Thalia’s POV”You need to be ready to dodge and hit back just as hard.”
He swung his arm towards me, and I tried to dodge, but I was too slow.
Not only did his fist connect with my jaw, but I fell flat on the ground.
“Ouch…” I rubbed my ass in pain.
“Wasn’t that punch too hard?” Dion rose from his chair, but Natalie signaled for him not to interrupt the training session.
When I first arrived in the pack, I’d spent weeks begging Dion to let me train with the warriors, but he refused every single time.
Then today, out of nowhere while Natalie and I were picking berries, he sent someone to inform me I could finally start.
I’d been thrilled.
I was tired of feeling helpless and being pitied as ‘the wolfless girl.’ If I couldn’t be recognized for having a wolf, I was damn well going to make them recognize me for my physical strength.
But as I spat blood onto the ground, I realized the reason Dion wanted me to stay away from the training grounds.
It was brutal.
“If we go easy on her now, she won’t survive against people who actually want to hurt her,” Natalie argued.
“I know, but…”
”No buts,” I said, cutting Dion off as I pushed myself up from the ground.
“I need to be able to stand on my own two feet without anyone helping me.
So let me do this.”
Dion grumbled under his breath, crossing his broad arms.
Ever since that night in his room, he had been acting completely different around me.
I couldn’t remember most of what happened, but I vividly remembered waking up to find us cuddled up on his bed.
I had panicked, bolted out of there immediately, and never brought it up again.
I still only remembered random bits and pieces of that night, but it wasn’t enough to form a coherent scene.
But I didn’t try to avoid him this time.
For some reason, I didn’t feel embarrassed or angry either; I just felt shy.
And in a way I could feel the shyness from him too.
He started trailing behind me whenever I carried heavy supply crates, or hovering near the base of ladders if I climbed up to the storerooms.
At first, his sudden smothering totally irritated me.
But over time, I just got used to having him around.
Eventually, small scenes from that night came to me, and that was how I was able to remember everything he told me about Damien, his mate, and the guilt he carried for years.
I stopped getting angry when he did things that made me question his sanity.
I stopped judging his choices and decisions as I realized most of them came from a place of trauma.
But understanding him didn’t stop the confusing, vivid dreams I had about him…
“Are you alright?” a voice asked from behind.
I whipped my head back to find Eric, one of Dion’s loyal guards, standing close.
“You look completely flustered.
Are you coming down with something?” He reached out to press a palm to my forehead, but I flinched back, clearing my throat loudly.
How on earth was I supposed to explain that I was currently having filthy thoughts about his Alpha?
“I’m just…
hot from training,” I lied through my teeth, praying my face wasn’t as red as it felt.
While we were talking, Dion walked past us at least ten times.
But I couldn’t just tell Eric to leave; he was just being friendly.
“We should dance together at the next full moon festival,” Eric suggested, giving me a warm smile.
I nodded, seeing no harm in the invitation.
“Sure, that sounds—”
”Don’t you have a border patrol shift, Eric?
Edward is already off duty.” I looked over Eric’s shoulder to find Dion standing behind us, staring literal daggers at him.
Eric jumped up instantly, folding his hands behind his back.
“Right away, Alpha Dion!”
”I can go with you—” I started.
“You will do no such thing,” Dion interrupted, gently pushing me back down onto the bench.
Eric didn’t even look back as he practically bolted toward the watchtowers.
What a coward.
“What is your problem with Eric?” I snapped, glaring up at Dion the moment we were alone.
“Why do you chase off every male who talks to me?”
”He wants to get in your pants,” he said flatly.
Just to spite him, I shot right back, “And what if he does?”
Dion whipped his head around, staring at me as if I’d just confessed to treason.
I didn’t wait for his next response before I walked out of his face.
I made my way to the little cabin the pack had built for me.
The second I stepped inside, I slammed the door shut and kicked a wooden chair into the wall.
He was driving me insane with this possessive, overprotective bullshit.
I sighed heavily and collapsed on my bed, completely exhausted from the training.
“Don’t you think it’s time you came home?” A familiar voice sounded from behind my curtains.
I scrambled up, my heart racing.
“Who’s there?!” I demanded.
I didn’t get an answer, but a second later, a dark shadow moved.
“Have you really forgotten about me so quickly, Thalia?”
It was Adonis.
I opened my mouth to scream, but his hand slammed over my lips instantly, muffling the sounds.
Using his free hand, Adonis grabbed my waist and shoved me hard against the wall.
“Did you really think you could just walk away?” he whispered, his eyes flashing.
“Are you actually happy here?”
I finally managed to jerk my mouth away from his palm.
“How the fuck did you get in here?!” I whispered harshly.
“If you don’t leave right now, I’ll scream.”
”Do you really want me to leave?” he murmured, leaning down to sniff my neck.
“Yes…” I breathed out, my chest heaving.
“You want me to stop?”
”Yes,” I gasped, my hands pushing against his chest.
Adonis just chuckled before pressing a kiss against my neck.
“You were always such a terrible liar.” He shifted, placing both of his hands firmly on my waist.
“Does your new little Alpha boyfriend know you’re about to go into heat?
Would he even know how to touch you the way I do?” He dragged the tip of his tongue over my earlobe.
I was supposed to hate him for everything he’d done to me.
I could feel the hardness of his cock pressing against me, and a moan betrayed me slipping past my lips.
“You poor, needy thing…” he mocked.
“Still so touch-deprived.
Should I fix that for you?”
I desperately wanted to fight him off, curse him out, and slap him across the face, but the pull was overwhelming.
I couldn’t control it, nor could I explain it.
I knew I shouldn’t be doing this.
I knew exactly what would happen if Dion caught us here.
But I couldn’t find the strength to stop him now, not when his fingers were already sliding inside me.
“Ahhh…” I moaned loudly when I felt him curl his fingers and hit the exact spot that made my head spin.
“Don’t you miss this?” he whispered into my mouth.
“Come home to me, Thalia.”
Before I could answer, another pair of hands cupped my jaw.
I opened my eyes to see Caspian leaning over me, with a wicked grin on his lips.
“What are you…?”
His mouth captured mine before I could finish the question.
He kissed me hard; I could feel his tongue on my lips asking for permission to go into my mouth, and I allowed him.
I couldn’t hold back my moans from how hard they aroused me.
I didn’t even know when I ended up on the bed.
Caspian took off my skirt and undergarments while Adonis focused on my shirt.
When I was finally naked on the bed, I could only gasp as Caspian dropped between my knees, his mouth replacing his fingers, his tongue driving me wild.
“Oh, Goddess…
Caspian…” I arched off the bed, my hands tangling in his hair.
Adonis focused on my breasts; he sucked hard on my nipples just like he used to do before.
Then, both of them paused, looking up at each other.
Before I could process what was happening, they were on each other like dogs in heat.
I watched, completely turned on, as Adonis and Caspian started kissing in front of me.
I moved closer, ready to join them, completely past the point of caring what Dion would think, when a loud bang landed on my door.
By the time I glanced at the door and looked back, the bed was empty.
What the…
”Adonis?
Caspian?!” I called out, scrambling up from the bed.
“Who the hell is Adonis?”
I froze.
Dion stood by the entrance of my cabin, with his hands folded over his chest and a deep scowl on his face.
I looked behind me in a daze to find my bed neatly made without a single wrinkle, and I was completely clothed.
Oh, Goddess.
It had been a dream… but it felt so real.
“I asked you a question,” Dion’s deep voice growled across the room.
“Who the fuck is Adonis?”