Chapter 194

**Chapter 194**

In just a heartbeat, it felt like my whole world had fallen apart. Gavin had lied to me. He took Skyla out on a date and kissed her. The proof was right there, and it hurt more than I could have imagined.

I felt foolish for falling for such a cruel trick in this new story. Hadn’t Ethan taught me anything?

I realized I couldn’t trust anyone anymore. They would all betray me. Ellian was supposed to be my fated mate, but even he had let me down. Now, I was left feeling lost and alone.

Gavin was betraying me? The shower turned off, and I quickly jumped out of bed. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, wanting to get out of there before Gavin left the bathroom. I wasn’t sure I could handle what was happening.

I needed to confront him right now. I was so angry, and I knew it would only lead to trouble.

My wolf was feeling lost and frustrated. She was also mad because Gavin had lied to us. What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I shake this feeling?

Why am I being played like this?

Just as I reached the door, the bathroom door swung open. Gavin stepped out, wearing only a towel around his waist. Water droplets ran down his broad chest, and I couldn’t help but feel a rush of surprise.

I stared for a long moment as he disappeared beneath the towel. Seeing him like this always made my heart skip a beat. It was hard to pull my eyes away from him and look up at his face instead.

He was staring right at me.

He looked at me with an amused expression in his eyes, having caught me checking him out. My cheeks turned red, but it was mostly out of anger, not embarrassment. I was about to turn and walk away when his voice stopped me.

“Are you leaving somewhere?” he asked, glancing at the time. “You don’t have to be at school for a few more hours. I was wondering how you were feeling. If you want, we could…” His voice faded off.

When he saw the hurt look on my face, he seemed to understand.

“So, that’s why you stayed here all night, even after knowing I was sick?” I asked, my voice tight with frustration. “Did you not get enough sleep last night that you needed to stay again?”

“Can I get some from you too?”

He narrowed his eyes, a frown forming on his lips.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Gavin!” she nearly shouted. “I know exactly what you’re up to.”

Last night, I was thinking about what you were doing, and I feel really foolish for believing it wasn’t an actual date. But I was wrong; it was a date. You went out with her, and then you came here and lied to me about it.

A low growl came from him as he stepped closer to me.

“Don’t talk to me like that. You’re out of line. Remember who you’re speaking to,” he said firmly.

I spoke in a low and serious tone.

I let out a mocking laugh. “Oh, trust me. I know exactly who I’m talking to. You are a liar, and I shouldn’t have trusted you. You’re all the same!”

“What does this outburst mean?” he asked, his eyes glowing yellow as his wolf struggled for control. I wondered if he wanted to rip my throat out.

“Are you still pretending to be clueless?” I said.

I pulled my phone out and showed him the headline. As he read it, I watched his eyes widen in surprise at the photo below the headline. He was speechless, clearly shocked to find out he had been caught in a lie.

He didn’t know how to talk himself out of this situation.

“Are you really going to pretend it wasn’t a date?” I said bitterly.

I turned away from him, ready to leave, but he grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks.

I reacted quickly. The push wasn’t hard enough to really hurt me, but it was enough to trigger my fight or flight response. I spun around and slapped him hard across the face. He barely reacted, and I realized that I might have hurt my hand more than I hurt him.

I hurt his face, but it felt good to hear the sound and know I had made some kind of impact on him.

“You are acting like a fool,” he said between clenched teeth. “Calm yourself down before you go…”

“I won’t let you leave here like this,” Alpha said firmly.

“Why not? Am I embarrassing you?” I asked with a sarcastic tone.

“I apologize,” I added, pretending to bow my head in a mock gesture. Then, I pulled my arm free from his grip.

“Don’t touch me!”

He grabbed my arm again. This time, he shoved me against the wall. I could see his wolf side pushing forward, and he struggled to keep control. I was terrified, thinking he might attack me. But instead, he stopped just in time.

When he nuzzled his face into the nape of my neck and took a deep breath, letting out a shuddering sigh, I could feel my body start to relax. His closeness triggered a strange reaction in both my wolf and me. The anger I had been feeling began to fade away.

I’m sorry, but there doesn’t seem to be any story or characters in the text you’ve provided. It looks like a snippet of HTML code rather than a narrative. If you have a specific story or text you want me to rewrite, please share that, and I’ll be happy to help!