"You were trying to hurt me, weren't you?"
Olivia begins to sob. "I'm not this type of person, and I don't do things like this."
Leaning back against a near tree, I take a deep breath in an attempt to collect my thoughts. As I am doing so, I notice Olivia struggling to her feet and swiping the hairs from her face. "I'm sorry," she mutters as she limps towards me, "but I need him. Eric was all I had, he is all I have. I've been trying to get him to see that we don't have to be mates to be together, but then you show up, and he forgets I exist. You have what I want, and I'm desperate."
Confused, I stand up straight. "What are you talking about?"
She wipes the stray tears from her cheeks. "I want to fight for him."
Slipping into the bedroom, I sneak over to my side of the bed once I spot Eric still asleep. The pillow wall has been torn down, as his arm is laying across the ruins. Sighing, I climb on the bed and start to reconstruct the divider, but Eric grabs onto me and surprisingly pulls me over to him, holding me snugly against his body. With my eyes wide open, I make no sudden movements.I lay frozen in his arms, and soon enough I realized that he is thankfully sleeping despite what just happened. My mouth is hanging open, and my limbs do not know what to do. His scent invades my nose, causing me to relax on instinct.My eyes begin to drift closed even though I am mentally fighting to keep them open. Darkness consumes me, and I have never felt more comfortable in my life as if the bed has suddenly transformed into a cloud on a breezy day.
My eyes wave open and closed, as they are still sticky from my nap. Rubbing my knuckles into them, I sit up and tame my hair with my hands. Wondering the time, my eyes turn to the clock, I have been asleep for four hours. I wonder if Caroline is still here.I slowly climb out of bed and wander down the hallway until I hear chattering. My ears perk up, and I zip down the staircase and into the kitchen.Marina and Caroline are both in the room, Caroline eating of course. "Look who's up," she lightly cheers and pulls out the stool beside her for my to sit. Marina smiles and places a plate in front of me."I supposed you told him the truth?" She questions, knowing the answer."Yes, I did. I find I rather difficult to tell fibs to Eric as
"Yeah." Caroline scoots closer to me. "You kinda did." Eric sighs and runs a hand through his hair, then looks to me. "You're alright?" "Alright?She'sthe one that just tackledhimto the ground," Caroline dramatically motions to me, though I am right beside her. "You literally charged at him like a bull." I shrug. "I just got infuriated, really quickly. He deserved it." "Hell yeah he did," she chuckles. "Alright," Eric grabs our attention. "Besides attacking Landon, did you two need anything?""Isabella just asked me to show her
Walking up to Caroline and Olivia's house, the two of us get inside as I try to remove the pass situation from my memory. Did he romantically lift my chin up to embarrass me in front of the pack, because that is sure how I feel. I cannot deny that at first, my heart did beat hard enough that I could hear the pounding in my ears, but it was not a serious act. Eric was only messing with me. I never pictured my future being filled with the perfect mate and perfect family, I have never been that type of girl, the girl who strolls through her life where everything falls perfectly into place. That dream ended when a guard came knocking on our door, telling us that daddy had died. I still remember my mother's intense sobbing and cries as if it happened yesterday. That night I held onto Kendra for dear life."You okay?" Caroline as
Water pours down in thousands of warm drops; they drop by my side as I lean against the cool tiled wall. The steamy waters sensations make my surroundings look like a foggy illusion, almost thick enough to the point where it is hard to breathe. My knees threaten to buckle. My hair sticks to my face and neck like wet clothing as my hands glide down my cheeks. "Everything is alright," I mumble to myself. "She was just a mean little girl who wanted to hurt you because she was hurting herself." After working the conditioner into my hair and letting it soak in, I step under the current, letting it massage my scalp and upper back. "You're a caring, pretty, and lovable girl; you have a mate, you are not alone." "Isabella?"
"I thought the tables could go over here, the appetizers could go over on that side, then we could have a little dance floor in the middle," Caroline explains while pointing everything out to me, though I find it hard to keep track. "You really made this party into a princess' ball from a fairytale book," I mutter while my eyes roam the giant room. "I didn't even know this building existed." "Well you haven't seen much yet, but the ballroom was used for pack meetings when we first were established, and when there were fewer members. Now it is utilized for special events, as such." She turns to me with a big smile. "Planning this party has really given me something to do, ya know? Have you told Eric yet?" "I tried."
