Chapter 26 Chapter 25 Riley sat on the couch in the sitting room, but Kent took longer than she was expecting. She eventually curled her knees to her chest, burying her nose in his sweater. It smelled so deeply of him and it didn't take long for the exhaustion of the day to come over her. She wasn't sure how long she was asleep, but she woke to the feeling of Kent's hand on her cheek, tingles making gasp slightly as she opened her eyes. His blue eyes were close to her face and she could see the day's worth of stubble across his jaw. He leaned forward, gently pressing his lips to hers. Even though it was a chaste kiss, it still sent a rush of heat through her. She pulled back, sitting up slightly and Kent leaned back on his heels, shaking his head as though to clear it. "Sorry," he murmured. "I got a little carried away." "It's fine," she whispered, giving him a small smile as she sat up. He pulled a small table in front of her and on it sat a plate of spaghetti bolognese. "Sorry it took so long. Elva insisted on cooking you a warm meal." "It looks amazing." Her mouth was practically watering as she took the plate of food. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she took the first bite and her stomach grumbled in appreciation. Kent sat down on the couch beside her, leaving a small space between them, and watched as she ate. If she hadn't been so hungry, she might have felt self-conscious. "How are you feeling?" Kent asked after a few minutes. "Fine," she said in between bites. "I wasn't feeling great when Lana came up, but I'm feeling a lot better now. But it seems to come and go." "What did Lana say?" "She wants to do some tests. She took some blood to start with, but she wanted me to go to the hospital for testing." "You should go," he said quickly, "make sure it's nothing too serious." Riley glanced up at him to see his forehead creased in concern. "If it gets worse, I will. But right now I don't want Leo and Wesley to find out. If they were to tell the Commander, could get pulled from this assignment." He pursed his lips but nodded slowly. "But you'll go if you feel worse?" "Yes." She smiled at him. "I promise." He smiled back and she felt warmth spread through her chest. She looked away, praying her face wasn't too red. "How long have you worked for the Council?" "Six years, I graduated from the academy at 21 and I immediately got an offer at the Council. I started out as an assistant trainer for new recruits but eventually worked my way to advisor about three years ago." "Do you like it?" "Yes. It's what I had hoped to do when I applied to the academy at 17. I would have left my pack the moment I was accepted but our alpha wouldn't allow it." "Why not?" Kent looked genuinely confused. "I would never deny a warrior the opportunity to go to the academy. It brings honor to your pack when they do well." She shook her head. "Not everyone thinks the way you do. My old alpha didn't think women should be warriors. He was willing to let me go but wanted me to wait until I was 18. All women had to present themselves in front of the warriors on their 18th birthday to see if they were mated with anyone. He told me if I didn't have a mate amongst the warriors, then I could go to the academy." Kent made a disgusted face. "Why would you have to present yourself to the warriors at 18? That sounds like a terrible practice." She shrugged. "It does now that I'm not there anymore, but when you live there it just seems normal. Everyone you know has to do it. He wanted all the warriors to have mates because having a mate makes you stronger. He believed that they would be better fighters." "Still," he muttered, "sending young girls in front of a bunch of horny, unmated warriors sounds like a terrible idea." She laughed. "Yeah, it really does, doesn't it?" "So what happened when you went to the warriors?" She sighed, setting her now empty plate back on the table. "I never made it there. I ran into my mate going into the packhouse." She could almost see Paul that day, coming out the doors of the packhouse, his blonde hair shining in the sun. "Was he a warrior?" She looked up at Kent, his eyes soft and warm. "He was the beta of my pack." Kent's eyes widened, his lips parting slightly. "What happened?" She frowned, looking away from him and out the window. She still remembered the way Paul had walked over to her, grabbing her elbow so hard it hurt, the way he had demanded she not say anything right there and pulled her away. