FIVE

CHAPTER: FIVE

ARYA WAYNE

The loud beeping of my phone alarm woke me up from my beauty sleep. I opened my eyes, trying to adjust to the light in my room, but shut them immediately.

The rays of the sun shone brightly in the room, reflecting on my face. My body was weak, but I still managed to drag myself to the bathroom. I needed to brush my teeth and wash my face before I could go on my morning run.

I quickly walked to the bathroom, washed my face and brushed my teeth, then threw on a tank top and a pair of gym tights, some sneakers, and picked up my headphones, then headed downstairs.

“Good morning, honey, How was your night?”

“Great dad, thanks for asking; I am just going for a run and I will be back in like forty-five minutes,” I said, and I kissed him on his cheeks and grabbed a piece of apple from the plate on the kitchen counter and ran outside.

I knew he wanted to ask me about my birthday party, and I was pretty sure he already knew what happened, but I was still not ready for that topic yet.

I put my headphones on and decided to run to the gym just down the street. It took me about fifteen minutes.

There were a few people around, and my instructor was not around. I decided to do something on my own. I started with weightlifting and squats.

“That is the way to go; you don’t have to show them how weak you are!” My wolf cheered me up, but I chose to ignore her by increasing the volume on my headphones; I was not ready for distraction, especially not from her.

“One, two, three, four,... twenty.” I counted as I did the squats, and when my legs turned numb, I stopped and relaxed for a few minutes, drank a sip of water, then went back to leg training. A few minutes later, my gym instructor walked in and took me through the day’s intended schedule.

After an hour, I was done and dusted for the day, and I prepared myself to go back home.

When I arrived home, my dad was already gone but left a note saying that he had to rush to work but had left something for me to eat. I didn’t have any classes that day, so I chose to stay indoors and revise on my own.

I hadn’t even thought about going through my gifts, and when the thought crossed my mind, I quickly rushed upstairs to my room and took some of the gifts with me to the living room, but before I could start opening them, the doorbell rang, and I rushed to see who was at the door.

“Miss Wayne, could you please sign for the package?”

“Sure, who is it from?”

“I was told to deliver the package to you; I just need your signature right here.” He said, and I sighed; I was not used to receiving packages, and that came as a surprise, especially after the previous night’s ordeal. I signed for the package and got back inside. I was excited to see what was in the box, even though I had already seen the flowers.

I cut the paper and put the flowers in a vase and placed them on the table; roses were my favorite, and the person knew exactly what I loved.

I opened the box, and a note fell out. It was handwritten, so I quickly read through it and smiled.

Hi, I know this is not what you had probably anticipated, but I had to do this. I am sorry for ruining your party, but I couldn’t control myself, and I am sorry for that. I forgot to bring in my gift, and I thought I should send it down with this note to apologize for the chaos I caused and to tell you that I would like a fresh start with you, to get to know you better. I hope this gift starts on a good note for us, and I hope roses are your favorite.

Alpha Leo

I wasn’t expecting Leo to talk about the previous night’s events, let alone say he was sorry for what he did. Saying I was happy and over the moon was an understatement.

Leo was cute, handsome, and every girl’s dream and he was my long-time crush. I was over the moon that I could take my eyes off him for a minute.

I wanted to thank him for the gift and the flowers, but I didn’t happen to have his number. As I opened the gift, my smile broadened; it was a small pendant with my family’s photo on it.

The photo was taken when I was ten. I was with my mother and my father on my graduation day; it was my favorite family photo.

I called Emily instead; I needed her help.

“Hey Arya, you still have a hangover or something?” She asked with a perky voice.

“No, I was just revising for the forthcoming exams, but I need your help with something else. Are you free? We can hang out at my place.”

“Okay, I was just getting done with something here at the office; can we meet at our usual spot in an hour?”

“Of course, I will meet you there,” I said and hung up.

I know you are wondering why my friend was already working while I was still in school. I was in my final year but wasn’t lucky enough to be from a rich family; I had to work all the way from the bottom to where I was at the moment.

I put the pendant on the nightstand and then walked into the bathroom to freshen up. I settled on a short blue dress, a pair of low-heeled strap heels, and a black sling bag, and put on the pendant.

I didn’t have a car of my own, so I just hailed a cab to take me to the restaurant.

When I arrived at the restaurant, Emily was already there, waiting for me. “Hey girl, you look beautiful, and oh, that pendant is beautiful; is that your mom?” She asked when she noticed my necklace, and I smiled as she pulled me in for a hug.

