Chapter 38: Forgiveness, With No Apology?

My mind flashed back to the vault—to his mouth on mine, stealing my breath, his hands tightening on my waist and pinning me against his body... A sharp spark of irritation flared in my chest.

"You—"

"Wait... is that really... Benjamin?! The Benjamin?" a student whispered in shock.

"What is he doing here?! He never shows up in public!"

"Why is he standing so close to Brianna, though?! He hates being touched by anyone!"

"Do they know each other?"

Great, another nuisance on my ass. Why is today not just my day?

I ignored the whispers, glaring up at the purple-eyed Alpha. "What the hell are you doing here, Benjamin?"

"Uncle kicked me out," Benjamin said simply, tilting his head. "He said I’m only allowed back in the vault once I apologize to you and get your forgiveness. So... give me your forgiveness."

I stared at him, completely speechless.

Is he out of his mind? What part of what he just said sounds like an apology?!

Edgar had actually forced his unhinged nephew out of his lair to hunt me down, but what good did that do? This bastard doesn’t have a single polite bone in his body.

Seeing the commotion, Valentina hurriedly picked herself up from the floor, adjusting her blazer as she trotted over with a sweet, flattering smile.

"Hi, Benjamin!" Valentina beamed, stepping close to him. "It’s been so long! We haven’t seen you in—"

Benjamin’s face instantly crinkled in severe distaste. His purple eyes flickered with intense annoyance, and he took a sharp step backward, completely cutting her off.

"Stay away," Benjamin growled, his voice tight and irritated. "You’re loud."

Valentina’s smile froze mid-curve, her face flushing bright red as the entire school watched her get brutally shut down by someone she claimed to be close with.

Then, I remembered what Edgar had said about him—Benjamin’s sensory perception was unnaturally high. The constant noise, scents, and chatter of surrounding wolves actively irritated his wolf, driving him into isolation.

Benjamin completely ignored Valentina’s humiliation, turning his purple eyes right back to me. He held out a hand lazily.

"Come with me and tell Uncle you’ve forgiven me," Benjamin grunted, letting out a heavy, tired breath. "I want to go back to sleep."

I looked at his outstretched hand, then up at his exhausted, indifferent face. A cold, dangerous smirk pulled at the corner of my lips.

"Dream on, bastard," I hissed at him. "And stay the hell away from me," Turning on my heel, I walked straight into the training room.

Benjamin didn’t listen. His footsteps trailed right behind mine as I pushed through the double glass doors of the private noble training sector.

"Stop following me," I snapped, not bothering to look back as I headed toward the rack of weights.

"I can’t go back without you forgiving me," he mumbled, letting out a long, lazy yawn that sounded like a sleepy lion groaning in the sun.

"Then go to your house."

"No."

"Then stay away from me."

"Have you forgiven me?"

"Have you apologized?"

Benjamin stopped in his tracks, tilting his head as his unhinged purple eyes tracked my movements. "You’re so difficult... and you have a hot temper for an Omega with no wolf."

I grabbed a pair of iron dumbbells, ready to ignore him entirely, but before I could turn, a sudden shadow fell over me.

Benjamin had closed the distance in complete silence. He leaned down, his face hovering mere inches from the crook of my neck. He drew in a slow, sharp breath, sniffing lightly.

"Why is my uncle’s scent all over you?"

I flinched, my muscles locking tight. A cold wave of irritation washed over me, but I kept my posture stone-still.

Benjamin’s eyebrows pulled together in genuine, sleepy confusion. "Are you two like...?"

"Don’t forget you assaulted me," I reminded him, my voice dropping so low it was smaller than a whisper. But with his unnaturally sharp sensory perception, he heard it loud and clear. "Stay away from me, or I’ll make it public."

"Heh." Benjamin chuckled softly, leaning back and resting his shoulder against the nearby wall in a lazy, unbothered posture. "As if anyone would believe you."

He yawned again, rubbing the back of his neck as if this entire conversation was draining his remaining energy.

"And even if they did," he added, his purple eyes glinting with dark amusement, "I wouldn’t care. You’re the one who walked into my sleeping area and threw yourself onto me. So, you should be worrying about yourself."

"I fell, okay?" I hissed, my fingers tightening around the cold iron of the dumbbell until my knuckles turned white.

"It doesn’t matter how it happened," Benjamin replied smoothly, a faint, maddening smirk playing on his lips. "The fact that you did fall into my arms is enough to make this your fault."

"I swear, your family is just an entire bloodline of unhinged sociopaths," I spat, turning my back on him so fast my hair whipped through the air.

Benjamin didn’t even blink. He just let out another slow, infuriating hum of agreement from behind me, shifting his weight against the wall like he had all the time in the world to watch me burn through my patience.

Fell into his arms? My fault?! He was so full of it.

I gripped the dumbbells so hard the cold iron bit deep into my palms. In my past life, men like him were the first to get a blade tucked neatly under their chin—quiet, arrogant, and far too comfortable in their own skin. But right now, blowing my cover to gut an Alpha heir in a public training facility wasn’t on the agenda.

I dropped the weights onto the floor with a loud, deafening CLANG that made a nearby trainer jump.

"You want my forgiveness?" I turned back, narrowing my eyes at him until they were thin. "Fine. Stand right there, close your eyes, and don’t move a single muscle until I say so."

Benjamin raised an eyebrow, his purple eyes gleaming with lazy suspicion. "Why?"

"Because that’s how I forgive people," I lied through my teeth, stepping backward toward the high-intensity cardio area. "Now shut up and count to a thousand."

Before he could process the sheer absurdity of the demand, I slipped into the crowd of heavy equipment, leaving the insufferable prick standing there like a statue.

Maybe this time, he’ll shut up.