Chapter 12

Anthony’s POV

I took a deep breath and then entered into Travis’s room.

Travis was awake and his bruises and such on his face were healed just as mine were. He was looking out his window and Julie was asleep, curled up on his chest. He had an arm wrapped around her.

When I stepped into view his head snapped to me.

He put his finger to his lips signaling me to be quiet and I nodded. He smiled down at Julie and I again couldn’t help but be jealous of what they had. This time, though, I replayed what Felix had said after I apologized to him. You’ll have it too . . . one day. And that day you will be the Alpha you are supposed to be.

I smiled at him.

He looked up to me and I lipped, I’m sorry.

He nodded and then replied with, I understand.

I really smiled then. Travis was my Beta and best friend. The last thing I need was him thinking I couldn’t be an Alpha also . . . then I might just refuse the position.

“Are you good?” I whispered.

And he instantly flinched as Julie let out a low growl in her sleep. Well, at least I thought she was a sleep.

“Now you’ve done it,” He shook his head.

Julie instantly sat up and glared at me, “How dare you come in here!” She growled jumping off the bed so that she was in front of me.

“Julie . . .” Travis warned as he sat up.

“No! If he thinks just because he is my future Alpha that I am going to just sit back then he’s wrong!” She snapped at Travis and he sat back with his hands in the air in a surrender.

I instantly looked to Julie getting ready to protect myself without hurting her.

“Julie, I’m so . . .” That was when her hand collided with the side of my face.

“Ouch!” I stumbled back  with my hand to my cheek, “Son of a bitch,” I mumbled looking at my hand to check for blood.

“Yes, you are,” She growled threateningly.

I took a step back to try and sneak away, but a warning growl left her lips and I stopped instantly.

Damn, she’s a strong mate. My wolf approved.

Umm, yeah . . . She scares me more than Dad. She’s like Mom.

“I am not done with you, you piece of Shit!” She snapped.

“I really . . .”

“No!” She cut me off poking a finger at my chest, “You beat Travis unconscious! He is your damn Beta! What the hell is wrong with you! What kind of Alpha does that make you?”

Umm . . . ouch!

“Julie, really . . .”

“Not. Done.” She growled.

“Right,” I nodded and she glared. I stepped back again.

“Do you know what you even turned into out there? God damn it, Anthony, I know Dawn is your mate and I should have told you, but that is no reason to attack me or Travis. I didn’t tell you because I knew you would react like this and you would either get her into trouble or get yourself into trouble. I was protecting you both!” She snapped.

“I understand . . .”

“No, obviously you don’t!” She yelled at me. “But now I am making you understand because I am not going to deal with your childish attitude when my best friend’s life is on the line!”

“Julie, I know and I . . .”

She slapped me again.

“Damn it! Where did you learn to slap like that?” I complained.

“Keep it up and they’ll keep coming,” She glared.

“Sitting down and shutting up,” I answered sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Tony, I’m scared for her. He can really hurt her . . . you know that. I don’t need you acting like a child when she needs you,” She sighed calming down.

“Julie, stop. Now,” Travis got off of the bed and pulled her into his arms.

“No,” I said around my dry throat. He was a good Beta, he saw the exact moment that Julie had pushed too far. She had repeated the words that replayed over and over in my head driving me crazy. “No, she is only speaking the truth . . . She’s right. I am acting like a child . . .”

“No, Tony . . .” Travis sighed.

“I apologize for scaring and harming you both. Please excuse me,” I breathed and then I stood and walked out of the room.

I couldn’t take it any more I had to go to her. Now.

What about Ian? My wolf growled.

I’ll take care of him later . . . first, my mate. I growled and then I hit the front door running. I only paused for a moment to strip while in the woods then I shifted, grabbing my jeans in my mouth and I continued to run straight for Dawn’s house.

When I got there I sat in the woods beneath her window and I sat dropping my jeans and just watching and listening.

“Ouch . . . shit,” She complained and then she sighed.

I instantly growled and stood ready to jump for the window.

The growl was still rumbling through my chest when she walked past the window.

“That’s really gonna be painful to cover up,” She breathed and she passed the window again.

Then suddenly she stopped moved and she started removing her clothing. I stood again and took a step out of the tree line.

Disappointingly her curtain was covering her window and I was only seeing shadows and figures. I grumbled and sat back in the tree line as I watched her undress and then dress again.

When she walked away from the window I shifted and got dressed in my jeans and then I walked to her house. I climbed the tree by her window and easily slid inside thankful that her window was open.

When I stepped out of the curtain there was a very high pitched scream . . . and it wasn’t Dawn.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dawn’s POV

I was in the bathroom poking and prodding at the bruises when I finally decided to go downstairs and ice it.

Halfway down the stairs there was a knock on the door. I was going to ignore it, terrified that it might be Ian and then my phone rang. It was a text that read:

Open your damn door!

It was from Hannah. I took a deep calming breath and then I went to the door and opened.

“Where . . . Oh my God, Dawn! She pushed through the door and stopped when she saw me. “What the hell happened?” She gasped.

Shit! I hadn’t come up with a story yet! I had to think quick.

“Umm . . . well you know how I like going on my bike rides through the woods?” I asked.

She nodded still looking over my face.

“I completely wiped out. There was this Blue Jay and I had never seen something so blue and then there was a tree. It’s really stupid,” I sighed finally letting out my breath as she shook her head at me. I could see it in her eyes that she believed me.

“You are so stupid for going out by yourself. You’re lucky it didn’t knock you out,” She growled at me.

“I know . . . I know,” I tried not to smile. She was taking the story well which means I would have someone to back me up if others did not believe me.

