Cursed with an Alpha Soul | Werewolf Romance

Chapter XII - No More Secrets.

The sound of hundreds of fans cheering in the stands rang on for miles through the small town. Not only did the high school students attend the football games, but so did the majority of the town people. The stands were filled, some onlookers having to watch from the fence line around the field. Cheerleaders from both teams tumbled across the field, firing up the crowd for the second half of the game. The school was behind by one touchdown to the rival team. Fans from both teams screamed loudly to cheer on their schools. Both teams stood in their huddles on either side of the field to discuss winning strategies.

“I cannot believe you managed to drag me down here.” Ella said, reaching into Ash’s popcorn bucket. The two girls leaned over the fence towards the end of the field. Ash grinned, chewing on a mouthful of popcorn. “I made a promise I’d show up in exchange for study date.” Ash smirked, her eyes staring at the Willis daughter who cheered along the sidelines. Valerie gave a quick wink in her direction before turning her attention back towards the crowd. “You are going to owe me for this one.” Ella said nudging Ash, causing them both to laugh. Neither knew much about football, but they knew enough to understand when one of the teams scored.

Ella’s eyes scanned over the field, landing on a familiar face who sat at the end. Ben sat beneath the bright yellow goalpost with his camera in hand, taking photos of the team as the game went on. He had been selected with a few others to take photos of the game for the yearbook photo and news club. Ben wasn’t always active in the clubs he signed up for, but having a mother as a photographer, Ben knew his ways around a camera.

“Are you guys good?” Ash asked her friend, nudging Ella to get her attention. Ella gave a soft smile towards her boyfriend who waved towards her before turning back to the game. “What? Ben and I? Um, yeah, I think we’re fine. Why do you ask?” Ash gave a shrug back, her eyes scanning through the field. “I don’t know. The two of you just seem more distant than usual. Less… couple-y.” she rambled on. Ella couldn’t help but feel a sting from what Ash was saying. She wondered if Ben felt the same way. Trying not to show her emotions, Ella gave a fake smile, “That’s my fault. It’s just been a lot since the accident, and I’ve needed some alone time.” She tried to tell her friend, reassuring her that nothing was wrong. Ella knew that Ash would probably tell Ben everything that she was saying so she wanted to ensure it wasn’t anything that Ben had done. Even though Ella didn’t want to admit it, she knew Ash was right. It had been less than a month since everything had happened, but things have been different. Ella went from spending nearly every day with Ben to hardly seeing him outside of school.

Ella couldn’t help but look back at Ben, hoping that he wasn’t blaming it on himself. The last thing she wanted was for Ben to think he had done something wrong. He deserved to know what was going on, but Ella didn’t have a choice but to keep him in the dark. Especially after hearing what Xan had to say, she didn’t want to bring him into any danger. He had become her motivation to learn how to fix what had happened to her. She wanted to go back to being the girl in the shadows with the loving boyfriend and simple life.

“With five minutes left in the final quarter, the trojans are down by three points and out of field goal range. They’ll need a miracle play to win this game!” The loudspeakers boomed with an almost unrecognizable, scratchy voice. The crowd went crazy, and the bands played their music cheering on the team. The team was only halfway down the field, a long distance from the goal line. “This is going to be close.” Ash said as she shoved more popcorn into her mouth. Everyone stood from their seats watching the scene unfold in front of them. The teams stood in a huddle debating their final play of the game. The hair stood up on the back of Ella’s neck as she watched number 37 run onto the field. Carlos looked in Ella’s direction, their eyes meeting for a short moment. Being near each other there was a sense between them. They always knew where the other one was even in a crowd of thousands. Although they didn’t speak, a feeling washed over Ella as if she knew what he was about to do. The wind began to blow stronger causing everyone to hold onto their hats and popcorn bags a little tighter. Carlos’s eyes gleamed and a devious smirk grew over his lips as he walked to the line on the field beside his teammates. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Ella as she watched. “No.” she said to herself as the team lined up, ready to hike the ball. Carlos’s eyes stayed locked on hers. “Ready!” The quarterback yelled. The voice seemed washed out as the two stared at one another. Ella shook her head, her grip tightening on the metal fence in front of her. “Don’t.” She pleaded, but Carlos’s smirk didn’t fade, his eyes broke away from Ella’s as he stared down the field towards the goal line. “Hike!” The quarterback yelled, stepping back with ball in hand.

