“Alex, what are you doing here?”
“Can you let me in first?”
“Why should I? After everything I’ve seen? That black wolf?” Harper choked on the words. “And you! You turned. You transformed. I don’t even know where to begin to explain to you what I felt that night. But whatever you are, one thing’s for sure―you’re not human. So why should I let you in?”
“Because you have questions, and I might have answers. And I’m still the same, Harper. I’m still your fiancé. Nothing’s changed. And…I’m really slipping here.”
“You―you have answers?”
“I *might* have answers.”
“But…”
“I’m not going to hurt you. I swear. Please…I’m literally slipping here. Let me in.”
After everything she had seen, could she? Harper battled with conscience first before she pulled the windows. “Come in.”
Alex quickly crawled through the window. Harper was slightly shocked to see him with a shirt and a pair of tight pants.
“How did you―”
“I climbed up the drainage pipe until I got to your window. I don’t know how I easily did it, but I did.”
“That’s not what I wanted to ask. How did you get here? In Black Hallows? And how did you―were you following me the whole time?”
“Not really, but yes. Sort of.”
“I’m about to have a migraine, and you’re not making any sense right now, Alex.”
“Your scent. I followed your scent.”
“My scent?” Harper was still trying to deal with the pain of losing her mom, that dealing with Alex right now had immediately caused tears to well up in her eyes. She had buried her head under the pillow in her bed and silently sobbed while praying for everything to go away.
Unfortunately, Alex had not only remained but also picked up on the muffled sniff he heard.
"Harper?" Alex breathed, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Harper, are you okay?"
Sniff.
He shook her ever so gently, taking the pillow from over her head as he did so. Harper groaned and slowly turned over to face him. He sucked in a breath when he saw her puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks.
"Harper, what is it?" he gasped.
"My mom...she’s dead," Harper whispered. "My dad didn’t call me because she was sick, but because she’s dead. She was murdered," she choked on the words as she explained in the quietest voice possible.
"Oh no. I’m so sorry to hear that. I really am. We should have come straight away."
"And then, there are all these weird things that have been happening," Harper groaned. “I just can’t wrap my mind around all this. And you!” She stood up.
“I’m sorry.”
“You killed that beast, and you turned into one,” her voice wavered. She quickly took a couple of steps away from Alex.
“Harper, please, don’t do this.”
“What am I doing? I shouldn’t have let you in!”
“Harper―”
“Get out! You’re a monster! You’re one of them!”
Harper tried to make a run to the door, but she had hardly had time to move as Alex jumped forward and grabbed her. They stumbled and fell forward towards the floor. They both landed on the floor with a loud thud. He landed roughly on top of her, his face on her chest and their legs intertwined.
“Get off me!” Harper squeaked out,
“Only if you promise to listen to me. Please, Harper. I’ve nowhere else to go,” Alex begged her, tears forming in his eyes, a mix of fear and sadness playing out across his face. “I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, they could hear footsteps outside the door.
“Harper? Are you okay?”
Harper gasped. “That’s my dad.”
“I’m begging you, Harper, please. Just hear me out,” Alex whispered. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to turn into that beast again. Please.”
But the only thing he could hear from Harper was her heavy breathing.
“Please…”
“Okay,” Harper finally said and pushed him off her.
Alex got up quickly, held a hand to her, and helped her get back on her feet. He immediately walked behind the door when she went to open it.
“Dad!”
“I heard something. Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine. I just fell off my bed.”
“You did? Are you sure you’re fine?”
“Absolutely. I-I rolled over and-and I-I fell,” Harper stuttered.
“Okay. Well, dinner’s ready.”
“I’m not really hungry. I’ll have some later, I guess.”
“But you haven’t eaten anything.”
“Dad, please, I just…just let me be right now. I will go down to eat later,” she promised.
Mr. Fritz nodded and said, “Okay, then.”
“Thanks, Dad,” she immediately closed the door and locked it.
“Thank you,” Alex muttered when they were alone once again, striding forward, his expression oddly controlled, as if he was trying his utmost not to screw up the moment.
“Now tell me. What the hell happened to you?” She pushed him back, keeping a good space between them. “What was that thing you’ve become?”
