Chapter 40: 39

Chapter 39

"Where have you been?" Salt had his arms crossed as he started to reprimand his twin sister.

Their food had already gone cold as he and Lukas sat and waited patiently for the two girls. "A little heads-up won't hurt, you know?" He clicked his tongue when he met gazes with Amber. He was irritated. "Did you run into trouble?"

Because that was the only explanation he could think of.

The Amber and Pepper that he knew were both responsible—though his view of Amber about that often changed from time to time.

Pepper huffed, then rolled her eyes. The boys had already laid a blanket on the ground. Their lunch was already neatly placed on it as well. The Luna would be gone for a couple of weeks, and she wanted to cook one more time for them before she left.

Pepper instantly salivated when she caught a whiff of lamb meat. The Luna liked experimenting with food, but the meals that she served had always tasted good.

"I'll tell you over the meal," she bit out, not a bit concerned that Salt was shooting daggers her way.

"Come on, Amber. Let's sit down."

Lukas grinned at Amber. "You look good."

Amber was weirded out by the sudden compliment. "Thanks, I guess?"

"I'm being serious."

"I didn't say anything otherwise…" Amber's focus was on the food before her.

The conversation that she had with her club took long, and she was now famished. Honestly, she still felt a little flustered.

What happened there was completely unlooked for. She wasn't prepared both mentally and emotionally when Pepper suddenly dragged her into the studio.

Both she and her seniors were surprised after recognizing each other.

After all, she never really frequents that place. She had been just dragged along by Pepper.

Although, she couldn't really blame her.

She came with her friend willingly.

Lukas observed Amber's overall demeanor. She got her hair tied up, looking fresh and comfortable.

Unlike the other females he came across with every day, it was only Amber who didn't seem to mind the heat. She's not complaining, and doesn't even look stressed about it.

He heard that females were very particular about their skin and looks for wanting to present themselves beautifully, but… this girl right here… she wasn't even trying.

Her lack of interest in grooming herself was making his heart pound.

'I want her to hold 'that' position in my life…'

Nobody else.

Lukas had been admiring Amber since time immemorial. He couldn't remember when it started, but he just caught himself one day, staring fondly at her.

At first, he thought it was stupid.

He used to hate everything about the girl. She appears to be innocent on the exterior, but you'll know there's something that lies beyond that once you get to know her better. She's too nice that no one expects she can get fearless when it all comes down to it.

He'd admit that when he was younger, he was threatened by Amber's presence.

She was no ordinary kid.

She had the Alpha wrapped around her little finger—so, something must be special about her.

Lukas' throat constricted. 'Damn it. What's this feeling?'

He desired her.

"We went over to visit the kickboxing studio."

Pepper immediately gained Salt and Lukas' undivided attention.

The look on their faces was questioning.

"Why? Is it that weird? I know! For the record, Amber didn't go there of her own accord. I wanted to see for myself if I could handle their club…" she trailed off, her eyes glazing over as she recalled what actually transpired in there. "I'm going to need more information, though. The topics I had discussed with those peeps were too random! I just asked whatever I could think of in that moment." Her eyes widened excitedly. "They have huge muscles, and I think most of them are of age," she said seriously. "Amber was right. They did give off a certain aura!"

Salt gave her a strange look. "Where else?"

"What do you mean?"

"You mentioned to Dad that you'd go 'sightseeing', I believe. Any club that stood out?"

Pepper laughed nervously. "We've only visited one club, and that's kickboxing. We weren't able to explore due to time constraints—"

"I figured you had come to at least three by now," Salt interjected. "Something must have held you up there. I mean—you and Amber."

"Not really," Pepper replied casually. "The club members looked okay to me. They were… cordial." She elbowed Amber's side teasingly. "Though, I must say… they all gave me some 'harem' vibes!"

Salt choked on his food, and the meat on Lukas' mouth fell.

Amber dropped her fork, too.

What did she just say?

"Harem?"

"Yes! The kickboxers are all part of Amber's harem. I'm not really certain if they like her in a romantic way. Nobody tried to hit on her while we were there. I guess it was more like a familial 'like'."

A dark cloud hovered over Lukas' head. The fast beating of his heart was making it hard for him to concentrate, and act natural.

'I thought I had already warded them off,' he thought to himself.

The male wolves in school should be aware by now that they could only watch Amber from afar. They could try to befriend her, but they shouldn't cross the line that he set for them.

They must not think that Amber is a girl they could kill time with.

She's not a girl that anyone can freely pursue.

They would be too lucky if that were the case!

"Did you talk to them?" The question was directed at Amber—and he sounded cautious.

Amber, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to give him an answer. "I did."

Short, but straightforward.

"What did you, guys, talk about?" It was amazing that Lukas still hadn't snapped. He was doing a good job at controlling his wild emotions, despite getting imaginative about how Amber acted familiarly with other boys.

