Page 19 of Rejected and Regretted

“Finish that sentence, and it’s your neck I’ll break this time,” he threatened in intimidating seriousness. Even from a few feet away, I could feel his intense aura.

Horror flooded Angelica’s eyes, while his glowed with nothing but rage - raw, unfiltered rage.

“I’m s-s-sorry.” Angelica’s voice was strained, each word a struggle to push out.

With one final growl, Koen dropped her. She hit the ground with a whimper, frantically gasping for air. Scared, she didn’t bother collecting her breath as she hurriedly crawled away from us, struggling to move in her weakened state.

Koen didn’t wait for her to disappear from sight to dart his head at me. Frozen in my spot, still trying to understand what had just happened, my gaze was captured by his. His previously dark green eyes softened, his rage now long gone, mysteriously replaced by worry.

My trance was only broken as he started towards me in quick steps, eager to close the distance between us. “Are you okay? How badly did she hurt you?” he demanded to know, stretching his hand in my direction. What had gotten him so riled up?

Before he could touch me, I reassured him, “I’m fine. She didn’t hit me with all her strength,” I lied. Well, partially - shedidhit me with all her strength, but it barely harmed me.

Sensing my discomfort, he pulled his hand back, but the protectiveness in his posture didn’t fade away. “Let me take you to the infirmary.”

“What?” I croaked, slightly offended that he thought a scum like Angelica was capable of hurting me. Then, I shook my head, trying to act more omega-like. “I-I mean, it won’t be necessary, Alpha Koen. I promise I’m okay.” He bit the inside of his cheek, obviously unsatisfied with my response.

In an attempt to change the subject, I sought an answer for the question hammering in my head. “If I may ask, Alpha Koen, why did you return so soon?”

He blinked twice, taken by surprise. “I tried to be quick. It makes me hesitant to leave…home, for too long.” After a brief pause, concern glistened in his eyes again, and he took another step in my direction. “Avril, are you sure-”

“I’m terribly sorry for troubling you after you just got back. You must be tired after your trip,” I pointed out, looking for an excuse to flee. The show he put on was already confusing enough; I didn’t want to stay around a worried Koen any longer. “With your permission, Alpha, I would also like to return to my room and get some sleep.”

Although he hesitated at first, he eventually agreed. I immediately seized the opportunity, rushing inside the packhouse faster than lightning. An avalanche of questions troubled my mind. Where had Koen come from? He seemed to have appeared out of thin air, much like when Angelica first challenged me. How did he know where I was? There was no one around, yet he always seemed to arrive at the right time. Why was he so angry at Angelica for beating me up?

And more importantly, why was he so worried about my well-being?

I’m the key to a good deal, I immediately reminded myself, forcing myself to believe it. That had to be the reason for hisinexplicable behavior since I arrived. He pretended to care about me because of what he thought I could give him.

That was all.

However, when I met my beta and gamma in their suite to inform them about what had just happened, they seemed to have a different perspective on the issue. When I told them about what Angelica had done, they were furious, intent on teaching the girl a lesson for raising her hand toward their alpha. Though, as soon as I got to Koen’s appearance, they disagreed that he had acted out of interest.

“I don’t know, I honestly think it was quite heroic!” Elijah swooned.

“In a way, I’m glad he was there to defend you,” Theo observed, grateful to the man. “It’s good to know we can count on him to have your back whenever you have a bad idea. Like putting yourself in harm’s way to protect your fake identity!”

“The mission is my priority,” I reminded him. “Either way, it’s not like I was in real danger.”

“I know,” Theo agreed. “Still, I think the alpha means well.”

“He doesn’t sound like the monster you described to us. Maybe he’s changed?” Elijah offered, with his mate quickly nodding in accordance. “While you’re here, you could consider giving him a second chance.”

Even Kea grunted at their nonsense. Although I couldn’t blame them for siding with Koen, I refused to be fooled by him again. He had already disappointed me one too many times.

As rage bubbled in my throat, I snapped, “I have no interest in rebuilding bridges, especially those that were burnt for a reason.”

For a moment, my friends remained silent, but in the end, they lowered their heads respectfully to simultaneously say, “Yes, Alpha.”

Despite their gesture, I could sense their reluctance. They were serious about wanting me to sort things out with my former mate, and they genuinely thought it would be good for me.

And it made it harder for me to keep believing my own version of the story.

13

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