157 Chapter 157 Strange Attractions
Elena’s POV 1
I had spent the entire day battling that obstacle course, and the record still remained unbroken. By dinner time, my muscles ached and my palms were raw from the ropes. I grabbed a tray and headed to our regular table where the others were already gathering.
Koa whistled when she saw my hands. “Look at those blisters. That course really did a number on you.”
“Tell me about it,” I replied, wincing as I flexed my fingers. “I’m hoping tomorrow brings something different. Anything different.”
Nico leaned forward with curiosity. “How long have you been stationed here?”
“Just got here yesterday. Still figuring out how everything works around this place.”
“That’s actually reassuring,” Nico said with a grin. “Nice to know we’re not the only ones trying to find our footing.”
I nodded, glancing around the dining hall. “I think the four of us are the newest additions they’ve had in quite a while. Everyone keeps watching us like we’re some kind of exhibition.”
Asher shrugged casually. “They’ll lose interest soon enough.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“You don’t enjoy the spotlight?” he asked.
“I prefer focusing on my training without having an audience critiquing every move I make.”
“Can’t argue with that logic,” Asher replied.
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Something about him kept drawing my attention, though I couldn’t identify what exactly. The way he carried himself, maybe, or how he seemed
completely unfazed by the scrutiny from other trainees. Whatever it was, it was becoming increasingly distracting.
Every time I found myself studying his profile, he would catch me looking and I’d quickly return my focus to my meal, heat creeping up my neck.
“Everything okay over there?” Asher’s voice cut through my thoughts.
“Yeah, just tired,” I lied, stabbing at my vegetables with more force than necessary.
I couldn’t understand this strange fascination. Asher was tall, easily six foot six, with striking features that caught attention wherever he went. But I had encountered plenty of attractive men during my training. None of them had ever affected me this way. What made him different?
The answer eluded me, but I wasn’t the only one taking notice. Every female trainee in the dining hall seemed drawn to the three newcomers like moths to a flame. The Hunters in their standard uniforms, the support staff in green, they all found excuses to walk past our table or steal glances in our direction.
Their obvious interest made something twist uncomfortably in my stomach, though I refused to examine that feeling too closely.
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When dinner concluded, I was grateful to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the mess hall. The evening air felt cool against my flushed skin as I wandered toward the training grounds, seeking solitude.
Corbin appeared beside me as I stood gazing upward at the star–scattered darkness.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked.
“Just thinking.”
“About what? It’s pitch black out here.”
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“About the moon,” I answered, not taking my eyes off the pale crescent hanging above us.
Corbin gave me an odd look. “Careful there. You’re starting to sound like those werewolves we’re supposed to be hunting.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m nothing like them. But I can understand why they’re drawn to it. Don’t they have some kind of moon worship or something?” “Something like that. I’ve never really looked into their religious practices.” After Corbin headed back inside, I made my way to the bunk house for a much–needed shower. The hot water helped ease some of the tension from my shoulders, though my thoughts kept drifting back to dinner and those intense moments when Asher’s attention had been focused entirely on me. When I emerged from the bathroom, I discovered that my sleeping arrangements had been determined without my input. Asher’s gear was arranged on the bunk to my left, while Nico had claimed the one on my right. Perfect. Sandwiched between them both.
I just hoped neither of them were heavy sleepers or snored loudly enough to keep me awake.
Walking past Asher’s bunk, I caught a whiff of his cologne or aftershave. The scent was distinctive but impossible to place, something that made me want to breathe deeper to identify it. Strange how even his smell seemed designed to capture my attention.
The sound of approaching voices sent me hurrying to my own bunk, where I grabbed the first book I could find and pretended to read.
“What’s that?” Asher asked as he settled onto his mattress.
“Just an old book. I’m not even sure where I picked it up. I’ve had it forever.”
He leaned closer to read the cover, and I caught another hint of that mysterious scent. “Interview with a Vampire. Interesting choice for a Hunter.”
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“It’s actually quite good. I heard they made it into a movie, but I haven’t seen it yet.”
Nico looked up from organizing his belongings. “And you have no memory where you got it?”
of
“None at all. I must have borrowed it when I was too young to remember and never returned it.”
Asher’s eyebrows raised slightly. “But if you were too young to remember taking it, why would you have been reading something like that in the first place?”
The question hung in the air, and I realized I didn’t have a good answer. The book had simply always been part of my life, as familiar as breathing, though I couldn’t recall ever actually choosing to read it or how it had come into my possession.
“I honestly don’t know,” I admitted, closing the cover and setting it aside. “Some things just don’t have clear explanations.”
Asher studied me with an expression I couldn’t interpret, as if he was trying to solve a puzzle that didn’t quite fit together properly. The intensity of his gaze made my pulse quicken, and I found myself wishing I understood what was happening between us, why every interaction felt charged with something I couldn’t name.
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