Page 35 of Shattered and Saved

Without hesitation, the warrior obeyed. Lust danced in Koen’s eyes as I leaned closer, unable to contain my desire until we got home. I dove in, pressing my lips to his. His hand gripped my neck, angling my head to deepen the kiss before sliding down to caress my collarbone, his touch igniting a fire within me. Just as I started to unbutton his shirt, he stopped me, pulling away slightly.

“He’ll still know what’s going on here, even if he can’t see it,” he warned, his voice low. “And you know how fast gossip spreads in wolf packs.”

My grin widened at his concern. “I would hope so.” Then I crashed my mouth onto his again. This time, he didn’t protest, fully giving in to his cravings.

Something had changed today - I no longer cared what anyone thought about us.

22

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K O E N

Avril took thingsmuch further than I expected, and it didn’t stop in the backseat. When we arrived, she pulled me out of the car and dragged me to the alpha chambers, proving she wasn’t kidding when she said she didn’t care if the pack found out about us. We were up all night, and judging by how loud we were, I had a feeling everyone else was, too.

I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep after she left for warrior training, but soon enough, it was time for my own session. As I made my way through the crowded town square, I noticed gazes shifting toward me. By now, I was used to the dirty looks and ignored them, continuing my march with my head held high. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that today, they were staring for a different reason.

When I arrived at the training grounds, Theo and Elijah were sitting on one of the empty benches. The second they saw me step inside, their heads snapped toward me, a clear shift in their expressions. They exchanged one last glance before the beta pulled himself up to greet me.

“Morning!” Theo said with a humorous grin, proceeding to ask, “Did you get any sleep at all?”

“Why?” I scrunched my brow, confused by his question. “Do I look tired?”

Although it was true that I had barely gotten any rest last night, I didn’t feel worn out. In fact, I was weirdly invigorated, as if sex with Avril had refueled my energy after the past few turbulent days. But then again, perhaps my face told a different story.

“Oh, no. Absolutely not,” the beta promptly reassured me, waving me off. “You look fine.”

“Better than fine, actually,” his mate chimed in, rising to his feet as well to come closer. “You look great,” he added mischievously, earning a jealous frown from Theo. Paying no mind to the silent reprimand, he continued, “Radiant, even!”

Huffing, I urged them, “If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”

“Not just us. The whole pack.” Theo laughed, teasing, “You were all the warriors talked about during training today.”

I don’t know why, but his revelation took me by surprise. Yes, it was obvious everyone would comment about Avril leaving with me yesterday. I had been the one to remind her that Azure Smoke would definitely find out when she made a move in the car. But I didn’t expect them to be this invested in our relationship.

“You’ve become the talk of the town,” Elijah went on, swooning as he mockingly described, “The brilliant outsider who managed tomelt the alpha’s ice cold heart.”

This time, I couldn’t hide my amusement, chuckling as I crossed my arms. “What did Avril say about it?”

“They all shut it the second she walked in.” Theo shrugged. “But she ain’t stupid.”

“She’s acting as if it’s not a big deal.” Elijah rolled his eyes, leaning in to whisper, “But between you and me, I caught her smiling, which is…unusual.”

I had to laugh. “Oh, yeah. I would know.”

The sound of footsteps abruptly interrupted our conversation. As if on cue, all three of us turned to the entrance, where Avril stood, her face as serious as ever and her shoulders squared with authority.

“I could track the smell of gossip from the cafeteria,” she accused as she headed our way. Despite her tone, her friends could barely contain their smiles. Still, they remained silent, bowing curtly at her. “Are you boys sparring or having a tea party?” She raised an eyebrow at them.

“My apologies, Alpha,” Theo said with his head low in respect. “We were just about to get it started.”

“Well, don’t stop on my account. I’ll just watch for a moment to check how much progress Koen has made so far.”

Avril signaled for us to start before making her way towards the corner of the arena, barely registering my presence as she walked past me - not dismissively, but professionally. I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered what Elijah said. She didn’t look bothered by the rumors, but she wasn’t trying to feed them either. Not an ounce of the reckless impulsiveness I witnessed the previous night lingered in her attitude. Her aura demanded respect.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was another reason she had decided to show up. Perhaps it was presumptuous of me to assume she hadn’t quite gotten enough of me yet and wanted to stick around. I wondered if I could coax a confession out of her when we were alone later.

Whether or not she was hiding something, Col put in twice the effort as usual, clearly eager to impress our former mate.

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