His eyes grew darker for being frantic that he had to cast his gaze away, and look down at the food instead. Just how many people did she need to converse with? Lukas' nostrils flared.

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That should explain why her scent smelled different this time.

'She must have been mingling with those scumbags for a significant amount of time for their scents to be all over her!'

Amber put down her utensils, and wiped the sides out her mouth with a tissue, thinking. "Hobbies?" she said, unsure. "Yeah, they asked about that. They were also curious about when I was planning to attend the club meetings." Then, she smiled at him softly. "They seemed genuine."

"They seemed genuine, you say…" Lukas cleared his throat. "Was that good enough to convince you to show up in your club regularly, then?"

Amber had no idea how vexed he felt right this moment.

Her answer to that question would determine Lukas' mood all day. The twins were listening, and it was a good thing that they didn't catch on to Lukas' strange behavior.

Salt put some leafy vegetables on Pepper's plate when he noticed that his sister was trying to play it cool, and be inconspicuous.

Realizing that Amber wasn't looking her way, Pepper transferred the veggies on her plate.

Salt flicked her forehead, and told her to finish what was left of the boxed veggies.

"I wouldn't say regularly," Amber muttered. "Though it should be fine every now and then." Besides, turning down the request of her seniors heartlessly might cause a misunderstanding or conflict.

She doesn't want that.

Still, she knows to herself that she can't do it right away. She needs time to adjust, and get used to interacting with the other kickboxers without feeling small and embarrassed.

There was a look of fondness on her face which threw Lukas off.

'If this is something that she wants, why am I getting so worked up?'

Amber hardly wishes for anything.

The least that they can do as friends is to be with her, and support her decisions.

That way, she won't get the silly idea that she's doing something wrong.

Lukas was conflicted.

He no longer wants to stay at the pack house where she also lives because he feels tormented by his overpowering thoughts every day.

He was afraid he might wrong her if his urges continued to surge on.

However, he's not exactly pleased to know that Amber remains unbothered by the fact that they no longer get to see each other in the morning, and at night.

It feels like a slap to him that she can just go on with her normal life—while he's out somewhere… fighting his strong desire to be with her.

That's just so unfair.

Lukas gave her a small nod, his stomach in knots.

"Sounds good. Just don't push yourself too hard."

The four of them exhausted the remaining minutes of their lunch break with each other until the bell finally rang, signifying that they had to part ways from here on out once again.

They were fortunate that the teachers went on a long-assed meeting, so some classes got suspended.

And it's sad to think that's the only way for them to get together at school—sports festival aside.

To everyone's surprise, Lukas decided to leave first.

Usually, he'd walk Amber to her next class. Salt and Pepper were from a different section, after all. Being the eldest in the circle, he takes initiative to make sure his friends will be safe on their way.

Amber is the only person he walks to class, though.

"Are you in a rush?" Salt couldn't help but ask.

He stole a quick glance from Amber, and her reaction said that she really didn't mind.

No…

To be precise, she doesn't care whether or not there's a person who will walk with her. That reaction of hers isn't specific to Lukas alone.

Even if he were to offer to walk her to her next class, Salt was positive that Amber would turn him down without a second thought.

First of all, she's not that weak.

She's capable of protecting herself from her harassers—if there's still a fool out there who would dare.

Lukas is just being protective of her. It was something that they never questioned before. They just shrugged off his behavior, thinking that Amber was more prone to getting into trouble compared to his other 'friends'.

Lukas ignored his question.

He tapped his shoulder, and just nodded to the girls.

Pepper was perplexed as she watched the guy walk away. "Does he have an upset stomach? Who looks that grumpy right after he eats?"

Salt chortled. "That's your take?"

She scrunched her nose, annoyed. "Take a joke, Salt."

Amber fished a handkerchief out of her pocket, and gently wiped her face with it. Standing out in the sun got her sweating like crazy. "We should go, too."

"I agree. We'll get dismissed early anyway. Should we drop by your class later?"

Her forehead knotted. "Are you planning to visit another club after your last class?" They should be up until seven o'clock in the evening anyway. Maybe they can stop by two more sport studios before calling it a day.

Pepper went to pinch her cheek. "I'm done 'sightseeing' for today. Besides, I know you'd rather train during those hours than accompany an indecisive girl anywhere! I can go on my own next time, too. We can go home straight after class."

Amber's face lit up.

'I knew it! Nothing excites her more than her training does.'

"If you say so…" Amber cast a brief smile. She nodded at Salt, and waved a hand goodbye to Pepper.

The twins went on their way, too.

"Did you notice it?" Salt asked with a poker face. He just stared right ahead as he walked with his hands inside his pockets.

Pepper hummed in agreement. "Lukas had been acting weird all throughout."

"Something is up," he concluded.

With the way he talked, and looked at Amber earlier?

Yup.

"Something is definitely up."

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