Chapter Three

Eira

Slowly, I turned around and the first thing I noticed was his chest. It was wide and solid, a testament to the fact that he was a regular person at whatever gym he owned. The man I was currently staring at was a demigod, a lord on his own and it showed in his various exploits both far and wide.

"He...llo," I stammered.

I hated the way my voice sounded, and hated the way I appeared weak even when I had no intention of doing that. It just felt like I was pathetic which was very far from what I actually was. Sebastian had that effect on me and I hated knowing that he knew what kind of effect he had on me.

"Hi, little one,"

I stared at his chest before finding the courage to look up at his sinfully handsome face that was even more handsome than the last time I saw him. Even though I tried to resist, there was this pull he had on me that I couldn't quite understand. I hated knowing that he affected me this much when he shouldn't have. It wasn't fair on my part at all.

"It's really funny that we meet here of all places, don't you think?" He smiled.

My throat was dry and I knew that the sooner I snapped out of it, the better for me. This new life I was living didn't give room for intimidation and the earlier he realized that, the better for him.

"Hello, Mr. Redwood," I greeted, looking up at him with defiance.

His nose flared, an angry look crossing his eyes. I did a mental whoop in my head, loving how I riled him up. That was my plan: to leave him bothered and flustered and I knew that I had to up my game if I was to even last this night.

"I see… This is the way you want to play it, right?" he chuckled.

"Play what? Are we playing any games, Mr. Redwood?" I smiled, running my fingers across his chest.

He heaved, a sign that he was bothered by what I did. It was working and that was all I was really after, to leave him wanting and craving me.

He grabbed my hands, holding it in place as he stared at me heatedly with a venomous look in his eyes. I knew he couldn't harm me, couldn't do anything to me here without blowing his cover as an Alpha wolf in the midst of humans, so I was relatively safe.

"You want to go down this path? Then be my guest," he said before walking away.

Soon he was lost in the crowd and I had no idea where he disappeared to. I chuckled, going back to what really brought me here as I loosened myself to the music and the vibes of people all around.

It was very freeing and very relaxing to be among people that didn't know a thing about me but that still didn't take away the fact that Sebastian had his eyes on me and I could feel it with every passing moment.

He was somewhere in the crowd watching me and gauging my every reaction as he tried to find a weak spot to penetrate into. It wasn't going to work and I was going to make sure of that.

For many years, I had lived under the whims and caprices of my pack, doing their every bidding, but not anymore. This time around, I was my own woman and if the game of seduction would take me off his back, I was ready to use that to my advantage.

Finally, I found him by the bar with a glass of whiskey in his hands and his eyes still on me. He wasn't going to back down and that was something I needed to understand.

I knew that having a relationship with him wouldn't do me any good, especially with how much I valued my freedom but the pull between us was irresistible. It just felt like there was something connecting us together and no matter how much I tried to fight it, it was still there; a steady reminder that I needed to address it.

I exchanged a flirty wink with him and he winked back, a small smile on his face. That smile nearly had me falling to the ground. If I thought he was sinfully handsome before, he was now deathly handsome.

"I see… Game on, pretty boy," I drawled.

I made sure I danced towards where he stayed while making sure that I wasn't too close enough for him to touch me. This was just how I liked it and I wanted him to know that I knew what he was doing and none of his seductive games would work on me but still, I couldn't deny the fact that my panties were now soaking wet just by being very close to him. If he touched me, I knew I would give in without thinking twice.

"Come here, you little…"

I danced away from him, loving the frustration on his face when he couldn't reach me. I secretly congratulated myself for how well I played the game. The look on his face was enough satisfaction for me and I knew that I had to capitalize on that.

I continued dancing, accepting glass after glass of whiskey from the passing waiters. I knew that by now, I was tipsy and I loved it because it helped me become bolder and daring which was just what I needed.

"Oh boy, you are so drunk."

In my subconscious, I knew it was Gianna who spoke but I didn't care because I was already in a world of my own, a world where it was just me and Sebastian who existed.

"Come join me, baby girl. I promise, it will be fun," I said drunkenly.

"No, it can't work. I'll go find Diana so we can get out of here," she sighed.

I continued dancing, all the while keeping my eyes on Sebastian who had not moved an inch from where he was sitting. Even in my drunken state, I could tell that the game we were playing was getting dangerous and soon, it would either backfire on me or him but I knew that I had to make sure that it was him. I had come too far and I wasn't going to fail. That was one thing I was very sure about.

"There she is. She's completely wasted."

"Noo… I'm so nottttt."

"Yeah, she is," Diana said.

Soon, I felt hands on my body, strong hands that carried me in bridal style and when I turned to look at Sebastian one last time before I got whisked away, he wasn't there. The chair he just occupied was vacant and I hated not knowing for how long he had left.

"Sneaky bastardssss..." I slurred.

Soon, my mind registered that I was in a car and the fast moving traffic indicated that I was home bound. I had missed Sebastian leaving by chance but one thing I knew was that we would see each other again, very soon and I was looking forward to that.

***

It was the pain that woke me up the next morning, the unbearable pain that immobilized me on the bed. I didn't know how it came about and I was very confused about it. I really wished I could have answers to everything burning in my heart.

"My head," I groaned, rising to a sitting position.

I held my head in my hands, wishing that the splitting headache would somehow disappear but I knew I had to do something about it because it wouldn't just disappear all of a sudden. Then I remembered and I realized what had happened which led to the headache I was currently having.

