Chapter 188

Chapter 39: Ayla We stayed at the house until Monday morning. Even after returning home, Theo insisted we take another day to fully regain our strength. I felt guilty missing class again, but I was still feeling a bit drained. So, I didn’t argue too much. Theo worked from the living room while I spent the day catching up on some classwork.

And stressing about Kingston’s impending visit.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about seeing him. I still felt terrible about how things ended up between us. I missed the friendship that we had before things got bad. But I also wasn’t sure I could trust him the way I used to. Dasha agreed with me. She still held a grudge against him for trying to mark us.

I never told Theo what happened that day I went to Sablemane to get my father’s ring back from Kingston. His apology didn’t help rebuild that trust much. Since he said he wasn’t giving up, I didn’t know what he would do to try to win me back.

Whatever happened, Theo couldn’t find out about what he had done. He wouldn’t be able to let it go, and he wasn’t wrong when he said we needed Kingston right now. I just hoped that Kingston didn’t do anything dangerous.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this, Ayla?” Theo asked as we waited in the packhouse lobby with his parents for Kingston to arrive Tuesday afternoon. “If you don’t want to see him, you don’t have to.”

“I’m sure,” I told him with a gentle smile. “You need me to question the rogues. And Sablemane is still an important ally to our pack. There’s no reason this can’t be a civil experience.”

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09.54 288 (Vouchers The corner of Theo’s mouth twitched. “Well, I’ll promise to try my best as long as he does.”

“You better,” I said, poking his shoulder. “Whether he behaves or not, remember, you’re the one who got the girl in the end. You could cut him some slack.”

“That’s true,” Theo replied with a sigh. “I’ll do my best.”

He leaned down to kiss me.

“He’s here,” Briggs said from the door.

I copied Grace’s stance with my arm hooked onto Theo’s beside me. The doors were open, and I watched a man get out of the driver’s seat and walk around to open the door for Kingston to get out. Alpha Torin and Luna Grace stepped forward to greet him as he entered the building. Dasha retreated into the back of my mind with a huff, and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

“Alpha Kingston,” Alpha Torin said, “we’re pleased to have you as our guest.”

“Thank you, Alpha Torin,” Kingston replied politely. “I hope my visit is as fruitful as we hope.”

“Indeed,” Torin agreed.

“Luna Grace, I’m delighted to see you again. You look as beautiful as ever.”

“Thank you, Alpha Kingston,” Grace answered with a smile.

“Alpha Theo,” Kingston said, turning to the two of us. “Luna Ayla, I hope you are doing well.”

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O 09:54 Chapter 39 Ayla 288 Vouchers “Very well, thank you, Alpha Kingston,” I stated politely. Hearing him use the title felt odd, but I was glad he had.

“Alpha, we have prepared a suite for your visit,” Theo informed him. “If you would like to get settled in, Beta Briggs will show you where you will be staying. We planned a dinner later for us to catch up on any other pack business that would be beneficial to address while you‘ re here. We will address the reason for your visit this evening.”

“Of course,” Kingston said.

Briggs came up and led Kingston up the stairs to the guest wing.

“Why did that feel too easy?” I asked quietly after they had left.

“Diplomacy,” Theo said. “He’s not going to push his luck during a formal greeting.”

The situation still felt so strange. It was like we were practically strangers. It was confusing.

Theo grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs to his office. He went to the credenza and poured two glasses of amber liquid.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this, babe?” he asked as he handed me a glass.

I took a sip, focusing on the burn to help organize my thoughts.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” I said. “It’s weird seeing Kingston here, but it’s not just that. We’ve been putting off this whole rogue business for almost two weeks. We’re about to get more information on what is happening and why. I guess we’ve had a little bit of a break from all this. Now, we have to deal with it, and it kind of sucks that this is our normal.”

Theo sighed, setting his glass on his desk before coming to stand 39 70%

09:54 Che 288 Vouchers before me.

“I know, sweetheart,” he said, rubbing his hands along my arms. The tingles running through me calmed me. “But it’s not forever.

The sooner we get answers, the sooner we can take care of these assholes and move on.”

“I know,” I replied. “And I’m ready to get through this.”

“Good,” he said. “So, are you going to tell me what’s going on with Dasha?”

I chuckled. “What did Kieran say?”

“Just that she’s distant.”

“Well, she’s not ecstatic about seeing Kingston here.” I said. “Her loyalty is to Kieran and you. So she’s being a little temperamental about him.”

I rolled my eyes as Theo failed to hide a smug grin.

“You better learn to hide that a lot better real soon,” I insisted, snaking my arms around his waist.

“I’m not going to apologize for enjoying the validation,” he replied. “I may have gotten the girl, but that doesn’t mean I deserved to.”

“Theo, what?”

“I still can’t forgive myself for what I did to you, Ayla,” he said seriously. “It doesn’t matter what Kylee or Harry or whoever did to influence it. I hurt you. I rejected you. By some miracle from the goddess, you gave me another chance. I will spend the rest of my life doing whatever it takes to deserve that chance. Your love Dasha’s loyalty – helps me know I’m doing things right.”

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O 09.54 288 Vouchers I held Theo’s gaze. The night we marked each other, we promised each other a fresh start. So, we haven’t talked about those past mistakes we made since. I didn’t feel the need to. However, I guess having Kingston here reminded Theo of why I have a history with him in the first place. Of course that would be hard for him. I felt terrible that I hadn’t thought about that before.

I pulled him into a kiss. My arms moved around his neck as I let myself get lost in his taste.

“I hate that you always forget that I hurt you, too,” I said when I finally pulled back.

“Ayla, that’s not the same...”

“Yes, it is,” I insisted. “I pulled away first, Theo. That moment in the doorway when we first saw each other. You reached for me and I pulled away. I saw the hurt in your eyes at that moment. I might as well have rejected you right there. That is the moment that haunts me.” A lump started to form in my throat. “If I had let you touch me, you would have...”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Theo rushed. “No tears. That’s all behind us now, remember? I shouldn’t have even brought it up. I’m sorry.”

I shook my head with a soft laugh. “No, it’s okay. Kingston being here has brought up memories for both of us. We needed to talk about it. Now, we can move forward with clearer heads.”

Theo rubbed his nose against mine, resting our foreheads together.

“I love you, Ayla.”

“I love you, Theo.”

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