Nox
Are you feeling ok?
Ava
Yes
I gritted my teeth, holding back from demanding she give me more details. Was she sore? Tired? Hungry? Did she need more cuddles?
I jolted when my phone vibrated again.
Ava
It’s nice of you to ask
Nox
Of course, sweetheart.
No other message came through and I stared at the screen, a sinking feeling of despair and longing settling over me.
13
WESTIN
“Great job, Westin,” Luc said, giving me a rare smile as he held the punching bag for me. “You’re putting a lot of power behind those punches.”
I wiped the sweat off my brow. “Thanks.” I was breathing heavily and my limbs were burning, but I felt better than I had in ages. I woke up this morning with only a dull pain in my neck. It seemed like my theory was proven correct—spending time close to an alpha had lessened my symptoms. That quiet voice in the back of my head said maybe it wasn’t just any alpha… maybe it was Nox who made the difference. I quickly shoved the thought aside. It wouldn’t help me to think like that when I would never see him again.
Probably. Maybe.
Fuck.I couldn’t let myself break down like this. He texted me this morning and I couldn’t stop myself from responding. He hadn’t asked me out again, but I was dreading the moment he did because I would have to turn him down.
I kept punching, ignoring the lump in my throat.
We had a small class today, just Poppy, Josie, Charlie, and Clementine, a beta who used to work with the anti-DesignationGovernment Alliance and who I’d gotten to know through our classes.
We continued practicing our punches until Luc got a call and went to the office—making sure to give Charlie a forehead kiss before he left.
The second we were alone, we all gathered in the corner of the gym. I flopped down on a mat next to Poppy and Clementine. I enjoyed learning self-defense, but I mainly came to class to be around my friends. I held back around them, showing them a more reserved side of myself, but it still made me feel less alone.
“I thought he’d never leave.” Poppy pulled out her phone. “He’s really cramping our ability to have girl talk.”
Josie snorted as she sat down in a chair next to Charlie. “Yes, how dare he force us to practice self-defense during our self-defense class.”
A smile tugged at my lips as I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes as I let my breathing even out. Even though my pain wasn’t bad, my muscles were still weak.
“How’s everyone feeling after the last ORC meeting? Because I’m thinking we need to burn everything to the ground,” Poppy said, fury radiating in her tone.
“Fuck, I know,” Josie said, furrowing her brow. “This government made so many promises, but now omegas can’t even be trusted to choose our own packs?”
“It sounds awful,” Clementine said.
“You should work with the ORC or the senate or something, Clem,” Josie said. “You were so good in the Alliance.”
Clementine shrugged her shoulders. “Hard to get excited about such a shitty government.”
I caught her gaze and she smiled, but I couldn’t miss the dark marks under her eyes. She had become less vibrant this past year, fading away before us. She’d lost her job at the now-defunct Designation Center, and the alpha she’d had a crush onhad betrayed her by siding with the Designation Government. I could feel her retreating into herself and it made me sad, mainly because I knew exactly what that felt like.
