Chapter 164

Lila’s POV Love.

It was such a strong word and something I was reserving for my mate. Enzo was my mate and now that this moment had arrived, I found myself troubled with the thought of whether this was the future I saw myself having.

Enzo wasn’t my ideal choice of a mate in the beginning. He was set in his own ways, and he made it no secret that having a mate was nothing more than a burden to him. It wasn’t the love story I had envisioned, but this past year with him has been something for the books.

He was my first kiss.

He took my virginity.

But could I truly trust him enough to give him my heart?

I mentally accepted the fact that he was going to reject me in a few years after graduation once my wolf was strong enough to handle the rejection.

Was he saying he no longer wanted to reject me?

It was a mind game and I feared that it was a game that I would lose.

Before I could say anything in return, though, Enzo brought his lips to mine. His kiss was sweet and soft;

it wasn’t riddled with hunger and lust like it always is.

It was more like he wanted to take care of me.

His fingertips brushed down the side of my face as he deepened the kiss. When the kiss ended, I found myself with my eyes closed, wishing for more.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that sooner,” he said. “But I can’t leave without you knowing how I feel. How I’ve been feeling.”

His words brought me back to reality and I opened my eyes, peering up at his face.

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He was still planning on leaving.

It hurt knowing he wasn’t going to be at this school, but did that mean it was because he wanted to be with me as my mate?

I wanted to ask him, but I heard footsteps approaching from around the corner and his arms dropped to his sides.

I turned just as my mother came around the corner.

“Oh, there you are,” she breathed. “What are you doing in the hall?”

“I was just talking to—”

I glanced behind me, my voice faltered away when I saw that Enzo was gone.

My heart fell into my stomach.

“No one...” I finished; I couldn’t hide the sadness in my voice. “I was talking to no one...”

“Oh...” my mother said, furrowing her brows together. “Well, I just set out dinner. It’s a buffet.”

“Okay,” I said, straightening my shoulders and trying to appear as normal as possible.

“You’ll have to tell me all that happened on your trip later,” she said with a knowing smile as we continued to walk toward the dining area.

Just as we entered, I heard a loud crashing sound and then what sounded like Corinne screaming.

Everybody was silenced as she screamed in frustration, and I knew she was crying without even looking at her.

“You did this on purpose!!!” She cried. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

I broke away from my mother and pushed through the crowd until I saw Corinne standing in the center of the dining hall with a broken dish scattered around her and food covering her from head to toe.

Tears burned in her eyes.

She wore a cute dress with cherries stitched throughout it, which was now completely stained.

There was also a basketball near her feet, which I’m assuming was the cause of the broken dish.

Flynn stood off to the side with wide eyes and a boy that I knew to be Flynn’s best friend, stood beside him biting onto his bottom lip like he was stifling a laugh.

“What happened?” My father asked before I had the chance to ask anything.

“He threw a ball at me,” Corrine sniffled, wiping her misty eyes on the back of her hand. “He ruined my dress and broke the dish...”

My father glared at Flynn.

“Flynn—”

“It wasn’t me, Dad!” Flynn said quickly, throwing his hands up in defense. “I swear. I’m innocent.”

“No... it was that jerk,” Corinne, muttered, pointing at Flynn’s friend.

“Justin,” my father said, pressing his lips together in a disapproving manner. “This is no way for future Alpha’s to act.”

Justin was known for his mayhem and for as long as Flynn and Justin have been friends, he’s always seeming to get Flynn mixed up in his mess too.

Flynn had known Justin for a few years; they met at school. Justin belongs to a different pack located in Elysium. The neighboring pack, Stonewood.

While the twins are 13 years old, Justin is 16 and I would have thought he would be a little more mature. Lile Flynn, he was training to become an Alpha and he only had a few more years to be ready.

“Okay, sweetheart. Let’s get you cleaned up,” my mom said, draping her arm around Corinne’s shoulder.

“Sorry for the disturbance everybody,” she added to the rest of the crowd.

“Flynn, Justin... come to my office,” my father said, using his stern voice. “Now.”

“But dad—”

“I’m not arguing,” my father interrupted. “My office.”

Flynn lowered his head and went with Justin to my father’s office.

Everybody stood, silently and awkwardly.

“Don’t let this ruin anything,” I said, giving a small laugh. “There’s plenty of food. Please enjoy the meal.”

With that being said, everybody started to mingle once again, and I went to clean up the food.

“I hope Corinne is okay,” Bri said with a timid frown as I grabbed the broom and dustpan from the closet.

“She’ll be fine,” I said, shaking my head. “She’s just mellow dramatic. My parents will take care of it.”

“Don’t know why they allow that jerk in this packhouse. He only causes issues,” she said, folding her arms across her chest.

“Who even is that?” Becca asked, approaching with Brody who was staring off in the direction of my father’s office.

“He’s Flynn’s best friend,” I answered. “The future Alpha of the Stonewood pack.”

“That’s a future Alpha?” Brody asked, raising his brows. “He better shape up before he’s put in charge.”

“He’s been training with both his father and mine,” I explained. “For the sake of his pack, I hope he shapes up.”

Once I finished cleaning the mess, I helped myself to some food and then went to join Bri and Alexander at the table on the far side of the dining room while Brody and Becca fixed their own plates at the buffet table.

“So, tell me... how was the sex between you and Enzo?” Bri blurted out excitedly.

“Brianna!” I scolded, glancing at Alexander who looked unphased, but also curious.

“Oh please, he’s my mate. Of course, he already knows,” Brianna chuckled. “Just tell us! Are you two officially an item now?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” I said, my face reddening. “We always said while we were in Monstro that our relationship couldn’t come back home with us for obvious reasons. But I just found out he quit being a teacher...”

“What?” Bri gasped. “Did he quit because of you?”

“He said he did,” I admitted, blushing. “He said he quit because he can’t stop thinking about me and that he loves me...”

Brianna squealed at my words, causing some others to glance in our direction.

“Did you say it back?”

That question came from Alexander; he was now just as invested as Bri. They truly were perfect for each other.

“I didn’t really have the chance to say anything. We were interrupted by my mom and then he left quickly after.”

“Are you going to say it back?” Bri asked, raising her brows.

That was a loaded question; I wasn’t sure. I knew how Val was feeling, but I had this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach that Enzo wasn’t telling me something. Like he was keeping something from me.

...

Enzo’s POV It felt like a long trip back to my pack, but it felt good to be back.

Beta Ethan was the first to greet me and he had a grim look on his face as I got out of the car.

“They are back for the third time this month,” Ethan told me, taking hold of my bags to bring them inside. “I won’t let them in the packhouse, but they are on the back patio.”

I nodded my head and said nothing as I made my way around the packhouse and toward the patio. The patio overlooked the large chunk of land that held the battlegrounds/arena, the garden, and the pool yard.

There were three large men wearing armor that sat on the patio, waiting for my arrival. I recognized one of them to be my father’s former beta.

“Why are you on my land?” I asked, not wanting to deal with the small talk.

“You know exactly why we are here. We can smell it... the Volana wolf. Your pack reeks of the stench of a Volana. You need to hand it over or your pack will pay the price.”