Chapter 3 Cathy

Chapter 3 Cathy

I felt pressure in my head, heavy eyelids, and a strange feeling that something was wrong. I was completely naked in a bed that was not my own, and I was not alone.

"I thought you would sleep all morning," the strange man said as he put on a white t-shirt sitting on the edge of the bed.

He was not surprised by my presence. In fact, he looked comfortable.

"Who are you?" I took the white sheets and wrapped them all around me. "What are you doing here? Who let you in?”

"I was just going to ask you the same thing," he replied without making any expression on his face. "This is my room."

"No way," I said as I looked in all directions for the key. "My sister, where is she?"

"I don’t even know your name or who you are, let alone know who your sister is.” The handsome man walked towards me, and he had a crumpled sky-blue cloth in his right hand, so compressed it looked like it was vacuum-packed. "Here, it might be a little big for you, but it’s better than nothing," he said.

I took the bundle of cloth, unfolded it, and found a wrinkled t-shirt five or six sizes bigger than I wore. I looked at the floor, where the dress was and understood what he meant. The golden garment was in tatters.

My body ached, especially my butt and legs. "No! Tell me nothing happened," I said, digging my eyes into his deep, dark gaze.

"I’d like to say no, but..."

"You took advantage of me," I cut him off, "You’re a pervert."

The man raised an eyebrow, furrowed his brow, and the corner of his left lip turned up. "You’re crazy. You seduced me."

I got up from the bed and stood firmly in front of him. My head reached his chest, so I raised my face to face him. "I would never do that. I have a boyfriend," I told him.

He didn’t respond; he just clicked his tongue, turned around, and walked towards the exit. "I will not have this conversation with you. I won’t waste any more time. I have a mate and a pack to be with."

"Wait!" I said, putting on the giant shirt. "I’ve seen you before, and I just don’t remember where."

My memories of last night that I vaguely recall I could see only reflections of small scenes.

"Of course, I’m the heir of the Night Pack," he replied coldly.

My body bristled as I understood that the stranger in front of me wasn’t a nobody, he was the future Alpha of an allied pack, and this situation, if not fixed immediately, could haunt me for the rest of my life.

"I..." My heart pressure sped up, my legs shook, and fear gripped me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, it’s just that... This shouldn’t have happened," I replied, looking for my belongings scattered all over the room.

I picked up the dress, and the key bounced out from somewhere on it. I picked it up and looked at it carefully.

"You do realize that key belongs to the suite across the hall."

The young Alpha was behind me, watching my hands. And somehow, his body heat, scent and being so close made a vague memory pop into my mind.

"It’s your fault. You left the door open."

"You came into my room, acted like a complete lunatic, started saying meaningless things, and then seduced me," he argued as his cheeks turned red and a bulging vein throbbed in the shape of a ’Y’ in the middle of his forehead. "I was just weak and got carried away by..." he closed his mouth and pressed it so hard that his strong jaw looked sharper and more robust. "Forget it!"

"’By your instincts? Don’t talk nonsense," I replied.

He shook his head and piled all his clothes and accessories into the suitcase. "I don’t plan to continue this conversation. Get out of my room."

"You don’t get it, do you?" I said. "If anyone sees me walking out of here without my dress..."

"They’ll tell your boyfriend? What a shame!"

"Don’t be an idiot! You could ruin my life more than it already is," I said.

"No more than it would ruin mine. It’s not common for an Alpha to have sex with a member of another pack," he said, running his hands over his head. "My father will be furious, and the elders will punish Chloe and me. She will be heartbroken for life because of me."

"Are you even listening to yourself...your complaints are nothing compared to what they will do to me," I replied, clenching my fists so hard that the blood stopped flowing in my hands, and my stomach began to churn. "I’ll get kicked out of the pack. This is the perfect excuse to..."

"Are you sure about that?" my heart stopped as I heard Alston’s voice down the corridor. "Or is this another one of your tricks?"

"I swear to the goddess, she’s here," Linda shot back.

My sister was here with my boyfriend, looking for me. Surely she had been looking for me, and Linda brought him to the room where I was supposed to be.

"Who..."

"Shhhh! Don’t say anything, don’t breathe, don’t make a sound," I whispered, cutting the man near me off. "I’ll fix this."

I opened the door carefully and slipped out into the hallway through the opening to avoid being seen by Linda and my boyfriend.

Alston and Linda were on the other side of the hallway, about ten feet away, which is the distance to the elevator door. My half-sister was whispering something to my boyfriend’s ear as they looked at the numbers on the room doors.

"Linda, Alston, I’m here," I announced.

They both froze as if they had heard death itself. They turned at the same time, and my sister scanned me with her eyes.

"What are you doing dressed like that? Where’s your dress?" she said with a bitter tone in her voice.

"It’s a long story..."

