Chapter 3

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NOT EDITED

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Even if I sat as far away as possible, I was aware of his every movement.

Usually, I would bathe in his manly smell that engulfed me for the past two hours. I would bury myself in my favorite scent, content and happy. However, it felt suffocating when I reminded myself that we weren’t together anymore or he didn’t want me.

Weston was quiet, occasionally looking in my direction. My wolf would purr every time he secretly glanced at us. My hands itched to wipe the intsy bit of food that smeared on the corner of his mouth. Whenever I was aware that Hayley entwined her hands with his own, I had to stop the growl that wanted to escape from my lips.

“Danny,” Jet groaned, smacking his forehead with his hand. “Please tell them to stop!”

I laughed when he motioned towards a bickering Abigail and Eli. They sat across each other, leaning forward in the heat of the moment. Beau, who sat next to Eli, stared at them with wide eyes.

“Listen to me, Elliot Cooper –,” Abigail scolded angrily, her face turning red.

“Only if you promise to talk dirty, babe,” Eli winked, crossing his arms over his chest. His gray eyes danced with amusement while Abigail’s green eyes glared at him.

Abigail twirled a piece of her long blonde hair before biting her lip suggestively. She looked down at Eli’s lips. Slowly dragging her gaze to look straight into his eyes, she smiled seductively. I held back my laughter when Eli’s eyes widened before darkening.

“Why don’t we -,” Abigail said sweetly before someone interrupted her again.

“Oh gosh,” Jet cried, gripping his hair with both his hands. “Please shoot me now!”

However, the couple ignored his comment.

“Why don’t we go to your room,” Abigail said suggestively before her voice went harsh. “So that way, I could suffocate you with all your pillows.”

“Oh come on,” Eli leaned back, still smiling at Abigail. “You know you love me.”

“Shut up, lover boy,” Abigail said, before returning her gaze towards me. “Where’s Jade and Jarred? They sure are taking long with the dessert.”

In that precise moment, we heard glass shattering inside the kitchen. We all laughed when Jarred yelled, “Ouch! Gosh, Jade, it was an accident!”

“That was my favorite glass bowl,” Jade retorted. “Because you are so vertically challenged, you ruined it.”

“Are you calling me clumsy?”

My eyes landed on Stacey, Weston, and Hayley. Stacey and Weston were deep in conversation, probably discussing about Warren’s well being. Hayley stared down at her porcelain plate, playing with her food.

“Danny,” Abigail whispered so only I could hear. “I’m sorry about what happened.”

“You didn’t do anything, Abs,” I said, smiling at her. “It’s fine. If he’s happy, then I’m happy for him.”

“Weston obviously doesn’t see what a great girl he was blessed with,” Abigail said angrily. “He doesn’t deserve you at all.”

“Abigail, I wanted the break up. Not him. So he’s not at fault.”

“Still! He doesn’t need to be gallivanting with other girls when he found his mate, does he?”

I stayed quiet for several seconds before voicing the question that has been on my mind. “Does she know about us?”

Abigail shook her head. “I think its better that way,” she whispered. She looked over my head, her eyes widening slightly. “Oh, no.”

I looked back to see Hayley coming towards us. She sat in Jade’s chair – which was next to me – with a friendly smile on her face. “Hi guys,” she said.

‘Stop it,’ I told my growling wolf. ‘Being jealous won’t solve anything.’

“Hi Hayley,” Abigail said stiffly, plastering a fake smile on her face. She was interrupted when a crumpled napkin hit her cheek. Her smile fell and she turned to glare at Eli’s smug face. “You’re such an attention seeker, drama queen!”

Jet and Beau groaned as the couple argued again.

“Hey Hayley,” I said, turning back to Hayley with the friendliest expression I could muster. I probably looked like a hyperactive chipmunk, but it was better than being stoic.

“Danny,” she returned. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Your group of friends had many good things to say about you. I was excited to meet you from the way they described you.”

“Good things, I hope,” I laughed awkwardly.

