The Beauty And The Alpha-Beast (Completed)

Chapter Eleven

Hey guys! So sorry for updating so late, I was having my finals so I didn't have much time to write. But yes, here is the long awaited Chapter 11. Enjoy!

Four years ago

"I forbid you from going out with him!" Adrian demanded angrily.

That only added to the fuel of the fire beginning to burn in the pit of my stomach. "You forbid me? Who do you think you are? My mum?" I crossed my arms. 

"Close enough! He's not a good guy, I'm only trying to protect you." He reasoned.

"Every single guy that is not you or Chase is not good. For goodness sake, you don't even know him! How many times are you going to turn down my date for me? It's just for fun, you know I'm waiting for my mate, nothing's going to come out of it." I fought back.

"Exactly, so there's no reason you need to go out with him, is there?" A smirk was stuck on his face, he must have thought he had won.

I stomped my foot like an immature child but I didn't care. He was being so unreasonable. Being unable to come up with anything else to fight back with, I turned to look at Chase and Darlene for help but they both held grim expressions, not knowing whose side to stand on.

I let out an exasperated scream and stomped back to my room, feeling all my pride shaved off of me with that look on Adrian's face when I gave up fighting with him. He had won. 

But that wasn't the point. The point was that he was being so possessive of me and he shouldn't be doing that. 

Over the next few days, I wanted to give him a lesson for being so controlling of me. He had no right. Every time he tried talking to me, I would give him a cold shoulder and treat him as air, as if he wasn't even in my presence. I know it was rude and immature, but at that point, who cared? That was probably the first time we fought for so long. Our parents were actually getting worried about us but I told them not to worry. 

I knew Adri would eventually cave in, just not sure when that would be, seeing as he was even more stubborn than a mule. Well, I wasn't in the place to say that about him since I was nearly as bad as him. Nearly.

"Hey my Bella, want to have this banana milkshake? I made it especially for you, I know it's your favourite?" Adri asked excitedly, coming next to me. 

At first, Adri hit back and ignored me as well, but after a while he decided to go with the soft approach. Always trying to be extra kind or nice to me, hoping I would be the first to cave. But I wasn't so easily fooled. Although the idea of the banana milkshake really had my will wavering. Who could say know to such a delicious drink? And it was even made by him!

Darlene, who was sitting next to me and saw my determination wavering, poked me lightly to warn me. I gave her a thankful look and continued to ignore him. "So, as I was talking about…" 

I could see him walking away disappointedly at the far sight of my eyes. My heart clenched at the sight of him but I reminded myself I had to be resilient. It was for his own good - well sort of. Well, it was. I was helping him so that he wouldn't do it with his future mate. I could deal with it for so many years because I've known him forever and he was my best friend, but his future mate could very well come from the other side of the world. She might not understand him and be unable to bear his controlling ways. 

Yup, I was helping him, I affirmed myself.

//

Present

The rest of the week flew past without much trouble. We did our best to avoid them and they stayed out of our way.

However, I couldn't shake off the uncanny feeling I had towards all of them, especially their alpha. I swear I could feel his eyes on me as I walked down the hallways. I tried not to think too much about it.

Saturday arrived much faster than I would have liked.

Sitting down heavily at the kitchen table, I let my head fall into my arms. 

"Didn't sleep well?" Adri asked as he was making breakfast.

I just nodded my head, not bothering to say anything. 

"Don't worry, everything's going to be fine. I'll make sure of it." He tried to comfort me. 

Groaning, I wanted so much to believe him but I just knew. I didn't know how but I knew something terrible was going to come out of it. 

"Here, I made you your favourite breakfast. Hopefully, it can cheer you up." I looked up as Adri placed a plate in front of me.

Blueberry Pancakes! Why did he have to make it easy for me to fall for him every single time I see him? 

"Oh god, thank you thank you thank you! I can't believe you went through all the trouble!" I exclaimed.

"Hey, what are best friends for?" He smiled back at me.

"However, this is one condition for this," He smirked when he saw me frowning. "I mean nothing is free in this world anymore, is there?" 

I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering what he was going to do. It did not look good. 

