Cecelia frantically apologizes, but Amber narrows her vile, contemptible eyes on my partner just as Simon joins in.
I immediately spring into action, jogging toward them as my ears buzz with an alarming ring that warns me that trouble is about to ensue.
“You need to watch where you're standing!” Amber exclaims. “You take up more space than the rest of us!”
I approach just as Cecelia crouches near the plate. I join her and lift the plate, dusting it off before passing it to her, then offering a hand to help her to her feet.
Amber and Simon are laughing at some joke they must have shared, when Amber says, “Yeah, you should probably lay off the meat skewers, you pudgy—”
“Woah,” I interject as I step between Cecelia and Amber, my blood boiling with the strong impulse to snap her neck like a twig. But one glance at Simon's cold, sadistic expression tells me they're doing this on purpose to aggravate me and jeopardize my good standing amongst the council.
If he thinks he's going to faze me, he's wrong. I take a deep breath to calm my inner wolf, who's raging inside to claw through them for breathing in Cecelia's direction.
“We're all adults here, guys,” I continue to speak measuredly, but Amber isn’t having any of it.
“She was in my way on purpose!” Amber yelps with a pointed finger in my face.
Sighing as I hold back my anger, I turn to Simon. “Please control your partner, Simon. Like I said, we're all adults here, and Cecelia has done nothing wrong.”
Simon steps forward with a raised brow. “She's done nothing wrong? You sure about that?”
I lift my chin, narrowing my eyes with a challenge. “I watched the whole thing unfold, Simon. I know Cecelia didnothing wrong. And I will not stand for any childish ridicule against a grown woman. Is that clear?”
I can hear a growl rumbling in Simon's chest, but he has no leg to stand on when we both know how childish this is. He backs off, turning to Amber and whispering something in her ear that has her storming off toward the deck.
Turning to Cecelia, I lean down and meet her bashful eyes.
“Are you okay?” I whisper, to which she lifts her head and smiles at me, holding her plate up.
“Wanna eat?” she asks as if nothing fazed her about what just happened. As I straighten up, I realize we'd garnered the attention of everyone else, but as soon as I take the plate from her hands, everyone goes back to what they were doing.
“Yeah, let's eat. I'm famished,” I grin at Cecelia and turn to the barbecue, asking Santo to fill up the plate for both of us.
“Thank you,” Cecelia whispers in my ear. I glance over my shoulder to see her smiling warmly at me, and a sense of fulfillment washes over me.
From beyond the smoke curling from out of the barbecue stand, I notice Tyler staring at me intently, slowly nodding with a sharp glint of recognition in his eyes that sends a shiver of awareness down my spine.
I might not share a mind link with my friend from black ops, but I know exactly what he's thinking based on our conversation earlier tonight.
Perhaps it's something that I haven't fully accepted, because the pack rejects all humans. Since Cecelia is half human, she's barely accepted as a member of the Lunaris Pack.
But that doesn't prevent me from feeling drawn to her, and no matter what I do to deny it, there's one fact that always remains.
I could never keep myself away from Cecelia, no matter how much I forced myself to hang on to the restraints to keep me away. Since that fateful night, I'd become addicted to her mere scent. The only thing that saved me from diving headfirst into a mate bond with her was my going away to join the black ops squad.
If I hadn't been so self-reliant all my life, I would have been open to fulfilling a mate bond with the omega—the only she-wolf who has me feeling things I've never felt before. As I tear my eyes from Tyler and glance at Cecelia, who remains quiet and timid around the others, I know that even though we've formed somewhat of a friendship, she'll never be able to trust me with her heart.
The only reason she's here is because I forced it upon her, and she agreed to help me in exchange for clearing her father's name. The magnetic pull I feel toward her must be a one-sided attraction, especially since she made it abundantly clear that she hated me.
I just need to get through the trials in one piece before I lose my mind, so I can let her go.
Chapter 15 - Cecelia
“A ball?” I ask with a frown as I'm seated across from Dominic at the kitchen table. After a rather eventful day at the lake, I'd been basking in the quiet of the cozy cabin and enjoying my breakfast until he sprang the news that the council is hosting a ball tonight. “Is it part of the trials?”
Dominic shrugs nonchalantly, pursing his lips as his spoon clinks against his empty bowl. “I'm not sure. Alpha Sirius only informed us about the ball at the meeting this morning. He said they're inviting other members from the pack to join us, so it doesn'tsoundlike a test, but we can never be sure with all the tricks they have up their sleeves.”
“Hm…” I hum with contemplation. “Like the poisonous mushrooms.”
