“How do you do it?” he asks. “Dad always berated you and belittled you, but you are still so…” he pauses. “You don’t seem to be hurt,” he admits. “Don’t get me wrong, I know you are… it’s just…”
When I don’t answer, he hurries to reassure me further. “I made you angry, didn’t I? I didn’t mean to, I swear. I just wanted to know how you were able to deal with it. I-”
“I’m not angry,” I say. “I was just thinking.”
“Oh.”
“I think I stopped feeling anything for our father a long time ago,” I say. “It made it easier to see him as my sperm donor rather than someone I can rely on.”
“I’m not sure if I can do that,” he mutters. “I wish I could, though.”
“It’s okay to still love him,” I say. “And it’s okay to hope that he will change.”
“I don’t even know what to feel anymore,” Vander says quietly. “But I am glad I am here now. At least I can breathe here.” He pauses. “I tried to call him, you know, but he wouldn’t pick up.”
Sadly, this doesn’t surprise me, but I don’t tell that to Vander. He is dealing with a lot right now, and I don’t want his hopes completely crushed. “Is Léna coming?” I ask him.
His face instantly lights up. “Yes, is that okay?”
“Of course, she is welcome here anytime, as long as her parents know where she is.”
“They are so nice,” Vander tells me.
“You have met them already?”
“Yes, well, you know, she was adopted as a baby.”
I nod. I heard it from Coralie when we were still dating.
“Her adoptive parents are so sweet, though. Her dad is a warrior, and her mom works in Paris as a teacher. And when she and I started dating, I wanted to introduce myself.”
I’m actually a bit impressed by how smoothly he handled this. I’m not sure if I would have even thought about introducing myself. Talking about Léna has improved his mood tremendously, and we soon find our way to the training grounds.
I instantly spot Aurelia. Even in her lycan form, she instantly draws me in. “That’s her,” I whisper towards Vander.
“Shit,” Vander says. “She is good.”
Good is an understatement, and I find myself beaming with pride at seeing my mate easily owning her position on the battleground. Eric joins me and Vander on the sidelines and watches with us. “Didn’t you join the training today?” I ask.
“No, I had a meeting but fortunately managed to cut it short.” He grins. “They were all talking big before Aurelia joined them. Show-offs. I’m so glad to see her taking them down a peg. They needed it.”
We watch the remainder of the training, and occasionally, I see how inhumanly fast Aurelia moves and reacts. I figure that’s her gift. She did the same in her standoff, against the warriors my father commanded to attack her.
When the training is finished, everyone shifts back to their human form. Wolves don’t mind the nudity normally, but when Aurelia has shifted back, revealing her beautiful slender body, her long legs, her tight ass, and boobs, everyone stares.
I feel myself getting annoyed at their blatant stares, but I don’t want to appear like the toxic, overbearing boyfriend who protects his mate, especially since she is much stronger than I am. Aurelia reacts faster than me anyways. “If you’re done looking at my ass, could you hand me my sweater?” she asks, annoyed.
The guys around her turn bright red at her calling them out, and one of them instantly grabs the sweater and tosses it at her.
That’s when I see it. It’s my sweater, one of those I only wear at night because it’s oversized, even for me. She must have grabbed it before she left my room this morning. My chest swells with pride when I think about how my scent is engulfing her. My sweater covers her bum, and she confidently strides over towards me while ignoring everyone else. Cato pushes forward,putting his arm around her middle and pulling her closer into a kiss.
Let them see she is ours!
After taking a shower, Aurelia meets us in my office. She still wears my hoodie but is also dressed in jeans, now. I love that she is still wearing something with my scent on.
“Are you ready?” Leila asks when we are all about to start with our meeting. “Because I have news.”
“Good news?” Gustave asks.