July 2, 2017 (10:45 am)
I've been having a few issues at one of my jobs. One of my coworkers (he's a major d*ck) has been saying very derogatory and degrading things about my younger sister. Why? Couldn't tell you, but I've absolutely had it.
I'm the type of person that doesn't care if you have anything bad to say me. Go ahead and call me a bitch if you want. But when you bring my family into the mix (especially my younger sister) that's when I have a problem.
Anyway, there's no way I can tell my family about this so I'm telling you guys. I'm tired of people saying awful things because they think there will be no consequences. I can't wait until they enter the real world and get charged with harassment for saying the shit they do now.
Okay, enough ranting. Time to get on with it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Felicity
The moment the truck pulled up in front of the pack house, I bolted out of the backseat. I didn't take my bag with me, I just ran for the door. I ignored my parents calling after me as a wrenched the door open. I didn't stop until I made it up the stairs and to my room. Once safely inside, I locked the door and threw myself on my bed. I needed to be alone right now.
For the rest of the day, I ignored everyone who came to my door. My mother tried first, but she was probably the last person I wanted to see. An hour after she left, my father tried. After that, Alex came by. Odette went after him. Even Garrett stopped by once. I didn't want to see any of them.
For the next three days, I stayed in my room. I didn't leave to eat. I didn't leave to see my family. I just sat around my room. Sometimes I went through old photo albums and other sentimental things I valued before any of this all started. Most of it seemed irrelevant to me now and I wondered what happened to the girl that once treasured these things.
On the third day of my hibernation, I came had an epiphany. The girl who I was before died somewhere on my journey and I was reborn. I couldn't keep living like this. What was I supposed to expect? Cole would come to his senses and rescue me from this life? We'd live the perfect ending to a fairytale?
I couldn't rely on that. I couldn't rely on him or anyone else for that matter. I needed to be the heroine to my own story.
From my position on my bed, I turned to look at the clock. It was a little past one in the morning. Most people in this house would be asleep. Slowly, I got off my bed and headed out my bedroom door. Once in the hallway, I headed downstairs towards the basement where we had a gym.
It had been a while since I trained with Cole and if I didn't continue some type of regimen, then I wouldn't be able to grow stronger. For the next two hours, I ran on the treadmill, lifted weights, and worked my core. Working out gave me a chance to clear my head and come up with a plan.
I knew that I would need to talk to my mother tomorrow about what happened. Maybe I could prevent a war. I doubted it, but I could still try. I could at least try to delay it. Convince her that it would be a better idea to have Cole make the first move. If he did, then I would try to get to him first.
Once my mother and I had come to terms, I would comb through the pack's territory. I had no doubt that my mother had increased security around our borders so I needed to find holes.
If I needed to get to Cole or one of my friends, I wanted a clear route to get out of SunDust territory.
Then I would wait. I would continue to live my life here and build my strength. I needed to be prepared for anything that could possibly happen. While doing that, maybe I could convince my family that I was no longer the weakest link in the pack.
As I grabbed a rag off the bench I was sitting on to wipe the sweat from my forehead, someone knocked on the door to the gym. I looked up to find my grandmother in the doorway with a small smile on her face. "There's my favorite grandchild," she said.
I smiled softly and stood up. "I don't think you're allowed to say that, Nana," I said. "You have nearly twenty grandchildren."
She rolled her eyes and brushed aside my comment. "Lisa's kids are spoiled brats. Nobody compares to my Felicity."
Out of everyone in this pack, my grandmother was the person I missed the most. She'd always been there for me. She was the only one who ever supported me. "It's late, Nan. What are you doing up?"
She looked around the room. "I was going to ask you the same thing, but I figured it would be a pointless answer."
"Yeah, I-"
"-couldn't sleep," we both said at the same time.
I gave her a small smile and nodded. She gestured towards the back of the gym and we sat on the ground against the wall. "You got yourself mixed up in a sticky situation," she told to me.
I let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah, you could say that," I mumbled.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Running a hand through my hair, I sighed. "You know, I thought I wouldn't. I mean, I didn't think anyone would really understand what I went through or how it impacted me. But holding it in is just going to make me implode."
Nana took hold of my hand in both of hers and kissed it before placing it in her lap. "I'm listening, honey."
I took a breath and let it out slowly. "When I left that night, I left to find my mate. I didn't want to be someone's burden like Clarity was going to make me become. I wanted to be someone's reason for living. I almost had that when I was gone. I came so close," I said looking up at the ceiling.
"What happened?"
My eyes then fell to the floor. "He didn't choose me. He had a different reason to live," I said softy. Then I turned to face my grandmother. "Nana, Cole is going to get himself killed and I'm not sure I know how to stop it. I don't want to lose him. Even if I can't be with him, I don't want him to die."