I charge down the stairs with the same feelings I felt for Landon before I tackled him to the hard ground. Quickly, I aim for the kitchen where I find Eric leaning against the counter drinking water. "Isabella, how did things—"I interrupt him with tears of fury streaming down my face. "You bastard!" I shout and snatch the nearest thing before chucking it at him.Immediately Eric's face shifts, and he dodges the fruit bowl that was flying towards his head. "What are you doing?" He yells at me."I never want to see your face again!" I cry just as Caroline jumps into the room and grabs my hand. "Don't touch me! Both of you, just stay away from me!"I strive for the door and swing it open before slamming it shut. Feelings of betray
"I brought your dress," Caroline tells me as she comes through the bedroom door with many things piled in her arms. I quickly grab some before items go tumbling to the floor. "What's all this?" I ask. "I thought we could get ready together, you know since this entire party was our idea," Caroline explains and lifts up the dress for me to see. "Don't you love it?" The dress is entirely black with an off the shoulder neckline and thick straps. It hugs my body all the way down, exposing every dip and curve with a small, elegant flare at the bottom. Gazing in the mirror, I call to Caroline from the bathroom. "It is very exposing on the top." "Not too much," she calls back. "Come out; I w
There is a knock on the door, so I open it to find Evangeline standing on the porch, looking depressed but different than at dinner last night. Immediately I urge her to come in, but she asks to walk with me outside. Together, we head off slowly in a random direction. The sun is beginning to fall."How's your day been?" I ask, surprised that she came to me in the first place."You told my son to talk to me," she says, getting right to the point. "Thank you for caring for him."I nod, still quite confused. "Yes, I told him to ask about his father's death. I'm sorry if I brought on unwanted questions. It's still fresh and you were clearly in no state to talk about—""No, don't apologize. He deserved to know what happened to his fa
I slip on the black dress and brush my hair, running the bristles against every strand. Standing in the mirror, I watch myself while consistently glancing over at Eric who had just finished redressing himself. He does the same, looking over at me. Eric stands behind me and places both hands on my shoulders, so I softly set my hairbrush down. Our eyes connect in the mirror. "They're downstairs waiting," he murmurs, his arms wrapping around me. I set a hand on top of his as they rest against my stomach. "Will you be alright?"Eric nods then takes my hand in his, running his thumb firmly against the top of my hand, almost as if he is making sure I am really here. Without saying a word he leads me out of the room—my hand still in his, a loose leash&m
After hours of hiding up in my bedroom, I find myself venturing downstairs, worried and anxious to see someone. Caroline gave me an update an hour ago, telling me that Kendra is safe somehow and that Eric will be back later tonight, and then she left the door and went off somewhere. We spoke through the door, me on the inside and her on the outside, like I was locked in. I could have opened it, I could have hugged her and begged for forgiveness, but I didn't. I should of, but I couldn't.The stairs let out a creaking noise as I land on the second to last step and I contemplate hurrying back up. The wood is cold against my feet. The house seems to be dead. No one comes searching for the cause of the creaking noise. I am like a ghost with no one to scare.My mates father is dead, Carolines father is dead, Evangeline's mate is dead, and I
I feel dazed. My memory is a mess, and I do not have the patience to sort through it. There is a certain urgency yelling at me to get up, shouting nonsense, but I can hardly hear what it is saying. My surroundings are soft to the touch, my fingers stroking the fabric beneath me before scrunching into a fist. My back aches, more than the rest of my body at least. I feel bruised, like a fruit dropped to the floor one to many times. The smell of heaven is terribly familiar. Have I died before? I want to open my eyes and take in the city of white, but I struggle to do so. Suddenly, I find myself drifting off again, slipping into a warm darkness. Time is inexistent in heaven. The urge to wake comes to me again, and I do not know how long it has been. An hour? A day? A month? A year? Everything blends together into one lon
I have always taken care of Kendra like a mother. "Kendra!" "Kendra!" My mother was broken, always too hurt to properly take care of a child. All she could do was her job, helping the Luna. "Kendra, where are you!" I would make breakfast in the morning while our mother slept, or while she stayed at another's house. She was heartbroken, and it made her reckless sometimes. I wanted to hate her for it, but I couldn't. I hated her because she let the sadness make her weak. "Kendra!" "Kendr
I imagined death to be a flash of light then darkness. Nothing but darkness. Everything simply shuts off and you are erased from the world and all of its glory. Frightening, isn't it?The gun shot rings in my ears and I wait for the flash of light, or whatever may come. In this moment, I am open to anything.My largest and only regret will be my lack of a goodbye to my mate, as Alpha Kenn got impatient. Hopefully Eric knows that I loved him unconditionally, probably too much, if that is possible. I will die for him, so hopefully that shows him my feelings. If I focus on the things I will miss, I will regret my decision, and it is too late for that.God, I just love him so much. I want to touch him again, to feel his skin on mine, to hear his voice. Everything about him made me feel ful
"Well," Alpha Kenn struggles. "What an offer, but I will have to refuse becauseIsabellais to be my Luna." My eyes cannot leave Eric's. There is something in them. A promise? Safety? Security? Love? Maybe all of them, but definitely love. Suddenly, I am no longer fearful, but determined. He would give away everything for me, and that means everything. He can give me everything, but it means so much more to give up everything. To have nothing, but me. My cheeks flush with color, with life. "You can't have me," I mutter and glance up at him. "Sorry." Some men find this amusing, but Alpha Kenn sneers. "Inject him, then bring him out."
Alpha Kenn's tightening grasp causes my face to scrunch up in protest. My teeth clench, I whimper like a hurt puppy, yet he continues to drag me away from the house and towards the tree line. The burn on my chest throbs. I wonder what kind of monster it takes to be shot and to walk away fine."Let go," I seethe, attempting to yank my wrist from the cuff that is his hand, "you bastard! Where are you taking me!"Adrenaline brings my vocabulary to that of a sailor's."You piece of shit, you think you—""Please, darling," he groans, "resisting is not going to get you anywhere. You had your shot at me; you failed, now let us move on.""Move on?" I gape. "You have ruined everything I
Our conversation is quiet, no more yelling and arguing. We have worn ourselves out, and my body cannot put up a fight against him anymore. My inner wolf was crushed from my actions just a few days ago.The words that left both of us meant nothing that night, and we both understand that. Eric is upset with himself for bursting in on me, I can see it on his face. Many times I tell him that I forgive him, but he doesn't seem to forgive himself.Our conversation is quiet, meaningful, and filled with regrets, and I am dying to move on. Selfishly, I have the power to forgive myself after Eric forgives me, but he cannot seem to do the same. I hate that he is so angry with himself. "I'm okay, Eric," I tell him as I caress his cheek softly. "Please—I'm not mad at you.""What I said to you