Chapter Three: A Good Cry

After waving goodbye to Hadwin for the night, I returned to my bedroom to get some much-needed rest after the eventful day that I had endured. But no matter how long I lay in bed and forced sleep, it never came. All that was rushing through my head was the thought of my mate, his bright blue eyes were all I could see when I would close mine.
I tossed and turned trying to force the image of his face out of my head, but each time I was met with resistance from my wolf. She was beyond angry that I had ran from my mate rather than run into his arms, but she was only thinking about the mate aspect, I had the problem of my father hating every single person in that pack more than anything on this earth. But that was not the only issue with us meeting, it was the circumstances that we met under which is bringing more issues to the surface.
He caught me and the other men setting traps in his pack border which whole purpose was to inflicted harm on him and any of his pack members, that doesn’t scream the perfect mate meeting to me!
After tossing and turning for hours with the wondering questions swirling around my head, I realise that sleep was not on the table for me at the moment and I’d only worry myself more if I force it. So, when the clock shown 5am, I knew it was time for me to start my day.
I climb out of bed and head into the shower, the night sky greeting me as I walked past my window only caused the memory of the Alpha’s face looking back at me in the darkness to fill my head once again. I shake my head in order for me to forget that memory before starting my shower, I had to try and put any thoughts of my mate to the side before the people around me begin to suspect something.
After showering, I walked out and spotted my messy bed once again looking back at me, the tiredness that had once not filled my mind the entire night was overwhelming in a sense. I of course, wanted to climb back into bed and catch up on the hours that I had missed, but I knew that would only raise concern for the others around me.
They all know that I am the first to wake up in the morning and start whatever I needed to get done that day, I can’t even recall the last time that I had a lie in. If I just don’t turn up today, people will either worry about me or know something is wrong where the topic of that crazy Alpha being my mate will be brought up! I know it’s a situation that I’ll have to deal with at some point but right now, I don’t have the energy to think about anything such as that.
So, with a sigh and a longing look at my oh so comfortable bed, I walk towards my door and leave to start my day. As I walk down the hall, I was forced to put a fake smile on my face to all of the normal people that I would pass, I was too tired to stop and talk so I made a b line for Hadwin’s office. They’ll think him and me are simply having an important meeting and won’t disturb us, that way I can sit in my tired state without being bothered.
I didn’t have the energy to even knock on the door, so I simply walk in, Hadwin sat at his desk working away but does send me a smile when I walk in. But just like he could always do, he knew something was up.
“Are you okay Fern, did you not get much sleep last night?” He asks as I close the door behind me using my back with a sigh, any amount of sleep would have been great.
“I didn’t get any sleep last night, I was just tossing and turning the entire night.” I explain slowly stumbling over to the little sofa that he had in his office beside his desk, I had never wanted to see more of it in all of my life. “I just have a lot on my mind right now, but I know what this pack and all the members are like, if I don’t leave my room with the same smile on my face as normal, I’ll be the topic of everyone’s conversations.” I smile once I saw the worry on his face, he simply sends me a smile looking back down at his work.
“Well, you’re free to stay in here however long you want, I don’t think I’ll be leaving anytime soon as dad has got me writing so-.” He begins to explain but I felt myself slowly drifting off to sleep to the sound of his voice.
I jolt awake from my sleep looking around Hadwin’s office, only to find that all of the lights were off, it’s pitch black and Hadwin was gone. Shocked and scared, I get to my feet and begin to try and piece together all that had happened, Hadwin wouldn’t have left me to sleep in here all alone like that.
I exit the office and arrive in the same corridor of the pack house, but once again something wasn’t right as this place too was pitch black. Even at the dead of night, there are always a few lights on for the border guards when they do the shift change. My feet walking on the hardwood flooring was all that could be heard, this bringing such an eerie feeling to spread throughout my entire being.
As I reach the lobby, I spot the double doors of the pack house closed but the little panel stain glass windows sat in front of the doors were lit up in a sense with what appeared be a torch. As always, my curiosity gets the better of me and I begin to make my way closer to the doors, the handles cold as I pull them open and with the help of the wind, they smash as wide as they can.
