Page 47 of Rejected and Regretted

“Whatever,”I mumbled, eager to put an end to this conversation. Thankfully, Kea let me be.

“Why are you all up in your head?” Elijah suddenly snapped at me, tilting his head as he examined me across the table.

Once Theo heard his mate’s question, he switched his attention from his breakfast to me, a quizzical expression on his face. He tended to be distracted easily, especially if there was food involved, while Elijah had always been more sensitive. I guess my conversation with my wolf had been longer than I realized, and my gamma certainly noticed it.

Taking a bite of the food I had barely touched, I replied, “Nothing. Kea was just pestering me, that’s all.” I shrugged, hoping to dismiss him.

Judging by how he squinted his eyes slightly to study me, I knew he wasn’t buying it. He would have pushed me, had someone else not joined our conversation.

“Hey, omega.”

No one addressed me by that title in ages. I wouldn’t have assumed they were talking to me had it not sounded so familiar. I had heard that same voice, full of disgust and superiority, call me that exact same way for almost two decades. Out of instinct, I glanced over my shoulder to find Beta Gregor standing behind me.

He was definitely talking to me, though I couldn’t understand why. Gregor has ignored me most of the time since I returned to Whispering Hills. It seemed he preferred to let me know he didn’t enjoy my presence by dirty looks rather than words. So why was he seeking me, on a Saturday of all days? There was no warrior training today, and the ranked members were free to just relax. I doubted his idea of an ideal day-off involved me.

When I just stared at him in silence, he groaned, “The Alpha summons you to his office.”

I almost coughed on my food. “What?”

This situation made less sense by the second.

“You heard me; Alpha Koen wants you in his office. Hurry up!” Gregor barked.

It was obvious my friends didn’t appreciate his tone. I could feel the shift in their mood without even looking at them, but I needed to shoot them a glare to stop them from standing up and challenging the beta of Whispering Hills. Once they realized what they were doing, they remembered our fake identities and remained still in their seats, though their eyes never left Gregor.

“Alright,” I told the beta at last before things escalated. “Let’s go.”

With a scowl on his face, Gregor turned to lead the way. Not wanting to cause a scene, I followed him closely, anger bubbling up in my throat - not only toward the rude second-in-command but also toward his leader. How dare Koen send his subordinate to fetch me? Well, I guess he wasn’t sure I would go with him had he come to get me himself. Low blow. Smart, but a low blow regardless.

Before I could let my anger take over, a light provided me with a moment of clarity. While I didn’t appreciate being bossed around and having my breakfast interrupted, I was reminded of where the alpha’s office was located - the third floor of the packhouse. It was a golden opportunity to search for the urn. Even if I couldn’t retrieve it with Koen and his beta around, knowing the exact location of the artifact would allow me and my team to be more precise when the time came for us to put our plan into action.

I had already briefly explored the second floor on the day I managed to break into the beta suite, but I had never set foot on the third floor. As soon as we climbed the last flight of stairs on our way to the alpha’s office, my eyes immediately scoured through the hallway. There was no need to be discreet, since Gregor had his back to me; all that mattered was being quick and efficient. Unluckily, I couldn’t find what I was looking for among the fancy paintings and magnificent statues decorating the area.

Focused on my search, I didn’t notice we had made it to our destination until Gregor’s voice sounded. “Here she is, Alpha.”

I blinked twice, realizing that the door was already open. Koen was sitting behind his desk, but he rose from his chair the moment our eyes met. He didn’t smile, as he usually did. Something in his demeanor differed from how he had been these last few days. He looked more serious, and less…flirty.

“Avril,” he greeted me. “Thank you for coming. I apologize for the urgency,” he said casually, straightening his dress shirt.

Why was he wearing work clothes on a Saturday?

“It’s no problem. What can I help you with, Alpha?” I mustered a smile, watching his face fall subtly when I addressed him formally.

His gaze lingered on me for a moment before he eyed his beta. “Thank you, Gregor. You can leave us.” At his command, the man nodded and closed the door. Then, his attention was back at me. “Can I offer you a drink?”

“I don’t-” I prepared myself to refuse, but before I could finish, he pointed at the coffee counter.

“I mean coffee,” he clarified, already turning to the coffee machine. “What’ll it be? An espresso? Cappuccino?”

“Uh…I’ll take an espresso,” I replied.

Once Koen turned his back to me to begin preparing my drink, I seized the opportunity to take a quick look around his office. It was fairly organized, making it easy to scan the place for the item I sought. I could hear him talking in the background as he tried to explain why he wanted to see me. I heard him mention some sort of alpha meeting, but I was barely listening, until a single statement echoed in my ears.

“I would be flattered if you would come with me as my plus one.”

My search was brought to a halt - it didn’t matter anyway, as the urn didn’t seem to be here either. My eyes widened asI processed his request. Why the hell did Koen want me to accompany him to a business event? I couldn’t help but blame it on the moves he had been making on me for the past few days. I thought I had made it clear to him that I had no interest in being closer to him, but…

“Before you freak out, no, this has nothing to do with how I behaved that day by the tall tree,” he said, as if he could read my mind. A semblance of sadness flashed in his eyes, but it was gone as soon as he blinked. “I’m sorry, by the way. It was inappropriate. I assumed that you…” He held his breath, shaking his head afterward. “Doesn’t matter.” He stepped closer to me, offering me the espresso he had just prepared.

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