Beta's Lover

Chapter- Eleven

MACKENZIE

"Please take a seat. We will tell you the truth," Arthur spoke, gesturing towards the sofa behind us.

Quinn tugged me to sit and I followed. Pushing the bangs away angrily- already annoyed and these bitches are making me irritated now. We sat down on the sofas with them staring at each other with rather odd looks.

I can't trust them so easily.

"Honestly, we never lied to you. We just didn't tell you in-depth details about our town and its rules. We differ from the city system and its rules and regulations. We have our system meaning our networking and security are different from the usual ones. We use different sims here and they are not operated anywhere in the city of this country. So the sims you two had no tower signal here because they don't work here except ours. So when you questioned my town members, they told you the truth because there was never an issue with our tower signal," Arthur explained to us like we were dumb children getting a speech from their parents.

Quinn quietly exclaimed beside me but I remained unfazed.

"We believe it was our fault for not explaining it to you girls earlier leading you to distrust us. But we mean no harm," Jazmine spoke up, placing one of her hands over Arthur's, making me narrow my eyes.

It was a weird gesture.

Or was I overlooking things?

I don't know. I was on edge, everything they do, I felt there was some purpose behind those actions.

"I need to see my car," I said, standing up leaving no room for further pleasantries.

Arthur took a breath and shrugged his shoulders. Standing up from the chair, he gestured us towards the door. Alistair already had the door opened and was standing outside, looking at us with no expression on his face. He had his eyes set on me, as I was walking out of the room. I walked past him but was stopped as his hand grabbed me gently, making look up at him in question. He lightly pulled me to him so that my shoulders were touching his chest, making me confused by his behaviour. But this nonchalant action somehow erupted butterflies in my stomach.

"Don't overthink, dear. We are not as bad as you think," he spoke, hazel eyes looking into my blue ones with much intensity that it manipulated me into believe him. Almost.

"We will see," I said, gulping down the nervousness that I felt all of a sudden.

Alistair gave me a smile with a nod of his head. Letting go of my hand, he gestured towards the rest going down the stairs. Pushing my bangs away from my eyes, i looked ahead and noticed Cylon helping Quinn down the stairs, making me raise my eyebrow in question.

He has been making advances towards her these past few days. Was this just a kind gesture or more?

I guess I need to ask Quinn about this.

Silently we followed the rest of them and fell in step with each other.

"It's raining outside," Jazmine spoke, looking through the large window in the launch.

Making all of us glance in her direction we all were greeted with a loud clapping of lightning and soon saw it ourselves. The electric blue lightning illuminated the dark room.

Arthur turned back and threw a glance at me and Quinn.

"Hand them the umbrellas," Arthur spoke, turning back to look outside the window.

Jazmine blinked her eyes and shared a look with Alistair. It was a look of desperation. Making me raise my eyebrow at her.

"Uh. Sorry girls. We don't have them right now, I guess the members took them," Jazmine spoke, inching closer to Arthur slightly nudging his arm and frowning up at him.

"You don't mind getting a little wet?" Alistair asked with an eyebrow raised in question. I cursed my dirty mind and felt my cheeks warming up, making me look away from him.

What is wrong with you woman? This place sure has messed up my mind.

"Please lead the way," Quinn answered, looking at Cylon with a small smile on her face.

Arthur nodded his head and moved towards the door and we fell in step behind him. The sound of rain hittung the mud was stronger than before. Arthur helped Jazmine as the ground seemed slippery. I walked forward not hesitating, the rain hit my body and face,made me shiver in the cold. The air was a bit chilly so I zipped up the hoodie and wore the cap over my head.

I should have done that before. Dumb.

"Good choice," Alistair commented, tapping his fingers gently on the cap against my head. I watched him through the heavy rain, a soft expression displayed on his face as he looked at me. He was already drenched in the rain.

Sheugging my shoulders in response, I kept silent and looked around the surroundings. Arthur was leading us with Cylom beside him, behind them were Jazmine and Quinn who were talking among themselves and I wondered what must be the topic. And not too far behind, Alistair was walking along with me. I never asked for his company but neither I asked him to go away. I stole a glance at him and found his lips morphed into a small smile as he looked down at the mud. I quickly looked away when I saw him moving his head up, I felt like a thief. Trying not to be caught in my shameful act.

"You know you are cute when you are angry?" He spoke, lightly bumping his shoulders against mine.

