Page 6 of Framed and Forgotten
“Hm,” Koen hummed thoughtfully.
Seconds later, his hand rested on top of mine. The rush of electricity that surged through me pulled my attention to him, and I focused entirely on him. I immediately noticed the serene smile painted on his lips, the lightness in his expression a stark contrast to how heavy his features had been lately. It was an incredibly relaxing sight.
“There is one thing you promised me we’d do once we returned from the meeting,” he pointed out.
It took me a moment to remember. “Oh! Your Luna Ceremony,” I exclaimed playfully.
He frowned. “I thought you called itAlpha ConsortCeremony.”
“Potatoes, potahtos,” I teased, shrugging.
Almost immediately, Koen tackled me. Caught off guard, I had no chance to react as he climbed on top of me, pinning me against the ground. With his legs between mine, he shoved them apart, his weight pressing me down. His fingers tangled with mine before I could protest, restraining my hands with an intensity that sent a jolt through me. Adrenaline coursed through me from his sudden assault, only serving to spike my arousal.
“There’s a difference,” he stated, his voice low and husky right next to my ear. “Should I remind you? Once I bend you over one of these rocks, you’ll be calling me Alpha so loud, not even the cascading waters will prevent the rest of the pack from hearing it.”
Goosebumps ran through my skin as heat surged within me. Part of me wanted to dare him to do as he promised, the thought of feeling him pound into me as my body scraped against the rough surface of the rock - so animalistically wild - making my wolf hone her claws in anticipation. But I’d be damned if I didn’t respond to his challenge.
With a long, quiet moan, I lured Koen closer. He leaned in to nip my earlobe, his hands slowly releasing their grasp on me to travel down my arms and to the sides of my body. As he assumed I was surrendering to him, he let his guard down.
His mouth hovered close to mine, but before he could kiss me, I whispered against his lips. “You forget yourself.”
Koen barely had time to widen his eyes. Wrapping my legs tightly around his waist, I thrusted upwards with all of my strength, quickly knocking him off me. The next second, it was me who was pinning him down.
I sat squarely on top of him, my fingers gripping his wrists tightly. At first, he resisted, his alpha instincts rebelling against being in such a submissive position. For any alpha, lying on their back with their stomach exposed, completely at someone else's mercy, was a hard pill to swallow.
Being the only one who could look down at him like this made it all the more striking.
“I’m my own Alpha,” I corrected him. “No one tells me what to do. You, however…” I paused, cocking my head slightly as I stared hungrily at him. “You’ll be whatever I want you to be.”
A smirk lit up his face as he relented, “You’re right, Alpha.” I felt him relax beneath me, no longer struggling against my grasp - submitting to me completely. “I’m yours to do as you please.”
In the days that followed, we slipped back into our routine, going about our lives as if we had nothing to fear. It was both distracting and heartwarming to discuss the details of the ceremony with Koen, the idea of officially presenting him as my mate and Alpha Consort to my pack making me feel utterly fulfilled. After everything we had been through, our future together would soon be solidified, our union a beacon of light among the darkness of my existence.
At some point, I truly started believing the situation with Nerine would turn out to be just a huge misunderstanding that we would one day laugh about.
“You saw Elias too, Avril,”Kea’s voice echoed in my head, trembling and frail as a whisper.
For the first time in my life, I was choosing to be a little more positive, but she insisted on evening the scales by projecting her pessimistic thoughts to me. I frowned, determined to pay no mind to her. But she wouldn’t leave me be.
“I know you wondered about it, too. The instant Elias ran up to Koen, and your eyes focused on him, you questioned if it could be possible, because it looked incredibly possible.”She put me on the spot, and suddenly sharing my mind with her felt like a tremendous burden.
“Yes, that pup sorta looked like Koen,”I admitted dismissively.“But Koen isn’t the only male with blonde hair and fair skin in the world. Elias could’ve inherited those from his mother,”I countered, pointing out the similarities in their features as I tried to logically prove that Koen didn’t have to be part of the equation.
But it wasn’t enough for my wolf.“No one else has those eyes,”she determined, fear flickering in her voice.“They are mate’s eyes.”
Her words were heavy on me, feeding the doubts I had struggled to bury. Deciding I’d had enough of this conversation, I pushed her away, locking her in the confines of my mind. Perhaps I could keep her there until the test came out negative and I could prove her wrong.
When I returned to reality, I found Koen taking a long sigh as he stared at the screen of his phone. Before I could ask him what his sudden hesitation was about, he revealed, “I just got a text from the lab. The results were sent to Whispering Hills.”
I felt a knot in my stomach, but I fought to ignore it. “We can head there now if you want.”
Albeit reluctant, Koen nodded. I could tell he was afraid of learning the truth, but he also couldn’t wait to get this over with. I wished for the same.
When I mindlinked our friends to let them know we’d be heading out, Rhea volunteered to accompany us to my mate’s old territory. They had all been informed about the situation with Nerine after Koen requested the paternity test. As much as I initially wanted to shield them from the drama, I realized I wasn’t willing to keep it from them either. Since they learned about the pup, they’d comforted us, confident that the chances of Nerine’s claim being true were far too low. Even as our Delta drove us, she remained adamant that we had nothing to worry about.
Once we approached our destination, Rhea parked the car on the side of the nearest road, where she waited as Koen and I headed to his lands. With each step I took, the battle waging inside of me grew harder to ignore. I couldn’t take the anxiety anymore; it was shaking my confidence, mocking the story I chose to believe in.
It took far too long for us to reach the mailbox. As we stood before it, Koen flashed a final look to me. I encouraged him with a nod, and he finally opened the drawer to pull out a piece of paper.
