Wendy

The room grew silent at that one word. I knew I would eventually hear someone say it. But I didn't think it would be so soon. Instead of dealing it, I did was I do best. I ignored the problem. Acting like nothing happened, I answered Ralph's question. "I didn't know how much time you wanted. I just kinda climbed trees and stuff" I started mumbling at the end, while looking down at the tile floor.

"I meant for like an hour. Not five!" he exclaimed with throwing his hands up.

I couldn't help the small smirk that spread across my face. "It wasn't five hours. It was four and a half" I corrected him.

Ralph narrowed his eyes at me. "I rounded up. And don't start being a bitch now. I'm trying to look after you" he sneered.

I found myself getting angry as I locked eyes with my cousin. "I didn't ask you to" I retorted.

He smirked and leaned against the counter. "That's where you're wrong, Monkey. You came here, looking for me; looking for help" he stated.

Actually, I didn't go for help or for him. I came because I had nowhere else to go. There was a time when I wanted his help, but I was nothing to him. Remembering the incident, I got angrier. "Why do you wanna help me now, huh?" I asked, but didn't give him time to answer. "Why not when my parents died? You didn't even come to the funeral! I needed you then! I had no one" I spat.

The smirk was quickly wiped off of his face. "I had duties here" he replied stiffly.

I turned to the man who was obviously the Alpha. The blue-eyed man. "Did he tell you that his uncle died?" I asked. He glanced at Ralph, then back at me. Silently, the man shook his head. "If he told you, would you give him time to attend the funeral and spend time with his family?" I questioned.

The man nodded. "Of course. Family shouldn't be alone after the loss of someone" he answered quickly. He had no hesitation.

Looking at Ralph, I crossed my arms. Before I had the chance to talk, Maddi spoke. "Let's all just calm down. We can talk about this another time" she suggested.

I shook my head. "I want to talk about it now" I decided. "I want to know what was so important that Ralph couldn't come to the funeral or even check up on me. I want to know what duties he had that day; that week; that month. Hell, that year! I didn't even get a phone call or a text!" I shouted. Ralph frowned and muttered something under his breath. "What was that?" I asked, looking at him expectantly.

He sighed and looked down at the ground. "It was Christmas" he said quietly. Both of my parents died in the month of December. It was the beginning of the month, so only a couple of weeks after; I had to spend Christmas alone. "I was spending Christmas with my friends and mate" he stated.

Angrily, I marched up to him and slapped him as hard as I could. "Well, while you were having a very Merry Christmas with people you love. I was in a house alone all Christmas! All of my friends were with their parents! I had absolutely no one!" I yelled.

Ralph's face turned from the force of my slap, but he didn't seem fazed by it. "I had people here to spend the holidays with" he informed me.

My anger diminished and was soon replaced my hurt. "Did I even cross your mind?" I asked. His silence was a clear answer that I didn't. "Wow" I muttered. I felt tears stream down my face.

He glanced at me and frowned. "Wendy. It's not that I didn't care about you. I just-"

"You just had people who were more important than your mourning cousin" I cut him off. He shook his head and was about to correct me. "If I don't mean shit to you, I'll just get out of your hair" I stated.

Maddi grabbed my hand as I attempted to walk away. "Wendy" she said softly.

I shook my head and pulled my hand back. I glanced back at my cousin. "Don't worry. Now you can spend every single Christmas with your friends and mate" I stated before marching up the stairs. I grabbed the duffle bag that had all of my belongings. I never unpacked, so it's faster to leave now.

Swinging the bag on my shoulder, I raced back down the stairs; only to find that my mate was standing at the bottom. "You're really leaving?" he asked quietly.

I hated how he sounded sad. I hated that it was my fault that he sounded like that. "There's nothing for me here" I forced the words out of my mouth.

"I'm here" he whispered softly. Pretending I didn't hear that, I frowned and slipped past him, going to the door. "Are you rejecting me?" he blurted.

Sighing, I dropped my hand that was on the door knob. "I'm not leaving the territory. I'll stay tonight. Just meet me here a little before noon. Then we can decide what to do" I declared. From the corner of my eye, I saw that he nodded in agreement and I walked out the house, leaving him inside.

Going into the forest, I tried to find a tree that I could sleep in. Theoretically, I could've just slept at Ralph's house. But honestly, I can't even stand his scent right now. He missed the funeral and didn't check up on me because he spent Christmas with his friends. What kind of family does that?

I climbed a tree that wasn't very high. There was a large branch that I could easily sit on. I grabbed a large hoodie that was in my bag and tied myself to the tree. Looking at my hands where tears freely fell from my face, I spoke to Liz. 'You finally did it' I whispered. She got my emotions back on; and it's only a matter of time until I feel everything.

