My Personal Hell, D. Richardson [ebook reader browser txt] 📗

Part Three

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blood

 

Chapter 28

Ailith

 

 

 

The tension ran high anytime I was around Asher. Dumping him did a number on his pride, but beating him in a challenge? It would have been bad if I were male, but since I was a female that made it ten times worse.

Suddenly, I had males I didn’t know giving me the cold shoulder, or out right snarling at me when I passed. Which happened a lot since I had started training out in the open. Bastion started pairing me up with the males that didn’t take too kindly to me. I think he was trying to make a point. Which was made every time I won a match.

After about two weeks of that they stopped snarling and started giving me space. Which was a healthy decision on their part. I had begun training in wolf form, and it seemed like every time I shifted I became a little more aggressive. My patience was thinner as though I could only take so much crap before I started to snap. And spending most of my afternoons at the compound I caught a lot of crap. Especially, since school had ended.

My wolf and I didn’t have conversations anymore in exchange for sharing the same thoughts. It wasn’t long before I started to notice a difference in my own demeanor. Picking out clingier clothes, and actually taking a few moments to assess how I look, when I used to just grab whatever was closest. When it was all put together I started to worry that I was losing myself. So I consulted my doctor.

I hadn’t spoken to him very much. He called occasionally to check up on me, but other than that I wasn’t sustaining any injuries that he was needed for. So when I called him, he perked right up. After explaining my worries he seemed to splutter a bit. But assured me that it was normal, me and my wolf were merely merging, becoming one instead of two entities. It happened when half breeds began shifting with any regularity.

As far as my regular day to day behavior he said it was simply that I was finally becoming a mature female. When I mentioned that it didn’t make much sense seeing as how my body was mature, he said that my human side had matured, but not my wolf side. Which meant that my sexuality was finally taking a priority.

He said that I should just consider it like puberty. Which didn’t sound all that optimistic to me. The first puberty I went through wasn’t all that great. But he did make me feel better by saying that it would only take a few months before everything leveled out.

So I decided to enjoy my new found confidence while it lasted. I no longer felt the desire to hug a wall and stay out of everyone’s way. I suddenly didn’t have a problem having attention. Instead, I simply tried to reply in kind, those who gave me their attention got mine. I felt more relaxed, at ease, happier. Even if my home life wasn’t too great.

Granted, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I used to have it. The consequences for my challenge was met with a few days of getting the cold shoulder from Drake. But after those few days it was like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He still didn’t seek out my opinions, but he actually listened when I gave them. Or at least he gave a show of it. Though more often than not he would try to disprove me every chance he got. I guess it’s a good thing that I didn’t offer up my opinion very often.

But I was allowed into the enforcer meetings. Which was really just boring. Reports about activities at the borders and the outer reaches of the territory. The beauty of it was that attending these meetings wasn’t mandatory.

I was technically a commander, but I had no wolves under my command. Until I did I could live my life normally. It helped that I was the youngest commander in three generations. Normally, wolves didn’t issue the challenge until after they graduated. Circumstances just sped things up for me.

Since school was out and the benefit was over I found myself with a lot of down time. That I filled with work. I had spent every cent that I had made throughout the school year on the benefit. So I had a lot of catching up to do.

Rob had been nice enough to lend a hand for the benefit. Donating alcohol and handing it out when there weren’t very many of us of legal age to do so. And those of us who were, were needed elsewhere. He was also there to watch the performance, and afterwards offered a few of my friends jobs as performing waitresses.

Which ultimately boosted his bar and grill’s popularity, to the point that eight of us worked the weekend nights. Using the wireless headsets that we had bought for the benefit so our hands were free. It had taken a couple of weeks to work out the kinks, but it worked.

Life was good, until my past came back to haunt me in the most gut wrenching way possible.

 

 

 

 

Sadler

 

 

 

This was painful. After I had made it clear that things between Ailith and I was purely friendship my mother decided I needed to settle down. So she set me up on a blind date. The girl was cute enough, but no deeper than a piece of paper.

