-:Ashton's POV:-

I saw Julian drop Cecelia off at school and was suddenly feeling very helpless. Instead of whiling the time away in the parking lot like we usually did, I made my way inside with Hayden and Noel. They didn't question it, probably having seen what I did.

I stood vacantly, exchanging books from my locker. I knew I pushed her away, but I still couldn't bear to see her with Julian. And seeing as to how tall and buff he was it made my heart ache. He was older than us at least by a year or so. I was still developing. He already had. I could see why she would like him over me and that made me resent the situation even more.

Cecelia's locker wasn't very far from mine. Both our lockers were in the hallway near the History Classroom. And that's why I easily spotted her near her locker. I expected her to exchange her books, heave a sigh like she always does, frowning with that cute pucker in her eyebrows before she'd drag herself to History.

So that being said, I was surprised to see her retract her hand from the locker with an ear-piercing scream. Her hand was bleeding. Abruptly alert, I pushed myself away from the locker and stood straight, trying to spot the source of her distress. 

Without thinking I found myself making my way towards her. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Julian making his way over to her as well. Again, that feeling of helplessness seeped bone-deep and I froze, staring at his form shoving his way through the crowd.

To reach Cecelia.

The student population didn't need a lot of encouragement to move. Julian was an intimidating personality.

"I'm fine," I heard Cecelia assure him despite the tears in her eyes as he inspected her hand. 

That should be me. 

I saw as her eyes hesitantly swept over the crowd. She was uncomfortable. That's all I needed to know.

"Okay, that's enough, people," I commanded in a loud voice. "Move it! Nothing interesting going on here!" 

With Noel and Hayden's help, we had the corridor cleared within seconds. Finally free to do so, I approached the duo.

"What happened?" I asked. Cecelia looked at me and then she and Julian exchanged a look. A weary, knowing look.

"Silver," Julian finally stated, looking at me.

"Silver?" I echoed in a hiss. I took Cecelia's hand in mine gently, careful not to worsen the injury. She didn't protest and that was in itself a win for me. I examined her fingers and palm that were charred and bleeding. They weren't healing. 

"Are you okay, Luna?" Noel asked. Her eyes widened.

"They were right next to me when I recognized you as my mate, Cecelia,"  I reminded her, sensing her plight. "And besides, they're my best friends. I would've told them regardless."

She looked at me and nodded. I sighed internally.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled at him. Great, she smiled even at my Gamma. Was I the only one on the receiving end of her hostility? I mean I deserved it, but still?

"I'm Noel, Ashton's third in command," he grinned at her. She grinned back. 

Lucky bastard.

"Call me Cecelia," she said. I found myself frowning. She was his Luna, she just met him, and yet she was alright with being on a first-name basis with him? Was that her way of rejecting me? 

"Hayden, second in command," Hayden smiled at her. 

"Nice to meet you," she said. I didn't miss how my friends didn't bother introducing themselves to Julian. He stood silently observing, analyzing every move we made, not commenting. I moved my gaze away from him to avoid being caught looking. The silence became awkward.

"Let's get you patched up," Julian said, at last, his gaze in her wound.

"Sure," she agreed quickly.

"I'll come with you," I interjected. She turned to me.

"Really?" She quirked an eyebrow. Dammit.

"With you guys," I improvised, trying not to punch Julian into oblivion. 

"That's what I thought," she muttered under her breath.

"We'll come too!" Hayden and Noel announced. I smirked as she played them a little and burst out laughing when they fell into her trap. Mesmerizing. It was difficult to imagine that I was going to reject her a week ago. What was I thinking?

My mirth evaporated when I heard her say, "-ry time, Jules." I froze. Jules. She called him Jules. So affectionately, too. And she couldn't even talk to me properly, let alone give me a nickname.

'You have brought this on yourself', Xavier kindly reminded me. I blocked him out, not needing a reminder. I regretted it. I truly did.

"Right," Julian drawled out in reply to whatever she said.

"Shall we?" I interrupted. It was hard for me to watch them.

We walked to the infirmary in silence. The nurse inside was a middle-aged lady and her brown hair had streaks of grey running through them. She put down the magazine when we entered, looking at us piercingly.

She was stupid enough to ask what was wrong.

"Her hand is bleeding, do we really need to answer that?" I burst out incredulously. Cecelia put her good arm on my triceps and I felt myself calm down a notch instantly. The nurse lady wanted to kick us out. I didn't want to leave her alone, so I protested. Our need to be with Cecelia was stronger now that she was injured.

I didn't think much of it when she looked at Julian, Noel, and Hayden individually, communicating through her eyes until three pairs of arms dragged me out. I put up a fight, but against three bulky men, I, unfortunately, couldn't do much. 

One, because we were in school. Two, because if I hurt Julian, I was dead sure that there'd be hell to pay later. She loved him. Hurting him would be hurting her.

And somehow, I was kind of falling for her already.

So, no. I couldn't.

I huffed and puffed in frustration as I paced the hallways, glaring at Noel and Hayden who didn't even have the decency to look guilty. I couldn't even go ballistic on them like I wanted to because they followed orders of their Luna. 

It wasn't long before we heard her shriek. I jumped at the sound, hurrying and throwing the door open, Julian and the rest not too far behind. I did not like what I saw.

Cecelia was leaning away from the nurse, cradling her hand to her chest. Her shirt was stained with blood, the red of the shirt darkening with the crimson of her blood. The nurse looked at her irritated.

"What happened?" Julian asked roughly.

"Honey, it always hurts," the nurse addressed Cecelia. "It'll be alright in a minute."

"No," she denied, trembling a little.