"You have to let me feed you." He declared.

I stared at him while I was stuck between whether to say "That's it?" or "You've got to be kidding me." 

Without waiting for my response, he started to spread the butter and maple syrup on the pancakes before cutting them into small pieces. 

"Here you go, open your mouth my Bella." He teased as he hovered the fork in front of my mouth. 

I continued to look at him suspiciously, unsure whether to go along with it. But with that delicious looking food hovering in front of me, it was hard to say no. 

Slowly, I opened my mouth, ready to accept the mouthwatering food. I could almost taste the sweet maple syrup as I watched it entering my mouth when all of a sudden, it went straight into his mouth. 

I stared at him, shocked. Oh no he did not!

"Close your mouth darling, or the flies will get in." He smirked as he pushed my jaw upwards to close my mouth. 

"You want to play this way, fine! Challenge accepted." I replied as excitement bubbled through me. He was so not going to win this. 

His eyes glittered mischievously as he took in what I said. 

Without saying another word, he picked up another piece of pancake. This time, before he even had time to react, I closed my mouth over it.

"Success!" I punched my arm in the air as I savoured the food in my mouth. 

"Tsk, I was just being easy on you. This is just the start." Adri defended in which I stuck my tongue out at him in response. 

Laughing, he began to pick up another piece. 

However, being the smart person that I was, I picked up the entire plate in front of me and started to run upstairs, laughing along the way. "No one messes with my food!"

Of course, my brilliant plan had to have some flaws in it. Before I could even reach the third step of the stairs, I felt Adri's arms pull at my waist, preventing me from escaping.

"Oh no, you don't!" He laughed evilly in my ear. 

"Help, Chase! Anyone! I'm being bullied by the big bad wolf!" I screamed. 

"Too bad for you, Chase was on patrol the whole of last night so he’s fast asleep and today's saturday! No one's going to wake up and save you, my little red riding hood!" Adri laughed as he gathered me in his arms bridal style and carried me back into the kitchen.

Just then, Mike walked past us looking like he could fall asleep right there and then. My guess was that he was on patrol last night as well.

Without any warning, he took the plate of pancakes from my hand and said, "Thanks guys, you're the best."

And he walked up the stairs.

Both of us stared after him, not believing what had just happened. 

In the end, we both started laughing at the foolishness of everything that happened. 

After all, Adrian had succeeded in taking my mind off of what was going to happen tonight. And believe me when I say it's not going to be pretty. 

*~*

I was rummaging through my closet for a suitable outfit for tonight's party. If it hadn't been obvious enough, I ddin't usually go for these things.

Heaving a big sigh, I sat down on my bed looking at the few presentable outfits I had laid out. 

None of them looked like the right one. Just when I was going to give up and just go in my jeans and shirt, there was a knock on my door. From my scent, I could tell who it was and it was definitely a surprise.

Hesitating, I walked over to open the door. There she stood, looking so beautiful and glamorous she could very possibly be the next top model. 

Dar's face was emotionless, it was impossible to tell what she was feeling or thinking about. 

"Here," she passed me a little black dress and added before turning on her heels and walking away, "No need to thank me, I was sorting through my clothes and this one just happens not to fit me. Better give it to you than waste it."

Many feelings came at me at once - surprise, shock, disbelief - just to name a few. It made me want to laugh. 

Was this some kind of a peace offering? Or did she feel guilty for attacking me? 

Before I even had much time to think about it, Adri reminded me through our mind link that we had to go soon. 

The little black dress Dar gave me was a short lightweight simple back dress where the thick straps criss-cross at the back and comes to the front in a deep v-neck line. It was beautiful and elegant. I quickly changed into it and tied my hair into a high ponytail. I wasn't a big fan of makeup so I was done after pairing my dress with black platform heels. 

Looking in the mirror to make sure I looked alright, I ran down the stairs to join the boys, the whole time praying that my sixth sense was wrong, that nothing bad was going to happen tonight.

Descending the stairs, I spotted the boys lazying around in the living room, waiting for the girls to get ready. My vision immediately zoned in on my mate. Damn, why did he have to look so hot?

