Be Mine, Alpha

Eight

Daphne's POV

Initially, the thought of just closing my eyes and drifting to the world of the subconscious for a while didn't seem so much like a bad idea. Now that my eyes were wide open and the first thing that caught my attention was the bag I'd told Harper to return, it didn't feel so much like the right decision.

That, and the fact that my entire body ached. Everywhere, including places I didn't even know could ache. Slowly and painfully, I dragged myself from the position I was in, to sit straight on my bed.

It didn't help so much but at least my arms weren't twisted at an unnatural angle anymore and I was slowly regaining sensation in my toes.

I flicked my eyes shut before snapping them open to come face-to-face with the accessory on my bedside table. The black bag represented the exact emotion on Harper's face after our little talk a couple of hours ago. She was torn between shock and anger.

Shock because we hadn't argued in like forever and anger because, well, you know why. Still, she'd returned it and I decided to take a little nap. One that lasted more than I'd have liked.

Pushing the scenario to the back of my mind, I glanced at the clock way high up the way. The neon lights glowed a bright 2:45 am. I'd slept for more than five hours, great. Like that wasn't enough, a loud grumble filled the room, pulling my attention from the clock. It was my stomach.

I hadn't had anything since lunch and Conan made sure I didn't even stomach up to half of what I'd intended. After making sure I could feel my legs again, I shoved my feet into the blue bunny flip-flops just underneath my bed and headed downstairs.

The house was quiet, with nothing but my flip-flops slapping loudly against the wooden floor of the house. My hands grabbed the first thing it came in contact with in the fridge; the jar of peanut butter and some bread.

Crinkling sounds reached my ears as I helped myself to what I could find. I munched loudly, having just one goal in mind: to quench this hunger that was on the verge of taking over me.

While I munched on my dinner, a thought came to mind, I'd been here for a while now, yet no one had walked in, most especially, Mother. She was usually awake by this time and she had the ears of a hawk.

Even if a mouse scurried past the living room in the middle of the night, she would know its exact whereabouts and what to do with it. So the question was, why hadn't she come down yet? Did she not hear me? Or maybe what I'd said had gotten to her? Nah, I doubted that. Mother was well, mother and there was no way that would get to her. Right?

I returned whatever was left of my impromptu meal back to their places. It was late, really late and I was restless. I had no idea why but I couldn't stay like this. I needed to do something. Something caught my eye, through the kitchen window, I could make out the view of our street.

At night, it looked peaceful with a gentle breeze rustling the trees in the boulevard at intervals. The night was perfectly lit up and an idea popped into my mind.

I decided to act on impulse. Maybe if I second-guessed It, I'd chicken out and retire to my room. So while the urge was high, I stepped out through the back door, not giving a care about what I was wearing at the moment.

***

I wasn't particularly big on miracles, but somehow I'd hoped that the last-minute wish I'd made would come true and save me from the impending doom that lay ahead, but boy was I wrong.

Instead, I stood at the top of the stairs, Mother and Harper's laughter reaching my ears. I stretched slightly, my mind whirling with a backup or an escape plan of sorts, I really didn't want to go through this this morning.

My mind went back to last night, my impromptu midnight run to be specific. If I was being honest, it wasn't all that bad. The chill that grazed my skin and seeped into my bones helped me clear my head and feel better even.

When I'd gotten back home, I didn't feel sleepy, so I took that as a sign to complete all my numerous assignments, after assuring myself that I would soon graduate and be done with all of this.

Her words from yesterday even rang in my ears.

If I had known, I'd have taken you out the moment I got the chance.

I shook my head, shaking the words out of my head in the process. After adjusting the strap of my backpack over my shoulder, I descended into the living room. I could feel their eyes on me, boring daggers into my skull as they silently munched on their breakfast but I was less concerned about that.

