“This is the last time you see her, do you hear me?”
Max crosses his arms over his chest. “Alice is entitled to see whoever she wants, and today she chose to come and see me. Just like she did the other day.”
This guy really is trying to piss me off. “She's mine, so back off.”
“I can't do that.”
“Why the fuck not?” I grit out.
He rolls his eyes. “Because I like her too, and your words will only make me like her even more.”
I shove at his chest. “Do you have a death wish?”
“When it comes to her, Ryder, I don't give a shit about what you have to say.”
I glare at him. “You have no idea who you're talking to Fields.”
He shakes his head. “No. You have no idea who you're talking to, King”
I smirk. “Oh I think I do. I know I can beat you in a fight, and I know that I can get the girl before a slimy lying shit like you does.”
He doesn't say anything to that.
“If you dare contact her again, I'll really hurt you Max, and Alice won't be there to protect you.'
“You're so sure that you'll beat me?”
I scoff. “I've already done it once, and I sure as hell can do it again.”
I walk away, leaving Max standing alone in the parking lot, but the moment I reach the clearing, I hear Max saying under his breath. “No. It'll be you who'll get hurt next time.”
I'd like to see you try.
Chapter 12
Alice
It's another day in Small Town and for some reason, I've had to end up going to school. I may have given up on my studies, but Sam's still eager to finish school with good grades. So, that's where we end up today. In school.
The nurse had said to Sam and her family that she could leave the hospital anytime she wanted, considering she's back to her normal self. Sam left the hospital yesterday, but the last thing I expected her to do was come to school today.
The reason why I've come with her is because on the ride to school, Sam said that she wanted me to keep her company, because she's worried that she might get attacked again. I know that Sam's a strong person and she likes to take care of herself, but I think anyone in this situation would rather have somebody by their side, than to be alone. I'd do anything for Sam, so if me being by her side makes her feel protected, then that's what I'll do, and I'll stay with her as long as she needs me to.
When we arrive at the school, I was left all alone because Sam had to leave for her lesson. To avoid
being seen and being questioned, I decide to stay in the library and wait until Sam's lesson finishes. The library of the school is the place where no one comes anymore, and you can tell that not even the cleaners come here to clean, and there's not even a librarian.
Dust is collected everywhere, spider webs dangle in every corner of the room and some even around the books. Books that must be over a hundred years old at least, and there's even dirtied shelves and stands.
The lamps no longer work that are embedded into the cracked ceiling above. The ground is littered with dirt, books and even torn paper.
The dust in the room floats lazily in the air and it's causing me every so often to cough.
Why is this room the only room in the school I know that I won't be seen?
I sit myself at a round table, watch the clock and wait.
I must have dozed off from waiting, because I'm woken up by the sound of a bell ringing. I look up at the clock and see that it's lunchtime.
That went quicker than I thought.
Before Sam had left for her class, she told me to meet her in the cafeteria, and told me to choose a secluded spot, away from everyone.
I pull the hood of my hoodie over my head once
again, and follow the crowd into the cafeteria. The moment I enter through the doors, I pick a table that's right at the back of the room, and again wait for Sam to come and find me. It's not long before she does.
“I fucking hate Math!” Sam slams her books down on the table, causing me to again, jump in surprise.
Is she trying to kill me?
With my hood still on, I turn to look at Sam to see her clutching her head with a look of annoyance on her face.
“You okay?” I ask her cautiously. “No! Mr. Jackson is such an asshole.”
To Sam, everyone's an asshole. So, this isn't really a surprise.
“Why? What's he said now?”
She growls. “He knew that I was attacked, and he still made me do the test I missed yesterday.”
“Maybe he just wants you to catch up and get good grades?”
Sam scoff. “That is absolute bullshit! He's the type of teacher who doesn't give a shit if you pass or fail.”
Sounded like another teacher I know.
“God, how I wish I could stick one of those huge
Math books and stick it up somewhere it really hurts!” She clutches her head and whimpers.
It's really hard to keep a straight face when things like that come out of her mouth. “How's your head?”
“My head is perfectly fine other than when I shout and think too much, but the bruise.” She grimaces. “I'm glad I'm wearing a hat because it's ugly as fuck.”
“Then, why didn't you stay at home for a couple of days? Let your head heal for a bit.”
She rolls her eyes. “Because I want to have good grades.”
There we go.
If that was me, I would want to stay home as long as possible, but then again me and Sam are completely the opposite when it comes to school work.
Sam clutches her head with both hands and groans. “What are you doing?”
“Thinking.”
I frown. “About what?”
Immediately her change of emotion shifts, and she looks very much unhappy.
“Ever since you told me what happened, I just can't get over it. I mean, Terry and your mum are dead.
How are you gonna move on from this?”
