17. Maeve
17
MAEVE
“ G ood morning, Maeve,” Atticus says. He’s sat behind his desk, and whilst he’s as immaculate as he was yesterday, there’s a primal edge to him that wasn’t there before.
I wonder if that edge is because Nora’s not here—his lion is missing his mate, perhaps.
“Morning,” I say, tipping my head towards him in respect. Whilst Atticus is not yet my alpha, his position deserves my respect.
Besides, I really do want him to be my alpha, so it’s probably best not to piss off the lion while his mate isn’t here to calm him down.
“Want to take a seat?” he asks, and I look over at the chairs with some trepidation. “I can get you a stool from downstairs if you’d prefer.”
I’m touched that he offered, though I’d never admit it. I shake my head and move to sit in the left chair in front of his desk. It’s the one furthest from the door, giving my chromius and me a little extra sense of safety.
He gives me a warm smile before looking over my head at Caspian. “Caspian, if you could wait downstairs, I’ll give you a call back once we’re ready for you.”
“Why are we going to be ready for him?” I demand, giving the siren a dirty look before turning to face Atticus with my eyebrows raised.
I don’t like the siren’s attention, and I don’t want him having anything to do with me, outside of his capacity in providing security for Ari.
“We’ll get onto that,” he says, and whilst I think he’s trying to reassure me, it absolutely does not work. In fact, his words are dismissive and make me feel far more uncomfortable than I was before he said them.
Caspian leaves the room, closing the door behind him, as I face Atticus properly. The tension in the room rises, but he doesn’t seem affected by it.
How can he be so calm?
“How was your night with Ari?” he asks, still keeping that warm smile in place.
It’s not the political smile Adrian always has—it feels genuine, but I can’t tell if he’s just better at playing the game. That thought unsettles me.
This whole situation unsettles me.
“Good,” I say warily. “I wondered if it would be possible to stay with her for the duration of my trial.”
He nods. “As long as you are both happy and comfortable with that, then, of course. I want you to feel at ease here, Maeve—I want you to be happy. We weren’t expecting you here to arrive here when you did, and the timing isn’t great.”
I don’t speak, my anxiety bubbling up. The timing might not have been what he was hoping for, but it’s worked out so well in my favour.
I left behind the stalker who is obsessed with my every move, the lying, manipulative man pretending to be my fated mate, and the murderous psychopath who has his eyes set on me.
It’s a good deal for me.
But based on Atticus’s shifting tone, I don’t think we’re on the same page about this arrangement.
“I will catch up, fast, but as I mentioned, we’ve got our hunter problems happening, and they need to take priority,” he says, and panic freezes me in place.
My eyes widen. Is he going to send me away? Lock me up?
“So, I’ve come to a temporary decision regarding your security detail.”
I let out a small breath, some of the tension leaving my body. My chromius relaxes, too, our bond lending calm that I leech onto.
“I’ve got an enforcer who has agreed to work with you during your trial, and he’s going to spend the time I’m away doing his own trial,” Atticus says. “Caspian is willing to oversee?—”
A ringing sound echoes through the room, and I startle, but Atticus silences it quickly, giving me an almost apologetic look. My chromius hisses silently at the alpha, not liking the brief flare of panic we both felt.
“It’s Adrian calling,” he says. “He wanted to be here for this chat so that he can update you on the information with your stalker’s latest attempt.”
My eyes narrow. “Unsurprising.”
Atticus’s lips curl up at my bitterness before he accepts the call. I’m slightly frustrated when Atticus turns the screen so that Adrian can see me in the frame because I’d rather not need to look at him.
“Good morning. How are you feeling, love?” Adrian asks, his patronising tone already annoying me.
“I’m doing well. What’s going on with the situation at the compound?” I ask, raising a brow. “Is he handled?”
Adrian and Atticus exchange a look, and it drives me crazy. They’ve clearly already had this chat over my stalker situation, and I don’t like that they’re going to now keep some of the information from me.
That they’ve likely already agreed on what version of the truth they’re going to tell me, just to placate my need for curiosity.
As if I’m not the entire reason that we’re in this predicament in the first place. As if I don’t deserve to know the truth about the madman who is obsessed with me and anyone I interact with.
