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-:Cecelia's PoV:-

"I'm assuming you guys what waltz is, yes?" Ms. Coleman asked. We somberly nodded our heads. Of course, we did. We had seen it on the screen like a billion times.

"Well, we'll be doing the American Waltz," she continued, pacing around casually, rubbing her hands together. "Does anyone know what that is?"

I looked around and saw no one. I slowly raised my hand.

"Yes, Ms. Rivers?"

"It's basically a ballroom dance, but has six steps in all which are repeated throughout the song," I said.

"Correct," she smiled. "So, get in position."

Nobody moved. She mumbled curses under her breath and I held in a laugh.

"Stand up and face your partners," she improvised. Everybody started moving, spreading out in the spacious room. She spent the next ten minutes showing us the initial stance, correcting our postures, and teaching us the basic steps. I was finding my groove and that made me smile, but Ashton? He was the worst case of two left feet. I wondered how Bree dealt with him. But seeing that he was her Alpha, it wasn't like she was high on options.

When he stepped on my foot for the third time in a row without an apology, I grabbed his hand and snapped his index finger. As expected, he didn't even bat an eye. That would heal completely by the evening. Unlike my bruises which were renewed every day and never had a chance to heal properly. Honestly, they didn't even hurt anymore.

He did summon an angry glare though. I glared right back.

"I don't have the fucking patience to be a teacher and babysit you every day in this period. You better pick up the slack," I hissed at him. "And pick it up fast."

He scowled.

"Not everyone can be Michael Jordan," he snapped.

My eyebrows shot up in disbelief and I froze.

"Michael Jordan?" I asked incredulously. "How is it even remotely related to dance?!"

"Whatever," he muttered.

"You are hopeless," I shook my head, squishing the laughter that threatened to bubble up. Who doesn't know that MJ was a basketballer and not a dancer? I cracked. My pack members looked at me like I just killed the Alpha but I couldn't stop.

"Michael Jordan?" I wheezed, wiping the tears from my eyes. "That's hilarious, you naïve, naïve creature."

They looked at us in confusion trying to piece together what was happening discreetly. We were far away enough that humans had absolutely no idea what was going on. They just saw a girl laughing maniacally. We didn't bother to fill them. Ms. Coleman was on the other side of the room, helping a pair with rabid postures. Ashton full-on glared at me which set me in another fit of breathless laughs.

"Shut up," he snapped, his ears tinging red. He shoved his hands in his jean pockets.

"I have no words, Summers," I said breathlessly as I caught my breath when my laughter finally ceased. How this whole set of events skipped Ms. Coleman's notice was a mystery.

"You just don't stop, do you?" He grumbled.

"How can I? I mean . . . MJ?" I snickered, stepping close to him again. He removed his hands from his pockets and got in position. The sparks at the contact sent shivers throughout my body and I almost moaned. 

Almost.

"God, give it up," he groaned.

"Maybe sometime in the future," I grinned, recovering.  He scowled again and shook his head as if to shrug off the unpleasant thoughts.

"Pay attention and maybe you can get the hang of this," I finally sighed.

"I'm trying, okay? Dance is just not my thing," he said through gritted teeth.

"I don't believe that," I denied.

"Are you blind?"

"Are you deaf?" I retorted.

He scoffed.

"I can't," he stated.

"Not with that attitude, you can't," I agreed, starting over as he made another mistake. I was surprised that it was just his finger I'd broken so far.

"I can't," he reasserted more firmly. "Just ask Bree if you want." 

I rolled my eyes.

"Exactly," I said. "I'm your new partner. I have experience with . . . people like you."

"What do you mean, people like me?" He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Do you really want me to elaborate?" I taunted. He cursed.

"Do you have an answer for everything?" He asked, regaining his composure.

"Pretty much," I flashed him my pearly whites.

"You're insufferable."

"Don't worry, you're not a walk in the park either," I assured him with a fake sweet smile.

He glowered at me and I smiled at him sarcastically. We came to a halt and my smile turned victorious.

"What?" He huffed.

