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River stares after Hadrius.

He walks ahead of her, each step faster than the last, harder - more deliberate. There is anger in the manner in which he carries himself, it rolls off of him in scalding waves that scorch River’s skin as she trails after him.

She keeps a healthy distance, should the warlord decide to turn and end her life out of pure rage.

Alpha Novus had dismissed them after the speculation and talk, but Hadrius did not leave. Instead, the Lycan stood unmoving, a hardness that edged at the corners of his bottomless eyes that watched Novus. River stared between the two men, sensing a power trip as both were unwilling to step down.

Novus exhaled dismissively; “She is not your mate.”

“She is,” Hadrius stated, something sharp in his voice.

It irked River how nonchalant Novus was of his beta’s relationship. Then again, she had just learned that he had a mate and child who died.

River glances