Ella’s eyes burned red in anger as she watched. “Carlos don’t” Ella shouted, but her voice blended in with the rest of the crowd. Grass and dirt flew up from the players’ cleats as they rushed into each other. Carlos took off, dodging every player who came in his direction. Halfway down the field he turned, jumping into the air, and catching the ball that had been thrown his way. Carlos gripped the leather ball tightly as he landed back on his feet and ran for the goal line. Another player attempted to grab Carlos, but he slipped right out of his grasp, knocking the player to the floor. Everyone screamed their lungs out, jumping up and down as he ran. Ella stood frozen. Just before the goal line, two boys larger than Carlos grabbed onto him from both sides attempting to pull him down. Carlos seemed unphased, dragging their bodies with him as he ran the last few yards to score. As he finally fell over the goal line, the crowd erupted in cheers. Fireworks and confetti guns went off, showering the school colors in the air and down on the field. Carlos’s teammates flooded the field cheering and praising him for the miracle play he had just pulled off.

As the team lifted Carlos onto their shoulders he glanced back over to Ella, but she was gone. The only thing showing that she had been there was the dents in the metal fence from where she had gripped too hard. He looked around, trying to find her through the crowd and flashes. He found her just before she had disappeared into the woods with her hoodie pulled over her head. Although he couldn’t see her face, he knew that was her. He knew she wanted him to follow her. Carlos was congratulated by every player on the team as they walked back towards the locker room. He smirked, taking in the moment of fame as people screamed for him from the stands and the band played their victory song.

“Baby!” A voice sung from within the crowd. A pair of arms wrapped over Carlos’s neck, pulling him aside. It was June, his girlfriend, and head of the cheerleaders. She smiled brightly as cameras continued to flash away at the two of them. “Oh my god, you were amazing!” She praised him, pulling his face down to him. Her toxic smelling perfume flooded his nostrils, making it difficult for him not to gag. He gave a fake smile, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Yeah, thanks babe.” He chuckled, giving her little attention. “Hey!” she shouted, demanding his undivided attention. Carlos, annoyed by her, snapped his eyes back to her. “How about,” she sung in a seductive tone, “you and I celebrate back at my place?” she suggested, biting her lip in an attempt to seduce him. “Yeah, uh,” Carlos sighed looking around, “maybe some other time.” He said bluntly, before turning away from her. June stood there, shocked at the denial. She watched as the popular football player walked away from her. Quickly, remembering the crowd around her, June forced a smile and acted as if nothing had happened. She shook her pom poms and cheered along side the other girls.

Ella’s blood boiled as she stood deep in the woods away from the school and all the onlookers. Her hands were bawled into fists as she marched around the open area. She couldn’t form the words to express her anger, it only came out in a grunt of frustration. Unable to hold it in, she threw her fist against a large rock, watching it c***k below her hand. Pieces crumbled to the ground. Ella glanced over her knuckles, watching the black blood stream down her fingers and the cuts begin to heal. She told him not to, she told him to stop. She knew he had heard her; she knew that he decided to do so anyway. Ella was upset that Carlos seemed to not understand that it was not only his life anymore. As much as Ella hated to admit it, the two of them were stuck together until they learned how to undo this. Every choice one made affected the other.

“And the crowd goes wild!” Carlos cheered on, imitating the sound of a stadium cheering. He still wore his jersey from the game, but now had a pair of sweatpants on. He had a big grin on his face, reliving the moment in his head on repeat. Fallen leaves crunched under his feet as he walked towards Ella. She stood with her back to him, trying to calm herself down. He let out a chuckle as he walked right behind Ella. Suddenly she turned, using all her strength to shove Carlos away. Taken off guard, Carlos went sliding back several feet across the forest floor. She was fluming in anger. Her eyes burned red as she stared at Carlos.

“What is your problem?” Carlos shouted, dusting himself off as she stood up.

“What the hell was that out there?” Ella screamed back, pointing in the direction of the school. The two stood only feet from each other.

Carlos rolled his eyes, “Oh please, no one even noticed anything.” He argued with her. He began to turn away from her before she jumped in.

“Oh, please we both know a month ago you wouldn’t have been able to pull that off.” She scoffed, annoyed by his arrogance over the matter.

“Whatever Ella.” Carlos replied, turning, and kicking up some of the leaves from the ground floor.

“Don’t you get it?” She shouted at him, “You can’t go and do s**t like that Carlos. It isn’t just all about you anymore. Until we figure this out, everything you do affects me too! Who knows what else is out there and what could have seen you.” She explained the thought of Xan in the back of her mind. “Is it too much ask for you to try and just control yourself?” Ella begged, sounding defeated. The tone of her voice grabbed his attention. In the moment, he hadn’t thought what he did was a big deal, but she was right. They didn’t know if they were the only thing out there and the best thing for them to do right now was to blend.