“No, unfortunately, we’re not much further forward in identifying him,” Adrian says. “Once you were on the boat yesterday, I accessed your cameras?—”
“Without my permission, yet again,” I mutter, cutting him off.
He sighs, giving Atticus another look, which Atticus doesn’t return. It’s one that screams ‘do you see what I’ve got to put up with?’, as if I’m some errant child. I don’t know Atticus well enough to know if he’s agreeing or not.
“Yes, Maeve, I accessed your security cameras for the home you no longer live in against your permission to find your stalker,” Adrian says, his tone absolutely dripping with patronisation.
If we were in person, I’d probably smell the pity in his scent at me acting so dumb.
“As long as we’re clear that you could’ve just asked my permission before doing it but chose not to,” I reply, tightening my smile to let him have the full effect of my annoyance.
“Why don’t you tell Maeve what you found on her cameras, Adrian?” Atticus asks, giving me a strange look that Adrian can’t see. I can’t tell if he’s on my side here or if he’s trying to rein me in and keep control of the conversation.
I know that with me here in his pride, this has given Atticus some form of ammunition against Adrian—protection, maybe. I don’t fully understand the political benefits of this deal for him, but I know for a fact that there will be some.
So, if Atticus thinks he needs to now be the one to control me—to keep me on Adrian’s very tight leash—it’s going to piss me off.
I don’t want his input. I don’t want his disappointment or support. I just want the home he can offer and the solitude I can earn. The history between Adrian and I goes far deeper than what Atticus can understand from just listening to us now.
My hopefully new alpha made his position clear in our first call, and I’m not going to be the idiot who fools myself into thinking otherwise.
I already put my trust in one man in a position of power, just to be fucked over. I’m not foolish enough to do it again.
“Your cameras were turned off around 11 am that day,” Adrian says, and I freeze. Outside of Adrian and I, nobody can turn the cameras off.
And Adrian shouldn’t even have that level of power.
“How?” I whisper, my shock clearly seen on my face through the camera.
“Manually, with your code,” he says pointedly.
“Well, I didn’t turn them off,” I say, giving him a dirty look.
“I didn’t think you did,” he says. “We spoke with the enforcer at your home, who admitted he left the property for a period of time.”
“Coincidental,” I murmur, my mind racing with thoughts I can barely track. It’s so busy inside my head, so chaotic and uncomfortable.
“We’ve cleared him of any involvement,” Adrian says. “But it’s a situation we’re not impressed with.”
Suspicious all around—but I’m not going to voice that out loud. I’ve not trusted Adrian in a very long time, so it’s not like I expected him to actually figure this situation out.
As long as I’m not dead, he doesn’t really care.
“We’re going to be very vigilant with your safety in the pride,” Atticus says. “And Adrian is going to exhaust his full efforts into finding out what is going on.”
Probably only because the stalker has just set his sights on Julian, his, oh, so darling nephew. I don’t care. This time, the nepotism actually benefits me in a way.
“I mean that’s all well and good,” I say, giving Atticus as respectful of a look as I can before turning back to Adrian. “But it doesn’t really fix the situation at all does it? You’ve basically said nobody saw him, nobody has caught scent of him, and the one person who should’ve been in a prime position to not only spot him and stop him from entering my home decided that it wasn’t a worthy job and he was better off taking a break at that time?”
Adrian sighs. “For his sake, he’s lucky he did. The likelihood is that your stalker would’ve taken offence to him being there, and Jared likely would’ve lost his life.”
“Jared?” I ask.
“The enforcer.”
I mean, it’s not that great a loss. I’m still counting on my stalker wiping him out.
“If he was crap enough at his job to die at the hands of my stalker, then he clearly wasn’t well-equipped to be the one in charge of my safety, then, was he?”
Adrian lets out a huff. “That’s not what I’m saying, and you know it. I just meant that we’re now in a better position.”
“Well, with your efforts of protection, it’s a good thing that I’m over here, far out of his reach, then, isn’t it?” I give Adrian a pointed look.
But my dig didn’t land, and the two powerhouses exchange another look that I don’t like. They’re keeping secrets.
A part of me is too afraid to push. I don’t think I want to know the truth. My chromius agrees.
