The Alpha And The Prey

Chapter 7

3rd Person Pov-Addy

“So, I have a question for you,” Addy frowned, looking at Tessa. She assumed something like this was going to happen when Tessa had asked Avery to put Sean to bed. Usually, Tessa put Sean to bed first, because he required her to sing his special song practically every night. The girls teased Tessa about it, but in reality, they thought it was adorable. Tessa really did try her best to be their parent despite the fact that she was their sister. She paid attention to all of them equally, staying up at night reading parenting manuals, doing her best to keep everyone happy, and it aggravated Addy. It aggravated her that Tessa was so strong and so kind and so perfect, when she was nothing but a mess up. Addy understood what Tessa said, and she didn’t think she was lying. She knew they shifted uncontrollably and she knew the risks. Even still, she hated that she was the way she was. It would be different if there were more shifters, more people around that understood. She knew about werewolves and the packs, how it was a group community of wolves that lived together, all knew each other's secret, and they didn’t need to hide. They could stand there talking to their friend and shift into their wolf the next second, only to shift back without batting an eye. Addy was jealous that if she was to be an animal, that she had to be a shifter instead of a werewolf. Shifters were so rare, so little now, that they didn’t have communities or friends to love and understand them. So she was forced to grow up without much of a childhood, without much of anything besides her sisters and her brother. Of course, she loves her brother and sisters more than anyone or anything, but she feels trapped and helpless, and wishes she could have what everyone else has. Addy had always secretly been a romantic, hidden away when the others weren’t watching to read romance novels. The damsel in distress that gets whisked away by the handsome hero who takes all of her flaws and still loves her all the same without a question or a pause.

Her mother and father were both bunnies, and it was only because her grandparents were close to another family, both having one child each, who ended up falling in love. It wasn’t usual, of course, and she knew if she were to ever fall in love it would be with a human. Even still, she didn’t want to wait until she was eighteen to find love. Those girls she talked to online, they all had boyfriends. Tessa cursed the day she set the girls up with a homeschool group of girls to talk to. Other girls around the world that were homeschooled for their own reasons, mostly with diseases that made them unable to really be outside for too long. It saddened her that girls with medical problems to the point that they barely left their house were finding love, so why couldn’t she? More than anything, Addy wanted to find her prince. Someone who understood her, who loved her despite her flaws, who didn’t care that she shifted into a bunny and would one day give birth to little babies that turned into bunnies. She wanted to find her person, and despite all of Tessa’s worrying, she had hopes that one day she would. “What do you want to know?” Addy asked quietly, hesitantly, her walls already up as a prickle of defense was sparking through her voice.

Tessa instantly heard the tone, bristling herself, and if she was in her bunny form, her ears would be tense and her fur would be on end, her teeth bare in defense. However, she was in her human form, but despite that, Addy could see the immediate tense state and went on her own defense. “Who is ‘J’?” Tessa asked, her eyes narrowed. “Normally, when you start talking to a boy you talk about him constantly. We know everything about him in one day, from the way he looks, to the size shoe he wears, to his favorite food, to his deepest secrets. You’ve been talking to this person for over a day now and you haven't said anything about him, not to mention his strange name. It’s scary, Addy.” She said, her tone going softer at the last few words as she tried to make Addison understand that she wasn’t trying to pry, but she was worried about her sister.