Although Hayley was being immensely nice and kind, I couldn’t help but feel awkward around her. She was dating the man that was made for me – my soul mate. She loved my first love, my current love, and the person I will love forever no matter the circumstances.

“From the way your friends talked about you, I don’t think there was anything bad to say,” she laughed.

“Good, because I would have smacked them all,” I joked.

We noticed Weston staring at the both of us. Hayley smiled at him and I averted my gaze elsewhere. It made me wonder if she knew about me and Weston’s past.

“So,” I cleared my throat. “You and Weston, huh?”

“Yeah,” she gushed like a girly teenager. “We’ve been together for six months.”

Even if I prepared myself for her answer, it still caused my stomach to twist into an agonizing knot. My wolf howled at the thought of her mate being with someone else. I ignored the growing ache in my chest and quickly shook off the feelings before Hayley saw.

“That’s great,” I said brightly although I wasn’t feeling so bright at the moment.

“He’s the best,” she continued to gush. “I’m so lucky that he’s my boy friend. He’s really sweet, funny, and gosh, is he handsome.”

“I’m happy for you two!” I exclaimed. My statement was half-true. I was happy that Weston was happy. “How did you guys meet?”

“As cliché as it sounds, I was walking to the store when I bumped into him. From there, our journey started.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her. She was one heck of a vulnerable, hopeless romantic.

I didn’t know what to say next, because of my raging jealousy. I wasn’t going to lie and say I wasn’t jealous. I also wasn’t going to lie and say Holly wasn’t a friendly girl just because I envied her relationship with my soul mate. The hard truth was Weston had found a girl worth keeping.

“The dessert is finally ready,” Jade sang, saving me from responding to Hayley. “Sorry it took so long. Jarred here was no help at all.”

“I did mostly everything,” he cried, following behind her. He held a huge cake in his hands and I resisted the urge to attack it. They knew how much I loved carrot cake and there it was, glorious on the porcelain platter. “I iced it, I piped out the letter, and I even baked it! Sorry dear, but you are one horrible cook.”

“Anyways,” Jade digressed, straying away from her embarrassment. “We made Danny’s favorite cake to welcome Danny and Beau.”

“You guys are too kind,” I said, shooting appreciative smiles towards Jade and Jarred. I looked at everyone – including Weston – in the eyes with gratitude. “Thank you for welcoming me back and being friendly towards my cousin although he is a little slow – “

“Hey,” Beau warned.

“I’ve missed you guys a ton and I’m glad that I’m here right now. You people have been amazing friends. Actually, you guys are like my family and you will always be my family,” I said honestly while everyone at the table awed.

“The world must be ending,” Jarred said, blinking. “I’ve never seen Danny be so nice.”

“I agree,” Eli and Jet said in unison.

“We’ve missed you,” Stacey said, pushing her platinum blonde hair out of her face to give me a warm smile. “Welcome to Huntstown, Beau.”

“Thank you,” Beau said, smiling. “Thank you for taking me in.”

“Oh, we’ll take you in anytime, handsome,” Jade said bluntly.

“I agree,” Abigail giggled.

I laughed when Beau blushed and shot me a frightened look when Jarred and Eli growled. “Oh, relax,” Abigail and Jade said simultaneously, laughing, and giving each other a high five.

“Welcome back, Danny,” Everyone said while Stacey, Abigail, and Jade hugged me.

“The fabulous four are reunited,” Jade cried.

“This is way to sentimental for my taste,” I joked bitterly.

“Whatever,” Stacey said. “I know you missed us.”

“You love us,” Abigail joined in.

“Hey,” I yelled when I saw that Jarred already started eating the carrot cake. He froze with cream cheese on the corner of his mouth, brown eyes widening in horror. “You didn’t just touch that carrot cake first!”

“Oh, I did,” Jarred said smugly, taking another bite of the angelic cake on his plate.

I poked his belly. “You better watch out. You got big,” I lied. Everyone roared in laughter.

“Oh please,” Jarred said, not bothered by what I just said. He flexed his arm. “The only thing that got big were these muscles.”

Everyone started teasing Jarred and the laughter and conversation just grew from there. It was loud, everyone fighting and joking with each other. I looked at my friends with a big, genuine smile on my face.