The sudden slump to Alex's shoulders and the way his head hung for a moment told Harper she was in for a shock. And as she continued to look at him, her insides tensed because Alex looked ashamed.
“Alex, what―” she paused when he took a hesitant step towards her. Suddenly, panic writhed in her stomach. “What is it, Alex? What’s going on with you?”
"Harper." Alex’s usual warm smile was replaced with an expression that Harper wasn’t too familiar with. It was devoid of the warmth that she had, undeniably, grown to be accustomed to; it wasn't one of the expressions she’d get from him when they were together on the road. "Please promise me you won’t hate me. No matter what."
He was in front of her in a second, reaching out to grab her shoulders.
But Harper flinched away, eyes wide with alarm and confusion, and as though she was afraid. It was then that it dawned on her―she hadn’t really felt the same infuriation she had felt for Alex before since he woke up from the coma. Could she be fond of him now? Doubtful as he still annoyed her from time to time, but it was as if her deep-seated dislike or aversion towards the man had subsided.
"What's wrong, Alex? What’s the matter? I’m sleep-deprived, so can you just tell me and be done with it? " she asked, surprisingly gently, as her hand fell back to her side.
Alex gazed at her, his tongue flicking out over his dry lips. “I believe, my dear Harper, I’m a werewolf,” he admitted softly to her, his voice low and his eyes darting around the room as if embarrassed.
“You’re a what?!” she exclaimed aloud. Even as she questioned Alex’s confession, pieces began clicking together in her mind.
“I’m a werewolf. I just turned into one.”
“What you just said doesn’t make sense,” she said, still not fully believing it.
*But could that be the reason behind Alex’s sudden strange behavior?* she asked herself.
Alexander Carmichael was a monster? But to her, it just made no sense. As a million thoughts raced through her mind, she stared into his deep, blue eyes.
“I guess it doesn’t have to make sense, Harper. You just have to believe. You have to believe me.”
“Did you know all along?” It was almost a snarl as Harper fixed him a scowl. “Did you know, and you kept it from me?”
Alex shook his head. “I didn’t have any idea. And I’m just as confused as you are now.”
A trembling hand flew to Harper’s mouth. “This can’t be happening. You’re making this all up,” she said, shaking her head despairingly.
On Alex's face was a genuinely dejected look, and his blue eyes were glistening slightly. It was a very odd expression.
“I wish I am,” he said in a much quieter tone.
Harper sat back down on her bed, the same horror-stricken look on her face. She seemed to be at a slight loss for words. "I-I... don’t know what to say," she started, her voice catching slightly in her throat.
"Say that nothing’s going to change between us,” Alex offered weakly. “I’m still the same, Harper. The same annoying fiancé, you know.”
There was silence for a few moments as Harper stared at him. She obviously couldn't believe what she was hearing. And, somehow, she was still hoping that this was somehow an elaborate joke, that any second Alex would grin and tell her he was playing with her and then offer her a sensible explanation to what had happened.
But Alex’s lips didn’t move to form a grin. And as much as Harper didn't want to believe it, it was the truth. Alexander Carmichael, CEO of the Carmichael Group of Companies, a smug and a womanizer, and now her so-called fiancé, was a werewolf.
Harper couldn’t figure out if she should feel angry, disgusted, or run away from Alex. But she could only bring herself to feel utterly shocked at the moment.
Alexander was a werewolf, she told herself once again.
"This is crazy," she whispered, finally breaking the silence. She turned away from Alex and stared at the wall blankly.
Alex watched her expression cautiously. He might be just as shocked as she was to find out the truth about what he was, but he knew he couldn’t lose his head. He had questions too. But he needed to stay emotionally stable for both of them.
He slowly put a comforting hand on Harper’s shoulder. "What are you thinking?" he asked warily.
She looked back at him, the same oddly blank look on her face. "I don’t know what to say. Or think. Everything had been a whirlwind for me—first, my mom’s death. And then, this," she whispered, muffled slightly by her hands.
“I am here, Harper. We can get through this. *Together*,” Alex assured her, rubbing her shoulder soothingly.
Harper gave her head a slight shake as if to clear it before running her hand nervously through her hair. She took a deep, shuddering breath, wiped her eyes slightly, and whispered, "You’re a freaking werewolf.”