Chapter 195

Lila’s POV “You should have seen her, Brody! It was incredible!!” Rachel cooed as we sat in the dining hall.

Brody listened to Rachel talk about how I stopped a fight between the two she-wolves. I kept getting the sense that everybody was staring at me the entire time we were eating though and it made me uncomfortable.

Today’s meal was spaghetti and meatballs, but I wasn’t super hungry anymore. I stared down at my untouched plate.

“I don’t doubt it,” Brody said to Rachel as he glanced in my direction. “Lila has always been badass.”

I smiled at him, appreciating the compliment.

“I just can’t believe they backed down so easily,” Becca chimed in through her mouthful of food.

I didn’t say it out loud, but I knew the reason why they backed down so easily. It had nothing to do with my words and everything to do with my Volana abilities. I hadn’t meant to use it on them, but when my emotions are high, I can’t always control my abilities.

I knew they were in my trance from the looks on their faces when they looked into my eyes. I was suddenly feeling incredibly tired and I had trouble focusing on the rest of their conversation.

“I’m going back to the room,” I announced.

“You hardly ate,” Brody said, furrowing his brows together. “You should finish your food first.”

“I’ll take it to go,” I said, giving him a kind smile.

“At least let me walk you back to your dorm,” he said. “We haven’t really had a chance to talk privately since you returned from vacation. I missed you.”

His boyish and lopsided grin made it hard for me to resist him. I nodded in return.

“Sure,” I responded.

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We waved goodbye and went on our way.

I noticed it during my welcome home party, but Brody appeared to be so much different. He had more muscles and maybe even taller. He allowed his facial hair to grow, but he kept it neatly trimmed and manageable. His dark hair was also growing much longer than it was last year.

He also had a different energy. He always appeared to be strong-minded and intelligent, but it was even more so now.

I knew his 18(th) birthday was over the summer and that he had gotten his wolf. So, that probably had something to do with it. It was strange to think that Brody didn’t have a wolf last year, but he still seemed so brave and sure of himself. I wouldn’t have known he didn’t have a wolf unless he told me.

“So, your trip was good?” He asked once we were away from everyone else.

“It was,” I said, peering up at him. “How was your summer? I’m sorry I missed your birthday. But we should go for a run sometime.”

“It was good; had a kickass party,” Brody said, running his fingers through his hair. “Don’t be sorry though. I get that you had a job to do.”

“I’m sorry, “ I said, frowning. “I was just so busy, I barely had time for myself.”

“Thank you for understanding,” I said kindly, giving him my best smile.

“Actually...I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something...”

My heart nearly stopped beating when I looked up at his very serious expression.

“What is it?” I asked.

Brody slowed down his steps and I could see the mixture of emotions on his face. I could see he was confused and hurt, maybe even a little mad. I wasn’t sure where this flow of emotions came from, but it left me feeling unsettled.

He opened his mouth to speak, but we were interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Lila, may we have a word?” Professor Xander asked, blocking the path with his large body.

I met his eyes and I wanted to tell him no but didn’t want him to think of me as a quivering pup. I knew Xander was up to something. He had everybody’s mind wiped out in the class; there’s no way there wasn’t an alternate motive behind this.

I was determined to find out what he wanted and who he was working for.

I said goodbye to Brody and went with Xander toward the nearby benches.

“I wanted to clear the air after our talk this morning. I know it seemed like I wasn’t genuine, but I was,”

he began as he sat down on the bench.

I stayed on my feet until he motioned for me to sit with him. I looked at him for a moment, hesitant, but the firmness in his eyes sent a chill down my spine and I sat down right away.

“Breaking your arm wasn’t intentional,” he said, shaking his head. “But it also allowed me to see your weakness and where you lack restraint. You are a Volana, so you should be stronger than the others, even without the use of your wolf.”

I knew this, but he had me pinned in impossible positions, making it hard for me to move or fight back.

“I’ve heard about your combat skills and I wanted to test you to the max. I can see how I took things a little too far. However, I see great potential in you. I’d like to work with you. I think with some proper training, with someone who isn’t afraid to hold back when it counts, will do you some good.”

“Proper training?” I asked, wanting to laugh out loud. My father had trained me my entire life in combat; I was already skilled.

I didn’t say that out loud, but from the look on his face, I knew that he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“Your true potential has been locked away,” he said, peering down at me. “I want to unlock it.”

“So, you want to do private lessons?” I asked, still stunned by the suggestion.

The last thing I wanted was to be alone with him, especially during combat. If Becca hadn’t stopped him after he broke my arm, who knows what else he would have broken. The thought left me feeling uneasy, so I quickly brushed it from my mind.

Then again, maybe spending a little extra time with him wouldn’t be so bad. It might be easier to figure out what exactly he wants from me. Not to mention I could find proof that he got Sarah to erase and alter memories.

“I was thinking every Monday and Wednesday,” he went on to say. “At 6 pm. That should give you enough time to eat dinner and get to the arena.”

After a beat of silence, I finally nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” I said, meeting his eyes. “Private training sessions it is.”

...

Enzo’s POV Lila didn’t have to tell me something was wrong for me to know that something was wrong. I could hear it in her voice and even though I wasn’t in the radar of her to feel her emotions, I felt a tugging at my heart.

It was taking everything I had not to go down to that school and scoop Lila into my arms. Whatever problem she was facing, I wanted to face it with her.

I was in the car when I spoke to her, heading into the pack hospital to see my mother. She was doing much better than she was these last few weeks and she was being released this evening. I’m escorting her back to her territory, as much as I wish she would decide to stay with me in my pack. But I knew she wanted to get back to her kind.

“You didn’t have to come all this way to bring me home,” she said with a faint smile as soon as I arrived at her room.

She was packing her things in a small suitcase.

I’m not allowing you to go alone,” I said firmly. “That’s where I put my foot down.”

She gave me another faint smile and then zipped her suitcase.

“And how is our Lila?” She asked, changing the subject and emphasizing “our.”

“She’s good. She’s at school. But I’ll have her back this weekend,” I answered.

“Will you be bringing her by to see me anytime soon?”

I raised my brows.

“To the rogue territory?” I asked.

“My village,” my mother answered. “I’m sure she’d like to meet the others, and they’d probably like to meet her as well. They have heard many great things about Bastien and Selene.”

“I can bring her by,” I agreed.

She’s right; Lila would like that.

“Good,” she said softly. “I wanted to give you something.”

She reached inside of her bag and pulled out what looked like a light purple handkerchief. I frowned as she handed it to me.

“Open it carefully,” she instructed.

I unwrapped the handkerchief slowly, uncovering a beautiful silver band with an extremely rare pink diamond and smaller regular diamonds on both sides.

“It was mine from a long time ago. Blaise was a lot of awful things... but he had great taste in jewelry. I kept it as a memory. A memory of a time when I was happy. A time when you were born and how much love I felt and still feel. That ring doesn’t hold bad memories to me and it was something I cherished dear to my heart.”

“It’s beautiful,” I breathed. “But why are you giving this to me?”

A smile twinkled in her eyes.

“Because I want you to give it to Lila on the day you decide to propose to her.”