The Beta’s Regret

“Great! So for starters, I want you to run through the perimeter of the garden. I will time you and let we take it from there, alright?” I nodded my head and tied my shoelaces firmly.

“Yes”

“On your mark. get set, go” Arthur signaled and I shot forward. The air was cool and it was so refreshing to have somebody

to train with.

I put all my energy and focus on running and soon I felt myself sweating a little. A few bones in my ankle twitched as I gave them sufficient movement and my back which had felt rigid a few minutes ago felt a lot less still I returned to Arthur who was doing some warm up.

Panting a little I asked. “How was it?”

Arthur looked at the stopwatch and replied. “Not bad.”

I gave him a small smile while dabbing the sweat on my forehead. “Think you can do one more? Just focus on your posture a little while running”

“What do you mean?” I asked and Arthur stepped forward, “I saw that your back was stiff and you were throwing your legs too far in an attempt to have longer strides.”

“Is that bad?” I enquired in a small voice.

“No, not necessarily. But while jogging or sprinting, keep your legs closer to your body. Take short strides but faster. You are not running a marathon right?”

I nodded as he gave me a few more tips “Ok now off you go

I smiled at him as he clicked the stopwatch and I started my second lap. However, I focused on my mistakes from earlier and returned to him, a little out of breath this time.

“Now?” I asked and Arthur looked at the stopwatch.

“That’s progress”

I beamed at him, feeling elated, but then a voice reached my ears, “You call that progress?”

I turned around to see Olivia walking towards us. She was in training gear too but unlike me who had almost every inch of her body covered, she strutted forward wearing a sports bra and tight fitted shorts that left little to the imagination.

Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and she came walking towards us with an air of superiority.

Arthur gave her a small smile and Olivia came near him. She took the watch from him and looked at the timer on the stopwatch

“Hmm, she could certainly do better” I mumbled and I saw the way she placed a hand on Arthur’s shoulder, leaning on

Arthur replied, “Good morning. I didn’t know you were around.

Olivia gave h

him a sweet smile. “I didn’t know you were going to be here either. But you know how the King is. He wanted to discuss a few more clauses and needed me. So here I am”

I noticed the way she emphasized on the words

‘needed me‘ and tried to ignore the dread settling in me.

i u

OKS 69%

I had to focus on strengthening myself and making it easy for me to shift and meet my wolf soon. Thus, I only looked at Arthur and asked. “What should I do next?”

Arthur had opened his mouth to reply but Olivia answered, “Hey, how about this? We can train together. I could also teach you some slides”

I wanted to say “No thanks” but I would look rude if she was acting nice.

Arthur too added, “Oh that will be a great idea”

Olivia slapped his shoulder playfully and added, “Now that’s what I am talking about.”

I wondered what had gotten into her to suddenly want to spend me with me. Would she not want to wag her tail in

Eros?

I asked hesitantly. That is great. I thought you said you had to work with the lycan King on Something?”

n front of

I offered her a small sinile while trying to figure out what was going on in her head. She flicked her hair, the ponytail swaying in the air as she replied, “Oh yes. But he had some other work to do first, probably visiting the pack. Then we would be having all day to discuss whatever we wanted”

Her eyes twinkled with excitement and I tried not to show how it affected me. Arthur clapped his hands together and replied. “So. ladies, want to race a little? Though this should be a friendly race. I will time you both

Olivia came to stand beside me and slapped my shoulder playfully. Though in my case, she was a bit too harsh in opinion. But I did not comment on it.

“Great, let me warm up a little”

She said and then began twisting her body and jumping up and down while Arthur walked to the front line. He nodded and looked at me. “You might want to run from the starting point again”

I took a step in his direction but Olivia stepped towards him and took his hand in her own, slapping it playfully.

“Olivia please, cut the girl some slack. Let her start from where she is. A few steps don’t make much of a difference. Right?

She turned to me and I smiled warily at her “Fine, let’s do it

“Though this lap is quite short. Let us circle through the entire mansion. It will be fun.”

I did not object and we began sprinting. Arthur gave me a thumbs up and I smiled at him before we ran towards the garden and away from him. I thought Olivia would run forward and again finish the lap in an instant but she matched my pace instead of shooting ahead.

“So, how are you feeling these days?”

She asked and I answered, “Not sure what you mean.”

“Oh, with you trying to shift. Have you gotten any better?”

She asked and I tried not to frown. I had a long way to go “Not yet But I hope I will”

Olivia gave me a sweet smile. “Oh yes. Otherwise, it will look so bad for Eros”

Now she had my attention. She sprinted forward while giving me a sympathetic look and I jogged a bit fast to keep up with

her.

“What do you mean?”

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26

She replied off–handedly as if we were discussing the weather,

“Well I am not sure if you know this but Eros has a strict no outsider policy. Many females tried to weasel their way into his pack but he stubbornly denied everyone. So imagine, he broke his rule for one girl, and she couldn’t even shift, hurting his reputation.”

She trailed off and my face fell.

aken my wolf

I had never thought about that. Would I be a disgrace to him and his pack if I took forever to awaken my This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

Her words made more confusing, as thoughts pop up in my head. Is that why Elder Ruth asked me so many questions?

Was the reputation of the pack and the Hybrid King at stake? And is that why he had never taken me to meet them? Because

he was ashamed of me!

SEND O