“ . . . And the dance is in two days,” I had dazed while she was babbling on and then I heard that.

“What?” I gasped.

“Yeah . . . You think that will clear up in two days? Doubt it,” She scoffed.

“Oh god, this is a disaster,” I breathed tying not to panic too much. How could Ian do this days before the dance? Will he even want to go with me looking like this? I doubt it!! I just spent 200 dollars on a dress and I won’t have a date!

“You go to up to your room and I will get you some ice,” Hannah demanded.

I walked upstairs and into my bed room. I went to the bathroom and poked at the bruise some more.

“Ouch . . . shit,” I complained when I pressed on the corner of my eye. I walked out of the bathroom  and to my dresser to grab out sweet pants. “This is gonna be painful to cover up,” I sighed when I couldn’t find my tank top so I headed back to the bathroom.

When I didn’t see it in there I went back out to my room and found it laying in the middle of the floor.

I rolled my eyes at myself and then changed quickly. I then walked back into my bathroom to study my face again. I was in there for hardly a minute when I heard a horrible scream. I ran out into my room ready to protect Hannah from the worst – Ian – when what I found standing there was the very best.

“Anthony?” I gasped shocked.

“What the hell? He scared the crap out of me!” Hannah yelled at me.

“And you caused me to go deaf, so we are even,” Anthony complained, poking at his ear.

“Hey, Hannah, you can go home. I think I am good for tonight,” I nodded to the door.

Slowly her angry expression turned into a smirk. “Yeah, sure I’m outta here,” She winked at me and then tossed me the ice and turned and walked out.

Anthony waited until the door closed and then he turned to me.

“Why did you not come to school? Why do you need ice?" He stepped closer to me and then the growl I know so well left his lips.

“He did this.” He stated.

I stayed quiet not wanting to tell the truth, but knowing I couldn’t lie.

“Why? Why does he do this? What happened to him that makes him treat you like this?” He demanded taking my face gently into his hands.

“He is annoyed with me. He hates that he has to be with me,” I sighed.

“He doesn’t have to be with you . . .”

“Yes, because if he wasn’t with me then no one else would be. He feels bad for me,” I looked away from him and walked to my bed.

“He should feel bad that you have to be with him, not the other way around,” Anthony argued.

“He doesn’t see it that way,” I shook my head as I sat down.

“Well, you shouldn’t listen to him. He’s an asshole,” Anthony growled.

“Stop,” I complained. “Stop caring. You don’t know anything about me.”

“I don’t need to,” He sighed and sat in front of me. “You are perfect and nice and sweet and beautiful. What else do I need to know?”

Tears came to my eyes. Why? Why did God give me this perfect man at a time in my life when I just can’t have him? Why tease me this way? It just wasn’t fare.

“Dawn, I am going to kill him. You can’t stop me,” He growled and got off of the bed heading for the window.

“If you leave now, I’ll never speak to you again, Anthony. I swear it,” I said quickly, sitting up.

He stopped and I watched as the muscles in his back tensed and I watched carefully.

What mattered to him more? Protecting me or just me period?

He turned back around and he looked so torn. “Don’t do that, Dawn,” He growled.

“Please,” I crawled to the edge of the bed. “Don’t leave me alone tonight,” I begged.

He instantly broke and stepped to the side of the bed in one long stride and wrapped his arms around me.

I instantly felt the warm, familiar, safe feeling I always got when I was with Tony like this.

“I don’t want to live like this anymore,” I cried into his chest he just held me tighter and lifted me as he sat down so that I was now on his lap. “I can’t live like this anymore.”

“Let me take care of him and then I promise I will forever take care of you, Dawn. Please,” He nearly begged as he kissed the top of my head.

“Tony, for some reason you decided to care about me,” I breathed tears still falling down my face as I looked up at him. “I cannot even tell you how grateful I am because of that, but I refuse to let you get in to trouble over me. I’ve told you this before. Ian . . . he has issues. He lost his parents at a young age in a terrible accident. Yeah, he’s not that great of a guy, but I see where his anger comes from. And anyway, he has a brother. Though he hates Ian  . . . he would still come after you if you hurt him. It’s an odd family bond that they have. You will not get involved in his, Tony. Promise me,” I met his pale angry eyes without fear. He needed to understand me and if I backed down he wouldn’t even listen to me. I couldn’t lose the one thing that got me through my days recently.  Just before he showed up I was so close to just giving up and letting Ian kill me, but thanks to Tony I now had a reason to fight.

“Dawn, I would love to say that I promise to grant your every wish, but I refuse to lie to you. If I see another bruise on that beautiful skin of yours then he will get ten on him. I can promise you that, and I keep my promises,” He said in the most calm and serious voice that it actually caused me to fear for Ian. There was no growl that now seemed childish. He looked years older than he was as he looked away from me and his condemning eyes looked out the window without blinking. For a moment I had to wonder if this is what his father was like.

Then he finally blinked and looked down at me and a small smile appeared on his beautifully full lips.

“Let’s not talk about that anymore,” He looked down at me in a way that I had never been looked at before. Maybe, if I thought hard, back to when Ian and I had first met, but it was hard because now all I saw was the stone cold look in Ian’s eyes.

This is the look that you see in the moves and now I know what girls mean when they say that ‘with one look he made me melt’. This incredible, warm feeling came over my whole body and I smiled lazily back at him.

He still held me tight to his chest, and thank God, because I would have slid right off his lap in that moment with just that one look.

It was that look of pure love as he leaned in and kissed my bruised eye and it tingled without an ounce of pain.

This is what it really felt like to be in really, truely love.