Madeline.
"Never disrespect me again." Eli, no, my Alpha growls at me and walks away.
Once I knew he was gone, I slid down to the floor on my knees and cry. My heart aches like the pain of a broken mate bond that never really existed. What we had, at least to me, was more than a mate bond. We cared about each other enough to reject our Goddess' given gifts and choose each other. What happened to him when I was gone? Even if this Samantha chick is his mate, he promised to reject her for me. Why did that change? He still has to love me.
That mate bond is clouding his mind, and his wolf is becoming undone due to the distance he kept between him and his mate. That distance is there for a reason, and he needs to be reminded of that. He is an alpha, and he cannot be with a human. Especially one with a human child! He is mines and I am going to have him if I have to get rid of that human myself. That will be the last result. If Jared can't get the job done, then what else can I do? What kind of pack mate would I be to let my Alpha go mad, waiting around for someone who betrayed him before even giving him a chance. Her loss for opening her legs for someone else. Even if she didn't know about Eli at the time. Humans are selfish! She won't even leave her son to be with him. After knowing who he is, his responsibilities, and knowing that his soul is crying out for her. Selfish bitch!
I cannot accept this. This cannot be the plan of our Goddess.
I pull my phone out my pocket and angerly dial Jared.
"What's up, pup?" His voice sings through the line in its normal happy-go-lucky, obnoxious way.
"Change of plans... He's back on the list." I spit.
"Who is?" He asks confused. I can hear the video game blasting in the background.
"My Alpha."
"Your Alpha?!" He shouts into the phone, and I hear his controller drop down to the floor.
"Shh! Yes, my Alpha." I whisper-yell as I frantically lower the volume on my phone so no one passing by can pick up on the conversation. I am suddenly aware that I am still sitting in the middle of the hall where Eli left me. I scramble to my feet and start my quick journey out of the pack house.
"Wait-I mean why?!"
I don't respond right away because I haven't thought that part through. I just called him right away because of how pissed I was.
"What did he do?" Jared starts and I sigh with relief. If he can just fill in the blanks himself, I won't have to come up with any excuses or lie on my Alpha. So, I don't respond again, and I wait for him to assume the worst.
"Is Samantha in danger?" He continues, aggravation lacing his words, no doubt from my noncooperation.
"Possibly." I rush out, which isn't a lie. I am ready to snap that bitch in half if all else fails.
"How are we going to do this?" He asks sternly.
"You're the expert." I shot back.
"Well, you're the traitor. You provide me with the info I need to take him down."
A growl slips through my pressed lips at his use of the word "traitor". I can never betray my pack. This is the only thing I can do to save it.
"Well, I know exactly where he will be tomorrow."
"Where?"
"Well, it's more like a route he will be taking. He takes it every time he goes in and out the pack so that no one can easily trace him back."
Jared hums to himself as he takes in my intel.
"A nearly abandoned road. I know how we can get there and cut him off, if we time it perfectly."
"How do you know when he will be there?"
"Might of peeked at his schedule."
"Copy." He replies simply.
Samantha.
SPLAT!
That is the sound of chocolate raspberry filled Roblox cake getting smushed into my boyfriend's face. Eli stands still, allowing Jared to smush the cake further into his face.
I watched it in horror, in the now empty event hall where I and a couple of dozen others just celebrated Alex's 3rd birthday.
Jesus fucking Christ, moon Goddess, whoever! Eli is about to murder my ex and I am most definitely not getting my three-hundred-and-fifty-dollar security deposit back on the venue.
(two hours before)
"Hello beautiful..." I hear Eli's husky voice before he hugs me from behind.
I look up at him and huff. Any other day I would be melting in his arms. Today however I am stressed the hell out. Whoever thought planning a three-year-old birthday party would be this exhausting? From finding an affordable venue, to a baker who can make a Roblox character that didn't look like a snowman made of pissy snow.
"Beautiful? Look at me, I haven't slept in days!" I glare. "Don't touch me, I'm sweaty."
I am irritable and exhausted. The sound of kids stomping their feet to the music gives me a headache. The constant sweeping of chips and candy and mopping up juice is making me sweat. However, when I look at Alex, it is all worth wild.
His smile and his laughter numb all the soreness in my body and masks my exhaustion.
