Forever Mine

TEN

Screw Isaac.

The shower she'd sat in for close to an hour had helped a little. The warm water had washed away her tears as she'd cried and relaxed her tired body. Why was he torturing her like this? What had she ever done to deserve this? How could she even begin to apologise to Levi? After her shower she'd crawled into bed, remaining deep beneath the puffy duvet as she drowned herself in her books, glad to have her mind whisked away from her own problems.

Now though in the quiet darkness the trauma of the day haunted her. The guilt of being so naïve about how Isaac would react to her being with Levi gnawed away at her. Would Isaac have really hurt him? Could she not have friends? Or was it purely because she'd disobeyed him? She rolled onto her side, burying her face beneath the duvet like she had as a scared child. Somehow the soft feathers felt like they could protect her from anything. Isaac's green eyes flashed before her, alight with unrestrained rage as he'd torn towards her and Levi. A whimper escaped her lips when she remembered Levi running for his life as Isaac's body twitched and manipulated with the threat of his wolf being released. It was the number one rule of their world to never annoy an Alpha. They were more dangerous than any other werewolf – deadly even. Once their human body lost the battle to their raging wolf, the person they were inside disappeared. Replaced by a demonic wolf blinded by rage.

And she'd managed to piss off one of the most powerful Alphas her generation had known. Would Isaac ever hurt her if she pushed him too far? A cold feeling seeped into her body when she already knew the answer. Of course he would. There were too many tragic stories of soulmates losing control and harming one another. Some of them had even been killed at their hands of their own soulmate. Trust had made them blind.

Allowing herself to slide out of her duvet cocoon, she sat up against the headboard and hesitated before reaching for the mobile phone on her bedside table. With the number dialled, she padded out to the balcony as it rang in her ear. The warm air wrapped around the skin bared by her tank top and shorts. The person on the other end of the line picked up just as she sat on the deck chair and pulled her legs to her chest.

'Roxy?' Cleo's sleepy voice filled the line. 'It's midnight. Are you okay?'

Emotion bubbled up inside of her at the sound of her sister's voice. Although she still felt betrayed by the one person in her life she trusted, she craved to be in her sister's company. To have her arms wrap around her, her hand brushing her hair in soothing strokes while she whispered reassuring words in her ear. Just like she had when Roxy had shifted for the first time. The sounds and pain of her muscles tearing and bones snapping had been traumatising.

'I miss you, Cleo. I want to come home. Please, let me come home.' Roxy's voice broke and she sucked in a shaky breath as she looked up at the night sky.

In the background she heard Trent's sleepy voice ask Cleo who was on the phone before the sounds of her sister walking through the house carried down the line. 'Believe me when I say I want you home too. I'm so lost without my little sister. It's been the two of us for so long... being apart like this just feels... strange.' She sighed. 'It's not safe yet though.'

'But I hate it here.' Roxy felt her anger rise with every word she said. 'Why did you send me here, of all places? To a soulmate who's disgusted at the very sight of me. How could you do that to me, Cleo?'

'We didn't have much choice.' She sniffled down the line which took Roxy aback. She'd never seen her sister upset, always being the pillar of strength. 'I thought Isaac might have changed his mind when you saw each other again.'

'Well, he hasn't,' muttered Roxy bitterly. 'So how much did you have to cough up for his bodyguard services?'

Cleo was silent for a short while before her confused voice spoke. 'What are you talking about? We offered him as much money as we could possibly afford, which you know isn't all that much, but he wouldn't take it.'