Page 17 of Framed and Forgotten (Ashen Wolves #3)
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A V R I L
For the first time since Koen moved into the alpha chambers with me, we felt oceans apart despite sharing the same bed.
Even before our bond was restored, his presence had always calmed me in ways science couldn’t explain.
But that night, I couldn’t feel it, too restless to drift off.
Sleeping next to him felt strange with so many questions spiraling in my head, but what choice did I have?
After the way he’d reacted to our argument, I doubted talking to him would do any good, and being intimate with him had proven to be the wrong option.
Waking up beside him the next morning wasn’t any easier.
Even with my back to him, I could tell he was awake.
It was only a matter of time before he realized I was, too.
Still, I couldn’t move, couldn’t open my eyes.
An unconscious fear paralyzed me. What if getting out of bed meant walking on eggshells?
I wasn’t ready for another fight - I wasn’t sure our relationship could take it.
Unfortunately for me, my nightmares bled into reality the moment a hand brushed my shoulder.
Koen’s touch sent a storm of emotions through me - the mate bond reached for my heart, offering safety and shelter, but my mind screamed danger.
Anxiety crept in. He knew I was awake now, and it was clear he wouldn’t let me off with just a simple ‘good morning.’
“Hey.” His voice was calm, quiet, yet it rang in my ears. “You awake?”
His fingers traced slow, gentle patterns along my arm as he waited for a response, though he already knew the answer. The words caught in my throat, hesitation getting the best of me. When had I become such a scared pup? Maybe Koen was acting weird, but I hardly recognized myself either.
“Mm-hmm,” was all I managed to reply.
I felt him shift on the mattress, inching closer.
His hard chest pressed against my back, warmth seeping into me as his hand slid beneath my arm to rest against my stomach.
Some of my tension unraveled when he planted a kiss on my temple.
He seemed…gentler. Like his usual self. Could his strange behavior last night have just been exhaustion, like he claimed?
The thought was a fragile comfort, one I wasn’t sure I could trust yet.
“Avril,” he uttered against my ear, my name rolling off his tongue just like it had when we reunited after five years apart. It sent shivers down my spine, and I surrendered to it - if only for a moment. “I’m sorry for how I acted last night.”
I swallowed. Kea was ready to forgive him, but I wasn’t so sure yet. “You’ve been apologizing a lot lately,” I countered, reluctant.
“I have,” he admitted with a sigh. “I’ve been… confused. Tired.” Another breath escaped him. “But so have you. I shouldn’t have brought up the subject yesterday out of the blue. I’m sorry I pressured you and then blamed you for your response to a question you weren’t prepared to be asked.”
He laid a kiss to my shoulder, continuing his caress.
Seconds later, he rolled away from me again, startling me.
Was that it? I’d been expecting a real talk, where I could actually feel his regret, understand his reasons.
But he didn’t even bother looking me in the eye, pulling me into his arms. All I’d gotten was half an apology.
Was he only sorry for his bad timing and nothing else?
It barely seemed like he felt any remorse at all.
“You’re overanalyzing it, Avril,” Kea insisted, lowering her ears as she shared my feelings, yet refused to accept them. “You’re both spent and worried about too much.”
Perhaps she was right, though I couldn’t completely agree with her.
The more I turned it over in my mind, the wider the distance between Koen and I seemed to stretch.
But what could I do? For the past few days, all we seemed to do was fight.
I couldn’t risk pushing him and starting another argument. I didn’t have the energy to.
“Are you hungry?” Koen’s voice filled the room again, ripping me from my agonizing thoughts. I glanced over my shoulder to find him standing in front of the closet, changing out of the clothes he’d slept in.
“A little,” I lied. If he hadn’t brought it up, I probably would’ve forgotten to have breakfast this morning. But if anything, I was eager to leave this room, where all I could do was ponder.
“I’m starving for something that’s not a hot dog or cotton candy,” he said playfully, clearly trying to lighten the mood.
I forced a chuckle, pretending to buy it. “Let’s hope Rhea hasn’t decided to add an unannounced amusement park-themed food day to this week’s menu.”
After breakfast, I sent Theo to Whispering Hills to check for a response letter from the Council.
