Chapter 12: Chapter 12

“A Human?” Alpha Fredrick roared at the top of his voice. “How dare you think of mating with a human!” His voice was so loud, so thunderous that she couldn’t concentrate on what he said. He became a different man. His eyes had warped into a miserable black. “I taught you to be better than this. You are better than this.”

She knew her father was going to be angry when he finds out, but she never thought he’d be this angry. His anger made her to lose all her confidence but she wasn’t going to show him her weakness even though he could read her like book.

She stood tall before her father; her arms folded across her chest just to avoid him from seeing how she was trembling. “I think Dominic missed out the part where Aaron is our kind now…”

“I don’t bloody care what he is! I don’t give a damn if he’s an alpha and he has his own pack. His whole family are goddamn humans and no child of mine would ever mate with a human!” His clamored at the top of his voice as he paced back and forth.

“Let’s all just calm down now,” Linda tried to calm the panic but it made Alpha Fredrick madder.

“You knew what your daughter was up to! You knew everything she was doing behind my back but you didn’t say anything until I found myself.”

Linda heaved a sigh, trying not to get herself worked up on what her husband had just said.

“You tried talking to me into agreeing to her foolish mate, not telling me that he’s a human! It doesn’t matter whether he’s a werewolf—his parents are complete humans and you all know what they do when they see us. Listen Alice, you’re putting yourself in great danger, you’re putting all of us in danger! I am not going to sit here and watch my daughter put me in shame just because of how careless and selfish she is.”

The room fall into silence with Linda holding back her anger and Alice trying to keep her cool. She was going to burst if her father made another remark about Aaron not going to be her mate. She had already made up her mind that she’d never mate with Dominic like he wanted her to. She has chosen Aaron and she wasn’t going to change that no matter what her father does or say.

“I think I am old enough to make my own decisions now. I am not sixteen, where you still have to choose what I wear. I am not seventeen, when I’m still not old enough to have my own phone. I am eighteen—I am old enough to make my own decisions whether it harms me or not and whether you like it or not!” She remarked. She could see the anger getting more furrier than before.

He balled his fingers to a fist and drove them through the wall, making a hole in it.

“What the hell, Fredrick?” Linda thundered—she has had enough of everything her husband was doing. “Why can’t you just learn to control your anger? Just look at you standing here and exchanging meaningless words with your eighteen-year-old daughter. She is old enough to make her own decisions and I am going to support my daughter no matter what she chooses to do with her life.”

He clenched his fist angrily. He was so angry; she could tell by the way his hands were shaking.

“You can’t make your own decisions when you’re living under my roof!” He retorted as veins bulged out of his head.

“I guess I have to move out, then,” she said and made her way to her room. She slammed the door, making him to shot his eyes close at the sound of her door.

He let out a long, deep breath. He felt less angry when he did that. He finally looked at his wife that was standing by the kitchen door and staring at him. She had her arms folded over her chest; angry lines etched up on her forehead. He knew she was angry. He wouldn’t blame her—he acted like a coward.

His daughter hated him and now it looked like his wife would start feeling the same way soon.

He tried to approach her but she stops him immediately and made her way to their bedroom.

Alice found herself in her bed, curled up in a ball and gushing her eyes out. No one should be able to cry that hard. She felt like her heart had been ripped out. A state of misery that she couldn’t see the end of the tunnel. A terrible weight fell onto her shoulders as just laid there, hiding under her sheets. It was as though a giant boulder landed on her and she couldn’t straighten out.

She hates how she lets her father’s words get to her and made her cry her eyes out. She wanted to be stronger than this, carefree of what they say or what they think about her decision. She had never thought her father would change to this monster he was now. She used to be daddy’s girl; he does whatever she wanted. Any crazy thing Alice wanted, he does it within a splitting second. Now he gets infuriated by the attempt of doing anything. And it was all because of a man she doesn’t know why he matter in her life.

Why was he so special? Because his pack was better? Or because he was rich and powerful? Or was it because he has connections with the outside world?

Alice felt the urge to scream and break things but the last thing she’d want was a cut at the bottom of her feet and hands. She laid there in the pool of her own agony instead. She could feel the intense headache settling in. She ignored it—the headache wasn’t even as hurtful as she felt in her heart.

