The Alpha’s Mate Who Cried Wolf

Chapter 11
Last night was awful. I wasn’t able to get much sleep. I got up early before sunrise and headed downstairs to the kitchen to make myself breakfast. Entering, I freeze for a moment as Alice is there, cutting up fruit. Alice pauses and looks up to see me. She becomes angry, and the knife in her handshakes.
‘Good morning, Alice,’ I say politely. She growls in a warning.
I’m just going to get myself something to eat, and then I’ll be gone,’ I say
‘Permanently, I hope, she mutters.
‘Alice, I get you’re upset, but I planned none of this. I didn’t even know werewolves existed until recently. Maybe if we get to know each other, we might come to tolerate each other. Maybe even be friends,’ I say. I yelp when her knife flies past my face and into the wall.
‘I will never be your friend, and you will never be my Luna! Mark my word, Vanessa will become the Luna of Shadow Crest! I suggest you save yourself from the hurt and leave now. Because I can assure you, you won’t live to see your eighteenth birthday!’ Alice warns.
‘Did you just threaten to kill me?” I ask, in disbelief, looking at the knife in the wall. Alice closes in on me. I steel myself for whatever’s next.
‘If you’re not gone from here by your eighteenth birthday, Vanessa and I will shift and rip you apart! And if you speak of
this conversation to Alpha Ryker or anyone, I’ll make sure it’s the last day of your life!’ She snaps. I’m trying to keep my emotions intact.
‘Why do you hate me so much? Don’t you want Vanessa to be happy? How could she be happy with a man who doesn’t love her? A man who doesn’t want to be with her?’
Alice grabs my hair and pushes me against the wall.
‘Oh, Astrid, sometimes in life, it’s not about love, but about other things like power,’ she says, retrieving her knife.
I’m scared and try to hide my fear.
‘If I were you, Astrid, I’d get going right now, before everyone wakes up,’ she says, tapping my nose with the knife. She stares at me and holds the blade against my face. I nod.
‘Good! Well, it was nice meeting you, Astrid. I hope we don’t cross paths again, she smirks, and I leave the kitchen hysterical and affected.

She is going to kill me! She is going to kill me if I stay! I don’t want to leave Ryker or the others. How can I tell them without her finding out?
Bursting into tears, I dress quickly in jeans and a hoodie. I grab a small pack and place another set of clothes in it. Do leave? Do I leave a note? Where will I go? I can’t go back to my stepfather’s house. Maybe I can camp in the woods for a few
days. I can sneak food from the diner until I figure something out. The sun is rising, I have to leave now.
I climb over the balcony and down the latticework beneath. I run opposite the shopping strip, hoping it leads me toward Jim’s diner. A couple of hours pass me by when I’m deep in the woods, and I freeze at the faint howl of a wolf in the distance. I know it’s Ryker, realising I’m gone. Falling to the ground, I cry.
‘Please forgive me, Ryker. I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to leave you.’
Standing, I wipe my tears, they’re uncontrollable. I suddenly remember when Ryker explained he could smell my scent. I look around and grab some eucalyptus leaves from a low hanging branch. Removing my hoodie and jeans, I rub the leaves down my legs all over myself. I put my clothes back on, sticking a handful of eucalyptus leaves into the pockets of my hoodie and jeans. I run further into the woods, after a while, I resort to walking because I’m exhausted. Ryker would have followed my scent until I used those leaves. I should probably change course, too, if he keeps going straight.
Changing my direction, I stop at a riverbank to drink some water, hoping it’s clean enough. The sun is setting. I have to find shelter soon before it becomes dark. I wander around until I find a large hollow log on its side.
This will be perfect. I crawl into the hollow log and open my
bag, covering myself with the other jumper to keep as warm as I can. I sleep curled up and use my bag as a pillow. The sun rises, and I’m surprised I slept all night.
I’ve been walking for three hours. I’m happy when I see a familiar road. It leads into the city! I stay off the road to avoid Ryker finding me. The black Mercedes is in the distance. I sense it’s a bad idea to run toward it, but I do.
Out on the road, I watch the black Mercedes slow down to a halt. The back window rolls down.
‘Hello, Zenith,’ I say.
‘I was worrying, Astrid. I haven’t seen you for a few days, he says.
Td like to take you up on that job offer if you’ll still have me?’ || ask nervously. Zenith smirks.
‘When can you start?’ He asks.
‘I can start now if you like?’
Zenith looks me up and down, studying me. He is curious.
‘Has something happened, Astrid?’ He asks.
I’m no longer living with my father, and no one here is looking to employ new staff, I explain, leaving Ryker out of the story.
‘I see,’ he says, scratching his half-missing ear. He opens the
car door and gets out.
‘You may as well hop in, you work for me now, he smiles. I
glance around to make sure no one is watching and climb into the car.
Zenith scans the area to see what I’m looking at and says nothing about it. A young guy in the car smiles at me and pats the seat next to him, motioning for me to sit. Sitting next to him, I click my belt.
‘Astrid, this is John, one of my twin sons, Zenith introduces
him.
‘Nice to meet you,’ I say, politely holding my hand out to shake his. John places a kiss on my hand as he takes it.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Astrid,’ he replies with a cocky smile. He looks a lot like Zenith but less bulky and much thinner. He has the same dark eyes, dark hair, and nose. A few days of stubble has grown on his face.