Rooming With The Enemy Alpha

2. Nothing

(Danielle)

"Ouch."

"I know."

I wished and hoped fervently that he didn't affect me anymore. Despite my relentless efforts to overcome it, the pain and memories lingered like stubborn shadows.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips, echoed by a sympathetic sigh from Rexi within my mind, accompanied by a disapproving shake of her head.

"Don't show him you are hurt. He'll exploit it to cause more harm," Rexi warned. She was my sanctuary, my loyal companion. Strong and valiant, my wolf was truly remarkable. Fierce and proud, she despised witnessing the lingering impact of the past on me, especially when Aaron was the cause of it all.

"I know, I know," I said to my wolf witha shake of my head.

“Yes, McCarter, I’m not worth your time and you’re not worth mine. The End. I am nothing like you, and I am thankful for that.” I shrugged flippantly and turned away from him.

“What do you mean, you b-?” He stopped and shook his head with a growl, his eyes narrowing in frustration as he tugged at his dark brown hair with a grunt.

Did he just almost call me... b***h?

It cut deep. It was sharp enough to cleave even through the hard shell of protective walls I had built around my heart for years, and reinforced them with the hatred of other people.

But I kept a straight face despite everything in me wanted to flinch back and run. I refused to grant him that power. Nobody would have that power over me.

“You’re too good to be true, McCarter. I know this you, it isn't real. You hide behind this polished mask of yours that everyone seems to admire and love, but you aren’t that person. I have seen you raw, ugly, exposed. I have seen your true self and I don't like it. You’re running from yourself and once your real face comes out, people will walk away from you.”

Like you did to me.

He gazed into my eyes, his sharp jaw tightened, and I resisted the urge to turn away. I wasn't going to back away, not now, or he would surely cheer in my head. I refused to lose to him.

“Yeah? Did your parents see the real you? Maybe that is why they didn't want a failure like you." His face twisted into one of anger and malice.

His words broke through that heavily built barrier and touched my heart. It hurt. Oh, God, it hurt. The truth of what he said.

For an instant, I was waiting for my tear glands to break down. I waited to hear myself sobbing, but I didn’t do it. It had become easy to do that over the years. To stop the tears. To pretend.

“I’m not a failure." My voice shook a little. "It’s their loss they don’t want me.” I said in a barely audible whisper. "And you are nothing but-"

“No one’s going to believe that story of yours, not a single soul.” He pointed to everyone in my class and I knew it was the truth. No one would believe me. And they would trust him without another question asked, because he was the future Alpha.

“You own the school. They are your lackies, and that's fine by me,” I said as I closed my notebook with enough force than necessary. "I don't need anything."

I willed the bell to ring already. It stayed deaf and mute.

“Don’t talk like you know what you’re talking about. You don't deserve to be here, and you know that. Everyone here knows that. You are just so shameless to get a hint and move away," he said in a dark voice.

"Bastard," Rexi hissed. "He can't talk to you like that."

I scoffed. "He can, Rex, and he will."

If I were to repeat the words he had just uttered, no one would believe me. His typical lines included, 'Can I help, ma’am?' 'No, please, let me do that.' 'You're welcome.' Yes, the perfect gentleman, the flawless future Alpha, at least to everyone else. Except for me.

I thought about Daisy, my heart aching and for a moment, I wanted him to tell me it was going to be okay. I wanted him to grieve

with me. But he was so close to me, yet so far away.

My eyes burned.

"Why do you even talk to me? Why not just quit and move on?" I fixed my gaze on him, my eyes piercing into his. He blinked, once, twice, and then shook his head as if grappling with confusion.

Wearing a rueful and cruel smile, he pointed a scornful finger at me. The glint in his eyes was saturated with hatred and rage—pure despise. "Let you go?"

"Yes," I snapped. "Go. Move on with your life. Forget about me. Don't f*****g talk to me."

“Move on? Can you? It wasn’t that easy, Landon. I want to take every ounce of your remaining happiness away, and I promise, I will. You deserve to live alone, and you deserve to feel the sting and pain of what you did to me, to us, every second of your life and I- I would make sure you never move on.”