“Like I said, we’re going to be extra vigilant with your safety in the pride for now,” Atticus says. “Just in case.”
“What does that look like?” I demand.
“You’ll do exactly what Atticus says and stop your complaining,” Adrian snaps. “This is coming from the head of the Tribunal, and your legal guardian. You’re in genuine danger, Maeve, this isn’t the time to be reckless.”
“Reckless?” I snap, glaring at the powerful head of the Tribunal with a vein in his neck pulsing so hard I can see it on the camera. “When on Earth have I ever been reckless?”
“Leaving without letting me see you?”
“If you didn’t want me to leave, Adrian, surely, you’d have the power to stop that happening, right?” I say dryly. “You’re the one who got the boat readied and prepped for me being there.”
“I never once expected you to leave. It was reckless. Dangerous.”
“Dangerous for who? You?”
“You, Maeve,” he snarls, getting angry at me.
Atticus is just watching the situation, not intervening, just assessing. It’s quite annoying having someone witness this, but if Adrian says something he shouldn’t or snaps and orders my death, at least I’ve got a good witness.
Atticus is reputable. Surely, he can get some vengeance for me.
Maybe.
“I’ve always done what I’m told, when it matters,” I argue.
Adrian laughs bitterly. “If you were compliant, Maeve, it would be so much easier for everyone involved.”
“Oh, fuck off, Adrian,” I snarl, jumping out of my seat. The man on the screen has the audacity to look shocked, as if my outburst is an overreaction.
“Come on, Maeve, let’s take some deep breaths and calm down.” Adrian is smug now that he’s baited me into reacting.
“Don’t talk to me like I’m some unhinged fucking psycho,” I hiss. “You are being absolutely ridiculous. You’re lying, once again, keeping shit from me, and spilling my business around without my permission. Stop acting like you’re the boss.”
“Is this really how you are going to behave in the home of your alpha?” he asks, his tone dripping with disappointment.
Rage fills me, but my bond with my chromius is laced with shame. She’s curled up, embarrassed about my outburst.
My eyes flick to Atticus, and there’s a knowing look on his face, but he’s not angry with me. He’s not frustrated or angry.
He’s just watching. Observing. Filing away the information ready to utilise at another time.
He’s a politician, ready to play the political game, just like Adrian.
I can’t forget that. I won’t forget that.
“You’re trying to shame me,” I say, losing some of the heat, as I turn back to Adrian. “You’re annoyed that I’m not right there under your control any longer. I’m sick of you interfering, Adrian. I can’t do this any more. I can’t be around you or listen to you.”
I wipe my eyes, pissed that he’s seeing me cry. “If you want me, reach out to Atticus. It’s clear that the two of you are best buddies and conspiring behind my back. At least he’ll get the truth out of you.”
“I’ve never lied to you, Maeve,” Adrian says gently.
“Don’t patronise me. I’m not stupid,” I snap, dropping back down into my seat. “So, let’s just leave it be.”
“I’ll take things from here, Adrian,” Atticus says, turning the camera back over so that I’m no longer in the frame.
“I’ve got it handled,” Adrian protests, and I feel the weight of Atticus’s stare on me. I don’t look at him.
I can’t.
“I’ll give you a call later with an update on our decision,” Atticus replies before clicking the button off. The silence of the room is overwhelming, my thoughts so much louder, so much harder to ignore now that it’s only the two of us.
I hate it.
But more than anything else, I hate the pressure that comes from being in a room with such a dominant shifter, whose mere presence wants me to be perfect .
He’s an alpha— hopefully, my alpha— and my chromius is so desperate to let him see how good we can be, how useful we could be. The pressure is stifling, and Atticus doesn’t understand the weight of his attention.
He’s the top of the pride and won’t have ever had to truly submit.
“Things got a little heated there, between you and Adrian,” Atticus says almost gently. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. Adrian and I… things are too broken between us,” I mutter, keeping my gaze trained at my feet. “That’s not been our worst fight.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think things were that strained,” he says. “Adrian’s a good man, Maeve, and he cares for you.”
“It’s easy to say that when you don’t understand the things that he’s done,” I say, shaking my head. Tears well up in my eyes again, but I refuse to let them fall.
