CHAPTER 7
I quickly finished getting dressed, and as soon as I heard Mara leave my room, I emerged from
the wardrobe. I grabbed a chair from the desk and pushed it under the door handle to prevent anyone from barging in without my knowledge. They could still enter my room, but I would at least have a warning before they broke the door down.
I sank onto the floor in front of the fireplace and remained still. Leaning against the wall, I
lightly banged my head against it while watching the flickering flames.
“Meadow,” I called, but she didn’t answer. She had retreated to the furthest corners of my
mind, unwilling to confront the situation either. She had found a way to escape, and I wished I
could do the same.
I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, but I was waiting for the inevitable visit from Landon. Yet, it
never came. Either he didn’t care, or Mara hadn’t told him.
Then, I heard my phone go off on my bed. I got up to walk over and check it.
HARPER – Hey, sorry. this meeting is taking way too long. Is it alright if we go out on the boat
tomorrow?
ME – You have to ask your brother. Apparently I’m not allowed to leave without his permission.
HARPER – He is such a f*****g control freak. Don’t worry about him. I can handle him.
ME – I’ll see you tomorrow then.
“Arabella, why does Landon seem to be so distrustful of you if he thinks you don’t even have a wolf?” Meadow asked.
“Even if I didn’t have a wolf, I could still be a spy, I guess. I don’t know,” I replied.
“Just tell him the truth. You wanted to get away from Vincent. He’ll understand that,” she
suggested.
“At this point, I don’t think he’ll believe me. Just leave it alone, Meadow,” I said.
I finally pushed her to the back of my mind and sat on the bed with a book I had been reading, but I was getting close to the end.
I knew the packhouse had a library, so I would need to seek it out soon and bring more books
up to my room.
It really felt like I was being punished, not being allowed to leave the packhouse without
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< CHAPTER 7
+8 Points >
permission. I was starting to wonder if I would eventually be confined to my room full–time as
well. At least that would be a way for him to keep an eye on me.
I had missed lunch that day, but at dinner time, I heard someone knock on the door. They
didn’t try to come inside. I got up, moved the chair away from the door, and opened it slowly,
only to find a tray of food sitting on the floor outside my room.
I caught Mara’s scent lingering in the air, so I knew it was her who had brought me the food. I
wondered what she told Landon when I didn’t show up for lunch. He must have seen her
preparing my dinner as well. Did she tell him the truth? Is that why he’s allowing her to bring my food to my room, so I don’t have to sit down there, with everyone else?
No, that can’t be right. He doesn’t care about my comfort. He might just be happy to know that
I’m in the pack house, where he can keep track of me without having to actually look at me.
I ate a bit of the food, and after dinner, I finally ventured out of my room. I knew that many
people would have scattered by now, and there wouldn’t be many around. I made my way to
the main part of the pack house and began searching for the library.
As I was walking down the hallway, I saw Landon walking in through the front door. He wasn’t
alone. He was with a different woman than the one he had brought on our wedding night. He
glanced at me briefly before taking the woman by the hand and leading her upstairs to his
room.
I quickly grabbed one of the pills from my pocket and swallowed it without water.
I focused intently on my goal: finding the library. When I finally discovered it, I stepped inside and spun around in awe. It was bigger than any library I had ever seen in a house–massive, in fact. The sheer number of books was somewhat overwhelming.
As I began scanning the shelves for something that might catch my interest, I spotted a book titled “KING ZION.” Naturally, I grabbed it immediately. I had picked out a couple of other
books when I heard someone else enter the room.
“Arabella, I didn’t know you were in here,” Hayden remarked, surprised.
“Yeah. I’ve almost finished the book I was reading,” I replied.
“I think the ones in your hands will keep you busy for a while,” he said with a grin.
“You’d be surprised. I don’t sleep much, and I love to read,” I responded.
“How long have you been down here?” He asked, looking at me cautiously.
“Long enough to see Landon come back to the house with that woman.” I said. And I could
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< CHAPTER 7
see the pity and sorrow in Hayden’s eyes as soon as I said it.
+8 Points>
I noticed him glance down at the books I was holding, particularly at “KING ZION,” but he didn’t say anything about it.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” I said.
I couldn’t look him in the eye. I was even more cautious about Hayden now, especially after
Landon accused him of having feelings for me earlier. I knew it couldn’t be true; someone like him could never like someone like me. However, it still made me feel a bit nervous.
“Arabella, I know I’m the beta and Landon’s best friend, but I hope you know that you can talk to me if you want to. You don’t have anyone else around here,” he said.
“It’s alright. I’m fine. I’m used to being on my own,” I replied.
“What do you mean? Didn’t you have friends at your other pack?” he asked.
“I did, but I didn’t get to see them as much as I wanted to. I guess they were more like acquaintances. Whenever I was able to go to school, they were there, but that was about it,” I
explained.
“You didn’t go to school often?” he asked.
“No, not very often,” I said.
“Why not?” he pressed.
“You know, it really doesn’t matter. I’d better get back to my room. I’ll talk to you later,” I said,
rushing out of the room.
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