I gave him a whatever- look to which he chuckled, making me smile as well but I made sure to conceal it before he could see it.

"Be careful. There's a" He was cut off by my little jump to the side to avoid the ditch in front of me.

"Ditch. I know. I can see," I answered, nonchalantly.

Even in the dim light of the buildings, I could everything. That's what I like to brag about- my vision and hearing sense. I was praised by many that I had a vision as clear as a hawk and could hear any sound within the distance of range. Of course, I was no machine that could detect sound many miles away but still better than most people around my age.

"Oh," he sounded surprised but didn't say anything more for which I was grateful.

He had no idea how much he was messing with my mind and my hormones.

"Sir! Madam!" We heard a few loud voices in front of us. Increasing our pace, we were now with the rest of them. We reached a building, which was a car garage where various tyres were piled across the entrance. In front of us, stood three men who were covered in greasy oil and dust.

"Jeff I had a car dropped off here a few days back for repair, is it here?" Cylon spoke to the men.

The men in the middle looked back in the garage. The oil-covered cloth that he held in his hand, throwing it over his shoulder he looked back at Arthur and the rest of us.

"Yes Sir. We have that car with us. But it is not repaired yet," He told him, lowering his head.

"It's fine. We just need to show our guest their car. Could you lead-" Arthur spoke,

"It's okay. We trust you, Arthur. You don't have to take it further," Quinn responded, moving forward, a guilty look on her face. Making me crease my forehead and I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off by a look from her. She pleaded with me with her eyes to not fight her on this.

She is too soft for her good. How can she trust them before looking at the car!?

"If you want to see your car Mackenzie, we can show you. There's no issue," Arthur suggested, glancing back at the garage and then at me. He probably must have seen a look of conflict on my face.

I looked at all of their faces and observed their reactions. Jazmine had a kind smile on her face but she felt uncomfortable as she switched her foot from one to another. Arthur remained unfazed and just waited for an answer. Quinn nodded her head as we made eye contact. Cylon wore no expressions on his face except he was more focused on Quinn. Lastly, I dared to look at Alistair who stood by my side. He wore no expression on his face and just stared right back at me. Searching my eyes for something that I have no idea of.

"If you want to see your car, you can, dear. No need to judge from our expressions," He clarified, probably seeing me gauging them.

Was I being selfish? As they say, I always think about myself even if it is belittling others. Is that what I am doing right now?

"No need. As Quinn said," I responded, not looking at them but at the sign board across them on the wall at the entrance of the shop.

"Goodnight Sir and Madam!" The men bid their byes and left us standing there.

"I hope you have no doubts now and will not take our kindness for a facade," Arthur spoke but this time his voice held a certain stern tone. And I felt Alistair inching closer to me like he would protect me from him.

Arthur's message was clear- don't challenge me again.

His eyes slightly narrowed at me but soon it was gone as Jazmine touched his arm. He looked away and waited for my answer. But I was lost in myself to answer.

"It's late. Let's go back," Alistair spoke, breaking the thick ice. Grabbing my arm, he almost dragged me to walk along with him creating a gap between us and them.

I let him hold my hand because I had no energy left within me to argue about this with him. My mind was buzzing with voices in my head. It was a lot to handle. The past week. Wolves. Shapeshifters. And now the attractive man who was looking after me for no reason. My hoodie cap toppled over my head with a gush of wind and now my hair was all wet.

Just great.

"Hey. Are you okay?" He stopped making me look at him. Pushing my hair away from my face and putting the cap over my head.

Staring at his worrisome expression made me frown. Despite the attraction I have for him,

Why does he care? Who am I to him for him to be this close to me?

"Leave me alone," Pushing him away, I almost ran towards the building.

I know i was being rude, but i need to figure myself out. And like always. I rather suffer alone than drag someone along with me.

I heard him call behind me but I didn't stop and climbed up the stairs. Going straight into the shower, I stood naked under the hot running water and got lost in my train of painful memories. Suddenly, I wanted to talk to my mother, no matter if she cursed at me. My eyes welled up and my lips quivered as my heart sank in my chest.

I am tired of being strong and brave. I don't want to hide my vulnerable side anymore. I want someone to hold me and love me. But i don't know how to open up and trust anyone.

"Mackenzie. Are you okay?" Quinn's worried voice reached my ears despite the sound of running water.

