CHAPTER 90: QUICK TRAINING SESSION

When I entered the study room, Rion was sitting on the long couch with one leg crossed over the other.

He met my gaze. "I hope you aren’t slacking during your study hours just because no one’s watching."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I was about to sleep, so I hadn’t bothered to look nice. I wore a long nightdress that left little skin uncovered. My hair was loose, and my face must have looked as pale as the white long-sleeved nightgown that fell on my feet.

I closed the door behind me and replied, "I intend to complete the bargain as soon as possible, and doing so will only delay it. I may not be the smartest, but I’m smart enough to use my time wisely."

I sat on the smaller couch across from him. A rectangular table stood between us, with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies.

Did he want to have a late-night snack with me? My brows furrowed in confusion.

Anyway, that wasn’t what mattered. I asked the question that had been on my mind while I was heading here. "Why can you speak into my mind? How do you do that?"

A deadpan look crossed his face, as if I should already know the reason.

"You’re in my territory. It’s marked with my blood as an Alpha, so I can communicate with anyone in Undercity through my mind. Isn’t that how it is in other packs?"

He was right. Once the lands acknowledged a chosen Alpha of a territory, he could have a few abilities exclusive to the Alpha like talking to people within his lands through the mind, full control over the wards across the pack territory, and other powers.

Sure, wolf shifters can speak with their minds no matter where they are or which pack they belong to, but for that to work both parties must be aware they’re conversing or must intend to communicate.

But in my case, I wasn’t aware whenever Rion spoke to me, it felt as if he’d barged into my head. That wasn’t how it was supposed to work.

"I know," I said, narrowing my eyes skeptically. Something was amiss. "But how did you do it when I was still in the Levian pack? The Levian lands are Finn’s territory."

Before he could speak, I added, "And how did you communicate with me in my dreams?"

I figured it was the perfect time to address it. It had gotten lost in my mind during my first days here, but now that I was learning things to help both myself and him, I thought I needed to know.

"Only mates can do that." It was awkward to bring up, but I had to. For my peace of mind. "But obviously we are not mates. Chosen mates can only speak with minds after the Marking, and I’m sure we are not fated mates."

I choked out a laugh at the word fated because it just sounded ridiculous to me. I didn’t need to elaborate on that. I knew he was smart enough to catch my meaning.

His lips twitched. "Of course we aren’t. The Moon Goddess rarely grants anyone a fated mate. I don’t think I’m one of the blessed." His tone dripped with mockery, ridiculing the people aboveground for their belief in the so-called blessed ones. "Besides, I doubt I’d get a fated mate as untalented as you."

My lips parted. The audacity of this man!

"I just wanted to clarify things. I wasn’t hoping we were fated mates!" My face twisted in disdain. "It would be a punishment if you were my fated mate instead of a blessing," I blurted in the heat of embarrassment.

He only stared at me, amused.

I cleared my throat, forcing myself back into composure. "So... why, then?"

"Let’s say it’s one of my abilities."

My eyes narrowed slightly. "Just like how you can invade a person’s dreams?"

He nodded. "I suppose it was easier to connect because we share a common ground. We’re both connected to the Celestial Wolf in some way, and like I said—"

"The keys attract each other," I finished for him.

"Exactly."

I looked down at my palms, thoughtful.

Then the memory of those teasing touches in my dreams surfaced, and something in my stomach twisted. He could have communicated with me properly in those dreams, but instead he chose to tease me. He was such a jerk.

My tongue burned behind clenched teeth, aching to confront him for his malicious actions in my dreams. But I held it back and didn’t say a word about it.

It was just too humiliating. I’d rather pretend it never happened. Just like how I pretended the aphrodisiac incident didn’t exist.

"So, how is your training going?" Rion’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts, pulling my gaze back to him. "I’ve heard some details from Ares, but I want to know if you see things differently. And I want to check if you’ve really learned anything in your morning self-study sessions."

"I’m doing fine," I said, struggling to find the right words to explain my progress. I thought for a moment before adding, "My body feels stronger. I can sense my wolf’s power better, too. It still flickers on and off, but the mental practices I read about are helping."

I knew that if I wanted to master shifting at will, I’d need to keep my wolf’s power firmly under control—summon it whenever I chose.

"Are you sleepy?"

I didn’t answer immediately. The sudden change of topic threw me off.

"Uh... a bit?"

He smirked. "If you’re not too sleepy yet, we can do a quick training session."

Training session? With him? Was that what he meant?

Most likely, Leika answered.

"I’ll take that as a yes," he said when I just stared at him. "But first, eat the cookies and drink the milk. I bet you didn’t have a proper dinner since those two were too busy drinking."