A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 36

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I was salt wwwwing hot on the conversation with Bella when I found myself standing outside

A fost

but after having the dining room had been to head to my office, shut the door, and at the rest of the night rot without me. But instead, my feet carried me down the

xxx Away toward my sister’s room.

#want somewhere I went often in fact, I could count on one hand the number of times I’d

ANY Ne sace we were id

I’ve always kept to myself partly because keeping a distance made it easier to focus on my duties. The Apha or potential Alpha doesn’t have the luxury of loitering in people’s doorways.

Bet tonight tonight, liked to talk to someone who wasn’t going to feed me false pleasantries or make me regret opening my mouth.

I knocked twice, sharp enough for her to hear.

A moment later the door cracked open and Irene’s face appeared, her brows lifting in supose “We” She swung it open wider. “What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

I stepped inside without answering right away. Her room was as it always was–soft light

ling from the lamp on her vanity.

1 just came from dinner” I said, my voice lower than I intended. “Bella was there.”

That alone made her straighten. “Bella? I didn’t know she was staying in the house right now…..she was at breakfast, but I thought she’d left.”

“She didn’t announce it,” I muttered. “She just… showed up. And then she spent the evening deliberately trying to get under Faye’s skin. Ruined the dinner for everyone but herself.” I could feel my jaw clench again just replaying it. “Right now, it’s taking every bit of self–control I have not to have her thrown out of the pack house tonight.”

Irene blinked at me, processing. “She really did that?”

“She really did.”

Irene shook her head. “Of course, I knew she was being disrespectful earlier during breakfast. But I thought she was just reacting out of shock at first…because she didn’t get the memo that you finally bonded with your mate. I didn’t expect her to keep going with the

1/4

altitude

Her words only made me angrier because it confirmed i wasn’t imagining things. “She knew exactly what she was doing.” I said flatly.

Trene sighed, brushing a loose strand of hair back. “Calm down, Alex Just

I dropped into the couch near the window while she sat cross–legged on her bed.

“I’ve seen this coming for a while,” she said carefully. “Bella’s always been too attached to you. And for some reason, she sees every woman around you as a threat to… whatever she thinks you two have. Like they’re stealing her spot.”

Her choice of words made my eyes narrow slightly. “What she thinks we have?”

Irene shrugged. “You’ve always been nice to her. She’s lived here so long, it’s like she decided she has some kind of claim.”

Irene didn’t know…not fully…about the time I’d been stupid enough to let Bella cross a line. Or maybe she did know and simply chose not to bring it up. The way she phrased things made me wonder.

But it didn’t matter. That part of my life was done.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Irene, I need you to call her to order before I do something our father wouldn’t be proud of.”

Her head tilted slightly.

“She’s practically his adopted daughter,” I reminded her. “And I promised him I’d continue taking care of her, and I’ve kept that promise for years. But if she keeps disrespecting my mate the way she did tonight, I might be forced to banish her from the pack house.”

Irene’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t-”

“I would,” I said, my tone leaving no room for debate. “I don’t care who she is or what our father wanted. Faye is my mate, she wears my mark. If Bella can’t live with that, she can live somewhere else.”

The silence between us stretched for a moment.

Irene finally exhaled, the sound. “I’ll talk to her. Try to calm her down, and get her to back off. Just… don’t do anything tonight you’ll regret tomorrow.”

I wondered what Faye was doing at that exact moment, whether she’d gone back to her room or was somewhere else in the house trying to shake off Bella’s poison.

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As if trene could hear my thoughts she asked, “I just hope Faye is alright.”

“She’s stronger than I thought I said “But I won’t have her dealing with that every time we sit down to eat.”

Irene studied me for a moment, then gave a small nod. “I’ll handle Bella.”

I pushed up from the couch, feeling the tension in my shoulders ease just a fraction. “Make sure you do.”

When I reached the door, Irene called after me. “Alex.”

I paused, glancing over my shoulder.

“You should go and talk to her,” she said. “Faye, I mean. Make sure she’s alright. That she doesn’t take Bella’s disrespect to heart.”

The idea sat in my mind…tempting.

I could picture Faye’s face at the table, the way she’d handled Bella without flinching. She hadn’t raised her voice, hadn’t lashed out. Just…put Bella in her place with a few carefully chosen words and that calm and deliberate reveal of my mark on her neck. That was

impressive.

But still, no matter how composed she’d looked, I knew what kind of sting words like Bella’s

could leave.

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