“Thank you; yes, this is my mom; you look good yourself; what’s up?”

“Nothing much; I am taking my classes as I work, and it is hectic. I wish this ended, and I just settle for doing one thing at a time. What about you?”

“I am good." "I just wanted to talk to you about something,” I said, and she looked at me discreetly.

“What is going on?" "Is it about Leo?” she asked, and I shrugged.

“Your guess is right; nothing is wrong; actually, he got me this pendant, some flowers, and a note to say sorry for what he did at my party yesterday.”

“Wow, this is new. I don’t know if I am hearing it right, but Leo bought you flowers? This is new and exciting; tell me the whole story.”

“There is nothing more to tell; I am confused that two Alphas are causing chaos and are after me; how can this be possible?” I asked as I sipped my juice.

“I know what is going on is confusing to you, but it happens; it’s a rare case, but the only way for you to survive this is if the moon goddess chooses a mate for you, and whoever your wolf likes is going to be your mate. You are worrying yourself too much; relax! If I were you, I would be over the moon; having the most handsome guys fight for you is something every girl would wish for.” She spoke with excitement, and I chuckled. That was my typical friend; she was always getting overly excited about absolutely nothing.

“I don’t know why you are so happy about this; I am not used to this kind of attention, but that is not why I wanted to see you.”

“And why would you want to see me? I thought this was something worth toasting to."

“Yeah, except I don’t see why we should toast; it is not like any of them are like me anyway; it is the way of nature, and I am caught up between the two of them.”

“You know last week you were complaining about being alone, being lonely, not having a mate at 19, and now that you have two of the most powerful alphas in town fighting for you to be their mate, to be their Luna in the future, I will only urge you to stay focused on your education and let the best man win.”

“Was that the only advice you could give?” I asked, and she laughed; that is why I loved Emily; she was always full of energy.

“You and I both know that you haven’t enjoyed your youth yet; this is your chance, and you should grab it.”

“Okay, Miss, I will think about it, but I wanted to say thank you to Alpha Leo for the gift in person; unfortunately, I don’t have his number, so I was hoping maybe you could help me with his number.”

“Are you kidding me? You could have just texted me, but don’t worry; your lover boy already asked me for it, and I am sure you don’t want to draw attention to yourself by texting first. You know how we work, right? We don’t chase, we let them chase; he is my cousin, but let him do the chasing; he ruined your birthday party with his anger issues, and he is the one that owes you an apology, not the other way around.” She said so, and I nodded in agreement.

The waiter walked to our table and gave us the bill. I reached for my purse, but Emily stopped me, saying, “Let me pay for it; I got you.” She said as she gave her card.

“You know, I don’t think it’s a good thing to be involved with two alphas; I think it is bad luck; I am always unlucky,” I said after a long thought.

“No, let me stop you right there. I know you are torn between the two, and I just want to reassure you that everything is going to be okay. Don’t forget, I am always going to be here with you, throughout your journey.” She said, But before I could respond, I got a call from my father. I've got to take this; it might be important.” I said as I stood up.

“Okay, take your time. I still have a few minutes before I head back to work.” She said as I received the call and walked outside.

"Hello, Dad, is everything okay?”

“Hello Arya This is Doctor Melbourne; your father was admitted a few minutes ago; he had another episode, and I would like you to come to the hospital right away.” She said, and I cursed under my breath. This was not happening, not again! I said to myself as I walked back to the restaurant.

“Emily, I have to go; that was the doctor; my father fell ill again; I am so sorry, but I got to go,” I said as I took my handbag and hung it over my shoulder.

“Okay, I can drive you there. I will be back to work after that. Come on, let me drop you at the hospital.”

“Are you sure I am not going to make you late for work?” I asked just to be sure, and she gave me the 'Are you kidding me?' look.

“No, you are my friend, and family always comes first. Come on, I will drop you off at the hospital, and then I can always go back to work.” She said as we rushed outside and got into her car.

No one spoke on the way to the hospital. I was worried, anxious, and confused. I thought my father was okay and all that, but the call got me confused. I knew if the episodes were coming back then we had a long way to go, financially and even emotionally.

“Thank you; I will take it from here,” I said, dismissing Emily, but she was a hard nut to crack.

“I am coming with you.” She said as she followed me to the hospital entrance.