Chapter 7

Storm

I snuck outside of the Alpha residence and made my way towards the eight-foot concrete wall which surrounded the Alpha residence. Crouching behind an enormous tree in the garden, I watched as two of my father’s guards made their way past my hiding spot.

Even though these guards were assigned to protect the entire Alpha family, my father and Mason had turned the guards against me and Winter, just as they had done everyone else within the pack. So, if the guards caught on to my presence and I was captured, it would mean trouble for me for sure.

I waited until the guards were out of sight, and when I could no longer see them; I ran over to the wall hiding among the trees near the wall. When I was sure the coast was clear, I crawled behind the shrubby bush which covered the hole in the wall that I used to sneak in and out of the Alpha compound. I crawled through the hole and found myself between the wall and another bush which hid the hole on the outside of the wall.  I waited behind the bush until I heard the familiar sound of Kat’s Jeep pull up. I stood up, and startled Asher who sat behind the wheel with the driver’s side window down.

“What the actual fuck?” Asher asked, looking at me in shock as I walked over to the back door of the car.

“I was getting back in touch with nature,” I explained in a ‘duh’ tone, while hiding my surprise that he was driving Kat’s car, and Lucas was riding shotgun, while Kat was sitting in the backseat. Like, what the hell? Why would Kat allow herself to be kicked to the backseat of her own car?

Once I had gotten into the back seat of the car beside Kat, we drove off, heading into town. We made our way down the main street of Sugar Land, Texas. This place had been home to me my whole life, and a part of me was going to miss this town, and the familiarity of my home. We made our way to mine and Kat’s favourite cafe where we were going to be having lunch. I was determined that I was going to enjoy my last day in Kat’s company, even though with each passing moment, I could literally feel my heart breaking a little bit more. I could see that Kat and Lucas were looking happy and in love, just like all fated mates are when they are in the early stages of finding each other. It was that exciting beginning stage of the relationship, where you are giddy from first finding each other and learning as much as you could about each other. I had heard that finding your mate was an exciting roller coaster experience. But for me, it was one adventure that I hoped I would never have to go on. I never wanted to find my mate! I didn’t want the heartache and the bossy, dominant, attitude of a mate who thought he had the God given right to control my life. Seeing my mother live through that nightmare had been bad enough. Then throw in the abuse I had received from my father and brother following my mother’s death. Nope, that was one ride I would gladly pass on. Winter had gotten lucky finding Felix. He was an absolute sweetheart! But just because she had been fortunate enough to find a good man, didn’t mean that I would get that lucky.

We pulled up in front of the café, and once we had gotten out of the car, we quietly made our way into the café and took a seat. It wasn’t long before a waitress came over to us to take our orders, and we all ordered our lunch. To say I was uncomfortable with having Asher and Lucas present while we had our lunch was understating things. There was something off about Asher. Something about him just didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t explain it if you had paid me too, but he made me feel extremely uncomfortable whenever I was in his presence.

“So, Storm, did you end up getting into trouble when you got home last night?” Kat asked, looking across the table at me from where she sat beside Lucas.

“No, Winter and Felix snuck me in without being caught,” I replied.

“That’s good,” she said, giving me a small, relieved smile.

As I sat there, Asher draped his arm over the back of my seat making the hair on the back of my neck stand up at his proximity. His behaviour was annoying me. It was almost as if the guy couldn’t take a hint. I was trying hard to ignore the dangerous vibes I was getting from Asher; and trying to enjoy my last lunch with my friend. I was also doing my best not to dwell on the fact that early in the morning before Kat had even woken up, I would get on a plane and fly off to my new life on the other side of the world, and I wasn’t even going to give her a proper goodbye.

There would be no more thanksgiving dinners together, no more Christmases, Easter Mass, Birthdays, or vacations spent together. There would be no more sneaking out of the house to meet her for impromptu shopping trips, or trips to the movies, or dancing and eight ball. No more meals at various cafes and restaurants. This was it. After all the time we had spent together, in all the long years that we had known each other, this was where it would all come to an end, here in this little café in our hometown.

After being locked in my own thoughts for a while, I began feeling as if I could not keep my emotions in check long enough to make it through lunch, and I was believing that I might need a little help to deal with my emotions. They were now on the rollercoaster ride from hell. Holding my phone in my lap, hiding it under the table so it was out of the view of Kat and the others, I sent a text to Winter asking her to come and pick me up from the cafe. I was miserable and I needed my big sister to help me to deal with my emotions.