Page 10 of Their Promise

“Something stressful is happening, but I’m going to deal with it soon, I promise. The hair is just reacting to my stress, that’s all. No anger. Promise.” Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself that this wasn’t a problem and would be fixed soon. I drew in the scent of my house, my mom, and let the anxiety drain away. When my eyes opened, I could see the strands, no longer glowing. “See?”

Mom continued to scowl, but just tapped the tablet. “Answers, please.”

Giving in, I looked over the questions, mostly about colors and theme, and answered them so the party planner could set things up for the party. Normally, we wouldn’t have had such a big one, but it was a dual birthday and graduation party, so they were going all out.

“Do we need to edit the guest list?” she asked with an arched brow.

I flinched. “No, it’s fine.” As much as I wanted to avoid talking to them, I knew I needed to. I knew we would have to hash out our issues soon. I couldn’t keep running from them. I was an adult, after all. But even though it had been years, I hadn’t prepared myself for how to respond to them when my heart still hurt.

“Okay. Now, how about you bring that bag of delicious pastries this way and share with your mom?” she wiggled her fingers at my bag.

Clutching it against my chest, I backed up. “No, these are mine! Go get your own.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t be stingy. Just one?” She walked around the island, hands out.

“No!” I snapped and ran out of the kitchen, but she wrapped her arms around me just before the living room, making me squeal.

“Share!” she yelled. “Why are you and your brother so stingy and never share? I thought I raised you better than that?”

Tony opened the door, saw us struggling for the bag, and slowly backed out.

“He has a bag, too!” I yelled.

Mom gasped, released me, and ran out the front door. “Tony! Come back!”

Shaking my head while laughing, I made my way up to my room, sat on my bed, and ate my pastries. I spent the remainder of my day hiding in my room, catching up on emails and watching the local news to find out the most talked about things. Often, the human newscasters discussed things that the other races didn’t, so I felt it was good to know as much as I could.

The demon problem was spreading and the humans were starting to get scared. Was there a way to stop them?

My phone beeped and I opened it to a message from Maya.

Maya:Club. Tonight?

Me: Yes!

Maya: Pick me up at 8.

Me: It’s a date!

Jumping to my feet,I rushed to my closet to pick out a dress for the club. My club appropriate attire was severely lacking though. Heading to Mom’s room, I knocked, but she didn’t answer.

“Mom?” I called loud enough she should have heard me from anywhere in the house.

No answer.

Shrugging, I opened the door to her room, peeked to make sure no one was inside, then hurried to her closet to borrow a dress.

She had tons of dresses, many gifted to her by Great Aunt Leona and Nana Jolie. A bright green dress in the back caught my eye. It was long-sleeved, had a lowcut front, and was styled to look scrunched on the sides. It was thigh length and absolutely perfect for the club. Grabbing it, I spun around, and screamed when I came face to face with Dad.

His lips twitched as he fought a smile. “Going out?”

“You scared ten years off of my life,” I gasped, bent over, and panted. “Why did you sneak up on me like that?”

“I didn’t sneak up on you, you should have heard me, but clearly were too absorbed with picking out a dress.” Leaning a shoulder against the wall, he asked, “Are you ever going to talk about what’s going on with you and your former best friends?”

“No,” I said as I straightened. “Thanks for asking, though.”

He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know what those boys did, but try to remember that being an alpha, especially one who is out fighting to protect others, makes your emotions run high at times and can cause you to say things in a heated moment you don’t mean.”

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