Normally, I would wait at least half a week, as the Elders were busy and rarely replied any faster.
However, given their apparent fixation on Azure Smoke, I suspected we'd hear from them sooner rather than later. I didn’t want to delay a response; it was crucial to demonstrate compliance if we wished to avoid having them lose patience and dig deeper.
This time, Elijah accompanied his mate. Rhea was tied up with her delta duties, leaving Koen and me with an afternoon to ourselves.
He said he wanted to spend time alone with me, though there was nothing special planned.
We didn’t have a romantic escape or a passionate moment by the waterfall - just a quiet, casual hangout.
Different.
Everything about our relationship felt different now.
I wasn’t blind to the changes, though I pretended they didn’t bother me.
“ This will pass ,” my wolf reaffirmed, adamant that all we needed was a calm couple of days to heal.
How strange it was that I found comfort in something so simple: we hadn’t had another argument before my beta’s return.
Luckily, Theo wasn’t wearing a worried expression - probably because, despite bringing back the letter we expected, he hadn’t opened it.
I couldn’t bear any more bad news, but I knew I had to read the contents of the Council’s response.
Delaying it as long as I could, I asked my team to gather in my office so we could check it out together.
Koen tagged along, but I couldn’t say his silent presence relaxed me the way it once had.
With trembling fingers, I tore open the envelope, unfolding the delicate piece of paper. I didn’t try to give it a quiet read first, immediately reciting the words as I read them.
“To the esteemed Alpha of Azure Smoke Pack,” I began. “The Elder Council appreciates your eagerness in reaching out to us. We understand your desire to retain your anonymity, and by the sacred laws we abide by, we do not wish to interfere with it.”
Off to a good start, I thought to myself, breathing a little easier, though my shoulders remained stiff, bracing for whatever might come next.
“Nevertheless, we still require access to further information on the data of Azure Smoke Pack,” I continued, subconsciously lowering my voice as the tone of the letter began to shift.
“To ensure the avoidance of an official registration of Azure Smoke Pack, we request proof of your current size and strength. If you do not wish for us to visit in person for confirmation, please provide a copy of the document detailing every pack member.”
I didn’t bother reading the closing out loud, their demand echoing in my head, consuming all my attention.
This wasn’t good, though I couldn’t say I hadn’t expected it.
From the moment I decided to reveal my pack’s existence to the shifter world, I knew there would come a time when they’d suspect our abnormal power.
But I sure as hell didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
Then, a different voice rang in my head.
I remembered my strange encounter with the alpha of Golden Valley Pack not long ago, when he’d questioned the lack of information available about me.
This couldn’t have been a coincidence. He must have encouraged the Elders to pursue an investigation. Only now I wasn’t the only target.
My entire pack was under observation.
“Shit!” The word rolled off my tongue before I even realized I was saying it.
I immediately felt Koen’s hand on my shoulders, massaging them as he stood behind me. “I understand we can’t provide the real identities of the pack members,” he observed. “But shouldn’t it be relatively easy to come up with fake documents?”
“Technically, yes,” Rhea replied, but her expression betrayed her true emotions - she was as concerned as I was. “But to make it believable, we can’t take long to deliver these documents. If we do, they could suspect tampering.”
“It should be something we’d have readily available,” Theo added. “If we can’t deliver it instantly, it would lead them to question the veracity of the information. And if they have reason to look more closely into these documents, they could be able to realize they are fake.”
Koen wasn’t used to lying. During his time as Alpha, he had nothing to hide. But the change in his demeanor showed he could comprehend my ranked members’ explanations.
Coming up with believable identities for each of our pack members would take a significant amount of time. Sadly, we didn’t have nearly as much as we needed. We’d have to make do with what we had, and we couldn’t afford to present anything less than flawless.
Before stress could suffocate me, I declared to the room, “These documents must be ready by tomorrow morning.” Glances were exchanged, but no words were spoken.
After a pause, I delivered the next order.
“I’m sorry to ask this of all of you, but we won’t be getting any rest tonight. I’ll need your help with this.”
“Yes, Alpha,” all three of them replied without hesitation.
Koen sat in the chair beside me, gazing into my eyes. “We can do this.”
But his gaze lacked the reassurance I needed.