With emotions overwhelming her, Ella turned her back to Carlos so he wouldn’t see the tears streaming down her face. She furiously wiped them away. Ella felt though her emotions were ten times stronger than they were before. When she got mad, she felt like no measure of destruction could soothe her. When she was sad, she felt like there would be no coming back from it. Carlos stood silently watching her, he could feel her emotions as if they radiated off her. Sighing in defeat, Carlos came up behind Ella, “Okay, you’re right”. Admitting he was wrong was something Carlos hardly ever did, hearing him say the word ‘sorry’ was almost unheard of. “You’re not alone in this and I’ll try to keep it together.” Carlos said. Ella knew this was probably the closest she was going to get him to apologizing. Slowly Ella turned to face him. Her cheeks were still shining from the tear streaks. Carlos gave a soft smile to comfort her.

Giving into her urges, Ella rested her head against his chest. Her arms wrapped around him. Though she would never say it out loud, the sound of his slow heart soothed her. For a few seconds, the outer world didn’t seem so foreign to her anymore. Carlos didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around her. They stood there without speaking, without moving.

The subtle snap of a twig quickly broke the two apart. Though they stood close without having realized it. Both their eyes scanned across the woods, trying to find the source of the sound. Stumbling forward from the tree line, Ella’s heart sunk. “Ben?” She questioned, confused about why he was here. She knew he must have seen her walk off and decided to follow her.

“So, this is it?” Ben questioned; his voice soft. Ella didn’t respond, she waited for him to continue. “This is why you’ve been so different? This is where you disappear for hours on end and why you don’t spend time with me anymore. You’re seeing him again?” Ben’s voice held a tone of disgust when he said ‘him’, referring to Carlos. Ella heard the quiet rumble in Carlos’s chest. She turned and realized how close she was still standing to him. She was quick to step away and create distance between them.

“Ben, no. I promise it’s not what it looks like!” She tried to explain, but Ben had no interest in listening. As Ella reached for his hand, Ben ripped it away.

“How long?” Ben asked bluntly. Tears began to swell in his eyes, but he didn’t let them fall. He tried to keep his voice from cracking as he spoke. “Was it before the accident? Was it before the party?” He continued to interrogate her. Ella’s mind spun as she tried to find the right answer without telling him the whole truth, but everything she thought to say wasn’t enough.

“Ben, let me explain.” Ella begged desperately. Her heart was beating faster than humanly possible.

“Then spit it out Ella!” Ben shouted to her. He hadn’t meant to yell at her, but the hurt and betrayal he felt left him no choice. Ella stood silent for a moment, wanting desperately to tell him the truth. She thought of what Xan had told her. She remembered him saying that if she brought him into this world she would be giving him a death sentence. She didn’t have feelings for Carlos, there wasn’t anything there besides this unexplainable thing that had happened to them. If it wasn’t for that, Ella planned to never speak to him again. Ella’s eyes glanced at Carlos who stood to the side. He carried an emotionless look on his face. She wanted him to jump in and make the choice easy. She wanted him to show Ben so she didn’t have to make that choice, but Carlos did nothing.

“You know what? Don’t bother trying to explain.” He said. Ben held a hurt smile on his lips as he started to back up towards the street. “I hope you’re happy together.” Ben then began to quickly walk back in the direction of the nearest roadside where he had parked his car. Ella was conflicted on what to do. Part of her was saying to let him go, that it would be easier without him. That this way she wouldn’t risk hurting him. The other side of her was screaming to go get him, to tell him the truth and keep him by her side.

“Ugh!” Ella grunted out after a few moments and began to follow Ben. “Ella just let him go.” Carlos said, gripping her wrist and pulling him back to her. Ella’s head snapped towards him, her eyes burning red. “Don’t Carlos!” She spoke, a deep growl heard in her voice. Carlos released and watched as she ran after the boy.

“Ben!” Ella called out, trying to get him to turn around. As she ran towards the road, she saw the familiar car begin to drive off. She ran onto the pavement, running after the car. Tears began to stream down her face again, watching as Ben drove off. He didn’t glance once in the rearview mirror.

She knew deep down this was the safest thing for Ben, she still didn’t know herself the danger that she would face. But Ben had become her one link to the life she had before, it was a choice she felt wasn’t ripped away from her. If this thing that happened to her was uncurable, it meant her whole future had been taken from her. The relationship she was in, the boy she loved, was still her choice. And now she felt as if that had also been stolen from her.

