Chapter 44

Aurora’s POV

Maybe curiosity will kill this cat… or at the very least make her go crazy with thoughts of Thorne marrying another woman.

“How do you know all this? I can’t imagine Th- Alpha Thorne is out here spreading his business for everyone to know,” I say, looking back at Joseph. Maybe he’s just making things up, and he’ll start laughing at any minute.

Or it could be a rumor he heard.

If that’s it, I can shake this off as possibly untrue. Thorne isn’t someone who would carelessly talk about something like this. He’s more of a private person.

“Oh, Angeline and I have been friends since we were kids,” Jospeh answers, dashing all my previous hopes that this was a rumor. “And…” he nudges me with his elbow, “Angeline just told me that she will be returning to Thorne’s pack next week. You might even get to meet her.”

Lucky me.

“She’s been out of town for a while for work, but once she’s back, she’s heading straight for Thorne’s pack,” Joseph says, unaware of how his words pierce me. “She said she wants to get back to her old life and stop traveling so much. I’m glad because I’ll have my friend back, and I know her family will be happy too…”

The thought of Angeline coming so close to Thorne makes my stomach cramp. If what Joseph said is true, Thorne might even be happy to see her. I look at Thorne, who is completely oblivious to the sick feeling washing over me.

Does he know she’s coming back?

Does he care?

So many thoughts run through my mind all at once, and all of them center on the prospect of Thorne reuniting with a woman he might be in love with. Again, I’m reminded of just how temporary this arrangement with Thorne is, and if this woman returns, he could end it.

When I first signed the contract, I prayed that something would come along to end our time together quickly, but now…

Now I find myself feeling much more attached to Thorne than I ever thought I would be. I can’t stop thinking about him, and the thought of him being with a mystery girl makes me feel sick to my stomach. My chest tightens, and I have to force myself to breathe.

Angeline could ruin everything.

But what would she be ruining? It’s not as if mine and Thorne’s relationship is real. What we have would never be able to make it past the bedroom and the secrets we keep because this isn’t a fairytale.

An elbow in my side bring me back, and I look at Joseph.

He grins, unaware of my conflicting thoughts as he says, “I bet Thorne and Angeline will be back together soon. They won’t be able to ignore their emotions for long once they see each other again. I’m certain of it.”

Again, that sick, nauseating feeling fills my stomach, and I jump to my feet. I stumble, nearly falling back over before steadying myself.

“I-I’m sorry. I need to go.”

Without waiting for a response, I walk away and head back to mine and Thorne’s room.

Thorne’s POV

“Turn and partner up,” I call to the men in front of me. They do as I say, working on the fighting maneuvers we’ve been perfecting all day. I take mental notes as the Gammas train. Sanders will want to know their weak and strong points so he can keep them working after I leave.

Sanders wanted me to focus on their hand to hand and human combat, since that is where they are weakest. Every werewolf is adept at fighting in their wolf forms, due to being connected with our wolves, but human form is different. It needs to be trained because human instinct isn’t as strong as wolf instinct when it comes to technical fighting.

As I circle to the side of the group, I take a moment to glance at the area where Aurora is sitting, only to find her gone. The hair on my arms prickles and my body goes on alert, my eyes scanning the area around me.

She’s nowhere to be seen. The only person I see is Angeline’s friend and Sander’s brother, Joseph.

He’s grinning, and when he turns toward me, he waves. I nod to acknowledge his presence before walking over.

“Have you seen my assistant? She was sitting here not long ago,” I tell him. This is the spot she’d been sitting all day, and I sensed that she came back earlier, though I was busy and couldn’t check on her.

Maybe I should have.

She’s in unfamiliar territory and has nothing to do.

“Oh, Aurora was here just a bit ago,” Joseph answers with a shrug. “She ran off a few minutes ago.”

“Why?” I growl. Aurora isn’t one to just up and leave with no reason. She told me she would stay close to the training grounds, and she doesn’t lie about stuff like that. Not when it comes to safety.

Joseph shrugs again, a motion I find increasingly annoying. “I think she was upset about something because one minute, we were talking and the next she jumped up so fast that she almost fell over. Then, she ran off toward the guest houses.”

He points in the direction of the house we’re staying in. At least she went in the right direction. Even with that knowledge, I don’t feel any better. She could still get lost or run into someone that won’t be welcoming.

“What did you say to her?”

Joseph may be an Alpha’s younger brother, but he doesn’t always use caution when he speaks. If he said something to offend or hurt Aurora, I’ll be dealing with him later. After I find Aurora.

“What makes you think she ran because of something I said?” He asks defensively, crossing his arms over his chest. I narrow my eyes at him, not wanting to play his game, and he sighs. “I was just telling her about Angeline and how she’ll be back next week. You knew that, right? She’s coming to your pac—”

Growling, I spin on my heel, irritated with Joseph’s big mouth. He never knows when to shut up, and I thought that would have changed as he got older. Clearly, I was wrong. Joseph is still as immature and gossipy as he’s always been. I don’t know how Aurora reacted after hearing Joseph’s words, and I also don’t know how detailed Joseph was when he told her about Angeline.

Knowing him, though, he told her as much as he could.

Cursing, I shake my head.

I wish I could end training for the day, but Sanders is counting on me to keep my word. I have a job to do, but I also have a human woman to protect.

Torn between wanting to help Aurora and help my friend, I look back at the group of Gammas watching me.

“Morgan, you’re in charge until I get back. Take a fifteen-minute break before running twenty laps!” I call, receiving a wave of relieved shouts as I jog away.

That should keep them busy while I go find Aurora.