Audrey
I walked into the castle to be met with all the familiar scents of my friends and family. "Bay! Bay!" I heard Riley shout. Her little legs ran as fast as she could before she crashed into me. Her arms wrapped around my waist as she stared up at me with her big brown eyes. "I missed you" she mumbled.
Smiling, I swooped her up and spun us around in a circle. "I missed you too" I said as she giggled. "Where is everyone?" I asked while setting her back on her feet.
Riley shrugged, but her eyes lit up as she started bouncing up and down. "Guess what! Guess what! Guess what!" she said quickly with an excited tone.
I matched her excitement and put on a face thinking face. "Um... You had candy?" I guessed. She shook her head with a smile on her face. It sure looks like she had candy though. She has a lot of energy. "You... watched a movie?" I asked. Riley shook her head again. "I give up, what is it?" I inquired.
"I'm a chipmunk!" she blurted. Did she just say 'chipmunk'? "Dave is Dave. And Dave takes care of chipmunks. And Dave takes care of me. So I'm a chipmunk!" she explained giddily.
I slowly nodded my head, recalling the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks. "Dave even screams my name like in the movie. But he says Riiiillleeeyyy instead of Allllviiiin!" she said, screaming both names.
Laughing, I finally started walking deeper into the castle. Jacobs had patrol, so he didn't come inside with me. Riley walked beside me, her short legs moving quickly. "Hello?" I called out. My voice echoed through the hall, and I got no response.
I should've asked Jacobs where to go. "Riley. Can you help me find the living room?" I asked sweetly. She nodded her head and started skipping down the hall. There has to be someone in the living room right? I followed after her as she made turns down the hallway. She actually looked like she knew where we were going.
She's been adjusting well then. I'm happy for her. Riley is a strong little girl. I'm also glad that Dave has been so helpful with her, like a big brother taking over the father-figure role. I feel bad for not witnessing it though. I feel like I should be one of the people that help raise Riley, since I'm the last one that saw her mother alive. But I've been spending all this time with my mate- who isn't my favorite person at the moment.
So far, we've had what? Two? Three fights? I'm just wondering if its actually worth it. Obviously, we have some trust issues. People say that relationships are built off of trust. The less we trust each other, the worse our relationship would get. The problem is we barely even have a relationship. We don't know that much about each other. We don't hang out, since apparently; he's too busy researching my kidnapping to actually talk to me.
I quickly shook the thoughts out of my head. I came to the castle for a break from him, but he's stuck in my head. I growled in anger. Riley suddenly stopped as people appeared around us. "Uh... Hi?" I greeted slowly.
Riley ran towards one of the men and jumped into his arms. "This is Uncle Ryan!" Riley chirped as she patted the bald man's head.
Okay, then. "I'm Audrey" I introduced myself. There were a few gasps as they all bowed their heads. I wonder if they do that every time a Royal is in their presence. "I'm looking for Eve or David or Gardenia or Asher- basically the Royal Family" I stated.
Ryan walked towards me while holding Riley. "I'll take you to them" he offered before dismissing the other warriors. I thanked him as he started walking down the hall. "I'm Ryan, a friend of the family and the Alpha of the Royal Pack" he introduced himself.
I nodded my head. "It's nice to meet you" I said politely. "How long have you known the family?" I asked, attempting to make conversation.
Ryan thought for a few moments. "I knew Eve's mother when we were teenagers" he informed me. "Then David- Eve's father- came along around the same time I met my mate, Jordyn" a smile made its way onto his face as he spoke about his mate. I wish Thomas and I were more like that. "What's wrong with you and Thomas?" Ryan blurted.
Stupid mouth. That was supposed to be for my mind not for someone to hear. "I went into his office to hang out with him, but he wasn't there. So I started cleaning his desk. I found this letter that Anthony had left me, and I didn't even know that Thomas took it. It was for me, not him. Anyways, so I continued to clean and I found this notepad. It had theories about my kidnapping. So of course I read it; it was about me" I stated.
Ryan stayed quiet as I continued my story. "Then, Thomas busts into the room and snatches it away from me. He told me that I have no right to read it. So I told him that he had no right to take my letter" a bitter laugh escaped my lips. "But he said that he could read it because its about his mate. And he deserves to know what goes on in his mate's life" I stated.
