Drake’s POV
I honestly did not sleep well last night. What she told me the previous day made me feel guilty. I thought she had already given up on me. I thought she was no longer interested in staying with me. I knew I made a rash decision but I only did that out of anger. None of the actions I took were premediated nor did I ever harboured any surreal intention to hurt her.
My anger had been with Bridget for saying something I never asked her to say. I had intended to punish her only. In no circumstances would I ever dream of hurting Thelma deliberately. I wish I could have explained this to her yesterday evening but I did find myself not being able to talk or defend myself. Rather, I found myself dumbfounded as though I was a thief caught right in the act of doing the business. I didn’t even know what to say or how I would start apologizing. I thought that the best thing I would do for myself was to quietly go to my room and sleep in it.
But here I was on my bed, doing nothing. Having no clue. Having no answers. I wasn’t even sure how many hours I had been awake. Without brushing, taking breakfast, or doing anything meaningful, I jumped inside my dark blue jeans and flung a T-shirt over my shoulders, and walked away to her room. Before I could knock on her door, it was already open. I walked in and saw her, beautiful as ever.
Her hair was dressed in a pony at the back. She wore a dark shoe over her feet and a tight blue jeans trousers- the colour of the early morning sky, showing every godamm curve her mother gave her. On her back, hung a backpack and on her right wrist, she held a smaller waterproof bag. I got the impression that she was fucking ready and prepared to go.
I glanced at her up and down warily and in return, she did the same. “Where are you going?” I asked.
“Home.” Her voice was so calm yet so scary.
I tried to find an excuse I would give her to make her change her mind. After a few seconds, I came up with the lamest excuse ever. “But Simon isn’t around to take you home. I sent him to do something for me and he won’t be coming back in days.”
She frowned. I thought the useless plan had just worked. “Then send someone else to do it,” she advised.
I licked my lips, a nervous gesture, not a deliberate one. I looked into her blue eyes, they were darting around the room. “I wish I could but, there’s no one home for now.”
“Then you don’t need to worry yourself. I can do that on my own, ” she said. She walked toward me and jostled her body at me angrily. Before she could pass, I reached for her left shoulder and grabbed her there. She stopped and regarded me with a pensive gaze. I knew she might have had no money with her. So how would she be able to cope during the journey?
“I will do it myself.”
She scowled at me and then inclined her head as though she did not understand what I had just told her. “You will what?” she asked.
I waited for a few seconds before I replied her. “I will take you home myself.”
She breathed. “Let’s go, then,” she said. There was no remorse in her tone of voice.
I turned around and sighed. I was happy she didn’t see that. I told her to wait for me outside so I could get myself prepared. I hurried to brush my teeth and also took my bath. I came back and met her beside my pickup truck Simon had packed outside. I approached her, held the passenger’s side door for her, and told her to hop in. She did and I went across the driver’s side and roared the engine to life. She threw her bags into the back seat, and wined down the tinted window beside her. She positioned her head close to the window looking the other way. I drove for minutes. Minutes turned to hours, but none of us talked to each other. I wanted to talk to her but I didn’t know exactly where to start or what to say. Now that I was this close to her, I didn’t want her to go. I felt like I needed her now more than ever.
The pickup truck was a 4WD kind of vehicle and got a big and new engine. But I was driving it as though I was carrying an old German 2nd world-war beetle. I thought I was buying time but I found out I was delaying what would become inevitable. No matter how slow I drive, one day I must surely get to the Octavian moon pack. And getting to the Octavian moon pack means that I would forever lose my mate. Never.
“Ain’t you hungry?’ I asked her.
She didn’t bother to look at me before she replied. “No,” she said, her voice dry. “I am not.”
I scowled at her. “Well, if you are not, I am.”
She didn’t say a word. “Pardon me if I say that I am hungry,” I said. She still kept quiet without saying a word. I assumed that to be a YES.
I drove the truck to the nearest restaurant I saw. I knew I wasn’t hungry but I had only suggested we eat so I could buy more time for myself and possibly get her talking again. I came down from the truck and went over to her side to get the door open. But before I could do that, she beat me to it.
“Oh, common, Thelma,” I said, rubbing my palms together nervously. “Be romantic for once.”
She looked at me, her brows almost aligned. She didn’t say a word.
I held out my hand to her. “Should we?” I asked her.
She grimaced. I thought she wouldn’t honour the kind gentlemanly gesture I had just offered her from the button of my heart. But she didn’t disappoint that expectation. She took my hand. I sighed as her soft palm settled in mine. I smiled inwardly and took her inside the big restaurant. At least something was working out, I reasoned amusingly. Inside, we settled in a round glass table with two back chairs around it. I ordered a chicken pepper soup and a soft brew. She requested water and yogurt only.
“Ain’t you going to take something strong?” I asked her. “Yoghurt isn’t going to quench your hunger. Besides we still have a long way to go.”
She shifted her gaze to me, seemingly unsettled. “You don’t need to worry about me. Worry about yourself.” She turned her face away.
“C’mon, Pretty. I’ve got nothing to worry about myself. Matter of fact, I am more worried about you.” And I meant it.
She looked at me wearily. “Excuse me,” she said, anger burning out in the word, “You said you are what?”
