Page 24 of Brutal Alpha Beast
“You’re really not gonna tell us what it’s been like with Danielle?” Greg asks.
I shake my head, and extend my legs onto a nearby chair. “Nope.”
Soon they all forget about Danielle, and that I’m in a bad mood. The music gets louder, everyone becomes progressively drunker, and the laughter becomes even more mindless.
I neck a couple of beers, excuse myself to use the bathroom, and when I return, I still feel the same unease I had coming here. I’m restless, and agitated, and I know that it’s to do with Danielle.
Why is she so mad at me, and why am I not mad enough at her? My irritation is because I’m drawn in, and a growing part of me is becoming unbothered by what she is.
I feel out of control.
Then, there are the looming issues with the valley. What sort of leader can I be to my pack in the face of danger while I’m struggling with all this?
“Now you see this is music,” Sawyer says, the speaker in hand, turning up the volume on its side. As he does, slow, smooth jazz echoes through the room.
“Lacey and I dance to this all the time. It’s something youcandance to. Unlike your crap.”
Greg shakes his head. “Not gonna lie, I don’t want to hear about you and my sister dancing.”
Jasper chuckles. Sawyer smiles.
“You hearing about me and Lacey dancing is like me listening to your shitty ass songs.”
“Hey guys,” I say, standing up. I’m still painfully sober, still restless, and irritable. “Imma head out.”
There’s an “Aww Ellis, come on,” and Sawyer promises to take Greg off the music if I stay, but other than that, they let me go without protest.
Once I’m outside my head is already a little clearer. I return back to my pack, and venture into our woodlands, to find my favorite spot.
The one behind the little shed, with the trees covering the entrance.
At least those trees aren’t dying—not yet.
The forest floor crunches beneath my feet. I breathe in the silence of the starry night, the sounds of nature filling my ears.
With my arms crossed, I lean against the shed. I like being concealed, feeling like I’m alone.
But what will happen when these trees start to die, too, when the witches can’t find anything other than a temporary solution? Will this alliance have been for nothing? Will this marriage-
Before I can finish my last thought, I hear a rustle.
I turn sharply, and as though she’s an apparition, a figment of my imagination—Danielle is approaching from around the trees.
Chapter 7 - Danielle
Crap. I should have cast an orb of light to guide me through the forest; then, I would have seen him and had time to turn back.
I didn’t expect him or anyone else to be here. It’s such a random spot.
“Danielle?” He asks. I can barely make out his face beneath the darkness. But I can hear in his voice that he’s pissed off.
“Hey,” I say softly. “What’s up?”
What’s up? Gosh, could I sound any more suspicious?
I have a fear that somehow Ellis will remember our past. Just being here, in this spot where everything happened all those years ago, is triggering me worse than I thought.
“How did you find this place?” He asks, stepping toward me.
