Page 200 of A University of Betrayal

God,how awkward of me.

“Don’t worry about it. It happened too long ago for it to hurt me.”

Hurt...

And then it clicked.

“Alarik,” I sighed softly. He had upset the Rolanows.Hewas the one Tania had been supposed to get married to.

“God,how could I bring this up. I’m sorry,” I sighed sheepishly.

Tania stopped and looked at me encouragingly. “It’s all right, I’m over it.”

A strange gleam crossed her eyes, making me doubt her words for a moment.

“It’s just important to me that none of this affects you,” I said with a scrutinizing look.

She rolled her eyes slightly before we continued walking.

The stream grew wider and the rippling became more and more insistent.

I loved this place close to nature. There were small waterfalls everywhere, flowing down stone hills through the forest toward the sea.

Tania seemed to like it here too, because she sat down on one of the moss-covered stones.

“My brother can be a bit rough sometimes. And he’s bad at forgiving.”

“I’ve seen that,” I laughed gently.

“Don’t hold it against him. He appreciates your commitment to the pack.”

Relief spread through me that at leastIhadn’t earned a bad reputation yet... and that someone appreciated what I was doing for the pack. Something that was my duty.

“You remind me a lot of me back then.” I didn’t know if I should take that as a compliment. She spoke as if it meant nothing good. “I was just as ambitious, wanted to please my brother, preferably with everything. I always looked out for the interests of the pack.” She paused and looked down the small waterfall, lost in thought. “I’ve given more than I should have.”

Unease spread through my stomach. Her words struck the part of me that was most insecure, even if I couldn’t say exactly where its roots lay. Because I didn’t usually waste my time analyzing my life. I knew what it did to people, what it had done to Julian.

Tania turned her head toward me, smiled kindly and stood up, and we both eventually made our way back to the estate.

In the Calm Primeval Forest with Blackbird,

Chaffinch and Willow Warbler

Yttermarken

“Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate your commitment too. I just don’t want you to make the same mistake I did.”

Her gaze was heavy with meaning.

“What exactly was that mistake?”

“Putting the pack's well-being above my own, even though I had never been the one whose well-being mattered most to the pack.”

Hearing the truth from her lips hit me like a slap in the face. But I refused to accept it completely. I couldn’t be so selfish. These were my people. Loyalty kept us together.

“I think you always get back what you give. And besides... isn’t it my duty?”

She sighed. “We have duties, yes, but if you don’t question them, you quickly become a slave to the system.”

---