Without sparing them so much as a glance or even a word, I walked out of the house, making sure the front door rattled on its hinges. The sun was bright and early for eight am. The wind rustled a couple of leaves as the soft smell of the daisies and tulips in our yard filled my nose.

I was still basking in the euphoria of nature when something blared right at me. How I'd missed it, I wasn't quite sure but the revs that now replaced the quiet of the morning had done the trick of telling me a car was in front of me. More specifically, Camilla's car.

"Daphne!" She squealed as she jumped out of her vehicle, bounding up the porch steps to come to me. She wrapped me in a tight hug before letting me go again. "You're out here like you knew I was coming to pick you up. Perfect timing, no?"

"I guess so." I mirrored her smile, but not so much. "One question, if you're out here why's your car still in ignition?"

"Oh, silly." She chuckled. " I didn't drive down here, he did."

And immediately she said that I peered deeper into the windscreen of the car, and what I saw, scratch that, who I saw threw me completely off balance. I'd recognize that blond hair and gray eyes anywhere, even if I'd only seen them from a couple of miles away.

"You brought Xavier here?" I couldn't help but ask. "Why?"

"He wanted to ride with me, something about wanting the first person to spend the day with me." She sighed, purely out of contentment. You could tell Xavier was a nice guy and he really was treating Camilla right. "You're okay with that right?"

No. No. I wanted to scream that but what kind of person would that make me? It's not like I hated him, we just hadn't spoken before and I had a strong gut feeling he knew about everything going on between Nikolai and I.

"Yeah, sure, I'm…"

"Then let's go." She pulled me towards the car before I could finish my sentence. "We're almost late. "

I got into the back seat while she took the seat next to Xavier. I'd definitely been in her car before, her pink seats still had her signature perfume of apples and roses but seeing Xavier at the wheel made me uncomfortable.

"Hi, Daphne." He smiled the moment I got in. He wasn't that bad honestly. His voice was just the right tone of sift with a bright smile that matched his blonde hair. With one swift turn of the key, the ignition revver to Life. "You ready?"

All it took was a slight nod from me as he pulled out of the driveway immediately. The picture of the scenery rushing by was a good distraction until Camilla's grunt cut through it all.

"Ugh!" She sounded frustrated. " Can you believe that?"

"What is it?" I asked. I quickly caught a glimpse of Xavier's face from the mirror but averted it immediately. "What's wrong?"

"It's Conan." She sighed. "He hasn't been answering my calls since yesterday. It's been straight to voicemail."

"Well, he was pretty mad…"

"It was a joke." Camilla let out and Xavier chuckled. "He really should have known that."

"Well, you'll have enough time to explain that to him in school today." Xavier's hand reached out to squeeze her thigh. "We're here."

Indeed we were. The chatter of students milling about confirmed his claims. It didn't take Xavier too long to find a parking spot and he waved at someone almost instantly. It was Nikolai.

He gently got out of the car and made his way to Camilla's door and as suspected he pulled open the door. Like that wasn't enough for my poor heart, he engulfed her in a sweet kiss, one Camilla absolutely melted into. After pulling apart, he waved at me before heading in the Alpha's direction.

"We don't have our first class together right?" Camilla snaked her arm through mine for a brief second.

"Not until after lunch," I smirked. "But you will be meeting Conan in yours."

"Don't remind me"

"See it as a good thing, you could finally talk to him in person."

"I know right." She was beaming again. "I'll talk to you later. Bye."

And with that, she was off. I would have had a smooth job going after her and heading to my class if two masses of human bodies didn't decide to step in front of me at that very moment.

"Hello, Daphne." One of them smiled, while the other huffed. "Surprise seeing you here."

"No, it's not, Veronica and Bailey." I snapped, their make-up-caked faces irking me. "And now if you'd excuse me, I've got somewhere else to be."

"Nuh-uh." Veronica stepped closer, totally hindering me from moving forward. "You're not going anywhere until we say you are."

What kind of trouble had I gotten myself into?