I look at her reassuringly. “It'll be okay, Sam. Don't wear yourself out over this because this isn't your problem. It's mine.”
“But how are you coping without having your mum around?”
“What's keeping me going is finding out exactly who killed my mum and Terry. That's all I'm living for right now.”
“You're so strong, I'd be falling apart if that was me.” “I'm hurting on the inside, but crying comes later.
Right now, I need to find the killer.”
“And finding my attacker.” Sam adds. “I need to find out who did that.”
“I actually have an idea on who attacked you.” “You do?” Sam frowns.
I nod. “Considering he had your keys, it has to be Mr. Edmund who attacked you.”
“Our teacher?” Sam thinks for a while but then shakes her head. “No, it couldn't be.”
It soon dawns on me that Sam has no idea what Mr. Edmund really is.
“Sam, there's something you should also know.”
She sighs. “God, what now?”
“Mr. Edmund's a wolf too. He's the one that bit me.”
She takes it all in and throws her arms up in the air. “What the fuck have I missed!?”
She shrieks. “It's like I've been sleeping for fucking years!”
I half smile. “You've missed a lot, but I'm glad that you didn't have to live through it all because that night was the worst night of my life.”
Sam looks at me in guilt. “Tell me what happened. I want to know everything that happened on that night. You can't keep that to yourself because it will make you go crazy.”
With that I'm teleported back to the night this whole nightmare began.
“When you dropped me off home after school, for some reason you went back to the school and that's when you got attacked. I received a phone call from my mum telling me that you were in the hospital. I drove there myself and saw Ryder and the wolves there already, they were the ones that took you to the hospital.” Sam remains looking at
me carefully. I continue. “I saw you in the hospital bed and stood by your side. I held your hand and soon left to go and pick up your car. When I got there, your keys were nowhere near the car. So, I went to see if they were in
your locker, but they weren't there either. I was running out of options of where your keys would be, but then I saw a light on in a room, and it was the room we have our English class. I went inside and saw Mr. Edmund sitting casually in his chair with your keys dangling from his fingers.”
Sam gasps. “Why did he have my keys?”
I shrug. “I don't know, but what was odd about the whole thing was that it looked like he was waiting for me to come and collect them, like he knew I'd turn up.”
“It still doesn't make sense that he was the one that hit me.”
I tilt my head in question.
Sam holds her head. “Mr. Edmund was nowhere near me when I got hit.” He winces. “I remember seeing him standing at the school doors. He was watching the whole thing.”
I place my hand on her arm. “Stop hurting yourself Sam. It's not worth it.”
“But it wasn't him.” She sighs in frustration. “I can't believe I'm ruling him out, but I was looking straight at him. It was somebody else, and this person had a lot of strength.”
For some reason, this takes me back to the
conversation I had with the nurse discussing about what Sam could've been hit with.
“Do you know what you were hit with?”
She thinks again. “No, but it was solid and it really fucking hurt. One hit and I was down. Out cold.”
“I would say the attackers choice of weapon was a baseball bat.”
I frown. “A wooden bat?”
The nurse shakes her head. “No. Not a wooden bat. A steel bat.”
Sam looks at me suspiciously. “Why do you look like you might know something?”
“Do you think maybe you were hit with a baseball bat?”
She gasps. “A baseball bat?” I nod.
“No. I would've died immediately from the impact.”
I sigh. “That's true, but what if the person who struck you wasn't that strong.”
“Alice, what are you trying to say here?”
“Let's say that it wasn't Mr. Edmund that struck you. Let's say that it was someone younger, but has the strength of an adult.”
“Yeah, but with a bat you don't need that much strength.”
I'm running out of options but then out of nowhere, Sam gasps.
“Wait a minute. Isn't our school known for our baseball team?”
I look at her in surprise. “Is it? I thought it was basketball.”
“No, it's not. I remember cheerleading for the baseball team. We won every single game.”
Then, a thought occurs to me. “So, do you think a student could do it?”
She shrugs. “Maybe? Possibly? I don't know.” “If that's true, then that only means one thing.”
Sam looks downhearted. “It means that it could be a student in this school that attacked me.”
Chapter 13
As soon as I wake up the next morning, I knew something wasn't right. I could feel it through my entire body that something was wrong and I didn't know the meaning of it. It felt like what I'd imagine a panic attack would feel like, but every time I thought I might collapse, my body goes completely back to normal, but it would then start over again in a few minutes.
It begins with entering a sort of mental fog or blur, and the sounds around me become static. Then my hearing starts to get muffled, my fingertips grow numb and my stomach feels cold, as if I haven't eaten in days. My mouth gets dry, and I get an iron taste in my mouth. Then my body stiffens, and it makes me feel like I've lost control of my muscles, and that's when the shivering begins. It's as if I've been thrown into a cold river, but at the same time, I'm sweating. This is the third time it's happened since this morning, and I can't stop thinking to myself, why is this happening?