Ella screamed inside as she watched him disappear down the road. A heavy rain began to fall, drenching Ella as she stood in the road. Looking around and getting her bearings, she took off in the direction of her home at full speed. Ash was the one who drove Ella, so she didn’t have a car to drive back home. Although Ella couldn’t turn into a wolf like Carlos yet, he had taught her how to use her newfound speed, strength, and agility.

Ella sat on the edge of her bed, bouncing her leg as the seconds seemed to pass by agonizingly slow. She held her head in her hands. She couldn’t sit still, constantly moving around her room. Her heart pounded as she tried to keep herself calm before she ripped her bedroom apart from the rest of the house. She felt itchy in her own skin, everything seemed to push her the wrong way. Ella went to her bathroom, turning the faucets on full blast and splashing cold water in her face. The icy water quickly dried off her burning flesh. Her hands grasped onto the edge of the counter as she took a deep breath. Looking at herself in the mirror, she stared into her own bright ruby eyes. The sight angered her further, blaming it all on what had happened to her. Stealing away the life she had from before and ruining everything she had known to love. Ella’s fist slammed into the mirror, shattering it into hundreds of pieces that scattered across the counter and sink. Drops of fresh black blood splattered against the porcelain white skin, streaking towards the drain.

“Ella hunny? It’s mom. Is everything okay?” Her mother asked from the door, knocking twice as she called. Cursing to herself, Ella tried her best to compose herself before responding, “Yeah! Yep! I’m fine, just… want to be alone.” She shouted back. She listened closely, hearing her mother’s slow breaths as she considered digging deeper. Ella heard the soft click of her mother attempting to open the locked bedroom door. When the door didn’t budge, she slowly peeled her fingers from the golden nob and back away. Ella listened as the sound of the wooden floorboards creaking under her feet grew softer.

“What’s been going on with her lately?” Mitch, Ella’s father, asked her mother. Lola shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest in defeat. “Ella said she just wants to be alone. She even locked her door.” The two shared a look of concern. Both had noticed a change in their daughter since the accident. She spent more time out of the house and shared less with her parents about her day. She would often be out for hours before coming home and didn’t text either of them about where she was or what she was doing. Ella’s parents wanted to give her space considering she would be turning eighteen soon and they wouldn’t be able to do anything. They had agreed that until she seemed in danger or in trouble that they would let her come to them if she needed someone to talk to. “It’s probably just stress from schoolwork and boy drama. She’s a teen girl Lola, she’ll come around.” Mitch gave a reassuring smile. Neither knew if this was the truth, but both had hopes that was all it was. “Why don’t we take Alex to that Halloween movie he’s been going on about? It’ll give Ella the house to herself for a while.”

Ella collapsed onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling fan that spun in circles above her. She listened to the gravel crush beneath the car tires as her family backed out of the driveway. From the moment Ben had driven down the road, she had tried to get him to talk to her. She sent texts and left voicemails. She begged him to give her a chance to explain. To get him to understand it wasn’t what it looked like. She didn’t want to believe that he may never speak to her again. Xan’s words and her urge to tell him the truth tumbled in her brain. It was already after 11PM on Friday. It terrified her at the thought of going the whole weekend without speaking to Ben. She knew at school it would be easier for her to convince him to talk to her if he saw her. She Ella nearly flew off the bed as she felt the dull buzz from her phone. Searching through her jumble of sheets, she quickly unlocked her phone. Her heart ached at the idea of finally hearing from Ben. She feared for the possible paragraph response of a breakup text or a simple message to leave him alone.

She couldn’t hold back the painful scream from inside that poured out of her. She threw the phone across the room. The red iPhone slammed into the wall, lodging itself through one of her painting decorations and into the drywall. The protective case her uncle had bought her was the only thing keeping it from completely shattering. It wasn’t a message from Ben like she had been hoping. Instead, the notification read ‘Text message from The Devil’. The nickname was one Ella had created for Carlos shortly after their breakup. She never deleted his number in case he ever tried to message her; she would know who it was from. He was the last person she wanted to see. He was one of the reasons that she was in this situation.

The sound of the doorbell ringing echoed throughout the empty house. She had been so consumed with anger that she hadn’t heard someone pulling into her driveway. Ella froze, listening for any other sound. Slowly she made her way down the stairs towards the front door, not making a single sound as she walked. The bright, motion-detector lights were on telling her someone was at the door. Ella wiped away the tears from her face and took a deep breath, slowly opening the door. The spikey brown-haired boy in a brown leather jacket and jeans slowly turned around, letting out a large sigh as he tucked his hands into his pockets. “Hey.” He said, almost in a whisper.

Ella didn’t respond, she did the only thing she could think of doing and wrapped her arms around him.