"Wait. So he wouldn't let you read something about your life, but he gets to read about your life?" Ryan asked. I nodded in clarification. "Okay. Well, honestly; it sounds like you were snooping. But that is nothing compared to what he's doing. If he's looking into your kidnapping, you should be updated on what he finds. It is about your life" he speculated.
I nodded my head in agreement. See, so I'm not in the wrong here. I have every right to ignore him- which is now my plan. Maybe I will just crash here for a few days. "Audrey!" the life was squeezed out of me by my twin sister- or triplet sister? "It's about time you visited" she chastised.
Smiling, I pulled away from her to see everyone else crowded into the room. "Hey, guys" I greeted them. There was Dave, Gar, Asher, Eve, Elise, and Elise's mate. I think his name starts with an 'M'.
The man stood up with a welcoming smile on his face. "We didn't really get off on the right foot" he stated. With a small laugh, I nodded in agreement. "Well, I'm Matthew, Eve's brother and El's mate" he introduced himself.
I slowly shook his hand. "I'm Audrey, one of Eve's and Asher's daughters and Thomas Laney's mate" I said. I could stop the way that I said his name so bitterly. It just came out like that. They either didn't notice, or didn't bother to question me about it. I think I've told enough people about my little issue though. I don't think that Thomas would appreciate it if I told everyone in the castle.
"I know you just got here, but I have class" Eve said as she got up from the couch. With a frown on my face, I furrowed my eyebrows together. "I'm trying to get control of my powers again. Naomi is helping me" she explained. I nodded and gave her a quick hug before she left. Eve was shocked for a few moments, but eased into the hug.
She left, and I jumped over the couch to sit between Dave and Asher. "Oh! Oh! I want to do that too!" Riley exclaimed as she struggled to get out of Ryan's arms.
Dave sighed as Riley got out of Ryan's arms and tried climbing over the couch. "You could've just gone around. Now this place is gonna be a jungle-gym" he stated.
I felt bad that he was frustrated. "Ri-Ri" I called out. She walked around the couch and stood in front of me. "Please don't climb on the couch. You might fall and none of us want your little head to get hurt" I said softly. She frowned by nodded her head nevertheless. Riley made herself comfortable in Dave's lap as he pulled out his phone and handed it to her. "Thank you for looking after her" I said gratefully as I watched Dave stroke her hair.
He gave me a small smile. "It's no problem. I'm really glad to help. I feel obligated to" he informed me. Do I make him feel obligated to take care of her because I'm not here? "Actually, obligated would be the wrong word. I just feel drawn to her- not in any affectionate grown up way. I just- I feel like I'm meant to look after her. There's something telling me to take care of her" he explained quickly.
Dave planted a kiss to the top of Riley head and she stopped her game to give him a hug. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that he was actually her father.
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"Audrey! This is the nineteenth time that he's called in the past hour" Gar complained. She is talking about my mate. He's been calling everyone's phones. But I just hang up on him, or don't pick up at all.
He at least deserves the silent treatment, since Eve refused to let me avoid my mate for a few days. She said its not 'healthy'. Neither is ice-cream, but I'm not gonna stop eating it. Unfortunately, Eve said that I didn't have a choice in the matter. Asher actually agreed saying that Thomas would go crazy without his mate.
I think that's just stupid. I mean, we don't even hang out together. He's always holed up in that office investigating my kidnapping. You know what? I think this whole situation is just stupid. All of it is stupid. Thomas is stupid. What he's doing is stupid. Our fight is stupid- since obviously I'm right. Me leaving was kinda stupid. I could just stay there and give him the silent treatment.
A mischievous grin made its way onto my face. "Okay. Answer and tell him that I'm going back now" I stated. Gar sighed in relief as Eve and Asher gave each other high-fives. My parents are kinda weird.
I found Jacobs to drive me home after saying bye to everyone. While we were in the car, his phone rang. After taking one glance at it, he handed it to me. The phone lit up with Thomas' name. Sighing, I pressed the green button. "Hello?" I answered.
"You left" Thomas stated. I hummed in response. Obviously I left. "Is that your thing? Are you just gonna leave whenever we get into a little fight?" he questioned angrily.
I sighed as I restrained from yelling at him. "I just needed a break" I said calmly.
