Chapter 69: Lingering Gazes

Aurora

So, about what happened earlier… Let’s just say it was an awkward dinner, since Eleanor wasted no time laughing about our little situation.

It’s safe to say she wouldn’t be letting go of this for a long time.

I just couldn’t look Wolfgang in the eyes. I was too embarrassed by my behavior.

He, on the other hand, couldn’t take his eyes off me.

He kept looking at me with such an affectionate look that it had me blushing like crazy.

Once we had finished eating dinner and I had done the dishes, Wolfgang told me he’d stay for the night at the leader’s house.

He didn’t want me to feel he was taking advantage of my heat and it’d be better for us both to avoid each other for the time being.

I honestly didn’t want him to go, but with Eleanor snooping around, I didn’t want to risk creating more topics for her to laugh about my love life, so I just nodded my head.

I guess the disappointment was written all over my face because the next thing I knew was Wolfgang gently cupping my chin with his hand and lifting my head up to meet his gaze.

“There’s nothing I’d love more than being with you, but I don’t want you to do anything you’re not willing to. Not anymore,” he said as he gave me a soft, lingering kiss on my forehead.

“Good night,” he said before walking out the door and I once more felt that ache from before.

But this wasn’t an ache of heartbreak. It was more like one of a heart filled with love.

I loved this man.

I loved my mate and even though he was an awful person at first, he had melted away my frozen heart and made his way into it once more.

I was still standing at the door, watching Wolfgang’s figure disappear into the night like a lovesick pup, when Eleanor brought me out of my reverie.

“I see you guys have made a lot of advances,” she said as she stood in the passageway, leaning on the door frame to the kitchen with her arms crossed. A smug look on her face.

I only rolled my eyes at her as I closed the door and made my way back into the house. I wasn’t willing to hear her taunt me about my relationship with Wolfgang.

“Don’t let the heat cloud your mind and you end up doing something you don’t want to do.”

Her words had me stop midway up the stairs.

“Excuse me?” I turned and asked her. What did she mean by that?

“He used you and broke your heart once. Are you sure he won’t do it once more?” she said as she stood at the foot of the stairs, her hands on her hips.

“Wolfgang and I have already talked about this. We’ve gotten over it and moved on,” I assured her as I stood my ground and looked her straight in the eye.

“Are you sure about that? He’s the great Alpha Wolfgang. Repent isn’t in his vocabulary, remember?”

“There is a reason they fear him so much. Think about it.”

She ended her speech before walking away, leaving me with a puddled mess in my brain.

~“Don’t mind her, Rory. Wolfgang has changed.”~

Rhea tried to coerce me, but my poor brain was already thinking, or actually remembering all those grim moments where I was belittled by my mate throughout those agonizing months when he forced me to become his personal maid.

I walked up the few remaining flights up the stairs and went into my room, throwing myself over the comforter of my bed.

“What if he hasn’t, Rhea?” I asked my wolf as insecurities took over me again.

It’d been so long since I felt this weak. Why would Eleanor choose a moment like this to say something like that? She was the one who kept saying I had to silence my thoughts, but here she went causing havoc in my brain.

Needless to say, I had one of the shittiest nights in the last few weeks.

The next morning when my alarm went off, I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling of my room.

I had zero shut-eye because of the turmoil I had in my head, not to mention this burning sensation within me because of the heat.

You were probably saying ~‘shouldn’t she be rolling around in pain and agony because of it?’~

Fortunately not, because I had been marked by Wolfgang on my first heat. I only experienced some of it because I hadn’t marked him, leaving the bond incomplete.

Now, this was not so much of a trouble.

Yeah, I still had to coop myself up at home in order to not attract any unmated male wolves, but that’s not a problem.

My whole dilemma today was facing Wolfgang.

He did say he’d keep far away while this phase passed, but I didn’t want him to. I wanted him—that I was pretty sure of—but what Eleanor said last night had me in a fit of doubt.

All night long I had questioned myself the same thing over and over: ~What if he truly hasn’t changed?~

~“He has Aurora. Don’t pay heed to what that old hag has to say. She knows nothing about true love and mate bond.”~

Rhea still kept trying to make me feel better as she battled my doubts. These were her words over and over all night long.

I was still curled up under my comforter when a light knock came from the other side of the door.

“Hey, kid. Are you up?”

It was the witch who had caused my mind to rattle up. I decided not to answer her and play as if I were still asleep, but the next thing I knew, the door lock clicked, signaling it had been unlocked.

The comforter I had over me flew aside to the floor.

“I know you’re awake, Aurora. Get up,” Eleanor commanded as she stood at the side of my bed, her hands over her hips.

Something I noticed she did a lot when she meant business.

“C’mon, Eleanor! Let me off the hook for today. I’m not feeling okay.” I groaned as I covered my head with my pillow.

“Oh yeah? And what is it you’re feeling? Cramps? Headache? Do you have a fever?” she questioned.

“The heat pain is killing me. Plus, I can’t go out because it’ll drive all those male wolves nuts.” I tried to argue, but she still looked at me unfazed.

“That’s it? No problem,” she said and waved her hands over me. “There, I’ve masked your scent so no wolf can smell your heat. Now come on!” she commanded once more.

“Seriously? Just like that you masked my scent?” I asked as I sat up and whiffed my arm to check—I don’t know what—because I’d never been able to tell what my heat smelled like. Still, it was worth a try.

“Yeah. You’ll be safe for the next four hours, enough time to go train before lunchtime.

“Come on. Get ready and have your breakfast quickly so we can go train. We still have a lot to do,” she said before walking out of my room.

