Page 49 of Rejected and Regretted

“As beta, your duty is to support me, not question my personal life choices!” I reminded him, my eyes flickering black, letting him know the alpha wolf inside of me was too close to the surface, one second away from coming out and snapping at him. At last, my aura became so intense, Gregor had no choice but to lower his head in submission. I took the opportunity to take a step in his direction, concluding, “If you truly care about the integrity of our pack, don’t interfere in matters unrelated to business.”

Gregor nodded, not daring to look me in the eye, his boldness seemingly gone. The tension in the air started dissipating as he excused himself with another head gesture, turning to walk toward the door. I began relaxing again, Columbus calming down in the confines of my mind once our authority was successfully reinforced.

However, Gregor halted right before he stepped out of the office. His voice, although now lower and devoid of defiance, still carried a semblance of warning as it echoed through the four walls.

“I do care about the integrity of our pack,” he insisted calmly. “Which is why I’m concerned.” He glanced over his shoulder, barely looking at me. His next words carried heavy bitterness. “Itseems to me that this omega, who has always been a bad omen, has returned to bring about our pack’s downfall.”

Taken by surprise, I couldn’t react fast enough. By the time I opened my mouth to argue, Gregor had already shut the door, leaving me alone to deal with the stress of the situation. Mentally exhausted, I flopped onto my chair, an exasperated breath pushing through my lips as I rubbed my face with my hands. As I rested my back against my seat, my eyes landed on a portrait on my desk of Gregor and I right after we took over Whispering Hills. I found myself staring longer at it.

We used to be best friends growing up. Never one without the other, we would patrol the lands I would once inherit together, talking about everything we would do when the power was in our hands. When we officially started training to take over at thirteen, we became even closer, since only the two of us could understand the weight of the responsibilities bestowed upon us.

At fifteen, my father began personally mentoring us. He tried to teach us his tyrannic ways, but I refused to accept them. Through the pack bond, I could feel the hurt of the lower-ranking members of our pack. I could see the hatred and thirst for revenge in other leaders’ eyes every time Dad threatened them. Unlike him, I couldn’t believe any Alpha was unbeatable and self-sufficient. I was convinced a wolf’s strength relied on union rather than brutal force - a lone wolf could never face an entire pack on its own, no matter how powerful.

Gregor, on the other hand, listened to him with unwavering conviction. Perhaps it was his strong sense of duty that allowed him to be so easily brainwashed by his alpha, the figure he respected most. He lived by my father’s words, slowly turning into a merciless man who resorted to violence any time he had a problem to solve.

Still, even as I turned twenty and finally earned my father’s blessing after marrying Nerine, I had hope that Gregor could change. I thought I could remind him of the promises we had made when we were pups. As I ruled, I tried to show him that there were other ways - better ways - besides blood and violence. Sadly, I had underestimated how deeply Dad’s views were ingrained in his mind.

Our relationship worsened when I ended things with Nerine following the termination of our two-year contract. An avid follower of my father’s beliefs, he was adamant that I was making the wrong choice. When I told him I didn’t love her and never would, he said that love was a made-up concept and that I, as a leader, should sacrifice it for the sake of my pack. He failed to see that, even if I did, Nerine would never be a great Luna—all she cared about was the money and status she got from being with me.

How did our views differ so drastically?I pondered, taking the photograph in my hands to take a closer look at it. With a sigh, I soon put it aside again, facing down against the desk. It didn’t matter.

This trip would be my last attempt at trying to rescue the best friend I used to know - if he was even still inside Gregor.

31

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A V R I L

When I made itback to my room, still confused about my former mate’s last-minute invitation - and about whether or not it had been a good idea to agree to it - I called my friends to let them know about the change in plans. They didn’t seem thrilled about it, though not for the reason I expected. Postponing the conclusion of our mission yet again didn’t bother them, but they were concerned about me leaving without them.

“It’s only for a couple of days,” I tried to reassure them.

Judging by the unsure glance Theo and Elijah shared, it was obvious I had failed.

“What if we follow you from a distance?” my beta suggested.

“We could shift and stay hidden. If necessary, we can step in,” his mate added.

“No,” I determined. “I told you already, it’ll be suspicious if no one sees you at Whispering Hills for the next two days. The only reason why I accepted to go with Koen is to preserve whatever progress has been made in our relationship.”

“Sure.” A smug smirk played in Elijah’s lips as he slowly crossed his arms, shooting me a knowing glance. “Of course, you must preserve yourrelationship.” he emphasized the last word.

I frowned. “I’m serious. Koen’s trust in me is key to the success of our mission.”

“I still don’t like this,” Theo insisted. While his mate seemed a little more relaxed now, he evidently didn’t feel the same way. I guess it was natural, considering that he was my beta - he was always by my side.

“Then deal with it,” I replied sharply. The stress of the whole situation combined to their insistence was getting to me, making me sound ruder than I would have liked. With a sigh, I tried to correct it. “Look, I’ll be fine, I promise. When I’m back, we can continue from where we left, and when we’re back home, you can babysit me all you want. Deal?”

Theo’s discontentment remained written all over his face, but at last, he agreed. “Fine. Can you at least text us from time to time so we know you’re safe?”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure, Dad.”

It didn’t take me long at all to pack. I simply grabbed two changes of clothes and tossed them into an empty backpack - considering how nosey Koen had been lately, I couldn’t risk him finding anything that might compromise my secret identity.

When it was ten before noon, I bid my friends farewell and headed to the town square. On my way there, I started getting cold feet as it dawned on me that I would be spending the next few days alone with Koen. Could I really resist him if he tried something under those conditions?

A frown crossed my face as I realized how pathetic I was being. I had made up my mind - I wanted nothing to do with Koen, regardless of how my body reacted to him. The sole reason why I accepted to go with him was to guarantee the success of mymission. As soon as I was done, I would leave without looking back, and he would never cross my mind again.

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