RECAP: Elora found Maverick in his special spot and tried to piece things together after his demon "came out" and wreaked havoc. Maverick also ordered for himself to be placed in a holding cell and will be there until Elora and him find a way to unleash him once and for all.

———

"He's going to kill us all sooner or later!"

"I don't think he can help it though... I mean like isn't there this family curse or something?"

"He's been a crap of an Alpha anyway, I say we encourage you know who to take over."

I walk in on three pack members that I have briefly acquainted myself with a week or so ago, talking about my mate.

The first one to speak is Sage. She's in her early thirties. She's known as the person who will talk behind your back, yet will be all sweet to your face.

In other words, she's a backstabbing bitch, and I don't like her.

The second one to talk is Baylor. He's a shy guy and tends to go along with the majority even if he may not agree. He doesn't like to cause drama.

I can tolerate him sometimes.

The last one to speak is Sage's younger brother, Thyme.

Weird that their parents named them after spices but, whatever.

Anyways, Thyme is a complete douche in his later twenties who sports a thick beard and scruffy sideburns, and I hate him. Pretty sure he hates me, too.

They realize they are caught talking smack about the Alpha as their eyes go wide as saucers. They're probably scared I'll go tattle on them to Maverick.

I don't tattle, but I would definitely figure out a way for their little comments about their Alpha to get around the whole pack and somehow get to Maverick.

"It's so nice to hear my fellow pack members speak warmly about my mate!" I chirp obnoxiously so they'd know I'm being sarcastic; Baylor is a bit dull, so I'm not even sure if he got the sarcasm right away.

"Before you say anymore nice things, could you please help in the clean up process. Go into the main foyer where Joy will instruct you all on what you can help with. Thanks." I continue speaking since none of them surprisingly make any comments back. They all nod simultaneously; Thyme is obviously pissed that he has to take orders from me.

Rank matters in packs, not age, which is something he seems he needs to still learn.

Thyme scowls at me before they walk towards the foyer, and I have made my way through the house, looking for Liz. I have to see if she is doing okay.

After searching ten bedrooms, the kitchen, and three office rooms, I finally find her in a bathroom, applying some lip gloss on her lips. She appears to be in okay spirits.

"Hey, Liz. How are you doing?" She jumps a bit upon hearing me speak but relaxes once she sees it's me.

"Once everything is all cleaned up and taken care of, Reese promised to take me out for ice cream since your mate destroyed the ice cream cake." She doesn't seem irritated in the slightest, more sad than anything else.

I walk up right behind her, peering over her shoulder to look at her reflection in the mirror.

"Mavericks feels so horrible about ruining your party. I'm so sorry."

Her eyes lock in on mine in a soft way. "He couldn't help it, El. Plus, I have a strange feeling that if he didn't get like that something much worse would've happened."

I give her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

She turns around to fully face me, glancing around as if someone will hear her, even though we are the only ones in the general vicinity.

"My wolf senses when danger is around. You know how we have an intense sense of smell?" I nod at her question before she continues. "My wolf feels when a threat is near our pack. I felt it the whole night, and it wasn't Maverick who was the threat. It was like something was watching us in the surrounding woods, waiting for the right time, but Maverick's outburst caused them to leave and not attack."

I feel my stomach drop. The reason this makes sense is the fact that I had heard a growl earlier at the party, and I also felt something watching me in the woods surrounding us. Especially when Lucaya and I talked away from the party.

My silence to her explanation causes her to get nervous. "Don't tell anyone I told you that!"

"I won't, but Liz... it makes sense. I swear I heard low growls in the woods surrounding us. I felt eyes on us too. I thought I was just going crazy, but I felt it too."

"What do we do?" she whispers; I can sense her fear.

"We don't tell anyone what we know. I'll figure something out. Don't worry," I state.

She bites her lip nervously before nodding.

"Okay...but don't tell anyone. Chelsea doesn't even know, and I usually tell her everything..." She bites her lip in a nervous fashion, and I can see the guilt in her eyes for not telling her sister and best friend.

"Your secret is safe with me," I reassure her, earning a small smile in response.

"Thanks. I'm going to go meet up with Reece...I'll talk with you later." She says her goodbye before dashing out to go find her mate while I make it back to Joy and the rest of the clean-up crew. They are almost done, so Joy tells me I can head back to my home.

I make my way back to the grand house. As I walk in, it finally hits me that I will be alone here for a couple weeks due to Maverick ordering to have himself locked in the holding cells.

My heart sinks at the thought. After very little deliberation on what to do, I decide I'll just grab some snacks and watch tv and possibly go over my lines for the play.

After devouring a lot of food, mainly junk food might I add, I make my way up to the bedroom; I decide to just go to bed.

I feel odd sleeping by myself after sleeping next to Maverick for weeks.

I feel cold and alone.

I don't sleep well because of this.

At school the next day, I'm lethargic and incredibly crabby.  My neck also hurts like crazy.

It gets so bad that I excuse myself to the nurse's office to check it out. I figure I'm just overtired and slept in an odd fashion.

Before heading to the nurses office an overwhelming surge of nausea hits me, and I find myself running to the nearest bathroom.

I barely make it to a toilet before I vomit.

The only difference to this vomit and any previous times I have when I was sick in the past is that this appears to be...

Blood.

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Hey!

So amidst my incredibly stressful schedule lately, I was able to crank out this chapter!

With that being said, this is unedited and I know it isn't my best work, so I apologize for that too.

Once my schedule frees up a bit, I'll be able to go through and heavily edit this whole book.

Thank you to those that continuously support me! I love you!!

Much love <3
~ Madelyn Joy

*edited: 12/6/21