Stuck with the enemy

Chapter 56: Meeting The Bride

Deniz's Story

Two days later,...

Things were moving forward on their own. Training sessions filled most of my days, but the time spent back at the house... that was the most precious to me. If there was one good thing to come out of joining the patrol, it was reclaiming my home. Now, I wasn't letting go of it—no way—and I was certain Aras felt the same. Sure, he'd grumbled at first, but now even he seemed to agree that we deserved to be a little selfish.

Still, we had work to do. The search for the mole was progressing, but so was our hunt for my parents' killers. I'd spent a long time thinking it over, and I couldn't shake the feeling the two were connected. After all, back then, whoever got to my parents wouldn't have stood a chance without inside information. My parents were always careful—too careful for anyone to catch them off guard like that. And Luna... she was with them. No, it had to be someone from within. Maybe the same mole—or someone they knew.

We had some kind of plan. Aras, Jacob, and I had pieced it together.

After the hospital attack, the rogue I'd taken down had been arrested. From what I'd managed to gather, some of the rogues who'd attacked Derek were locked up in the same underground prison.

We needed to find a way to reach them. But that was easier said than done. As new in the patrol, we don't have access to the city's underground prison. Even getting close seems almost impossible.

My part in the plan? Convince Derek to interrogate them one more time—with us present.

I wasn't thrilled about it.

Despite the moment we'd shared two days ago, I still couldn't stand him. The man is insufferable. My plan to keep him at arm's length is still firmly in place, though I somehow kept failing at it. Every time I thought I'd drawn a clear line, something happened to blur it again.

Still, this mission will be simple enough from now on. The man is practically engaged, and if the gossip is true, his "lucky" fiancée is in town.

"Deniz, you really don't feel anything? How can you be so indifferent?"

Derya's voice echoed in my head, her disapproval sharp and clear.

"I'm not indifferent," I replied. "I'm realistic. Nothing was ever going to work between us. And the fact that the bond hasn't broken—whatever it is that's still there—it terrifies me. It makes me question everything, but I don't want the answers. I just want it to stop."

I paused, letting out a slow breath as the weight of my thoughts settled in.

"Besides," I continued," once I find out who's responsible for my parents' deaths, I'm leaving this place. No matter what Derek's "marital status" turns out to be."

The words felt heavy, but they were true.

I felt bad for Derya, though. I knew wolves suffered the most from the decisions we made as humans. But what could I do? Love couldn't be forced, not from me, and not from him either. All we could do was move forward with our lives.

I was in the women's locker room at the training center, getting ready for my session with Miriam. The faint buzz of conversations around me blurred into the background until her voice cut through.

"Have you heard? There's going to be a wedding soon," Miriam said as she tied her shoelaces, her tone dripping with playful curiosity. "What I wouldn't give to see the faces of all those girls hopelessly in love with Alpha when they find out."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "I think it'll be declared a national day of mourning."

The truth was, almost every single girl in the city had some sort of infatuation with Alpha Derek. And in this training center alone, the number of swooning admirers was too ridiculous to count. Yesterday, I witnessed something that confirmed just how absurd it all was.