Chapter Nine

Ellie

A week had passed since I returned from my brother’s place. Seth’s absence from our daily briefing meeting was a surprise. Instead of showing up, he’d sent a report to Clayton. His absence was noticeable.

He was clearly avoiding me. He didn’t even have the courage to face me. To explain. He’d left that job to my dad.

With each passing day of his avoidance, my anger grew. We were supposed to be friends, right?

Maybe it was all a lie. Maybe he was just pretending to be friendly to get close to me. Once he realized I wasn’t going to be his mate, he dropped me like a hot potato.

And that wasn’t even the worst part. The day after I got home, I resumed my training. I was focused, and Murdoch noticed. He commented on my improvement. There were very few warriors who could beat me.

That’s why I couldn’t understand why my name was missing from the patrol roster.

I’d done well on the training patrol. I’d picked up the scent of the other packs, and I’d followed orders.

The border patrols had been increased, and every day after training, a schedule would be posted outside of Clayton’s office.

Every day I would check, and every day my name would be missing. I decided to talk to Murdoch about this. We needed all the capable warriors we could get, yet I was being left out.

I hadn’t had the chance to talk to Murdoch, but I started to think that actions might speak louder than words.

I glanced at my sparring partner. His name was Kayden or Konrad. Something like that. Anyway, he was hopefully going to be my ticket to getting on the patrol roster. He was bigger than me, like most of the male werewolves, and he was solidly built. Not as solid as Seth or Murdoch, but they were both Betas.

I watched him carefully as we squared off. Within a few moments, I found his weakness. A few moments later, he was on the ground.

I knelt over him, pinning his arms with my knees, my forearm pressed against his throat. Any resistance he gave was met with more force against his throat.

“Enough, Ellie,” Murdoch scolded, “you’re supposed to be sparring, not trying to kill each other. I need all the fit warriors I can get for the coming war.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Then why am I not being sent out on patrol? I’m just trying to show you I’m more than capable,” I huffed.

Murdoch sighed.

“That’s not my call to make. You need to speak to Seth. Now let Kayden up.”

I released Kayden and climbed off of him, quickly standing up just in case he got any ideas about retaliation. No wolf likes to be subdued, especially not by a she-wolf.

I crossed my arms over my chest.

“How am I supposed to speak to Seth when he’s avoiding me like I have some disease?”

Murdoch just shrugged.

“The beta is very busy. I’ll speak with him if I get the chance.”

“Alright, that’s it for today, make sure you all check the patrol roster, you know the drill,” Murdoch announced.

I sighed heavily as I bent down to pick up my water bottle. There was no point in checking the roster, I knew my name wouldn’t be there. I twisted off the cap and took a gulp.

“Hey, why don't you keep me company while I check what shift I’m on,” Kayden suggested, looking down at me.

I looked up at Kayden, who didn’t seem to hold a grudge against me for taking him down. His messy blond hair flopped over his eyes. He kept brushing it away. I always thought he did it because he was vain. Now I realized he couldn't actually see much when it flopped down.

I shrugged and sighed.

“Ok,” I huffed as I stood up.

Kayden smiled, and brushed his hair out of his eyes again.

“You need a haircut,” I scoffed as I walked past him.

He ran to catch up with me.

“Yeah, I know,” he agreed, grinning.

I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest, my head resting against the wall.

“Well you haven't got a shift, and my first one is in the morning, so...”

I opened my eyes as Kayden let his words hang in the air. He wasn't looking at the roster anymore. He was standing directly in front of me. Staring at me.

The look on his face reminded me of the look I had been telling my dad about, like he wanted to eat me. The kind of look that Seth had given me before I left to see my brother.

Well if Seth didn't want me, and I wasn't going to be on patrol…

I unfolded my arms and relaxed, pressing my palms to the wall. I wasn't going to make the first move but if Kayden decided to, then I wouldn't fight him off.

He leaned forward, his palms resting on the wall on either side of my head.

“So...” he began, looking into my eyes.

I swallowed nervously as he gently brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear.

“Kayden!” a voice I immediately recognized, growled loudly.

Kayden broke eye contact with me.

“Busted,” he whispered, smirking.

He pushed himself away from the wall and turned to face an angry Seth.

“What the hell are you doing?” Seth growled, “don’t answer that, just get the hell away from her.”

Kayden glanced back at me, raised his eyebrows and mouthed ‘rain check’ to me. I couldn't help but smirk back.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing Ellie?”

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.

“That’s none of your business,” I huffed.

“Not anymore,” I added as an afterthought.

Seth took a step towards me, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Well I’m making it my business,” he growled.

“You’re not even eighteen yet. You have a mate out there somewhere.”

I pushed myself off the wall and shoved him in the chest. It was like trying to shove a tree or a large boulder.

I shook my head.

“No...You don’t get to dictate to me. Not anymore. You didn’t want me, hell, you didn’t even want me as a warrior, so don’t try to control who I spend my time with,” I spat out.

Seth’s eyes narrowed and he let out a heavy sigh.

“Ellie, remember who you are...you need...”

“I know exactly who I am,” I cut him off. “I’m the halfbreed who isn’t good enough for the mighty Beta. Not good enough to be his mate, not good enough to be a warrior. I’m not even good enough to be your friend, so stop trying to control what I can or can’t do,” I growled.

Seth seized my wrists and shoved me against the wall, his hands pinning mine above my head.

He leaned in, his nose brushing against my neck as he inhaled my scent.

“You know that’s not true. I’m doing this for you, Ellie. I just want to protect you,” he murmured.

I closed my eyes, a shiver running down my spine as his nose grazed my neck.

“Please don’t,” I whispered, my voice wavering slightly as I turned my head to the side.

“You can’t protect me and you can’t decide for me. You made your choice.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, releasing my wrists and stepping back.

“I’ll always be your friend, Ellie. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

I shook my head again.

“No. You're not my friend. A real friend wouldn’t have avoided me like I was contagious. They wouldn't have left it to someone else to tell me that I meant nothing to them. So you don't get to dictate who my friends can or cannot be. If I want to spend time with Kayden, I will.”

I pushed off the wall and started to walk away, blinking back tears. I didn’t want things to end up like this, but I wasn’t about to let someone walk all over me. Maybe Kayden would be a mistake, but if he was, I needed to learn that on my own.

“Ellie, wait,” Seth called out.

I ignored him and kept walking.

“You can go on patrol...” he blurted out.

I stopped in my tracks and spun around.

“When?”

“There’s a shift leaving in an hour, you can join them,” he replied.

I narrowed my eyes.

“Just one?”

Seth sighed and shook his head.

“I’ll make sure you're on the roster.”

I nodded and turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” Seth asked.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Had he not heard a word I’d said? I guessed he thought I was still going to find Kayden, but I wasn’t. As much as I wanted to get back at Seth for what he had done, I wasn’t going to use Kayden to do it.

I glanced over my shoulder.

“Back home to shower, if that's okay with you, Beta?”

I saw him flinch. I couldn’t remember the last time I had used his title. Probably the day I had the panic attack in Clayton’s apartment.

He just stared at me and nodded.

I turned away from him once more. I could still feel his gaze on me as I left him and exited the pack-house.

My heart clenched. I hadn’t wanted us to end up like this. He had been my friend once, now there was a chasm between us that I doubted could ever be bridged.

I silently cursed the moon-goddess and mates as I made my way back to the house.