Moving my head up, the water splashing over my face washing any trace of tears. Sniffing and clearing my throat, I told her I was fine and would be out there in a while.

We need to leave. This town was doing something to me. Especially him- Alistair.

Or was I just too exhausted?

Making sure my face showed no sign of crying, I stepped out of the washroom in a new set of clothes. I heard footsteps before I saw Quinn in front of me. She searched my eyes for anything she could guess and held my hands.

"Mack, what happened? Tell me," I could hear the desperation in her voice, I wanted to but I couldn't. I didn't want to burden her with my problems.

Taking a deep breath and plastering a fake smile on my face, I hugged her.

"I am fine. Just need some break," I spoke, my voice low. I somehow told her indirectly what I wanted.

"We will be out of here in a matter of days. Then I promise, you will have a blast on the vacation I had planned," She nodded her head excitedly, trying to cheer me up.

I smiled, nodding my head. But I guess deep down she knew, I needed some space from everything.

We laid down on our beds with Quinn telling me about today's tea party. Initially, I was quite interested in her storytelling but later I was zoning out of the conversation and had to put a fake smile in front of her. I mentally cursed myself for being a bad friend as she was trying to cheer me up but unfortunately, my mind was focused somewhere else.

"You sleepy?" She questioned making me startle out of my wonderland.

Blinking, I scratched my head and glanced apologetically towards her to which she giggled and turned off the lamp.

"You should have said so, dummy," she commented, shaking her head at me.

I smiled but soon it fell as I turned my back towards her and stared at the wall in front of me- expressionless. I don't know for how long I kept staring at the wall with no thoughts in my head but I just couldn't sleep now.

What the hell was wrong with me!?

Why do I have been feeling restless since the day I came here?

Throwing the blanket from my body, I sat up in the bed and looked outside the window through the small gap between the curtains. Pushing my hair away from my eyes, I quietly walked towards the window and looked outside. It was pitch night and the rain had stopped completely. With light steps making sure there was no noise, I walked towards the door and closed it oh so gently. Sighing, I looked around the hallway and found no one lurking at this time of night. Good thing.

I was the only one awake I guess.

The main door of the building was not locked so it was a good thing for me to go out without any hassle. Standing on the porch, I took a peek at the sky and found a bright shining moon against the black sky. As if the rain and black clouds were never here a few hours ago. Wrapping the hoodie closer to my body, I started walking towards the forest with no specific place in my head. I don't even know where this path leads, I just need to be away from the buildings, it feels too stuffy. Suffocating.

The fallen dead leaves crunched and a few twigs snapped under my feet as I walked on the uneven pathway.

I wished I had my phone on me, I could have used a torch for now.

With the help of the moonlight peeking through the gaps between the trees, I was able to make out in the pitch-dark forest but mostly relied on my gut feeling. After a while, I somehow reached a clearing where I happened to find a lake with benches at a distance from the water. The area looked safe for now. Letting off that thought, I observed my surroundings and a smile appeared on my face, carefully taking steps towards it. It was a peaceful place to sit and think.

Well, my efforts weren't futile.

The wooden bench was a bit dirty from what I could see under the moonlight, not care about the dust and leaves so I cleared a small patch of the bench with my bare hand. Finally taking a seat on the wooden bench and I took a deep breath.

Finally. My space.

Peace.

Since my teenage years, it felt like a ritual to me- at the end of the day, I make time out for myself and find an open space- back home it used to be my lawn, where I used to lay on the grass with my hands under my head like a pillow and observed the stars above against the midnight sky. And just think about random things or sometimes try to find a solution to the problem I am facing at that time. It is like a healing process for me.

So that's what I am doing right now. Trying to relax.

Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths for a while and then just stared into the darkness in front of me. Suddenly a thought ran through my mind, sitting cross-legged on the bench, alone in the black forest- I must be looking like a psycho. Shrugging my shoulders- nevertheless, I needed this. So I don't care. Neither i was scared.

My sunshine. Why the long face?

My heart jumped out of my chest with goosebumps erupting all over my body. Standing up quickly, my lips trembled as my eyes went wide trying to locate the person whose voice reached my ears. But I found none in my line of vision as my heart was beating wildly against my ribcage. Frantically, my eyes jumped from one place to another hands shaking, hoping what I was thinking was true.

Auntie Susan was here, right? But I found no trace of her.

Was it just a fragment of my imagination?

"Mackenzie?"

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