Chapter 17 Kill or be killed
TARA:
"Sorry, ex-girlfriend." She corrected herself, her usual smile returning.
I secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
Wait, why?!
Yes, it's because of the dream. I was scared I was dreaming about somebody's mate.
That was the reason why I felt relieved.
"Honestly, I have no idea why. I'm as surprised as you are." I politely replied, hoping she'd forget about it and allow us forge ahead.
"Whatever it is, I'll find out." She squinted her eyes, giving me looks of suspicion.
"You know," She started again as soon as we stepped in through the transparent doors. "The Alpha doesn't allow anybody to stay close to him."
Mason mentioned that too. I wonder why.
"But yet, you're in his house." She gave me a knowing look, but I shrugged. I didn't have any answer to that speculation.
Luckily, she didn't push it further and led us to the clothes section.
It was then I understood why the Alpha hammered on 'buying what's necessary only'. Rose was ready to buy the entire store. We got a lot of things that I even lost track of. At that point, I was already tired of walking around but Rose? It was as though she hadn't even spent an ounce of energy. She kept taking out clothes and returning them, only to go back to the ones she had returned earlier.
She was a shopping freak.
I had to look for somewhere to sit down and wait for her to finish. Luckily, we were in the last row of clothes. That meant we would soon be done. I knew doing chores was hard but walking around was harder. Back at home, I never left the pack house.
But here, I've seen more things and places that I had never even imagined, not even in my wildest imagination.
While thinking randomly, that little boy I had come across crossed my mind.
"Tara, let's go." Rose waved at me.
Finally, I heaved.
She paid for the clothes and just when I was about to remind her to call her brother, she pulled me to another segment of the store.
"Under garments,"
My curiosity peaked. I saw them in different sizes and shapes, colours and texture.
"You were that one for a normal day at the beach but you see that one?" She pointed to a tiny red piece of cloth. Was that also an underwear?
"You wear it when your boyfriend is around. Men love those. But they'll just end up tearing it anyway."
The dream flashed through my mind.
"Focus, Tara. The last person who should be on your mind is him." I slapped my face with both palms.
"That won't be necessary because I'll only be needing the normal ones." I told her. But she only laughed and picked it out.
"You're funny. You'll need it one day, trust me."
Despite my protest, she told the attendant to pack it up. She got other necessities and then pulled out her phone to call Mason.
The look on Mason's face wasn't one to behold. I couldn't even wave at him or say Hi.
What happened between the space of about two or three hours?
"What's wrong?" Rose asked him immediately.
"We'll discuss later." He helped packed the bags to the trunk of the car, signalling he to get in to.
The ride back was as silent as a graveyard. The atmosphere was filled wry suspense and tension. Nobody even moved.
Mason's hands only reached for his phone when he heard it ringing. My guess was that it was the Alpha.
"But Alpha—"
He couldn't complete his statement. Guess the Alpha cut him short.
"Yes, Alpha."
I didn't hear the conversation with the Alpha. But whatever they discussed made him turn the car around.
"What's going on? Where are you taking us to?"
"Alpha's command. I need to be there. I'll drop you off when I'm done with him." Mason coldly replied. Everyone was beginning to scare me. They each had a cold, dark side to them. I had to be careful when dealing with them because they could switch at any time.
He drove faster than usual. I held to myself at the back seat, trying to be invisible. I didn't want my presence to add to his anger. Just when things were going smoothly. Was I never destined for a bright life? Was I destined to live my life in pain and agony?
'You're becoming emotional.' I reprimanded myself. 'You've been through worse.'
He stopped in front of a building that looked like an abandoned warehouse.
"You both will have to come inside with me."
"Can't I be exempted? I can just wait here." I requested. Mason turned back to look at me. I was already bracing myself for a shout or an insult but he smiled. I could tell it was fake.
"I wish I could. I truly do, but I can't leave you here. It's not safe." He said and stepped out with Rose. Reluctantly, I followed suit. But as we were walking in, another man was walking out. He wore a check suit, while the men who followed behind him were in black suits.
They looked like what Ellie would term 'The Mafia'— a dangerous set of people. I almost froze at the spot. I didn't see aura as some others but I could feel it. He didn't look it but he had so much power rolling off him. Was he an Alpha too?
He looked at Mason for some seconds before walking out him.
Our eyes met, I felt mesmerized. No matter how I tried to move, I couldn't. What was wrong with me?
He stopped in front of me, a smirk on his face.
"You can't take your eyes off me, can you?" My eyes followed his hand as he touched my hair, rolling some unto his fingers.
"What is your name, pretty little flower?" He pushed my face to look at him.
I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. I couldn't stop looking into his eyes. They were so beautiful.
His fingers left my hair and caressed my cheek.
"You're coming with me, my flower." He took my hand was about to pull me with him but Mason stepped in, disconnecting our hands. As soon as he did that, we broke eye contact and I felt something clearing from my eyes.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. She belongs to the Alpha. If you want her, you'd have to go through him." He said.
"My bad." The man raised his hand in surrender. He tried to regain eye contact with me but Mason's palm covered my eyes.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." He dropped his hand began to pull me away.
"What was that?" I asked, my mind still a bit foggy.
"That's Eron, King of rogues. A very dangerous man. I'd advice you to run away when next you come across him." He said.
"I couldn't move or speak. I felt...stuck." I explained.
"Some werewolves have rare gifts. Eron's gift helps him incapacitate anyone who comes into eye contact with him. Especially if you don't have enough will power."
And I was an omega... I didn't even have a....
My thoughts were interrupted by the scream of someone. I shrieked, hold tighter unto Mason.
"What was that?" I asked, looking around to see if I could locate the source of the noise. Maybe someone was hurt.
But Mason didn't reply. He had a dark look in his eyes.
"Brace yourself, Tara. You're about to step into the real world."
"Real world?" I asked cluelessly.
"Yes, a world where you kill or be killed."
What did he mean by that?