Ella POV
My heart sank as the door boomed again by whoever was on the porch. I felt my breath stick in my throat while my heart felt like it would burst through my rib cage.
Adam’s brothers wouldn’t have tipped The Investigator off, would they? The odds of running into The Investigator before they came home were slim to none, but he did say he’d be checking other areas close by.
“Who the f*ck is that?” Adam growled. It was clear Adam wasn’t expecting anyone else tonight. It was like a chill spread across the room as the door banged once again.
“Claire said her house got trashed from them looking for me.” I had a feeling saying it aloud would deter Adam from letting me stay, but I didn’t want him to go into any situation against my father blind.
“Ella, hang back. If I motion for you to hide, do it.” Adam’s voice was low. Even though we were far away from the front door, he must not have wanted to take any chances.
“Ok.” I tried to keep my voice as even as possible, but I was worried more of father’s men had come to do the same to Adam’s place as they did to Claire.
Adam straightened his back. I didn’t realize how tall he was until now. He had been so relaxed around me after The Investigator left that seeing him in this state made clear that he was the Alpha that someone didn’t want to mess with.
Adam moved down the hall with a purpose as I tiptoed toward where I hid the last time. I could still make it back upstairs from here and give myself time to hide if Adam thought the situation was dangerous.
Even though his brothers were home, it was a real possibility that my father had sent a bunch of his men just like he did with Claire. I didn’t know how strong Adam’s brothers were, but I knew my father was meticulous when training his hired security.
Adam glanced back at me and nodded before flicking on the light outside. The sound of the still pouring rain broke through the mansion as he cracked the door open. I tried to sniff the air, checking for a scent I recognized, but it wasn’t anything I could place.
“What the h*ll do you want Ian?” Adam’s voice boomed over the rain. “You have no reason to bring your bullsh*t to my door at this time of night. Go home.”
Adam sounded agitated. He did not seem happy about whoever just showed up. It must have been someone he knew, so that was a relief to me. Hopefully, my father’s men wouldn’t come back this way any time soon.
“Adam, you know why I’m here. I think it’s time we finally settle this beef once and for all,” the mysterious voice sounded determined yet sleepy all at once. I could only imagine the speaker puffing himself up while standing on the porch.
“That’s a terrible idea. First, because it’s raining. I don’t want that wet-dog smell in the house. Second, it’s late. Third, is because you’re beyond drunk at this point. How much gin did you drown your self-worth in this time? It’s a wonder you can string a d*mn sentence together. Lastly, because you’ll just get your a*s beat and I’m not dealing with it right now.”
Adam went to slam the door, but it got stuck as the person on the porch shoved his boot enough that the door wouldn’t close.
“What the h*ll, Adam?! You almost broke my foot!” the voice howled in pain.
“See, that’s exactly my point, Ian,” Adam laughed aloud as the other wolf complained. “I’m not fighting you until you sober up and act like you have the physical capacity to even challenge me as an actual wolf would do. Right now, you’re just embarrassing yourself.”
Adam let go of the door and crossed his arms. Adam looked more annoyed than anything else by this interruption. Whoever Ian was, he picked the wrong moment to bother Adam.
“I have better sh*t to spend my time on, as Alpha of this pack, than have a drunken mess want to brawl on my front porch during a storm. Go home!”
I looked at the stairs. I know Adam’s brothers were somewhere up there playing games, but I had a voice in the back of my head telling me to let them know something was going on.
“Adam, I swear if you broke my foot,” the voice from outside growled.
That was enough for me. I poked my head out a little more and tried to get Adam’s attention by waving. It took a few seconds of me waving like an idiot before Adam reacted.
When Adam finally saw me from the corner of his eye, he put his hand back on the door to close it up so that I could make it upstairs without being seen.
“Ian, dude, just go home. We can do this another time. I have better things to do with my time than deal with your crap.”
I saw Adam’s fingers wiggle to me behind the door. All I had to do was creep over to the stairs and I would be out of the line of sight for the door and I could get help. I wasn’t sure if Adam would need it, but having backup seemed to be the best choice.
As I rounded the corner, I snuck as quietly as possible to get to the base of the stairs. If I clung to the railing, I’d make it. Then I’d just need to track down wherever Zane and Anthon were.
I could hear more raised voices coming from the door, but my focus was on getting to the stairs. I was just a couple more steps away when my foot stepped on a soft spot on the floor.
The creak was so loud that the voices behind me stopped. I didn’t want to lift my foot, knowing the sound would happen again, but with the sudden silence, I was stuck.
“Who do you got in there, Adam?” I could hear the voice behind the door getting louder. “Trying to get your brothers to sneak down and jump me?”
“Ian, don’t be stupid. I don’t need my brother’s help with that. Go home already.” Adam started to close the door again, but this time Ian pushed back against it. I could see his fingers curl around the frame.
I decided it was pointless to hide that I was here at this point. If Ian forced his way into the house, Adam would probably knock him out at this point. I stood up and made my way over to the door.
I could see Adam’s eyes widen as I walked over. He didn’t stop pushing the door closed, but he shifted a bit so he stood in front of me and the crack between the door.
When I finally made it to just behind him, I stood on my toes to try and peek around Adam.
When the drunk wolf finally noticed me peeking out from behind Adam, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open with a chaotic laugh.
“Who is this? No wonder you wanted me gone, Adam!” Ian chortled as he leaned closer toward me. “Hi gorgeous, why’re you wasting your time with this guy? He’s not gonna be an Alpha for much longer. I’m still taking applications for my Luna if you’re interested.”
He reminded me of Walter. They looked nothing alike, but his demeaning attitude made me want to wretch.
“Not interested. Get off the porch already. You’re ruining the evening.” Not that there was much to ruin. This had been the longest night of my life at this point. I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep until tomorrow afternoon.
“Adam, I see what this is all about now,” Ian said as he leaned back and looked Adam in the face. “You just don’t want to lose your Alpha position in front of your new pet.”