Page 22 of Rejected and Regretted

It seemed yet another one of my father’s enemies had found the motivation to take revenge on us, and their timing was extremely annoying.

I focused on Avril, who stood in front of me. Only a second ago, she had been in my arms, closer than I’d ever dreamt of holding her. The effects of our proximity still kept me from losing my head, her soothing warmth lingering on my skin.

There was not a hint of apprehension in the omega’s eyes. I wondered if it could be due to her feeling safe around me,the speculation filling me with joy. Yet, I couldn’t be distracted. Even if she wasn’t afraid, my priority was still to keep her safe.

Just as the sounds of the beginning battle echoed through the forest, Avril’s lips parted, her voice low. “What are we going to do?”

“Find somewhere safe for you to stay until I’ve taken care of this,” I replied assertively.

At that exact moment, I heard the pounding of paws against the ground. There were wolves coming in our direction. Although I took a step in front of Avril, ready to keep her safe, I wasn’t alert - a quick sniff was enough to let me know these weren’t enemies. Sure enough, in a matter of seconds, a group of my sentinels appeared from behind the dense foliage.

“Alpha!” the chief sentinel addressed me, lowering his head. Behind him, his team, already in wolf form, did the same. “We have identified the enemy as Midnight Sun Pack, but we couldn’t stop them at the borders. They must have made their way into the heart of the territory already. What would you like us to do?”

I flashed a glance at Avril before turning my attention to the man again. “Take her to the shelter. Make sure she’s safe. Then, join me and the other warriors on the battlefield.”

“What?” The word escaped Avril’s lips, but it was muffled by the sentinel’s own question.

“With all due respect, Alpha, why should we direct our energy toward protectingher?” I didn’t miss the scorn in his tone as he referred to the omega; it caused my wolf to raise his hackles inside my head. “She’s not even one of us!”

Simply baring my fangs at him made him shiver. “You will do as I say!” I growled menacingly, glaring at him as I continued in a lower, threatening voice, “And you will make sure she is safe. If so much as a hair on her head is harmed, I’ll haveyour headfor it.”

The man swallowed dry, bowing vehemently. “Yes, Alpha! I apologize, Alpha.”

Holding onto my last bit of calm, I turned to Avril, holding her by the shoulders as I stared into her eyes. “Go. Now.”

Her lips pursed, and she hesitated. Could she be reluctant about leaving me alone? Was she worried about me? A bit of hope flickered inside my chest, but before I allowed myself to read deeper into it, I encouraged her to join the sentinels, and she finally did. With a tight heart, I watched her leave with them, only letting my wolf out once she disappeared from view.

Even as Columbus bolted toward the battlefield, following the strong smell of fresh blood, all we could think about was Avril. A responsible alpha should be worried about his pack, yet I only regretted how our moment had been interrupted before I could tell her everything I had been wanting to; before I could show her what I felt. It fueled my anger, driving my wolf’s urge to slay the bastards who dared come for us.

Midnight Sun was the pack I had visited the day before. I tried my best to convince their leader to put an end to the hostile relationship between our packs, but he didn’t care to hear me. The grudge between him and my father ran too deep. Still, I wasn’t willing to give up - or at least, I hadn’t planned to. But before I could propose a better offer, my wolf grew restless. He was concerned about Avril, leading me to leave before succeeding, and I was glad I listened to him.

But I was done trying to work out our differences peacefully - if it was a fight Midnight Sun wanted, I would give it to them.

Col’s muscles coiled with anticipation, a deadly combination of adrenaline and fury surging through his veins, his fur bristling with the thrill of combat. While it was true we both tried to be reasonable instead of violent, we showed no hesitation to protect what we held dear. If needed, my beast could turn into a killing machine.

As soon as my wolf came across the first enemy, he pounced at them with deadly precision, landing a fatal blow. He advanced into the battlefield with the same ferocity. Like a whirlwind of rage and destruction, his claws slashed through flesh, crimson quickly drenching his white coat as he engaged his opponents with unrelenting ferocity.

Amidst the chaos, enveloped in the blinding violence, I lost track of how many wolves Col had slayed until a single flicker of light appeared on the horizon, stealing all of his attention. His blurry gaze focused on the figure in the distance until it became clear, allowing him to distinguish a she-wolf, swift and deadly, moving with a grace that set her apart from the rest as she dodged enemies left and right.

A mix of emotions flooded me as I recognized her as Avril’s wolf, Kea.

Along with worry and confusion, came this bizarreness. Kea looked nothing like I remembered her. She wasn’t small and slender anymore, but rather tall and muscular. Even her gray fur had changed, acquiring a much darker, almost black shade.

A sigh of admiration broke through my wolf’s lips. Kea was beautiful. Not that she hadn’t been before, but now, she exuded power. She looked like a strong Luna.

“My strong Luna,”Col hummed hoarsely, possessiveness shining through each individual word.“I must protect her.”

Driven by instinct, my wolf fought even harder, carving a path through our adversaries with single-minded determination. Bodies dropped to the ground around us, yet he had tunnel vision, his stare locked on the dark gray she-wolf. With each foe that fell beneath his claws, he drew closer to her, his heart pounding with the need to ensure her safety.

Entranced, I failed to realize how vulnerable our eagerness to reach Kea made us. Before I could see it, an enemy jumped at us from our blind spot, followed by a second one. My focusshifted momentarily as I assessed the situation, quickly noticing that the pair who attacked us weren’t high-ranking members; even if they had the numbers, they had no chance.

However, while Col was occupied with them, another two approached us. Though he managed to defeat the first pair, the next was too close for him to react effectively. Even if he dodged one of them, he would likely get injured by the other.

Hewould have, hadn’t something crashed against us, pushing us out of harm’s way. It took me a moment to understand what - or better yet, who - had hit us, but Avril’s scent was undeniable.

I was the one desperate to protect her, yet, funnily enough, she had been the one to save me.

The impact sent both wolves rolling down the small hill. When Col’s back hit the ground at the bottom, prompting him to come to a stop, Kea ended up on top of him. Their muzzles almost touched, their gazes finding each other like a magnetic pull.

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