I’m not going to continue crying over a man and a situation that doesn’t deserve it.
“I don’t, but I’m willing to listen,” he says softly. He rounds the desk, moving to sit in the seat next to me. Offering comfort without crossing my boundaries.
“What do you need from me with this security detail?” I sniffle so pathetically I’m embarrassed to be sat here. Atticus doesn’t seem to care, though.
“Who do you have to talk to?” he asks.
I heave a sigh. “Nobody.”
My chromius’s pain at the truth of my statement echoes through our bond, and I wish I could fix it. I wish I could just fix us.
But we’re broken.
Damaged.
Worthless.
“No therapist? Friends?” he inquires, his eyebrows drawing together.
I shrug, my cheeks heating up. “My therapist reports every single thing I say to Adrian, so, no, on the therapist count. I’m fine.”
He bristles, the lion under his skin pushing forth, but Atticus has him under control. “I see.”
“I’m fine. What do you need from me so that I can go home?” I ask, wiping my eyes as discreetly as I can.
“Ignore Adrian Graves and the bullshit he was spewing. You’re here now, Maeve, and I will do everything in my power so that you can stay here for as long as you want to,” he says, still not answering my question.
My lips thin into a tense smile, and I meet his ocean blue eyes. “It’s a nice thought, Alpha, but you can’t promise that.”
“I didn’t promise,” he says, turning his chair to face me even more, “but I am now. I promise you, Maeve Quinn, that this pride will be your home for as long as you wish it to be so.”
I hate the way my chest lightens, the way my chromius flutters around in excitement and hope. I hate the relief I feel.
Because I can’t afford to trust another man.
I can’t put my life in someone else’s hands.
He’s an alpha, sure, but he can’t go up against Adrian and win.
Adrian might be letting me stay here for now, but he’s already proven that it won’t last for long. As soon as my stalker is identified, he wants me back at the compound, under his thumb.
I’m not the kind of girl who gets to hope, to trust .
I’m the kind of girl who gets shoved in the boot of the car of fate—I don’t get to drive or sit in the passenger seat.
“But I know that you won’t be able to trust me on that just yet, so for now, let’s move on,” Atticus continues, his eyes all too knowing. “For security, I have a panther shifter called Jasper. He’s thirty-five, and has been in the pride since he was born.
“He’s never worked as personal security before, but he has worked his way up the enforcer ranks, and he’s extremely competent. He has been briefed and has accepted the job on the trial basis I mentioned.”
“I’m nervous about having a security detail follow me around,” I say, and Atticus nods in a reassuring way. “But I’ll learn to deal with it.”
“Caspian oversees Ari’s security, but he’s also going to manage Jasper whilst I’m away.”
My eyes narrow. I don’t like the sound of that. The siren unsettles me, and he seems far too interested in me—well, my looks that is. I don’t want to kick up a fuss, especially not after what Adrian has just said, but this entire situation makes me uncomfortable.
A random panther shifter.
An intrusive siren.
And no alpha for back-up should things go wrong.
“How long are you going to be away?” I start tapping my fingers together, desperate to keep my anxiety at bay.
He sighs. “We’re not sure. A few days, I think. But once I’m back, we’ll make sure that getting you a permanent team set up will be the priority. We’ll chat about how things have been with Jasper, and we’ll make sure Caspian’s workload is not split between you and Ari.”
“Okay.”
“But trust me, Maeve, you’re going to be safe here. We won’t let anyone hurt you, and we’ll figure things out with Adrian, okay?”
“Okay.”
His gaze searches across my face, and I don’t know what he’s looking for, but I don’t think I’m giving it.
“Will Jasper be living at the flats with Ari and I?” I ask, scrunching my nose up at the thought.
He shakes his head. “No. Jasper will be with you throughout the day when you’re not at home in your flat. Caspian, Wade, and Alvie have agreed to keep an eye on you throughout the night with Ari until your team is set up.”
“Sounds good to me,” I say with a quiet smile. “Is that all?”
He sighs. “I can’t wait for the day you don’t see me as your enemy, Maeve.”
I rise from my seat, giving him a sad smile.
“You’re a man, Atticus Phoenix, and no matter how great you seem, I know that putting my trust in another man won’t do me any good.”