Thomas was breathing heavily on the other line. "Was it you that needed a break or do you mean us?" he was seething. I could tell. But I don't understand why.
I left to see my family. Do I need his permission? Do I need to stay glued to his side? Wait, not the latter. He wouldn't want me glued to his side because then I would know about everything. And apparently he likes to keep secrets from me. "Are you even listening?!" he shouted.
I rubbed my temple with the hand that wasn't holding the phone. This guy is giving me a major headache. "I'm coming back. Just leave this talk for later?" I begged. It felt like my brain wanted to turn itself inside out.
"No. We're talking about it now" he demanded. I couldn't stop the groan that escaped my lips. "You sound like a high schooler that just got a pop quiz" Thomas deadpanned.
I rolled my eyes and continued to rub my head. "I have a headache, can we please just talk about this later?" I asked quietly.
My mate growled. "We're talking about this now!" this time, he used his Alpha voice. Of course, that thing doesn't work on me though.
My fists clenched, making me squeeze the phone. I'm not sure why, but his Alpha voice just angered me. "Too bad. I'm done talking about it" I spat. Thomas growled again before he started to yell incoherent words. "Just stop!" I shouted back at him. "You know what? Maybe we do need a break" I stated. Thomas then turned dead silent on the other end of the call. Well, he didn't argue with my idea. "Bye" I mumbled before hanging up.
I let out a long sigh before looking a Jacobs who had his eyes glued to the road. I knew he had heard the whole thing. It would kinda be impossible not to. "Can we turn back around? I'm staying here for a few days" I said quietly.
Jacobs quickly nodded as he turned the car around. "You know" he started after a few moments of silence. "Thomas might just be hurt that you left so easily; and he let his emotions get the best of him" he stated. I scoffed at the unlikely excuse that he made for my mate. Jacobs was silent for the rest of the short drive back to the castle.
A few minutes later, the car was parked and we got out. We walked into the castle to be greeted by the sight of my mother with her hands on her hips. "I told you that you had to go back" she reprimanded me. I sighed, feeling another headache come on. "Your mate is gonna get mad"
"Then let him!" I snapped. "He's already mad at me! And I didn't even do anything to him! If anything; I should be the one yelling at him- not vice versa. He's invaded my privacy. He's denied me the right to know what goes on in my life. He's demanding. He's rude. He's just- he's such an asshole"
Sometime during my little rant, I had started to cry. Eve released a sigh as she dropped her 'angry mom' act. She wrapped her arms around me before gently rubbing my back. "I'm sorry sweetheart" she said softly. I sniffled unattractively before pulling away from her embrace. "That doesn't sound like Thomas. I'm sure this rude phase will pass, and he'll apologize soon enough" she assured me.
I simply nodded my head while wiping away my tears. Eve's phone rang, and she frowned at the screen. "Speak of the Devil and he shall call" she muttered before answering the call. "Audrey is staying here for a few days" Eve immediately stated.
Straining my ears, I listened to Thomas' voice on the other end. "How many days?" he inquired.
Eve looked at me for an answer. I shrugged din response. I was planning on staying here until I no longer want to rip my hair out when I hear my mate's name. "As many as she needs" Eve replied.
Thomas sighed. "She told you what happened?" he asked. Eve responded with a simple 'yes'. "Look. I know she's mad at me. And I probably hurt her" damn right. "But can you please just tell her that I miss her and I'm sorry. It's a shitty apology for now, but I'll give her another one when she gets home" he said in a quiet voice. I had to further strain my ears just to hear him.
My mom quickly agreed before ending the call. "A week max" she said sternly. I gave her the puppy dog face, but she shook her head at me. "A week" she repeated. With a sigh, I reluctantly agreed. "Now, tell me everything"
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Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait.
My laptop crashed before I had the chance to update last week, so I had to rewrite this chapter and the chapter for Saving the Beta's Daughter. I'm currently trying to write the next chapter for Bearing the Royal Mark. It's all my laptop's fault. The stupid thing crashed.
Anyways...
So I'm doing dedications... And I know that I said it would be the best comment.
But I think this person deserves some recognition. I can't put into words how this message made me feel. Like my Wattpad friends are way better than my actual friends. I have made a few friends on here, and they are amazing. Yeah... So this is dedicated to kankney14
Kayyyzzz Byeeezzz
~A.J.