She wondered how she has been surviving for the past few days. Maybe because Ryan was here for her and they baked muffins yesterday. It’s amazing having a person like Ryan around. She felt upset he was leaving soon though he promised to come more often. She wouldn’t mind if he stayed with them. She wouldn’t mind if he moved in—she needed a brother figure anyway. He has been a good impact of her life with his presence.

Except the part where he tried to kiss her two days ago. She hated herself for actually wanting to have a taste of his plump, rosy lips. She felt embarrassed of how she instantly gave in and wanted to kiss him. She knew he had sense how embarrassed she got—she didn’t care.

She wanted it to happen, maybe it would’ve helped ten times than their conversation did. But it was better that they didn’t kiss. She has Aaron, though she doesn’t know if he still wanted her. But in her heart, Aaron was the one she wanted, he was her first kiss, her first love and she wouldn’t trade for the world.

**

She spent most of her time locked up in her room. She never let anyone in—not even Ryan when he came knocking, not even when her mother came. She wanted to be left alone with her miserable thoughts that hunted her and caused so much pain to her.

It’s been three days since she had that unnecessary fight with her father. It’s been five days since she last saw Aaron—he froze to his spot, looking at her in distrust before he left her standing there and crying her eyes out for him to listen to her.

Some might think he’s a jerk for neglecting her. But they both lied to each other. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that he hid that one silly truth from her. She hid thousands of secrets from him but she did it to protect him.

She got to her feet and several packs of candy bars and chocolates fell off from her thighs. It was all from a gift box Aaron once gave her for whenever she missed him or when she felt stressed. She finished the whole box in a spam of two days. She didn’t know how—possibly stress-eating. But she managed to finish eating everything in the box.

She tied her head in a high bun and sashayed into her bathroom to freshen up. If she decides to keep laying around and hiding from reality, she might go crazy.

She got dressed and for the first time in three days, she came out of her room. She exhales as she made her way to the door. She needed to get some fresh air and go check up on her friends that she had neglected for her selfish interest.

“Where are you going?”

She halts for a moment and turned her head to the living room. Her parents were sitting in the living room. If she had known they’d be there, she wouldn’t have come out. She wasn’t ready to face any of them—she certainly wasn’t ready for another fight.

“I want to go see my friends, or I’m not allowed to do that also?” She said, giving them a repellent look.

Alpha Fredrick lowered his gaze when she said that. He felt remorseful, she could see it by the way he dropped his gaze from her and sighed. She didn’t care that he felt bad for everything he has put her through.

“Ryan told me he’d be with Daniel and Miley by the waterfall,” Linda told her as she smiled ruefully. Her mother looked worried and upset. But Alice doesn’t seem to actually care about how they both felt. Her mother stood there and did nothing, she promised she’d talk to him about it but she never did. Maybe she tried but her father was being her father. Either way, Alice didn’t care about how they both felt.

She opened the door and stepped out without another word. They both shared a look and sighed.

Alice met the three of them perched on the rock by the waterfall. She smiled, staring at them and how they seemed to be happy. The don’t seem to notice her at first, until Ryan looked her way and spotted her.

He smiled at her and said, “Look who finally decided to come out of her cave of misery.” She chuckled, walking toward them. “I deserve that,” she mumbled.

“Can I sit?” She asked, looking at Miley that had her eyes glued to the waterfall. she scoffed lowly—the audacity Alice had to just show up out of the blue like she didn’t ignore them for weeks. Alice knew they were all mad at her and she deserves it. She deserves anything that they intend to do. She deserves every punishment they throw at her.

Daniel scooted and patted a seat next to him. Though he was angry, he couldn’t hide the fact that she finally came to see them. Ryan has briefed them on what happened. It was saddening but it wasn’t right to just shut them out of her life just like that.

“Hey,” she said, nudging Miley by the shoulder. She had her eyes anywhere but Alice’s side. Alice nodded, knowing she deserved it.

“How are you feeling, Alice?” Ryan asked her. She smiled and nodded, “I’ll be fine as soon as I make it up to my best friends.” She hugged Daniel’s arm and laid her head on his shoulder.

Miley got to her feet and made her way to the exit. Alice briskly followed her and luckily caught up with her. “Miley, wait… I’m sorry, okay? I know you’re mad at me. And I deserve every crap you throw at me but please… just listen to me.” Alice panted as if she ran a marathon. Possibly it was because she ran few steps to catch up with Miley and spoke breathlessly.

