Chapter 27

Olivia

“Olivia.”

Nathan caught my attention with his voice. I quickly sat up and wiped away my tears with my sleeve, and we stared at each other in the dimly lit room for a few moments as he stood in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest.

Surprisingly, his face looked a little sad. It was much unlike the stern appearance he had at the picnic.

“What do you want?” I grumbled, still feeling a little bit angry from it all.

Nathan sighed and walked over to the bed. He sat down beside me, then stared down at the floor for a few moments before speaking. I couldn’t stay tense beside him. We were still best friends, after all, and I felt myself relax a little at his presence.

“Look,” he said, his voice low and steady, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or embarrass you.”

“Then what did you mean?” I asked. “I feel like you singled me out in front of everyone. It wasn’t my fault that I was given a dress that was too small and delicate. It’s stupid that women have to dress up for the hunt, anyway. Wouldn’t it be more practical to—”

“Olivia.” Nathan’s voice was stern, but not cruel. “It’s just part of the tradition. At the next event we have to go to, you won’t need to borrow a dress, so you can prepare in advance and get your own.”

A silence fell between us. Nathan was so calm and level-headed that I suddenly felt incredibly silly for getting so angry and storming off. And yet, at the same time, I couldn’t get the image of those girls’ nasty faces out of my mind. I was like a laughingstock to them.

“We need to uphold our image,” Nathan continued. “That’s all I was trying to say. It’s equal work between the two of us, and I’m just asking that you be more conscious of what you do. You can act like your normal self in private, but at these events…”

“Right.” I stood and scowled a bit as I folded my arms across my chest. “At these events, you don’t want people to think that your mate is low-class garbage.”

“That’s not what I said, Olivia.” Nathan sighed. “The only reason why we’re doing this is so that I can be taken seriously by the Alpha Council. We had a deal, remember? And the Alpha Council will never take me seriously if we bicker and storm off in public.”

My shoulders sagged a bit, and I dropped my arms back to my sides with a sigh.

“Well, at least talk to your sister,” I said. “I feel like she intentionally gave me a small and delicate dress. Plus, like I said, she took my arm and started asking really personal questions while we were walking and I think—”

Nathan suddenly held his hand up and shook his head. “I know what you’re going to say,” he interrupted. “But I promise you that my sister wouldn’t do that. I know she seems odd, but please don’t be so judgmental of her. You hardly know her.”

“But she—”

“Stop, Olivia.” Nathan stood. He practically towered over me. In an odd way, it was equally as arousing as it was intimidating. “She’s my sister. I’ll protect her from anyone who tries to say such things about her.”

The air between us felt electrified. I was frozen in place, partially from his stern words and partially from the close proximity of our bodies.

I couldn’t help but find him attractive when he was like this. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was something magnetic about him when he was so stern. It was times like this that I was really reminded that he was an Alpha, and no longer an awkward teenager.

Neither of us said anything. In an odd way, I felt both of our bodies being drawn to each other.

As we stared at each other, our hands brushed involuntarily. I could smell the scent of grapefruit salt on his skin, and I could feel his warm breath on my face.

My eyes flickered down to his lips.

For some reason, I wanted to kiss him. And I almost did. As though I was a puppet and there was a string attached to the top of my head, I felt myself start to raise up on my tiptoes. Nathan bent down a little, and the space between our bodies shrank even more.

“Olivia…”

Nathan’s voice was soft and sultry. Hearing it made me snap out of my stupor.

I quickly pulled away and bit my lip, turning so he couldn’t see my red face.

“I’m tired,” I said quietly as I felt my face turn a deep shade of crimson red. “Can you leave so I can sleep, please?”

“Really?” Nathan whispered. He sounded a little disappointed. I couldn’t tell if that disappointment stemmed from my behavior at the picnic earlier or if it was because I pulled away before anything else could happen between us.

“Really,” I replied. “It’s been a long day. A long couple of weeks, in fact. I’m sorry about today, but I really just want to go to bed.”

Nathan stood behind me for a few moments. The room was dark around us as the sun finished its descent behind the horizon, but I could still feel his presence, his looming figure standing over me.

“You’re really sorry, or you’re just saying that?” he asked.

“I really am sorry. I’ll try harder next time.”

Nathan was silent for a moment. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded a bit hoarse and tired. “Okay. Thanks for understanding, Olivia.”

I didn’t respond, and instead I just continued staring at the floor until I heard him leave. When the door finally clicked shut behind him, I ran over and slid the lock through the deadbolt with an exasperated sigh.

The sound of his footsteps receded down the hallway, and I was alone once more. I let out another breath as I fell back down on my bed.

For a long time, I just laid there and wondered what would have happened if I hadn’t pulled away. Would we have kissed? Would more have happened between us?

As I laid in bed in the dim light and waited for sleep to take over me, I couldn’t keep the fantasies from floating through my head. It had been so long since we saw each other, and he was so different now.

Maybe his chest was fuller now, more muscular. Maybe his arms were thicker, too.

His lips were so soft and warm at the ceremony before the hunt. That kiss was supposed to be fake, but it left me feeling weak. Part of me wanted to know what it would feel like to be kissed by him for real and not just for show.

Another part of me secretly wanted to know what it would feel like to have his lips touch other parts of me.

And yet, Nathan already rejected me. He made it clear beforehand that we were just friends acting as mates, and there was nothing else between us.

Why, then, did he need to seem equally attracted to me as I was to him?

Was it all in my head, or did Nathan secretly want me, too?