Linda let go of my boyfriend’s hand, walked towards me, taking long strides, and opened her arms.

A hug is exactly what I needed, even if it came from her. I thought.

She stopped a step away, I was ready for her hug, but she changed her happy expression to one of sternness. Her eyes turned cold, and she threw a hard slap at me. "I told you, she was with another man."

My boyfriend glared at me and shook his head. "You were right, after all."

My face felt numb from the hard slap as I tasted my own blood.

"What’s the meaning of this?" I asked.

"Can’t you see?" Linda dictated. "I came to show Alston you are a cheap whore."

The blow hurt, but I was more hurt by the way my boyfriend looked at me as if he didn’t recognize me. "It’s a misunderstanding," I said.

"You’re telling me that if I go into that room, I won’t find Sam?" She raised her eyebrow and looked at the half-open door as if expecting someone to come out. "I have to do everything myself?"

My half-sister took a step forward, and I stepped in her way.

"You won’t take another step!" I challenged her.

"I’m not receiving orders from you," she replied with a tick in her nose and her teeth clenched. "Get out of my way, or I’ll move you myself."

"I dare you."

"Cathy, do as your sister says, or I will get you out of the way myself," he warned me without a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Are you on her side?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.

"Linda and I have been seeing each other for some time…" he confessed. "She’s my mate now, the one I really want to be with."

Linda laughed with an air of victory. Her face was lit up, and pride overflowed from every pore of her body. "That’s right he deserves to be with someone on his level and not some bastard."

My heart broke into pieces. I tried to assimilate what was happening, but it was too much for me, especially at the moment.

"You did this. You set me up," I said unfiltered.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Linda has always been a born liar and has the ability to play with people’s minds to such an extent that they begin to doubt themselves. She gets her way one way or another.

"Don’t blame your sister for your insolence," Alston stepped to her side and took her hand. "You’re nothing but a liar."

My sister looked at me, drew a smile of victory on her face, then hugged Alston and buried her face in his chest.

"She hates me. She’s always trying to make me look bad," she said in a fake sad voice.

"That’s not true, you know that’s not true," I turned to my boyfriend. "Alston, you know everything about me. You know the hell I’ve been through."

"Not really. Everything you’ve told me has been lies. You did it to make me feel sorry for you," he stated.

"Are you listening to what you’re saying?"

I felt sad and frustrated but mostly angry, not at Linda but at myself for being so stupid and trusting her. I shouldn’t have let my guard down. She had never been attentive to me. It was suspicious, but still, I didn’t give it importance, and that was my mistake.

"Don’t listen to her. She’ll just tell you more lies to try to confuse you," Linda said. "But that will stop today. Imagine how the pack will react when they find out what you did and how it will affect our father that you disgraced him like this on his birthday."

"Shut up; I won’t stand for another word," I said.

"Don’t raise your voice like that to..."

Linda interrupted Alston by stroking his cheek. "No, let her talk," she continued. "She’s a coward. Not even her own wolf recognizes her, nor the pack. That’s why my father is ashamed of her and keeps her identity hidden. Go on, sister, run to your room to create a new fragrance inspired by your misery. That’s the only thing you can do."

Linda’s words were precise, cutting, and hurtful. She said them so naturally that it seemed as if she had rehearsed them.

"You bitch; you always do everything in your power to make my life more miserable. Don’t you ever get tired of it?"

"Does a wolf get bored of hutting its prey?" she retorted. "You have to be reminded what’s your place."

"You think I don’t know it. You think I don’t know what it’s like to live in the shadows while your perfect sister lives under the spotlight." I took a deep breath and gently pressed the tips of my index fingers on my tear ducts until I could continue. "My whole life has been a constant reminder that I shouldn’t have been born."

Alston let go of Linda and tried to take a step toward me, but she stopped him. "Don’t you see; my sister is just acting?" She clapped her hands. "I almost believed all that drama."

I clenched my fists and tensed my jaw so hard I heard my teeth gnash. I gathered momentum and lunged at her.

Linda screamed, and my boyfriend stepped in front of her and stopped me. "I won’t let you hurt her," he said agitatedly. "She’s my mate, and besides, she’s the heir to the pack, show some respect."

Linda took advantage and walked toward the door. "Let’s get this over with."

"No, Linda, wait!" I cried out to her as I forced my way free from my boyfriend’s grasp.

Before she could push the door, it squeaked and opened on its own. At that moment, I just closed my eyes and mourned for what had happened and for what I knew was about to happen.

"What the hell is going on here?" The young Alpha stood firmly and imposingly in the doorway.

Linda’s face paled, and I could see in her eyes she didn’t believe what she saw. Alston, on the other hand, dropped his hand and stood motionless as if his life depended on it.

Linda tried to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth.

I stood in front of the heir of the Night Pack and stared into his black eyes and wished they would somehow make me disappear into their depths for the rest of my days.