "How is she?" I ask, not turning yet. "She’s fine," he says, clipped. "Yeah," I murmur, lifting my glass again. Austin bristles, fists tightening around his drink. "A little heartless, don’t you think? That reaction." I finally look at him. "What? She wasn’t even hurt physically." I brush it off, waving my glass. "She almost killed Allison!" he snaps, voice cracking with fury. I exhale slowly, staring at him. My younger siblings... they’ve always been closer. Allison and Austin—practically inseparable growing up. And me? I was raised differently, groomed for duty, for the Alpha’s chair. A life of training, of diplomacy, of keeping a cold head when others can’t. We were never on the same page, not really. So of course Austin feels it more deeply. "But she didn’t," I say flatly. His jaw tightens. "How can you be so cruel?" I set my glass down, lean back in the chair. "What do you want me to do, Austin? Wage war? Challenge Cameron to a duel?" The words hang in the air. He doesn’t answer. "Because those are the only options, if we want to take this further. And I will do neither." My tone is final, steel wrapped in exhaustion. Austin looks away, pacing near the window. His hands tremble—whether from rage or helplessness, I don’t know. "I’ll protect Allison," he mutters. "Don’t do something stupid," I warn with a low growl, the Alpha bleeding into my tone. "Because if you do, I will have no choice but to react—not as your brother, but as the Alpha of Silvermist." Austin snaps his head toward me, eyes blazing, but I don’t give him space to speak. "And what about what Allison did to that boy? Have you forgotten?" I continue, voice sharper now. "Did you not nearly kill a wolf for so much as looking at her wrong? Do you know what a diplomatic nightmare that was? Do you know how much I had to clean up?" His mouth opens, but I press forward. "This is as much your fault as it is hers. Every time she stirs trouble, you shield her. Every time I try to enforce consequences, you interfere. And the way Allison is to you, clearly that boy meant something to someone else too. Remember that before you cry foul." Austin’s jaw locks, his voice hoarse when he bites back, "Don’t you care at all? She’s your sister." "And I am also the Alpha of Silvermist," I say with finality, steel laced through every word. "You—" Austin starts, anger coiling into something dangerous. "I’ve had enough of this," I growl, my patience thinning, ready to remind him exactly where the line is drawn. "Brother, stop. Adrian is right." Allison cuts in, voice soft but firm. I tip back my glass, reclaiming my whiskey, and let the burn coat my throat. "But—" Austin starts, ever the emotional one. I tune them out. Instead, my mind drifts back to earlier today. Cameron. Alpha wolves aren’t exactly rare, but they aren’t common either. They’re not born every generation, my line is an exception though with my father being one, my grandfather, me.All thanks to great great grandfather being mated to an omega wolf. And yet—Cameron told me to stand down, and I did. Instinctively. Effortlessly. Almost impossible. Even my father, my Alpha, has never been able to command me so cleanly. The memory makes my jaw tighten. Anyway, there’s always a bigger fish. Maybe wolves like Cameron exist—wolves more Alpha than others.Wolves who carry something older, deeper, heavier in their blood. If that’s true... then standing against him isn’t just foolish, it’s suicide. I sure as hell am not risking being enemies with a wolf like that. And not to mention—it’s Cameron Anderson. I really like him. He’s a great guy. Sharp, composed, dangerous when he wants to be—but fair. The kind of guy you respect instinctively. This is practically the first time I’ve come across another wolf who mirrors me in more ways than one. Not just an Alpha, but someone who moves in the human world with the same weight, the same unapologetic reach. Wealth, influence, presence—it’s like looking in a mirror, if the reflection had walked a different path. And maybe that’s why I want this friendship. I’ve never had one before, not really. My so-called wolf friends never understood how I did business, why I mixed human structures with pack politics. They saw it as weakness, dilution. The humans I worked with never grasped the other half of me, the instincts, the hunger, the way the wolf ruled beneath the skin. So I stood alone. Always. But Cameron... Cameron feels like someone who could stand in both worlds the way I do. Someone who might actually get it. That’s why I dragged myself to that stupid golf club in the first place. To meet him casually, naturally. Instead, my siblings pulled me into chaos. Siblings. They’re the worst allies and the best enemies, aren’t they? Always a coin toss which side you’ll get. "Brother. I will go and apologize." Allison says, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You will do no such thing." I snap, my voice cutting through the room like a whip. Her chin jerks up, eyes flashing, but she doesn’t speak. She’s used to people bending to her moods. I am not one of them. Her lips part like she wants to argue, but no sound comes. Austin shifts uneasily at the window, glancing between us. "She’s trying, Adrian—" "No," I cut him off with a growl, my Alpha edge seeping into the air. "She’s looking for the easy way out. That’s all she’s ever done. Hide behind you, behind me, behind her mate. Not this time. Actions have consequences. And if you think I’ll let you drag this pack into further disgrace because you can’t face them properly, you are sorely mistaken, little sister."