22
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K O E N
Avril took things much further than I expected, and it didn’t stop in the backseat. When we arrived, she pulled me out of the car and dragged me to the alpha chambers, proving she wasn’t kidding when she said she didn’t care if the pack found out about us. We were up all night, and judging by how loud we were, I had a feeling everyone else was, too.
I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep after she left for warrior training, but soon enough, it was time for my own session. As I made my way through the crowded town square, I noticed gazes shifting toward me. By now, I was used to the dirty looks and ignored them, continuing my march with my head held high. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that today, they were staring for a different reason.
When I arrived at the training grounds, Theo and Elijah were sitting on one of the empty benches. The second they saw me step inside, their heads snapped toward me, a clear shift in their expressions. They exchanged one last glance before the beta pulled himself up to greet me.
“Morning!” Theo said with a humorous grin, proceeding to ask, “Did you get any sleep at all?”
“Why?” I scrunched my brow, confused by his question. “Do I look tired?”
Although it was true that I had barely gotten any rest last night, I didn’t feel worn out. In fact, I was weirdly invigorated, as if sex with Avril had refueled my energy after the past few turbulent days. But then again, perhaps my face told a different story.
“Oh, no. Absolutely not,” the beta promptly reassured me, waving me off. “You look fine.”
“Better than fine, actually,” his mate chimed in, rising to his feet as well to come closer. “You look great,” he added mischievously, earning a jealous frown from Theo. Paying no mind to the silent reprimand, he continued, “Radiant, even!”
Huffing, I urged them, “If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”
“Not just us. The whole pack.” Theo laughed, teasing, “You were all the warriors talked about during training today.”
I don’t know why, but his revelation took me by surprise. Yes, it was obvious everyone would comment about Avril leaving with me yesterday. I had been the one to remind her that Azure Smoke would definitely find out when she made a move in the car. But I didn’t expect them to be this invested in our relationship.
“You’ve become the talk of the town,” Elijah went on, swooning as he mockingly described, “The brilliant outsider who managed to melt the alpha’s ice cold heart .”
This time, I couldn’t hide my amusement, chuckling as I crossed my arms. “What did Avril say about it?”
“They all shut it the second she walked in.” Theo shrugged. “But she ain’t stupid.”
“She’s acting as if it’s not a big deal.” Elijah rolled his eyes, leaning in to whisper, “But between you and me, I caught her smiling, which is…unusual.”
I had to laugh. “Oh, yeah. I would know.”
The sound of footsteps abruptly interrupted our conversation. As if on cue, all three of us turned to the entrance, where Avril stood, her face as serious as ever and her shoulders squared with authority.
“I could track the smell of gossip from the cafeteria,” she accused as she headed our way. Despite her tone, her friends could barely contain their smiles. Still, they remained silent, bowing curtly at her. “Are you boys sparring or having a tea party?” She raised an eyebrow at them.
“My apologies, Alpha,” Theo said with his head low in respect. “We were just about to get it started.”
“Well, don’t stop on my account. I’ll just watch for a moment to check how much progress Koen has made so far.”
Avril signaled for us to start before making her way towards the corner of the arena, barely registering my presence as she walked past me - not dismissively, but professionally. I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered what Elijah said. She didn’t look bothered by the rumors, but she wasn’t trying to feed them either. Not an ounce of the reckless impulsiveness I witnessed the previous night lingered in her attitude. Her aura demanded respect.
Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was another reason she had decided to show up. Perhaps it was presumptuous of me to assume she hadn’t quite gotten enough of me yet and wanted to stick around. I wondered if I could coax a confession out of her when we were alone later.
Whether or not she was hiding something, Col put in twice the effort as usual, clearly eager to impress our former mate.
A V R I L
I was done fearing what my pack would think of me for getting involved with Koen. It had taken time, but I finally realized their loyalty to me ran deeper than any reservations they might have had about my former mate. Besides, most of those doubts seemed to have vanished after Koen figured out how to save us all.
