C10 CHAPTER TEN

I hear the door open as Charlotte walks inside her guestroom. When I ran away from the house, I thought about crying outside, but I couldn’t bear the shame of someone seeing me cry so I ran to Charlotte ’s house. She sets the tray in her hand on the bedside table and takes a seat beside me. I don’t think I’ve moved since I laid down, crying. I finally stopped when my body had no more tears to give.

“How are you feeling?” she asks, concerned.

“Better. Thank you.”

“That’s good. Why are you thanking me?”

“It’s been hours since I came to your door crying like a baby, and you haven’t asked me why. Thank you for not pushing me to tell you what’s wrong. And for letting me to cry my heart out in your guestroom.” I arrived around noon and if my guess is right, it should be dark outside now. I can’t really tell because the blinds are down.

“Sometimes it’s better to let people come to you with their problems than forcing them to tell you. Even if you want to know so you can help.”

“Is it okay if I spend the night? I don’t think I can see or smell Theo for a while.” Even if I go home and don’t see him, the whole house has his scent.

“Yes of course. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Let me get you some clean clothes. I’ll be back shortly,” Charlotte says, and walks out.

I sit up to pick up the glass of water from the tray Charlotte brought and I hear voices outside the door.

“Has she stopped crying?” Dan whispers to Charlotte , but I can still hear.

“Yes, she has,” Charlotte replies.

“That’s good. When will she be leaving? Alpha will be leaving his office soon and I’m sure it’d be best if she goes home before him.”

“She’s staying the night.”

“She’s what?” Dan whisper-yells.

“She asked if she could stay the night and I said yes.”

“Why would you say yes?”

“Because she needs some time away from the Alpha.”

“I know that. But you know how possessive the Alpha is. If he goes home and doesn’t see her, he’ll eat us alive.”

“I know how possessive he is and that’s why she needs time away from him.”

“Hmm, I don’t know what to do,” Dan says.

“You don’t have to do anything. Just support me against the Alpha when the time comes.”

“Of course, I’ll support you—even though he can kill us both in a blink of an eye. I’ll always stand by your side.”

“I know. That’s why I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Dan says. I think I hear him kissing her, then both of them taking air. I wish I didn’t have to put them through such trouble, but right now I don’t want to be anywhere near Theo .

Charlotte comes back a few minutes later with new clothes and a towel set.

“Sorry,” I say to her as she places the things on the bed.

“For what?”

“For putting you and Dan in a difficult situation with Theo .”

“You heard us?” Charlotte asks, surprised.

“Yes, I did.”

“Don’t worry about it. You can stay with us as long as you like,” Charlotte says, with a soft smile.

“Thank you,” I say, and return the smile.

***

Later when I’m done taking a shower, eating, and I’m about to go to bed, I smell him. I can feel his emotions the closer he gets, even though he hasn’t marked me. I sit at the edge of the bed and wait for him to arrive. I know he’s on his way to get me and I don’t have the energy to fight him to allow me to spend a night away from the house. I hang my head and wait, accepting the inevitable.

I don’t wait for long before he arrives and breaks the guestroom door opening it. He’s fuming with anger. With him standing in front of me, I can feel his anger vibrating from his body and he’s pissed off as hell. I wonder why he belittles me only to be so possessive over me. It’s like he’s confused about how to express his feelings. Or he doesn’t know how what he’s feeling.

I spread my arms wide and wait for him to carry me, my face blank. Since he wants me to come with him, he might as well carry me. I’m in no mood to walk right now. He bends down and I wrap my arms around his neck. He stands straight and I wrap my legs around his waist. He walks out of the room with my head buried in his neck.

He takes the stairs downstairs and leaves Charlotte and Dan’s house. As we walk to our house, I can’t help but take in his amazing scent. How I wish things were different between us. I’m sure if anyone saw us right now, they’d be awed about how romantic we look. If only they knew I felt like a prisoner and I had no say in anything related to my life anymore.

***

The following morning, I walk downstairs to have breakfast when someone’s scent passes through my nose. I quickly run down the stairs to confirm if my nose is working right.

“Chloe!” I shout, surprised to see her here.

“Ana!” she shouts back and runs toward me, pulling me into a hug. I hug my best friend and hold tight because I don’t want to ever let her go. I feel like if I let her go, she’ll disappear.

“I’m so happy you’re here, but why are you here?”

“I’m here because—” Chloe suddenly stops.

I see the color of her eyes flicker between green and golden. Her wolf is trying to take control. She starts sniffing the house and walks toward the guest room at the end of the hall. Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening to my best friend. I know how much Chloe has always wanted to meet her mate, but who is staying in the guest room? Once she reaches the door of the guest room, I can’t help myself and hold my breath while I pray whoever is behind that door is someone who’s going to treat my best friend well. The door wrenches open, and I don’t know if I should cry or smile for my best friend once I see who is behind the door.

“Mate,” Chloe and Liam say at the same time.

I don’t know if I should be happy or not. Liam is Theodore ’s brother, and we all know what a great mate Theodore is, I think with sarcasm. On the other hand, Liam is nothing like his brother. The past few days that I’ve been around him, I can say at least he’s a different person from his brother.

“Chloe, this is Liam, my mate’s brother,” I say, introducing him.

“Hello,” Chloe says, smiling.

“Hi, beautiful,” Liam says, pulling her into his arms. I can already see these two completing the mating process in the next minute. For a second, I feel sad that I didn’t get such a reaction from my mate, but I push the thought away. I need to be happy for Chloe.

“As much as I would like to give you guys space to get to know each other, I have to steal Chloe away,” I say, pulling her out of his arms.

“Why,” Liam says, growling toward me.

“It’s okay. I’ll be back soon. I need to tell Ana something important,” Chloe says, placing her hand on Liam’s shoulder to calm him down. He looks like he wants to rip my head off for trying to take Chloe away.

“Okay, be quick. There is so much we need to do and catch up on,” he says, smirking. He instantly cooled down the second Chloe touched him.

I don’t think I’ve ever touched Theodore . I can’t help the tiny tears that fill my eyes, seeing how amazing they are with each other. I quickly draw my tears back before either of them see them. Chloe and I walk back to the living room to talk.

“What brings you here?” I ask the minute we take our seats in the living room.

“Your Mom, something has happened to her.”

“What’s wrong with my Mom? Is she sick? I spoke to her a few days ago, and everything seemed fine,” I ask, panicking.

“She isn’t sick, but she has gone missing.”

“I don’t understand; I spoke to her a few days ago.” I don’t want to believe what Chloe is telling me.

“I’m sure you did. But when I went over last night to see how she was doing without you around, she wasn’t there. We haven’t been able to find her all night. I quickly came here to find out if she came to this pack without informing our Alpha, but your mate said no. We think she’s been kidnapped.”

“I don’t understand what…” I don’t know why, but I suddenly find it hard to talk. I feel my heart rate increase by tenfold. I feel like everything around me is spinning and closing in on me. I close and open my eyes and focus my attention on one object to stop the spinning, but it doesn’t work.

“It’s a lie!” I say repeatedly. I hear Chloe’s voice, but it feels like she’s far away from me, and I don’t know why.

“Ana, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Chloe asks, her face in front of me. I can’t tell if she’s real because, at this point, I see two of her. I start feeling dizzy, and before the darkness hugs me, the most amazing scent drifts through my nose, and I know he’s here.

“What the hell happened to her?” Theodore shouts as he bursts into the house.