جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 30

VANCE'S POVMy wolf was stimulated by the touch of her lips on mine. I could feel my fur slowly sprouting out. I knew if I stayed any longer, I was going to pull her in and have her pinned on the bed. “You can't get too close, Vance. She has to reject you,” I reminded myself. My heart was bleeding, but it was best for us. I spent all morning pacing the room I was assigned. All my father's words echoed in my ears. “If she chooses you, then that's great. She'll be too hurt to fight and that's the plan. If she doesn't…in fact, that's not an option, make her choose you.” I could not live with the fact that I was here to break her. I couldn't come close to her. I had to make her not choose me, that way, she'd be able to fight fairly for her position. My dilemma was as real as the love in my heart and the bond we shared. “What are you doing?” It was as though something hit me, somewhere around sunset. My father had his chance at love. He cherished my mother and even after her death, h

ASHLEY’S POV “I have no memory of the event,” I responded, after minutes of silence. Xavier had a shocked look on, while Vance's face was blank. “What do you mean you have no memory?” Xavier crashed out, “it was only hours ago and we were…” I shook my head to send negative feedback. “I really don't remember anything,” I insisted. “That's a lie! You're covering for him!” Xavier banged the table I was standing right behind. I folded up in fear. “Enough!” My father quickly swooped in, “if she doesn't remember, there's no way to confirm either of the men’s story.” He said, “We're letting you both off with a warning,” another jury member responded. “This is unbelievable!” Xavier stormed out of the courthouse, filled with rage. Vance and I only had eyes on each other. The jury members walked out of the courthouse, one after the other, leaving us both alone. Vance disengaged from the glaring and headed for the exit. “I'm sorry,” I said, stopping him from reaching for the door knob.

ASHLEY'S POV I returned home filled with worry. It was a relief to know that Vance was strong enough to be yelled at. The possibility of him having a scheme no one knew about quickly overtook the concern of his well-being that I had, and that worry spanned over three days of his absence. The sun was shinier than ever, as it was already past lunch time. I stood in my room by the lengthy mirror, enjoying the view of the pack and the floral painting on my walls when I sighted from afar, Vance and his father, walking into the pack. I watched their every step, until they came to the castle door, where they both stopped. From a distance, I couldn't pick out what they were saying, but I watched the conversation and it seemed pretty serious. Vance barely spoke. He kept nodding to everything his father said and Alpha Louis sure had so much to say. It took a while, but Alpha Louis finally left, letting Vance walk into the castle. One would think that I'd find myself running to meet him, aft

ASHLEY'S POV I took the boldest move imaginable. I knocked on the door. Vance stood staring, until Xavier opened, which was almost immediately. “You want to take a walk?” I probed with a faint smile on my face. I didn't see Vance walk into his room, because I was looking at Xavier, but I heard his door slam behind me. “I'd like that very much,” Xavier responded. It was almost like he was waiting for me. He walked out of his room and shut the door calmly behind him. We walked beside each other in the hallway and neither of us said anything to the other. I had no idea what I was supposed to say to him and clearly, he felt the same way. Our conversation didn't matter to me. I was only trying not to make his life difficult, like he had done mine in the past. “I think I know somewhere you'd like to visit,” Xavier broke the silence, right after we walked out of the pack gates. I smiled lightly. He grabbed my hand and turned towards the west, increasing our pace slightly. “Where are w

ALPHA SMICHTT'S POV TWENTY YEARS EARLIER “Today was beautiful!” Louis was filled with excitement. We had just met at the cafeteria door from our various classes and were on our way back to our apartment. “I wouldn't exactly say beautiful,” I responded in a tone, directly opposite from what he had approached me with. I was far from excited. There was nothing to be excited about. “What's wrong?” He asked. His tone was filled with curiosity and concern. I did not respond – I could not. I continued walking, but Louis held my hand and pulled me back, “talk to me. Was it your class?” He probed, “No, it can't be. You are top of the board and no matter how terribly you did in one class, it won't pull you down. So, what is it?” I smiled lightly. ‘Classic Louis,’ I thought. He was always so filled with energy and he looked at me like I had the power to do and undo. He asked questions and responded to them immediately, because he was not patient enough to wait for answers. “You always do