Well, that was until the front door opened, and Jared walked in, holding a large blue present with red polka dots and a matching bow.
"Daddy!" Alex squeals.
Who the heck invited him?
A possessive growl escapes Eli's lips, and he tries to smother it by clearing his throat.
"Need help with anything?" He asks. I can tell by his creased brow that he is trying his hardest to ignore Jared's sudden presence.
"Yeah, can you bring a case of water from the back."
"Ok." He lingers for a moment, still holding me, a little tighter now. He straightens himself up, letting me go and walks off.
Once he disappears to the back, I rush over to Jared. He is talking to my mom and aunt.
"Excuse us." I interrupt, pulling him by the sleeve of his jacket and out the door.
"Hey, Sam." He chuckles when I finally let go of him and turn to face him.
"What are you doing here?" I ask him. He looks at me puzzled.
"It's Alex's birthday. Your mom said-"
"My mom.. of course." Of course she invited him.
She has to make things so complicated for me. My mother knows of Eli, just not everything or how serious we are. She also assumed me and I are on better terms lately, which I can say we have been. It is no surprise she would invite him not knowing they don't get along.
"Want me to go?" He interrupts my pondering.
I study him. He holds worry in his eyes, and It honestly makes me feel guilty.
"No. He's your son, too." I roll my eyes at him. "I just wasn't expecting you." He didn't come last year, even though I invited him that time.
He bounces up and down with excitement before wrapping me in a tight hug.
"Thank you, Sam! It means so much to me that we can finally celebrate him together."
I push him away from me, freeing myself from his arms.
"Im sorry." He mumbles. "I just think it's a great birthday gift for him."
As much as I want to hate Jared, I have no reason to. He was a great dad to Alex, and though he overstepped his boundaries by pressing me for another shot at love, I couldn't deny that Alex lights up when he sees him. He is just so annoying sometimes. Maybe it is that I never received closure from our breakup, and maybe I resent him a bit for not being there when I needed him. I don't mean to use it against him. It's just hard to trust him and depend on him again. But nothing else matters today, only Alex. What he wants and what he needs is both his parents to coexist in the same space, and smile and laugh with him on his special day. I know Eli will understand as well.
"I agree."
He fists the air and beams at me.
"Let's go back in." I nodded towards the door. My body trembles in the frosty breeze. "And please, don't touch me again."
"Sure." He says as he holds the door open for me.
For a moment, his hand comes up to my lower back to guide me inside. I glared at him, causing him to shove it in his pocket instead.
"I forgot, you're sweaty." He teases.
It surprised me slightly that he remembered that about me. Walking back in, there is no mistaking Eli's fiery glare piercing through my skin. It follows me across the floor as I escort Jared back to my mother, and he hands me Alex's present that sat on the table near her. I avoid eye contact with Eli until I place the present with the others near the cake table.
I look into his eyes and play as innocent as I can. His gaze stocks me like his prayer as I walk back over to him. We met back at the candy bar, where we had been earlier. I begin pouring a bag of Hershey kisses into a half empty vase, a task Eli distracted me from when he first arrived.
"Im not going to ask." He whispers into my ear.
At that moment, I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding, pleased at his dismissal of the Jared situation. The feeling of relief, however, is short lived, as he sticks his face in the crook of my neck and inhales.
"But if he touches you again, I will rip his fucking arms off." He snarls. The chills travel up my spine, leaving me stiff with tension.
An hour passed and I am actually relaxed a bit. Eli stays glued to my hip, and Jared seems to stay away, preoccupied with my brother, and my uncles. It is kind of weird seeing my ex mingle with my family while my current boyfriend just kept to himself.
I peek over at him.
"Do you want me to?" He asks me as if reading my mind.
"It's ok if you don't. You acquainted yourself with my mother, Kim, and Alex. They're the only ones whose opinion holds any weight." I giggle and he smiles.
He pulls me in for a kiss but pauses before making contact. His eyes suddenly glaze over, and I know he is doing that weird mind linking thing he once told me about.
"Pack issue, mind if I make a call?" He asked visibly annoyed. "Tristian contacted my driver since I have my phone on do not disturb."
I shrug and he kisses the top of my head and quickly takes off to the back again.
Just as he leaves, it is as though someone shitted on my feet because Jared buzzes over.