His Purpose

Chapter 4

Arabella’s Pov

Suddenly the door opened and I flung the knife at it on reflex, watching with wide eyes as Tessa let out a startled squeak and ducked, the knife inches from cutting open the top of her head. “Well, good evening to you too,” Tessa said with a forced chuckle, her multi-colored eyes winced slightly as she looked at me warily.

I lowered my hands with a shocked look on my face, watching as Tessa turned and retrieved the knife, before coming back into the room and closing the door behind her. Despite me nearly cutting her open she smiled warmly at me, her long black hair spilling over her right shoulder as she tilted her head at me. “I’m sorry, luna Tessa. I didn’t mean to, I was startled.” I replied, worried I had upset her.

‘Of course she’s going to be upset.’ Misty said with a huff. ‘You nearly cut her head off.’

I rolled my eyes at her because that was a bit dramatic. If anything I would have cut a slit over the top of her skull, but it wouldn’t have been her throat. If it was Isaac, then it would have been his throat. I was kind of annoyed it wasn’t Isaac now. “It’s okay, I mean…it’s not nice to throw knives at people, Arabella, but I did come in without knocking. Please refrain from throwing knives though, if you can. What if I was one of the kids?” She asked, worry in her voice.

I frowned, feeling immediately guilty, because what if it was? From what I could see within a week’s time, Addison was already trained enough to have dodged that perfectly, but Avery and Sean weren’t. Avery was the complete opposite of her twin, while Addison was already training with those of an older age than her, Avery was either sneaking off to go see Paisley or she was curled up behind a tree or against a bush, trying to be invisible while she read books on her phone. Then there was Sean, with his cute little stutter and his need to pull his pants and shoes off and run around the soccer field with an exhausted Chris chasing after him. The idea of harming Sean was a physical pain shooting through me and I lowered my head, frowning. “I’m sorry, Luna, it won’t happen again,” I promised, hoping I didn’t break that promise on reflex. Being trapped in a cell for so long has made me so jumpy.

‘You can’t be too hard on yourself. It’s barely been a week since you’ve been out of the cell. Most of this seems too good to be true. New clothes, a large room, the ability to come and go as you want, and the job you want. You need therapy, Arabella.’ Misty said sternly.

I rolled my eyes because there was no way in hell that was ever going to happen. ‘If someone asks me how I’m feeling I’m going to stab them with a knife and ask them how they feel about that.’ I replied as Misty started to laugh in my mind.

Tessa came up to me, placing her hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts as she smiled softly at me. Tessa was the only one I’ve actually talked to since I came here, besides the ones I train. Maybe it was strange, that the one person I felt closest too here was the one person that my mate wanted to ignore me for, but there was something about Tessa that pulled at me. She was so strong, despite her sweet demeanor, and I found myself wanting to protect her, even if she was fully capable of protecting herself. A best friend, my mind kept telling me. Maybe this is what it felt like to have a best friend. I had one once, but it was a boy who quickly decided instead of wanting to just stay friends he was going to be more. I wondered for the first time what happened to Logan. Was he killed in the attack? He must have been.

“You don’t need to call me luna, Arabella. We’re friends, right? I’m sorry I didn’t knock. I was running through my mind all of the things I need to do before the day is over and I was coming over here to ask you if you’d like to have dinner with my family, and I guess I just forgot to knock. Silly me,” She said, crinkling her nose at me.

I shoved down the impulsive feeling of wanting to press my finger against her nose, something I tended to feel quite a bit when I was talking to her or her bunny siblings and gave her a sharp nod in understanding. “It’s okay. I’ll try not to impale anyone again.” I promised, hoping she wouldn’t hold me from adding Isaac to that list. “Will…he be there?” I wondered, my eyes narrowed as I stared at her.

She sighed, her light blue and brown eyes scanning the room for a moment as if she was trying to think of something to say. Maybe she was just trying to stall, hoping I’d forget what I asked her, but I waited patiently, watching as she shifted uncomfortably in front of me. “Yes, he is Nate’s brother after all and my brother-in-law.” She said with a wince. I opened my mouth to reject her offer and she pressed her fingers against my lips, ignoring the warning growl that spilled from my mouth at her sudden touch as she continued. “But I won’t make you sit together! I mean, come on, Arabella, you can’t just ignore him for the next three months. He’s going to be here, and I was hoping you’d take time to try and talk to him, at least. How will you decide to stay if you’re just going to keep avoiding him?” She wondered.

“If you let me cut his head off and mount it on the wall, I’ll talk to him all you like,” I said with a wide grin as she did a mixture of a snort and a shudder, wincing in disgust.

“Oh my goodness, I’m going to hell for laughing over that. But don’t speak about mounting, I’m still traumatized by your father’s collection.” She muttered.

I sighed, going over to the dresser and grabbing a new pair of clothes to change into. Tessa sat down on my bed, lifting her hands over her head as she laid back, sprawling out on my bed without care. “If it makes you feel better, no one liked that collection, not really. It was crude and useless. He thought it would make them all scared to see the dead wolves and other animals there but almost everyone who ever came to the main house was just disgusted and gagging the whole time. Not that my father cared, he liked that. Said it made them scared they were next. He ruled with a cruel hand, not like alpha Nate. He would have thought alpha Nate was weak.” I said, watching as Tessa sat up slightly, leaning on her elbows as she stared at me.

I shrugged, pulling my shoes and my pants off, not caring that she was here as I stood in my underwear. We were both women, both shifters, after all, in some way or another. I lifted my shirt over my head as she sighed. “What do you think? Do you think he’s weak?” She wondered, watching me.

I stood there, a frown on my face as I grabbed the clean clothes and put them on the counter in the bathroom, leaning against the door frame, thinking. “I think he’s the strongest alpha I’ve ever encountered. A man who understands his weakness accepts it, and is willing to ask for help shows great strength and leadership. The way he asked those elites for help, how calmly he told them he understood he wasn’t the best at it and allowed them to show him, I admire that. Proving to your wolves that you trust them with your life makes them want to sacrifice theirs, to protect you. Our rogues wouldn’t have done that for my father. They would have run if they weren’t killed first, protecting themselves, and I wouldn’t have blamed them.”

“I feel so bad about that still. What if they would have surrendered if given the offer?” Tessa asked, shaking her head at herself.

I watched her for a few minutes, the way she was questioning herself, and nodded. “And that’s why I respect you, Tessa. You’re strong, you’re fierce, and you’d do anything to protect those you care for. But you have a heart, and you feel guilt for those that have wronged you. A strong luna indeed.” I told her as Misty nodded in agreement. If it wasn’t for Isaac, I would have agreed to stay from the beginning, just to stay by Tessa’s side. But there was Isaac, and the fact that he was here, made me want nothing more than to run away as far as I could.

“I’ll take a shower, and then I’ll go to sleep. Thank you for the offer, maybe next time,” I said, watching as Tessa stood, a slight disappointment flashing in her eyes as she gave me a soft nod.

“I understand. See you later, Arabella.” She said with a smile, before leaving me all alone. As I watched the door shut behind her I slid to the ground, my knees pressed against my chest, my arms wrapped around them, and my face buried in my arms, because sometimes as screwed up as it was, I felt like I was home…when I was as tiny as I could be. As horrible as the cell was, it was all I’d known, after all.

‘It’ll get better, Arabella,’ Misty said softly. I couldn’t help but wonder if it would, though. What if I was just broken? What if this was all that was left of me?