Page 42 of Rejected and Regretted

It was always the same. The effect Koen had on me made all logical thinking escape me. Like carnivore plants who attracted oblivious insects straight to their deaths, he lured me in. Yet, the second he was gone, I remembered why it was a bad idea to get too close to him, and I cursed myself for falling for it.

As desperation hit, I rushed to the drawer where I kept my vial of silver. It glistened tentatively, but just as I wrapped my fingers around the glass, I hesitated.

I could feel Kea slowly pushing closer to the surface, earlier than usual. As much as I hated to admit it, I could only blame Koen. Our kiss must have given her strength, allowing her to come out of her slumber sooner.

A distressed sigh broke through my lips, and I put the vial down. What use was there in fighting Kea when I was just as liable?

A wave of emotions battled inside me. I was angry at myself, afraid of the feelings I couldn’t understand, lusting for Koen, and hating myself for it. In the end, I decided to push them all away. Feeling defeated, I flopped onto the bed, hoping that tomorrow I would finally get my shit together.

It’s a new day, I cheered myself as I watched the sun rise from behind the hills through my window the next morning.Today, I won’t fall for Koen’s charms, I vowed. A promise I struggled to believe. Dreading what would happen once I met him, I ended up staying a little longer in bed.

After a good night’s rest, my body had expelled the silver, and Kea was back at full strength. She was the one who pushed me to get up - not because she longed to find Koen, but because she had grown tired of being unable to resist him. It seemed the poison had at least helped her regain focus. For our sake, it was time for me to find mine as well.

With newfound courage, I marched out of my room, the reasons why I had abominated the alpha of Whispering Hills for the past years playing on repeat in my head like some twisted kind of motivational audio. I headed straight to the training grounds, where my beta and gamma should be. Due to my extra minutes in bed, the warriors were already starting to leave by the time I arrived. I was a few feet away from the entrance when he stepped out of the facility.

Koen was half-naked, beads of sweat rolling down his chest. They glistened underneath the sunlight, highlighting his flexed muscles. It took him a moment to notice me standing in front of him; only when he shook his head, bothered by his wet hair gluing to his forehead, did his eyes finally find mine. And he stopped.

I, too, halted for a moment, fear rushing back to me. But it only lasted a fraction of a second. Filled with motivation and determination, I refused to freeze before him as I had last night. Instead, I held my head high and stared right back at him, fighting his hypnotizing gaze. I was so concentrated, I almost let my alpha aura show.

To my surprise, he just flashed a smile at me. “Morning, Avril. Sleep well?” he asked as he continued to make his way to me.

Disconcerted, all I could mutter was “yeah” as he came closer and closer.

But when he reached me, he didn’t stop, as I thought he would. He merely whispered, “Good. Your pack mates should be out in a minute.” He gestured toward the gym with his head, concluding, “See you ‘round.” And he walked right past me.

I was dumbfounded. After what I had said last night, after what we had done…he was acting as if that hadn’t changed anything between us. In fact, this was our most normal interaction. That was it?

Honestly, I wouldn’t complain. The last thing I wanted was to talk about it. I was down to pretend nothing had happened and erase that memory from my mind.

Then, it clicked. Koen didn’t say anything because he didn’t want the pack to know things had gotten heated between him and me, an omega; it would be humiliating. And frankly, I was fine with it. I didn’t want anyone to find out either.

Suddenly, I felt light. Not only did his indifference not bother me, but my palms weren’t sweaty. The sight of him didn’t make me forget how to breathe; it didn’t make my heart soar. Huh. Maybe last night had at least served to relieve some of the sexual tension I felt toward him.

Great - here’s to hoping I would manage to focus now.

“Avril!” I recognized my beta’s voice, noticing him and Elijah leaving the training grounds.

Once they were both by my side, my gamma asked, his voice low, “Everything alright?”

Without hesitation, I replied, “Everything’s perfect.”

I couldn’t hide the triumphant grin that spread over my lips, or the enthusiasm in my voice. Judging by the confusion in their faces, the shift in my behavior seemed to take them by surprise. But it didn’t bother them enough to ask me about it.

“Any special reason why you decided to come pick us up?” Theo joked.

“Yes,” I quickly revealed. “We have a plan to discuss.”

They exchanged glances, and I could tell they were questioning my sudden motivation, yet they just nodded and followed me. Now that it seemed Koen’s effect on me had diminished, I had to make the most of my current clarity to complete my mission as soon as possible.

If everything went well, I would be out of here and far away to where Koen would never cross my mind again in a matter of days.

27

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K O E N

I couldn’t rememberthe last time I had slept this well.

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