You know that feeling, when something you least expect happens? When you feel so dumbfounded, you can’t even blink your eyes because of how shocked you are? Even medically, they call that suffering from shock. Well that’s how I felt right now, when Drew just turned around and walked out the door.

I expected him to fight for me, to tackle Zane to the wall and beat him senseless until I begged him to calm down and stop. I expected him to grab me by the waist, and pull me close to him, before growling ‘she’s mine’ to Zane. What I didn’t expect, was for him to bluntly walk away, like it didn’t even matter that his mate was in some other guy’s room, wrestling on top of him. 

I needed to blink back to reality. Oh god, reality. This was real, it just happened! I scrambled off of Zane and looked back at the door, hoping, with any last shred of dignity that I had left, that Drew would come back and do the things I expected him to do. But sadly, it didn’t happen. I stood there, for what seemed like hours, before Zane laid a hand on my shoulder, waking me up from my trance.

“Hey Ari, you okay?” he questioned softly.

“I don’t know Zane. I really don’t know,” 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Zane grabbed my arms and pulled me into a hug. I clenched his shirt as the tears flowed freely down my face, soaking it, “Ari, don’t worry. This is all part of the plan. Look how he reacted when we were just joking around. Just imagine how he’ll react if we actually go out, or something? That’ll be hilarious!” He tried to make me laugh, but my laugh was humorless. 

“So, are you asking me out?” I joked.

“Yes, m’lady” Zane bowed down like a real knight. I giggled before hugging him.

“Thanks so much Zane, for everything,” I whispered.

“No problem Ari,” he gently kissed the top of my head.

I left the room with a smile on my face. Zane truly was the best. I was walking down the hallway when I passed Drew’s room. 

Stopping for a second, I contemplated on talking to him. Just as I raised my hand to knock, the sound of giggling, followed by moaning filled my ears. My body froze, standing there with one arm raised. Suddenly, the moaning stopped, followed by footsteps. I dropped my hand, and stepped back as the door opened. Drew stood there, wearing only his boxers. Tears threatened my vision, but I kept my head bowed down. 

“Drew, baby, what’s wrong?” Dana’s voice purred from behind him. She was only wearing Drew’s shirt. 

“Ew, what the hell do you want, bitch?” Dana spat in my direction.

I tried to quickly think of an excuse to why I came here.

“I wanted to ask about what Alpha Drew wanted for dinner,” I whispered quickly. Inwardly, I praised myself for thinking of a good answer.

“Just make something, and don’t eat tonight. I don’t want you getting any fatter than you already are,” Drew gritted in annoyance. I felt my heart crashing down in my chest. I could almost literally feel it hurting my bruised ribs. 

“Yes Alpha,” I nodded, and headed off towards the kitchen. My stomach grumbled in protest to what Drew said, but I couldn’t think about that. My mind whirred, thinking about Drew. How could he cheat on me, and punish me so cruelly? I didn’t even do anything remotely wrong. Messing around with a friend was completely different than what he was doing with Dana. 

Just then, the door flew open, revealing Melanie and Jake. 

“Mel!” I cried out, rushing into her for a hug I so desperately needed right now. I decided then and there, that I was going to tell Mel everything about me, including Drew.

“Ari!” she hugged me back. We both jumped up and down, so glad that we would be living together. Jake stood there, looking amused before he joined in on the group hug.

“Mel, I have a lot to tell you, but first, I’ll show you guys to your room!” I grinned at them, while Mel blushed. Jake wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, making me double over in laughter. Those two were too darn adorable. I grabbed Mel’s hand with my own hand and picked up her suitcase with the other, and showed them their rooms.

Mel and Jake’s room was large, with soft crème colored walls. The double bed lay in the center, with soft crème and burgundy sheets and large plush pillows. At the foot of the bed lay a fancy beige colored bench, above a deep red rug. The wall on the left of the bed had floor to ceiling windows, while the other side was a large mosaic like wall, with three large red stripes covered in different empty picture frames. The room was astonishing. I felt envious at how many gorgeous rooms I’d seen in the very same house that held my own ugly bedroom. I sighed, before quickly walking out. Leaving them to their unpacking, I quickly made dinner and put it on the table before retiring to my room. 

As I walked up the stairs, I passed an annoyed looking Drew and a bubbly Dana. She was clinging onto his arm like it was some life support, and she couldn’t breathe without it. The very scene made my heart lurch, but I ignored it.

Drew’s eye’s met mine, and I was immediately sucked into their depth. They held grief, and guilt, for what I don’t know, but it made me want to comfort him. I clenched my teeth, and turned my head away from him. He didn’t deserve the satisfaction of even looking at me. With my head held high, I walked up the steps with a little more boldness.

Reaching the top, however, it all came crashing down when my father’s figure came into my sight. He pushed me into the wall and stumbled down the stairs. I winced at the pain in my right shoulder. 

I needed to get away for a while. As I contemplated on where to go, the window in the hallway, facing out towards the woods gave me my answer.

‘Everyone’s busy with their dinner, so maybe I can sneak outside. Nobody would notice if I was gone,’ I thought, a smile forming on my lips.

Sneaking down the stairs once more, I tip toed quietly to the back door. I held my breath as I inched the door open, before slipping myself through. Shutting it quietly behind me, I raced down to the forest, running so fast it made the cool air in my lungs burn. The burning only drove me further. For some reason, I didn’t feel like shifting into my wolf. I’d rather just run on my two feet, feeling the wind raise my hair in all directions. Dirt stuck to my feet, but I didn’t care. At that moment, all I cared about was getting out of there to collect my thoughts. 

The sound of my favorite creek greeted me as I stopped running. I walked over to it, and gently placed my feet into the cool water. I lay down on the grassy floor, my hands behind my head and stared up at the stars. Each one twinkled with sparks of light. The ebony sky created a beautiful backdrop to the warm, glowing stars. 

My thoughts drifted back to Drew. Why would he hurt me so much? I understood before, considering neither one of us knew we were mates, but now, after all that happened, I couldn’t understand why he would act so cruel. 

“Arianna,” 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. The voice sent tingles down my spine, waking me up from my deep thoughts. 

“Yes, Alpha Drew?” I questioned back, standing up from the ground to face him.

Just then, a wave of dizziness hit me as I got up. I felt my head get 5 times heavier in a split second. My stomach grumbled in protest. ‘Stupid migraines,’ I thought silently. No food, plus all the stress I’m dealing with made my body sore. My eyes fluttered close, and I felt my body race to the ground. Warm arms engulfed me as I fell, tingles and sparks shooting up my body.

“Arianna, wake up!” muffled voices filtered my ears, as my body succumbed to darkness.