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Chapter 891: Friends and rivals

"I'm happy you didn't forget about me," Zina said.         

Dawn giggled. "I won't deny it. It's great. But I will never forget who I was and my friends because of that."     

Zina sighed audibly. "I wouldn't know."     

Dawn reached to hold Zina's hand. "You will find your mate soon, Zi. He is out there, waiting for you, just how you are waiting for him. Believe in the Moon Goddess, and don't lose hope. The more hardship you go through before you meet your mate, the better it will be when you finally find each other. You will see that a mate is a wonderful addition to what you have already. You will want to make him happy, and he will want to do the same for you in return. Just how I couldn't ask George to leave his work and his life…" Revenge was a better word, "He wouldn't ask me to drop the things that are important to me."     

Zina thought how it sounded fantastic, but… "Not everyone is the same."     

"I assume you have someone on your mind," Dawn said cautiously.     

Zina nodded. "Steph."     

Dawn was alerted. "Is her mate abusive?"     

"It doesn't look like it. I mean, they seem to be smitten and happy, but…" Zina hesitated. "You know that Steph was always hovering around Lisa. Lisa was in the Lightclaw pack, but Steph knew where Lisa was and with whom. Is it possible that the mate bond impacted Steph so much that she doesn't care if Lisa is in trouble?"     

Dawn knew that Zina blamed herself for the rogues' attack on the Blue River pack. One of the theories was that Zina told Steph about Talia's whereabouts, and Steph was the one who gave that information to Lisa (and rogues). Those were just guesses, and they didn't have proof it actually happened, but Zina still felt guilty about it, and now it seemed that Zina blamed Stephanie.     

"Tell me from the beginning," Dawn demanded.     

"There is not much to tell, and that's the problem. Steph and Richard stop by every few days to catch up. Richard goes into the garden, and Steph helps out in the kitchen, or she makes coffee for Trisha and me. Steph talks about anything and everything except Lisa. Maya hinted that we don't know anything related to Lisa's mate and that he should come so we can all meet him, and Steph brushed it off, saying how he is busy."     

"Did Steph meet him?"     

"No. And that's another red flag. Steph said she doesn't know who Lisa's mate is or where Lisa is. Don't you think it's strange? She should at least tell us which pack Lisa joined."     

Dawn agreed with this. Stephanie was known to hover around Lisa, yet now she acted like Lisa was unimportant. "Don't overthink it, Zi. You know that Lisa caused a lot of trouble recently. She is not a child anymore, and now she also has a mate. Maybe Steph finally decided to be happy and let Lisa take responsibility for her actions."     

"Do you believe that? This is Steph we are talking about."     

Dawn puffed her cheeks. Did she believe that? No. She was just comforting Zina. But there was a point… "If anything is off with Steph, I'm sure Damon and Talia are on top of it."     

Zina leaned into her chair and stared at the sky that had a few clouds on it. "I don't know, Di. Our Alpha has a soft spot for a woman who raised him after his parents died."     

"You don't think that Steph is coming to the packhouse with the purpose of getting information for rogues, do you?" When Zina didn't respond, Dawn continued. "You know Steph, just as I do. She takes pride in the Dark Howlers pack and would never do anything against it. Everything Steph did was for the pack. She lost her mate and even sent her daughter away."     

Zina knew all this, but she couldn't help the doubt that swelled within her. Something was off with Stephanie, and it seemed that only Zina saw it.     

…     

George was at the training grounds. His Lieutenants were monitoring their units and taking notes of the performance of each soldier.     

Before meeting Dawn, George would spend here most of the day.     

Since Dawn came to the Red Moon pack, George would be at the training grounds in the morning, afternoons he would spend in his office, meetings were somewhat random and on a need basis, while he would look for opportunities to take his work with him and finish it from the study. During those times, Dawn would be in the study with him, reading a book or watching a video with a headset on. He loved those moments when Dawn was in his visual range.         

George checked the time. It was dragging. If James was present, George could use an excuse of training the future Alpha to leave earlier, but James was studying with another tutor now, so that was not an option.     

George knew that Dawn was with Zina because he could feel her happiness, and it made him happy also. He remembered the promise of joining them for lunch, and he didn't want to miss it. George knew that Estelle was preparing a feast.     

Most of the warriors would go for lunch to the canteen. It was close and convenient since they didn't need to prepare a meal, and the food was decent.     

It was not unusual for mated pack members who lived nearby to head home for lunch or for their mates to join them. Unfortunately, that didn't apply to George. He didn't announce that he had found his mate and if Dawn appeared there, it would raise many questions.     

George couldn't risk Alpha Edward finding out about a new female. Dawn was attractive, and George could see the old fart setting his sight on Dawn. George wouldn't allow that to happen, and then he would reveal his identity, and a decade of planning would go down the drain.     

Just a bit more, George told himself.     

It was close to eleven-thirty when George raised his arm, making hundred-something warriors stop moving and look at him.     

"Let's break for lunch. We will continue at one o'clock sharp!" George announced and turned to leave.     

"You are in a hurry," a condescending voice came from the side. "If I didn't know better, I would assume you have a sweet pussy waiting for you. Is it possible that a woman caught the eye of monk George?"     

George frowned while turning to look at the familiar face he didn't want to see. It was Owen. He was a Lieutenant of a battalion that was not under George.     

Owen and George had been rivals since they started climbing ranks.     

George and Owen were both orphans. They became warriors at the same time, and their promotions were always close to each other. Since George became a General (and then Commander), Owen's rivalry intensified, and George didn't hold back his punches either.     

"Is there a reason you are here, Lieutenant?" George asked, emphasizing Owen's rank. "I assume you are not here to discuss women."     

"Does Alpha know you are cutting short training for your warriors?"     

"Does Alpha know you were watching my people when you were supposed to watch yours?" George returned the question.     

...     

Note: you can find Owen's pic in comments