For the first week they had trained together every day, they had competed and learned from each other.

Ashleigh thought they had moved past all the awkwardness and had even built a friendship of sorts. But suddenly everything changed, four days earlier, the same day she had met Caleb’s mother by accident. Since that day, everything seemed different between them.

Caleb had canceled sessions. He had brought in Galen to replace him or sometimes the other representatives. He rarely showed up to their scheduled training matches himself.

He would leave instructions for her to run simulations or obstacle courses that he would review and send notes on when he had time.

He very rarely spent time one-on-one with her anymore.

Before, she would have been thankful for this change, glad to be away from him and avoid any risk of confusion. But that didn’t matter now, this was her job, a task given to her by her alpha. He was disrespecting her, looking down on her.

As she looked at the way Summer was run, at the advancements, they had over any other pack. She understood very clearly what he thought of her. She wasn’t worth his time, not when he had so much more to work with.

***

Caleb had struggled with the way he felt when his memories of the full moon had returned.

He was angry, hurt, and disappointed.

He had a hard time being around her. He canceled training sessions but would find reasons to be in the same area she was in. Keeping his distance, while still being near her._.

He asked Galen to spar with her, but as he watched in the observation deck he seethed with a jealous rage at each touch. He witnessed her focus and determination to win against Galen and Caleb longed to be part of it.

He had arranged simulations and obstacle courses; she took each challenge and ran headfirst into it with a fire he desperately wanted to feel. Caleb watched as she broke speed records against beasts that even some of his strongest men struggled to take down in a group.

He cheered for her from the shadows and longed to tell her how proud he was of her.

But every time Ashleigh tried to talk to him alone, he heard a whisper in his memory.

‘Please, don’t leave me.’

Filling him with regret and loneliness.

He avoided her; he avoided the pain of his memories. He knew how she felt about him, she had made that perfectly clear.

He was not her mate, the other one was.

But unfortunately for him, she was his mate. He needed to find a way to get past that painful truth.

***

Four days of back and forth between the representatives he was meant to guide and Ashleigh.

Galen was at the end of his rope.

He had watched for these four days as Caleb tried to avoid her while keeping his eyes firmly on her.

He had been sent in Caleb’s place to spar with her, feeling the hateful gaze of his Alpha, while taking the brutal strikes of his Luna’s injured pride.

Caleb refused to tell him what was wrong, Ashleigh was getting angrier by the day, and Fiona was insisting that Galen simply let the situation play out.

Galen wasn’t sure how much more he could take.

“Hello, sugar.”

That sickly sweet voice made Galen clenched his jaw and breathed deeply through his nose.

“Where have you been hiding yourself these days? It feels like I hardly ever see you anymore,” Alice pouted as she sat beside him on the bench leaning her head on his shoulder, prompting him to stand up.

Alice giggled at his reaction.

“While I do prefer your devilish good looks, I do not mind this view at all,” Alice purred with an arched brow.

Galen looked back at her only to realize he had stood directly in front of her. She was staring at his butt. He quickly moved away to the bench that sat across from her.

“Spoilsport,” she smiled.

“Is there something you need Alice?” Galen sighed.

“Well, now that you mention it. I do have some needs I would very much like your help with,” she replied, licking her lips and giving him a quick wink.

Galen growled to show his irritation.

“Oh my, you really are just no fun today,” Alice pouted once more.

“I’m not here to entertain you, Alice.”

“Then are you here to entertain Miss Ashleigh?” Alice asked.

“What?” Galen said.

“I just mean, that it seems you have been paying an awful lot of attention to her. Didn’t I hear that you were supposed to be with the rest of us?” she questioned leaning back against the bench as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Alpha Caleb—” Galen started.

“Oh yes! Alpha Caleb!” Alice clapped, “that’s right! I believe he was the one who was meant to train with her right? And why is that exactly? Why did Winter get to send two representatives?”

“Well, we also sent two representatives to Spring.” Galen countered.

“Yes, you did, but that was a late addition, more of an auditing the class and not a private tutoring with our alpha,” Alice smiled brightly, leaning forward she spoke quietly. “Between you and me, a lot of your people ain’t really about that either. There’s been a lot of talk.”

“Well, you don’t need to concern yourself with the goings on of Summer,” Galen grumbled.

“Oh, it’s just a bunch of gossip really,” Alice sighed dramatically. “Just some stories about Alpha Caleb paying so much extra attention to Ashleigh. The special treatment he has given her.”

“Alpha Caleb is responsible for her training; it is not special treatment. It was an arrangement made between the alphas.”

“Right, right. So, you said. I was just a wee bit concerned about those rumors talking about the two of them getting real close and personal, like suddenly running off into the woods together where no one could find them. Or how much attention he pays to her when he isn’t even the one training her.”

Galen watched the smile on her lips twist from feigned innocence to mischief.

“There was something about giving her access to some secret project too. I found that one mighty interesting,” Alice paused, smiling wide, “wanna talk about that?”

Galen worked hard to keep his anger from rising to the surface, but it was difficult.

“Or,” he began, “we could talk about you somehow finding your way into restricted areas. Or how mysteriously those restricted areas have had multiple scheduling errors around the times you’ve been spotted nearby.”

“Oh goodness. Sounds like you might have a nasty bug somewhere in your system,” Alice smiled. “Might want to get that checked out before something serious goes wrong.”

“Good idea,” Galen replied.

They stared intently at each other for a moment, Alice finally broke the silence with a laugh.

“You three are something else,” she sighed. “There is something strange between those two, and you, well, I really do enjoy our chats.”

“The feeling is not mutual,” Galen replied with a bright smile.

“Honey not vinegar, Darlin. Don’t you know the basic rules of talking to the enemy?”

“Are you my enemy?” Galen asked, looking her in the eye.

Alice let out a small gasp, she hadn’t expected the seriousness of his eyes or his question.

“I’m not sure yet,” she answered honestly, before turning to leave.

“I’d rather you not be,” Galen said as she was walking away.

“So would I,” Alice whispered to herself with a curious smile. These people were very interesting to her.