DEDICATED TO @zeratul217!!

- "hat re ou orryor?"

I don't know how long I'm sitting here.

I just know that it has been quite a while.

I sigh heavily and stand up, flexing my protesting joints.

Crack, crack, crack.

I stretch my arms once again and fist my fingers, trying to get rid of the kinks. I glance at the slightly open black door a few feet away, contemplating whether to go in or not.

'Please go, I want to check if Mate is okay,' My Wolf begs, catching me completely off-guard. That's because, my Wolf never pleads. He's always been a little rude and bold, yelling at me and forcing me to do things if I resist. I nod mentally to him and slowly walk back to the room, not having an idea of what to expect.

When I reach the threshold, I push the open door a little wider, trying to give me enough space to sneak a peek.

Oh.

The two of them are fast asleep on the huge bed, and Beta Ezra's light snores fill the room. Seneca is sleeping with her head close to the headboard, on the right corner of the bed. Beta Ezra is sleeping with his legs facing the headboard — that is, they're sleeping head-to-toe — on the left corner.

There is about a feet distance between them.

Phew.

Since this might be the last time I ever get to be here — who knows when Seneca will allow me to come here when she's awake — I take this opportunity to get a good look at my Mate's room.

The walls are a pristine white, with the one against which the bed has been pushed to being painted in swirly designs of black. The study table tucked into the corner, the expensive-looking leather couches with the small glass table beside them, the dresser and the closet are all black.

Different shades of black.

But even if the room is decorated enough, something's lacking in it.

The same something that wasn't there in the blue designed bedroom I was given.

A personal touch.

It looks like a decorator or a planner of sorts had done it, and had forgotten to ask the tastes and preferences of the person who's going to live in it. There are no picture frames, no dresses or things thrown anywhere, nothing in this room looks like someone uses it.

Moreover, nothing here looks like it belongs to Seneca.

At the mention of her, I turn back to my Mate.

She looks so peaceful sleeping like that.

I take a step inside and freeze when I realize she might hear me and wake up. I slowly look up and carefully scrutinize the two sleeping Wolves, and feel relief bloom when they don't stir or show signs of being disturbed from their slumber.

'Go near Mate!' My Wolf gripes at me hurriedly.

'Okay, Okay! Jeez, calm the hell down, will ya?' I snap back and shut him out. I can feel him prowling at the back of my mind, trying to be let out.

He can go fùck himself.

I take a few more steps closer to the bed, when suddenly, I hear thunder crackling outside, echoing across the room. I start at the sudden noise, but thankfully don't make a sound. In my own fear to not make a noise and wake them up, I realize I'd failed to notice something before. Only when I come to a halt in the foot of the bed, I notice it, and it makes me wish I hadn't come inside in the first place.

Seneca is holding Beta Ezra's hand.

Ouch.

As if to add spite, the thunder outside roars again, the static sound of it raising the hairs on my back. Seneca jumps in her sleep, and I notice her grip on the Beta's hand tightening.

What . . ?

That's when all the pieces fall together, and like a jigsaw puzzle solved, the picture before me becomes clear.

Is she . . . is she afraid of thunder?!

But why might that be?

That's another puzzle on its own.

Every corner I turn, I meet head-on with a wall.

Sigh.

I turn around, defeated and dejected, not wanting to be here anymore.

'Wait! Please! Just stay near her!' My Wolf protests, breaking out of the control I had on him.

'Why?! You want me to suffer more? Us to suffer more?!' I yell at him, fed up with this shit.

'Can't you do this one thing for me without asking why?' He sulks, and something about his broken voice stops me from leaving,

'Okay . . . ' I sigh and walk back. I search for a place to sit on, but with the two of them occupying both the corners, there is no space.

'Climb in the middle,' My Wolf coaxes, sounding like a wise old man who knows everything.

'What?! NO!' I disagree, perplexed.

'Just do it!' He commands, and I sigh out loud in resignation. I put my leg over and crawl on all fours across the soft mattress similar to the one in my room, precariously wading through the mountain of sheets to avoid crushing their fingers with my knees or hands.

Once I'm on the other side of their hands, I lean on the headboard, making myself comfortable in a sitting position.

'Now, what?' I ask my Wolf, glaring at the entwined set of fingers before me.

'Nothing. Just enjoy being in the same place as our Mate,' My Wolf informs calmly, and his cool mood affects my annoyed one, forcing all the tension out of my body.

