Polly and her parents were puzzled by his absence. She felt a little worried. Where was he and what could he be doing? Her father didn’t hear any news about him. In the afternoon, her mother reluctantly left her to replenish their supplies. She became nervous, then, hoping he won’t show up when she’s alone in the house. She was relieved when her mother returned without incident. During dinner, they merely mentioned him in passing.
The next day, he still didn’t show up. Jared thought a third day would most likely be necessary. He’s getting better at it. He smirked, thinking he could actually stay away from her this long. It’s an achievement on its own. Clyde visited him that night, hearing from his men that he hasn’t left the house.
“What were you doing?”
“Nothing. Just learning how to control my urges.” He was nonchalant about it, making the alpha frown.
“Alright. After the trouble yo
“What’s your name?” Jared directly asked. When he did, Polly’s eyes widened as she faced him again. It was becoming clearer to him.“Ren.”“I’m Leo. That one’s Gareth.”“Well, then. When do you want to begin?”“Are you serious?” She really wanted to put a stop to this. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw how he was looking at Ren. Shit. Did he notice something? He’s almost ignoring the other two and was only focusing on Ren.“We can probably have a go now, right?” Leo suggested.“Don’t.” She bravely approached Jared, grabbing his arm, and pulling him away.“Didn’t you say you want to talk to me? Let’s go. Let’s talk.” She sounded a little frantic, which he definitely noticed.“Hey!” Leo didn’t like how the opportunity was snatched from them.Ren squinted
“Look. Our break’s almost over. I have to go back.”He squinted at her without saying anything. She pursed her lips and began to stand.“I’ll be watching.” He declared and walked with her.“You don’t have to.” She would be conscious of his presence and might mess up.“I don’t have anything to do. Might as well volunteer to be included in your training program.”She doesn’t know what to say to that.Sab won’t show up until after lunch, so they continued with their exercises. Polly tried to ignore him but his presence is just . . . kind of overbearing. Hana showed her a grimace, which she returned.“I mean, I really want to challenge him. It would be good practice.” Leo repeated after a while, slowly exasperating her.Ren’s not sure if the guy would just treat it as practice, though. It would be bad if he goes all out.Gar
Jared didn’t want the training to be too long. After half an hour, he began commenting on their skills and tactics. Of course, he was smug about it and the tone he used was mocking them. Even Ren was slightly provoked and tried to do better.Polly didn’t want to hear him talking at first, as his voice is irritating. But after considering his words, they were quite useful. Even Hana was impressed.“Huh, he’s spot on.”Polly grimaced, not wanting to openly agree. Well, he did say he trained his men. He must have enough experience in that regard. Right, their Alpha is technically the same. It’s probably a skill they have to possess.After about fifteen minutes of coaching them, he was done. He purposely attacked them to cause some minor injuries. It was supposed to render them unable to attack. They would need more than a few minutes to recover, thus giving him the time to escape. So to speak.But that wasn’t
“Where do you eat lunch?”His sudden question jolted her and she looked like a scared rabbit. Jared pursed his lips. Alright, let’s not scare her.He didn’t step closer to her and instead took a step back. “Do you eat at the pack house?”“Oh, no. I brought lunch. My mom packs my meal.” Polly saw his unimpressed look and realized he might think she’s acting like a child needing her parent’s support. Well, that’s not entirely wrong.“Then, I’ll eat with my teammates.” She really couldn’t bring herself to be alone with him, but just as she was about to walk away, he grabbed her wrist.“Eat with me.” He demanded and she doesn’t know how to reject it. She did think that he doesn’t take rejections lightly.Still, she doesn’t want to go with him. For whatever reason, she suddenly felt fearless. She shook her head and tilted her ch
“He must be tired by now.” Ren noted from behind her.“Well, his stamina is definitely good. Look at him, still able to spar like that.” Leo added.Hana rolled her eyes at them, “I don’t see him smirking anymore. It makes me feel good and bad at the same time.”As she heard that, Polly took another look at him. Yeah, the smirk’s definitely gone from his face. Her eyes widened when she saw him glancing over and that annoying smirk actually reappeared.Jared was just waiting for her to finish. He was simply conserving his energy, not fighting to his full extent. Now that she’s done, he planned to accompany her home. Seeing she’s about to leave, he made a huge effort to quickly defeat his opponents. They were all shocked by his sudden change and was unable to counter his moves. His smirk became a total eyesore.“You’re welcome to try again tomorrow. I’m done for today.&rdquo
That night, Polly began to imagine what her life would be like when she goes to Blood Moon. Would she have friends? How would people there treat her? What will she be expected to do? Jared’s been here for a week already and they haven’t discussed such things. Her father’s right. He spent an awful amount of time fighting others than introducing his pack to her. He’s an unhelpful jerk. She wondered if anything would change now that her father called him out.Jared was feeling more annoyed than usual. The more time they spend here, who knows what his father would have done to the pack by the time he returns? The old man already said that he would take the reins back. His own plans would be ruined. What is he to do? He refuses to act weak and gullible. He won’t change his ways just because they asked him to, not even for his mate.He smirked, staring at the ceiling before getting up. He’s feeling angry and restless. He hoped there are st
“Are you going to proceed with training or are we going to keep talking? It’s not as if I intentionally fought with other people. You were busy and I had nothing to do, that was the situation. If you go for training, what am I to do? Won’t this convince your father that I don’t deserve that extension?” He complained while explaining and Polly actually saw sense in it. She felt a little guilty, which was weird.“When we leave, you would no longer be part of this pack. You should focus on your transition, not on this training. If you want to continue this in Blood Moon, I can personally train you.”She stopped walking before heading to a bench. He followed.“Fine. We can talk here.” She scanned their surroundings and saw enough people have already started their routines nearby. Ah, yes. She should inform her teammates.From afar, Hana saw them and raised an eyebrow. Polly raised a hand and waved at her.
