CHAPTER 26: CHAPTER 26: LOVE QUARREL

The free wolves of the Dingle Valley accept us with open arms. They let us borrow one of their spare residential houses and even offer us jobs so we can earn for the time being, until we’re ready to face our reality again.

Their healers treat our wounds, and their cooks prepare our meals too.

Afterwards, one of their elders and also their leader - Magdalene, sits with us. It’s her right to know why we need their help, so we tell her everything we went through.

She listens quietly, never questioning nor promising anything.

"Thank you for having us here. I promise we’ll leave as soon as we feel that we’re endangering your community," I say.

She nods softly. "You can stay here for the rest of your life if and only if you forget about your past and embrace your destinies, and free your hearts and minds from worries and fears."

Is she telling us to give up and to accept our failures, and let our enemies ruin our future?

I understand that they are werewolves who either abandoned or were disowned by their packs. They turned their backs from their past, and chose peace over everything else that matters more.

As politely as I can, I counter, "Thank you. But we won’t embrace our destinies, we’ll create them. Only then can our hearts and minds be free from worries and fears."

She smiles, understanding my different view about life. Then she turns to Alpha Torrin and waits for his answer.

Alpha Torrin hesitates, his clasped fingers fidgeting. "I’ll consider your suggestion. Thank you."

My shoulders slump in disappointment.

I love him so much that it pains me to witness him willingly letting go of what was once dear to him.

Night comes. Harper is already asleep in her bedroom while I study one of the ShadowBind books in another bedroom when Alpha Torrin knocks and peeks through the ajar door.

There’s a moment of awkward silence, before he’s able to speak.

"I want you to make me feel the bond I’ve forgotten, before I completely lose my interest in it."

He leans in to kiss me.

Though my wolf desires it, I jerk away.

My wolf growls in anger, but I don’t care. After Alpha Torrin compared me to a predator or a criminal, I refuse to be intimate with him until he fully remembers me and our bond.

He looks ashamed. "I’m sorry. I’m just worried that living here longer will make me throw over the idea of remembering who I am."

I want to reprimand him, but I hold back. "If there’s nothing important you’re going to tell me, you can leave now."

To my surprise, he lies on the sofa at the foot of the bed, placing a pillow under his head and a blanket over himself.

"There are only two bedrooms. I’m sure you don’t want me sleeping in your sister’s," he says.

I appreciate that he’s trying to remember our bond, but I’m still frustrated by how he has been dismissive of my feelings these past days.

I don’t wanna share a room with him. So I collect my books and head to the living room, trying my best to focus on studying the ShadowBind instead of thinking about him.

Before long, I fall asleep on the floor.

But,...

When I wake the next morning, I’m back in the bedroom, lying comfortably on the bed. My books are stacked neatly on the table.

I search for him and find Harper in the kitchen eating breakfast.

"Have you seen Alpha Torrin?" I ask.

She nods. "He left early. Our customers are having an early morning hike. He and the other male wolves were tasked to guide them."

After breakfast, I shower and put on the housekeeper’s uniform.

As Harper and I head to the first cottage we need to clean, Alpha Torrin appears with the guides and hikers at the foot of the valley. He’s surrounded by female hikers desperately and irritatingly vying for his attention.

Alpha Torrin smiles warmly at the female hikers, trying to appease their desperation.

Jealousy creeps up on me. I roll my eyes at both them and Alpha Torrin, which he notices.

It may be petty, but a part of me wants him to rush to my side and show those women that I’m his...

I stop myself, remembering that to him, I’m not his fated mate, but just someone he’s forced to trust.

I try my best to brush it off, so it won’t ruin my entire day.

Harper and I finish cleaning several cottages before we’re called for lunch.

I look around for Alpha Torrin since all the employees are already gathered, and then I spot him at the lanai of one of the cottages, sitting with another group of female customers.

My fists clench and unclench at my sides.

"I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who’ll flirt with women he isn’t interested in. But for business purposes, he has to be nice and accommodating to them," Magdalene says.

"He seems to be enjoying their company. In fact, he’s too nice and too accommodating. They could just bring him home with them," I mutter, irritation leaking into my tone.

Magdalene chuckles. "Oh, young wolves these days. That’s why I consider myself lucky for never having been in love."

When I see one of the servers walking toward the cottage where Alpha Torrin is at, I hurry after her and offer to take the tray of food she’s carrying. She hesitates at first because I’m wearing a different uniform, but when Magdalene nods her approval, she hands me the tray without another word.

I lift my chin and square my shoulders as I approach the cottage, feeling Alpha Torrin’s eyes on me, even from the corner of my vision.

I force a polite smile at the women seated around the table as I lay down their food and drinks.

Then one of them asks Alpha Torrin, "So, do you have a girlfriend or a wife?"

My hand trembles slightly as Alpha Torrin gives a nervous laugh.

Then I move slowly, pretending to arrange the plates so I can hear his answer before I can leave.

"I’m not married," he says after a short pause. "I have a mate, but... it’s complicated."

My already battered heart cracks further.

The glass of orange juice slips from my hand and spills onto the dress of one of the women.

Gasps erupt around us.

I frantically try to wipe her dress with a napkin, but she shoves me onto the brick floor.

As if that’s not enough, someone throws a glass of soft drink in my face, followed by a bucket of ice cubes.

"You should be fired for being so clumsy!" one of them shouts.

Alpha Torrin rushes to me and helps me stand.

"I apologize on her behalf," he says to the women.

I angrily jerk away from him, tears stinging my eyes. "How about you apologize to me on their behalf for assaulting and humiliating me?"

He reaches for me again, regret in every line of his face. "I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to..."

I sprint away, refusing to hear the rest.

He hurt me again! He dismissed my feelings again! Is fighting for him still worth it?!

Skipping lunch entirely, I rush back to the house we’re staying in, lock myself in the bedroom, and cry.

Soon enough, Alpha Torrin knocks softly. "Can we talk? Please?"

"No! Just go!" I shout.

I know it wasn’t his fault he answered honestly earlier, but I can’t stop myself from being honest, too, in expressing the pain he’s causing me.

When lunchtime ends, even though I still wanna be alone, I have no choice but to change into a clean uniform and return to work.

For the rest of the day, I barely speak to anyone, not even Harper, and I refuse to look in Alpha Torrin’s direction even though he does everything he can to steal even a second of my attention; starting conversations, helping me clean even if it isn’t his job, and avoiding his flirty female fans entirely.

Still, they’re not enough to soften my broken heart.

When our shifts end and we’re getting ready for bed, I receive a text message from Eric. -[Let’s meet at the borders of the Dingle Valley. I have something to show you.]-

I sneak out through the Dingle Valley’s great walls and meet him.

Surprisingly, Eric isn’t alone. He’s with several members of the Frostveil Pack’s council, which makes me anxious.

"Don’t worry. We can trust them," Eric reassures me.

One of the council members, Beta Samuel, demands. "Before I pledge my loyalty and service to this coalition, I wanna see with my own eyes that Alpha Torrin is still alive."

"I’m here."

I jolt in surprise when Alpha Torrin appears behind me.

He then whispers to my ear, "I’m sorry for discreetly following you. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t putting yourself in any form of danger."

I roll my eyes at him, still unable to move on from everything that happened earlier.

He ignores my coldness and turns to face his Gammas and Betas.

"Thank you for doing all this for me. Now, let’s start planning our next moves. Let’s get the Frostveil Pack back."

My heart leaps with joy, coz I wasn’t expecting him to sound this determined.

Then,...

He gently takes my hand, sending a tremor through me, and whispers to my ear again, "Thank you for not giving up on me, even when I almost did it to you several times before."