Chapter 9

A cry of pain escaped my lips as I clenched my ankle which was throbbing in agonizing pain. Zack
scurried to his feet, trying to help me, but a low warning growl from Ace stopped him in his movements.

By now both Aiden and Ace had made it to where we were. Ace threw a swing at Zack, punching him
square in his face before he plummeted to the ground once again. Aiden examined my ankle and the
damage, but I was sure it was a sprain.

"What the hell Zack! You f**king hurt my mate! " Ace shouted with his Alpha tone in anger, something I
have never heard since I got here.

Zack shook in fear, trying to move away from his wrath. Over the weeks, I've learnt that Ace was a
stern but an approachable Alpha, so his pack wasn't scared of him. But now, he was really scary.

"I- I'm sorry. It was just a part of the training Alpha. I-I didn't mean to hurt her" He stuttered out as Ace's
chest rose and fell in anger.

His apology didn't seem to calm Ace, but in that minute I wasn't up for the back and forth--or forth and
forth rather, since Zack wouldn't dare speak back to his Alpha.

Aiden tested my joint movement, causing another rush of pain to run through me, and I cried out in
agony once again. For a person who spent years training, trust me, I have very low tolerance for pain.

This caught Ace's attention as he quickly rushed to me, leaving a shivering Zack as he peered at my
foot to assess the damage.

"I'll take you back to the house and call a doctor to come check on you" He said as he attempted to lift
me, but Aiden had other plans.

"I'll take her, she's my sister" Aiden stopped him, giving him a stern look. Ace didn't appreciate this, as
he growled low and threateningly at him.



"And she's my mate" He gritted out, staring equally deadly at him. This mate-brother feud was cute and
all, but I had no time for this.

"Aiden it's okay, just get my flowers" I smiled reassuringly, knowing we wouldn't leave until Ace had me.

When a wolf's mate is hurt or in trouble, their first and only instinct is to deal with the threat and keep
their mate safe. It didn't matter how much I pushed him away, he needed to know that I was safe, and
to him and his wolf, that was only in his arms.

He gently scooped me up as if I would break, keeping my feet a few inches apart so they don't hit
against each other.

"You're not doing any more physical training," he said sternly as if it wasn't up for discussion. I scoffed.

"Yes I am, that's a part of my contract. Plus I only get one day a week to do the good stuff so you wont
take that from me."

"The hell you are! You could've gotten much more hurt," he argued with his voice laced with hurt.

"But I didn't, and I'll be fully healed by tomorrow Ace." I softened my voice in an attempt to sooth him,
which worked since he sighed in defeat.

"Fine but I'll be here with you every Monday" He dismissed but I didn't answer. So much for keeping
him away.

That didn't seem like a good idea. The more we spend time around each other, the less I'll be able to
push him away and the less the chances of him hating me and moving on.

We didn't talk the rest of the way, leaving me completely to my thoughts.



He seemed to have already informed the doctor, since he was there when Ace carefully placed me on
my bed.

He growled ever so often when the doctor would touch my foot, making me roll my eyes at his
protectiveness. I was about to tell him to leave and let the doctor do his thing, but the he spoke before I
could talk.

"It's just a slight fracture, but it should heal within a day or two, depending on how fast you heal. For
now Luna, you should just stay off your feet" The doctor smiled warmly at me, which I returned with a
thank you.

I tried to ignore the fact that he called me Luna, but it felt so right. My wolf felt proud at that, and the
look on Ace's face told me that he was too.

He sat beside me on the bed, gently rubbing circles on my thigh, which I allowed him to. After a few
minutes of silence he finally spoke.

"You know, when I turned sixteen, the first thing I wanted to do after I shifted was to find my mate" He
started, while I suddenly got uncomfortable by the topic.

"When I saw you for the first time, I felt as if I could finally touch the sky" He let out a low chuckle,
shaking his head. "But when I noticed something wasn't right, I vowed to make it better, find a way
make you love me" My breath hitched as my eyes stung with tears.

Ace please don't do this.

"Every night I stay up late, thinking of ways to win you over. And I don't mind that you're distant, I will
wait however long it takes to finally have you in my arms" He whispered, and a tear finally rolled down
my cheek. "I'll wait for you Roxy, however long it takes" He kissed away the tear, making me shut my
eyes tight.



My heart broke for the millionth time this week as a sob escaped my lips. He held me to his chest as I
cried, not really saying much, just holding me.

All I could think about was how my heart felt. How I'll never be fully happy if I let him go. How I'll see
that look on everyone's face if I chose Ace. All I could think about was how messed up my life felt right.

I heard Jane's voice in my head from that day telling me about the only way that I could possibly be
free and set Ace free also.

I cried even harder as I decided what needed to be done--has to be done. I just wished it didn't have to
be like this.

I pulled away from him and dried my eyes as I leaned against the bed head. I dared not to look into his
face, knowing damn well I wouldn't make it if I did. More tears stung my eyes, but I managed to keep
them at bay, yet my sniffles were still frequent.

I prepared myself, as I gathered the words to say.

‘Just do it fast, it'll hurt but it will make everything easier.’

I closed my eyes as I pushed my wolf down, already getting a headache from her loud whimpering.

It's now or never.

"I Roxanna Gilbert," I started, looking up to his face which shut me up immediately.

My tears started to flow again, and he looked confused as he sat there quietly waiting. I didn't attempt
to stop my crying, but I decided to start again.

"I, Roxanna Gilbert, reje-" His hand flew up and covered my mouth immediately as he picked up on
what I was about to do. His eyes started to glisten, and for the first time since I've met him, I saw fear



on his face and in his eyes.

"No Roxy please don't do this. Whatever it is, we'll work through it, I promise just please" He pleaded,
but I shook my head through the tears.

"Yes we can. We're mates Roxy, you're my gift from the moon and I got you for a reason. But Roxy
please don't do this" A tear fell down his cheek as I watched the man that weakened me in pure hurt.

My heart felt heavy and my mind was all over the place, but in that moment while I stared at Ace's face,
I knew that there was only one that was the right thing to do. I removed his hand from, and leveled my
sniffles as I gazed into his beautiful hazel eyes.

"I, Roxanna Gilbert," I started again, while he tried to cover my mouth again, but I held his hands in one
place. "Accept you as my mate" I ended, leaving him in complete shock and relief as he looked at me
lovingly.

"What? " He gently whispered, as a smile grew on his perfect face.

"I accept you Ace."


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