He mentioned some important names and Polly almost regretted it. She barely remembered a handful. His father’s name is Wade and his younger brother is called James. Jared has plenty to say about his father but didn’t say much about his brother. There were elders. He informed her what they’re usually on about, the things that matter to them, which don’t usually align with his.She would admit she wasn’t expecting this exchange. They actually covered a lot in just a few hours. She’s glad and it eased some of her worries. From their conversation, she got a vague idea of what he’s like as a person and the things he considers as significant. He’s all about strength and power. To her, it seemed to be imbalanced. He neglects other aspects of the pack in favor of a few. Training, security and protection. It’s as if he barely remembers to cover the basic needs.“Can I say something?”Jared stared at her, &
The alpha king audibly sighed in exasperation. These kids! Why don’t they listen?Thankfully, Jordan didn’t react negatively. In a way, he felt relieved that he could tolerate her proximity now. He managed a smile, which she promptly returned. He looked more handsome when he smiles!When the guy Alex called showed up, Jordan tensed up again.“Just stay there for now. We’re doing an experiment.” Alex instructed.“Alright.”“You’re not looking at him.” Alex noted, wondering why the boy would display aggression.Jordan grunted, “I could very well imagine him looking this way. At her.”Alex sighed. So, the potion worked for his possessive tendencies, but not for aggression.Through the mind-link, Alex asked the other boy to move closer. Jordan growled in warning and Alex told the boy to go, thanking him for his participation.“Were you like this yesterday? It’s a wonder you haven’t brawled with anyone yet.”“The training helped in distracting me. Right now, there’s nothing to distract me.”
She sheepishly told her parents what happened and she didn’t like the look her father was giving her.“He already told you that he’s having difficulty controlling himself and you still went to corner him? What were you thinking?”She pouted as she explained, “I just wanted to see for myself what exactly he’s going through.”Alex sighed. “What would you have done if he lost control? You should be thankful he managed to stop.”“Why is it my fault? It’s his responsibility to control himself.”“But you went to him, triggering the bond further. In that sense, it was your fault.”“Still, nothing really happened. I’m fine. Why is it that he’s strongly affected by the bond? The others I’ve seen weren’t.”This time, it was her mom who replied. “It’s different for everyone. You should be glad you’re not as affected as he was.”Xandra took a deep breath. “Fine. I understand.” She’d seen it for herself, so what else can she say? She also became curious. Why is it that he’s feeling more compared t
Xandra sat on her bed. She took a deep breath before closing her eyes and doing her best to locate him within the castle. She can’t mess up and link to a random person. She’d done that before and it was mortifying.She pictured his face in her mind and called for his name. Jordan. She called him three times before receiving a reply.He frowned when he heard someone calling him, but he’s currently alone in his room. He thought maybe someone was calling from outside the door. Also, it was a girl’s voice. What’s a girl doing in the men’s dormitory?“Who is it?” Frowning, he got up and went to open the door. He saw a couple of guys further down the hallway but that was it.As he closed the door, he heard her voice again.“It’s me, Xandra. You know who I am, don’t you?”“Xandra?” He gulped, unsure if he’s hallucinating or not. They’re not mated, so how can they have a link?“Hmm, you know who I am, right?” She badly wanted his answer to that.“The younger princess.”“And?”Jordan took a de
A few years later, in the middle of the night . . .Xandra gasped as she woke up, her surroundings still shrouded in darkness. What is it? She asked in her head. She sniffed as she caught a faint scent in the air. It was faint but something she immediately recognized. Her mate! He’s here!She grinned as she hurried from her bed and went to her older sister’s room.“Kaia!” She shouted with much excitement.The older woman bolted from her bed and even managed to take out the knife she kept strapped on her thigh. Her expression was one of confusion, even so, she was ready to fight. “What?”“Do you still sleep with that thing? You’re inside the palace.”Kaia frowned, looked outside the window, and stepped off the bed. “What did you yell for?! The sun’s not even out yet!”Xandra jumped up and down in front of her. “My mate! He’s here!”“What?”“I can sense him! I think he just arrived!”Kaia grimaced. “Why are you excited? He might not even be someone you’ll like. Calm down!”Yeah, that se
