Shattered

t w o

London Bleu

As soon as that word left his lips, I gasped and found that I couldn't formulate a proper sentence.

"Y-you... I... w-wha...um... Xavier?"

The Adonis above me smirked and lowered his head so his warm, sweet-smelling breath ticked my lips. "Mm hm, and you are, beautiful?" 

"L-London Bleu," my last name came out as a soft sigh as Xavier trailed his nose along my neck, pausing to just barely touch his lips to an area where he felt my incredibly fast pulse. At this, my pulse increased ten-fold and I let out an embarrassingly loud moan. That sound, however, completely snapped me out of it. This was Xavier freaking Abel. My childhood bully.

My eyes snapped open and I began pushing on his chest. Xavier looked down at me, confused, but his rock hard body stayed firmly against mine. He brought his rough, calloused hand to the curve of my waist, in an effort to calm me down.

"Aw look the big rat tried to look pretty today. Ha, you thought wearing a dress made you look attractive? It just makes you look more like the slût you are."

Laughter rang out from all his friends and it was followed by hands. All over my body. Ripping and tearing the beautiful black lace and black fabric to shreds. 

February 21. My mom's 3rd death anniversary. 

"London? London are you okay? Talk to me baby," Xavier said. Clearly worried by the blank gaze  in my eyes and steady stream of tears running down my cheeks. A sob racked through my body as I pushed past my surprised mate and ran into my old room with inhuman speed.

Accepting the warmth of old, childhood memories, I curled into a small ball and cried myself to sleep, as I had done almost every day of my life four years ago.

•

•

•

Hours later, I was awoken by three quick raps on the door. 

"Wake up, Lonny. It's time for dinner. You slept through lunch," Xavier poked his head through the door.

I lifted my head and yawned loudly. After blinking the sleep out of my eyes, I opened my mouth to protest.

"I know what you're gonna say, and my answer is no. No skipping meals. You are absolutely the most beautiful girl I know and strong, pretty girls like you need to eat." He referred to me as a child, but I knew that he just didn't want to bring up my anorexia. "Please," he began to plead. "Eat. For me?"

I rose and unlocked the door, answering his full blown smile with a small, upward curve of my lips. We walked hand in hand to the mess hall where the entire pack had gathered to celebrate the return of the beta's daughter. We took our seat which were near the head of the table, where the alpha sits. The seat on his left was empty, reserved for the future luna.

That's us, you idiot! My wolf began cheering in my head, not even bothering to consider the fact that Xavier could reject us, or vice versa... NO, NO, NO! Don't you dare even consider that. Have you seen that sexy embodiment of man? My god, I could just... suddenly images of Xavier and I in various positions flooded my mind. Crossing my legs and biting my lip, I focused on reprimanding my wolf, rather than the intoxicating aroma that filled the air. Everyone rose in respect to the alpha, and we sat when he allowed us to. 

"Beta Jackson Bleu's sister, London, has finally returned to her pack. This dinner is in her honor, so welcome home London." When he said the last three words, he looked directly at me. My eyes lowered immediately and my face flushed. 

The rest of the night, I refused to meet Xavier's eyes. I took small bites and chewed slowly, even though I had no appetite. Years ago, I had mastered the art of pushing food around my plate to make it seem as if I had eaten more of my meal. I used these skills when Xavier and Jackson conversed. All I had wanted to do was to sleep in and watch Netflix.

At ten o'clock, the women gathered the children and began to put them to sleep. The crowd slowly dispersed, leaving Xavier, his parents, Jackson, and I. 

"Good night Mr. and Mrs. Abel," I said politely, giving them both a hug before they left to their room. I leaned up to kiss Jackson's cheek, which caused a small growl to omit from my mate. With an offhand expression and a mere glance, I murmured, "Night, Xavier." 

With a gentle hand on my wrist, Xavier stopped me from leaving. "Can we talk, please?" His voice was low but not low enough. 

"Why do you want to talk to my sister?" Jackson was immediately defensive. "I'm sorry Alpha, but I won't let you hurt her anymore."

"Hurt her?" Xavier said incredulously. 

"You know very well what I'm talking about. You're the reason she left in the first place," Jackson snarled.

"What the hêll are you talking about, man?" 

Jackson looked at me guiltily. When I had left, I told him to inform everyone that I was living with relatives. The previous alpha and luna knew about how horribly their son treated me and when he wouldn't change his ways, the agreed to keep my secret as well. 

More firmly, I said "Good night," and I ignored the looks that Jackson gave me.

Surprised that I was still tired, I was dreaming of steel gray eyes the second my cheek hit the pillow.

xxxxx

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