I look at Seneca, at the springy curls framing her sweet face, at the cute nose and slightly parted pink lips that look oh-so-appealing. My hand automatically reaches out, and before I know what I'm doing, the back of it caresses her slightly flushed cheeks.

"Hm . . ." She hums and leans into my hand.

My heart flutters.

I push down the smile that threatens to overtake my features and run my fingers through the glossy red curls, enjoying the silky texture. My Wolf purrs softly in delight and I stifle a chuckle at his uncharacteristic behavior.

How I wish things weren't so fūcked up . . .

❖ ❖ ❖

"Tsk. Stop it," I mumble, wrinkling my nose.

"Don't..." I breathe, trying to bat it away.

I feel something shifting near me, and seconds later, a horrible, acrid smell wafts through the air, reaching my nose. I try to move away from it, but it's just, ugh, there.

"Ugh!" I groan out loud.

"Shut the fùck up," A muffled voice rumbles, followed by a 'thump'.

What the . . .

I slowly pry my sticky eyes open, irritated, disoriented and confused to be pulled out of the deepest sleep I've had in a long time.

I blink, trying to comprehend my surroundings.

The first thing I realize is, this is not my room.

The ceiling there definitely does not have little square lights like this one.

Then it hits me like a slap across the face.

Did I fall asleep here last night?!

'Yes, Captain Obvious,' My Wolf replies, sarcasm layered heavily in his tone. But since I'm too shocked to react, I cannot come up with a smartass comeback of my own. My hands fly to my eyes to squeeze them and check if I'm really seeing what I'm seeing, but then it hits my glass and I realize I'd fallen asleep wearing it.

I hope I didn't bend them.

The second thing I realize in my shocked state is, I'm feeling way too comfortable.

Too comfortable even for the expensive, comfy mattress in my room.

The third thing I realize is that Seneca is on top of me.

Literally.

Her arms are around my torso, and her head is resting comfortably atop my chest, nestled in the crook of my neck. And the thing that woke me is actually her hair.

It had tickled my nose.

I chuckle.

Seneca stirs lightly, and for a second I think she might wake. But then, her arms tighten around me, and she drifts back to her slumber.

Whoa.

"I said, 'Shut up'!" Another voice scolds annoyedly.

Oops, guess I said it out loud.

That's when I realize that the other voice was male, not female, and there's another person in the room as well.

I crane my neck to the right and see a socked foot right in front of my nose.

Yuck.

I turn my head away quickly from Beta Ezra's disgusting wet socks — apparently, he didn't change out of last night's wet clothes — and breathe out through my mouth to exhale the nasty odor. My eyes fall on the black clock across the room, whose seconds' hand is ticking the time away.

5:30 am.

I guess I'll go back to my room and pretend I never came here last night.

I place my hands on top of Seneca's that are around me, trying to pry it off me slowly without waking her.

"Uh," She mumbles, burying her nose in my neck.

Okay, then.

Since there are more than 2 hours to go to school, I might as well catch up on some much-needed sleep.

❖ ❖ ❖

I stir awake again when I hear the sound of water running.

"Wake up, eavesdropper."

Huh? Eavesdropper?

My eyes fly open, and immediately I'm met with a pair of blue eyes. That are currently alight with anger.

"What?" I ask, still not completely out of my sleepy haze.

"You. Get up." Beta Ezra snaps, looming over me.

I quickly scramble to sit up and realize that Seneca is nowhere in sight.

Damn, that girl.

"I'm not an eavesdropper," I growl defensively, rolling out of the bed.

"You are. You were over-hearing us last night." Beta Ezra says, glaring.

"Me? Overheard you?! C'mon! The rain was so loud I couldn't hear a thing!" I bellow, glaring back.

"Oh, so you tried to overhear, didn't you?" He retorts, smiling bitterly.

"I wouldn't have, if you had just told me that she was crying!" I hiss, fuming.

"You do realize that you sound so stupid now, right? That Machiavelli girl was there! She's a Pack Member! How do you expect me to tell her that the Alpha she fears and respects so much was crying?!" His hands fist as he takes an angry step closer.

"I don't know, okay?! You should've told me something! Not take my place in my Mate's life!" I take a step too, getting on his face.

"Your place?! Since when was it yours?! When were you ever there for her? Huh? How many times have I hinted on you doing something to get closer to her? How many times have I tried leaving you both alone? But, No! Each time you go with someone else, do it with someone else, Hurt her further —"

"I don't know what you are talking ab — "

"And make her sad, — "

"Please stop it— "

"You were never there for her! Not when she cried last night —"

"Please—"

"And not when her father — "

"Shut your damned mouth, Ezra!"

