Forever Mine

FOUR

'I don't need someone else. I don't want someone else.'

The anger coursing through her body shifted from her sister to her apparent soulmate. If he was so against having her as a soulmate then why would he agree to letting her hide out in his pack? Was it to torture her further, to rub more salt into the wounds that would never heal? Nausea rose in her stomach and she clasped a hand over her mouth. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against the headrest, breathing deep breaths until the sickening feeling had passed. Had Trent and Cleo paid him a significant amount of money? Was that what she was to him? A decent paycheque?

The dividing window suddenly wound down making Roxy gasp.

'We have arrived, Miss Thorn,' announced the driver.

In a matter of seconds the screen was back up, leaving her staring at her distorted reflection. With a deep breath to try calm herself she wiped at her tear-stained face and blew the snot from her nose into a tissue. Using her fingers, she tried to rake her unruly waves into some kind of submission. With her heart sinking fast in her chest, she wound down the window, allowing the warm summer air to blow around her hair she'd just managed to tame. The sunlight above had completely disappeared as they drove along a winding road. The bountiful trees reached up to where the sky would be, the tops of their branches bending over to create an arch. Despite the anger and betrayal still burning within her, Roxy couldn't help but admire the fantasy-like scenery.

Roxy gasped in awe when the shaded road opened up to reveal a ranch in the distance. She hung out of the window further, her wide eyes locked onto the view before her as the car turned into a long driveway, flanked by weeping willow trees. White fences which looked freshly painted divided the land into paddocks on either side of the driveway. In them horses grazed, a few of them looking up to glance at the vehicle, their jaws chomping away at grass that hung out from the mouths before dropping their heads back down. Past the paddocks the smell of citrus filled Roxy's nose and she breathed in the refreshing scent deeply, her eyes finding fields of orchards.

From the orchards her eyes roamed upwards which felt like they'd rolled from their sockets. A magnificent house sat behind a roundabout driveway which the car was pulling into. Grand mountains provided a jaw-dropping backdrop. She scrambled across the seat to gaze up at the three story house which put Saltwater Woods' quaint packhouse to shame. The bottom half was built with dark stone, multiple large windows letting the afternoon sun pour inside. Porch swings swung gently in the breeze along with plants in hanging baskets. Thick beams stood around the perimeter to hold up a wrap-around veranda. The upper part of the house was made with timber, which also had a balcony. There were three sets of doors each with large glass panes. Sunbeds and chairs sat in front of them and Roxy could imagine the tenants soaking in the sunrays. At the top, in the third story were more windows, a bay window looking out to the front of the property. It looked to be some kind of penthouse. Maybe that's where the Alpha lived.

Roxy almost fell onto the gravel when the chauffer opened the door she leant against. With a blushing face she managed to step from the car with some sort of grace, her jaw still swinging from its hinges at the house before her. Well, it was barely a house, more of a mansion. Beyond the mansion and down a slight slope she frowned at a collection of cabins built from the same timber, hundreds of them sitting next door to one another. Like a village. It was then she realised that they were the pack members' houses. Her eyebrows shot up. Saltwater Woods' Omegas had lived all around town, only the hierarchy lived in the house amongst the woods. This hadn't been too much of a problem until the rogue visits had increased. Here, if there was some kind of emergency, the pack was altogether. In Saltwater Woods it would be at least ten minutes.

The front doors of the mansion opened up to reveal a female figure who looked miniscule in the impressive doorway. Roxy's heart began hammering in her chest. Her wolf became antsy. She sniffed at the air, trying to find the same alluring scent which had led her to Isaac in the gazebo of the White Moon Ball, only to come up with nothing. A flame of anger ignited inside of her. He wasn't even here for her arrival? She turned to look at the ball of paper in the footwell of the car.