I looked at my hands again and tried sniffing myself once more when I heard her shout from downstairs.

“GET UP, AURORA!”

Jeez… she sure was in a sour mood. And the one who had no sleep last night was me, all thanks to her.

Once I had taken a quick shower and had breakfast, we went over to the leader’s house to start our training. I was anxious about seeing Wolfgang.

Mostly because of how I was the one who initiated the kiss last night, but also because of my grim thoughts.

True to Eleanor’s words, no male wolf seemed to have noticed I was in heat as we walked past them.

When we walked out to the training grounds, I saw that the men were already there training, but under the supervision of Max along with Emma. Wolfgang was nowhere to be seen.

It looked like he actually meant what he said about avoiding me for the time being while my heat passed. Still, I felt bummed out.

Today, Eleanor had me work on controlling the wind by directing the breeze around us, but I just couldn’t focus at all. My mind kept thinking about Wolfgang and his whereabouts and going back to what she had said the night before.

It was almost noon and I hadn’t yet seen my mate anywhere.

“Focus, Aurora. You said you would do a bit better today, given that alpha mutt hasn’t shown his face around here, but no. You stay locked in your mind.

“You have to cease thinking and start feeling!” she shouted, making an irk mark form on my temple.

Seriously! I wouldn’t even be this unfocused if it weren’t for her words last night.

“Say… where is that mangy mutt, by the way? It’s almost noon and we haven’t had the pleasure of having his gracefully mangy ass around here,” she asked Max.

“He had a meeting to attend to with the female alpha from the neighboring pack.”

He answered nonchalantly as he kept supervising the trainees, not realizing that this last bit had piqued me and my wolf ears, earning our full attention.

“Female alpha, huh? Isn’t she the one that every other pack has been dying to have a contract bond with? The really stunning one?”

Eleanor kept on asking as I did my best to continue my training, but my ears were full-on attending the conversation, waiting to listen to Max’s answer.

Now, besides having mate bonds, those wolves who had yet to find their mate can simply seek out a contract bond with neighboring packs. Usually, they’d look for strong packs to join theirs and make them even more powerful.

~“I know how Wolfgang is always keen on making the pack stronger, but I don’t think he’s looking for that type of alliances, Rory.”~ Rhea tried to ease me.

She’s right.

Why would he be so eager to have me as his mate now and then go on to make a contract bond with the female alpha who everyone seemed to be head over heels for? I mean, she couldn’t be that pretty… right?

~“Right.”~ Rhea agreed with me as we continued to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“Yeah. She’s smoking hot!” Max said to Eleanor right before receiving a head-bursting smack from Emma. ~Good one Ems~.

“I mean… that’s what I’d think if I wasn’t already mated to the hottest chick of all. Babe? Babe! C’mon, it was just a joke!” He tried to correct himself, but it was too late.

My best friend was already storming off pissed off at his previous comment.

“You’re all dismissed for the rest of the day. Just don’t tell Wolfgang that I left you guys early! Em! Wait up, babe!” he shouted as he ran after his mate, who had already left the training ground.

I tried my best to play it cool and continue my training as everyone left the ground, but I could tell they all thought the same thing.

~Why was Wolfgang suddenly meeting with the most eligible alpha female in the continent?~

My curiosity was slowly turning into anger as all sorts of thoughts ran through my mind.

It wasn’t helping that Rhea was a total mess of jealousy and toxicity as she kept swearing and bugging me to run straight to his office and maul the bitch up. Still, I got to keep her in check…

That was until Eleanor said something to tip the already filled glass my mind and my heart were.

“I bet you anything that he’s up there banging her on his desk.”

That was it… My mind went blind when rage took over me and the next thing I knew was that I was standing in the middle of what was the training ground, but the scenery was completely different from what it was few seconds ago.

The place looked like a hurricane had passed over it and I hadn’t even noticed. Trees were torn off from their roots and lay on the ground with leaves scattered all around.

The windows from the mansion had burst as if some massive explosion had hit somewhere near and the few people who were still around the training ground were a few miles away groaning as they tried to get off the ground.

The only one who stood before me was Eleanor, who seemed to have secured herself in some type of magical bubble with the few wolves who were standing close to her within it, shock etched all over their faces.

~“Rhea, did I just do that?”~ I asked my wolf as I looked down at my hands.

~“I’m afraid so, Rory,”~ she said to me as I realized that the grass under my feet had opened up like a huge ripple.

“What happened out here!”

Wolfgang’s raging voice echoed all over the yard as he and a breathtaking woman came out the back door and found the scenery before them, Remus and Aspen hot on their heels with other wolves.

She was tall with a slim but fit body. Her skin was dark. Her eyes were honey-golden and her brown locks were wavy, perfectly framing her round face.

She looked like a Nubian goddess and my self-esteem had suddenly plummeted to the ground. Everything about her screamed perfection.

I withdrew my sight from her to Wolfgang and his eyes met mine and his raging face morphed into one of concern. Which seemed fair. In fact, I saw fear written in the faces of everyone around me.

He quickly masked his fear and returned to his usual stoic face. He turned it away from me.

“Remus! Get all the injured to the infirmary ward! Now!” he ordered his gamma as everyone rushed to help all the wolves who were still groaning around me in pain.

“Aurora…” Eleanor was the first to speak to me and once more I had everyone’s attention on me. I hated it.

“Lady Aurora… how’d…?” Remus spoke, but I couldn’t take the stares any longer.

I couldn’t bear seeing everyone in pain, so I panicked and ran. I shifted into my wolf and ran away deep into the woods.

“Aurora!”

I could hear Wolfgang shouting after me, but I paid no mind and kept running.