Jordan: The Rogue Alpha

Chapter 3 - Hide and seek

#musicvibe - Islander, Nightwish

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Jordan POV

A soft moan from Carly jolted me awake and I saw her sit up in her bed. Avery was still fast asleep in my lap, so I slowly shifted myself until Avery was curled up on the reclined armchair with the blanket wrapped tightly around her.

I snuck over to Carly.

“Can I sit down on your bed?” I asked.

Carly nodded and a sob escaped her as she pulled her knees to her chest.

I sat down next to her, took her hand, and studied her face. She didn’t have her wolf yet since her first shift wasn’t for another two weeks, and the bruise was still fresh on her cheek.

Carly let go of my hand and reached for the tablet on her bedside table. She typed for a while on the tablet and then held it out for me.

“Is father angry with me?”

I shrugged and handed the tablet back.

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him.” I admitted.

It was better to be honest with her. If I told her that he wasn’t angry with her anymore, she wouldn’t be so careful around him. She had a hard time reading people, and if she angered him more he might just hurt her again. I couldn’t risk that.

Instead, I leaned forward and whispered softly.

“How about we play a little hide and seek from father tomorrow.” I hissed. “Let’s make sure to hide from him all day, and we’ll see how long it takes for him to find us.”

Carly nodded and started typing again.

“Will you stay with me?” She asked. “He’s not yelling so much when you’re around.”

I reached out my hand and she took it.

“I won’t let you out of my sight, I promise.” I replied. “You will be just fine. I will protect you.”

A soft smile flashed over Carly’s face, before her expression turned blank.

“It’s two o’clock in the morning.” I said. “It’s time to get some sleep so that we can wake up on time tomorrow.”

Carly looked over at the alarm clock on her nightstand and checked that it was set for seven o’clock in the morning.

“My clothes aren’t laid out.” She typed on her tablet and glared at the closet.

“I can help you take out your clothes.” I offered. “We just have to be silent so that we don’t wake up Avery.”

Carly nodded and I snuck over to the closet and opened the doors.

Her clothes hung neatly from the hangers, everything sorted by color.

Carly’s favorite color was orange, so I pulled out an orange top and some black shorts and held it up to her.

I heard a grunt from Carly and I looked up. She held out the tablet with a picture of a pair of jeans.

“You want to wear long pants?” I asked.

She nodded while tracing the covers with her fingers.

“You could wear long pants.” I agreed. “But it’s going to be really hot outside and the pants will get hot on your legs and that will be uncomfortable.”

Carly furrowed her brows and looked outside.

“It’s cold now.” She typed.

I nodded.

“That’s true.” I said. “But you know, when the sun comes up, it’s going to get warm outside.”

Carly nodded and I placed the clothes on the desk and took out a pair of sandals. Carly didn’t protest and took out some underwear for her and put it with the rest of the clothes.

“There.” I said. “Everything is set for the morning.”

Carly nodded again.

“Now it’s time to go to sleep.” I said and went to tuck her in bed again.

But Carly pushed my hands away and started typing on the tablet again.

“I’m scared. I don’t want father to yell at me.”

I sighed.

“I know.” I replied. “I won’t let him okay?”

“You promise?” She typed.

I nodded.

“I promise.” I whispered. “I won’t let him hurt you.”

Carly placed down the tablet and stared off into the ceiling without answering. After a while I saw her eyes flutter close. When I was sure that she was asleep, I got up and saw Avery look back at me groggily.

“I didn’t know that you were awake.” I whispered.

Avery moved over so that I could get back in the armchair as I drifted off to sleep with her in my arms.

*

“Good morning.” Moira chirped as we snuck into the kitchen.

“Good morning.” I replied. “Can we eat our breakfast outside?”

“Of course.” Moira replied. “I’ll pack it up for you.”

I glanced at Carly, who was fiddling with a fidget spinner and hummed to herself, quite loudly. I led Carly away from the kitchen when I saw some of the Omegas throw annoyed looks her way.

I knew that it was messing with her normal breakfast routine, but I checked the dining room and my parents were eating breakfast there. It was for the best to stay as far away from them today.

“Do you remember what I said about playing hide and seek with dad?” I whispered.

Carly nodded.

“So if we’re going to keep him from finding us, we have to stay away from him.” I said. “It’s a little game.”

Carly frowned and pulled out her tablet.

“Dad inside. We go outside.” She typed.

“Exactly.” I replied. “You are so smart, Carly. Don’t let anyone tell you anything else.”

Carly smiled briefly and we turned back to the kitchen to get our breakfast.

Moira glanced at Carly and frowned at the bruised cheek. She seemed deep in thought for a moment and turned to me.

“May I suggest you take the back door to the meadow.” She whispered. “He won’t be able to run into you then.”

My eyes softened. Moira was one of the few people that wasn’t hostile towards Carly, and even if she didn’t say anything, I knew that Moira didn’t like how my father was treating Carly.

“Thanks.” I whispered back and led my sisters out of the kitchen to the back door.

Avery ran ahead of us, skipping along the path to the meadow behind the packhouse. Carly and I followed behind and we sat down on a blanket that Moira packed.

After breakfast, Avery started picking flowers, weaving them into a flower crown while Carly started clearing out a patch of grass, picking flowers and placing them carefully in a pattern.

“It’s beautiful.” I whispered.

Carly looked up at me and gave me a small smile before continuing.

Avery plopped down next to me with a flower crown and placed it on my head.

“Thanks kid.” I chuckled and carefully shook my head, making the flowers bounce back and forth.

We stayed outside together all day, only returning to the packhouse to get lunch and a snack in the afternoon. I tried to keep Carly’s meal times as much as I could, hoping that it could make up for her not being able to go inside.

When the sun started to set, an Omega made her way over to us.

“Alpha wants to see you.” She said.

I groaned internally, but put on a brave face when I saw Avery and Carly look at me with anxious faces.

“Maybe he just wanted to apologize.” I shrugged, knowing full well that my father never apologized for anything.

When we came back inside, I made sure to keep Avery and Carly behind me. My parents were sitting at the dining table, and I quickly noticed that it looked like my mother had been crying.

“You wanted to see us, Alpha.” I said.

“Where have you been all day?” My father growled.

“It’s sunday.” I said. “Carly doesn’t have any Alpha duties, so we spent the day outside.”

I felt Carly tense behind me, but there wasn’t much I could do about it as my father pinned us down with his angry glare.

I forced myself not to flinch as my father got up from his chair, but every fiber of my body was tense and I was preparing myself for anything.

“Jordan and Avery, go to your rooms.” He ordered. “Now.”

Carly looked at me with a horrified expression.

“Go.” I quickly said to Avery and she ran off to her room and closed the door behind herself.

“I’d like to stay with Carly, if you don’t mind.” I said carefully, hoping that he would let me stay.

My head was thrown back when my father slapped me.

“Don’t you dare defy me.” He snarled.

I shook my head to stop my ears from ringing and looked over at Carly.

She looked terrified as she shifted her weight between her feet and rubbed her fingers with her gaze glued to the floor.

“Leave.” My father screamed in my face.

I didn’t want to go, but I glanced at Carly apologetically and then went to my room, not knowing that it would be the last time I saw her.