I sighed, holding my head in my hands as I tried to process my thoughts and think of things logically. There were many things I had to think of but what was paramount was whether I had had anything to do with the Alpha intimately. I couldn't risk doing anything with him when I knew quite well what had led me to this new state I was in.

At that moment, I was feeling weird and I didn't know how I could stop it. It was then I realized that I had a lot to drink at the bar. There were things I shouldn't have drank but I had consumed without even thinking about the contents and now I was in a state of pain. My head had never hurt as much as it hurt now, and I hated knowing that I might be like this for a long time.

"Gosh! I will never go to the bar again," I hissed.

This was the main reason I didn't want to go to the party but they wouldn't understand and they would probably think that I was a spoilsport who didn't want to party.

I ran my fingers through my hair, wishing that everything I was feeling now would just go. I staggered to my feet, walking towards the bathroom to splash some water on my face. In that moment, I knew that that was the only thing I could do if ever I wanted the pain I was feeling in that moment to go away.

Switching on the shower, I stood under it, allowing the icy cold water to stream down my body. I didn't care about the coldness of the water because that was what I needed at that moment. If I had my way, I would have even bathed in icy cold water because that was what I needed.

My head seemed to cool down and it was only then that I could actually think about what had happened. I had a close shave with Mr. Redwood which would have no doubt been very fatal and I couldn't believe how carefree I was.

If he had taken advantage of me in that moment, that would have been the end of my freedom because I knew very well that he would drag me to my pack and back to my parents, and that was something I didn't think I would allow.

"Good gracious! What is wrong with you?" I heaved.

After I had my bath, I walked towards the room to get changed into something light before looking for Diana and Gianna, the women who had dragged me to the party. I needed to tell them about what had happened and warn them lightly that they shouldn't drag me anymore.

On getting to the living room, I was quite surprised when I didn't see both girls. The house was silent and I realized that they had probably gone out to work. I wasn't surprised when I saw the note stuck on the fridge, telling me that they had gone to work and I was free to do anything I liked as long as I didn't go out for long.

"I don't even plan on doing any of that," I whispered.

I was perfectly fine with staying in the house because my head still wasn't as clear as I wanted it to be. What I had taken was very strong and I knew it and now, I was feeling very weird and I knew it might take a while before my head finally cleared.

As I made breakfast for myself, a thought came to my mind. Since Sebastian had seen me at the bar, it could only mean that he would go tell my pack members that I had been seen and that might cause me to return but the last thing I would do was to go. I had sworn never to go back to the pack because they were the very people who had caused me so much heartache and depression.

"I'd rather die than go back there," I vowed.

"Nahh… I don't think they would do something like that. I'm as good as dead to them anyway," I added, popping some painkillers.

Later on, I was feeling quite bored so I decided to go out for a bit even though I was against it earlier. I realized that the fresh, cool air would be good for me and help my mind to be more refreshed.

As I stepped out of the house, closing the door behind me, the first thing I saw was a woman with long jet black hair and she was smiling at me.

"You must be new," the woman smiled.

"Yes, I am. My name is Ariana," I said.

I wasn't a fool as I didn't want to give away my true identity. I had learnt a lot from my pack and I knew that no one could be trusted. This woman could be a spy from my pack. I didn't trust her and I wouldn't put it past her not to go and report even though she didn't look like it.

"Welcome to the neighborhood. I am Matilda," the woman said, walking down together with me on the road.

"Thank you. So what usually happens around here? I know for a fact that some estates usually hold some carnivals but do they here?" I asked.

"Yes, they do but that comes once in a month. We had ours two weeks ago but you missed it. Don't worry though, another one will come next month," she explained and I smiled.

Just then, there was a loud explosion that shook the foundations of the earth. I froze, thinking that it was my pack but I realized that this wasn't the way my pack operated. Theirs was a more silent approach and I knew they wouldn't do things like this.

Everyone ran for their dear lives as smoke filled the whole area. As for me, I wanted to go and check the people involved but the people around prevented me from doing so and it pained me to know that I couldn't do anything because I was helpless in that moment.

"I need to help them," I called out.

Helping people was something I loved doing but in this case, I had second thoughts about it because I didn't know if it was something that would backfire if I even attempted it.

"Please go back in," Matilda said through fits of coughs as she ran back into her house.

I decided to mind my business so I went back to the house. Even though it pained me to do so, I had no other option but to do that. If there was one thing I knew, it was that I didn't want to put Gianna and Diana in trouble because they had warned me times without number not to come out of the house.

"I just hope help comes to them," I murmured.

Upon getting home, I met Diana and we decided to make food together. As we made dinner, I wondered if I ought to bring up the issue of the explosion but I decided against it because I had a feeling that Diana must have heard about it already and this was not the time to talk about something like that.

"Gianna should return soon, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, she should," Diana said even though it was absentmindedly.

I couldn't place it but I knew something was wrong with her response. Diana wasn't carefree like this especially about her friend and alarm bells began ringing in my head. It was one thing not to know where your friend was but to be carefree about it was something I couldn't understand.

"I had a splitting headache this morning after all the shots I took," I chuckled.

I was trying to liven up the situation but the frown on Diana's face didn't help matters at all. There was definitely something going on and I needed to find out what was going on.

Soon it was night, and Gianna hadn't returned. I was surprised so I asked Diana the reason they didn't come home together.

"I couldn't find Gianna and I thought I would come home once I was done with my shift but I'm surprised that she isn't here," Diana said with a worried expression on her face.

So I decided to dial Gianna's contact and hope that she was on her way home but the call didn't go through. We were worried now and just as we were about to go report her missing, we heard a knock on the door.