Chapter 13: Packing Her Stuff
1210 Words
-Helena-
I found myself in Wylder’s car once again. I had given him my address, but I knew I’d have to guide him a bit since my house was well hidden. Sitting in my seat, I couldn’t help but study him. I realized it might seem eerie from an outsider’s perspective, but I couldn’t resist.
I just kept looking him up and down. There wasn’t really a royal family, but there had been one a century ago. They had slowly faded away, one after the other, but some distant relatives still existed. I knew there were a few out there. Was Wylder... the Wylder Moore?
I shook my head and started to smile, but then I glanced at him again. Powerful? Undoubtedly. But why would my mother have any connection with his uncle? My mother was an ordinary person, and I didn’t mean that disrespectfully. She was a good person and valuable to me, but she held no special status.
It was already strange if she knew an alpha, but knowing an alpha descended from the royal family was even stranger. How? How could that be? And Wylder was my mate? No... But he was... so... How could he be... the Wylder?
Stop overthinking this! my wolf interjected. Okay, so he might be a distant relative. So what? Could you just stop? I’m starting to feel queasy because of this.
“If you vomit, I’ll vomit,” I whispered to my wolf.
Then stop!
I didn’t, though. I continued to glance at Wylder, as if staring at him might reveal whether he was telling the truth. Suddenly, he turned his head and caught me looking. I quickly averted my gaze, but I could see his grin reflected in the window.
“Were you watching me?” he asked.
“No…” I murmured.
“Feel free to look, little mate. We’re mates. You have every right to admire me as much as you want,” he declared.
“A right to admire?” I echoed, astonished, meeting his gaze. “Why would I admire you?”
I crossed my arms, and Wylder chuckled.
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“Because you’re an alpha!” I exclaimed.
“Oh, so it’s not just about status? You simply dislike Alphas?” he challenged.
“Well…”
“I can’t blame you if one broke your heart. I understand we’re not your favorites, but we’re still mates, and that won’t change.”
“Even if I wanted it to…”
Wylder grinned. “You’re starting to understand.”
I rolled my eyes and rested my head against the window, finally ceasing my observation of him. It took a little while, then we arrived at my house. Wylder took one look at it, and I could discern his thoughts from his expression alone.
“Okay, we can’t all be born in a castle,” I quipped.
He turned to me and offered a slight smile. “Just a mansion.”
I rolled my eyes and exited the car. I didn’t expect him to follow, but he did, and soon we were both making our way to my house.
“Maybe... maybe wait here,” I suggested as I stood before the front door.
“Why?” he asked.
“It’s my house.”
“Can’t I see it?” he inquired.
“No...” I whispered.
“Why not?”
“Because... it’s private,” I replied.
“Nothing is private between us.”
“I think even mates should have some privacy,” I said.
“Why?” he inquired.
“Why do you keep asking me that?” I countered.
“What?”
“Just... why!”
He chuckled, and I realized his intent. He was simply trying to provoke me, to make me consider my words more carefully. Clever, but I wouldn’t let it bother me. I sighed and opened the door.
“It isn’t locked?” he remarked.
“Why would I lock it?” I retorted.
I stepped inside and then turned to face him. “Do you want to come in? I mean, it’s not like I could stop you.”
He grinned.
“You’re right,” he acknowledged, stepping inside. “You couldn’t.”
“Just... could you at least wait right there?” I requested.
“No,” he replied.
“Of course…”
I proceeded down the hallway toward my bedroom and grabbed a bag. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing it, but it wasn’t as though Wylder would leave me alone. So I began packing some clothes, taking along one picture of me and my mom, and then I returned outside, finding Wylder in my living room, examining some books and pictures. Not that there were many. Yet he must have sensed my presence, for he turned to me slowly, offering a faint smile.
“It’s cozy,” he said.
“It’s old,” I countered.
“But cozy.”
“Barely standing,” I shot back.
“But cozy,” he insisted.
I sighed and shook my head. “Fine. Cozy.”
“You can sense the love that was in this house. Did you always live here?” he inquired.
“No. We moved here five years ago.”
“Why?”
I hesitated, unsure of what to reveal. I didn’t want him to know what had transpired. I feared he might be close friends with Alpha William and would react negatively… Wait a moment!
I slowly realized something. If I disclosed what I had done to Alpha William, he would have to let me go, right? He couldn’t possibly accept that I had assaulted a friend of his, could he?
But what if he just sends us back to Alpha William, and then…
My wolf didn’t complete that thought, as she wasn’t certain what would occur next. Would I be killed for harming an alpha? Would I face some form of punishment? My mother and I had fled for a reason. Yeah, I couldn’t tell Wylder, which meant I had to return with him.
“What?” he probed, noticing the shift in my demeanor.
I was terrible at concealing my thoughts or emotions, but it had also been a while since I had felt... anything.
“Nothing…” I replied.
“You have an unusual expression on your face,” he remarked.
“No.”
“Yes, you did.”
“I just find it a little strange that all of this is happening,” I admitted.
He smiled and approached me, causing my breath to quicken. He made me nervous, but not solely nervous... No, I also felt excited.
We swore off alphas, remember?
I knew we had, but Wylder was making it exceedingly difficult for me to uphold that promise.
“You’ll adjust soon, I promise,” he assured me, reaching out to stroke my cheek.
I shivered, not from disgust but from a sensation of pure warmth. He must have felt the effect he had on me, or at least noticed it, because he smiled, satisfied, then picked up my bag and exited the house.
“Alphas are bad. Alphas are bad. Alphas are bad,” I kept repeating as I followed him to his car.
- Writer
