Reclaiming my Fated Alpha novel Chapter 5

LAUREL’s POV

Tears stream down my face as I run through the woods, ignoring the dry branches and twigs that scrape my feet. In my haste to leave the house earlier on, I had forgotten to put on my shoes. But it doesn’t matter. The pain from the scrapes is nothing compared to the agony my heart feels inside.

Growing up, I kept telling myself that my parents loved me, that they were just stricter with me because I am the oldest, and that they wanted only the best for me. But who am I kidding?

No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, it was never enough. Never.

So, I studied harder, trained harder, and worked harder than everyone else, hoping that one day, my parents smile at me and say, “We’re proud of you, Laurel.”

And when I was finally appointed as Beta of the Morningstar Pack a few years back, I thought that I would finally gain their favour, that they would finally acknowledge their daughter. But they never did.

Even the blind can see that they do not love me.

Soon I reach the lakeside, deep in the woods and fall to my knees. This is the very lake that I almost drowned as a child. It is a beautiful place, really, but this place holds only sad memories, and it is the place that I come to whenever I feel scared, alone, and hurt.

“WHY?!” I scream at the moon.

Still caught in the web of grief, I pound my fists on the grassy ground, letting go of all the emotions I had kept pent up inside of me.

“Why…?” I am racked with sobs but the Moon Goddess does not answer me.

I sit on the ground, hug my knees and bury my face in them as I cry. I do not know how long I stay like that but the tranquillity of the forest and the fragrance of the wild dandelions and pine trees start to calm me down.

“Laurel?”

My head snaps up and to my surprise, I find myself staring at Helios. He towers above me with a gait and posture accustomed to power and the glow emanating from the moon shines on him from behind, creating a halo around his head.

Dumbfounded, I freeze for a split second before I quickly wipe away the tears with my sleeves.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. Did he see me cry? There’s a tuff of clouds covering the moon right now, so surely, he can’t see my puffy red face, can he?

“Here.” He hands me a handkerchief with an outstretched muscular arm. “Wipe your snot.”

Oh, guess he did.

Awkwardly, I accept the handkerchief from him and notice that it has his initials sewn on it. Must have been one of his many admirers. I take it anyway and blow my nose into it.

Without a word, Helios takes a seat beside me in a cross-legged position and picks up a pebble. He throws it at the lake and it skips and skims the surface a few times before sinking under the waters. Then he closes his eyes and merely sits there without speaking.

I am the first to break the silence.

“How’d you come here? I didn’t sense your presence.”

“Laurel, why were you crying?” he chooses to counter my question with his own instead.

I let my head sink low and my tresses fall and cover my face. I am too ashamed to tell him.

As if sensing my reluctance to talk, he chuckles and reaches out, tucking my hair behind my ears. His touch sends tingles throughout my body and my chest starts to rise and fall rapidly. I can feel his jet-black eyes resting on my face and I have to will my eyes to remain fixed on the tuff of grass in front of me. I can only hope he doesn’t hear my thunderous heartbeat.

“You shouldn’t be crying; your tears will ruin your pretty face,” he says casually as if his touch didn’t just almost send me into a cataclysmic shock.

Then I blink. Pretty? Did he just call me pretty?

No one’s ever called me that before…except for that little boy I met in the woods many moons ago as a child.

Unconsciously, I let out a chuckle, “Do you really think I’m pretty?”

Shit. I did not just say that! Me and my big mouth!

Helios nods. “Yes, you are...”

He gestures for me to look into the water. The clouds have shifted and no longer cover the moon, hence making the lake look like a very large mirror. The night is now clear and the stars shine brightly above our heads without twinkling.

I lean forward to see what he wants to show me and to my surprise, I see my own reflection.

I see my mousy brown hair, dull blue eyes and plain unpainted lips. Helios points to it and says, “This, Laurel…this is beauty. Any guy would be lucky to have you as his mate.”

His words lift me up like no word ever has before. And yet, at the same time, I feel my heart sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of despair. The man is merely being kind, but he does not love me.

I am disappointed; a part of me had hoped, in spite of what he sais, he would have some romantic feelings for me but his words tonight have proven that there is not an iota of affection for me other than the fact that I am his Beta, his loyal supporter.

Well, at least he thinks of me as a friend. That to me is more than enough.

I smile and hug him. “Thank you, Helios.”

My act catches him by surprise and for a moment, I feel him tense up before he gently pats me on the back.

Helios and I sit a little longer and just as the moon starts to dip below the horizon, we bid our goodbyes and each head back to our own residences.

The moment I reach home, I walk into the parlour very slowly, expecting to be scolded and hit by my parents for running out on them in the middle of their ‘lecture’. But to my surprise, all is quiet.

My brows furrow. There is no one in the parlour but I smell tea brewing in the kitchen. There’s also a whiff of freshly baked bread. Strange…mother doesn’t make breakfast. I’m usually the one who prepares all this.

Cautiously, I walk into the kitchen. To my surprise, I see my whole family there; mother, father, and Jamie. They all stand up from their sitting position at the island table when they see me.

“Laurel!” mother calls out and I flinch a little. I brace myself for yet another slap, or maybe a punch but instead, mother embraces me.

What the?

She has never done that before. I look at both father and Jamie, feeling confused and they just smile at me. Mother finally pulls back and cups my face. Worry lines etch across her forehead and she starts to cry.

“Oh, Laurel…do you know how worried we were about you?”

I blink. “You were?”