Page 70 of Stalked By the Alphas
She pulls back slightly, wiping at her eyes. “I got your shirt all wet.”
I chuckle softly. “It’s already bloody, so I think it will survive a few tears.”
Hazel gives me a watery smile, then winces as she shifts position. “Everything hurts,” she admits quietly.
“I’ll get you some painkillers,” I say, starting to rise.
Her hand shoots out, gripping my arm. “Don’t go,” she pleads, fear flashing in her eyes.
“Okay,” I soothe, settling back down. “I’m not going anywhere.”
We sit in silence for a while, Hazel’s breathing slowly evening out. I can tell she’s fighting to stay awake, afraid to fall back asleep and face more nightmares.
“Do you want to talk?” I ask gently.
She shakes her head, then hesitates. “Okay. Tell me something. Anything.”
I nod, thinking for a moment. “Do you remember that time when we were ten, and we snuck into old Mr Peterson’s orchard to steal apples?” I ask, a fond smile tugging at my lips.
Hazel’s eyes soften slightly at the memory. “How could I forget? You got stuck up in that tree, and I had to talk you down.”
I chuckle softly. “That’s right. I was so scared, but you kept me calm. You’ve always been the brave one.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t feel very brave right now.”
“You are,” I insist gently. “You survived something terrible. That takes incredible strength and courage.”
Hazel is quiet for a moment, her fingers absently tracing patterns on my arm. “I keep seeing their faces,” she whispers. “Every time I close my eyes...”
My arms tighten around her instinctively. “They can’t hurt you anymore. They’re gone.”
She nods slowly. “My head knows that, but I’m stillscared. They stalked me. They were watching me all this time. I went and hadteawith Ayden. He seemed so nice. He defended me against Rob...”
I grimace at the reminder of Rob and then mentally sigh. This is a shitshow. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Hazel was supposed to be ours and none of this was ever meant to happen. “Why did you leave us? Really?”
The question takes her by surprise, and she avoids my gaze, looking down as she picks at the cover. Her sweet scent ripens, showing me she is afraid to tell me.
“You don’t have to be scared, Hazel. I just want to know if we did something wrong.”
Her gaze shoots to mine. “What? No. God, no. It was never about that. I didn’t feel that I was good enough for you. You all had these big, bright futures in front of you, and there was me, an orphan who was slightly paranoid and not good enough for you to be associated with. Your parents hated me?—“
“No, they didn’t?—“
“Yes, they did,” she cuts me off as I did to her. “I heard them talking about me one day, how common I was, and how I would only bring you down. It hurt me at the time, but when I thought about it, I knew they were right. I had this opportunity to come here, to start over, and for all of you to forget about me and live your best lives. The pact we made was stupid. It was never going to happen.”
My heart has practically stopped beating at this confession. My parents have a lot to answer for. I’vekilled for less. Do they get a pass? Well, that fucking depends on if they can admit they fucked up and ruined my life. “There is still time. Your birthday isn’t for another week.”
She glares at me, anger and hurt in her gaze that almost breaks me. “No! Just don’t.” She turns over and curls up, pulling the duvet over her head. “Just go now.”
I want to argue, but I don’t want her to feel worse than she already does. So, I stagger to my feet, and, clutching my phone, I say, “I’ll get you those painkillers.”
“Fuck you,” she mumbles, and I smile. She’s still in there, our feisty, gorgeous omega.
Hazel’s words replay in my mind as I head downstairs to fetch the painkillers. The revelation about my parents’ role in her departure enrages me, but it also fills me with a sense of relief. We can still make this right. It wasn’t us. We didn’t do anything. It was them. I’ve been discontent with my life for a long time now, probably longer than I realise, and this has been the final push to do what I should’ve done years ago. They are dead to me. I’m not going to kill them, however hypocritical that is of me, I just don’t think they are even worth it. Not to mention, it all just has to stop. We have to be better for Hazel. She has been through hell, and we have been a big part of that. It all has to stop so she can heal.
With my epiphany firmly in place, wondering how the fuck I’m going to convince Zach and Noah, in thekitchen, I fill a glass with water and grab some strong painkillers from the cabinet. I’m about to head back upstairs when my phone buzzes.
It’s Noah.