"You did it," I smirked. 

"Did what?" He asked irately, quickly losing patience.

"The steps, Summers. Keep up," I grinned. His eyes widened.

"Shut the fuck up," he muttered.

"Told ya," I smirked.

"Wow," he breathed and I laughed.

"Wow's right, boy," I laughed. The bell rang and we stepped back. We didn't say bye or even acknowledge each other after that. The entire day, even in classes we did share, which were almost all since we were in the same year, we ignored each other's existence. 

When I reached home, I skipped upstairs and plopped down on my bed. I was satisfied.

I couldn't believe we had a civil conversation that day. I mean, I did break his finger, but that doesn't count, right?

He was making me happy, goddammit. And I had known of him for just over a day. I felt nice and bubbly when we were on sort of good terms. And to think I never wanted a mate. Why was it now that I had one, even if he would plausibly reject us as soon as he figured out a safe method, I felt blessed?

I guessed it was true that Selene and the mate bond work in mysterious ways.

I remembered I had to do laundry and groaned. I got up and picked up my dirty clothes. Our pack didn't force Omegas to be at the higher up's beck and call. They lived a normal life, with fewer privileges I agreed, but still a respectable life.

I made my way to the laundry room downstairs and started sorting my clothes. I stopped when I heard the rustling sound of paper. I patted down my jeans and pulled out a folded white paper. It didn't have a salutation, nor did it have the sender's name. Leaning against one of the three automatic machines, unfolded it and skimmed through it curiously. It had three words:-

Watch your back.

I scoffed. That would be something an idiot would do. An attempt to scare someone, perhaps. Too bad I wasn't even a tad bit affected. I smelled the paper, trying to catch the sender's scent but it was void of any scents except citrus and honey. I frowned. Why did I leave it in my jean pockets for so long? I lost the only means to track down the offender.

I went back to my laundry, realizing that I couldn't do anything else. I finished quickly, using all the three machines since they were free. Most of the pack did their laundry on Sundays and Wednesdays. Tuesday evenings weren't very popular.

I went up, cleaned my room, ironed my clothes, and put them back in my closet. By the time I was done it was six in the evening. Training. I dressed in my training attire quickly - a sports bra and a pair of spandex leggings. I would usually wear shorts but I wasn't feeling like it that day. 

Werewolves are next to immune to nudity, what with spontaneous shifting and lack of clothes deep in the forest. Most of us had seen all seen people our age naked at least once. It was normal.

I grabbed my water bottle and hopped downstairs, walking out the back door. I trotted towards the training grounds in the forest. I was one of the last ones to arrive. We started warming up as Aaron commanded. I ran ten miles of our perimeter, next. Most of them were out of breath by the end of it and I frowned. I wasn't feeling tired. They didn't train hard enough in that pack. Evergreen's training was much tougher.

"Hand-to-hand combat," Aaron ordered. "Pair up. Cecelia, you're with me."

Nice. An opportunity to finally talk to him. My smirk must've given away my intentions because his face lit up with belated realization and defeat.

"Tell me," I bugged him.

"Later," he dismissed, throwing a punch . . . and missing as I dodged nimbly.

"That's what you said yesterday," I dodged a kick aimed at my face and swept my leg in a circle on the ground, trying to destabilize him but he jumped and avoided. I quickly got back to my feet.

He remained silent, still fighting me.

"Aar, tell me," I demanded.

"I'll tell you somewhere we don't have ears on us," he snapped. I let out an irritated sigh.

"Fine," I huffed, landing a roundhouse. He groaned and stepped back, massaging his jaw. I gave a half-smile before we went back to it.

******************

We got each other rather badly. We sat in the living room of the Packhouse icing our bruises after dinner. And let me just say, they were an ugly color. Dad was frowning at us and mom was fussing.

"You guys fight like freaking animals!" She exclaimed. Both Aaron and I cracked up when we heard that. We were animals. Well, half animals anyways. Actually, when I thought about it, biologically humans are animals too. They are just more intelligent, that's all. Unfortunately, dad didn't find that amusing at all.