He was dressed casually with his favourite faded maroon t-shirt and a dark blue low-slung jeans. His hair was the usual hot mess since he couldn’t be bothered to groom it. I literally had to stop myself from running towards him.

These days, the temptations get even worse than before. It had been far too long, I knew I would have to tell him very soon because let’s face it, the secret would be out sooner or later. It was better for me to tell him myself. Perhaps it was time to test and see if he really did feel something for me in the romantic kind of way. I decided that tonight would be a great opportunity. It was now or never. I could hardly think about him without wanting to jump on him, feel his lips against mine… that was it. Enough was enough. 

As I made my way to join him on the sofa, I tried to sway my hips the way Dar and the popular chicks at school do, hoping like crazy it didn’t look like I was trying too hard. As I sat down on the sofa, I purposely sat really close to him such that our bodies were attached. 

He looked at me, giving me a lazy smile and projected his thought towards me. “Hey my Bella, you look beautiful.”

I returned him a shy smile and replied. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” 

He closed his warm hand around mine and gave it a small squeeze. “Don’t worry about tonight okay? I promise I will do everything I can to protect you.”

It was like my heart melted from what he said. All I wanted to do was to kiss him. Stupid hormones! It was so frustrating to know who my mate was yet not be able to tell him. In any case, this was entirely my fault. If I had just manned up and told him about it when I first found out, none of this would be happening. 

“I trust you.”

*~*

The Dark Fire Pack House was a normal semi-d house at the other side of town. My entire body was all tensed up and I couldn’t shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen. I kept trying to calm myself down but I just knew that my gut feeling was going to be right. 

I held on to Adri’s hand tightly as we made our way inside. I could see the guys all taking positions preassigned. Eric was standing near Nicole while Taylor was with Anne. Nicole and Anne were college students so we didn’t usually see them except on the weekends. They weren’t as close to the rest of us because of the age difference but we still hang out together sometimes. 

As we neared their house, Daryl opened to door for us and greeted, “Welcome! I’m glad you guys could make it.” 

All I wanted to do was roll my eyes at him. I didn’t like him, period. 

We were welcomed by the booming soundtrack as as soon as we stepped into the house. That meant that the entire house was soundproof, or we would have heard the music from miles away. That didn’t stand right, why would they build their house soundproof when they shouldn’t have anything to hide. Or maybe it was already built this way by the previous owners? Maybe I was thinking too much… I tried to forget about it. 

The werewolves of the Dark Fire Pack were spread out in the living room, some watching tv, some playing pool and some were doing shots. The entire place reeked of alcohol and it wasn’t hard for me to spot the whole pile of booze at the side. 

“Alright, guys! This is the Moon Light Pack, well, a small part of the Moon Light Pack. I would like to formally introduce us all. We’ll start with us first.” Daryl announced and someone lowered the volume of the music. 

“I’m Daryl, the Alpha of the Dark Fire Pack,” he introduced. “My Beta, Jeff. Third in command, Brian.”

I remembered those two with a vengeance that could cause my blood to boil. Yes, now that all the shock was out of the system, I was angry. I was furious at them and at myself for being so weak.

“Derrick, Hayes, Gale, Jared, Ted, Josh and Adam.” He pointed at each one of them and they waved to us. Friendly enough.

Then it was Adrian’s turn. When he introduced me as the third in command, I stood out bravely and gave them a nod expressionless. I was not a weak little girl. I would show them that we, the Moon Light Pack, was not weak. 

After the introduction, Daryl spoke again. “So, now that that’s over, let the fun begin!” 

Anne, Nicole, Eric and Taylor went to the pool table to join the game while Mike and Jake followed Hayes and Gale out to the back to start the barbecue. What was a party without food? 

Dar was the only one who ventured to the TV and Chase followed after her. 

I usually didn’t drink but with all the tension inside me, I just needed something to shake it up if I were going to make it through the night. 

“I’m just going to get something to drink, I’ll be back.” I told Adri but he quickly held me back. 

“I’ll go with you,” he said with a tight smile. He was still worried about me after what happened. 

