One Night

Chapter 156

Audrey

For the remainder of my autumn break. Edwin continued to train me to control my senses,

We spent hours each day in his apartment, working on honing my abilities. It started in the same manner he had shown me before, hovering his hands across various locations on my body

But I quickly became too advanced for that. Sometimes, whether through the bond or something else that neither of us could fully understand, I could even sense where he would put his hand before he even put it there.

After that, we had begun playing hide-and-seek. He would hide, and I would wear a blindfold, groping around the apartment until I found him. It resulted in a lot of laughter at first, and the first few times even devolved into…

I tried not to blush as I thought about that one time I had found him hiding in the closet. How he had growled and pulled me into the closet with him, blindfold still covering my eyes, and had me amongst the coats.

“Focus, Audrey,” Edwin’s voice came from across the room. “Tell me where it is.””

Nodding, I took a deep breath to recenter myself.

Once hide-and-seek had grown too easy and I had begun finding him within a matter of seconds, he’d begun hiding various objects around the apartment. He’d give me a chance to smell and feel it, and then he would go and hide it somewhere.

sat cross-legged in the middle of the living room, inhaling deeply.

The object tonight had been a paperweight. I could still feel the smooth glass in my palm. I couldn’t describe the smell because it didn’t really have much of one, but that was what made it a challenge

Focus..

I inhaled, and imagined that I was following a little white thread that led from myself to that paperweight. It wound around the furniture, tangled between the legs of the coffee table. And then it went up, up..

“It’s on the bookshelf,” I said confidently. “Third shelf from the top, right hand side.”

I heard Edwin let out a low whistle. “Impressive.”

Sighing with relief, I pulled off my blindfold, blinking as my eyes adjusted to the light. Indeed, there was a little hall of glass glinting on the shelf. Edwin was leaning in the doorway, arms folded, shaking his head.

“Your senses are developing at an incredible rate, Audrey. Maybe you really are the Silver Star.”

I blushed at the thought and my fingers instinctively touched the spot where my silver streak was growing in. The roots felf c*o*rse under my fingertips, a stark contrast to the dyed portion.

“I doubt it,” I said, shaking my head. T’m just me.”

Edwin crossed the room and dropped to a crouch in front of me, his hand joining mine in my hair. The warmth of his touch made me instinctively lean closer, my wolf purring with satisfaction.

“Don’t doubt yourself,” he said softly, although his eyes were intense. “You’re more extraordinary than you realize.” His fingers traced the line where my natural color met the dye. “I’d like to see it, you know. The silver, in its entirety. You should flaunt it, not hide it.”

I tensed, unwanted memories flooding back. The taunts, the stares, the whispers that followed me through school corridors. The scissors, the razors, being shoved on the inside of a circle of werewolf students who pushed me back and forth, shouting

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Chapter 156

horrible things.

I’d been helpless then. So helpless. I still felt helpless, even though I was.. different now.

“I can’t,” I said, climbing to my feet. “You don’t understand. Growing up, I was bullied relentlessly for it. Linda even tried to cut it off a couple of times just in the past year.” I swallowed hard pushing back the lump in my throat. “Werewolves hate silver. Edwin. I’m afraid I’ll be attacked if I show it. Especially now with my eyes.”

Edwin’s eyes flashed with anger at the mention of Linda, but he quickly softened. Rising, he cupped my face in his hands, his thumbs stroking my cheeks.

“I don’t hate silver,” he said firmly, dipping his head to press his forehead against mine. “And I love you, every part of you.” He leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to the spot where my silver roots were coming in. “You’re beautiful, Audrey. Silver and

“اله

I felt

my

cheeks flush at his words and the tenderness of his touch. The warmth of his breath against my skin sent a pleasant tingle through my body, and I leaned in, my fingers tucking around the soft fabric of his shirt, yearning to pull him closer.

But then my stomach let out a loud growl, breaking the moment, Edwin chuckled, pulling away

“Hungry again?” he asked, already moving toward the kitchen. “You’re always starving after training.”

I grinned sheepishly and followed him. It was true, I was ravenous most of the time these days, but even more so after training. I felt drained.