While it was true they respected me too much to mention my night out with him in front of me - and I wouldn’t have it any other way - I still caught the glances some pack members shot his way as we left the training grounds. They almost seemed to admire him now, not just because his brilliant idea ended the anger outbursts, but because he was with me. As if earning the Alpha’s attention was some extraordinary accomplishment. Go figure.
“He definitely earned my attention at training,” Kea pointed out, lust in her voice. “I believe he can actually do it, Avril. He could become the first regular wolf capable of matching an Ashen Wolf’s strength.”
Though my heart agreed with her, I tried not to get my hopes up. “It’s too soon to be sure. We’ll have to see if he can make it through the trials.”
“ When he makes it,” she corrected. “It’ll only be proof that he has what it takes to be it…” Her sentence made my heart race as I anticipated what she meant before she even concluded, “Our mate.”
The word rang in my ears. Fate had tied me to Koen, but he chose to defy it, resulting in me finding my true destiny. When our paths crossed again, I never thought it would come to this. While I had admitted a long time ago that I was falling hard for him, I didn’t think about making our relationship official.
It was too complicated. We were from different worlds, but after he lost his, he was relentlessly trying to become part of mine. I didn’t think fate could ever be restored. Was the universe trying to show me that I could be wrong?
Could we really be mates again?
I was so absorbed in thought, I didn’t notice the man approaching me until he was right in front of me. “Is it true, Avril?” Flames danced in Waylon’s eyes as his voice abruptly pulled me back to reality. “You never agreed to go out with me. To spend the night with me. Why does he? Why him, when I was always there for you?”
Usually, it would take me a moment to regain my focus, but his audacity sparked my rage. Baring my fangs, I warned him, “First of all, back off.” Albeit reluctant, he did what I said. “Now, I’m pretty sure I don’t owe you any explanations. This is none of your business, but at this point, I’ll do anything to get you off my case,” I confessed harshly. “You want to know why? Because Koen was once my fated mate.”
“He rejected you!” he argued, a shadow of hurt washing over his face.
“Listen, Waylon.” I breathed in, trying to contain the urge to strangle him. “Shit happened while I was at Whispering Hills. I learned the whole story. I…” Closing my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose, knowing I would regret what I said next. “I fell in love with him.”
His eyes widened in disbelief, his face twisting with disgust. “You deserve so much better, Avril,” he insisted, to my annoyance. “If you’d only give me a chance, I could-”
“For the thousandth time, Waylon! It’s over!” I cut him off before he could become even more delusional. “We were never a thing to begin with, but whatever we had, it’s over,” I said, loud and clear, hoping I could get the message through to him at last. “Even if Koen disappears, I promise you - you and I will never happen again.”
Instead of accepting the truth, Waylon squinted his eyes, countering defiantly, “Wanna bet?”
Moved by raw instinct, Kea pushed forward, a menacing growl escaping me as I grabbed Waylon by the throat, shoving him against the nearest wall. I didn’t care if the sound of his back slamming against the hard surface would draw attention.
“Touch him,” I dared, my wolf’s voice mixing with mine as protectiveness and rage took over. “And you won’t get away quick enough to tell the story,” I vowed.
Waylon’s fingers pulled at my tight fists, trying to loosen my grasp, but I didn’t budge. His words came out muffled as he tried to speak with his airway blocked. “Shouldn’t the alpha’s mate…be able to…defend himself?” he observed.
As his face turned red from the lack of oxygen, I forced myself to release him. He fell to the ground on his knees, coughing desperately. The first thing he did once he managed to catch his breath was look at me, the determination in his expression unchanged.
“Don’t you see it, Avril? If you have to protect him, he will only be a problem. A liability ,” he spat as he struggled back to his feet. “But I guess you’ll have to see that for yourself.”
After finishing his sentence, he disappeared down the hall. It took every ounce of control I had not to beat the crap out of him for questioning my decisions and threatening Koen. But for the sake of ending this pointless discussion, I let him go without another word. In the end, I knew Waylon was all bark and no bite. I doubted he had the guts to actually do anything stupid.
Still, I’d love to see him try.