27. Belle

The pack didn"t come storming up to my room, demanding me to leave.

Instead, they let me be.

Leo came prowling by my door, sniffing a few times to ensure I was still inside the room, then left.

I bet he thought I would have tried to escape out the window again, but truth be told, I haven"t rolled out from under my bed since their discussion.

There"s a noisy floorboard beneath the mattress, one I have leaned my hip on several times, and each time, I would squeeze my eyes tight shut, hoping they wouldn"t come stomping up the stairs to kick me out.

A part of me was hoping they would forget about me and that things would return to normal.

By the midnight hour, I finally roll out from beneath my bed, rising awkwardly to my feet.

I"m parched and in desperate need of a drink.

But I don"t want to rouse the house.

It seems everyone has gone to bed.

With careful feet, I tiptoe across the room, wincing whenever the floorboards creak.

I make it to the door, biting my lip when it squeaks. Through the gap, I spy the moon washed hallway, and not a single soul in sight.

There comes a loud snoring from one room, and when I slip out the door and creep across the hallway, I realize it"s Leo.

His door has been left ajar, and I spy him sleeping on his back, his mouth wide open as he continues to snore, and I stop for a moment to take in that beautiful sight.

A sleeping male is quite the sight to behold, especially one as beautiful and larger than life as Leo.

He looks so peaceful, almost reverent, and when I close my eyes and sniff, I catch a faint hint of fresh linen.

I want that scent in a candle.

There are five other doors, and from the sweet scent behind one such door, I know that it belongs to Rian.

Troy often joins the Beta in his room, and desire burns hot in my stomach when I imagine myself with them.

No. I can"t afford to think like that.

I would never be welcome in that bed.

Troy would never allow it.

He hates me.

I guess the other door belongs to Jeremy then.

It looks like they are all asleep.

Finally, I make my way to the stairs, stepping down along the edges of each step so as not to make a sound.

When I make it to the bottom, I slink across the house until I arrive at the kitchen, opening the fridge for some filtered water.

The fridge light washes over the kitchen, too bright for my eyes, but I shut the door again, having my fill of water at last.

The cool liquid seeps down my dry throat, quenching my first at long last, and now I lean against the fridge, placing my hand over my forehead.

It"s only then that I become aware of another presence, and when I whirl around, spying that dark figure by the arch of the kitchen, I yelp, dropping the glass.

He catches the glass in the palm of his hand, showcasing those Alpha reflexes, and then he places it down on the counter.

Jeremy fixes his gray eyes on me, and they"re more turbulent than normal.

There"s a raging thunderstorm inside those eyes, and I lower my head, wrapping my arms around myself.

Jeremy sighs, leaning against the counter with crossed arms, and he doesn"t speak for some time.

Meanwhile, I stand in the middle of the kitchen, keeping my eyes on the linoleum floor.

I"m already guilty of something, and it"s not hard to figure out.

His eyes trace the small numbers on my wrist, and I keep them hidden as much as possible.

"Be honest with me, Belle…"

I stiffen, my heart banging against my chest, and he can most likely hear it.

Jeremy never takes those storm cloud eyes off me. "Where did you come from? Who were you running from?"

Wow, he really doesn"t like to beat around the bush this one, does he? Cuts straight to the chase.

I suppose it"s an admirable quality.

Still, I can"t tell him. I know he saw something out there, something related to me, and now Jeremy doesn"t trust me.

I take note of the wide berth he keeps from me.

The Alpha is scared of me…

But I can"t tell any of them. Not until I am ready.

I couldn"t bear to see the way Rian would look at me. And Leo, too.

They will regard me with the same hatred as Troy once they find out what I am, what I did…

Goosebumps prickle along my skin as I start to shake.

Meanwhile, Jeremy"s eyes remain on me, cool and calculating. "I"m waiting, Belle."

Finally, I open my mouth. "I… can"t say…"

He narrows his eyes. "Why?"

I am at a loss for words. Suddenly, I need another drink of water.

Luckily for me, Jeremey seems to read my mind and refills the glass that I almost dropped.

Then he places it on the counter, indicating for me to grab it, and he can"t even step toward me.

Too afraid that I will lash out.

He knows.

Jeremy knows what I am.

His face was haunted when he spotted the tattoo, the one that marks me as a killer, and I just wish I could tear it off my skin like a lizard and become reborn.

I hate this body of mine, these killer"s hands…

Francis turned me into a monster, and I will be on the run for the rest of my life now.

There will never be a place in this world for me.

My brother won"t even want me when he realizes what I have become.

His sister died that day on the hill. The day my world turned dark.

Finally, my body betrays me, and I start to cry.

The tears drip down my cheeks, but I don"t make a sound.

I just hover in the kitchen.

Crying is pointless, anyway.

No one will give me any sympathy here.

Because they know I don"t deserve it.

I wipe my tears. "I"ll… be gone by the morning…"

Jeremy cocks his head. "Excuse me?"

My lower lip shakes. "I will leave. At least then you and the guys won"t have to be suspicious of me."

I can"t see his face because it"s masked in shadow, but I"m sure those gray eyes shimmer slightly.

"Don"t be ridiculous…"

He gets my attention at that.

Jeremy heaves a breath, and it looks like he has a lot on his plate. "Belle, you don"t have to go anywhere. I just wanted to know where you came from…"

"Because you don"t trust me."

My words cut through the air like a knife.

The Alpha stirs, and the fact that he doesn"t deny it straight away only confirms my fears.

"As I said, I will be gone by the morning…"

I try to walk past him, but his arm shoots out and he stops me. He doesn"t meet my eyes.

"I told you that first morning you tried to leave…"

I remember the words he spoke. "About something your cousin once told you?"

Jeremey sucks in a breath. "Yeah."

I blink, licking my lips. "What did he say?"

He takes a moment, deciding whether he should tell me. Then he lets go of my shoulder, shaking his head. "It doesn"t matter. Go back to bed, Belle…"

His words take me by surprise, and now it looks as if I will never find out what his cousin said.

As I head upstairs, I sense those eyes, peering across the hall at me.

Electric blue eyes meet mine inside the gap in Rian"s door, and I halt, too afraid to move.

He does nothing but stare at me, a warrior measuring up his opponent, and I freeze like a deer.

I knew he despised me, but the hostility I spy inside his eyes right now is on a whole other level.

He sniffs, eyes trailing toward the tattoo on my wrist, and I tuck my hand behind my back.

When he"s finally done assessing me with those cold, blue eyes, he growls, shutting the door gently behind him so as not to rouse his sleeping mate.

I stand in the hallway, completely dumbfounded, the strange encounter making me feel cold all over.

Troy knows too. Maybe not as much as Jeremey, but he senses the danger I pose to him as his pack.

And most of all, he senses the danger I pose to Rian.

The pack may be willing to let me stay longer, but I am still not welcome.

I doubt I will even be allowed to eat at the same table with them now.

That"s okay.

I never minded eating alone.

Besides, it would be good practice for me.

Since I am going to find myself very alone for the rest of my life.