Chapter 22
Violet’s POV
Everyone left in a hurry after Asher snarled at Kylie. He was
clearly enraged, feeling manipulated by Kylie.
Kylie wanted to say something more to Asher, but my parents
dragged her away. They did the right thing. Or he probably
would have killed her.
I watched their backs as they left and felt a sad feeling surge up in
- me.
Kylie and I have reached a point where it’s us or the other–there
was no turning back. It was honestly so sad.
We had good times too when we were both kids. Kylie and I were
the opposite sides of two polars, but she was one of the few
friends I could talk to.
Until our 18(th) birthday arrived, and everything was turned
upside down.
I guessed I did harm Kylie in an unintentional way. She lost the
man whom she spent 7 years with because of me.
But I would do it all over again if I had a choice. Asher and I were
just meant to be together.
So I was left with no choice but to settle this with Kylie through a
fight.
I was caught up in my own thoughts before Asher suddenly
pulled me in for a hug.
“…How could you do this?” he growled by my ears. “How could
you make a decision like this before even telling me first?!”
His breathings were ragged, his voice strained, and I could tell
that he was in a lot of pain right now.
He hugged me so tightly that I couldn’t even breath.
I felt guilty, “Asher I’m sorry…”
He cut me off sharply, “No you are not sorry. You just love to see
me suffer and in pain! The thought of losing you is tearing my
soul apart. And you probably take pleasure from that!”
“That’s not fair-”
“Don’t tell me what is fair!“147
He lost control of his temper, his eyes bloodshot and his nostrils
flared.
“Was it fair that I had to spend 7 years with a woman I didn’t
love? Was it fair that my mate was right beside me and I didn’t
know about it? Was it fair that I had to take the risk of losing you
again right after I claimed you back? None of that is fucking fair!”
I shivered in front of his rage.
I knew that I did the wrong thing. The moment I blurt out
agreeing to Kylie’s challenge, I already started to regret it. It was
Kylie’s trap and I realized that a little too late.
But I couldn’t back away from it now. Everyone in the Council
Hall had heard me accept her challenge. This was going to
happen.
The only way was to deal with it head on.
Asher’s large hand caught my neck and pressed my face onto his
chest. I could hear his racing heartbeat and feel his body shaking.
“Tell me what I should do?” his voice was full of despair and
anger. “I should call another meeting and tell everyone that you
are not doing this. Or maybe I should just go threaten Kylie. Ask
her to drop out herself…”
“Or you can just help me train,” I shrugged.
“Train?! Have you lost your mind?” he snarled, raising his voice
again. “You would be fighting her in your human form against
her wolf. It would take weeks and weeks of training. And you
would need to count on your luck and pray for the Moon
Goddess’s mercy! Now are you still thinking about doing it?!”
I nodded, “I am. I always have pretty good luck.”
He looked like he was about to become completely nuts. So I
quickly wrapped my arms around him and said, “I have already
said yes. I’m not taking it back. So let’s just focus on how to
handle this crisis, OK? Will you help me?”
His shoulder hunched. Vulnerability flickered across this strong
man’s eyes.
“Of course I will help you. But there is only 2 weeks left before
you fight Kylie and we are supposed to deal with the rogues…It’s
just too little time,” he said frustratedly.
“Then I will start tomorrow. I’ll work extra hard,” I promised to
him. “Have a little faith in me Asher. I won’t leave you again.”
He didn’t look convincing.
But he also knew that bravely facing the challenge was the only
option left for me at this point.
We went back to Elena’s house to check on Mia.
Right after we came into the door, Jayden and my twin brothers
arrived as well.
7
I watched them warily, afraid that they were here to scold me for
hurting Kylie’s feeling. But Michael strode across the room and
abruptly pulled me into his arms.
“I’m sorry, little sis,” he whispered, his voice heavy. “For…
everything.”
I was stunned.
Reluctantly, I put my hand on his back and looked over to my
other 2 brothers. They all had that awkward look on their faces.
“Can we talk?” Jayden offered.
We sat down in the living room with my 3 brothers surrounding
- me. This felt like a dream. Because they never used to pay much
attention to me. Kylie was always their priority.
“I remember when you were little,” Jayden began, a nostalgic
smile on his lips. “When other girls were in door doing sketch book or playing with their dolls, you would follow Asher and I
everywhere. Into the woods, up the mountain, getting your
hands and face dirty…We can’t get rid of you. It’s so annoying.”
“I never hated it one bit,” Asher countered with a chuckle.
Jayden laughed, “I guess I don’t hate it now either. I only realize
how precious that time was looking back at it now. And we
ought to have more time like that.”
I sensed where he was going with this.
I clenched my pants involuntarily.
“I spent too much time on Kylie and ignored your feelings. I’m
sorry,” he said deeply. “I always thought that Kylie was too
delicate and needed my extra attention. But sometimes you were
in as much pain as she was, even greater. I should have been
there with you.”
My lips trembled. My eyes started to get misty.
“I’m sorry Violet,” Philip reached over to pat on my arm. “I
couldn’t put it together so beautifully like Jayden did, but
everything he just said.”
I giggled through tears.
Before coming back home, I had imagined the whole family
apologizing to me at Christmas. And we would sit together at the
dining table, holding hands, saying our prays.
It wasn’t Christmas yet and my dream had already come true.
“So what do you say, Violet? Ready to give your big brothers a
chance?” Michael grinned at me.
I couldn’t help but smile back, “That might need to depend on
your-”
“Wait,” Jayden suddenly interrupted me.
He looked into the air as though he just received a mindlink. And
then he turned to look at us, frowning:
“Alpha Asher’s parents are back.”