"Sweetie -" the nurse began again.

"She said no," I cut her off sharply. But she was persistent.

"Which one of us has the knowledge to treat her?" She fired challengingly. "That's right, me."

"But-"

"I've seen plenty of children shy away from the antiseptic's burns, it's normal," she assured. I scowled at her. Cecelia paled. The nurse took her hand again with a reassuring smile. I narrowed my eyes as she worked on Cecelia. Her trembling increased and just as I was about to break them apart, Cecelia whimpered and snatched her hand away again.

"I can't!" She pleaded. The nurse looked like she was over it. She looked exasperated. I quickly walked over and wedged myself between the two of them, making sure to position myself in a way that Cecelia would be out of reach to her.

"Are you okay?" I asked her worriedly. Her forehead was beaded with sweat and she was so pale. She gave me a feeble nod which did little to reassure me.

"We're leaving," Julian said, putting down what looked like the bottle of antiseptic. What was he doing with that?

"Her arm will get infected," the nurse protested. I took a calming breath. Some people just don't get the hint, do they?

"My mother is a doctor, she'll patch her up," he told her. "Let's go." He looked at me. I nodded. I got on my feet and stood beside Cecelia who did the same. She didn't stand for even a second before she lost her balance. I quickly rushed to break her fall.

"What the fuck!" I cried out in surprise.

"I-I don't know," she stuttered, blinking rapidly. I eyed her and felt wary. Very wary. She looked drained of all her color. I supported most of her weight as we walked out towards the parking lot.

"What's happening to her?" I freaked out, hearing her feeble heartbeats. They should have been strong and pulsing.

"Wolfsbane," Julian answered in a rancid tone that clearly wasn't meant for me. He was pissed about the situation.

"What?!" Noel asked disbelievingly.

"That antiseptic," Julian answered. "It was spiked. With a heavy dose of Wolfsbane."

Cecelia stumbled again, almost hitting the ground face-first despite me holding her.

"I'm going to carry you, okay?" I said to her. 

I couldn't risk her hurting herself even more. The wolfsbane was affecting her system too much. I expected her to protest but she agreed easily. I sighed in relief as I gently lifted her in my arms, careful of her injured hand, and adjusted my grip on her. Her head fell on my shoulder as she closed her eyes. I tried not to let the hormones get to me, but I was beyond enraptured by the feeling of my mate in my arms.

Finally.

I just wished it was under better circumstances.

"Who would do that?" Hayden wondered out loud.

"Probably the same person who took the Tasha girl," Julian ventured. I frowned, not following.

"Someone was taken?" I asked. He looked at me and blinked in realization.

"Yeah," he answered after a beat. "Yesterday morning. On the way from the Packhouse to school."

"And you let Cecelia come to school despite that?" I fumed as he unlocked Cecelia's BMW.

"I came to school with her for a reason," he defended. I slid in the backseat cautiously, taking care so I wouldn't accidentally disturb Cecelia. She was dozing peacefully in my arms, her lips slightly parted. She looked adorable even when she was out of it. Hayden took shotgun, Noel sat down with me on the backseat and Julian took the wheel.

He revved the engine and quickly reversed out of the parking lot, speeding towards the Crescent Moon territory.

"How's she doing?" He asked. I looked down at her.

"She's sleeping," I told him.

"What?!" He exclaimed in alarm. "Get her to wake up!!"

"Hun?" I questioned, thrown off.

"The silver, the wolfsbane," he rambled. "She needs to stay awake, for fuck's sake!"

"Cecelia!" I started panicking too. She didn't respond.

"Lia!" Julian screamed from his seat. He was obviously distressed. She stirred in my arms, snuggling closer. I couldn't help but smile at that. Noel gave me a knowing look and I snapped out of it.

"Hnnnn," she protested, burying her head in my chest.

"Open your eyes," I ordered her, patting her cheek lightly. I was scared of what would happen if she didn't. Xavier whimpered.

"Do not fall asleep again!" Julian added. She crooned as if saying yes but her eyes were still closed and her breathing started to even out again.

"Fuck! She's going in, drive faster!" I yelled in horror. Julian floored it. I cursed when I couldn't wake her up. My heartbeat picked up and I looked out of the window powerlessly to see the trees racing by.

I heard Hayden talk on the phone, getting us permission to enter the territory, explaining the situation, and demanding a doctor to be ready.

My stomach dropped.

There was a chance she might not make it, judging by the pallor of her skin and her weakened heartbeat. I didn't want to be pessimistic, but both Wolfsbane and silver are lethal to werewolves. Most didn't live through even one of them if it evaded the bloodstream. We never cleaned her wound and now the wolfsbane . . . 

I looked at her and felt nothing but regret and remorse for the way I treated her. I wondered how it could've been if I hadn't done what I had. If we had talked it all out. If we hadn't been so stubborn and if I hadn't been so foolish.

Because now that there was a chance she might not see another day, my heart splintered into a million pieces. How I wished I had apologized for my behavior, had not been a jerk. If only I had swallowed my ego.

The regret crippled me.

In that moment I forgot all about the feud and her possible love for Julian. All I saw was her and what we could've been.

I promised myself then that if she opened her eyes again, I would apologize, I would repent, and spend the rest of my life making it up to her. I would not push her away and I wouldn't let her do it either.

Because she was worth it.

And I would fight anyone else who said otherwise till my last breath, even if it was her. Because I realized at that moment, with a jolt, that I already loved her. And I wasn't going to let her go again.

Ever.

******************************

A/N:-

I'm not gonna say much right now because I am running late. I do hope you liked the update. Comment your thoughts!!

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