Screw My Childhood Sweetheart His Alpha Brother Marked Me First novel Chapter 173

Chapter 173

Pushing open the door, I let the cool air skate over my skin. Anson trailed behind me. “Why don’t we grab something

to eat at the lodge?”

“I need to work on my gift first.”

His lips pressed into a firm line. “You were at it for hours last night.”

So long that Caspian couldn’t shield anymore because he was so depleted. I’d had to restore his energy reserves, which had in turn weakened my own. We’d had no choice but to stop for the night.

“I need all the extra time I can get.” Because my gift wasn’t reliable. I’d found my path with energy blasts, but breaking through shields? Not so much. I didn’t try to push down the frustration that bubbled up. Instead, I let it feed that pool of energy at my center. The greater the pool, the greater the chance I had to finally succeed at breaking through.

“You also need to take care of yourself,” Anson grumbled.

I turned around so that I was facing him but kept walking backwards. “You’re just cranky because you wanted togetherness time and that means a four a.m. wakeup call.”

Anson was the only one who stuck it out every day of the week. The rest of the bond rotated in and out, or simply joined for my afternoon training sessions. Anson didn’t laugh like I expected. Instead, there was a hint of anger in those green depths.

My steps slowed. “What?”

He reached out, his thumb gliding along the side of my neck. I’m worried about you.”

That frustration burned brighter. “I have to push.”

“There’s challenging yourself and then there’s being reckless”

I stepped out of Anson’s hold. “I’m not being reckless.”

A muscle in his cheek ticked. “You sure about that?”

My hands fisted, nails biting into my palms. “I know how much I can handle. I don’t need you doubting me. It doesn’t help.”

Anson’s expression softened, but lines of tension still bracketed his mouth. “I don’t doubt you-

Well, that’s exactly what it sounds like.”

15:00 C

rew Sty childhood Sweetheart–Alpha Brother Marked Me Feat

Chapter 173

“I don’t want you to hurt yourself in the training process. That’s all. You’ve done nothing but school or training for the past two weeks. It’s okay to take a break now and then. It’s good.”

But every time someone suggested a movie or trip to the lake all I could think about was those missing girls who hadn’t been found. How terrified and alone they must have felt. How could I joke around when they were likely being tortured at the hands of Garrison 2.0?

“It needs to be this way right now.” I turned on my heel and moved towards the picnic tables where Knox and Caspian were talking in hushed tones.

They looked up at our approach. The wariness that filled their expressions had me swallowing a curse. Knox held out a bottle. “Brought you a protein drink.”

“Thanks.” I took a swig. It tasted more like chalk than chocolate, but I swallowed it down. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Caspian sent a sidelong glance in Knox’s direction. “What if we took this morning off-”

“I need to practice. Do you want to help me or not?” The words came out more harshly than I’d intended, but my annoyance was at a boiling point. I took a steadying breath. “Sorry. If you don’t want to do these morning sessions, that’s fine. But I’m going to keep working at it.”

I made my way over to where we’d set up a series of dummies. Some of them were burnt to a crisp from my energy blasts, others were still in good shape. Anson and Knox had been teaching me more hand–to–hand combat. River worked with me on my energy blasts. Caspian provided shield practice. And Vaughn…

My gaze lifted to the tree line. There he was, as if I’d conjured him with my thoughts alone. Vaughn had gone even quieter than normal. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking pissed as hell.

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