Lila's POV
I went up to the room in a hurry, anxiously waiting for Cole to come up.
The door swung open, and I ran forward, hoping to see Cole there, but it was just Holly.
"What. The. Fuck. Was that all about down there?" Holly snapped as she folded her hands across her chest.
"I have no idea, Holly. I have no freaking idea. I'm waiting for Cole to come up and tell me what that was all about." I said in a rush as I paced the room, struggling to blink back tears from my eyes.
"He'd better come the fuck up here, and if he doesn't have a fucking explanation, I'm going to strangle one out of him. Like what the fuck?" She paced looking as confused as I felt. "He was very different in Alpha Vance's house and on the car ride here, so why has he changed now?"
"That's the same question I've been asking myself for the past….. however long we've been in that feast."
Holly paused, shook her head, and kept pacing. It seemed like there was something she was thinking about that she didn't want to believe was true.
"What are you thinking, Holly?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure. You know what? Let's meet him first. Let him come here first."
"Okay." I nodded and slipped my shoe off, deciding to calm down before he came in.
We waited about another twenty minutes before he came up with a frown on his face.
"This is the Alpha's bedroom, Holly. If you don't have anything to do here with my Luna at this moment, I demand you leave right away."
"No. What was that all about? What the fuck was that down there?" Holly challenged as she stormed toward him.
"You do not dare question me," Cole growled lowly, his eyes turning red at the note.
"Holly, it's not worth it." I whimpered and pulled Holly back.
She looked at him in shock and disbelief before shaking her head and leaving.
"I was right. I was fucking right." She whispered to herself as she left.
What? What did she know that she didn't tell me?
"You know what? I think you should leave. I was hoping you could move to the room that was made specially for my Luna. I want to be here alone, and see you when I need you. I have a lot of work to do and I won't want to worry you with it."
"Cole, I know I haven't known you for a long time, but I know that this is not the type of person you are. What's going on? I mean, you were super sweet with me at Alpha Vance's and on the way here, so what's up with the sudden change?"
I hurried to him and yanked at the cloth on his shoulder. "Answer me, Cole. Was it all a ruse? Was it all pretense?"
"No, it wasn't." He said in so calm a voice that I felt chills run up my arm. "It was not all a pretense. I really do like you, Lila, and I thought there was a way to wake up your wolf. I came back and summoned the scribes and scholars, and they all said that there was no way to wake up someone's wolf. The wolf is going to wake up by itself, and at your age, your wolf is not sleeping. It's just choosing to be dormant. How do you want me to be with a wolf who doesn't have a wolf? I mean, I don't mind it, but what do you think the people will say?"
I shook my head and stepped back, feeling like I had received a punch to the chest.
"No." I shook my head with more force as if it was going to help me wake up from whatever horrible nightmare this was. "No, you can't be saying this."
"Well, I am." He shrugged nonchalantly and went back to sorting folders on his desk.
"I told you that this was how I am when you decided to choose me as your mate." I stalked toward him, anger and hurt bubbling within me. "I told you that I didn't have a wolf, but you still insisted on staying with me. I told you that I'd been rejected as a mate before, and I had told you that in case you wanted to reject me too, so that you would know that I'll be able to take it, but you insisted on staying to reject me now?"
"I'm not rejecting the mate bond. I'm just asking you to move out of my room."
"Yeah, and you're asking that of me now because you hate me, isn't it? Because you do not want me. Maybe you don't want to hear this, but what you just did is worse to me than rejecting the mate bond."
"I thought I could awaken the wolf in you." He snapped and turned to me, but I just shook my head in confusion.
"But, Cole, you could have just found someone else. You could have just rejected our mate bond and found someone with an active wolf. Or did you just want someone who was still whole? Someone who hadn't had sex before?"
"No, Lila. I'm not that fucking petty." He snapped and turned to me. "I have a lot going on with me okay? And the pack witch had already told me that if I didn't find my mate, I was going to die. I thought it was a joke until I was already on my deathbed. I wasn't feeling completely okay when I went to my father's, but the moment I saw you, I felt better. Do you get it now?"
"But then why can't you just accept and love me?"
"I do accept and love you, but you're doing nothing to strengthen my pack so don't blame me for being a little mad."
I scoffed in anger and picked up my bag. I paused at the door and turned to him. "I might be doing nothing to strengthen your pack, but don'
t forget that I'm the only reason this pack has an Alpha right now."