The Alpha’s Little Rogue (Alessia)

Chapter 156

Raphael's POV "Go harder," I order as I take a good look at the people around me.

It's hard to believe that nearly a month ago, they were barely able to hold themselves upright.

I'm proud to say that I've whipped them into shape. At least, most of them have shown signs of improving. It wasn't easy but I made It work.

"Make sure that your thumb is hidden," I remind Liam, a student in high school. With a pat on his shoulders, I step to the side as he punches the punching bag in front of him like he's taking out his anger on the inanimate object. Something os bothering him but he has pushed it aside and poured his frustration into his workout session.

Walking away from Liam, I move on to a teenage girl who looks like she needs some help. Helping her with her footing, I walk away and continue observing them. Surprisingly, the teenagers catch up quickly despite the fact that they spend their weekdays in school. Anyways, today is a Saturday so they are present and trying to catch up on what they have missed. I'm currently trying not to focus on the fact that Daphne is also free for the weekend.

It's sad how weak I'm when it comes to anything that involves Daphne but I've stopped trying to fight it.

"Ok, that's it." I clap my hands to get their attention and up to fifty pairs of eyes turn to me. "Let's call it a day here."

Those sets of eyes hold confusion as everyone starts packing up and pulling out of the warehouse. I'm sure it comes as a surprise to all of them that I'm calling the training off without giving them a thousand injuries to go home to nurse. But none of them is about to question that goodwill. They ought to thank Daphne for their good fortune.

It's no use forcing myself to focus on this training when every part of my being is screaming at me to go over to Daphne's house and cuddle with her.

I'm right on the heels of the last person who's stepping out of the warehouse. But as I start marching towards the direction of Daphne's house, a deep voice calls my name and I turn around to find Henry leaning against the wall of the warehouse.

I hold in an exasperated sigh and walk back to him. "Is anything amiss?" I can't think of any reason why he is putting a pin on what was about to be a delightful day for me. My previous opinion and high regard for him starts deteriorating.

I finally get to his front and try to tune down my annoyance. I hope that he doesn't notice that standing here and talking with him is one of the last time I wish I was doing.

"Are you going to see her again?" He asks plainly, acting like he didn't just detonated a bomb the size of Mountain Everest.

My mouth closes and opens like a fish out of water as I gape at Henry. Does he know something or is he just bluffing? And should I come clean or try to figure out what exactly it is that he knows?

He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. "Are you on your way to see Daphne?"

"How did you know that?" I finally ask after picking my jaw off the ground and getting a grip on myself.

"Did you really think that I would let an outsider into the pack for weeks without knowing what it is that they're doing?"

I knew walking in and out of this pack smoothly was too good to be true. So did he stalk me? How did I not notice someone was tailing me?

Another eye roll. "I didn't stalk you." He shrugs. "I knew Daphne was your mate the very first time that you saw her."

"How did you know that?" I gave myself away?

"Your whole demeanor changed when you first saw her." He inches closer to me. "Though I don't understand why you guys are choosing to keep it a secret."

I look around, searching to see if

there's

no Onyone close by. When I find

I start talking. "We aren

hiding it," I whisper. "I haven't told her that she's my mate ver

Henry's eyes widen in surprise. "Why haven't you?" His eyes widen even further with a tinge of anger. "Are you planning to reject her?"

I growl at that question. Nobody is going to be rejecting anybody here. "I'm not rejecting her," I voice out, annoyed that he even came to that conclusion. "Then why has she been kept in the dark?"

I sigh, tired of going over this same thing countless times. "I'm waiting for the perfect time to tell her."

His eyebrows arch in disbelief. "You've known about this for a month now and you still haven't found the perfect time to tell her about it?" He asks dryly.

"It's complicated," I grit out through clenched teeth, ready to put an end to this conversation so that I can head over to Daphne's sweet home.

Henry looks like he has a lot more

that he wants to say but he drops it and I inwardly thank him. I don't need someone else questioning me and making me feel like I'm going about this the wrong way. Alex and Caden are already more than I can handle.

"Just don't hurt her," he says softly with his gaze holding mine firmly.

"I won't," I reply evenly. Heck, if anyone is going to be getting hurt then it with definitely be me. I'm the one who has placed everything. On the line here in the hope of a chance with her. And I don't regret a thing I've done so far.