"Enough!" He thundered. Our laughter ceased immediately. Our heads drooped in fear and shame. "You are Alpha kids. You go out to train, not to maim each other. Learn to control yourselves." 

His eyes stopped on each of us individually.

"If this happens even one more time, you'll each be on a thirty-hour patrol shift in the woods, without breaks, alone." He stated. "Am I clear?"

Aaron and I looked at each other, horrified. Thirty hours without a break, alone. Even the thought was depressing.

"Am I clear?" He repeated, his voice deep and reverberating. His Alpha tone.

"Crystal," we hastily replied in sync.

He left the room without another word. Mom followed to calm him down but not before she shot us a concerned glance. The tension in the room dropped. I lay back against the couch, tired of sitting ramrod straight in front of our parents. The silence didn't last long since I was too hell-bent on receiving answers.

"What's going on?" I asked Aaron, picking up where we left off earlier.

"Many rogues have been sighted near our territory recently," he said solemnly.

"So?" I scoffed. "We've dealt with rogues before."

"There have been . . . threats," he revealed.

"What kind of threats?" I asked furrowing my eyebrows.

"That's not important," he said quickly.

"But it is," I insisted. "Do they want something? Like money, maybe?"

"No," he shook his head.

"Then?"

"I don't know," he said with a straight face.

"I'd believe you if I wasn't so blatantly aware of the fact that you're lying," I snapped.

"I am not lying," he protested.

"Yeah, and I am the Moon Goddess," I scoffed.

"Don't say that," he hissed.

"It was sarcasm," I deadpanned.

"You know what?" he said. "Go to your room. This is all I knew and I told you."

"Can I count on you to tell me more if you knew?" I asked despite knowing he won't. I knew he would filter.

"Yeah, of course," he said anyways. Fucktard.

"Fine. Good night," I huffed.

"Hmm," he dismissed me. I climbed up to my room rather irritated. I hated being left in the dark. Something was up. And it was serious.

When I couldn't calm down enough to either work or sleep, I decided to go for a patrol run.

'Dad, can I patrol the north border again?' I asked through the mind link.

'Be back by midnight,' was the only reply I got.

'Thank you.' I said and shut the link. I opened the doors to my balcony and jumped down two stories from there, landing lightly on my feet without making more sound than a singular 'thud'. Not something mom and dad would approve of but I did it often enough in Evergreen to deem it safe for appropriately trained werewolves.

I sprinted across the trees till I reached the stream. It was silent and quiet. The burbling water calmed me down almost instantly. I lay down in the grass, flat on my back, and closed my eyes. I kept my nose and ears peeled for any smells or noise. 

I would've fallen asleep in the serene environment but a familiar scent hit my nose and I heard a whine. I opened my eyes and turned my head to see a midnight black wolf sitting on its haunches across the stream looking right at me. I chuckled.

Xavier.

As if hearing me say his name in my head, he got up, took a few steps back, and ran forward before leaping over the stream's width gracefully in one go. It was mesmerizing.

I lay back down on my back and he walked over to me, nuzzling his snout in my hair and breathing in my scent. I giggled lightly when his breath tickled my neck. He licked there and I laughed.

"Stop!" I protested, shaking with laughter. My neck was very ticklish. He sat down beside me, obliging, and put his head on his paws like before. I stayed on my back with my hands under my head and looked at the stars. Not even five minutes passed before he got up and whined again.

"Yes, Xav?" I asked.

He nudged my head in response.

"You want me to get up?" I asked. He nodded. I sighed as I sat up. He shifted so that he was laying behind me. I turned back, puzzled to see his torso where my head was a few minutes ago. Realization hit me.

"You want me to lay with my head on your stomach?" I asked. He nodded happily and I laughed. I did exactly as he asked. And believe me when I say that I was more comfortable there than on my bed. The rhythmic motion of his breathing finally lulled me into a nap.

Someone was shaking me gently, urging me to get up.

"Nooooo! I wanna sleep," I said groggily.

"Wake up, Cecelia!"