Addy was lying in her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest as the blanket covered them, and she glared at her sister in frustration. Distantly she could hear the start of the song Avery was singing for Sean, and frowned. A part of her understood why Tessa was upset. She was right, after all. Addy always spilled every little secret without a care, because who would her family tell? They were trapped in this prison of a house just as much as she was, and despite the constant teasing over her crushes, they also smiled and she liked giving them all something to laugh and smile over. All the more whenever the guy broke up with her or stood her up, because despite how much none of them wanted her to see them, to begin with, they still had her back and told her how stupid the guy was and how beautiful she is. But this time, it was different. She felt closer to him, only because of the single fact that he started the conversation with ‘I know what you are, and I don’t care, I still think you’re beautiful.’ Of course, she was skeptical, but then he started talking about her eyes being her secret, and she calmed down. It wasn’t a lie that she hid them. Tessa walked around with confidence, not caring in the least that her eyes were different and people stared, but Addy hid them behind sunglasses and even in her pictures there were only a few with her eyes showing the right different hues. Usually, she posted black and white pictures to hide them. Of course, ‘J’ didn’t mean her being a bunny, but despite that, she had been instantly intrigued by him. She knew his name was strange, and she understood Tessa’s worries about catfishing, but it seemed so realistic to her and she felt connected to him. “Are you trying to tell me what to do now? Am I forbidden to talk to him just because I haven’t really gotten to know him enough to spill all his secrets? Maybe this time it’s different, Tessa! Maybe I want to keep him to myself for a little bit before I start telling him everything about him! Maybe I feel a connection with him that’s different from the others!” Addy shouted, glaring at her big sister. She understood her worries, but she was fine. ‘J’ said he lived in another town, and while it wasn’t as far away as she had Tessa believed, it wasn’t that big of a deal to her anyway. After all, they were both fifteen and couldn’t drive, right? She hadn’t actually discussed with him what his age was, but she thought he was fifteen. It was a lie, seeing pictures of him, but she didn’t need to this time. She felt like she knew him without the need for details and pictures, a connection that two people who were so similar shared. So why did it matter if he lived about an hour away or over eight hours away?

Tessa frowned, lifting her finger and her thumb to the bridge of her nose, pinching it tightly as she tried to calm down. Addy thought it was equally cute and annoying when Tessa did it, cute because it showed off how much of a bunny she looked even in her human form, as her small and curved nose was shown more on display, and annoying because she only did it when she was really stressed out and needed a minute to count before she blew up. Addy hated it, because she always seemed to be the only sibling that frustrated Tessa enough to deserve the extreme need to cool down. It always made Addy feel like she was a disappointment, and she wanted more than anything for her sister to just understand her. “No, I’m not trying to tell you what to do, or stop you from talking to him, Addy, I’m just worried! I mean, would you stop talking to him if I asked you to? I’m starting to regret signing you into the homeschooling chat group with the other girls, because ever since then you’ve become so extreme and hard to talk to! Avery doesn’t act like that, so why-” She started to say before Addy blew up.

Addy had been gripping her hands tightly in the blanket the whole time, her smaller body shaking as she tried her absolute hardest to stop the tears from spilling over. While a part of her was telling her she was being irrational and she herself was slightly weary over ‘J’ and how mysterious and hard to talk to he was despite the strange connection she felt with him, but the bigger, less rational sense was furious over every little thing. Then she started to talk about Avery, and Addison hated to be compared to her perfect twin sister. Soft and delicate Avery, always following the rules Avery, always keeping in line and helping out with Sean Avery, the perfect daughter, the perfect sister. So completely different from the wild and out of control Addison. “You’re not my mother, Tessa! So stop acting like it, I hate you!” She screamed, all of her pain and frustration spilling out of her. As soon as she said it, she regretted it. The way Tessa’s eyes went wide and shiny, the way her lower lip quivered as she sucked in her cheek, and the way her eyelashes blinked rapidly over her face, displayed the telltale signs of trying to stop herself from crying. Addison tried to tell herself to apologize, to wrap her arms around her sister and tell her how amazing she is. That no, she’s not her mother, but she’s been the only parent she really remembers and, despite the fact that Tessa hasn’t given birth to her, she has been there for every milestone and every problem. All of her anger, all of her tears, all of her sickness, and all of her fears. She had been there for everything, never giving up on her, and she didn’t deserve Addison’s words. She didn’t hate her, she loved her. She loved Tessa, and Avery, and Sean, more than anyone or anything else. However, she couldn’t say those words out loud, she couldn’t force herself to calm her sister. Instead, she rolled over, her legs curled against her chest as she pulled the blanket over her head, and shut her out. All the while, she hated herself. Hated herself for the way she spoke, the words she said, and her inability to ever make it easier for Tessa. She wished more than anything she could just disappear, convincing herself that it would be best for everyone if she was gone and they wouldn’t have to worry about the wild temperamental Addison.