That is when I saw him, stood in the lining of the trees just ahead of the pack house. It was much too dark for me to make out any of his features but one, his bright blue eyes which were looking right at me. But something was different, a devilish smirk sat on his lips as he watched me stand at the doors.
Fear creeps through me as I turn and begin to run through the pack house for safety, but soon I hear running behind me which I knew meant he was following me. I sprint fast as I could but the feeling that he was so incredibly close that his breath was on my neck became overwhelming, I knew I had to run but where to.
Right at the end of the corridor was the back door, a bright light filling the entire doorway which I knew was my escape, I needed to get there, and it would all be okay. A shadow of a person moved and blocked the light of the doorway, a hand reaching out to help me into safety. But before I could take it, I’m tackled to the hard floor which sat under me, in a flash, hoovering above me was the Alpha with the bluest of eyes.
I jolt awake from my sleep sitting up on the sofa in Hadwin’s office, a little blanket that he keeps in here placed over my body to keep me warm. My breathing fast and heavy as the memory of me running from my mate is clear in my head, many beads of sweat dripping down my face showing how panicked my body had become.
“Fern, are you okay?” Hadwin asks from his desk but soon gets out of his chair to knell down beside me, I only nod my head trying to get off the sofa, but he stops me. “I can tell by that look on your face that something isn’t right Fern, you know you can talk to me.” He says placing his hands on my shoulders, but I shake my head with tears building up in my eyes, this was the one thing that I knew he couldn’t help me with.
“It’s fine Hadwin, I just need some air.” I cry looking him in the eyes before running out of the office, I knew if I stayed where I was with him, it wouldn’t be long before I told him everything.
I sprint down the halls of the pack house and out the front doors, people sending me worried and confused looks as they spotted me crying but, in this moment, none of what they thought mattered. When I was out in the fresh air, I just allowed the tears to flow down my face as I look look up at the blue sky above me.
“Why him? There are so many thousands of other men I could have been mated to! Why him?!” I cry knelling down to the floor as I cried, I wasn’t quite sure why I was reacting to the news in this way, but my entire being was just filled with sadness.
“He is our mate! You wouldn’t be feeling this way if you hadn’t of ran away from him last night!” My wolf yells at me in my head, her comment only resulted in me growing angrier by the second.
“The pack he runs are the individuals which killed my mother! They didn’t seem to care that she had a family which needed her!” I shout back in my head, but my own comment only caused me to break down that much more, I lean back against the side wall of the pack house and cry.
My mother was killed by the very pack which Alpha I’m mated to, perhaps he wasn’t the one who killed her but men he has eaten with on multiple occasions did. Perhaps that’s why I’m feeling this way, but also, what is my father going to think when he finds out?
“I see it all has become too much.” A woman’s voice says from around me; jumping a little, I lift my head up where one of the elders stood smiling over at me. “Your mother was just the same, she would build all her emotions up until they would explode.” She says with that same smile on her face, but I only sniff looking back down at the ground.
“Sometimes a good cry is what you need to get over what you’re feeling right?” I ask with a little smile attempting to play the act that I was fine and was simply, getting all of these emotions out of the way.
“I know Fern.” Is all she tells me which confused me for a moment, I lift my head up from the ground once again and send her a confused look. “I know who it is you’re mated to and so did your mother.” She says breaking the news to me, whilst my eyes go wide pushing myself away from the wall to stand in front of her.
“How did you know and how did my mother know all of those years ago, I was two when she died?” I ask none of anything which was happening was making sense, but she simply just smiles at me once again not giving me the answers that I longed to hear.
But before she had the chance to mutter a single word, the panicked voice from one of the border guards fill all of our minds.
“The Dark Warrior Pack are invading; I repeat The Dark Warrior Pack are invading!” He shouts through mind-link warning each and every one of us of the incoming danger, whilst my heart just sinks.
“No, no not now.” I cry looking ahead as all of the pack members begin to scramble either finding a safe place to hide or preparing to defend our home.
I turn back to the elder who was still stood looking at me with a smile, but the longer I stood there the faster the Alpha was going to be able to find me. So, without uttering another word, I race back into the pack house to try and find a place to hide.
This can’t be happening now.