"Go away, Jules!" I protested. I was sleepy. I wanted to sleep. Luckily, they left me alone after that. 

Or so I thought.

Coldwater crashed on my head and I woke up yelping, gasping, and clutching my shirt. I looked around frantically to see an annoyed Ashton standing not a foot away from me. I groaned.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, getting up and looking around to make sure no one was nearby. I pushed my hair back from my face and blinked the water out of my eyes and lashes.

"You fell asleep," he stated.

"No shit, Sherlock," I yawned. "Now, I'll ask again, what are you doing here?"

"Waking your sorry ass up, that's what," he said drily.

"Great, how very generous of you. Now that that is done, leave. And put on some clothes, for Goddess's sake!" I huffed, averting my eyes away from his direction. Sera whined, wanting to look.

Horny ass bitch.

'Oh please, like you don't want to look,' she jabbed.

'I don't,' I said and blocked her out.

"Why? You have a problem with this?" He taunted.

"You're trespassing," I glared at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't have any problem an hour ago," he smirked.

An hour? Holy shit I slept on him for an hour. Fuck.

"Leave," I snapped.

"I think I'll stay," he declared nonchalantly.

"I'll alert the guards, Summers," I threatened him. "Leave."

"Do it," he dared, unfazed. I blinked, cursing internally.

Dammit, he called my bluff. He smirked wider when he saw for sure I wouldn't.

"At least cover yourself up!" I clicked my tongue in frustration, irritated and a bit flustered. It was getting harder to get a grip on Sera.

He seemed to sense that because his smirk instantly turned evil and he stalked towards me predatorily.

"What do you think you're doing?" I gulped, hating how my voice was unsteady. In response, he quickened his pace and forced me to move backward.

"Stop it," I demanded. No reply. Goddess. Finally, I stumbled when my leg tripped over a root and I crashed back into a tree.

"Gee thanks for breaking my fall, you little piece of shit," I said sarcastically. He stopped moving and I saw that as an opportunity to get away.

Correction: tried to. Because as soon as I moved, his hands planted themselves on either side of my head and he leaned in. My heart beat erratically in my chest.

"What are you doing?" I forced out, hating how incapacitated he could render me with just his proximity.

"Who is Julian?" He questioned. I looked at him, surprised. Where did he hear about Julian from?

"Excuse me?" I said, confused. Surely I misheard.

"Who is Julian?" He repeated. So I heard right.

"How do you even know of him?" I asked.

"Just answer the damned question!" He snapped. I should've been scared. He looked more than mad. But I knew I was safe. I was his mate. He wouldn't. Even he wanted to, Xavier wouldn't let him. I smirked when I realized he was jealous. I decided to play with him.

"Oh, him?" I said innocently. "He's a very good . . . friend." I bit the insides of my cheeks to keep from laughing. He looked livid. Served him right, he kissed Bree in front of me.

"What kind of friend?" He inquired.

"A very, very good and close kind," I smiled cheekily. I watched in amusement when he punched the tree beside me.

"Don't break it," I warned him. "I don't want to have to explain later."

"You love him?" He asked, not listening. Suddenly it wasn't funny anymore.

I did. Of course, I did. But I wasn't in love with him. I doubted honesty would be the best policy with a jealous Ashton. I didn't want to lie, though. So I watched soundlessly as his breathing got heavier.

He let out a loud growl and I flinched at how feral the sound was. He backed away, shaking. I knew what was coming next - a shift. And he didn't disappoint. He morphed into his midnight wolf and took off back to his pack lands without another word or a backward glance.

I sighed.

Well, that could've gone worse - like him ending up marking me. Normally, wolves mark each other in their first week and mate completely soon after. 

I shuddered at the thought. 

We definitely wouldn't be following the general mates' timeline.

*********************

A/N:-

Haha. Late update. Again. Sorry, I was updating my other book, 'Imperfectly Perfect'😅😅

To make up for it, I made this chapter a thousand words longer. How about that?

QOTD: Which country are you from?

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Until next time, all my love,
xoxo.