The Alpha’s Little Rogue

Chapter 20

Chapter 20 Alessia’s POV I’m angry at Caden. Then again, when am I not? I just can’t understand him. His inscrutable facade annoysand now, I’m trying to take that annoyance out on him. Keyword: Trying. “Harder,” Caden growls, landing a blow to my shoulder and winding me. “You aren’t going to knock out an opponent of twice your size with these weak punches.” I upgraded from using a punching bag as my sparing partner and for the past few days, I’m been sparing with Caden. It hasn’t been easy. To think I thought Caden was difficult to bear when he was yelling atfrom the side of a punching bag. Fighting him has got nothing on that. The fact that he isn’t taking it easy onmakesboth happy and scared for my life. How long will I survive this training? My wondering thoughts leave my stomach exposed and Caden takes advantage of it, throwing a punch atthat leaveswith my butt on the ground. I’ve passed the stage of being embarrassed at how many people are witnessing my failure day after day. All I want now is to wipe that f u c k i n g smug smile that appears on his face every tI fail. “Get out of your head,” he throws atfrom my position on the floor. I huff. Of course, he noticed that I wasn’t focused. He always does. I lift myself off the floor and back onto my feet, ready for another round with Caden. No matter how many times I land on my butt. I always pick myself back up and face him. “Again,” he says, going back into position.

We circle around each other for a minute and then I see it…my opening. A chance to finally throw what will be my first punch at Caden. I take it, rushing forward and going straight for my mark. Unfortunately, like I should have foreseen, Caden dodges it like he always does and then I’m flying past

him and heading straight for the ground. I close my eyes waiting for the impact that doesn’t come. When I open them up, I find Caden’s face level with mine and his arms wrapped around me, holdingup and preventing another embarrassing fall. My eyes drift down to his lips, tracing the perfect bow with my gaze. When I lift my gaze back to his, I find them locked on my lips and my breath hushs, my tongue peeking out to lick my suddenly dry lips. I JJ HNB B B B B B BBG BI Chapter 20 11:24 eyes darken as they follow my movement and just as I’m sure that he’s definitely about to kiss me, he pulls away. Back to square one. With a sigh, I wipe the feeling of hurt in my chest and pull away from his hold. I don’t even bother to look around to see if anyone noticed our almost kiss. He clears his throat, the vein in his neck popping. “That’s all for today. We continue from here tomorrow. I don’t get any words out before I’m watching his back as he heads over to a group of teenagers. I sigh heavily, feeling totally exhausted from both the fight and Caden’s mood swings. Is this how it’s meant to be? Is he going to keep trying to kissand then pull away at the very last second? When Caden is done trainingfor the day, he leavesto my own means and sometimes I continue training. Other times, I just head back to the pack house to lick my wounds while I soak in cold water. Today happens to be the latter. I turn around without looking at Caden and head for the exit. Halfway through my walk, I hear footsteps hurry behindand turn around to find Scarlett trying to catch up with me. I stop and wait for her.

She comes to a halt besideand looks atwith something akin to pity that leavesfeeling confused. “I saw you with Caden,” she informs, that expression still on her face. Great. I bet the whole pack saw us. At this point, do people actually believe Caden’s half-baked lies? I force a smile onto my face. “It was nothing. I just lost myself for a second there. Thankfully, nothing happened,” I wheeze. I’m a terrible liar and Scarlett must have noticed it as well because her expression doesn’t change. “Caden is just…” She trails off, looking for the right words to use. “How do you reject your mate?” I ask, cutting her off. Her eyes whip atand widen in shock. “You want to reject Caden?” She asked, sounding astounded. I shake my head, keeping my eyes straight ahead. “I just want to know more about mates,” I answer, telling the truth. The idea of rejecting Caden may have occurred toa few times but it held no concrete. If our dynamic should change, it will be because of Caden and not because I rejected him. UZN 95% 11:24 Chapter 20 Scarlett sighs in relief, closing her eyes as she places a palm on her chest. What was that about? Is she holding out hope of Caden andworking out our differences? I’m almost tempted to tell her not to hold her breath. “To reject your mate, you have to say your name, position, and the pack you reside in. Announce that you want to reject them and that’s it,” she explains, using tiny gestures with her hands. It sounds so easy but I know it’s anything but. “What happens afterward?” I ask. The mate bond destroys and the both of them are free of each other. Swerewolves aren’t able to

bear the loss and end up running insane or going rogue.” She shivers. Running insane or going rogue? Dear G o d, am I going to be stuck with Caden forever? COMMENT