Once Marina, Luke and I completely entered the pack house, we were greeted by a huge empty room — seeing as everything one was outside.

I wiped my tears slowly and sniffed, enjoying the silence that came with entering the house.

"John, have the file ready by-Celine?" A familiar voice stated before my name slipped from his mouth, I froze on the spot and my eyes widened. My head snapped to the left, where the familiar staircase stood.

"Elijah?!" I cried out happily, my gaze falling on the man that had previously helped me; the last time I was here.

With a muffled sob, I pulled away from Marina and Luke, then ran towards him, his eyes were wide and for some odd reason, he looked different.

Once I stood in front of him, his large arms went around my body and tugged me closer into his chest, I sighed in satisfaction.

I missed him.

I don't know what triggered my emotions, but the feel of his warmth surrounding me and the softness of his chest made my tears break free, and my shoulders shake.

"I-I missed you." I mumbled into his chest, I could feel his hand in my short hair, massaging the back of my head soothingly — trying to calm me.

"I missed you too." He whispered softly, making me tighten my grip around him, he chuckled lowly and I could feel my stomach churn.

I missed feeling this way.

•
•
•

"Can I take a shower?" I asked Marina, once we entered her room; which brought back unwanted memories, making me shake my head — to clear my mind.

"Of course, you go ahead and I'll find you some clothes." She replied nicely, I sent her a thankful glance and she nodded back, her eyes were filled with some kind of rising anger that made me cower back — even though it wasn't addressed towards me.

I quickly ran into the bathroom and shut the door, eager to clean off the mess that laid imprinted on my skin.

Right away I unzipped Axel's sweater, and pulled it off my body — later throwing it in the wash bin beside me; then I tried to find the zipper of the white dress which was completely coated in dried blood.

A shiver ran down my spine and a feeling of disgust ran through me, so I quickly grabbed the dress and start tearing it apart with all my strength — each time I struggled, I sobbed and let out grunts, feeling exhausted until I managed to completely rid my body of the last evidential proof of my mistakes.

Once the pieces of the white dress laid on the floor, and off my body, I hugged myself and sighed out in relief while shaking my head.

I walked closer towards the shower and pulled off the remaining things I had on, once I was free of any clothing, I stepped into the beautiful shower and turned the water on.

Allowing the shower head to shoot out, warm water — hitting the top of my head gracefully before cascading down the rest of my body slowly, I felt a shiver crawl down my spine.

I shut my eyes tightly under the falling water, and felt my eyes burn with tears that were willing to fall as thoughts of Dustin filled my mind once again.

He'll never love me,

He said it himself, that he hates the weak

And he's right, he should hate the weak,

He should hate me, but it doesn't make it hurt any less.

I sighed and opened my eyes, looking at the once clean water go down the drain in black and red, making my stomach churn in disgust; I scrunched my face up and decided to stop taking long and just shower, freely.

•
•
•

When I finished, I towel dried my hair and body, then wrapped a big blue, fluffy towel around my pink body which I had scrubbed roughly; wiping away all the blood that had already tainted me.

I walked closer towards the foggy sink mirror, and bit my bottom lip for comfort, I wiped away the fog with my hand and felt my face fall at the sight of me.

I looked lifeless.

My eyes were dull, and the purple bags underneath did nothing to help me, my face was pale and everything was sticking out weirdly as if I was all bones, no skin.

My hair was flat and damp against my head and my lips were in a deep frown as I gazed at myself in pity. No wonder Dustin doesn't want me ... I don't even want myself.

I gulped back the sorrow, and blinked back the tears that brimmed my waterline — crying was my thing, it helped me let out my feelings without speaking, maybe it makes me weak but it's my only strength left.

I turned my head away from my awful reflection and walked away from the bathroom, later opening the door to exit.

Once the door shut behind me, I came face to face with Dustin; who gazed intensely at me with his stormy blue eyes that called for my attention.

I leaned back against the wooden door frightfully and felt my heartbeat pick up; my hands were crossed against my chest, trying to cover my body which already was but I felt exposed in only a mere towel.

His eyes burned holes in my skin as they roamed my body, from head to toe — analyzing me and imprinting me in their memory.

"I need to speak with you." He stated abruptly, tearing his eyes from my legs and connecting them back with my own, I took in a shaky breath and hesitantly nodded my head, he ran a hand through his thick, dark hair making my heart clench.

"That spirit inside you — get a grip on it. I do not need you acting out in my Pack. And here, I am the Alpha, you are the prisoner; never forget that. What Lexie had said before was correct, here your Rank does not matter." He explained, his brows were furrowed as he spoke and his hands were crossed against his broad chest, I couldn't focus on any part of his words other then the mention of Lexie, and I quickly hung my head in disappointment.

"Get a grip?," I asked softly, my bottom lip trembled and I pushed myself off the door, slowly taking steps closer towards my Mate, who doesn't want me and looking deeply into his eyes with my own glossy ones.

"Do you see what I look like? I am slowly dying, I can't get a grip on something, that already has a grip on me. This is a spirit, that I don't have control over and it is not my fault that things like you choosing someone else over me, angers it." I continued softly, my hands clenched to my sides and my heart was beating painfully slow as I watched him, for a reaction; he just gazed at me.

I licked my dry lips and let out a dry chuckle.

"You'll get what you want sooner or later Dustin, just give it a while." I whispered in a small, broken voice that seemed to drain me completely; he took in a deep breath, and suddenly grabbed my wrist tightly making me gasp.

He pulled me closer towards him, and made my chest bump into his, I allowed his scent to enter my nose and warm up my insides, his hold was strong but not painful; I only feared the towel that I hoped wouldn't fall.

"And what is it, that you think I want?" He asked in a deep, whisper, with his hand holding my own in the middle of our chest, and our strong gazes locked on one another; I gulped.

Could he hear my heartbeat pacing? Or maybe even feel it.

"You tell me." I replied hesitantly, my stomach was in knots and my mind had fallen into a haze as I got lost in his stormy blue eyes, I licked my dry lips once again.

"I can't tell you." He muttered, his large hand pulled away from mine and he quickly pulled away from me as if I had burned him. I felt my heart ache for his warmth.

"Okay." I whispered, my voice was barely heard but I knew he heard me because he sent me a swift nod of his head, his dark hair moving up and down with his motions.

I nodded back awkwardly.

"Okay." He stated before walking out of the room with powerful strides and once the door shut and hid him from me, I allowed my knees to buckle and my body to fall down.

The exhaustion had finally got to me.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair slowly, replying what had occurred a second ago and still sensing his hand around my own as I held it.

"I can't tell you."

What are you hiding Dustin? And why do I have a feeling that something bad is coming our way?

•
Happy Halloween Everyone! Hope you had an amazing day!