The Hunt

Making Amends

As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I could hardly recognize the girl staring back at me. Alaine took me to the hairdresser before shopping. And I definitely needed that. My ends were split from an awful home-bleaching job I had done. It didn’t help that I have mostly skipped conditioning these past couple of months. Usually, by the time I would get back to the motel, I would be so tired that even the thought of staying in the shower for a minute longer than necessary would give me a headache. My roots had started coming out, so I decided to dye it back to my natural color and the girl that did my hair matched it almost perfectly. With the make-up that Alaine insisted on and the outfit she had picked out for me, I almost looked like my old self, getting ready to head out with friends.

It was strange seeing myself like this again. I feel like I don’t deserve it, like I haven’t earned this simple pleasure of not looking like a disaster. After all, why shouldn’t my looks reflect my life? But at the same time, it makes me more confident. In myself and in the future I might still have. This may be the easiest of steps that I’ll have to take to get back at least a small piece of normality back into my life.

By the end of the day, my car was almost full of shopping bags. We had decided that we’d leave the dress for the end. After visiting so many shops and trying on so many different outfits, I was looking forward to being done with this whole ordeal.

As we walked into a small hand-made gown shop my eyes landed on a dress at the back of the room. My breath hitched, and I could immediately feel a lump forming in my throat. It’s just like the dress mom and I had designed for my prom. It’s as if it was pulled right from her sketchbook. She was going to start making it after the cheerleading competition. She had even bought the fabric. It was going to be perfect. An off the shoulder, deep red floor sweeping gown. Body-hugging at the top and freely flowing downwards from the fitted waist. A deep split in the middle opening up as I would walk, otherwise hidden by folds of carefully placed fabric.

“Do you see anything you like?” Alaine asks while browsing through the racks.

I just nod. I can’t answer her. I know myself too well. If I spoke right now, she would definitely be able to tell that I’m on the verge of tears. I just walked past her towards the dress. Without words, I took it with me to a fitting room. I carefully traced my newly manicured fingers over the fabric. Feel it in between my fingers. Imagine my mom bringing it to my room the second she’s finished making the last adjustments. I can almost see her excited face as she helps me put it on. I can almost feel her hands on my shoulder as I’m standing in front of the mirror here hundreds of miles away from home. I close my eyes and I can almost smell her perfume. These memories used to haunt me. But now, at this moment, it somehow gives me a sense of peace and tranquility.

“Hey!” Alaine shouts outside the dressing room. “I want to see!”

I giggle just like a normal seventeen-year-old girl would as I open the curtain. Her face lights up and a wide contagious smile spreads on her face.

“Wow,” she gasps. “This is unquestionably the one. You look absolutely stunning! I have no words. You are gorgeous!” She places her hands on my shoulder as she stands with me in front of the mirror. “My job here is done, look at you, my baby is all grown up.”

“Thank you for making me come,” I gave her hand a light squeeze as I smiled at her reflection. “I might not have known this, but today was just what I needed to feel like myself again.”

“If it’s shopping, I can be your therapist whenever you need it, I can never seem to be able to fill up my closet,” her laughter echoes through the store, and it makes me laugh as well. I don’t remember the last time I truly laughed like this.

After I paid for the dress and the adjustments that would have to be made for it to fit me perfectly, we headed back to the main house. From what Alaine had told me, there were only six people currently staying in that huge mansion: Alarick, Alaine, Monica, Darius, his mate Lana, and I. Darius is Alaricks’ beta, which she explained as being like a second in command, a right-hand man. Alainas’ parents used to live there as well, but after their father had passed down the alpha position to Alarick, him and their mother were traveling the world. They’ve been gone for almost two years now. I could tell that she misses them a lot, but she seems genuinely happy that they have finally got a chance to relax after almost thirty years of running the pack together.

As we burst in through the door, shopping bags hanging on our arms with barely any space left unoccupied, we are greeted by Alarick and Monica on their way out.

“I see you got quite a nice reimbursement for your injuries,” she smirks as she looks me up and down.

“Actually, Nora, as stubborn as she is, wouldn’t let me pay for anything,” Alaine pipes up, before I could say anything. She gives me a playful smile and lightly pokes me with her elbow. “Cold hard cash!” she burst out laughing.

“Cash?” Monica snorts. “Who even uses cash anymore?” she looks to Alarick for support as she lets out an annoyingly pitchy laugh, but to my surprise, he doesn’t join in.

“People who don’t want to be traced,” this time Alarick answers for me. His icy-blue eyes peering deep into mine. His face is gentle, as if he was trying to say that he knew what I had to go through. He doesn’t know anything about me. And he shouldn’t pretend to know me when just a day ago, he looked down on me for being a human. He slightly leans into me and picks the bags out of my hands. “You should be resting,” without saying a word to the girl now fuming in front of us, he heads up the stairs and towards my room.

We follow him and as we pass by Monica, Alaine gives her a wicked grin. I try not to show any emotion on my face, but deep down I’m feeling giddy. Even though he still hasn’t redeemed himself after our first encounter, I couldn’t deny the jealousy I had felt when I saw her standing so close to him. Even the thought of him with her made me furious. These feelings confused me. How can I feel such an undeniable attraction to someone I have just met? He was driving me crazy. When we enter my room, he puts down the bags by the bed and turns to Alaine.

“Could you give us a moment?”

“Sure, let me know when you’re done. I want to see Nora in all her new outfits,” she claps excitedly before turning around and leaving the room.

Now it’s just the two of us. I immediately felt more nervous than I had ever felt in my entire life. His presence makes me weak in the knees and I feel like I have to sit down. But that would make me feel even smaller compared to him, so I try to stand my ground. I squared my shoulders and looked up at his eyes, meeting his piercing gaze. I give him the most composed look I can possibly manage before I speak.

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

“I wanted to apologize,” he started. “I didn’t give you the most welcoming reception when you first came to us.”

“That’s the understatement of the year,” I raised a brow at him, which he answered with an amused smirk. “But I appreciate the apology.”

I put out my arm for a handshake, and he answers slowly, wrapping his finger around my palm. A spark shot through my body and, by the surprised look on his face, I could tell he could feel it too. We stood there looking at each other not saying a word and time seemed to stand still. Everything else around us seizes to exist. It’s just the two of us sharing a moment that neither could quite understand. He’s about to say something when the door abruptly bursts open and Monica barges into the room. Neither of us moves, and she just stares at me. And if looks could kill...

“Babe, we’ll be late for the movies,” she puts her claim on him with that one single pathetic word, and it pulls me back into reality.

“Enjoy your movie,” I gave them both the Pan Am smile and started pulling my hand out of his.

“I’ll see you around, Nora” his grip tightens for a moment and I can feel electricity coursing through my arm. “I like the new look, it suits you,” he plants a single light kiss on my hand before letting go of it.