Nana leaned over to give me a hug and I returned her embrace. When she pulled back, she looked me over. "When you left that night, I told you that your journey wouldn't always be smooth," she told me. "You just need to remember that things always have a way of working themselves out. It might not end the way you want it to, but you will find a way to be happy."
"And if I don't?" I asked.
"You will," she said confidently. She turned and stood up. I followed suit, but as she walked to the door, I stayed behind to clean up the equipment. Before she left, she turned back to me. "Felicity?" I looked up from putting the weights back. "Don't train too vigorously. You need to know the limits of your body now." With that said, she disappeared up the stairs.
I frowned at her words. I was stronger than I ever had been before. I felt like my body had no limits. Cole had given me confidence to feel that way. I understood that I wasn't indestructible. I wasn't going to do anything to get myself killed. At least, I didn't think I would.
_______________
After I finished up in the gym, I headed back upstairs. It was just after four in the morning. Even though I hadn't done much in the past few days, I could feel exhaustion setting in. Once I made it to my bedroom, I headed straight for my connecting bathroom to turn on the shower.
As I waited for the shower to heat up, I braced my hands against the counter and stared at my reflection in the mirror like I had just a few days earlier. I don't know what I expected to see. Maybe my eyes would be less lively or my hair would be duller as if losing my mate had impacted me physically. It hadn't.
Life kept throwing curveballs at me and each time I've managed to sidestep the blow. I would move on from this. I would survive. I would find happiness someday. No one should have control over my life except me.
I began to realize something as I continued to watch my reflection. There was a big difference between my relationship with Cole. He needed me, but didn't want me. I, on the other hand, wanted him, but I didn't need him. I've proven that despite the emotional trauma I've been through, I can move forward no matter what. With that in mind, I undressed and hopped into the shower.
I didn't take long washing up. Within ten minutes, I was changed and in my bed, brushing my hair. As I ran my comb through my hair, my gaze traveled to the glass doors that led to my balcony. I was surprised to see a sticky note pasted to the outside of the door. Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I put my brush down and climbed out of my bed.
When I made it to the door, I carefully pulled it open and removed the note. My eyes widened in shock and my heartbeat quickened as my eyes ran over the words scrawled on it. Gripping the note in my hand, I walked out onto the balcony and peered over the railing. All I could see was darkness.
My arms wrapped around my stomach as I looked around in confusion. I glimpsed down at the note once more.
Tonight.
11 PM.
Meet Me.
It wasn't signed so I could only imagine who it was from and how it got here. Security had been tight since I left. That only confirmed my thoughts of there being a weakness in the border somewhere. Now I just needed to find it.
_____________
When I woke again that morning. It was half past nine. My mind raced through everything that just happened from my early morning conditioning session, to my talk with my grandmother, and finding that note. Despite everything, I felt better than I had in the last couple days.
Today, I chose a simple pair of leggings and an oversized sweater. I put on a pair of fuzzy socks and then headed downstairs to the kitchen. As I stood in the doorway, I watched as my father cooked eggs, bacon, and sausage on the stove. My mother was leaning against the counter next to him while reading some type of documents. Alex and Odette sat at the kitchen table. Alex tried to focus as Odette pointed out different flower arrangements in some bridal magazine.
"Any chance you're making pancakes?" I asked my dad.
Immediately, all eyes turned to me in amazement. I guess they didn't expect an appearance today. I mean, they knew I had to leave my room eventually. I had to eat at some point. I was actually starving at the moment. When no one said anything, I looked at my father. "Dad?" I asked, expectantly.
A wide grin spread over my father's father. "Anything for you, honey," he said as he started gathering ingredients. "Chocolate chips?"
"Please," I said.
My mother gave my father an incredulous look. He glanced over at her, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "We can have breakfast as a normal family before we get into all that, Claire," he said. Mom scoffed and shook her head before turning her attention back to the document in her hands.
Feeling a bit out of place, I wrung my hands together and slowly stepped into the kitchen. I bit my lower lip and started to rethink my decision to face breakfast with my family. I could have easily just waited a bit later and had a bowl of cereal on my own.
"Felicity," Odette called over to me. "Can you come give me your opinion on some of these centerpieces for the reception tables? Your brother's useless when it comes to wedding planning and I could use a girl's opinion."
Alex stood up and I gave her a grateful smile before heading over to sit next to her. "I'm not useless," my brother mumbled under his breath as he went to sit on the other side of the table.
Odette just rolled her eyes at me as she pointed out the two she was trying to decide between. For the next ten minutes while my dad cooked breakfast, Odette would point out different things in the bridal magazine she said she needed for the wedding. It was a good distraction for the time being and I was enjoying listening to her. Even more so when she would insult my brother whenever he made a snide comment.