Although it was loud and crazy, I was happy to be back home.

***

My heart raced in my chest as the phone rang. Please be okay. The knots in my stomach constricted as I tightened my grip on my cell phone. Shaking slightly, I drew in an unstable breath.

I looked up at the dark sky, which was dotted with twinkling stars. There was a slight breeze, causing a rustle to come from the millions of leaves in the forest behind the pack house. It was silent as I sat on the porch steps, waiting for Darren to pick up.

“Hello,” a tired voice answered from the other end.

“Dar,” my voice shook. “What happened? How come you didn’t call me? Did something happen with mom?”

“I’m sorry, Danny,” He said. “I just didn’t want to bother you. I knew the packs planned a welcome back dinner.”

“Mom is my priority. It was the reason I came here.”

“She’s fine,” Darren reassured with a lighter voice. “The doc said she’d be able to eat right in a couple of days.”

“Can I visit?” I said, anxious to hold my mother in my arms.

“Sure, you can come over now, but she’s sleeping,” Darren said.

“Oh,” I said slightly disappointed. “I think I’ll just come over tomorrow after the meeting. She’s resting. I don’t want to bother her. She needs her rest.”

“Okay, then I’m going over there to come see you,” Darren said. I heard the jingling of keys. He yawned. “I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there to welcome you home.”

“Dar, just get some sleep. I’ll come tomorrow. Don’t worry. I would rather you take care of mom than welcome me home.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course,” I smiled even if he couldn’t see me. “Just so you know, I’m smiling right now.

“That’s right, kiddo,” I heard Darren’s voice lace with happiness. “Hold your head up high and smile. Stand –“

“Stand up tall and remain strong. You are strong,” I recited, remembering the words my older brother always told me when we were going through rough times. “You too, Dar,” I sighed, hoping that my brother was okay. “Are you okay?”

There was a short pause before he sighed. “I’ll be fine. Now go sleep. You must be tired from your road trip.”

“See you tomorrow. Good night, brother. I love you.”

“Love you too, little sis,” Darren said, before the line went dead.

Tears slipped down my cheeks, wanting to embrace my family in my arms. I felt useless sitting here, crying while I could be over there to help Darren take care of my family. There was only one reason that made me take residency in the pack house for my stay in Huntstown.

I had a feeling that the only reason they were attacked was because of me and I didn’t need to lead any more danger towards my injured mother.

“Are you okay?” I heard a familiar voice say. I closed my eyes, my chest clenching at the soothing, male voice. Although I hated that he had to see me like this, a shiver went down my spine.

I got up from my seat on the porch steps and turned to face Weston. His crystal blue eyes still held a lot of emotion. He slightly flinched when a traitor tear rolled down my cheek.

“I’m fine,” I said distantly, walking around him to go back into the house.

“Ells,” he whispered. The pain in my chest grew, hearing him use the nickname he gave me. I closed my eyes once again, walking towards the door as if I’ve never heard him.

“Ells,” he said with concern. I froze when I felt his hand on my arm, causing the familiar warmth and tingles to spread all throughout my body. My wolf howled, wanting to be closer to her mate.

I refused to turn around to face him, feeling the tears roll down my cheeks some more. There were a lot of emotions surfacing now that I just talked to my brother and Weston finally wanted to talk to me after fourteen months. “Yes?” I whispered, my voice quavered and I cursed myself for being so weak.

“Can we talk?” He asked after a short silence. He dropped his hand. I felt his eyes burning holes in my back.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“We need to talk – or I think we should talk – about the – about where we -,” Weston sighed. “Can we talk about us?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I shrugged. Even if my back was facing him, I felt him flinch.

“We need to talk about us and I know you’re probably wondering about Hayley,” Weston said, his voice trembling.

“Wes, there’s nothing to talk about, okay? It’s my fault that we’re not together anymore. I’m happy for you and Hayley. You deserve to be happy.”

I didn’t give him time to answer as I opened the back door and entered the house. Once again, I walked away from Weston with tears in my eyes.