Both of us fall silent when Seneca interrupts us. I turn around only to find her standing in front of an open door that I didn't notice was there before. She's wearing an enormous robe that engulfs her, and a towel is slung over her shoulder. Tiny little rivulets of water trickle down her face, rolling down her neck and into the slightly deep neckline of her robe —

Don't think about that Micajah!

Her hair is wet as well, the color of it a dark maroon-ish brown due to its soaked state.

Was she in the bathroom the whole time?

"Get out! Both of you!" She orders, her jaw clenching like it does when she's angry. I throw a poisonous glare at Beta Ezra, who responds with a venomous look of his own. And without a word, the two of us leave, walking in opposite directions.

❖ ❖ ❖

I'm conflicted.

After the little fiasco, I'd taken a shower and changed into fresh attire. Instead of going to the dining room and facing an extremely awkward meal, I'd just grabbed the small bag of skittles I'd bought the previous day while walking home.

While I was pulling on my shoes, I'd seen a little of piece of paper on my dresser. On reading it, I was informed that Nicole had left later last night after the rain had quieted down to a light shower.

I completely forgot about her! I'd realized with shock.

What a great friend I am.

I'd sighed at myself and walked downstairs when I'd heard a heated conversation between Seneca and her Beta. But I'd chosen to ignore it, as I'd already been labeled as an eavesdropper for doing nothing wrong.

Now, I'm sitting buckled up — yes, I learned how to buckle it — on the passenger seat of my Mate's Audi R8, munching on a bag of skittles.

And, oh, I'm conflicted.

The issue plaguing my mind is Beta Ezra's words.

He'd said that I'd hurt Seneca by choosing to go with 'others' — which obviously means Nicole and Le-freakin-Nora, but to be honest, I never knew that I've been having this effect on her all along.

Here I was, wondering if she even remotely thinks of me every five minutes like I do, and there she was hurting over me talking — okay, not only talking, but anyway, to others?

It seems too good to be true.

The car's other door opens, pulling me out of my conflicting thoughts.

I remain silent the whole time Seneca buckles herself, shoves the key into the ignition and presses the 'start' button. She swerves it around the fountain and pulls out to the road when I decide it's high time that I open my mouth.

"I'm sorry," We say at the same time, surprising each other.

"What are you sorry for?" I query, my eyebrows shooting past the locks of hair falling on my forehead.

"I..." She hesitates. "I shouldn't, um, I shouldn't have yelled at you and Nicole yesterday." She says, surprising me. "I know you didn't do it...on purpose," She deliberates, pursing her lips.

"And this morning as well," She concludes, looking at the empty road studiously.

"It's okay..." I drawl, completely at a loss for words. "I'm sorry for not listening to Beta Ezra last night. And I'm sorry for —"

"What do you mean listening to Ezra?" She questions, raising one brow quizzically.

She doesn't know that Beta Ezra has been rooting for us?

Uh-oh.

"Um, forget that." I reply evasively, "I'm sorry for doing all that I did." I turn as much the seatbelt allows to face her, "I swear, I never knew that it had an effect on you. I would never do something to hurt you intentionally. You are my Mate after all..."

"I know," She smiles ever-so-slightly, still looking at the road.

At her smile, my Wolf howls, jumping around in joy. His happiness immediately lifts my own mood, and in a moment of pure impulse, I lean forward and peck her cheek.

At that moment, the car goes out of control for a second, skidding to the left before Seneca quickly leans forward and stamps hard on the break. The high speed at which the car was going previously and the sudden break results in the car spinning a half-circle, scraping against the road and before it finally comes to a halt.

"Whew," I pant, clutching my seat like my life depended on it.

I guess in this case it does.

"Next time you do something like that, please warn me," She sighs wearily, although I can see the apple of her cheeks rapidly staining a cute shade of pink.

"Warning? Right," I assert, nodding rapidly.

Seneca looks up and gives a thumbs up and I follow her line of vision to see the blue Nissan GTR standing a few feet before us. At her response, Beta Ezra nods and flies out of the road. After a few moments, Seneca puts the car in reverse, makes an illegal U-turn, and drives back to school.

Little does she know that even I wasn't warned of my actions.

❖ ❖ ❖