Chapter 156: Chapter 156

156 Chapter One Hundred Fifty Six

Lina ran up to the Mighty Warrior, “Frank, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just haven’t received a beating of that level in quite some time. It’s like I was fighting a brick wall,” the man groaned, turning his hands to reveal the wounds that had formed on his knuckles. Something about the man’s hands looked wrong, but Lina couldn’t quite put her finger on it, “He feels next to nothing. I don’t know if it happens when he’s angry or if he’s always like that.”

“I’m sorry for his...” the man raised his hand to silence the girl.

“You don’t need to apologise. I should have handled that situation more professionally. I might have gotten ahead of myself when I underestimated him,” he admitted.

“That’s very high praise coming from you,” Lina replied, helping the man up.

“Yeah, I haven’t had a fight like that in years. Maybe against my fellow peers,” he replied only to go completely still at the sight of Cole. The wolf was still staring at him. His eyes didn’t leave him, but he didn’t attack with Katie in front of him. After hugging the girl tight, his eyes closed and he seemed to relax with her around.

Ashley was glad he was calming down. She knew he was not yet aware of the change in his mate just yet. He needed to calm down first before she could reveal that Katie was still unconscious. The girl had used too much energy that she hadn’t been able to stay awake and waking her seemed to be a problem even for the wolf.

“Cole, are you okay, now?” Jason asked him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Cole replied, before lifting his mate up and starting the walk back to the palace

.....

“Alpha Cole, wait,” Frank called back to him. Cole merely stopped walking and stayed quiet. Taking this as a sign that he should speak, he continued, “Don’t stop her from continuing her training with me.”

Cole was quiet for a moment before he answered him, “I’ll think about it.” With that said, the wolf was gone through the forest. His top priority was his mate and there was nothing else he was focused on.

“It won’t always be like this you know,” Ashley tried. It was only then that Cole noticed the girl’s half shift. The half shift was usually possible when both entities were present, but why couldn’t he feel his mate’s human side. Her defiant nature was gone from her and she leaned more into him without any of her adorable resistance. She didn’t offer any of her witty remarks. He remembered the wolf he’d seen within her when she was in her comma.

“So we meet again. I didn’t get your name the last time,” he said to the wolf, placing her down when they’d put some distance between them and the others. He shifted into his massive black wolf and allowed the girl onto his back before dashing forward, the destination set.

“My name is Ashley,” she replied.

“Is your name a coincidence?” he asked.

“No, it’s not. The moon goddess chose me because I would be the wolf Katie would accept without any resistance. She doesn’t know the details because I was never meant to tell them to her. It would mess with her relationship with Caden seeing as he was attached to my former life,” she explained.

“And you remember your former life?” Cole asked.

“No, I don’t. I only know what the moon goddess told me before I was sent on her birthday. The same day when all wolves mature,” she explained, “The rest is what Katie knew about the girl and what Caden told us that day in the hospital.”

“Oh, I see. So you’re the reason she has much clearer emotions now,” the wolf chuckled, “How is she?”

“She’s unconscious. She’ll be okay as long as she gets some rest,” Ashley replied. Cole was glad she was fine, but wasn’t sure what he was supposed to think about the man that had put her in that state. The thunderclap this time was even louder than the one she’d released when she was saving Anthony’s wife. It was no doubt the man was going to teach her to make that kind of thing normal and Cole didn’t know what to think of it.

Sandra’s words came back to her. Katie was bound to train harder now that she knew she wasn’t strong enough to defeat the Rogue King. It wasn’t a life he wanted to watch her drown into. What would happen after the Rogue King was defeated? Would she continue training? She wouldn’t know what to do then. Cole wanted to see her capable of letting go and having fun like the time they’d gone out to the city.

“Protect her, Ashley. She’s got more recklessness than I’ve ever thought possible,” Cole beseeched the wolf. His emotions went through the bond they shared and ensnared the girl’s wolf, seizing the embers of defiance that shone within her.

“I’ll do what I can...”

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Sandra held Jason back when he tried to follow the couple, “Let them go. They need time alone.”

“Aren’t you...”

“Worried about my best friend...? Yes, yes I am, but Cole knows the best for her right now. I had the chance to witness that when she was paralyzed. He did everything to make her forget her shortcomings. To forget her failure. There is nothing that wolf won’t do for her,” she replied, “And neither of us can top that right now.”

“Frank, you need to see a doctor. Your injuries,” Lina tried to convince the pink-clad man. Frank Silver was starting to feel all the effects of the hits he’d taken during his scuffle with the royal and was even staggering when he tried to walk.

“I’m fine. I can’t be that injured by a werewolf. Only the head of the Chase family can inflict... Ouch, that hurts,” the man winced in a high pitched voice when Lina touched one of the few bad bruises on his face. She got a towel from within her sweatshirt and gave him to wipe himself.

Finally conceding, Frank sighed, “Damn it... What’s that alpha made of?”

“It’s one of the perks of being a Chosen of the Moon goddess. He adapted to many things and that’s how he ended up like that. Indestructible... The only people that give him trouble are his father’s beta alphas. Other than them, I’ve never seen a wolf best him in a fight,” Jason replied.

“I have heard of the power of beta alphas, but if they are anything like him, then I don’t want to have to fight any. I hope these don’t leave scars,” the man winced. They started the walk back to the palace.

“Oh, don’t worry. You will be just fine if you don’t irritate them too much,” Lina replied, scanning him once more to make sure he wasn’t worse than she’d assessed.

“Did Katie really learn how to reach the Thunderclap’s speed?” Sandra’s voice filled the air. Everyone went quiet for a moment. Jason knew what she was like when she watched her mentor reach even new heights. It pained him every time to watch her feel inadequate. He had tried to explain that she wasn’t supposed to be comparing herself with Katie and for a moment she seemed past it. After what had happened that day, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Yeah, she did. I didn’t think she would do it at first, but that was before I knew how good she was at pushing herself past her limit. It’s like she doesn’t feel the pain of having to push past your limit. The effort that it takes to stress your body past its breaking point. She breaks past it like it’s nothing and shoots up with untethered. She was exhausted when I asked her to do it,” the man explained.

Shivers ran through Sandra when she imagined what her mentor was like. She’d watched her growing up and this shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did. It was simply impossible to get used to watching Katie push past her limits, “An even bigger gap...”

“One that you will close with time,” Jason pulled her into a side hug, “Until then, lean on your friends. You know we are always here for you and so is Katie.”

“I know,” Sandra replied, leaning into the man’s warmth. The cold evening wind had begun to blow through the forest. It was getting dark and the stars were already out, spreading out over the navy blue canvas, twinkling with a mesmerizing brilliance.

“Are you two a couple?” Lina asked at the same time as Frank.

“No...” “Yes...” Sandra and Jason replied at the same time.

“Come on, Jason. How long are you going to insist on us being a couple?” the junior hunter groaned.

“Until the moon goddess herself tells me to back off,” the man boasted. Sandra rolled her eyes at his confidence.

“You’re impossible,” she sighed. However much she tried to swat his claims over her, he was relentless. There was nothing she could say to sway his decision on the matter. Secretly though, she wished she was the one for him. He was loving and cared for her. She’d seen the king and queen. She’d seen Cole and Katie. And she was starting to get envious. ‘Does taking advantage of his kindness make me a bad person?’ she would ask herself.

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