I had let them pick where we would meet, and they chose a nice bar and grill that they had heard so much about. The same restaurant that Ailith worked at, though they had no way of knowing that. I only hoped that it was her night off.

It had looked like my wish had come true, allowing me to relax minutely. Ironically though, the girl had met another male twenty minutes into our meal. They seemed to hit it off really well so I didn’t complain when she left with him ten minutes later.

I leaned back in my chair, taking in the room. The bar sat on the far wall, blocking off the entrance to the kitchen, and was painfully crowded. It had been ever since I had walked in, every time one customer left another took it’s place to the point that I never caught a glimpse of the person working behind it.

I recognized several of the waitresses who had worked with Ailith on the benefit, and several smiled at me when they walked passed. Since all of the waitresses were so busy, Jake and his band did most of the performances. I could see Christine working one side of the room, closest to the stage. I had never pictured her as a working girl, but then again, she had changed significantly over the last few months. Actually becoming one of Ailith’s best friends and greatest supporters.

I’d barely seen Ailith over the last few weeks. She had attended three meetings, always sticking to the back wall, but I suspected it was simply to see what they were like. I had seen her wolf form at the compound a few times, always paired up with Dalton or Macon.

She was a breathtaking wolf. Shorter than most males but still the largest female I had ever seen. Her deep black fur was dusted with silver only visible in the right light, as though a reminder of who she was in human form. But her form was long and lean with muscle more than evident underneath.

Ever since her challenge with Asher, every time I had seen her, she seemed to be more and more confident, and looking more and more desirable. Which ultimately was the reason I was steering clear. She was eye catching before, but now even the way she moved was different. Her wolf only accentuated her presence, making her nearly impossible to ignore. I had even noticed some humans reacting to her, they’re eyes following her, and their jaws going slack upon noticing her.

Shaking her out of my head, where she seemed to have taken up permanent residence, I stood to leave. Only to pause when I saw Bastion and his men walk in. They spotted me at about the same time and decided to join me.

“What are you doing here?” Dalton asked, turning his seat around to straddle it. I grimaced.

“Blind date.”

“Where is she?” Alex asked, looking around.

“She left a while ago with another male,” I answered simply. Most of them groaned.

“Ouch,” Nevin murmured, I just shrugged and took a drink from my glass.

“Nah, she wasn’t really my type.”

“What is your type?” a female voice cut in, I looked up to see a very busty, very fake, blonde standing next to our table. I smothered the urge to say ‘not you’, instead choosing to shrug.

Instead of taking the hint she decided to sit down. There was only one seat left, between me and Bastion. We shared a pained look that she didn‘t, or chose not to, see. Since I was noncommittal she divided her attention evenly between the two of us. Obviously unsure which one to seduce. When she finally went to the bathroom, promising to be back in a moment, Bastion waived down a waitress. It was Christine.

“What can I do for you boys?” she asked, her smile stretched further than I had ever seen it. Her eyes flicked to the bathroom, and I had no doubt she knew what was going on.

“Can I see your ear piece for a moment?” Bastion asked, she shrugged and handed it over. He hit the button that would only communicate with the other ear pieces. “Will someone please get this female to leave us alone?” he spoke directly into the mouth piece. Chris’ smile grew even bigger as she put it back in her ear.

Her eyes went distant just as the woman came back, ignoring the young waitress. She bit her lip as she wrote something on her pad of paper, ripping it off and handing it to Bastion she left. He unfolded it, his eyebrows climbing as he slid it across the table to me.

‘Ailith will be over in a few minutes.’

“I thought it was her night off?” I asked, Bastion shrugged before answering.

“So did I, maybe she got called in, it is pretty busy.” His answer made sense, but I couldn’t help but feel a cold knot form in my stomach. It didn’t make any sense but I sincerely hoped that she hadn’t seen me on my date. But I didn’t get much of a chance to really think about it, as Christine and Stacey walked up and handed their ear pieces over. It didn’t look like they were going to tell us why so after exchanging a look with Bastion we both took them.

“How are your acting abilities?” Ailith’s voice came over the small speaker. I pushed the button to