Forbidden Mate: Awakening

Tyler looked at him then dragged me to his side, still holding my arm, “It’s like I haven’t given you a proper thrashing yet…”

“If you wanna go for it now, you can come on ahead. Let her go first.” Adrian looked at me with empathy.

“And who are you to tell me what to do?”

“Let her go…”

“Fuck my ass.” Tyler said and spat at Adrian.

Adrian smirked then cleaned his mouth with the back of his hand. He started walking towards us with a raised fist and just before he struck Taylor, I stood in front of Taylor and held Adrian’s chest with my right hand.

“No, please…don’t…”, Adrian looked at me in confusion as he lowered his fist.

“Both of you should stop this please. Just stop everything…it’s not helping anybody.” I said, panting.

Tyler still walked closer to Adrian so their faces were inches from one another, “If you think I’d let you take what’s mine, you better think again. And I swear if I see you again, I’ll tear you limb from limb.”

He brushed his shoulder as he walked past him and turned again to look at me before walking out the gate. What did he mean by Adrian taking what was his? I really hope he wasn’t referring to me. For sure, he wasn’t.

Adrian turned to me, “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I couldn’t even speak.

“I hate him so much.” Do I really? “I just wish he’d leave me alone…. he’s making me more confused anytime he shows up. I can’t…I can’t deal with him, with all this.”

I tried not to cry in front of Adrian but the tears dropped slowly.

“I’m sorry.” I said then broke into a sprint. As I ran, I realized how I’d messed up again. I wanted to say so many things to Tyler, to give him a piece of my mind. I wanted to tell him he had no right to ask what I felt for another guy. He had no right to tell me I betrayed him when he was the one who blatantly did. He had no right to say all those things he said to me.

But my emotions got the best of me. Being so close to him after such a long time, I melted in his arms. Why did it feel so good being that intimate with him, even though I knew I hated him? Why? I wanted him to kiss me – I admit, I did. I liked it when he did, that’s why I wanted him to leave me because I knew if he continued, I’d prove his point and completely embarrass myself in front of him. I was such a mess.

When I reached my room, I quickly shut the door behind me and brought out my phone to call the person who had suggested I go for the confrontation in the first place.

“Hello?” My voice was silent but broke.

“Hey babes…hey what’s wrong with your voice? Are you alright?” Sarah quickly answered.

“I’m still in love with him.”

“What? With who?”

“Tyler.” And then the realisation and bitter truth hit me like a truck.

••••••••••

The next day came by swiftly. Sarah had comforted me after the awkward fallout and she adviced I should take time away from both Adrian and Tyler since it was really affecting my day thinking about them.

My attention had quickly shifted to Audrey earlier that day when I saw her talking with her dad, but not about any wedding. She had mistakenly seen me staring at them so she approached me afterwards.

“Is that how you miserably stalk people you are so jealous of?”

“What?” I feigned ignorance.

“Oh stop with the BS, what did you hear?’

“I didn’t hear anything because I wasn’t eavesdropping. You were standing in an open space and I happened to be passing by.”

“You better not act smart with me, bitch.” She swooshed her hair to the side to showcase her bouncy curls.

“Look Audrey, I didn’t hear anything, can you just let me be?”

She eyed me, “I’ll have my eyes on you…” before she walked away.

That was strange. What was she really talking about with her dad that she didn’t want anyone else to hear, that she had to come to me to intimidate me for it? If it wasn’t about the wedding then what else? That was so sus.

°°°°°°°°

Jaxon and I sat together in a quiet corner of the library, enjoying each other’s company.

“Jax, Audrey’s been really acting suspicious lately, don’t you think?”

“How? In what way?”

I noticed a bruise on his forehead, “What happened to you here?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a bruise from training. What were you saying about Audrey?”

“Like she’s just been acting strange. She’s hiding secrets from us. Earlier this morning, I saw her and her father talking about something and they looked like they were arguing.”

“Maybe it’s family issues…”

“Ohhh, Jax, you always like discrediting me before thinking through what I tell you.”

“But I have and I’m just giving possibilities…I do understand what you’re saying.”

“You do?” I said, relieved.

As we talked, it became clear that he had the same doubts.

Jaxon confessed, “I’ve also been suspicious of Audrey for a while. There’s a lot of things that don’t make sense about her behavior. She isn’t a royalty but she acts like one. That doesn’t even tick me off the most. It’s what I’ve been hearing about her mom being in a psych ward and her dad forcing her to marry into royalty to ‘make up for her mother’s wrongs’ or something…”

“Wow…it’s the first time I’m hearing that.” I was shocked.

“About her mom and…”

“Yeah, but they are rumours right?”

“Just for now, yes. Not just that but she also seems to be hiding a lot of secrets about her family from us. There’s a time we were discussing with the others about where we all came from and everyone had a turn to speak. When it was hers, she didn’t say anything and found a way to change the convo. She’s always so secretive about that topic.”

