Escaping Alpha Riggs

CHAPTER THREE

The sound of cracking knuckles on the front door reaches my ears and brings me back to consciousness. I open my eyes, and my eyelids hit my pillow. I lie face down, rest my head on my extremely soft pillow, and bury my face completely in the comforting warmth it gives me at this very cold hour of the day. Sometimes that pillow is the only thing that forces me to sleep, no matter what's going on in my life. Last night is a perfect example of that. After that talk with Mom and Dad in the basement... I trudged back to my room and flopped down on the bed in frustration. I was oblivious to my surroundings for what felt like an hour or two - I couldn't stop thinking about Day 20 of this month and what Riggs is probably up too, while my parents and I try to get me to leave this town as soon as possible.

Whoever knocked must've been extremely impatient, because the knocking was loud enough to climb the stairs up to my room.

My room is very spacious. My parents are better off than a middle class family should be. Our house is at the top of the list of the five largest mansions on the street.

They've provided me with everything I've ever wanted, and that's why they're my two favourite people in the world, and it really hurts to know that Alpha Riggs will put a barrier between us for a while as I flee the country.

Again the knocking.

This time I can tell that the person standing at the door is tired of standing at the door and that my tardiness has made him or her angry. This is the third time now. I wonder why so much pain is inflicted on the poor knuckles, why not use the doorbell?

Shrugging, I sit up and slide my feet into the colourful slippers in front of my bed. Their pink and white stripes lift my spirits and I barely tighten them against the others. Mom and Dad have probably already left for work, and I have to stomp down the stairs to see who's at the door.

I hear the knocking once more and get up from my bed in a huff. Just before I walk to the door, I stop at my dressing mirror to see how I look in the loose, skimpy pink silk shorts and fluffy white cotton shirt. My black hair has not lost its lustre yet, but it's matted and needs a bit of brushing. but I'll do that as soon as I get back. I'll have to see who's at the door first.

I don't let the one standing at the door knock for the fifth time, but trudge down the stairs to pull the handle in time.

"Lynn?" I groan out, startled, as I see the blonde-haired girl standing in front of me, her arms crossed in front of her chest. I pull her toward me as I notice one of Riggs' Betas sauntering toward the corridor. It seems he does not know I have a visitor.

Riggs basically prevented my parents and I from having visitors. How did Lynn get past the tight security?

Anyway, now isn't the time for wise thoughts. I've missed her so much that I just can't help but quickly slam the door and wrap my hands around her.

"Too tight... I need air," she jokingly complains, and we both burst out laughing as I release her from my arms.

"Shh!" I put my right index finger over my mouth to signal her to lower her voice. I'm sure the Betas saw my parents leave for work, and they should know I'm the only one inside. I know I should be worried about her getting out of the house without attracting the attention of the betas, but I'm a little too selfish to worry about that right now. I've missed spending time with her, and we haven't seen each other since this month because I wasn't in school.

"What are you doing here?" I ask with a grin as I pull her to me on the couch. She sits down across from me and we both put our legs up on the couch.

"Girl! Why haven't you been to school more? Is this like a new you or something? School is boring without a best friend," she says, and my smile disappears as I stare off into the distance, letting the door become the only object in my field of vision.

I am almost lost in my thoughts. I wish I could tell her what it is that keeps me from going back to school. I am a werewolf, and there's a possessive alpha trying to force himself on me and make me his bride against my will, nice words, but it would sure sound like a movie to her, or one of those books we used to bury ourselves in. I wish it were a movie. Maybe I could have foreseen the ending and seen how things would turn out for me - will I ever have the choice to marry the man of my dreams?

Lynn and I used to stop to talk about the hot guys on the soccer team. We'd play a game and pick who we'd like to be friends with one day. I actually had a crush on Kyle, the captain. From that point on, I knew I was destined to marry the reckless Alpha, but I thought maybe something would change before I turned 20.

I see Lynn's slender fingers move across my face, and I shudder as she snaps them very close to my eyeball.

“Sorry,” I say to her.

"Welcome back, princess. Are you thinking about Kyle?" she says mockingly, but realises it's not the time for jokes as she looks me curiously in the eye. She grabs my hand and moves closer to me.

"You are not all right. Something's wrong, but you just do not know how to tell me," she says, and I sigh and look her straight in the eye - letting my sad eyeballs speak for me.

"You know you can trust me, right? What can I do to make you trust me enough to tell me what's bothering you, why you refused to come to school?"

I try to find a way to explain things in a way that I do not regret. Lynn can be a drama queen sometimes, especially when you want to shut her up. But Lynn is also a wonderful friend, and she always seems to understand everything I tell her.

Should I test her with a single thing and see if she can handle it? I'm even more confused because I don't know which step to take.

"My God... Kim. I can't believe you don't trust me enough to tell me things anymore. You're acting really weird and I think I should leave and come back," she says to me angrily.

"No, please," I say to her, and she sighs.

"If you do not want me to go, tell me now what's bothering you," she insists.

I avert my gaze from her eyeballs and let it slide to the floor. One last thought and I decide it would be better to start somewhere.

"I am leaving town soon," I say to her, and it comes as a shock. Her eyes light up and widen in shock.

"Where to, define soon," she says curiously.

"Really soon. I've to leave this town before my twentieth birthday, and that can't be helped. I'm going alone. My parents are staying in town," I say in a really cold tone, and I realise she's starting to understand what I'm getting at.

"Why do you sound like that? You're coming back, right?" she asks me, and I just keep quiet and let my silence answer the question for me.

"Oh no, you're never coming back," she says in a really sad voice, and I just sigh. We've been friends since high school, and it was never planned to end our friendship this way. She's heartbroken, but she can't be any more heartbroken than I'm.

"Is that why you stayed away from school? Are you transferring to another school?" she asks, and I just nod.

"Where to?" she asks and I shrug.

"It was my parents' decision, and I don't know exactly where it's yet, but I know it's really far from here," I tell her and her gaze drops to the floor as she thinks about what I just said.

"Why would your parents want you to leave anyway?" she asks, and before I can answer, there is a knock on the door for the second time that morning.

"You need to hide," I whisper to her as I smell the presence of a wolf on the other side of the door. I suspect it's one of Rigg's betas, probably coming to check on me as they do once a day.

She goes to the stairs and waits while I go to the door. My hands curl around the door handle and my heart beats faster as I detect a strong wolf smell - one stronger than the smell of a beta.

I tear open the door and my mouth remains open when I see the well-built man standing in front of me. Actually, I should still be paralyzed by fear, but this very fear makes me hastily step out of the door and retrace my steps. He walks forward, getting closer and closer to me, while I continue to walk backward. I run until my calf hits the armrest of the couch and I fall on it. My heartbeat speeds up as he gets closer. He reaches the couch and stands over me as I manage to brace myself against it with my elbows.