Page 54 of Rejected and Regretted

Before anyone else could notice it, my wolf pulled away. I remembered where we were - I couldn’t show weakness here. Asking my counterpart back for control, I returned to my human form, and it took all of my strength to stand on two feet. I was covered in so much blood, I hoped no one could see the severity of my wound.

As soon as I was up, an omega promptly came forward to offer me a robe. I had barely finished covering myself when an Elder came forth, head high, seriousness in his eyes. One of the highest authorities within the werewolf society, at least one Elder was required to supervise each alpha meeting, to ensure it wouldn’t go off the tracks.

It was evident he wasn’t pleased with the bloodshed I had participated in.

“Alpha Koen,” the Elder addressed me, briefly turning his head to the fallen Gregor. “You have slain your own beta in the middle of the after party.”

“Gregor attacked him first! He just defended himself!” Avril argued, a mix of confusion and anger in her voice.

“So did the witnesses say,” the man casually offered, his eyes focusing on me again. “What was the reason behind your beta’s attack, Alpha Koen?”

“To be quite honest, I have yet to figure that out myself,” I replied.

My legs grew weaker by the second, making it harder to stay standing. I couldn’t afford to fall to my knees here, in front of dozens of other alphas. I was already without a beta; if I didn’t get out of here soon, my safety could be in jeopardy.

“Elder Roman, I would be more than eager to testify about the events of tonight…” I began, pausing briefly before continuing, “Tomorrow. If you would allow me a moment to restand process what has happened… It has been quite a long night for me.”

The man narrowed his eyes before ultimately giving me a curt nod. “Of course, Alpha Koen. Rest well. I’ll see you first thing in the morning to prepare the reports on Beta Gregor’s execution.”

Once he excused me, I grabbed a bewildered Avril’s hand and led her out of the party. We rode the elevator in silence, but I could feel her gaze on me the entire time. I knew she suspected that I wasn’t feeling well, but she didn’t have enough proof to make insinuations.

You’ve got this, Koen,I encouraged myself every time the pain and blood loss made my mind hazy. You’re almost in your room. Just make it to your room.

Walking in a straight line down the hallway toward my door proved to be a challenging task, especially while trying to keep a straight face. After telling Avril that I was fine, and barely convincing her, she was ready to head into her room when my legs finally gave out.

“Koen!” I heard her yell as my vision turned black, and I stumbled onto the floor.

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A V R I L

As I had prayed,Gregor was there to stop me from getting too close to Koen when my stupid emotions got the best of me. I just hadn’t expected him to do it in the way he did.

While I had already noticed that the beta wasn’t in agreement with his alpha’s principles, I never thought Gregor would stab him in the back at such an important event. Thankfully, he didn’t succeed, though in the beginning, I was concerned about Koen’s well-being. I had watched him in action, and I could tell he was holding back.

It was natural, I guess. A beta was an alpha’s right hand. I couldn’t even imagine being betrayed by mine, let alone having to kill him for it. After Gregor was taken down, I saw Koen’s true pain flash in his eyes, and I knew it must have been the weight of having the blood of the man who he had always considered a friend in his hands. Yet, I didn’t fail to notice that the feeling hadn’t been there throughout the whole battle.

I witnessed the shift in Columbus’ demeanor mid-fight. In the beginning, he was visibly confused and reluctant, but at some point, his hesitation faded. There was barely any humanity in the wolf’s piercing green eyes as he took his beta’s life. In fact, it reminded me of the night when he showed up just in time tosave me from Chad. His movements were vicious, but careful. Cold, yet not mindless; calculated.

As if he was protecting something that he couldn’t live without.

I was trying to crack what was the reason behind his change of heart during the fight when a loud thud, followed by a grunt, caught my attention. After blinking myself back to reality, I found Koen on the floor beside me.

“Koen!” I gasped, instinctively rushing to him.

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” he repeated as I propped his arm around my shoulders, wrapping one arm around his waist to help him up.

“No, you’renotfine!” I chided. “That I knew already, I just hadn’t realized you werethisfucked up.”

Once I managed to get him up straight, he groaned again. Feeling my hand strangely moist, I carefully loosened my grasp on Koen to take a look at it. I was shocked to find it drenched in blood. My heart raced in panic. When I glanced at the area where I had been grasping him, I saw a huge crimson stain on his robe.

“Koen, you’re…” I started, a mix of disbelief and concern coating my words, but he didn’t let me finish.

“Avril,” he called, voice tired, face low. He didn’t even have enough strength to raise his head to look at me. “Can we get inside, please?”

I pursed my lips but didn’t argue. Grabbing the key card from his hand, I inserted it into the reader and hastily pushed the door open as soon as I heard the beep indicating access. Attentively, I led Koen to his bed, assisting him in lying down. With trembling hands, he tugged at the edges of his robe, struggling to remove it. Taking pity on him, I promptly helped him open the top half, leaving the rest of the fabric to drape over his waist and cover his legs.

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