“Great. Thank you for last night then,” he told her.
“Sure. You’re welcome,” she replied, already dressed and putting her shoes on.
Despite the passion they’d shared overnight, they parted awkwardly at the door. Ronan watched her walk down the hallway and watched her disappear into the elevator before shutting the door.
He tried to focus on what he would say at the council meeting but instead found himself thinking about her. He was consumed with how she felt, tasted, the purr of her voice when she spoke. There was something quite different about her. He could feel her in a way he’d never experienced before. Still, it changed nothing. He had other matters requiring his full attention.
An hour later, he sat at the head of the empty table situated in the meeting room of what was deemed neutral ground by all clans. Regardless of whether they wanted to remain a part of the council and join forces with other clans, some meetings here would remain open for all to attend and address issues or grievances.
As the assorted clan Alphas began to file in, he was struck by how young many of them were. Though he was barely twenty-one himself, some of them looked like teenagers. Only a few appeared to be middle-aged or older. He glanced at his watch, noting there was only about ten more minutes before the time he had set to begin.
“Good to see you again, Ronan,” one of them said, extending his hand.
“You too, Andrew,” he replied, standing to shake his hand.
“How is my lovely niece doing in America with that brother of yours?”
“She’s doing great. All of them are doing fantastic.”
“Glad to hear it. I don’t know if I could have lived with myself if you and Niall hadn’t shown up here to put an end to Clan Maguire, once and for all.”
“Well, we didn’t exactly end them. There are still members left.”
“True, but all women and children. By the time those boys are old enough to have a say, we’ll be well on our way to a new day here in Ireland. Hopefully, their mothers will teach them about the mistakes their fathers made.”
“Or teach them to hate us for what we did to end their reign of terror,” Ronan replied.
“Let’s hope not. I’d hate for a promising group of young bears to meet the same fate as their kin.”
“Aye,” Ronan replied. “Well, it’s good to see you again, Andrew. I’m going to greet some of the others. Quite a few unfamiliar faces here today.”
He didn’t give Andrew a chance to respond, already moving away from him toward some of the others. He found it odd to hear him speak so aggressively after having cowed down to the will of the last two Alphas of Clan Maguire. He’d been so weak that he’d even handed over his niece as a peace offering to the latter of the two, and it had been the McNallys who had come to her rescue . . . and his.
After a few more handshakes and introductions, he became aware of a number of the men behind him speaking louder, their tones agitated. He turned to find himself looking at what had raised their ire and found his own begin to elevate.
How dare she follow him here. Was she a stalker? One of those women who seemed perfectly normal when you meet them, but then you fuck them and they seem to lose their mind, becoming possessive to the point of paranoia.
“We don’t need any Omegas where they don’t belong,” one of them growled, standing over her menacingly.
Even annoyed that she had followed him, it still didn’t sit well with him to see her being intimidated by so many men. She was surrounded by them and they were closing in as if she were the biggest threat they’d ever encountered. In some cases, she might well be.
“Come with me,” he growled, stepping into the center of them and pulling her away from them.
“Ow. Don’t yank at me like that,” she spat.
He ignored her protest, hauling her away like a disobedient child toward a nearby room that adjoined the conference area.
“I’ll be back in a moment and we’ll get started,” he told the Alphas behind him, pushing her inside the open doorway.
“Don’t fucking manhandle me like I’m some sort of property,” she hissed.
“Why are you here, Maeve? You don’t belong here,” he said from between clenched teeth.
“I’ve just as much right to be here as anyone else,” she spat back.
Ronan took a step forward, and she stood her ground. Most women would have flinched in the presence of an angry Alpha. He knew he’d never strike a woman, but she didn’t know him well enough to know that, and he’d hoped to intimidate her. She didn’t seem as easily cowered as he thought.
“Why do you think you have a right to be here? We spent one night together and you stalk me to a council meeting? How did you even know where I was going? Were you following me?” he demanded.