Alice and The Rogue Wolf

Chapter 27

Alice

"You could lose her, man, if you don't keep her away from that rascal. History could repeat itself all over again, and you'll still be at the losing end." Evans warned, laying a hand lazily on Jonathan's shoulder.

I had stood here long enough, but it wasn't until now I had figured out that all three of them were drunk, Taylor being the most intoxicated, and Evans soberer than the others.

"Get your hands off me!" Jonathan Irdered wiggling his shoulders. "I won't let history repeat itself. I can't even understand why she had once turned me down just because of that worthless wolf. I mean I was all she always wished for; kind, good, and protecting her. But still, she hurt me with her rejection."

"I always felt that somehow she had been brainwashed by that fool,* Evans cheered him on. "Where you are, what you are, and her being by your side, are all things you deserve. You were willing to do the work, including the dirty work, and now you are reaping the benefits of your labor."

"you're going to need to act swiftly before this gets out of hand and all your labor goes in vain," Taylor said, taking a sip of his whiskey.

"Buf how?"

"Well, as long as her memories are still under the witch's block," Evans replied, sighing. "It's easy to manipulate her and keep her in the dark as much as we want. But do not let her meet with Brayden, lest he reminds her of their love and even tries to let her know the truth of what happened."

At this point, I was lost and restless. It took mustering every fiber in me not to go out there and demand to know what truth Evans was talking about. How could they know about the witch's block and why was it meant to keep me in the dark? I felt bitter, deceived, and used.

"I honestly don't know why fate chose the two of them to be together. if I'm asked to challenge fate, I would," Jonathan boasted. "I mean look at the both of us. Two high-class werewolves getting married and ruling over the Excelsis pack, doesn't that sound like a fairytale?"

"It sure does. Even her mother must have seen how compatible you two were but Brayden must have worked her way into his heart as well. The only wolf that had seen that you marrying Alice would be beneficial and at the same time ais the growth of tbs pack was her father."

Taylor chuckled. "Too bad he couldn't live long enough to witness that growth, because if he had, you would have remained the same old Beta's son who is only remembered when a battle arrives."

"Hush it, Taylor!" Jonathan scolded and soon began to chuckle as well, fanning the flames of my rage. "The werewolf was a good leader and he ruled us with a gentle arm, perhaps way too soft. This pack doesn't need equality, we need a leader who can make the most difficult of decisions and learn to sacrifice one for the benefit of all."

"But at least you inherited his beautiful daughter," Taylor chipped in.

"Yes, I did," He exclaimed with a devilish grin. "You know, I had planned on disposing of her at first but I think with her and her memories under my control, I might just hang onto her for a while. Besides, her poor mother was already deprived of a husband, the least I could do is let her keep a daughter."

They say when a drunk man speaks, beneath the gibberish he utters lies pearls of truth. I was pretty sure in this case all the words that were flowing from Jonathan's mouth were nothing less than truths. Just watching him sit there, making fun of my parents and me, laughing maniacally, made me curse the day I ever met him.

First, he claims to have a hand in my memory loss and now he is cracking jokes about my father, who he swore to aid me avenge his death? Why would he do this to me, after all the trust I heaped on him? Perhaps, Brayden could be right. There were a lot of things that I had to remain ignorant of to be safe. But being safe, while being blindfolded was tiring. I needed the truth.

I got sick of their chatter and made my way upstairs to the master bedroom where my clothes lay. Once I was in, I took off my wet clothes and wrapped myself in a bathrobe before crashing down on the bed, crying my eyes out.

What more could life do to me? I had no one to rely on, not my mother, not the one person I had thought loved me, and surely not Brayden, my soulmate. Everyone was either lying to me or was withholding the truth from me, even my dear mother. I was alone, stranded, and in need of someone to console me.

I thought of visiting Mrs. Polly crossed my mind but I shrugged it off. I couldn't trust anyone enough to visit them so I resolved I would go to the one place where I wasn't under the auspices of anyone and I could be alone.

My teeth were clattering and my lips were quivering from the cold but I didn't mind. I threw a few things I could lay my hands on that could keep warm into a backpack; a tarpaulin, a sleeping bag, a warm fuzzy blanket, and a change of clothes. The bag was not that accommodative but I squeezed them in and placed it on the bed.

The men were still discussing loudly downstairs while they watched a show that was playing on the television. I listened in on their conversation and it sounded like Jonathan's sidekicks were debating on whether to spend the night in the guest room or return home.

"You too better not be thinking of staying over. It's late, you should be heading home," Jonathan said, rising to his feet.

"Nathan, please! We were just getting a hang of this show, don't throw us out," Evans begged.

"Enough of shows or anything for today, I'm going to turn in for the night whether alive returns or not a n d I need you out of my house as soon as possible."

After exchanging their goodbyes, the two guests headed for the door with Jonathan dragging his feet to close the door behind them.

It was my time to leave if I didn't want anyone to notice. Even when they were outside, they still conversed among themselves, giving me the chance to sling the backpack over my shoulders and glide down the stairs to the kitchen.

Even though I had savored pizza with Mrs. Allen earlier, I still felt famished so I grabbed some apples and grapes before disappearing out the back door and into the sain once more. I had grabbed a jacket on my wet but the cold didn't get any milder.

Once Brayden was back inside I ran across the driveway and slipped out the wooden gate weary of the two wolves who were hustling away their feet barely resting on the ground for a second.

Instead of letting myself be tortured and drenched in the rain and cold, I quickly stopped by the road and deteriorated into my wolf form. The fluffy fur came in handy as well as the thick teeth which I used to grab onto my backpack as I tore through the woods.

As soon as I saw the boulder that marked my favorite spot, I flung my backpack onto a dry lees moist patch of earth and snuggled up against the boulder.

Lying there reminded me of the times I had shared with my father. I thought when I got here that I would somehow hear him console me with his tender voice or rub my fur, but I was disappointed. Feeling lonely, I raised my face to the sky and let out a low howl.

Life feels empty and worthless when you spend every moment of your life and I was no exception to this experience. I couldn't go on any longer. What was the purpose of living when everyone was against you?

I rolled in the mud, not caring about the rain or the barking sky. Oh, how I wished he were still alive. I knew I could trust him to tell the truth in such situations as this even though it meant risking his safety. Besides, apart from being honest, he would know the right choice of words to use in consoling me. Unfortunately, I couldn't get that anymore as he had died and it was my duty to avenge his death.

There was no time to weep, the deed had been done. The only thing I could do was at least try to salvage what I could and to be able to do that I needed to come up with a plan.