Rejected and Claimed by his Best Friend, Book 1

Chapter 8

Remi

As much as I wanted to give Alice the time she needed to heal, I couldn’t ignore the fact that she needed to prepare for what was coming. The Silvermoon pack wasn’t going to let her go without a fight, and I did not doubt that Josh’s obsession with reclaiming her would only escalate.

I found her in the clearing behind the cabin, practicing her footwork. She looked focused, even though her movements were still a little stiff. But I could see the effort she was putting into it, the determination to get better.

I’d been pushing her a little harder than I intended, but she hadn’t complained once. I respected that about her. She wasn’t the type to back down, even when things got difficult.

“Hey,” I called out as I approached, my voice cutting through the quiet of the morning. “You’re looking better.”

Alice paused, wiping the sweat from her brow, and gave me a small, tired smile. “Thanks. I’m just... trying to get it right.”

“You’re doing fine,” I assured her, stepping closer. “But you’ve been going at it for a while. Maybe it’s time for a break?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah, I could use one.”

I watched her for a moment longer, knowing that this wasn’t just about training. It was about more than just learning to fight. It was about her learning to trust herself again—learning to trust Winter, the wolf that had once seemed so distant.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked gently, breaking the silence. I could tell there was something else bothering her, something she wasn’t saying.

Alice sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly as she sat down on a nearby rock. “I just don’t know if I’m ready, Remi. I’ve spent so many years just surviving. And now, you’re asking me to fight, to stand up for myself. It’s... it’s hard. I don’t know if I’m strong enough.”

I crouched in front of her, meeting her eyes. “You are stronger than you think. And I know it’s hard. But you’ve already taken the hardest step by coming here. By choosing to be more than what Silvermoon tried to make you.”

She looked away, her gaze distant as if she was searching for something in the trees. “I keep thinking about Josh. About how he rejected me. I know I shouldn’t let it matter, but it does. It hurts. It feels like everything I thought I knew was a lie.”

I wanted to reach out to her, to tell her that I understood, that it would get better. But I knew the pain she felt wasn’t something that could be fixed with words. It had to come from within her.

“You have every right to feel hurt, Alice. But don’t let his rejection define you,” I said softly, my voice steady. “You’re not just some pawn in a game. You’re not what he made you feel like. And you’re not alone. You have Winter. You have me.”

Her eyes flicked up to meet mine, and for the briefest moment, I saw something shift. A spark of hope, or maybe determination.

“Thank you,” she whispered, though I wasn’t sure she even knew how much that meant to me.

I stood up, offering her a hand. “Come on. Let’s finish today’s training, then we can head inside and relax. I think you’ve earned it.”

She took my hand, and for the first time, I saw a genuine smile tug at the corners of her lips. It was small, but it was there. And that, in itself, was a victory.