Page 16 of Caged Between the Beta & Alpha
“Raven!” He grabbed my arm just as I reached the front door, and I was annoyed to see he had put his nose back in place.
“Don’t touch me, Liam,” I hissed, yanking free.
“I’m fucking sorry,” he said, raising his hands in surrender. “That was out of line.” He looked away, and I shook my head. He didn’t get it. What was out of line was being out of my life for three years and then pretending it never happened, that he never left or hurt me.
“Good night, Liam.”
“It’s not safe-”
“I said good night,” I said coldly, glaring at him, daring him to argue with me. He frowned, clenching his jaw.
“Night,” he replied coldly, and his walls were up once more.
I turned away, walking out of the house, not bothering to put my shoes on. I knew he couldn’t follow me with Azura sleeping upstairs, and I was glad. I made my way back towards my parents’ house, not bothered by the wet floor or the dirt that was sticking to my feet. The rain was still falling lightly, and the sound of distant animals could be heard.
That night, two years ago, I went with Cassandra and Aunty Angela to a neighbouring town. They had been on pack business with the pack that was hosting the mating ball. Aunty had asked me if I wanted to attend, but I told her no. As per the rules, one ball per year was hosted by King Al and the other by a different pack. The memory of me finding my own mates had been too damn painful. I had left my hotel room and gone to get some drinks.
Then, to my surprise, Liam had shown up. I was beyond shocked. I had never expected to see him like that. He had been so drunk. For someone who didn’t want me and had left me on the mating ball, he had stolen my first kiss that night. Although my entire body had wanted to give in to him, I couldn’t, not when he was in that state and not when I was tied to not one but two mates. I couldn’t do that to Damon. I had wanted to help Liam that night, but he had just pushed me away…
It made me wonder how many women those two had been with- my so-called mates. I smiled gently; life truly sucked at times.
I reached home and decided to climb through my bedroom rather than face my parents. Once inside, I pulled my dress off and wiped my feet on it before shutting and locking the window. I walked over to my wardrobe, taking down one of the suitcases that I hadn’t unpacked knowing I was going to leave this place anyway.
Opening it up, I rummaged around until I pulled out Liam’s suit jacket from that night. I caressed the fabric, my heart clenching at the way he told me to leave him alone. I sighed heavily, shoving it back into my suitcase and replacing it on top of my wardrobe before deciding to take a shower.
I had just showered, pulling on my high-waisted panties, a sports bra, and some baggy pyjama bottoms before I returned to my room, towelling my hair. I shut the door behind me when a sudden scent hit my nose, and I froze. Yanking the towel from my hair, my eyes snapped to the bed where none other than Damon was sitting, flicking through one of my books. He looked up, giving me a small smile.
“Hey.”
My heart thundered, and I glanced at the shut door behind me. Why was this happening today? I didn’t want to see my mates, yet I ended up seeing both of them.
His eyes trailed over me, and I realised my trousers hung low, showing off the band of my knickers. His eyes flashed for a moment before he looked away smoothly. I hated how these two pigs were looking at me like I was a piece of meat, yet neither had the audacity to even care about how I had felt years ago, the way they left me feeling broken and unwanted. Now that I had pulled myself together and became strong, they decide to come back into my life?No, I don’t think so.
“Hey, so, can I ask why you are in my room?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, trying to ignore how hot he looked. I had broken one pretty nose tonight; I wouldn’t mind adding another to that list.
“I thought we could talk… without anyone interrupting us,” he said quietly. Reaching behind him, he held up two packets of fizzy sweets and a bag of doughnuts. “I brought a bribe?” My heart skipped a beat, but I tried not to let it get to me. Walking over to my wardrobe, I took out a black vest and pulled it on.
“Who let you in?” I asked. Deciding to keep myself busy, I began to clean my room up a little.
“Your mom. I was going to come through the window, but it was locked. Your dad left, too, so I decided to just come through the front door,” he said, laying back on the bed.
“Hmm.” Thank Goddess, Dad wasn’t around. I didn’t need more drama. “Raven, can we talk?”
“You want to talk now? Go ahead, I’m all ears,” I said, picking up my wet dress that I had left near the window.
“First of all, I want to apologise for everything. Nothing I say is going to justify that night, but you have got to remember Liam is my Alpha. I fucking see him as my brother. I needed him to be okay with this, with us.”
“I get that, Damon, but it doesn’t excuse that you both were so caught up in how you both felt that you didn’t even once consider how I was probably feeling. I never wanted two mates, but I was given them, yet you both cut me off without a second thought,” I said. My voice was emotionless, and I made sure to hide every emotion that I was feeling. Emotions that were eating up at me every time I thought of them…
I glanced up at him, feeling his intense gaze on me. I hated seeing the guilt in his soft blue eyes.
“I know… I just didn’t know how the fuck to react,” he muttered.
“Tell me, Damon, why now, then? Why are you talking about it now?”
“I tried to talk to Liam again. That didn’t go well, you saw that. I wanted to know what you wanted…”
I almost laughed. What I wanted? Did what I want even count?
