Page 37 of Rejected and Regretted

“Avril,” he called my name in the exact same hypnotizing way as always, but today, I saw hesitation in his eyes. Goddess, this couldn’t be good. “We’re leaving for the hunt before sundown.”

“I know,” I replied, fighting not to arch an eyebrow at him. These were the first words he had spoken to me in days, and I couldn’t figure out what was going through his mind.

Why was he so nervous?

“Of course, you know,” he observed quietly, and I could envision him facepalming internally. “Well, I was wondering if you would like to join us.” He must have noticed me stiffeningup, because he soon added, “Your friends are welcome to come, too.”

My confusion deepened. Why would he want me, an omega, to join a pack hunt? It became even harder to read his intentions.

Before I could blurt out the first excuse that crossed my mind, my beta chimed in. “Oh, thank you, Alpha Koen. Sadly, my mate and I already have plans for tonight.” As I stood there in utter disbelief, he glanced at Elijah, who quickly caught his drift and nodded.

“Yes, yes. We were concerned about leaving Avril to spend the night alone,” my gamma added, “so it’s good to know you’ll keep her company.”

I wanted to yell at them, but I held myself back. What good would it do me to cause a scene here? My friends understood very well the situation they were putting me in and it deeply annoyed me. They were sacrificing our mission just to set me up with the man I told them I wanted nothing to do with.

“That’s a pity,” Koen mused, though I struggled to believe he was actually disappointed, especially when he eagerly turned to me. “Avril?”

Fuck. What excuse could I come up with now?

“You don’t need to…refuse…”A faint voice echoed in the depths of my mind, surprising me.

Since I started drinking wolfsbane, Kea barely spoke to me unless the effects of the poison were beginning to wear off. Yet, I had just taken my daily dose less than an hour ago. She must have been making a lot of effort to come to the surface, which made me pay double attention to what she had to say.

“Accept it,”she insisted.“It’ll raise suspicions…if you don’t.”

Hesitant, I pondered,“What about the mission?”

Silence reigned for an instant, and I was afraid she could have gone under again, until she eventually replied,“At therate things are going…Koen…will invite you into the alpha chambers…himself.”

“What do you mean?”I tried to ask, but soon sensed her drifting off, leaving me in the dark.

“Avril? Will you come with us?” Koen’s voice pulled me from my thoughts after I failed to answer him within a reasonable timespan.

“Why not?” I blurted out at last, attempting a smile.

No, I was not happy about this. I wanted to focus on my mission, finish what I had come here to do, yet it seemed the world was conspiring against me. At least, this would be a good opportunity to test Kea’s hypothesis that, while she was dormant, I wouldn’t feel any kind of pull toward Koen. Besides, since we wouldn’t be alone, there would be no room for any form of chemistry to erupt between us. That put me at ease.

“Great.” The alpha beamed, his satisfaction evident. “Meet back here in an hour. I’ll be waiting.”

As I nodded, I couldn’t help but ask myself if this truly was a good idea.

24

____________________

A V R I L

As the hunting teamprepared to leave, I gathered with them at the town square. Well, not exactly with them, but a few feet behind the wolves in formation. Even if I wasn’t already aware of how they felt about me, the way they occasionally squinted their eyes at me let me know they weren’t fond of the idea of allowing me to tag along.

It was obvious they thought an untrained omega would only slow them down. If only they knew I alone could hunt twice the prey they could catch in half the time. Lucky for them, I wouldn’t humiliate them - Kea was too weak to come out, and even if that wasn’t the case, I still couldn’t reveal my true power. But that didn’t stop me from glaring right back at each asshole who tried to intimidate me with their silent stares until they were too uncomfortable to keep it up.

“May the Moon Goddess bless our hunt this evening,” Koen began the same speech he recited to his team every Wednesday. It wasn’t something his father used to do before him, but I was sure his pack knew it by heart, considering how long he had been ruling. Still, as his voice echoed through the open space, all the shifters in front of me perked their ears attentively. “Let us remember that the prey we chase tonight feeds us, and in turn,we protect the land and ensure its continued prosperity. Respect the life we take, for it is a gift that sustains our pack.”

As soon as he finished, the wolves raised their heads to the sky, their howls blending into a harmonious ode of loyalty and unity. Though the ritual felt a bit cliché to me, I had to admit it touched me deeply. Our animal nature made us prone to violence and accustomed to killing -to death. It was honorable and necessary to be reminded that life - both ours and that of other creatures - should never be taken for granted.

After ordering his team to assume their formation within the group, Koen made his way to me, considerately asking, “Would you like to join us in human form or wolf form?”

I quickly repeated the lie I had previously rehearsed. “Compared to you and your team, Kea is too slow, and she runs out of breath fairly quickly. I’d hate to hinder you.”

---