Chapter 88

Olivia

“An escort?” I asked, my voice rising an octave. “That’s not fair!”

Nathan simply shrugged. “How is it not fair, Olivia? You keep putting yourself in danger. Honestly, it’s the least I could do. I could very easily use my Alpha abilities to keep you locked up here in this house if I wanted to, but I won’t do that to you.”

I ground my teeth together angrily. “You can’t restrict my freedom,” I fired back, my tone matching the defiance sparking in my eyes. His words, his plan to curb my independence, had stirred up a storm inside of me.

“You can't protect yourself,” Nathan retorted, his eyes fixed intently on me.

An indignant laugh tore itself free from my throat.

“What, did you forget that you always lost to me during Warrior Training back in the day?” I shot back. “You were a sore loser, too. Once, you cried when I beat you. Try now, and I’ll make you cry again. Then I’ll show you that I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much.”

As I spoke, my mind instantly wandered back to the days of our childhood, when we were sent off to yearly Warrior Camp over the summers to be trained in combat and werewolf abilities. I enjoyed those summers dearly.

During the days, we would attend our training sessions; we would practice combat, various abilities, and medicinal studies.

Combat was my favorite, although medicine was a close second. I enjoyed the process of grinding up the herbs and creating salves to soothe our scrapes and bruises.

My words seemed to get Nathan’s attention. His brows shot up in surprise before his face twisted itself into a scowl. “Is that so?” he muttered.

His face was dark and full of anger, but there was a hidden playfulness behind it. I could easily see the ghost of a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, his entire body bristling at the idea of a fight.

Without a second’s delay, he advanced and closed the distance between us. He was bigger now, more imposing, but I wasn’t afraid; I knew we were only playing. We had spent years sparring, tussling in the dust and dirt until our sides ached from laughter and exertion.

This was different, though; there was an underlying tension that hadn’t existed before.

His movements were quick and controlled, the product of years of Warrior Training. He was no longer the lanky and awkward teen who I remembered, but was now a strong and powerful Alpha with perfect control over his body.

I put up a valiant fight, though. Using my small size to my advantage, I ducked easily between his legs and pounced on his back, sending him toppling to the floor with a surprised grunt.

We grappled there for a few minutes, the seconds dragging on like an eternity as we found ourselves locked in a close match.

Unexpectedly, Nathan maneuvered himself on top. He pinned me down with a force that left me momentarily breathless. I struggled against him, my movements hindered by his sheer strength and weight.

A growl escaped my lips as I tried to wrench my wrists out of his firm grip, but he was too strong. Finally, I relented and let my body relax with an exasperated sigh.

“You can’t seriously think that I’m the same person as I was before,” he chuckled, his tone holding a taunting edge. “Admit it, Olivia. You haven’t kept up with your training, have you?”

I let out a deep sigh. “Fine,” I admitted. “I haven’t been training. I didn’t have any good partners to train with, after…” My voice faltered.

Nathan laughed, still holding me down. His laughter, however, didn't quite reach his eyes. There was something new in them, a mixture of intensity and... something else.

It was then that I noticed how close we were, his face inches from mine. Our heavy breaths mingled in the charged air between us.

Suddenly, our playful wrestling didn't seem quite so innocent, and I felt something stir inside of me, causing me to involuntarily buck my hips up slightly and grind myself against him, feeling him there between my legs.

“Olivia…”

Nathan seemed to feel my involuntary movement beneath him, but he didn’t pull away. His grip only tightened on my wrists, his body pressing against mine as he lowered himself toward me.

He wanted me.

I felt my eyelids flutter as I instinctively licked my lips, preparing for a long-awaited kiss. My brain felt foggy from this energy between us, as though there was something that was pulling me toward him, urging me to do what I had been secretly wanting to do for a long time…

But I couldn’t. I came to my senses as I realized what we were about to do.

The realization sent a strange jolt through me, awakening something I hadn’t felt in a long time. My wolf. It was a faint whisper, but it was there, growling softly at the back of my mind.

My wolf wanted more. I could feel it; I had to get away before mistakes were made there on the rug.

A pulse of power surged through me, my body instinctively reacting to the closeness of another wolf, an Alpha.

Using this newfound strength, I pushed him off, freeing myself from his hold.

“Fine,” I huffed, ignoring the confusion that flickered across his face. “Hire an escort. I don’t care.”

I couldn't allow myself to get entangled in whatever that was. I had a mission. I had to protect Alvin, and I had to figure out what was going on with him.

Without another word, I rose to my feet.

Nathan, with a look of dismay on his handsome face, propped himself up on his elbows and watched me without a word as I walked over to the bottom of the steps. I paused there, thinking, before I turned back to look at him one last time.

“You’re a good fighter now,” I said, my voice low and shaking slightly as my chest continued to heave from the exertion. “I guess you really are an Alpha after all, huh?”

Nathan let out an awkward chuckle and sat up the rest of the way, scratching his head.

“I’m alright,” he said. “I think you let me win, though.”

A heavy silence hung between us, which ended only when I abruptly turned and walked up the steps. As it turned out, my fantasy of how my return home would go earlier on my walk turned out to be completely different than I expected.

As I retreated to the sanctuary of my room, the door clicked shut behind me, a symbolic barrier between me and the world outside.

Once I was finally alone again, my mind instinctively shoved the feelings that cropped up and replaced them with genuine concern for Alvin.

I needed time to think, to decipher this strange energy coursing within me, and to figure out my next step.

Above all, I needed to find a way to reach Alvin. Because despite everything, despite the danger he represented, he was my friend. And I couldn't abandon him now, not when he was likely to be hunted within the coming days.