Jared could only smirk as he faced them. He’s not worried. He found himself having fun, actually.
As for Polly, she had a restless nap for some reason. No matter what, she couldn’t sleep soundly.
Mid-day, her father came home with a dark expression.
“What’s wrong?” Her mother worriedly asked.
Patrick turned to his daughter, “Your mate’s being challenged in the training grounds. Everyone who did are being taken down by him. It’s not a good look, even if he’s from the bloodline of an alpha.”
Her lip twitched as she imagined the scene, “I’m sure Alpha Clyde wouldn’t mind.”
Her father grunted, “That’s not the point. They’re trying to lecture him, but he’s simply beating them up. He was arrogantly saying he did nothing wrong. Can you believe it?”
Ugh. Polly was in disbelief. “He was saying that?”
The audacity
Polly and her parents were puzzled by his absence. She felt a little worried. Where was he and what could he be doing? Her father didn’t hear any news about him. In the afternoon, her mother reluctantly left her to replenish their supplies. She became nervous, then, hoping he won’t show up when she’s alone in the house. She was relieved when her mother returned without incident. During dinner, they merely mentioned him in passing.The next day, he still didn’t show up. Jared thought a third day would most likely be necessary. He’s getting better at it. He smirked, thinking he could actually stay away from her this long. It’s an achievement on its own. Clyde visited him that night, hearing from his men that he hasn’t left the house.“What were you doing?”“Nothing. Just learning how to control my urges.” He was nonchalant about it, making the alpha frown.“Alright. After the trouble yo
“What’s your name?” Jared directly asked. When he did, Polly’s eyes widened as she faced him again. It was becoming clearer to him.“Ren.”“I’m Leo. That one’s Gareth.”“Well, then. When do you want to begin?”“Are you serious?” She really wanted to put a stop to this. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw how he was looking at Ren. Shit. Did he notice something? He’s almost ignoring the other two and was only focusing on Ren.“We can probably have a go now, right?” Leo suggested.“Don’t.” She bravely approached Jared, grabbing his arm, and pulling him away.“Didn’t you say you want to talk to me? Let’s go. Let’s talk.” She sounded a little frantic, which he definitely noticed.“Hey!” Leo didn’t like how the opportunity was snatched from them.Ren squinted
“Look. Our break’s almost over. I have to go back.”He squinted at her without saying anything. She pursed her lips and began to stand.“I’ll be watching.” He declared and walked with her.“You don’t have to.” She would be conscious of his presence and might mess up.“I don’t have anything to do. Might as well volunteer to be included in your training program.”She doesn’t know what to say to that.Sab won’t show up until after lunch, so they continued with their exercises. Polly tried to ignore him but his presence is just . . . kind of overbearing. Hana showed her a grimace, which she returned.“I mean, I really want to challenge him. It would be good practice.” Leo repeated after a while, slowly exasperating her.Ren’s not sure if the guy would just treat it as practice, though. It would be bad if he goes all out.Gar
Jared didn’t want the training to be too long. After half an hour, he began commenting on their skills and tactics. Of course, he was smug about it and the tone he used was mocking them. Even Ren was slightly provoked and tried to do better.Polly didn’t want to hear him talking at first, as his voice is irritating. But after considering his words, they were quite useful. Even Hana was impressed.“Huh, he’s spot on.”Polly grimaced, not wanting to openly agree. Well, he did say he trained his men. He must have enough experience in that regard. Right, their Alpha is technically the same. It’s probably a skill they have to possess.After about fifteen minutes of coaching them, he was done. He purposely attacked them to cause some minor injuries. It was supposed to render them unable to attack. They would need more than a few minutes to recover, thus giving him the time to escape. So to speak.But that wasn’t
“Where do you eat lunch?”His sudden question jolted her and she looked like a scared rabbit. Jared pursed his lips. Alright, let’s not scare her.He didn’t step closer to her and instead took a step back. “Do you eat at the pack house?”“Oh, no. I brought lunch. My mom packs my meal.” Polly saw his unimpressed look and realized he might think she’s acting like a child needing her parent’s support. Well, that’s not entirely wrong.“Then, I’ll eat with my teammates.” She really couldn’t bring herself to be alone with him, but just as she was about to walk away, he grabbed her wrist.“Eat with me.” He demanded and she doesn’t know how to reject it. She did think that he doesn’t take rejections lightly.Still, she doesn’t want to go with him. For whatever reason, she suddenly felt fearless. She shook her head and tilted her ch
“He must be tired by now.” Ren noted from behind her.“Well, his stamina is definitely good. Look at him, still able to spar like that.” Leo added.Hana rolled her eyes at them, “I don’t see him smirking anymore. It makes me feel good and bad at the same time.”As she heard that, Polly took another look at him. Yeah, the smirk’s definitely gone from his face. Her eyes widened when she saw him glancing over and that annoying smirk actually reappeared.Jared was just waiting for her to finish. He was simply conserving his energy, not fighting to his full extent. Now that she’s done, he planned to accompany her home. Seeing she’s about to leave, he made a huge effort to quickly defeat his opponents. They were all shocked by his sudden change and was unable to counter his moves. His smirk became a total eyesore.“You’re welcome to try again tomorrow. I’m done for today.&rdquo
That night, Polly began to imagine what her life would be like when she goes to Blood Moon. Would she have friends? How would people there treat her? What will she be expected to do? Jared’s been here for a week already and they haven’t discussed such things. Her father’s right. He spent an awful amount of time fighting others than introducing his pack to her. He’s an unhelpful jerk. She wondered if anything would change now that her father called him out.Jared was feeling more annoyed than usual. The more time they spend here, who knows what his father would have done to the pack by the time he returns? The old man already said that he would take the reins back. His own plans would be ruined. What is he to do? He refuses to act weak and gullible. He won’t change his ways just because they asked him to, not even for his mate.He smirked, staring at the ceiling before getting up. He’s feeling angry and restless. He hoped there are st
“Are you going to proceed with training or are we going to keep talking? It’s not as if I intentionally fought with other people. You were busy and I had nothing to do, that was the situation. If you go for training, what am I to do? Won’t this convince your father that I don’t deserve that extension?” He complained while explaining and Polly actually saw sense in it. She felt a little guilty, which was weird.“When we leave, you would no longer be part of this pack. You should focus on your transition, not on this training. If you want to continue this in Blood Moon, I can personally train you.”She stopped walking before heading to a bench. He followed.“Fine. We can talk here.” She scanned their surroundings and saw enough people have already started their routines nearby. Ah, yes. She should inform her teammates.From afar, Hana saw them and raised an eyebrow. Polly raised a hand and waved at her.