[ H I N T :  A M A Z I N G N E S S ]

yes, that's not a real word. ;P

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DEDICATED TO JaxWatt :)

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Chapter 21 - "Stranger Things."

Tatum spun around and sprinted away in humiliation when she realized that she had just let out a loud cry that had grabbed the attention of the two. Distantly, through the tears clogging her vision and the sorrow muting her senses, she heard Angier's crestfallen voice calling out her name.

She ignored her urge to turn around and comfort him, scolding herself for being so damn weak as she bolted out of the place like her life was at stake.

In a literal sense, that might not be the case. But in a figurative sense, it certainly felt like her whole life had just crashed to the floor and she had just been burnt as she bore the full impact of the said disaster.

She had no idea how she was supposed to overcome the loss of a friend she'd had all her life.

She had no idea, because if the loss of a person she hadn't known at all could leave such a huge, gaping hole in her heart . . . she really didn't know.

One thing she was sure of, was the fact that she'd underestimated the importance of his presence in her life. Because if she had known it would hurt this much, she would've distanced herself and guarded her heart a long, long time ago.

She would've pushed him away till he was carefully looking into her life from the outside, till she was just a person in his periphery he came by occasionally. She would've never let him in.

'He helped us after our Mate left! If he hadn't been there, you'd have gone insane and I would not even be alive! So stop thinking such things!' Her Wolf crowed as she tried to talk some sense into her, but Tatum couldn't see reason at all.

All she could hear were those words repeating themselves over and over in her head like a mantra.

It's either her or me.

Why? Why would Francesca want to do this to Tatum? Couldn't the girl see that Tatum was no threat? That compared to a wholesome, beautiful girl like herself, Tatum's broken heart and half-ripped-away soul was merely a shadow?

'Don't say that.' Her Wolf growled in a tone that indicated just how pissed off she was,'Do not insult us one more time. I'm an Alpha, and I don't have to sit back and hear you being a doormat like this.'

'I'm sorry,' Tatum whimpered, 'I really am. I'm sorry you're stuck with someone like me.'

'Shut your fucking mouth,' The growl that her Wolf just let out would've shaken the trees if she had been in animal form, 'Angier is a human who helped us through the most difficult part of our life. His Wolf is deeply loyal to his Alpha and also has the innate urge to protect his friend. That's it. That's where the boundary to our friendship ends. You need to get that through your head and stop blaming yourself for things that aren't even remotely connected to you.'

Tatum didn't respond to that. She looked around and realized that she had just rounded the building of the cafeteria and had reached the lawn. She wiped the silent tears still streaming down her cheeks and took a seat on one of the dark, stone benches dotting the huge, grass-covered expanse, pulling her knees up and resting her chin on them as she stared into nothing.

Because despite all her inhibitions, there was an element of truth to her Wolf's words that she couldn't ignore.

What could she do about it, really? It wasn't her fault that Francesca was throwing the mother of all fits. Yes, there was the possibility that the kiss from the previous evening and Angier choosing Tatum over her in class that evening might've been the last straw that pushed her over the edge, but was any of it intentional on Tatum's part?

Had she been the one who had grabbed a Mated guy and kissed him? Or tried to show his Mate that Tatum was his first priority in something as trivial as an activity?

I mean, if I'd really wanted to show her that he would choose me over her, there are a million other things I could've done.

Not some stupid class activity.

It was not her fault.

Nothing she could've done would've made things better.

The same way, there was nothing that would've stopped this from happening. So wasting useless tears over this, no matter how much she felt like doing it, was not the answer.

She would move on. She had good friends on her side. So what if one of them had to be taken away from her? Maybe it was always meant to be.

Maybe they were never meant to share that deep connection for a long time. After all, like Veronica Roth eloquently put it, maybe a fire that burned that bright was not meant to last.

"Tatum! Thank Goddess, you're here!"

Or was it?

Tatum tried so hard to hide the unadulterated joy coursing through her at the sight of a slightly-out-of-breath best friend, who was jogging in her direction.

Without thinking, she jumped off the bench and crossed the rest of the way to him, throwing herself into his arms in such a move so sudden that Angier almost staggered back in surprise and went tumbling down. Tatum's ankles locked around his waist as she clung to him like a monkey before he could drop her, and thankfully, he regained his balance quickly and wrapped his arms around her back, holding her close to him as he let out a laugh that made happiness and warmth radiate through her insides.

She had never realized until now just how much she loved that laugh.

She resisted the urge to ask what happened, or if this was the last they were talking, or if he had made a choice, and let her head rest on the crook of his neck, breathing slowly.

"I am not making a choice," Angier whispered, using one arm to hold her against him as the other arm ran up and down her back in a soothing manner, "I told her that I'm not."