Finally, after what seemed like forever but was more about five minutes long, Tessa stood. Addy could see the outline of Tessa through the thin blanket, the way she stood slowly as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks as she silently cried. She caused that, she caused her sister’s stress, and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. The more they talked the more they fought, and there was no stopping the battlefield of different emotions being thrown at each other. “Goodnight, Addy, I love you,” Tessa whispered, her voice softly breaking as she spoke. Addy shuddered as Tessa placed her hand on Addy’s foot, gently patting it, before walking out of the room. It didn’t take long for Avery to walk in, along with the minty smell of her toothpaste and a fresh sprint of her fruity body spray. Addy didn’t need to look or hear her talk to know Avery was angry, and she wasn’t upset with Tessa over it. She knew how paper-thin the walls of the house were, and wouldn’t be surprised if Sean crawled into Tessa’s bed tonight to try and make her feel better. He was always the one who understood her the best, having been the one she raised since birth, and they always say there’s something about that bond between a mother and a son that was always so very different from the bond between mothers and daughters.

After a while, Addy heard the soft snores coming from Avery and knew she was asleep. Addy closed her eyes, going to follow her into a restless sleep of her own, but before she did, she received a text message. She grabbed her phone and opened it, her eyes wide as she read and re-read the words. ‘I didn’t tell you the whole truth, Addison. There’s something about me, a secret that I haven’t told you. I was hesitant to tell you, mostly because it’s not easy being different. Trying to find love when you’re…not the same as everyone else. But, I have been starting to wonder if I can trust you. Trust you with my secret, with who I am. Addison, I’m not human. I know that’s startling, but please know I’m not dangerous. I shift into an animal, but I didn’t ask for this, I was born to it. I can’t help being different, and I hope…I hope you understand, and still care for me all the same. I feel like we can be something special, and I just wish to find someone who can accept me for who I am, no matter what.’ His text said. Addison shuddered, her eyes wide as she read it, and reread it over and over and over again. The…same? Was he the same as her? The idea of it fascinated her, and she felt a glee spread through her body. Not only was he a shifter like her, he had the same worries she had, the same dreams she had, the same hopes she had. More than anything, she felt her heart soar, wondering if she had found the one she was meant to be with, her prince charming all along. She wanted to tell him she was the same, but before she could, he texted her once more. ‘I’m in town for a business meeting. Is there…anyway you can sneak out? To come to meet me? I’m in the park, it’s dark and lonely, but it’s worth it if I can see you.’ He texted.

The idea of seeing him was just as scary as it was fascinating. Every part of her was screaming at her to stay, to go to sleep, and tell him she wasn’t ready. But…he was a shifter, and even if she shifted in front of her, he’d understand. Tessa would want to go to, to meet him and his parents, and she didn’t want to be embarrassed. Of course, he didn’t say parents, but he had to have meant them, right? Of course, they were the ones with the business meeting and he was just nervous. He didn’t even talk to her about age, but she felt deep in her heart that he was the same as her, and she never questioned it. Maybe if it went well, they could set up a meeting between his parents and Tessa tomorrow, if they were still in town. However, tonight, she wanted more than anything to see him. So, against all reason, as the rebellious teenager she was, Addy got up and quickly dressed into something cute. She didn’t bother with too much makeup since the park was dark, and she grabbed her bag with her wallet and her art book and pencils, her treasure she never went without, slid her phone into her pocket, and snuck out of the house. She stood in her doorway, slowly locking the door and walking down the steps, into the forest, and pulled out her phone. Without really looking where she was going, she pulled out her phone, sending a text to tell him she was on her way. However, before she could send the whole text, the phone was knocked out of her hand, a bag was thrown on her face, and her hands grabbed from behind.