I had no retort to that. I was stupefied.

His eyes were cruel and unmoving as he stared at me, with murder in them. If he could kill me now, he probably would. His eyes were like venom, his face granite and there wasn't even a small trace of the Aaron I once knew. I once cherished.

He was a stranger. This guy. This guy hated me with everything he had. He wasn't the guy I had once played with, laughed with. Innocently kissed under the mistletoe.

"Cat got your tongue?" He looked at me and for a second, I saw it, the slight concern, but it was gone in an instant before I could relish in it.

He wanted to hate me and hurt me and the inherent goodness in him sometimes rivaled his meanness. But he wouldn't give in. He was hell-bent on hurting me, and he wouldn't stop, not even to assuage his conscience.

The bell rang. I picked up my bag and walked away from him.

If I could walk away from this place and this dreadful life, I would do it without blinking an eye. I would not hesitate. But I couldn’t, I wouldn’t, not now, when my dreams were this close to becoming real.

I needed to finish school, and then I was free to fly away from this cage. I wouldn't stay, then, not even for Daisy.

Sorry Daisy. I thought. But I knew she would understand. She was the only one who knew me more than anyone in this world.

I smiled a little as I saw Sean, my friend, walking towards me with a smile and a bottled water in his hand.

“Hello beautiful," he said as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. He smelled like forest. Sean was a wolf shifter from a different pack in the Northern Packs. He moved to Westwood County only a year and half ago, but we had become fast friends.

Massive, and bulky, and... kinder than anyone else I have ever known.

“Hello to you too, beautiful." I raised my head and smiled at him and he winced.

"Don't call me beautiful, you idiot." His face was sour.

"Did you go for a run?"

"Yes, it is gym, and Ms. Colleen lead us through a hunt."

"Why do you look so sad? Did McCarter do something?" he said as he pulled me closer to him. "I will hurt him." He growled.

"Always. I am tired of it," I said with a sigh. "Don't hurt him. His father owns this school."

"I want to hurt him for you, but first... stop pouting because of him. Smile." He ordered. "Not like that, Danie. That is not a smile." He said as he pulled my cheeks.

I stood there glaring at him. He chuckled, his eyes glinting with mischief.

“Oh, come on. Just smile," he said with a pout, showing me his puppy eyes. I smiled and he smiled back. “So, what’s new today?” he asked when we stopped by my locker.

“So, first HCl spoiled my lab, second I almost called him Mr. Borate and then I laughed. I earned myself a detention. That is my life. Goddess, I hate my life."

"I do too," my wolf said with a roll of her eyes. "You are a disaster."

"You love me, Rex."

“I didn’t want to say I told you so, but I will. Didn't I ask you to keep your imagination in check?"

“Thanks for not saying that,” I said sarcastically.

"You are welcome," he said with a chuckle as I picked up a book from my locker. God, I wanted to go to my room, but no, first I had to spend another hour in detention with Aaron.

“So, how was your day, Sean?” I asked as he walked me to my detention with Mr. Boston.

“Good. Almost. Erika punched me in my face, because I called her boyfriend an ugly duckling. Then there was Austin, I broke his glasses unintentionally, but he cried. Really, he cried, Danie!” He threw his hands up and sighed.

“What, you broke poor Austin’s glasses? That’s rude, Sean. Buy him new glasses."

"I promised I will take him to the opthalmologist."

"That is nice of you. Make sure you do, okay? Bye now, I am going for a pleasurable evening now, with Mr. Potassium Sulfate and Mr. Arrogant jerkass."

“Come on Danie, stop calling him that or you’re going to earn another detention today," Sean said wisely as he left me to wallow in my misery. I smiled at him from the door as he walked away.

“He’s going to leave you, once he realize you are a worthless piece of s**t, so don’t get too comfortable." He sounded too close, too sure.

Heart sinking to my stomach, I whirled around to look at Aaron.

"Like you did?"

For the first time in his life, Aaron McCarter didn't have anything else to say.

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