Page 30 of Rejected and Regretted

I would spend my life trying to make up for it.

“Alpha?” My beta’s muffled voice sounded from the other side of the door, interrupting my thoughts. Judging by the doubt in his tone, he must have called me two or three times already, to no answer.

Straightening myself in my chair, I told him to come inside. As he did, I noticed the folder he was carrying. Understanding what required my attention, I held back a grunt. I hadn’t slept at all and it was still early in the morning; I hadn’t even had breakfast yet, and I surely wasn’t interested in dealing with this right now.

“The Elder is pressing me to supply him with the report on Chad’s death,” he revealed, confirming my suspicions.

“What is there to say?” I scoffed, failing to hide the anger the topic brought to the surface. “He was caught assaulting a she-wolf, and he was properly punished for it.”

Gregor pursed his lips in distaste. “He was a formidable warrior and a valuable asset to our pack.”

“And a fucking rapist!” I growled, abruptly rising from my seat as I lost my last drop of patience.

“You could’ve just beaten him,” Gregor insisted. “Or turned a blind eye to it. That omega is not even part of our pack anymore! Why should she be worth the life of one of our best warriors?”

“Because he was a predator, and she was the victim!” I bared my fangs at him, flames dancing in my eyes. As my alpha aura expanded, he promptly lowered his head. Eager to put an end to this absurd conversation, I grabbed the folder from his hands. “I’ll fill these myself. You’re dismissed, Beta.”

Gregor stole one last glance at me as he turned around to leave. The disagreement in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed, yet I couldn’t care less about how he felt. Once he disappeared, I sat back down to detail the events of that night, and I found myself experiencing everything over again.

I usually avoided spilling blood. As an alpha, I was stronger than most other wolves, yet I tried not to resort violence unless absolutely necessary. However, these past few days I had been using force a lot more than usual - and not feeling the least guilty about it. In fact, I wished I could bring Chad back to life just to kill him again; slower and more painfully.

Such aggressiveness contrasted with the tenderness I felt toward Avril. There was not an ounce of anger in my body when I held her in my arms. When I dropped her off at her suite, my chest tightened.

It was almost impossible to let her go. I had to find closure in simply guarding her room from a distance in wolf form. Until the sun came up, I didn’t move, afraid the shadows could threatenher. Columbus didn’t peel his eyes off her window for a second; he barely even blinked, constantly focused on her as if he was her biggest treasure.

Ourbiggest treasure.

“No harm will ever come her way again,”my wolf vowed, his confidence resonating in every word.

And I fervently agreed with him.

Another afternoon stretched out in Avril’s absence, and I was certain my beast would claw through my insides if we had to be away from her for the evening as well. I had been trying my best to keep my distance in case she needed space, but it was driving me insane. When I finally clocked out, I was determined to at least stay with her long enough to ensure she bore no scars, neither physical nor psychological, from the incident.

Thankfully, it wasn’t hard to find her. She was walking past the packhouse just as I stepped outside, and the sight of her alone made me feel instant relief. At least on the outside, she looked untroubled. I approached her unceremoniously, making sure to announce my presence before getting too close so I wouldn’t startle her.

“Avril,” I gushed, trying not to show how I relished on how deliciously her name rolled off of my tongue. “Can we talk?”

Her stunning blue eyes met mine for a brief second before she urgently tore her gaze away, focusing on the path ahead of her. “I’m sorry, Alpha Koen. I have somewhere to be,” she blurted out.

I hesitated one second, pondering on whether I should do the right thing and let her go, or listen to my inner animal and refuse to do so. Just one second before I used my werewolf speed to step in front of her, blocking her path. She came to a sharp stop, immediately offering me her attention once again.

“Just Koen,” I reminded her, letting out a sigh. “Please, Avril,” I insisted, pleading with my eyes. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m perfectly fine, Koen, as I told you yesterday,” she replied rushedly. “If you could stop asking me, I would just like to forget about all of it…if that’s okay.”

“Of course. I won’t mention it anymore,” I conceded, instinctively moving closer to her. “Would you mind if I walked with you?”

Her eyebrows inclined just slightly, as if she was fighting back a frown. It was a subtle gesture, yet I still noticed it. “Like I said, I have somewhere to be right now,” she repeated. As she began stepping away, she added, “Besides, I’ve caused you enough trouble already.”

“You never cause me any trouble,” I instantly corrected her, following her closely. “And if I may ask, where exactly are you going?”

Without a second thought, she answered, “To meet my friends.”

At first, I wondered if she was referring to any old acquaintances from Whispering Hills, but quickly discarded the possibility. She had no friends here. Then, it dawned on me that she spoke of the two warriors who accompanied her. This realization caused me to pause as a different emotion I wasn’t quite familiar with started creeping into my bones.

She called them, two brawny males, friends, yet I couldn’t help but question if there was more to their relationship. It had bothered me a couple times before how closely they stood to her.Sure, it made sense for members from the same pack to stick together, especially when they were away from their home, but it seemed different.

Why did they never leave her side? Why did they follow her everywhere like lost puppies? But, most importantly, why did their eyes shine whenever they looked at her, as if they worshiped her like the moon?

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