5. Amorous
1148 Words
Eden’s pov:
“Sebastian never deserved you,” Hunter said after a beat, his voice deep, mesmerizing, and making me want to lose my sass, if only for a few minutes.
What was it about this man that made me feel like I could lean against him, and have his backing, no matter my opponent?
I only understood the words he had uttered properly a few seconds after he said them.
He knew. He knew everything, or at least most of it.
But then again, maybe the whole pack knew of my crush on Sebastian. And I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Being the laughingstock of the pack had never been my idea of fun… much less when Clarissa, the one supposed to be my best friend, was the one pursuing Sebastian actively.
“How did you…” I trailed off, not knowing how to ask the question without sounding vulnerable or ridiculously dumb.
“Because I have been watching you,” he said in a soft tone of voice.
In another setting, someone else might find this disturbing. Hell, someone in their right mind should find this disturbing. As it was, I didn’t feel repulsed or scared. On the contrary, I could barely contain my smile.
I wasn’t being merely tolerated because of Clarissa, since she was the hottest girl at school. I wasn’t being acknowledged just because I was in Sebastian’s inner circle either. It felt good to be seen, for me, and I wasn’t sure what to tell Hunter for a moment there.
The way Hunter Black affected me wasn’t logical, and should be downright illegal. It was primal, as if all my instincts were coming to life under his sweet, tender gaze.
A wild idea crossed my mind, and I found myself voicing it out before I could even think it through, “You don’t think I am so obsessed with him, I would do something else to myself, do you? Because I can assure you that that’s not a possibility.”
“Wait, what?” He halted in his steps, a deep frown marring his face. “No. Why would you even assume that?”
“I mean… that would explain your sudden inexplicable interest.”
My insecurities were having a field day. I was not just the defect of the pack, but also the nerd and the runt. Someone like him just couldn’t see me in that light!
“Give it time, little wolf,” he offered me a small smile, and I could swear my brain malfunctioned for a split-second.
“Hai hai,” I rolled my eyes. “Little wolf this, little wolf that. News flash, Alpha Hunter, I don’t have a wolf.”
“Your wolf is just dormant. There’s a difference,” he deadpanned, shaking his head negatively at my claims.
“Right,” I scoffed, even though I knew my reaction might be considered disrespectful.
He was just talking in circles, never fully saying things as they were… Was it because he thought of me as a child? The idea, disturbing and yet reassuring at the same time, took root somewhere in my brain, and wouldn’t leave me.
It could explain the knight in shining armor reference. Only a child would dream of the perfect love story, a doting partner, and a happy life.
The world had already taught me that one needed to forge their own path in life. If I were to fall, I would only have myself to get back on my own two feet, pack or no pack. Hell, the pack probably saw me as a nuisance, a liability – a freak even.
“Training tomorrow at 6. Don’t miss it,” he said in parting.
“I don’t train,” I told him in a dumbfounded tone of voice before I could help myself.
“Don’t make me drag you out of bed tomorrow,” he flashed me a wolfish grin, and I shivered in pure physical awareness of the blatant threat.
“You wouldn’t,” I retorted, eyes wide and mouth agape.
Surely, he wasn’t going to be that demanding?
His answer was a chuckle. “Sleep well, little wolf.”
“Sweet dreams,” I told him almost reflexively.
** ** ** ** ** **
Hunter didn’t hesitate to storm into my room the following day, just as I had gotten out of the shower. Thankfully, I was in a towel.
No matter how outraged I was, however, my glare was nothing compared to his.
“Forgot about training, little wolf?” He asked, his eyebrow rising, and his arms crossed in a demanding manner.
“I told you yesterday, I don’t train, eh?” I responded in a somewhat weak tone of voice, even as my eyes struggled not to look at his bulging muscles.
“Says who?”
“The Gamma said I was holding everyone back,” I admitted sheepishly, averting my eyes, because what else was I supposed to do? Checking him out didn’t seem like a good option, and I was starting to doubt my ability to keep my eyes in check.
“Did he say you should stop training?” He asked again, his voice gruffer, deeper, and more dangerous.
“Not in so many words,” I shook my head negatively. “But nobody told me I needed to resume training either.”
“Well, I am telling you now,” was all he offered.
I groaned, not quite sure I was in the mood for whatever he had planned. Again, the idea of becoming a laughingstock didn’t sit well with me.
But what was I to do? Tell my Alpha no?
He was already asking me politely. And I wasn’t sure I could afford to push his buttons.
“Get dressed,” he said after a beat, his eyes never straying away from my face. “I need you to be on the training grounds in 10 minutes tops. Unless you want me to punish you.”
“Punish me?” I all but squealed. “What did I do? And what kind of punishment are we even talking about”
“You don’t need me to spell it out for you, do you?”
The widening of my eyes had him chuckling like there was no tomorrow.
“Someone’s having fun tormenting me,” I let out petulantly.
“I would never dream of tormenting you, little wolf,” he let out in a tone I could almost fool myself into thinking it was amorous… right before he walked out of my room.
Amorous, my as*! I told myself in a dejected tone of voice, even as I angrily looked in my drawers for something appropriate for training. There’s just no way he might see me as anything less than a damsel in distress and a little sister.
- Writer
