Page 17 of The Alpha Wolf's Bullied Bride

Perhaps I’m here because I’m meant to speak to her, to apologize for what I did before. By rejecting her in front of Cynthia and her friends, I only made her life more difficult. That’s why she’s turned cold to me.

I’m about to become Alpha, and I can’t leave any loose ends untied. I have to go up there and speak to her and put to rest the past, when I was foolish and immature, so that I can fully rise to my role as Alpha.

Mentally, my wolf snickers, as if mocking me for my logic. That’s when I decide to release the wolf and shift into human form. I straighten up, taking a deep breath as I lift one foot tostep forward into the dim light when I spot Lila retreating to her bedroom. My pulse races as she slips off her gown to reveal the contours of her curves in a night dress.

I slip deeper into the shadows, watching her every move like a thief in the night. Quickly averting my gaze when the straps of her nightdress fall off her shoulders, I gulp and stop myself from turning back to watch the rest of the show.

Staring blankly into the woods, I let a shiver run through me. “You’re Flynn Lycoan, dammit!” I deride under my breath, fists curling at my sides. “You’re about to be the Alpha of Blood Moon. You’re above this.”

That means that I don’t owe the Omega an apology. Even if she’s my best friend’s sister, the time has come for me to be the Alpha of this pack. I can’t lose any sense of self-control that I’ve worked hard to build, even if the dull ache in my chest still pulls me to turn back. Whatever it is, I thought I felt for Lila, it's only a base urge that can be curbed with the power residing in me thanks to the Alpha-blood in my veins.

Even if my instincts tell me to turn back, I know that I cannot cave. No mistakes can be made, for the greater good of the pack.

Chapter 5 - Lila

I smile as I watch my brother finish his meal with a delighted burp before he gathers the used cutlery on the table and proceeds to wash it at the sink.

“I really missed you, Miles,” I sigh as I stretch my arms over my head. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

“Does it have anything to do with how they’ve been treating you?” he asks over his shoulder.

“What are you talking about?” I ask nonchalantly, not wanting to go through this right now. We’ve spent the past two days catching up, but our time was mostly filled with Miles talking about his adventures in the Ouachitas. I’ve been avoiding talking about how I spent these years building up enough courage to face the pack despite their attempts to bully me.

Miles turns off the faucet and turns to me with a sigh. “You can quit the act, lil' sis,” he grumbles. “I know how hard life can be, and you don’t need to hide it anymore. Especially not from me. I’m your big brother, and it’s my job to protect you.”

Miles’s conviction moves me, but not enough to reveal the details of the woes I faced even long before he left for training. It will only destroy a friendship that both my brother and Flynn needed at a time of great loss for both males.

I’m not willing to come between that. All I can do is steer clear of Flynn, as I have been doing successfully for the past two days. Each time I see him, I’m only reminded of the torturous heartbreak I suffered at his hands. I refuse to remain bound to that pain, releasing the mentality of being the victim and taking my life into my own hands.

That’s real power, even without the gift of a wolf.

“I’m not acting, Miles,” I defend as I cross my arms over my chest. He returns to the kitchen table and takes a seat, staring at me with keen interest.

“You’re not?” He raises a skeptical brow. “So that means the whole tough-girl thing is real, and you wouldn’t care about connecting with your inner wolf, right?”

I frown long and hard at him, trying to make sense of his roundabout question. I know my brother well enough to recognize when he’s being coy.

“There’s something you know, isn’t there?” I ask curiously, leaning my forearms on the table as I sit forward. “What is it?”

“Well,” he begins as he does the same on his side of the table, leaning in with a mysterious grin on his lips, “apart from enduring rigorous training, special ops was more like summer camp thanks to old man Tomas’s frequent visits. We had to study werewolf lore.”

“And…?”

Miles chuckles, his cocky smile so infuriating as he drags this out that I’m tempted to wriggle the information out of him by pinching his nose.

“We didn’t just study Blood Moon’s lore, but that of other packs, too.” He shrugs his shoulder calmly. “You could say that we have an advantage over the others now. Probably the best in all of the States.”

“Miles!”

“Sorry, Liles,” he says, his chuckle fading into a sigh. “I’m serious, though. No werewolf in history is meant to be left without a wolf. Not if they’re born to werewolf parents.”

I nod slowly, just as my brows furrow. “Is there…is there something wrong with me?”

“No, of course not!” he defends quickly, reaching out to fold my hands reassuringly. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Lila. It’s just that, sometimes, a werewolf’s inner wolf is tied to their mate.”

“M-mate?” I’m taken aback by his claim, my heart beating with unrest when I recall how I’d foolishly called Flynn “mate” when nothing had indicated that he was. I’d studied everything in the Grime that pointed to mates, and nothing happened the way it should have if he was mine.

It was a moment of weakness that will never happen again. Besides, he’d already rejected me.

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