I hopped up onto the counter, watching as he started pulling ingredients from the fridge. The kitchen was soon filled with the sounds of chopping and sizzling, and the air became fragrant with the smell of herbs and spices. I loved when he cooked

for me.

“Well, you’re the one who keeps pushing me so hard,” I teased, swinging my legs.

As Edwin began to cook, stirring a pot on the stove, a thought occurred to me. “Hey, if I was the Silver Star… what sort of abilities might I have?”

Edwin paused in his chopping, considering. The knife tapped thoughtfully against the cutting board. “Well, legends speak of various powers. The ability to control or read minds is one. Healing others is another.”

I snorted, the idea seeming ridiculous. “I definitely don’t have either of those. Although…” I trailed off, thinking of those two, times I had screamed at Linds and at the guy at the club. How they’d both fallen backwards, clutching their ears, looking dazed and confused.

Edwin and I had talked about those incidents. It was certainly on the list of Reasons Why Audrey Might Be the Silver Star. But I still wasn’t so sure. And it hadn’t happened again, so we couldn’t exactly test that theory.

“If I could read minds, I’d love to read Fiona’s,” I suddenly mused.

Edwin turned slowly, a frown creasing his brow. The wooden spoon in his hand dripped sauce onto the floor, but he didn’t seem to notice. “What do you mean?”

I realized I hadn’t told him n about our enco

encounter during the break.

“Oh, um.” I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt, suddenly nervous. “Tina and I saw Fiona the other night. She was buying a ton of supplies at a gas station, like she was going on a long trip. We may have followed her for a bit.”

Edwin’s eyes widened, his body tensing. “Followed her where?”

I bit my lip, bracing for his reaction. The words came out in a rush. “She was… heading into Coldclaw territory.”

The wooden spoon Edwin was holding clattered into the pan, splattering sauce everywhere. The sound echoed in the

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Chapter 156

suddenly silent kitchen and he turned fully to face me. “You followed her to Coldclaw territory? Audrey, that’s dangerous and reckless and-”

“It was firie,” I said quickly, sliding off the counter. “Fiona didn’t see us, and we turned around before we reached the border. But don’t you think it’s weird? What business could she have there?”

Edwin wasn’t listening. He gripped my shoulders, his eyes wild with worry. I could feel the slight tremor in his hands. “Audrey, do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You could have been hurt, or worse! What were you thinking, going off like that without me?”

I bristled at his tone, pulling away. My back hit the counter, the edge digging into my spine. “I’m not a child, Edwin. I cant take care of myself.”

“No, but you’re my mate,” he said, his voice breaking slightly. The raw emotion in his tone made me pause. “I almost lost you once. I can’t… I can’t go through that again.”

Through our mate bond, I could feel waves of fear and love washing over me. The intensity of it was sta***ing.

And then, suddenly, I was somewhere else entirely.

I was running, my heart pounding in my chest, But it wasn’t my chest-it was Edwin’s. I could feel his panic, his desperation as he sprinted toward the river and dove in. His thoughts echoed in my mind, clear as day as he dove down, down, and that green fabric of my dress billowed around my sinking body…

“No, no, no, I’m too late, I’m a failure…. I have to save her… B**d, you’re too late..”

Isaw myself through his eyes, my body limp and pale as he pulled me from the water. The weight of my waterlogged body, the chill of my skin-1 felt it all

Then came the terror, his world shattering as the EMTs announced me dead. The fury that surged through him as he shoved them aside, determined to bring me back. He.. He howled. An ear-splitting howl, one that was filled with the greatest agony I had ever felt in my entire life. More than I could even fathom.

And then I was on the ground, my own lifeless face inches from mine as Edwin desperately tried to breathe life back into me. The pain, the fear, the love-it was overwhelming, threatening to consume me.

Suddenly, I was wrenched back to the present, gasping for air. The kitchen came back into focus, the smell of burning sauce filling the air. I was on my knees, and so was Edwin, his chest heaving.

He’d felt it, too. The way I had slithered not just into his mind, but into his memories, without even meaning to.

Slowly, he lifted his gaze. And where there had been fear and anger before, there was now pure shock.

“How did you