Chapter 15%
Quinn’s POV
After a week of what was basically house arrest, Callan called it recovery, I called it solitary confinement, but now I was finally free!!
Kind of.
As I stepped out of the healer’s cottage. I saw him leaning against the doorway, looking
looking like the smug bastard he was, his arms crossed and a very annoying grin on his handsome face
“You look rested,” he said, eyes glinting.3
I narrowed mine. “Do I also look like someone ready for round two of your punishment parade?
He shrugged, infunatingly casual “It’s not physical training today.”
That made me pouse Iblinked at him “Wait, what? Then what kind of training strength back and I’d prefer not to die of emotional trauma instead.”
gare we talking about here? Because I literally just got my
Callan pushed off the doorframe and started walking. I followed reluctantly.
“You know, I noticed that you’re still reacting to Zane’s Alpha aura,” he said over his shoulder. “And not in a fun way.”
I frowned. “What does that even mean?”
He stopped and faced me, completely serious now. “It means if he keeps using it against you, you’re going to keep folding like some obedient lite kitten”
My eyebrows shot up. “Kitten? Seriously?”
Callan’s mouth twitched. “Unless you’d rather be a lapdog. Either way, you’re still submitting. And if you want to beat him one day, you need to stop responding to that Alpha bond like he’s still your mate.“)
I rolled my eyes, but the truth stung.
“So, what? You’re gonna train me to not be manipulated by his stupid Alpha glare?“2
“Exactly,” he said. “You’re welcome. Now move!!!”
My shoulders sagged. Ugh. This was going to be fun.
Callan was surprisingly patient when it came to training my mind.
I didn’t expect that from someone who fought like a storm and carried silence like a weapon. But when he taught me how to block an Alpha’s aura, how to guard my mind against mental intrusion, he was controlled. Focused. Calm in a way that made me feel unsteady “It’s not just about strength,” he said one night, standing a few feet from me in the training circle. “It’s about discipline. Your thoughts are loud. I can hear them before you even move.”
“Then stay out of my head,” I muttered.
He didn’t smirk, didn’t rise to it. Just circled me, shirtless, arms crossed, and eyes unreadable. The way he moved, confident but quiet, made it hard to breathe.
I me. “Focus. Pull in. Create a wall.”
“I can’t not hear you until you leam how to shield,” he said, stepping behind me.
Easier said than done ||
His presence pressed in like a heatwave, the raw weight of his Alpha aura licking at the edges of my control. My fingers curled into fists My breathing turned shallow
“Again” he growled
I gritted my teeth and tried I
We kept at it until sweat coated my skin and my legs felt like lead Eventually, I managed a weak barrier, enough to dull the hum of his presence
“Better” he said finally I
But then he added. “Let’s spar You need to learn how to do it while under pressure.”
Of course
look, but I moved to the center of the circle. He faced me, shirt off, muscles tense. His eyes stayed on mine
se stance We circled
blocked with ease. He countered, grazing my ribs. I twisted, dropped low, and swept his leg, but he didn’t fall
and I fat the mat with a hard tud
tanning on killing me?” I groaned
slapped it away and stood on my own
notice
pe counter, breath I was a
one I hated how much I liked I was getting better. Faster And tightened with every move the way sweat traced down
edge of
lance Before | c
ground Callan lunged forward
ady and tinn E
collided. Chest to chest its hand gripped my hip. My fingers landed on the bare skin of his chest, and everything froze. My
woll was even whimpering softly in my mind Confused, needy
Hooked up. Callan’s jaw was tight. His eyes had darkened as he said, “That’s all for now”
Zane’s POV
The moment the scout stepped into my office, I knew something had gone wrong. He kept his eyes down, shoulders stiff, sweat already gathering at fas temples. I didn’t need to ask to know the answer. Still, I waited. Let him squirm.
“They’re all dead,” be said finally. “Sorry, Alpho72
I didn’t move | just stared at him, waiting for the part that mattered. He shifted uncomfortably under my silence, then added, “None survived She wasn’t alone
My jaw tightened “Who helped her?“%
He hesitated. A breath too long. “Callan,” he said. “The Alpha of Stormbane. He’s the one who….. he protected her,”
My vision narrowed. The blood in my veins turned cold, then hot.X.
Callan Of all the bastards in the North, it had to be him. Cold, disciplined, untouchable Callan. He was helping her. Protecting her. Like she belonged to him
“What do you want me to do next, Alpha?” he asked hesitantly.
I moved fast, grabbed the scout by the collar, and slammed him against the wall hard enough to rattle the bookshelves. His eyes went wide with panic
“You let them die.” I growled, but the words felt hollow even as they left my mouth. The truth was, I didn’t care about the damn bounty hunters. They were just pawns Collateral. This was about her. Hurting her. And for some sick, twisted reason, that had been the point
But now?
But why the hell did it twist in my chest to know she was hurt? Why did it ache that someone else had stepped in, had touched her. protected her? Why did it feel like I was the one bleeding out when it should have been her?%
I shoved the scout back hard enough to knock him off balance. “Get out of my sight before I decide to turn this rage on you instead. “2 He scrambled out without another word, and I was left alone with the one thing I couldn’t seem to escape, Fucking jealousy!!
She was supposed to be mine. Mated Marked. Bound! She had no right to be with another. No matter what she thought. No matter how
The bond wasn’t broken. If it had been, I would’ve felt it. And whenever my Alpha aura touched her, I could sense the way she reacted. Just a small shift Her will softened, her instinct telling her to submit. And every time it happened, a part of me felt satisfied. Like proof she still belonged to me in my mind, she was still mine. And I was proud of that.
And now Callan thought he could take what was mine? Touch what still answered to me?
Let him try I’d bury him myself!!.
She can never find a mate. Not while I live. Hot while she’s still tied to me. Il rip his throat out before I let him touch her again.”
The door creaked open befund me, and imitation flared hot in my chest the second I recognized the footsteps. Of course it was her. Nina entered, arms crossed “You’re still thinking about her? After everything Ive sacrificed for you? Really, Zane?*%
I didn’t look at her I couldn’t. Because if I did, I’d say something worse.X
“Get out” I growled. “And it’s Alpha Zane for yours
Her breath hatched A sound between disbelief and fury. But she obeyed. Because even Nina knew better than to challenge me when my
already boiling I
