Chapter 82
Kylie POV
While driving back to the Nord pack, my thoughts were occupied by Zoe and Graham. “Why did grandfather grant him freedom?” I asked, irritation lacing my voice.
“His hands are tied, Kylie,” Logan explained. “He can’t make decisions on his own. He has to consult all the Elders before he doles out a decision.”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “I just want to get over this!”
He placed a hand on my thigh and said, “We will. I am sure that the next hearing will be soon. However, do you have anything against Graham and Zoe to implicate them? I mean Zoe is very clever. She obviously has a lot of power over Graham. I’m sure that she must be having something up her sleeve to save herself.”
I looked out towards the river that was meandering through the mountains as we traversed the highway. “There’s not much I can offer right now, but I’ll do my best.”
“Is there anything you would want to share with me?” he asked, squeezing my thigh.
“No… It’s all good…” I said and rested my head back, closing my eyes. “But there’s something else that I wanted to discuss.”
“Sure!” he said enthusiastically.
___”Katy and Ace.” I looked at him to see his reaction. Just like I had expected, he had a frown on his lips.
“What about them?” he asked, not really liking where the conversation was going.
“Have you ever considered how they behave around each other? I said, co cking my head.
His frown deepened. “I know Katy has an interest in Ace. As long as they are not romantically involved, I am fine.”
“Whoa! Why?” I asked, totally shocked.
He clenched his jaws, and a muscle feathered there. “Katy is young and Ace is a year older than me. He is of Alpha blood and he will eventually leave me to handle his pack. You think I am going to allow Katy to go after him when I know what kind of family he comes from?”
His words caught me off guard. “Care to elaborate?”
“Kylie, let’s not discuss it today,” he said, as his hands tightened around the wheel.
“No, I want to discuss it. It’s better to face it rather than to avoid it.”
C
He didn’t reply to me and stayed quiet for a long time. I stared at him and knew that he had blocked his mind. I wanted to pester him, but I decided against it. Katy was his younger sister, and he was very protective of her. I wanted to tell him they were mates, but Katy had asked me not to. How could I betray her trust?
After a long silence, he said, “Ace’s parents are different. They come from a long line of royalty. The world has moved forward, but they still like to retain their royal customs and traditions.” He rolled his eyes. Ace’s move to become my Beta instead of embracing his Alpha status has left them unhappy. Ace was my friend ever since we were in college, and he would often come home with me in summers and winters during vacation. I mean, he wouldn’t even go to his parents’ place, which was weird as s hit. But I never questioned him. I didn’t question him when he showed an interest in being my Beta. It was an honor to have him as my Beta.”
“Whoa! Royalty, huh?”
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11:13 Wed, May 15
Chapter 82
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Logan chuckled. “Yes. The thing is that they aren’t allowing Ace to choose his bride. They want to go the traditional way of selecting a bride for him in a choosing game.”
“What the hell!” I almost shouted. “Are they f ucking mad? Who does that now?”
Logan sighed. “I was upset with Ace for not asserting himself and reminding them that we don’t live in ancient times. So he asked me to visit his parents one summer.” Logan shook his head. “Kylie, all his people are so bl oody uppity! They have so many traditions and customs to follow that you won’t be able to survive in that world! Now think, what would happen to Katy? She’s a free bird. And if she takes Ace as her chosen mate, then-” His shoulders bunched up in tension. “Then she will separate from him in the first month because of his family. My sister is so bubbly and bold. Do you think she’ll be able to cope up?”
“Goddess!” Disbelief skittered down my spine. “This is insane. Katy has never lived by the rules!”
He shrugged. “That’s why I said-I’m okay until she doesn’t have a romantic feeling for him.”
I snapped my mouth shut and bit my tongue because I wanted to say that the ship had already docked.
“It is a very complicated situation with Ace. Sometimes, I feel he is with me because he wants to get away from his parents, but I know soon they will call him to take over as the Alpha of his pack,” Logan said. “Ace has a younger sister who is married and her husband is ambitious. So I am worried about that part as well. I have told him several times to go to his pack and take over, but he has always declined it politely.”
Da mn. I knew why Ace wasn’t going. He would never leave Katy alone and he didn’t want to take her there with him. Maybe Katy didn’t want to go. There had to be a way to fight this s tupid situation.
We arrived at the Nord pack and Katy was thrilled to know that I had won the first round of hearing. “We have to celebrate!”
she chirped.
I laughed and squeezed her in a hug. “Not now, Katy, but I promise I will celebrate when I throw that b astard Graham in the dungeons!”
Ace was hovering around and all his concentration was on Katy,
“Hey Ace!” Logan called him. “How about we go for a hunt? Only the top warriors. My wolf wants to come out.”
Ace was taken aback. From his facial expressions, it was apparent that he didn’t want to leave Katy. “Sure, Alpha Logan,” he said reluctantly. “I’ll arrange for the run.” Saying that, he left, glancing at Katy.
“Do you also want to go on the hunt?” I whispered to Katy.
“No,” she replied. “Ace becomes territorial when anyone tries to get near me. I don’t know why, but his wolf is losing control. He said that his wolf wants to mark me. And he feels like killing every wolf who comes near me. Hunting in a pack means there will be other warriors. So…”
My eyes widened in surprise. This was turning into a hot mess with each passing day.
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