THE WITCH AND HER ALPHA

Chapter 8

Raquelle left Drake's room to give him a chance to change and she wandered down to the living room. The TV was turned off and she didn't think it was her place to turn it on. So instead, she busied herself with her phone.

The door opened a while later and Violet walked in, looking unbelievably perfect. “Oh hi", Violet said in greeting.

Raquelle didn't have Violet pegged yet. Sometimes it seemed Violet didn't like her and would prefer it if Drake had never met her. Other times, she was really nice. Technically, Violet had never gone out of her way to be mean to Raquelle. In fact, she was usually very polite. That often made Raquelle feel like she was overthinking everything.

“Hi Violet", Raquelle replied, “did you have a good day off?"

“It was amazing. Thank you for asking. Does Drake know you're here? I can go get him for you", she offered.

“Oh. I've been here all day. I'm waiting for Drake because we're leaving for a party together".

“Shut up", Violet said, sounding as shocked as she looked. “You got Drake Hart to agree to go to a party?"

Raquelle nodded feeling very proud of herself.

“I have just one question. How?" Violet asked.

“I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be", Raquelle bragged, sounding smug.

Just then, Drake came walking down the stairs and Raquelle could swear that everything started moving in slow motion.

He was dressed pretty simply in dark jeans paired with a white tee and a leather jacket over it. Adorning his feet were a pair of very stylish Air Force ones.

“Wow", Raquelle and Violet said in unison. Drake smirked at them. “Take a picture. It lasts longer", he said.

And so Raquelle brought out her phone and did just that. She took a picture. She couldn't help herself though. He looked immaculately perfect. He had his signature pair of sunglasses sitting on his beautiful head of curly brown hair.

“You do realize I wasn't being literal right", Drake said to her, his smirk still in place and an eyebrow raised.

Raquelle simply shrugged in reply.

“I see it but I don't believe it", Violet said, “the rumors are true. The Drake Hart is going to a party. Hold me Raquelle, I just might faint".

Raquelle giggled at Violet's theatrics. Drake rolled his eyes. “You're unbelievable. Now if you don't mind, Raquelle and I have somewhere to be".

“Oh, who am I to keep you?" Violet said as Drake came and took Raquelle's hand.

“Don't forget to pick up Mason", Drake said, “see you later. Don't wait up. Bye".

And they were outside. They got into the car and he drove off to her house.

When they arrived, she ushered him in. It was then Raquelle realized that he had never been inside her house before.

Whenever he came to pick her up, he was usually outside waiting for her. He must have realized it too.

“I didn't see your mom's car in the driveway", he pointed out as she led him to a couch.

“Oh that because she's on the night shift. She won't be back till morning".

Drake sighted a picture on a table and grabbed it. “Aww is this baby Raquelle?" he asked in a baby voice.

“Yes actually", Raquelle answered confidently, “I was really cute, wasn't I?"

“Yes but definitely not as cute as I was as a baby".

“Ha! Dream on Hart. Now you wait here and make yourself comfortable. I've gotta go change".

“I hope you're not one of those girls that take forever to get ready".

“Well you're about to find out now, aren't you?"

With that, she headed up the stairs into her room. She quickly stripped out of her clothes and headed into the shower. Ten minutes later, she was out. Luckily for her, she had already washed her hair that morning so she didn't need to do it again.

She had also already picked out what she was going to wear so she didn't waste time with that either. She wore her bathrobe and sat in front of her vanity to do her makeup.

She wasn't planning on making it very heavy so it didn't take her long to finish up. When she was done, she got dressed in the outfit she had chosen.

She was dressed in white high waisted shorts that she paired with a matching white cropped top. She paired the look with silver hoops and piled her hair atop her head in an elegantly messy bun with several strands framing her face.

Her makeup was pretty neutral so the only pop of color was in her lipstick that was a bright red.

She finished her look with a pair of red sneakers and a matching purse that she slung across her shoulder.