Tatum could feel the thump of his strong heartbeat that had now slowed down to a steady rhythm, even through the several layers between them. She wanted to stay there, in that exact position and savor that moment, but reality had a way of crashing fantasies. She slowly pulled her head back, gazing into his eyes uncertainly, "Was she okay with it?"

"Not really. She threatened me with rejection. But I told her to shove it because if she really wanted to reject me, she'd have done it the night we met." Angier shrugged with a pasted-on smile as he looked away, but Tatum could see right through the fake cheer in his expression.

She wasn't the Queen of fake smiles and held-back tears for nothing.

"Angier." Tatum touched one finger to his chin, making him look into her eyes, "What will you do if she really goes through with it? She is your soulmate, in the end."

"I know that," A frown creased his eyebrows, and he looked into her sea-blue eyes searchingly, "But wouldn't you have done the same thing if you'd been in my position? Wouldn't you have fought till the very last possible moment to have me in your life?"

Tatum felt like throwing her head back and laughing at the uncertainty he was trying hard to mask behind a cool tone, "You really have to ask, Ang?"

A smile spread across his face—finally—and the dimples that she adored so much popped out cutely, "That's what I thought."

"So . . . um, should we . . .?" Tatum gestured with a hand between them, reminding him of the fact that were still entwined like a pretzel.

"Oh!" His grip tightened almost instinctively as he held her closer, but an amused quirk of her lips made color rise to his cheeks, "Of course," He released the hold he had on her, letting her land on her feet. Tatum took a quick step back and straightened her rumpled shirt, using the back of her hand to also wipe away the left-over tears still smudged across her cheeks.

Angier's mouth turned down suddenly, and she realized that he must've only taken in her red-rimmed eyes after she had just wiped her face, "I—I'm really sorry for putting you through that. You have no idea how bad I felt to know that you were crying because of me. I really had to stay and argue my point, though and—"

"Shh," Tatum put a finger on his lips, startling him into silence, "I overreacted. Although, not really as it was only because I thought I'd lost you for good. Nothing is set in stone, yet. But it's good to know that there's hope."

Angier opened his mouth in protest, but Tatum shook her head, "Let's just head home."

And she realized that she still thought of her home as their home. She turned to glance at his face to check if he had something to say about it, but the oblivious expression he had on made it abundantly clear that he hadn't given her words a second thought.

She liked that.

In fact, she liked that a lot.

~

The ride home was filled with contemplative silence. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable per se; they could do a movie marathon all night in complete silence and still not feel awkward, but this silence made it clear that both of them were in deep thought.

Tatum didn't want to be the one to break it, so she remained that way.

Just as she turned her car into the road where her home was situated, she noticed a lean, dark-haired figure sitting on the raised cement platform built to protect the rose bushes planted outside their gate.

Tatum squinted as she took in his very attractive features, trying to remember if she had seen the guy before. She was sure that he was not a pack member; because one, she was sure she knew the face of every person belonging to her pack, and two, even if she didn't, a face like his would not go unnoticed.

There was a niggling feeling on the back of her mind, telling her that she somehow knew who that person was.

Those dark eyebrows, deep-set golden eyes, and generously full lips were something she had committed to memory. But for the life of her, she couldn't connect the dots and remember how she knew that.

"What's wrong?" Angier asked as he glanced over at the newcomer as well, and Tatum shook her head to herself, "I don't know. I just have a feeling that I know him. I just can't remember how."

"Oh," From the confusion on his face, Angier didn't seem to be having any strange feelings of recollection like her, "I don't know. I've never seen him before."

Tatum just pulled her car to a stop outside the gate of her house, feeling that bizarre emotion intensify by the moment. The guy looked into the vehicle through the front glass and made direct eye-contact just as she switched off the engine. She felt like his name was on the tip of her tongue, the memory on the edge of her brain, but just out of reach.

She got out of the car and walked towards the stranger who had now stood up, distantly hearing that Angier was following suit as well. The guy gave her a timid smile just as she reached him, extending his hand, "Hello, Alpha. I'm Llewellyn Carter."

And then, it was like a wave just crashed through her, bringing it all back; that grief-hazed memory when she had first laid eyes on a worn-out photograph of a younger version of the guy standing in front of her, and Tatum knew that the guy wasn't lying.

It really was Llewellyn fucking Carter.

The guy she'd always thought was her probable Mate; the same guy who was supposed to be dead.

~ * ~

Okay, did that really happen? Yes, yes, it did.

QUESTION: WHAT'S YOUR THEORY?

Crap, I can't believe I let that happen. :D

Lmao.

Okay, I'll stop. You just tell me WHAT U THINK! :)

AND ALSO, IF YOU ENJOYED IT, PLEASE DO,

VOTE, COMMENT, AND FAN!