I didn’t answer her question. I felt like it was going to make her mad. “Listen, Alpha,” she said. She adjusted in the seat comfortably. “You think driving the truck at a snail’s speed is going to solve anything here? Or do you think pretending like you care is going to make me change my mind?” she asked. I decided not to answer her immediately. I wanted to think about what to say. “Huh? You don’t want to talk?” she said. She didn’t even give me the breathing space to answer the question she had thrown at me before she said, “Please, I want to beg you, Alpha. Do not talk to me again.” She then shifted her gaze elsewhere.
I felt a little bit embarrassed especially when she had made the last statement exactly when the waiter had brought the orders we made. I noticed the way the waiter looked at her and then back at me.
“Is there anything wrong, gentleman?” the young waiter asked.
I scowled at him. “Yes, there is.” I gestured with my finger so he would come close. He did. “The only thing that is wrong here is you,” I whispered to his ears.
He looked back at me anxiously. “Me?” he asked.
“Yes, you,” I said. “You need to learn how to mind your fucking business.” I smiled at him, baring all my teeth.
He looked at me for a few seconds, seemingly embarrassed. He hurriedly left without uttering a word. I looked back at her, but she was already sipping her yoghurt uninterestingly. Even though she had settled her face in a mild frown, she still looked beautiful. Her scent evoked a more sensual sensation in me that made me think crazy. I fought so hard to resist touching her hair, caressing her cheeks. Most importantly, I want to get her talking again. “You look beautiful,” I said.
She didn’t look at me nor did she make a sound. It was as though I was talking to myself. I closed my eyes, sighed, and settled back in the chair.
‘Keep talking, big head. Don’t give up yet,’ Uriel said.
‘Will that solve anything?’ I asked my wolf.
‘You can never know.’
I opened my eyes and looked at her again. “Look, take some of this. It tastes so good.” I offered her a handful of the Chicken pepper soup but she only scowled at it and looked away. I grabbed her yoghurt and sipped from it. She grimaced as she looked at me. I smiled in return but she didn’t still say a word.
“Say a word and I won’t drink it again,” I said. I wanted to talk or even smile. Or at least acknowledge my presence and consider talking back to me.
“I am not talking to you.” She folded her arms together on her chest.
“I catchaaa,” I said and laughed. “You just said something.”
She looked at me again and arched her brows. She quickly looked away again. I decided to keep on pushing. “You still look beautiful this way. You can frown as much as you want, it doesn’t in any way make you look bad.”
She didn’t react nor did she look at me.
She grabbed the youghurt again and sipped it graciously. She dropped the bottle and I grabbed it. She held out her palm to stop me but I quickly put it in my mouth before she could.
She grimaced again. “You asshole,” she cursed.
I smiled. “You can call me anything you want.”
“And what if I call you a cheat?” she asked.
“Well, I can be anything,” I said, “but a cheat. . . no.”
She grimaced. “What do you take me for?” she said. “A fool?”
I waited for a moment before I replied her. “I take you seriously, Thelma,” I called her by her name which came as a surprise to me. “You may not know this, Thelma but I do have a special place in my heart that nobody except you had been able to occupy.” And I meant it.
“And why have you been treating me so badly? Huh? If I ever have a chance in your life, why would you cheat against me with such a loser, like Bridget?” she said. “Look, I am tired of all these stories. Get your ass up and get me outta here.”
I didn’t know exactly what to say to her this time but I sure didn’t want to die it there. If I didn’t get to respond or keep on saying something, we might never have the chance again to have a long discussion like this, I thought. I drifted my chair closer to her and grabbed the hand she had placed on the table. She fought to get my hands off her but I insisted. “I am sorry, Thelma,” I said from the bottom of her heart. “I never wanted to hurt you. It was never part of my intention.” I knew she may not know how serious I was. But I had decided to show it this time instead of telling it.
I knelt on the floor. She frowned, her face settled in a gaze that was probably guessing what it was I was about to do. Immediately my knees touched the floor, she quickly looked around the huge room anxiously. “What are you doing, Alpha?” she asked me, whispering. I could hear the nervousness in the tone she passed the message with.
“What does it look like I am doing?” I asked her. “I am not standing up here until you tell me that I have been forgiven.”
She gave a very short laugh. “And you think that I will do that?” she sighed. “Do you think that I am-”
“A monster?” I asked, my brows raised. “No, I don’t think so. You are not a monster, Thelma.” I completed.
“That’s not what I wanted to say,” she said.
I smiled. She wanted to fight against my grip again but I held her strong. “You want to say something to me now?” I said, smiling. “I thought you said, ‘I am not talking to you’ few minutes ago?” I blinked at her.
“Oh God,” she murmured. “Okay. Just, just get the hell up first.” she looked around to see who was watching.
“You said?” I asked her, surprised.
“Get,” she paused and looked around, “up, A-hole.”
I smiled and got up to my feet. “So I am forgiven?” I asked her.
She tried to hide a smile that crept over her beautiful face but I caught her right on it. “Wait, is that you smiling, or am I seeing things the wrong way?”
“You are definitely seeing things the wrong way.” She frowned. “Get me home.”
Home? I was confused, does she still want to go home? “Like. . . home?”
She pressed on her lips- hard, and gave me a girlie look. “Get me back to the pack, Alpha.”
Oh shit! I smiled. “The pack it is then.”