When she was done, she checked out herself in the mirror. Satisfied, she walked down the stairs to find Drake still rummaging through the photos on the stand.

He must have heard her footsteps because he didn't turn to look at her when he asked her a question.

“Is this your dad?" he asked, holding a picture of her with him on her fifteenth birthday. That was one of her favorite memories with her dad.

He had tried to give her the perfect party but he ended up throwing her the same kind of party he had been throwing her since she was a child. It was very childish and very embarrassing for her.

That was the day her dad realized that his little girl wasn't so little anymore. When he realized how badly he had ruined her day, he pulled all the stops to throw her what ended up being the best fifteenth birthday party in their school at that time.

Remembering that memory made her realize how much she missed her dad. When she moved, she and her mom had tried to talk about him less, to reduce the pain but she really missed him.

A stray tear fell down her face and she quickly wiped it before it could ruin her makeup.

“Yeah he is", she answered, hoping her voice didn't come out sounding thick and hoarse.

At the sound of her voice, Drake turned to look at her. His eyes raked over her body in one quick sweep, leaving her feeling a little self conscious.

That feeling disappeared at the reaction on his face.

“Wow", he exclaimed, “you look amazing".

Raquelle curtseyed in thanks. “Would you like the 360° view?" she asked then proceeded to give him a little spin.

“You look good at all angles", he commented.

“I try", Raquelle replied.

“So before we leave, is it too late for me to back out?" Drake asked.

“Yes", Raquelle answered.

“Ugh fine. Worth a shot. In that case, are we ready to leave?"

“Yep. Let's get going? Who's ready to PAARRRTTYY!!?"

“Please don't do that", Drake said as they left the house and headed for the car.

Raquelle entered the address Diane had given her into the GPS of the car and they were off.

“You know, I feel kinda bad that I'm dragging you to this party instead of your pack meeting", Raquelle said.

“Trust me Raquelle, as much as I hate high school parties with the drunk teenagers gyrating against each other, I hate those pack meetings more. I only ever attend because I have no choice but I trust Jo to cover for me this time. My grandad is still going to freak though but it'll be worth it".

“Is your grandad the alpha of your pack?" Raquelle asked.

“Yeah. My mom was supposed to be alpha after him but she's dead so that position falls to me now. Every single one of those meetings is a reminder that I'm there simply because my mother wasn't alive to take her rightful place. It just reminds me that more wolves might lose their parents to this Esmeralda and her witches and we don't exactly have a cause of action yet".

“But Joanne is right. You can't give up hope. Hope is all you have left and when that's gone, what do you have? You have to keep fighting".

Drake gave a dry, humorless chuckle. “Grandad would definitely love you. He's said those exact same words to me".

“Well your grandad sounds like a wise man".

“He's the wisest. He and my grandma have basically been I and Mason's parents ever since they died. They're not perfect but they try their best and that's all that counts".

Raquelle took Drake's free hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know I can't do much in helping with the war but if you ever need to talk, if you ever just want someone to listen, I'm here".

He stole a quick glance at her. “Thanks Raquelle. That means a lot to me".

She smiled at him in reply.

Not long after that, they arrived at the venue of the party. The house was packed so they had to park the car down the street and walk.

Neither of them seemed to mind though. “So how does it feel to be going to your first ever high school party?" Raquelle asked.

“A little nerve racking to be honest".

“Don't worry Drake. I'll be there to hold your hand", she said, holding out her hand to him.

Smiling at her, he took her hand in his, loving the feel of their skin together.

“You have really nice hands", he said.

“I know", she replied smugly.

Hand in hand, they walked to the party together. The music was so loud, Raquelle could swear the entire neighborhood could hear.

It was even noisier inside and the crowd was unbelievable. Raquelle wasn't sure exactly who was throwing the party but it was obvious the person was really popular. She was sure the whole school plus others were in attendance.

When she saw that some of the party had spilled outside, she wasn't really surprised at the amount of people inside.

“This is quite the crowd", Drake commented.

“Uh-uh", Raquelle replied.

