Hideout

S I X

I gritted my teeth, squeezing my eyes shut in annoyance. "I'm not hungry."

Leo gripped my arms and pulled them away from my body, forcefully uncurling me from my protective little ball. "You will come downstairs and eat, regardless."

"No! Just leave me alone!"

I got up and attempted to run, but Leo caught my arm easily, holding me in place as I fought back tears. "Listen, little one. I know you're upset and angry and sad, but I'm your Alpha and you are starving yourself. When I tell you to eat, you'll eat. This dinner is only for a few members of the pack - Brett and Emerson will be there too. You can sit right next to them. I promise they will make sure you are comfortable and you won't have to speak to anyone else," he assured me. "Just behave, and it'll be over before you know it."

I stared down at the plate Leo had piled mountains of food onto for me. He sat at the head of the long table we were seated around, with me next to him, Brett beside me, and Emerson opposite of me. I was behaving, but every second seemed like years passing. Especially with the five other strangers constantly gaping at me, eying my birthmarks and my ugly eye.

Brett nudged me with his elbow, leaning in to whisper to me. "It's all really good, I promise. You'll like it. Just give it a try."

"I'm not hungry, is all," I replied just as softly.

My ankle received a light kick, and I gazed up nervously at Leo. He gave me a pointed, threatening look before holding my fork out to me. "I'm not hungry," I insisted miserably.

"Eat."

I gazed at the plate for a while, calming myself down. "Can I use the bathroom? I'll come back and eat, I promise," I begged.

"Fine. You have five minutes, and if you're not back, I will come find you. And the consequences of that are not so pleasant," he grumbled.

I don't think I've ever ran away from a meal so quickly. I found a hallway, searching for some sort of landline I could use. A woman came around a corner and I waved to get her attention. "Is there a landline somewhere? I can't find one?" I asked her, trying to ignore how her eyes followed my scars and avoided making eye contact with me.

"Sure, honey. There's one just down this hall, sitting on a little table. Almost every hall has a table with one on it," she explained. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks." With that, I followed where she pointed, seeing the old, dirty cream phone beside a couch.

The moment I touched it I was dialing my parents number. It rang three times before picking up. "M-Mom?" I greeted hoarsely, already on the verge of a breakdown.

"Adelaide? Oh, my Addie! Where are you? I've been worried sick about you," she gushed.

The sound of her voice made tears flow down my face, and I heard my father in the background shouting to ask if it was me. "Mom, Dad, please, I need help," I said hurriedly, checking to make sure Leo or Brett hadn't followed me.

"What's wrong, sweetie? We're so sorry for everything we've done. We took a hard look at your life and ours and realized we were awful parents to you. Awful parents in general," Mom said, and I knew she was crying too.

I covered my mouth so they didn't hear the sob that escaped me. "No, no. You were just following the Alpha's orders. You were good parents. I don't blame you. I just... I want to come home, maybe for a little visit. And then I can leave again, because I know I don't belong there," I claimed.

My father took the phone. "Addie, you do belong here. Harrison has already stepped up as Alpha. He... He's invited you back. You can come home and will be a member of the pack, no more getting locked away or being ignored. He wants to fix what his father has done to you," he explained. "The last Alpha was kicked out of the pack immediately for the awful things he has done to everyone here."