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, almost expecting to smell Paul but instead all she smelled was Kent. Kent reached out, taking her hand in his. "You don't have to talk about it," he said softly. She opened her eyes to see him watching her intently. "I can tell there's bad memories there." She took a shaky breath. "After he rejected me, the alpha let me go to the academy. He didn't think I would make it there so he withdrew my backing but I was still able to attend." Kent wrinkled his nose. "He withdrew your backing? What an ass. That makes things harder for you at the academy. Not many unbacked candidates last." She nodded. "Yeah, that first year was rough but once I'd shown my abilities, it got easier." "Have you been back to your pack since then?" She shook her head, sighing. "He didn't just withdraw my backing. He banished me." "What?!" Kent's grip on her hand tightened as he leaned forward. "Are you kidding?" She gulped. "No, he really did." "Why on earth would he do that?" Kent's face was close, his eyes shining as he looked at her. She reached up, 214 < Chapter 25 tracing his jaw with her index finger, biting her bottom lip. "The beta had a chosen mate," she whispered. "His chosen mate was the alpha's sister." +15 Points > Kent didn't say anything. Instead he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulled her against him so tightly she was almost in his lap. She buried her head into his chest, taking a deep, shuddering breath as he gently stroked her back. "I'm sorry that happened to you," he whispered into her hair. She relaxed into him, enjoying the tingles that ran over her body as he held her close. "What did your family do when he banished you?" he asked, still holding her. "Nothing," she replied. He leaned back, putting a finger under her chin to tip her head up to see her face. "It was only my dad. My mom died when I was fourteen and my dad nearly died from losing his mate. He was a warrior and he was shunned for being weak after she died. He drank a lot after that and didn't really care what I did. I doubt he ever noticed I even left." Kent watched her for a moment. "Did you ever tell anyone at the academy?" "No," she whispered. "I've never talked about it before now." "Not even to Leo? I thought you and he were good friends." She shook her head, scooting back a little so she wasn't almost on top of him. He turned to face her, putting an arm across the back of the couch. She turned to face him as well, tucking her legs underneath her. "I never told him or anyone. I just didn't want people to ask questions." He reached out, gently pushing a strand of hair out of her face. "That's a lot to deal with when you're just 18. You were basically still a kid." "What about you?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself to keep herself from reaching for him. "You took over your pack at just 19." He shrugged. "I didn't really have a choice, you know. When my dad died I had to step up. I wasn't ready but luckily I had his beta and Patrick's dad to help for a while. They taught me a lot." "What about your mom?" He looked down for a moment. "My mom died when I was seven." "Oh, I'm sorry." He looked back up. "She died in childbirth with my younger brother. He passed away a day later." "That's awful," she whispered. "That must have been hard on you and your dad." "It was hard," Kent agreed softly. "My dad changed after my mom died. He became so angry and harsh. I was just a kid, I didn't get it. All I knew was my mom and brother died and my dad turned into this person I barely recognized. I don't think I ever truly understood what happened until Lily died." She reached up, touching the arm he had draped along the back of the couch. He moved his hand, capturing hers and bringing it to his lips. He closed his eyes for a moment, gently kissing her knuckles. "He was determined to make me tough," Kent continued after a moment. "He used to drill me until I could barely stand and spar with me until I was bloody. A strong Alpha makes a strong pack. He used to tell me that every day and I hated him for it. Goddess, I hated him for a long time. But after Lily died, I realized what 3/4 Chapter 25 he was trying to do." "What was that?" "Make it so I could withstand anything," he whispered, his eyes meeting hers. "He taught me to be tough, to push through pain and don't let it cloud your judgment. After Lily was killed, I lost my mind for a while. Then I killed those rogues and I realized that this was the very thing my father wanted me to avoid. That's why he pushed me so hard. He didn't want me to make stupid, reckless decisions like that." "Still," she said, "it must have been hard to grow up like that. I know what my dad was like, but at least I was older when it happened." He shrugged. "I had Max and his mom Elva. She treated me like her own after my mother died. She used to make sure I ate and patched up my sparring wounds and got after my father for being too rough on me. Dad returned the favor by getting Max into all the right training programs. I also had Patrick and Lily and their parents. They were really good to me too." "I bet you have some good stories about Patrick and Max growing up," Riley said. Kent laughed. "Sure, I do." Comments Get Bonus (Ad) > 516 M