Just then someone called her name. She turned to find Diane and David, both holding drinks. They waved them over.

“Here goes nothing", Drake muttered under his breath as he followed Raquelle to her friends.

She exchange hugs with all four of them. Mia and Mike already seemed to be a bit drunk and it looked like Diane and David weren't too far away.

“Hey guys, I hope you don't mind that I invited Drake", Raquelle said.

“Nope", Diane said.

“Not a problem", Mia slurred.

“The more the merrier", Mike added.

They actually sounded sincere. Drake suspected it was the alcohol but he didn't mind.

“We're so glad you maid it Raquelle. At first we thought you decided to bailed on us", David said.

“I would never. I already promised that I'd show up after all, didn't I?" Raquelle said.

Mike came down from on top of the counter where he perched.

“Drake, walk with me, let's go get some drinks", he said, leading Drake away.

Drake glanced at Raquelle in panic. “You'll be fine", she mouthed at him.

The rest of the party went on smoothly. Raquelle got to mingle and make friends with other people from her school and from the other guests too.

At a point, she was talking to a drunk Mia who basically confessed her feelings for Mike and in that moment, Raquelle knew what she must do.

“I'll be right back Mia", she said, heading to where Mike, Diane, David and Drake were.

She pulled Drake aside. “We have a mission", she said to him.

“What mission?" he asked, looking confused. To his surprise, he was actually having a good time at the party. His werewolf nature prevented him from being able to get drunk so he was able to drink as much as he wanted.

“We need to set up Mia and Mike".

“Oh so you noticed the s****l tension between them too?" Drake asked, taking a sip from his drink.

“It's pretty obvious plus Mia just basically confessed it to me".

“Mike sorta did too though I don't think he meant to".

“So what do we do?" Raquelle asked.

“Easy. They both like each other and they're both drunk. All we have to do is get them alone together and they'll do the rest", Drake mentioned, shrugging.

Raquelle's eyes widened in realization. “Drake, you're a genius!"

“Okay so when I went to use the bathroom I noticed that there was an empty bedroom upstairs. I'll lead Mia there and you bring Mike".

“Why am I doing this again?" Drake asked.

“Because I'm asking you too".

“Ugh fine".

Drake got the others on board and together they lead Mia and Mike to the bedroom that was thankfully still empty.

They watched behind the door as they both talked for a while before making out. Raquelle and Drake shared a high five, pleased with themselves.

The rest of the party continued. Raquelle was starting to get a little tipsy and Drake made sure to keep an eye on her so she wouldn't do anything to crazy.

She asked him to dance and he couldn't say no. All in all, the party was great.

It got really late though and Drake decided that they had had enough fun for one night. They said goodbye to the others and headed out.

“So, I trust your first high school party was a success?" Raquelle asked hopefully.

“I never thought I'd say this but yes. I guess I owe you my thanks".

“You're welcome. They don't call me the party doctor for nothing".

“Nobody calls you that".

“Well maybe they should". At that, Raquelle tripped on a rock and was going to plummet face first to the ground but Drake caught her and they were face to face.

It seemed as if the air around them stilled and everywhere paused. His eyes flickered to her lips and once again, Drake wondered how it would feel to kiss her. He decided against it though and he broke the moment.

They walked to the car in silence and got in. Drake drove off and not long after, Raquelle fell asleep.

When they arrived at her house, Drake decided against waking her up. He instead decided to carry her. His strength made her feel basically weightless in his arms. He fished her keys from her bag and let himself in.

He carried her to what he knew was her room based on her scent that was all around it. He took off her shoes and her earrings then put her gently in her bed.

He covered her up then left some water and Advil on her bedside table to help with the hangover he knew she'd probably face in the morning.

She looked so peaceful and he debated leaving her alone at home but he knew her mom wouldn't be too pleased if she found out he spent the night.

“Goodnight Raquelle. Thank you for a wonderful night", he whispered to her, then quietly left her room.

“Goodnight Drake", she whispered back, still asleep, after he had left.