Ryder and the wolves have already left for school, leaving me all alone in the house. Ryder had come into my room this morning, but I pretended to be asleep after what happened at the diner. He said to me
that he's following a lead, but he asked me if he wanted to stay at home with me, to which I didn't reply back. That hopefully gave him the answer that I wanted to be alone.
Somehow, I could feel from the atmosphere in the room that Ryder was also feeling uneasy, and from all the times I've been around Ryder, I've never been able to make out what his feelings are. It was like I could feel exactly what he was feeling, and that made me scared.
I've stayed in my room through the whole morning, lying in the fatal position while trying to figure out what's causing me to feel so uneasy and afraid. It's a feeling I've never experienced before, and I feel that if I make even the slightest movement, it might trigger the feeling of having a panic attack. I wish someone was in the house right now, like Kellan so I could talk to him about what's wrong with me, because he might know what the problem is. It might be a wolf thing, but I'm left with figuring it out by myself.
I know I probably won't know what the cause of this is, but it'll probably go away after a few hours. I hoped.
From lying in the same position for almost an hour and staring at the wall, I can feel my eyes growing heavy, but just as I fall asleep, my phone starts ringing - and it fills the silence of the room with an
irritating ringtone.
Ugh..why is it so loud?
I groan when the noise goes on for ages. I grab a pillow and put it over my head, hoping that the ringing will soon stop, but whoever's calling doesn't seem like they'll be hanging up anytime soon.
With a growl, I carefully sit up from the bed and answer the phone, without looking at the caller ID. “Hello?”
“Alice?”
Why is he calling me?
“Max?”
I can hear the smile in his voice. “How are you?” “I'm fine.”
“You don't sound fine.”
I sigh. “Max, why are you calling me?” “Am I not allowed to call you now?” He sounds a little sad.
“You are, but I'm just a little confused.” “About what?”
I wipe my forehead from all the sweat that's gathered
just from sitting up. “Why are you calling me after what happened with Ryder at the diner?”
Max scoffs. “I'm not going to let some guy stop me from talking to you.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, good luck with that. He'll probably keep me hidden away somewhere.”
Max chuckles. “So, anyway are you free?” I frown. “Right now?”
“Yeah.”
“I think so.”
“Good. Can you meet me?” “What? Right now?” “Yes.”
Why does he want to see me again?
“Why?”
“I have something to return to you.”
What could it be?
“What is it that you need to give me, Max?” “Come to the school, and I'll give it to you then.”
I can feel the start of the attack, and because I don't know the reason behind it, I'm scared to know what
happens after the panic sets in.
“Max? I'm really not feeling well today.”
There's silence on the other end. “Neither am I. I must've ate something, but I want to see you so come to the school. Please.”
He hangs up the phone, leaving me feeling completely befuddled.
After the phone call, I slowly drive to the school, still unable to understand why Max wants to see me, and also to see what he has for me. I don't remember giving anything to Max, so could it be that he just wants to see me again?
When I get to the school, for the third time, I pull the hood over my head and enter the school with one thing on my mind. Finding Max.
As I walk through the corridors, I've had to stop and lean on the lockers to catch my breath more than once, and I've even had a couple of students asking me If I'm okay, but to keep myself hidden from them, I've had
to walk away without uttering a word.
As soon as I take a couple of steps, my body feels like it might fall to the floor, and when my body unexpectedly loses complete control, I feel myself falling effortlessly.
Oh no!
I prepare myself for the impact, but it doesn't come and that's when I realize that my arm is being held up. I look at the hand and follow the arm up to the neck, and stare in amazement at a recognizable face, but he looks at me in concern.
He found me. “Are you okay?”
I can only stare at Max and pant.
He raises me to my full height and places his hands on my shoulders.
“Alice?” He looks deeply into my eyes.
With his hand he puts it gently on my forehead and frowns.
“You're heating up.”
And just like that, everything goes back to normal.
He looks at me in confusion and removes his hand. “But not anymore.”
“What the hell is happening?” I put my palm to my head while murmuring to myself.
“You okay?” I can hear the worry in Max's voice. I don't want to stay here long for obvious reasons. I've only come to see what Max wants to return to me. So, I get right to the point.
“What did you want to give me, Max?”
He half smiles. “I just wanted to give you your notes back.”
He wants to give back my notes?
I frown. “What notes?”
He walks to the opposite side of the corridor to his locker, I follow him and stand next to him.
“Your Biology notes you gave me.”
I don't remember giving him anything.
He notices my confusion. “Remember that day you saw me out on the football field? You gave me your pink flowery folder full of Biology notes.”
Chasing the Beta Page 9