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I woke up with the sun shining bright in my face. I groaned and rubbed my eyes. I completely forgot that I slept in a tree. Carefully, I untied the hoodie and climbed down. I moved at snail's pace, wanting to put off the meeting with my mate. I don't even know his name.

Guilt filled me at the realization of this. How could I meet my mate- the one person that was made for me- and just walk away? I didn't even ask for his name. I just walked away from him. The guilt was too much, so I stopped walking. 'I'm sorry' Liz told me softly. 'I'm trying to hold back the other emotions for now' How can she even control my emotions? Its weird.

Liz sighed in my head. 'Ever since your parents died, you've slowly disconnected yourself from your feelings. You never noticed it, but your emotions were off before you even became rogue. Its your defense mechanism' she informed me.

So basically, I automatically turn off my emotions when things get too hard. But it doesn't even make sense. If I didn't have emotions, how could I love Asher? 'You had strong feelings for Asher, but it was never love. You were attracted to him. You needed him to make you forget. You needed him to help you repress the emotions' Liz explained.

I frowned and held my head in my hands. Now that I think of it, I never actually mourned over my parents. I cried over them; however, I never remember moving on from it. I never accepted the fact that they're dead. I acted like nothing ever happened. I went on with my life and never mentioned my parents. Until last night.

Tears escaped my eyes as I remembered Ralph's excuse. I had people here to spend the holidays with. I know that he's has family here that he wants to spend time with. They might not be blood family, but they're close like family. However, it hurts that he decided to have fun with his family, than help me. Maybe I'm just being needy.

'You're not needy' Liz said sternly. 'Ralph should've been there. Spending time with friends is a shitty excuse for not being with you. He should've been with you to help you get through it. Even if he really wanted to be with his friends and Maddi; he could've called. One phone call could've made a huge difference' she ranted.

I know that Liz is upset about Ralph's actions. But I didn't know that she was this hurt by it. 'You didn't know; but when you were pushing out your emotions, you forced them onto me. I felt everything that you should've felt. I got used to all of it, so its not that bad now' she informed me. That's how she knows everything! That's why her feelings are so strong about this.

Slowly, I started my journey back to Ralph's place. I honestly do not want to deal with all of this shit right now. One problem at a time. I'll figure out the emotion thing later; but for now, I have to meet my mate.

After making that decision, I picked up my speed. I'm actually excited to talk to him and just to see him. While walking, I thought about what he could be like. His favorite things, if he has siblings, how old he is. But most of all, I want to know if he will accept me. I want to know what will happen when I tell him.

Just last night, I was ready to agree with whatever he wanted. But now, I'm not sure I would go along with what he wants. If he tries to kill me, I'll run. If he wants to send me to Asher, I'll leave before he has the chance. If he rejects me, I won't stop fighting for him. I want to be with him. I want to be with my mate. There's no way that I'm leaving him without a fight.

I got to Ralph's house and was slightly disappointed that my mate wasn't there. I sighed and welcomed myself into my cousin's house. Immediately, I looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall. It was a little past 10:30 a.m. I still had an hour and a half before my mate gets here. After closing the door, I walked deeper in the house.

Surprisingly, I found Ralph sleeping on the couch. There was a bed-sheet on his body, but majority of it was on the floor. A pillow was under his head as he snored, rather loudly. "I didn't think you would come back" a voice said softly.

Spinning around, I saw Maddi sitting at the edge of the stairs. "I wasn't planning on it" I said honestly. "Why is he out here?" I asked, motioning to my cousin.

Maddi sighed and used the railing to pull herself off the step. "He's not allowed to have any physical contact with me, until he fixes his relationship with you" she informed me. "What he did was completely insensitive. There is no excuse for his actions. He didn't even tell me that your parents died" she admitted.

Tears blurred my vision at the mention of my deceased parents. Of course, Maddi saw the one tear before I wiped it away. "Are you crying?" she asked slowly. I reluctantly nodded my head. "You have emotions?" she questioned.

"Yeah" I whispered. "They came back on last night" I told her. Liz was softly praising herself, causing me to laugh a little. I looked at Maddi and frowned. "I'm sorry. I was a bitch to you when I didn't have emotions. I know that you were trying to help me. And I was ungrateful. You've done a lot for me the past few days. And I never thanked you. So thanks, and I'm really sorry" I apologized.

Maddi smiled and waved her hand in a dismissive matter. "Its fine. You weren't that bad" she stated. My lips curled upward a little. "So, why'd you come back?" she inquired.

A real smile spread across my face. "My mate" I answered simply. My heart fluttered a little at the slight thought of him. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the feeling. Maybe- just maybe, emotions aren't that bad.

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