Shifting the Alpha

Chapter 4- What Will I Do Now?

Ariana's POV

I wake up sore and feeling disoriented and I realize Eli is laying against me. How did we end up here? Then the memories of last night flood through my head. I look around the room and see nothing but blood. My father's blood. A wolf attacked him to protect me. But why? Why would a wild animal do such a thing. I am so confused. Just as I am about to wake Eli up, I hear a knock at the door. Who would be coming here? As I open it, I am left in utter shock. It's the man whose land we had trespassed on yesterday. Oh my God, why is he here? If he looks inside this house he is going to think I killed somebody. Oh God what if people think I did it? I will go to prison. What will happen to Eli?

Suddenly I realize I haven't spoken. "What are you doing here?" I ask him panicked.

"Well I heard something happened here last night with a wolf. Are you and your brother ok?" He asks me.

"Yes." I answer shakily. "But the wolf killed my father. And I don't want people to think it was me." I answer truthfully as I let him in the door.

He looks around the room. "By the looks of things I don't think they will doubt that this was done by an animal." He says.

"Why are you here though?" I ask.

"Well I came to help you. Did you live here by yourself with your father and brother?" He asks.

""Yes." I reply simply.

"Your mother?" He questions.

"She passed away a long time ago." I answer mournfully.

"Oh." is all he says but he looks sad at that thought.

"Well I thought I would offer for you to come stay with me at my place until you can get on your feet and get a place to live." He says.

"That's very generous of you. But we can stay here. Besides, I don't even know your name." I reply.

"Ariana, this place looks like something from a horror movie. At least stay at my place until we get this all cleaned up? And Zander is my name." He persists.

"But why would you want to help us after you told us to never come back on your land yesterday?" I ask him.

"Well, I felt sorry for you both and I am trying to do the right thing here." He says with little emotion.

I think it over for a few minutes before accepting. I mean he is trying to be nice but he is very odd. I really don't have a lot of options right now.

"Ok. But just temporarily." I tell him.

"Absolutely." He says simply.

"Let the authorities come do their investigation. I already told them what I know." He says.

"But, how did you know about everything? No one else was here but me, dad, and Eli and of course the wolf and I know he didn't tell you." I begin to chuckle.

He looks at me stone cold serious. Ok then. Guess he's not answering that question. Not going to push it either. He is trying to be nice and help me and Eli.
I know he is a complete stranger to me but something inside me is telling me to trust him. I mean look at my father that I knew my whole life. He treated me terribly and I couldn't trust him at all. So maybe I can trust a complete stranger. I don't have a lot of faith in anyone in my life other than Eli.

We arrive at his house, well I should say mansion, a short while later after going through questioning from local authorities. They quickly realized this was indeed done by a wild animal and they deemed the house unsafe to live in. I explained to them that we have no other living family and Zander told them he was taking us in for the time being.

He shows us our guest rooms. This place is huge. I wonder how many bedrooms are even in here? What does this guy do for a living? So successful at a young age. He can't be more than 20 years old. Maybe he inherited it? Eli's bedroom is perfect for him and my bed is so comfortable. It's been so long since I actually slept on a mattress. We also each have our own bathroom. I sit there in awe admiring my room until Zander appears in the doorway.

" I had my assistant go out and buy you guys a few outfits. I wasn't sure what you had with you to bring and what you would like so we got a few things. We guessed on size. Hope they all fit. There is soap and things and towels in the bathroom if you want to freshen up. We will have dinner at 6:00 pm promptly in the dining room. Please join me." He finishes.

"Ok. Thank you." I answer him simply.

"You are welcome." He says as he shuts the door.

I fall back on the bed enjoying its softness for a few moments before hopping in the shower.

The shower is luxurious. It's huge and has a million different shower heads in it coming from all directions. It's amazing. The shampoo and soap smells amazing. I scrub myself and enjoy the shower for about an hour. It was heavenly. I go out to the bedroom to change into the clothes they have provided me. They are so nice and stylish. I feel bad accepting them. I put the most simple outfit on that's in there and I go down to check on Eli. He is taking a nap on his bed. It's such a nice sight to see. After a bit I wake him up to get ready to go down to dinner.

Zander's POV

I am sitting at the dining room table waiting for them to come downstairs. It's 6:05pm. I am OCD about time like I said. Not a good impression when they are late.

Suddenly I see them appear in the room. They look like different people. Clean and healthy. It's amazing what a little soap can do and nice clothes. I look especially at Ariana. She is really beautiful. But what am I saying? I am not taking any interest in this girl and I am really annoyed that they came down to dinner late.

"You're late." I say to them as they come to sit down.

"Oh, sorry." Ariana says. I don't respond.

"The food looks so delicious." She says.

She and Eli instantly begin to devour their food. When was the last time they ate? I really believe they stole that food the other day when they were caught on my land. That's sad.

We sit there quietly eating until she speaks up "So we really appreciate the clothes but they are too much. We aren't fancy people and we don't feel right accepting something we didn't earn." She says.

Oh so now she doesn't appreciate my gifts. "Well they are better than the rags you were wearing." I snap at her.

She holds a look of hurt on her face. Damnit. Stupid wolf makes me feel bad.

"Just wear them ok." I tell her simply.

"Ok." Is all she says in response. We finish our meal in silence and then go our own ways back to our rooms.

Ariana's POV

I am lying in this comfortable bed trying to figure out what's going on with Zander. One minute he is being kind and generous and the next minute he is cold. Maybe he needs checked for bipolar disorder? He's kind of an ass at times. But I do appreciate the fact that we are able to stay in a decent place. I know our house was anything but nice but that was all we had. I bet Zander wouldn't last a day in my shoes. He has no clue what I have lived through. I also begin to think of what I am going to do now to support Eli and myself. I am going to have to get a job to be able to afford a place to stay. This is definitely a temporary situation so I need to begin to really plan things out. These are my last thoughts before I drift off to sleep.