Stalked by the Alpha

Part 2: The Party

I felt like I had stepped into a classic cheesy college movie. When we arrived at the house, there were red plastic cups littering the grass and the bass heavy music was pouring out of the open windows. The house was enormous, 3 stories with a pool in the backyard, or so John proudly informed me when we drove up. I guessed it was some sort of clubhouse, because John referred to it as a 'pack-house' one time which was met with a slap on the arm from Paige. I ignored it because I would be embarrassed if my boyfriend called something a pack-house too. We walked up to the front doors, which were big and red and screamed wealthy. John casually opened the door and walked right in with Paige and I following behind closely for fear of getting lost in the swarming crowd. John was slapping people on the back and greeting everyone like he was the king.

Paige snorted, "Yeah, he acts like a king huh. I'm the only one who calls him on his shit," she rolled her eyes.

I shuffled my feet awkwardly, looking down at my scuffed Converse. "I didn't mean to say that out loud. I'm sorry." Great, now she would hate me.

Paige just laughed and gave me a hug, but released me immediately as I tensed up, clenching my fists tightly. She gave me an apologetic smile and turned away, saving me from any awkward explaining. There were drunk people pressing in from all directions and I breathed deeply, trying to remain calm. Luckily, Paige leaned over and said, "Hey, we're headed to the kitchen if you want to join us!"

I nodded my head and followed her to a large industrial sized kitchen that would have been wonderful to see empty. There were huge stainless steel appliances and a marble counter tops that were currently covered with bottles. The smell of alcohol was stronger here for good reason. I lifted my feet and they felt sticky and I cringed. There was a smaller group of people here, and more space, so I relaxed a little bit more.  I moved into an open corner quietly to observe. A lot of the people in here were like John. Big, handsome guys who all seemed a little too perfect to be true. I was shaken from my thoughts with John shouting, "Hey Mark, where's Gabe right now? He said he needed to see me!"

Mark, a very tall guy with dark brown skin and beautiful brown eyes replied, "He was out by the pool."

"Perfect. Paige, Evan, let's go," he commanded.

"Evan? Who the fuck is Evan?" Mark and the other guys looked around until their eyes landed on me in the corner. I immediately turned bright red and looked downwards, trying to avoid the attention. 

"Damn, she's hot," I heard someone whisper.

Paige interrupted and said, "All right, before this gets disgusting, Evan and I are going outside. Goodbye." She grabbed a bottle of Fireball and some shot glasses.

She motioned to me and I followed her out the back door, giving me a chance to escape. I could feel their eyes on my back as I walked past them quickly and exited the house into the backyard. Once again, I was struck speechless with the opulence of the house. The pool was enormous and twinkle lights hung over the whole thing, giving it the look of stars. There was a fire pit over to one side and Paige and John were joining a few people sitting around on wooden benches. I cautiously joined them and sat quietly, looking at my hands. I could feel someone looking at me, but I ignored it. All of a sudden, I heard a growl. I flinched and looked up. 

Across the fire, I saw the guy I had bumped into earlier today staring at me with an intensity that made my stomach squirm. I made eye contact him and it was like staring into a fire. I couldn't look away. I saw his pupils dilate. Then Paige dropped a shot glass and the spell was broken. I bolted from my seat and ran into the house and up the stairs, desperately searching for a bathroom. My heart was pounding and I couldn't think straight. I swear he was following me from the growls that I was hearing behind me. I was desperately trying doors, and I finally found a bathroom. I slammed the door and locked it behind me, my legs giving out and sliding down the door. I could hear him prowling outside the door, and I crawled over to window in the bathroom and slid it open as silently as I could. It was lucky that I hadn't been eating much over the last few weeks, because I slid quietly out of the window onto the roof. I climbed over to the side and shimmied down the drainpipe, scraping my knee on the side of the house on the way down. 

"Shit." I wiped the blood off of my newly ruined jeans and hid in the shadow of the house. I heard a sound to my left and whipped around.

"Don't scream!" Paige hissed in my ear. "You have to trade shirts with me right now."

"Wha-? Why?!" Even as I said this, I was taking my shirt off. 

"Because he's going to track you by scent!" She handed me her grey crop top and pulled my black shirt over her head quickly.

"He's going to what?!" I couldn't even process what was happening right now. I pulled her shirt over my head, ignoring the fact that there was about 4 inches of my back scar exposed.  She didn't reply and I turned around. She had a shocked expression on her face and I blushed.

"What happened to you?" she whispered.

I just shook my head. "Now's not the time for that story. Who is that guy? How is he following me with his scent?"

Paige's eyes had glazed over, like she was having a conversation inside her head. She snapped her head over to me and her eyes were glowing yellow. I scrambled backward. What the actual hell is going on here? Am I going crazy?

"You have to leave. Now! He knows where you are. Take my keys!" she hissed quickly.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked quietly.

"I know what it's like to not be ready for your mate. And even after one day, I can tell you've been through more shit than most people have in their lifetime. You need to leave now. Right now," she whispered with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you," I replied, and ran away to her car. I had to get away from my...mate I guess. What was a mate? I didn't have time to think about it as I heard a growl from behind me. I sprinted to the car and whipped the door open, slamming it shut and peeling out of the parking lot like I had some sort of devil on my heels.