Miley folded her arms over her chest and raised a brow. Alice understood that she been granted access to talk but she doesn’t have much time of it.

“I know I’ve been such an asshole to you all and pushed you away. I just… everything was just too much and I couldn’t handle it. I took my anger out on y’all when you wanted to help and be there for me. I’m so sorry, Miley, for treating you like shit and pushing you away. You are the best friend any person could wish to have. You’re down to earth and I would never trade you guys for anything.” Alice felt like tearing up again. If Miley doesn’t forgive her, she’d hate herself for the rest of her existence.

Miley anxiously tapped her fingers on her arm as she thought of what to say to Alice. She hated how she let Alice’s words get to her and melted into her heart. Now there wasn’t a way she’d not forgive her. She didn’t want to… at least not just now. But she was sure she doesn’t have much of a choice.

“I saved this last piece for you.” Alice brought out a bar of snickers and handed it to Miley. Her eyes immediately gaped and sparkled with joy. She snatched the piece of chocolate from Alice’s hand to examine it. “How did you get this? OMG, this is my favorite. I haven’t had one since when my dad traveled. Thank you, thank you, Alice. And I forgive you… only because of this,” she engulfed her in a hug.

Alice chuckled, hugging her back. She didn’t mind the reason why Miley forgave her. She was relieved that they were back to normal. Now the only thing left was to come clean about everything that has been happening.

“She got the chocolate bar from her human boyfriend. Oh, now he’s a werewolf I’ve heard,” Daniel said to Miley which gapped her eyes at Alice. “You skunk! You went back out there?” She said, faintly punching Alice playfully.

“How did you…” Alice paused and glared at Ryan who was looking everywhere but her side. “Ryan told you everything, didn’t he?” She said, glaring at him. He looks at her and shoulder-shrugged. “What? They were worried about you and I couldn’t lie to them.”

They settled back down on the rock as Alice filled them in with what she hadn’t told Ryan yet. “But I doubt if he still wants anything that has to with me,” she stated, fiddling with her fingers. She could feel her heart aching but she ignored it even though it was hard to do that.

“Well, for me, I think he’s a coward for leaving you like that,” Daniel remarked. She knew someone would unquestionably say that about Aaron. She knew her friends would hate him and call him weak. But she lied to him, she shouldn’t have hidden that from him. “But I lied…”

“He lied too,” Ryan reminded her. “He didn’t lie to me. He told me everything about his life. I know where he lives, I know where he works. He told me everything even before he got to know me. He fell for me even before he touched my skin. I could see it in his eyes that he wasn’t going to betray me.”

They all stayed quiet and stared at her awkwardly. It seems like she was ready to fight anyone that’d come against her and Aaron.

Miley grabbed her hand and caressed it. “I think you’re right, Alice. Maybe he’s just shocked by the news of your identity and needs time to think things through. If he is what you say about him, then I think he should be your mate.”

Alice smiled with relief as she placed her other hand on top of Miley’s’. It was all she needed to hear. She only needed to be given assurance that everything would be okay even if it wasn’t going to be. She has been through a lot for the past few days and deserved a little bit of peace. Her friends made sure she did forget about her misery.

They spent the next couple of hours in the cave before heading home. She walked home together with Ryan. Upon entering the house, they encountered with Alice’s parents in the living room. Her smiled immediately faded when they tensed up, shooting her a worried look.

“Hey, you’re back. How are you feeling, sweetie?” Her mother asked. Alice didn’t answer at first. She wanted to know why they were acting shady. “What’s going on?” She asked and they both shared a look. They are always up to something.

She shook her head and made her way to her room. “I’m too tired for any of this,” she mumbled and waved them off even when her mother called out.

She opened the door and immediately caught a glimpse of a huge figure sitting on her chair at the far end of her room. Closing the door behind her, she slowly looked at it.

She heaved a sigh—it wasn’t because she was relieved of who it was. It was a miserable sigh of how tired she was with the crap she’s going through. Just few minutes back, she was feeling better—she could actually say she’s the happiest girl on earth, but now, with no doubt. She knew her night was going to be ruined by him.

“Dominic.”

He smiled at the way she called his name. He loved it when she does. She rarely did but he always looked forward to when she calls him by his name.

“Alice.”