The Bully Alpha's Defiant Slave

Chapter 3

Sandi

I don't know how long I had been lying on my bed staring up at the ceiling with thoughts of werewolves running through my head, when I was pulled back to the present by the sound of my Mom's voice.

"Sandi, dinner," my mother called out.

I sat up quickly and climbed off my bed.

Walking to the bedroom door, I exited my bedroom and made my way into the kitchen. The smell of chicken and bacon lasagna was teasing my nostrils. The delicious aroma filling the kitchen. I walked into the dining room and took a seat at the table. My eyes immediately went to the baking dish proudly placed in the middle of the table, that was full of my mother's delicious lasagna. There was also a tray of cheese and bacon garlic bread in the center of the table beside the lasagna.

My mother immediately began serving up the lasagna and garlic bread onto plates. I watched as my father picked up a slice of the garlic bread, and began shoveling it into his mouth the moment my mother placed the plate in front of him.

"Slow down. Wait for the rest of us to at least have our plates in front of us," my mother scolded him.

"I can't help it. Your cooking is just too good," my father told her as he continued eating.

"Be that as it may, it would be nice if you could wait until we all have our food in front of us before you begin eating," my mother told him, looking at him disapprovingly.

My father ignored her and continued shoveling garlic bread into his mouth. My mother watched him with a look of dismay upon her face. She handed me my plate and began serving up her own plate. My father picked up his fork and began greedily eating his lasagna. As he chewed he watched my mother intently.

I watched my mother for a minute as my father eagerly watched my mother, then I picked up my fork and began eating my food. As I ate, my father said, "So, not long now until you graduate. Are you getting excited to finally be done with high school?"

"Yeah I guess," I replied.

The moment I said it, my mind conjured up an image of a werewolf with a blood-covered snout and fangs, and eyes filled with hatred, clearly intent upon murdering me.

"You guess? Is that all you have to say on the matter? Hell, when I was your age, I couldn't wait until graduation. I hated school. There was nothing worse than being confined to a classroom for eight hours of the day," my father stated, shuddering at what he clearly classed as a horrific memory.

"Hmm," I replied.

"Hmm? What is with you tonight girlie?" my father asked.

I looked at him and saw that he was looking at me with a look that I knew all too well. It was a look he gave me all the time. He would look at me like I was this incredibly complicated and complex puzzle that he just couldn't figure out.

"Nothing. I guess I am just tired. It has been a big year with exams and what not...," I trailed off, shrugging like what I had just said was no big deal.

"Oh, the life of the young. So hard and tiring," he muttered sarcastically.

"Oh, Jackson, would you just leave her be?" my mother said, looking at my father and shaking her head, a look of disappointment upon her face.

My father looked at her for a moment and I could see that my mother's admonishment had worked, as he dropped his gaze to his plate and didn't say another word.

We finished eating our meal in silence. Throughout the meal, I found myself wondering what my parents would say if they knew about the werewolves? Or, if they knew that in just a few days, there was a possibility that they could lose me forever?

The night before my graduation, my father walked into the house and announced that we were going to be going out for dinner to celebrate. I was confused about this announcement, because my graduation was the following day. So, I couldn't understand what he was wanting to celebrate this evening.

"Well, I guess we are going out to dinner," my mother stated, as she walked out of the room to start getting ready for our night out.

I shrugged as I watched her leave the room, still confused about our premature celebration. Deciding to just go with the flow, I slowly made my way to my bedroom to get ready to go out to dinner.

Once the three of us were ready to go, we all went out to the garage and got into the car and left for the restaurant.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we slowly made our way inside and saw that it was packed. I couldn't believe how busy it was. I honestly couldn't remember a time I had seen this restaurant so busy. My father spoke to the host who greeted us with a smile at the door, and a moment later she led us over to our table.

Once we were seated, my father grinned and said, "Good thing I made a reservation, huh?"

"So, are you going to tell us what we are supposed to be celebrating? Our daughter's graduation isn't until tomorrow, after all. So why are we here celebrating now? What's going on?" my mother asked him.

"All in good time, dear," my father told her, unable to keep the grin off his face.

Before my mother could respond, a waiter came to our table to take our order. We each made our selections from the menu and our waiter walked away, leaving the three of us alone once more.

"So, spill it already. What are we celebrating?" my mother asked him once more.

My father looked at her, a sheepish grin on his face. "I got it," he told her happily.

"Got what?" I asked, confused by what he had said.

"You got it?" my mother asked happily, ignoring my question. Placing her hands over her mouth as she looked at my father, the sheen of tears making her eyes glisten in happiness.

"I got it," he repeated, his tone sounding reassuring.

"So... does that mean...?" my mother began to ask, but my father cut her off and finished her question, by saying, "... that we can move?"

My mother nodded her head as she eagerly awaited his answer.

"It sure does. We will be able to move to a city, far, far, away from here," he told her excitedly.

"I can't wait. Honestly, I can't wait to leave here and start over somewhere new. That would be like a dream come true for me," my mother told him happily.

"Wait... you guys want to leave here?" I asked, confused.

They had never mentioned wanting to leave here before. At least, they had never mentioned it to me. For as long as I had been alive, I had honestly thought my parents were happy here. I knew I was.

The waiter brought our meals out and set them on the table in front of us. We picked up our cutlery and began eating. The food was good. So good, in fact, that I forgot that no one had bothered to answer my question. The moment I realized this, I looked at my parents and asked, "So, how long have you guys been wanting to leave here? Because neither have you have ever said anything to me about it before."

"For a while. Years, in fact. Honey, there are no opportunities here. Not really. And now that you have finished school and your father has received his promotion, we can finally go. There is no reason for us to stay here any longer," my mother replied, looking relieved as she said it.

"I honestly never thought I would hear the two of you talking about leaving this place. We always seemed so happy here. I mean, going somewhere new is kind of an overwhelming thought if I am being honest," I stated, before going back to eating my meal once more.

I noticed my parents look at each other. The looks on their faces showed me that they were keeping something from me. This decision of theirs to leave this place seemed to be coming totally out of left field.

Was it possible that they knew about the werewolves?

Or did they have some other motivation that I didn't know about for suddenly wanting to get out of town?

"Sandi, honey. I don't know why you are so concerned about this? People move all the time. And for all sorts of reasons as well," my mother stated, making it seem like I was overreacting.

"Well, what will happen when we move? Will we ever come back here? Will I ever see Lindsay again?" I asked, looking between the two of them and waiting for someone to answer my question.

"That's hard to say," my father stated.

"To which part? Coming back, or seeing my best friend?" I asked.

"To all of it, of course," my mother said, laughing nervously.

"So you guys suddenly decide you want to leave this town and, as a result, I will be losing my best friend, forever?" I stated, irritation creeping into my voice.

"Sandi, we are a family. We need to stick together. Friends will come and go throughout your life. But family... family is forever," my father stated.

I met his gaze across the table. As I looked at him, I realized he meant what he was saying. But I could see something else in his face. There was something else he was hiding. There was something else going on here.

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked them both.