GIFTED RILEY by Lacy Mierr

Chapter 19: A Luna’s Stance

*Riley*

I raised my bow and couldn’t keep the anger from my eyes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You act as if I sought him out. If your used your eyes and actually looked at me then you can see that i’m not actually fit enough for a hot date. I’m tired, sweaty, I have smelt better. The last thing I want is to be found by anyone, not Knox and definitely not you, “I snapped.

“That did not stop you from conversing with him, and here I thought. you were incapable of smiling,” he said, sounding annoyed and if I were honest a bit childish.

“Well, you’ve yet to give me a reason to. Now if you’ll excuse me, My King, I would like to shower and change my clothes,” I said. I didn’t wait to be dismissed but heading inside.

It was going to take a while to get used to this place but so far I knew the changing room was near the room I had been sleeping in. I headed. for the room, hoping to avoid anyone else.

It shouldn’t be too hard to avoid people when I realized I had a shadow. With the look of a demon, Nicolas kept a few steps behind me. He could easily overpower my steps but when I saw a few s e v a n t s filling

the hall, I toyed with the notion that he wanted us to speak in private.

I wasn’t going to make it easy for him though, despite his consideration. I reached the room and pulled the handle. It didn’t open. I looked up and saw that he had reached me and was pressing against the door, preventing it from opening.

I sighed and decided to give him my full attention in the hopes he would get whatever he needed off his chest.

“Yes?” I asked, not masking my annoyance.

“I did not like seeing you laugh with another man, I can not allow it, Riley,” he said.

“No Riles today? Good. Not that I need to explain myself-”

“You do,” he interrupted. I sucked my teeth and continued.

“I spent most of my day getting tossed around by your beta, not Knox. I didn’t even know he was watching me, though I think I wasn’t the focus for him,” I said. He didn’t seem to like my explanation.

Suddenly, he reached out and ed my upper arm, giving me a twist

and frowning. He did the same with the other arm.

“You are all bruised up,” he pointed out.

Chapter 19. & Tona’s Stance

“Yeah, tossed around.” I repeated. That deepened his frown.

“I have allowed this to go on when I knew it was not a good idea. You will have limited training, there is no need for you to push yourself. My mate should not be sporting bruises when she can have around the clock protection,” he seemed to order.

My temper flared.

“You think I’m doing this for sport? I should have been taught this years ago, wolf or no wolf, but I wasn’t. I was neglected by everyone close to me, and it seems distance has done nothing to better my judgment on men! You are just like them, like Noah, trying to keep me under your thumb, keep me weak so I can feel grateful to be around you, like I owe you for keeping me around..

“I’m glad Vera wants to train me. For once I don’t have to feel dependent on others. I have a long way to go, but I’m actually excited for the future. I want to see what a wolf-less wolf like me is capable of and I’ve never felt this before. And I won’t let anyone take this feeling away. Not even you will take this from me!”

I suddenly felt dizzy once I realized what I had just done. Not only did I yell at the alpha king, but I compared him to Noah, knowing dam n well they weren’t really alike. Seeing the look on his face and I fought the urge to drop to my knees and beg for forgiveness. I bowed as low ast I could, my heart pounding in my chest. Had I hit my head or something. The Alpha King was not known for his kind nature, and I doubt forgiveness was something he found a use for often.

42.31%

12 521

Chapter 19: A Luna Sta

“I…” my voice broke.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said all that. I just meant I enjoyed the training, even with the bumps and bruises. I can handle it,” I said to the ground.

I couldn’t stand up, not with the silence literally having over my head. How stupi d could I be? Perhaps I had a death wish I didn’t know about.

The silence was killing me, where was the beating?

A hand reached out and touched my shoulder, I hated that I flinched. His grip stabilized me and he stood me up. His expression took me by surprise, he didn’t look like he was going to rip my heart out.

“It’s okay, Riles,” he touched my head almost tenderly, “I won’t stop your training, but please give me grace when it comes to seeing the after effects of it,” he said.

My jaw dropped as I stared up at me. He looked serious and sincere. I couldn’t hold his piercing intense blue eyes so I glanced downward, my face heating up.

A slight inhale caused me to look up again. He had stood to his full height but was looking forward towards the door. Looking at him closer I saw his eyes were white, meaning someone was mindlinking him. His lips going from normal to thinning to frowning. He closed his eyes and when they opened they had returned to their deep shade.

Chapter 19 A Luna’s Stance

Looking down, but not really seeing he spoke, his voice low.

“I have to go,” he said before turning.

I didn’t get a chance to even call after him. Whatever it was it looked important and something that couldn’t wait.