AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She couldn’t stay in there forever, no matter how she felt about the situation.
I tried giving her space and as much freedom as I could, but we weren’t getting anywhere. I didn’t have time to waste. Understanding what drew me to her was important to me, and I needed to get to the bottom of it before I went insane.
Knocking briefly on the door, I called inside, “Jane?”
As I expected, I didn’t receive any response. Instead, only silence returned to me, which spiked my worry.
While I didn’t think she was at risk of doing anything irrational, I couldn’t put it past her. I didn’t know her well enough, and if she wasn’t taking the transition well, then anything was possible.
I sighed. “I’m coming in.”
Giving her another chance if she needed the opportunity to make herself decent, I turned the doorknob and was surprised not to find any resistance behind it. At the very least, I expected a chair or some sort of handmade blockade to stop anyone from coming in.
While it wasn’t any indication that things were going well by any means, it was the slightest sliver of hope.
Glancing around, I found her sitting on the floor with her knees tucked against her chest, leaning against the side of the mattress for support. Her eyes were red and puffy, skin splotchy from crying. Even more noticeable were the heavy bags beneath her eyes. Even if it had only been a few days, her cheeks already looked thinner than before.
It appeared like she hadn’t slept since she arrived at the house. She looked worn out but seemed to be all right otherwise.
Yet despite it all, that true beauty she possessed still called to me like a siren. It pulled on my heartstrings, and that unfamiliar longing was new to me.
Never before had anyone struck me as intensely as she did. While I didn’t want to look too deeply into it, I couldn’t ignore those signs. It had to mean something, and my curiosity was getting the better of me.
I flinched at an offensive smell that hit my senses, and upon glancing over at the dresser, I found several plates of untouched food. They had been brought to her, but she wasn’t interested.
Whether she was protesting or just too upset to eat, I needed that to change.
Urging myself to stay calm, I approached the dresser and grabbed the plates before taking them over to the garbage can in the ensuite. I scraped the food off, then proceeded to bring everything to the door.
“I understand why you might be unwilling to adapt, but this will only hurt you in the end,” I began, taking her in again. “You don’t need to make this any harder than it needs to be.”
From her place on the floor, Jane hugged her knees and shook her head absently. “You think I’m making this worse?”
Furrowing my brows, I crossed my arms over my chest. “It doesn’t look like you’re making it any better.”
She bristled at that, not shy about her contempt for me. “And how would you prefer I handle being forced out of my home?”
I scoffed. “Don’t tell me you preferred your treatment in Sam’s pack. Based on how quickly he offered you up, I don’t imagine you’re missing much about it.”
Pain ran through Jane’s eyes at that, and she averted them, holding tightly onto her grief. “At least I had a choice there.”
“And you have a choice now. You can either make the most of it or wallow in your self-pity,” I returned, growing impatient despite knowing it wouldn’t help anything. With another steadying breath, I tried to soften my tone. “Listen, this wasn’t what I planned either.”
“Then why storm onto the grounds? Why demand a challenge just to take up his offer if you didn’t plan for it?” She asked, looking more wounded as she spoke. “Why accept the outcast?”
Something about that self-proclaimed title struck me, and I couldn’t help but feel like we already had some common ground. We were both cast aside, even if neither of us wanted to admit it.
“I raided the pack because Sam took everything from me,” I began, irritated at the mere thought despite how I worked to keep my composure. “He took my title, my people, and all my credibility. I spent enough time in isolation, forced away from my home, and given more than enough reasons to want my revenge. He framed me if it wasn’t clear enough from his lack of qualifications as alpha. He forced my hand, and to regain even a semblance of my dignity back, I had to face him again.”
Jane’s brows pinched together in question. “Framed? How did he frame you?”
Even just thinking back to that night made every muscle in my body tense with rage.
“That woman he claimed I murdered? She was being attacked in the street by several men. When I heard the commotion, I went to help her. I didn’t shift, but I did flex some impossible strength for a human, and the woman saw it. Sam had appeared not long after, and since I assumed we were on the same side, I left it up to him to take her home and convince the woman she only imagined the extraordinary parts. He said he would, and I took care of the men to make it look like they had knocked each other out. I didn’t think anything of it until he challenged my title that day, claiming he had proof I was responsible for her killing. His buddies backed him up, citing they had witnessed it alongside him. In reality, nobody else had been there. It was all a lie to sway the pack to his side, and it worked,” I explained, feeling that familiar defeat and sorrow wrapped around my heart all over again. “No matter what I tried to say, nobody believed me. The damage was done, and I lost the claim. Even if the pack turned against me, I couldn’t just walk away completely and forget any of it happened. I couldn’t let him have that satisfaction, so I challenged him. But after seeing just how afraid everyone was of me, I knew I couldn’t just fight him to the death. I couldn’t expect everyone to follow me just because I killed their alpha. I plan to regain their trust, even if it means letting Sam think he has already won.”
Despite how a look of surprise and slight alarm moved across her features, Jane pulled back. "What, I'm supposed to just take your word for it? How do I know you're not making this up to try and clear your name?"
The accusation riled up that deep frustration within me, but I immediately tempered it, not wanting to make the tension between us even worse.