Once the food was ready, I helped Odette set the table as my brother got drinks out and my mom ran back to her office to put her papers back. We all sat down to the table a few moments later. My parents were each at one end of the table. I sat next to Odette on one side and my brother sat across from his mate.
Just as we were about to eat, my sister entered the kitchen with a groggy look on her face. She was dressed in baggy sweatpants and a tank top. When she saw me, her expression hardened. "So the princess finally emerges from her tower," she said bitterly.
Leslie and I had never gotten along much in the past. We were very different from each other. She was outgoing, flashy, and only worried about popularity. I always stuck to the sidelines while she would absorb the attention. She'd always loved being my mother's center of attention. It wasn't hard to guess that she wasn't the focus while I was gone.
"Leslie," my dad warned her.
She only rolled her eyes and then took a spot across from me and in between my brother and mother. Despite the warning, she had no problems shooting daggers at me throughout breakfast. While most people were trying to make light conversation, she just continued to look at me as if I kicked her puppy.
My sister never had much of a problem with me before. I stayed out of her way as she absorbed the spotlight. With me back, she had competition for that spotlight and it was driving her crazy. It was making her malicious.
As I reached my fork for the plate of sausage between us, she would go out of her way to grab the plate right before I could get to it. She would then add some sausage to her plate even if she already had some on it.
The rest of breakfast continued like that. She would do little things to try to get under my skin. For the most part I ignored her. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing that she was bothering me. Until she deliberately kicked me in the shin. "Oops," she said in a sickly-sweet voice.
I slammed my fork and knife down on the table and glowered at my younger sister. "What the hell is your problem?" I growled at her.
All conversation stopped and all eyes turned toward us. My mother gave us each a cold stare as she sat between us. Yet, she didn't say anything and didn't seem like she was about to intervene anytime soon.
"You're my problem," Leslie bit back. "You somehow find a way to get captured to cause a panic in this pack. I didn't know you wanted attention that badly."
My eyes narrowed at her. "So you think I meant for this to happen?" I asked disbelievingly.
She just shrugged with a smug smile on her face as if she had this whole thing figured out. "Well I mean, you get brought to a pack of a bunch of male werewolves. They give you a lot of attention and then you come back and get more. Did you think we wouldn't find out that you're just an attention whore?"
"Leslie, that is enough!" my dad shouted at her.
I stood up, not being able to sit still. My hands grasped the table so hard, my knuckles turned white. I could feel the anger burning me inside. "That's rich coming from you!" I exclaimed. "Always have to be mommy's favorite? You didn't like being overshadowed by someone else, did you, little sister?" I asked venomously.
My brother and Odette seemed to be paralyzed and my father was taken aback my outburst. I rarely defended myself before. I didn't think it was worth it, but now was different. The spoiled brat had no idea what she was talking about and I was tired of letting people trample over me.
Leslie jumped out of her seat and growled back at me. "You think you're so tough now?" she asked. "You survive a month with monsters so you become one? Or did you just fuck one?" she spat at me.
I snarled at her and lunged. My mother intervened before I could gouge my sister's eyes out by grabbing my arm. "Leslie, go to your room," she said in a deathly calm voice. My sister began to protest. "Now." Leslie glared at me once more before leaving the kitchen and heading upstairs.
"My office, Felicity," she said. I wrenched myself out of her hold before storming out of the kitchen.
I was still seeing red. My sister would have never survived in that house with Cole and his men. She loves the fact that she is Clarity's daughter and the power that comes with it. Her pride would have gotten her killed in there.
But it wasn't just the fact that she didn't know what I had gone through. It was the fact that she made what happened between Cole and I sound like it was something dirty and disgraceful. The time I spent with him was something I never wanted to forget. It was passionate and pure. I didn't want anyone to make it seem like it was anything less.
Though I know that's what people here would make it seem like. I just hope that I didn't let my emotion reveal that my sister was right about what happened when I was gone. I had no doubt that I would not be able to keep the secret that Cole was my mate, especially when I was trying to stop a war.
As I entered my mother's office, I sat down on one of the sofas and waited. Most of my secrets were about to be revealed and I knew that my mother was going to be furious. What happened in the kitchen was just a preview of what was to come.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Okay and there is Chapter 20. Seeing as no one seems to be reading this much anymore, I'll stop with the questions. You can't make me stop with this book though. Words just keep pouring out of me and I'm going to see this to the end.
I mean I'm three chapters ahead of the one that's posted right now.
Anyway, thanks for reading if you've made it this far.
~OlympusPlayer