Unexpected Shift

2

Placing both palms on the door for support, I pressed my ear hard against it. The gruff laughter of who I assumed to be a young man greets me, slightly louder now. It still wasn't enough, so I leaned in further and the next thing I knew, I was on my knees on the floor. The door was flung open by a tall guy just about my age who c****d his brow as he looked down at me.

I gulped as my eyes did a one-over of his persona that seemed more like a giant from my angle, his eyes were red and glistening with mischief. It was only when he smiled that I felt my blood ring loudly in my ears.

Oh.

Whoever this was, his delicate features and bright smile dazzled my mind for a long minute.

"Hey," he says, blonde hair fluffing to the side when he tilts his head. "What were you doing?"

I squeak out an embarrassing sound, far too intimidated by his amber eyes that made me squirm. "S-Sorry," I mutter and he extends a hand to pull me up from my position on the floor. I keep mum and hold onto his palm to stand upright.

His cheek lifts on one side, clearly smirking. I could hear Aunt Audra's keyboard typing behind us. My mind only concentrated on how close he was to me. His fingers were nimbly warm against my rather cold arm and a sort of peachy scent hung low in the air. Was that his perfume?

"Elaine?" Aunt Audra calls. "What's up, sweetheart? Do you need anything?"

"Don't worry Audra, I think I got this covered." The guy standing before me winks and my breath hitches in my chest causing me to stand awkwardly against him, wide eyes blinking up at him. My whole world has paused as if to say: 'Behold, look at this beautiful man who is currently looking at you like you're the most stupid person ever'.

"So, have you recovered enough to come up with an answer?" he asked.

It was almost like the boy had brought me out of his own damn trance when he spoke, soft and sultry. I gasped, trudging a step away. When we were no longer touching, I could think better and the peachy scent was a little lighter, not head-spinning like before.

I part my lips, wanting to bite back with some witty remark. In all honesty, I had nothing to reply with. So, I did what an extremely brave person would do. I turned on my heel and sprinted to the guest room, almost tripping myself over, but managed to save it and locked the door behind. My chest heaved up and down rapidly, blood still pumping in my ears as I rested my back against the door.

Now that the door of the attic was open, the loud roars of laughter that the guy let out in sync with Aunt Audra's chuckles rang in my ears like a reminder of my embarrassment. They echoed back into the attic causing my body to heat up. Wow, I was already a huge embarrassment.

And the vacation had just started.

Chapter Two

Embarrassment was like a never-ending nightmare for me, it kept coming back in waves even till an hour or two later. My cheeks would heat up and I would have to bury my face in my pillow just to let out loud screams. From my guess, the guy had left around three p.m., which meant me and Aunt Audra were the only ones in the house but I was still nervous to go out.

It wasn't until dinnertime that Audra called my name from somewhere at the bottom of the stairs, I twisted my door open and found her smiling up at me. "Come on, it's time for dinner darling," she told me and I smiled softly. Maybe it wasn't that awkward.

I slipped my feet into the extra pair of slides she had kept for me and rushed downstairs. Aunt Audra had her back to me, her blonde hair was curly and a stark contrast to my straight black locks, but they seemed around the same length as mine.

"Hi," I chirped, quickly slotting my legs behind the dining table. She had served me a hearty portion of pasta.

"Good evening," she sighs happily and takes a seat opposite me while I dug my fork into the pasta. "How are you liking it here?"

I shrug at her question, mouth full of food.

"Great, what about you? How have things been with you?"

My question barely urges a hum out of her and it makes me worry if I should've respected the distance in our relationship even more. Soon, she starts speaking and I let out a breath of relief.

"I've been well- Ah, we really should've had this conversation a few days back." She laughs. "I'm sorry kiddo, you must've been bored by yourself but the town is safe, you can go make friends."

"It's fine, really. I'm good by myself." I smile. Aunt Audra only smiles and gets back to her dinner. My brows clash together as the words 'Pack' and 'Alpha' enter my mind again after her mention of the previous few days. What exactly could Pack and Alpha mean?

"I've been wondering," I began slowly. "And I'm sorry to be such an intruder, but I happened to over-hear a bit of your conversation with your 'guests'."

Audra stiffens in her place, shoulders tensing and the fork tighter in her grip. There was this thing about me, through the years of trauma I had lived, I had managed to grow tough enough to confront people.

Sure, I was bad at making friends.

If someone dared to badmouth me or the only friend I had, they would be sure to get an earful from me. Some could say I was intimidating.

"W-What did you hear?" Aunt asks, an obviously fake sweet smile painted on her face as she tried to hide her concern behind it.

I rolled my tongue in my mouth and pushed the plate away.

"Something like 'Alpha' and 'Pack'. What do these mean?" I ask and her mouth pops open as if she had just now realized something but Audra was quick to shake out of it.

"Oh, it's nothing you should be worrying about." Her eyes glint as if to convince me of her lie and words. I tried to object but Aunt Audra had already moved on from the topic. "Anyway, I think I should head up to bed. Summer is a tiring time, you know?"

I could only nod while she did her dishes, humming and questioning about other things probably just to dodge the 'Alpha' topic. A few minutes later, the lady lovingly kissed my head goodnight and disappeared to the left passage beside the staircase. The curtains to the entrance of her door whooshed and I squinted as hard as possible to check if she was still there before letting out a breath of relief.

"It couldn't be anything that important anyway," I told myself. After washing the dishes and turning the extra lights off, I walked back to the guest room on the first floor. Once again, I stopped in front of the attic and groaned at how embarrassing the afternoon had been.

"So, have you recovered enough to come up with an answer?" I mocked the blonde’s deep baritone, eyes rolling and tongue out while stomping back into my room. Thankfully, Audra's room was far enough for her to not notice any of my movements.

The slightly open window let in a soft breeze that immediately made me forget all sense of shame. I smiled and pushed it out all the way. The best part about the town were the nights. The sky was always so much more beautiful than that in the city and it made my shoulders slump in a relaxing way.