Chapter 7

C7: Perfect Couple

Alice gulped and shook her head.

“I… I don't know. Don’t look at me that way,” she muttered, her voice barely audible.

Raphael chuckled, but the intensity in his eyes remained.

“Let's continue our practice,” he said calmly.

By evening, Alice hurried back home, but the incident lingered in her mind. She decided she had to investigate.

Meanwhile, the assistant physician had just left Raine's room. Her face was stoic as she walked past Alice, who raised a brow in curiosity.

Alice went straight to her room to freshen up. What she knew for certain was that Raphael was not just anyone, and she would never let anyone take him from her.

A week later, Raine was back on her feet. Her wounds weren’t fully healed, but they were bearable so at least she could move around with less pain.

Alice made sure Raine had no idea who her new tutor was as they rode together in the carriage to the training ground.

The carriage stopped with a creak. The girls stepped down, they  strode into the training ground and Maya rushed up to them, holding Alice's hand.

“I’ve got the information you were looking for,” she said with a smile.

As the daughter of one of the elders, obtaining information wasn’t difficult.

Alice glanced back. Raine wasn’t far behind.

“You can tell me later. I’m busy for now,” Alice said softly.

Maya nodded and shot Raine a sharp glare before walking away.

Alice led the way to the inner training ground. Raine frowned in confusion.

“Didn't you train here? Why are we going in there together?” she asked, raising her brows.

“Oh, dear sister, you’ve been absent for a long time. My tutor stays in the inner training ground, which means my training happens there,” Alice replied sweetly, a hint of mischief in her eyes that danced with a fiery glint.

Raine furrowed her brows but said nothing, quietly following her sister.

Alice’s eyes lit up when she spotted Raphael. She had a mischievous gleam, ready to shock Raine, she couldn't wait to see her reaction.

Raine panicked slightly, worried about what excuse to give so he wouldn’t worry about her.

Her brown eyes widened when she saw Raphael. His broad back was turned, unaware of her presence.

But Raphael had already caught the scent of wild annoying tulips. He frowned, recognizing her instantly, and the fact that he was stuck with her annoyed him

.

“You’re late for training,” he said without turning.

Raine glanced at her sister, who smirked at her before looking away.

“I didn’t mean to. My sister kept me waiting, right, Raine?” Alice said, turning to her with a sweet, sickly smile, the kind that always taunted Raine.

Raphael turned swiftly. His hardened gaze softened the moment it landed on her. He strode toward her and crushed her to him.

Raine’s eyes widened. 

He held her tightly, as if she might vanish, though her back still ached from before. She winced softly but did not pull away.

Noticing, Raphael leaned back slightly, concern softening his gaze.

“Are you alright? What happened to you?” he asked, holding her gently this time.

Alice clenched her fists at her side. Her smile had vanished into thin air.

“I’m fine. I fell in the woods and had to stay home to recover,” Raine lied. She had to.

Raphael nodded slowly, still holding her hand.

“You came late on your own. Don’t drag others down,” he said plainly. Everyone could see the effort she had put into her appearance, her hairpin sat perfectly in place.

Alice looked down, annoyed at being scolded publicly. But it was Raphael, so she swallowed her pride.

“You will have to fill the drum as punishment,” he instructed before taking Raine to the bench, holding her hand softly.

“You shouldn’t stand in the sun, especially when you’re not feeling well,” he said softly, rubbing her hands gently.

Raine’s cheeks heated again. She nodded slowly. After a few minutes, Raphael returned to the training field.

She watched them practice. Seeing Alice shift into a brown wolf, Raine sighed softly, wondering what her own wolf would look like if she had one.

One of the warriors sat beside her. Raine recognized him as Alex, Beta Mascot’s son.

“Hey, weird one… what do you think of those two? The daughter of an Alpha and the elite warrior, they would certainly make a perfect pair,” he said, narrowing his eyes as he watched them.

Raine frowned.

“As fighting partners?” she asked genuinely.

Alex laughed a bit mocking.

“Are you blind? As a couple. They’d lead the pack to greater heights. Alice has a great fighting spirit, come on look at her wolf. 

And Raphael is powerful. Don’t you think they’d make a great pair?” He asked again.

“Make a pair?” Raine murmured, staring at them. “I don’t think so,” she replied instantly.

“Really? Do you have a soft spot for Raphael? If so, kill it now and harden your heart. No one would support such a thing. 

A wolfless weakling like you with a powerful wolf? Nope. Doesn’t work,” Alex said smugly before walking away, whistling.

Raine knew he was here to taunt her, as always.

She ignored him, though her eyes occasionally stole glances at the two. Her nails struck together nervously.

His words slowly got to her as she watched the two train, Raphael was far stronger and his moves were swift and smooth while on the other hand Alice wasn't bad for a new fighter.

She noticed how Alice leaned closer to Raphael, how she bared her neck seductively, and feigned dizziness to earn his care and attention.

Raine’s chest tightened, her heart crushed. She wanted to march straight to Alice and drag her away by the hair, far away from Raphael and maybe slap some common sense into her.

But she couldn’t. She could only swallow her anger and jealousy, which burned inside her, because she knew she wouldn’t win, and bedsides everyone would blame her.

It would be her bullying her kind sister.

This time, she would be roasted by her parents.