The thing is . . . the guy she likes is a year younger than her. She was nervous when her eighteenth birthday came, hoping she won’t feel a mate bond towards someone else. She was both relieved and disappointed when she felt nothing, though. If he was her mate, they’ll only know when he turns eighteen. And so, they continued their training.As his birthday loomed, she couldn’t help the trepidation she’s feeling. Still, they remained close and for his part, he was somewhat excited. He already told her when his exact birthday was, as if it was important that she needed to know.“What’s this about?” Janelle accepted his invitation to hang out. The Royal Pack has a dormitory for all visiting trainees, but this guy was a nephew of the reigning royals. He has a room of his own, which was twice as big as a regular room in Red Rogues.“Your room is nice.” She commented after looking around.Austin cleared his throat. “Tomorrow’s my birthday. I’m wondering if you would care to celebrate it wit
“You fucked up.”Polly stated from behind Jared as they watched their son walking away.He sighed before facing her. “What do you think I should’ve done?”“You could’ve told him much earlier.”“It’s not as if it was a secret. Everyone knew we meant for Janelle to take over as alpha.”“He’s still young. He might have heard but he might not have taken it seriously. Still, you haven’t properly discussed this with Janelle either, have you?”“I’m waiting until she’s of age.”“Shouldn’t you do it sooner? What if she declines? You would’ve made your son upset for no reason.”Jared grunted before sighing. “Would she?”“From my observation, I don’t think she’s quite interested.”He sighed again as Polly stood next to him.“He’s as mature as his sister. And I think she understands that as they grow older, she’ll be physically weaker than him.”His lip twitched. It’s true that he initially planned it that way because he wanted to be unconventional. He wanted to show that he doesn’t care if his h
Jared was worried. He left his mate and their daughter home. Polly was sick and couldn’t come with him to the celebration. The Alpha King and Luna Queen will be officially recognized. He was reluctant to go but she convinced him that he must.“You’re an alpha now. Your presence is required.”When he didn’t look convinced, she added, “We’ll be fine here. Nothing would happen. Alex already confirmed that there are no more Lycans. No one would attack us while you’re gone. Besides, don’t you remember Luna’s words? We’ll have a son soon.”Her eyes twinkled, looking forward to having another child. She has waited for so long before they were blessed with one. The prospect of having another made her excited. She wanted to be a mother. She wanted them to have an actual family, complete with children.He sighed as he relented, “Fine. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”“I know. Try to have a little fun, Jared. The war is over. When you return, we’ll be able to focus on our own lives. I’d like to
He sighed, holding her tighter, “I’m not. I’m sorry I made you worried.”“I thought you were upset that I finally got pregnant and that you didn’t really want to have a child.” She finally aired her complaint, wanting to hear his reassurance.He seemed surprise by her assumption, “How could that be? I want this child. I want to give you everything you want, anything that would make you happy.”He bent down and gave her a long kiss, which was exceptional.“I want you to name her.” She implored him after recovering her wits.“Me?”“Yes. Please?”Damn. He’s feeling more pressure from this task than the possibility of becoming an alpha.“Wait. Her? How do you know it’s a girl?” He raised an eyebrow and looked down at her stomach. That’s a pity. He wanted to have a boy, an heir.She grinned at his reaction and knew what he must be thinking. “Luna told me. Didn’t she tell you we’ll have another child after you become an alpha? That one will be a boy so you don’t need to worry about an heir.
“It’s not about the baby. He loves you and he wants the baby as much as you do because he knew it would make you happy. I told him one other thing. Just like you, he probably didn’t believe me at first, but now that you’re pregnant, he must be thinking the other matter will also come to pass. It’s something he has already given up on, so he’s probably having a hard time accepting it again. He’ll come around. Just give him time and continue to support him. You two are made for each other. He needs you.”Polly was relieved to hear it, but she became curious, too. “What else did you tell him?”Luna pursed her lips. “It’s not my matter to say. You should hear it from him. I’m sure he would eventually tell you. Just wait a bit more. Don’t be hurt by his actions. He’s already struggling so just show him your support. You’ve done it before, right?”She gave Polly an encouraging smile and the woman was reminded by her words. Yes, she has done it before. Years ago, she told him to open up to h