I’d never really heard all these things about Audrey so it was really eye-opening and kind of confirming my doubts about her. How in the hell did she even get so close to Tyler under my nose? I quickly sifted that from my thoughts. It was obvious that Audrey had hidden reasons for what she was doing and was manipulating others.

Thinking about the harm Audrey could cause to the grove made me really scared. She seemed to be really focused on having power and control, and I couldn’t just sit back and watch her ruin everything we cared about.

“Lily?”

“Uhn?” I was into my thoughts again. “Jax, we need to come up with a plan to show who Audrey really is in front of everyone. She’s so giving me snake vibes and I promise I’m not just saying so out of personal malice.”

Jaxon nodded and stroke his chin, “If in the nearest future she poses any threat, we’d have to stop her, but for now…it’s all speculations you know.”

“But we need to find out if those speculations are true, right?

“Yeah…”

“So that’s what we’ll do. Hey, I just kinda rhymed.”

He rolled his eyes and I playfully hit his arm.

We decided to gather proof, watch her closely, and talk to other pack members who might feel the same way we did.

Our ‘secret mission’ began and I could finally get my mind off the whole drama. We asked questions, listened to what people had experienced, and put together the pieces of Audrey’s sneaky behavior. The mission needed us to be patient, clever, and careful about what we said. Note to self, the hunt was really on.

•••••••••••

In the late hours of a particular day, I just finished kitchen duties and was wandering the house looking for Jaxon as we planned to meet up. As I walked up to Jaxon, I noticed a seriousness in his eyes and heard a firmness in his voice as he spoke on his phone.

“I can’t be certain that he is the one…I.. just give me time, please. I will find him, I promise.” He said in a hushed tone.

Something felt strange, but before I could ask him about it, he quickly ended the call when he noticed me and greeted me with a forced smile.

“Hey, Lily! I didn’t see you there.”

“Hey…is everything okay?”

“Yeah, why not? Are you ready for our little adventure?” Jaxon asked, sounding cheerful and lighthearted. It was different from how serious he had just been. Even so, I decided to put aside my suspicions and go along with his plans.

“Sure. Where are we going?” I asked, trying to match his excitement.

“We’re going to the edge of the forest. I found a hidden spot there a while ago. It’s peaceful and calm, a perfect place to get away from all the chaos,” Jaxon explained, leading the way as we left the grove.

As we walked through the trees, my mind kept going back to the mysterious phone call. Who was he talking to? What were they talking about? It bothered me, but I chose to trust Jaxon for now, that even if it was something serious, he would tell later.

Finally, we reached the secret spot, and just as Jaxon had said, it was a quiet and beautiful place. The smell of wildflowers filled the air, and the warm evening sun made everything look magical. It was a nice break from the tension and uncertainty in our grove.

Sitting down on the grass, Jaxon turned to me with a genuine smile. “Lily, thanks for trusting me with your worries about Audrey. It took courage to speak up, and I appreciate that we’re facing this together.”

I nodded, feeling grateful. Jaxon had been a true friend during this difficult time, and I couldn’t imagine going through it without him by my side.

As the evening went on, we shared stories, laughed, and for a while, we forgot about the weight of our responsibilities. It was a much-needed break, a chance to forget about all the chaos and simply enjoy each other’s company.

But as the sky grew darker and the stars appeared, I noticed a hint of concern in Jaxon’s eyes. It was brief, but I couldn’t ignore it.

“Jaxon, is everything okay?” I asked, sounding worried.

He hesitated for a moment before replying. “It’s nothing, Lily. Just a passing thought. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure, Jax?”

“I’ve told you everything is fine already.”

“Jax, if there’s something wrong, you should tel-”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Why are you persisting, Lily?” His voice sounded condemning this time so I decided to stop questioning him further.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to his words. It seemed like he was carrying something, something he wasn’t ready to tell me yet. I respected his boundaries, but I couldn’t help feeling curious.

As we walked back to the grove, I wondered what Jaxon was keeping from me. There was a hidden side to him, a part of him I hadn’t fully understood. While I knew he had good intentions, a small part of me wondered if there was more to our friendship than I realized.

“I’m sorry.” He suddenly said after minutes of silence between us.

“For what?”

“For cutting you off like that. I know you sincerely care about me that’s why you asked me like that.”

My eyes got watery and I hugged him. He hugged me back and it was as if I told him I’d always be there for him through the hug.

I pulled back, “I respect your silence, Jax. Anything going on that you want to deal with alone, it’s fine, but please when it’s getting too much for you to do so, you know you have to tell me. We’re friends forever.”

“I know. Thanks again. Goodnight.”

He said before leaving me in front of my room’s door, worrying about him.

I just hoped the answers would come in time.