The two of us made our way to the kitchen to get cups, only to meet Daryl getting a drink as well. 

Apparently, there was more booze stocked up in the fridge. “Want a beer?” he asked. 

“Sure,” Adri replied.

“Me too, thanks.” I added. 

Adri looked at me warily. He knew I didn’t drink often so I gave him a reassuring smile. 

Passing the drink to us, Daryl flipped open his bottle casually and asked, leaning against the counter. “So, don’t mind if I ask. I always see you guys together. Are you guys, you know, dating?”

My heart tightened, if only.

Adri stayed silent for a total of 10 heartbeats. I knew because I was counting. It was hard not to when the sound of my heart pumping was ringing in my ears.

Just when I couldn't take it any longer and was going to deny the fact, Adri stared directly into my eyes, daring me to refuge. "Yes," he replied as his arms went around my waist, bringing me closer to him such that there wasn't any space in between us. "How did you know? We were still waiting for to right time to let everyone know so we were just laying low at the moment." Everything that came tumbling out of his mouth was so natural almost I believed him for a second... who was I kidding?

My mind drew a blank as soon as I registered what he had said. He said that... we were together. It was almost like a dream come true to me. Almost, until an entire bucket of ice cold water was dumped onto me when I realised that it wasn't true. Of course it wasn't. But the thought of it... no, I couldn't go there now. I would dream about it when I return home in the comfort of my bed, but not now.

I knew what Adri was trying to convey to me with his eyes even without him warning me through our mind link. He was trying to protect me. I have seen the way Daryl looked at me, almost as if he was a predator and I was his prey. I didn't want to know what was going through his mind.

Daryl coughed a little, breaking the tension that had built up while Adri and I locked our eyes with each other.

He chuckled a little. "Well, there goes my chance." I couldn't tell if he was joking.

He'd better be, Adri's voice infiltrated my mind.

"Take good care of her, or else she may just be snatched away." He continued to say with that humorous voice of his such that I couldn't tell what he was really trying to say. Was that a warning?

A growl came from Adri after hearing what he said. "I will," he gritted out the words.

Sensing a flare in his anger, I quickly moved in front of him and put one hand on his chest to calm him down. Werewolves were possessive and protective creatures. Being his mate, I was able to calm him down through my touch.

He locked his eyes with mine and without saying another word, he grabbed my arm and led me back into the living room where the others were playing pool.

The guys from the Dark Fire Pack were so obviously checking Nicole and Anne out but they were too busy busking in their attention to care. I was just glad Taylor and Eric were there to make sure nothing would go out of line.

"Oh hey! Wanna join our game?" Ted asked as he spotted us moving towards them.

Adri looked at me as if asking for my permission so said, “Sure, why not?"

"Cool," Ted said as he passed us both a cue stick.

As I pushed what had just happened out of my mind, I remembered the promise I made to myself to start testing whether Adri did feel something for me. I decided that then would be a good time. 
Gulping a few mouthfuls of the beer in my hands, I cringed a little at the bitter taste that scorched my throat like hot water. I wasn't much of a drinker and immediately after that few mouthfuls, I could feel myself getting a little lightweight and tipsy. It wasn't too much but just enough for me to bring on some bravery for what I was about to do next.

As Ted signalled to me for my turn, I purposely walked to the other side of the pool table so that when I bent down to aim, Adri would have a good view of my cleavage. It's all for him, for us, I kept chanting inside my head like a mantra, urging myself to go through with it.

After a hit, I lifted my head to look at him, only to be greeted by eyes so dark it looked almost black. That was it, that was exactly the sign I was looking for. When werewolves were filled with anger or lust, their eyes would turn a different shade of colour depending on their original eye colour. And for Adri, it was black. I was sure of it, but what I wasn't sure was whether he was angry at me or lusting after me. He could very well be mad at me for doing the stunt. After all, he could be very protective about me. God, why was he so confusing? Couldn't he send me a proper signal? I groaned inwardly.

Standing up, I returned next to him. Standing as close to him as I could. Maybe it was time to use the flirting techniques Dar taught me two years ago. My heart was beating hard and fast like a drum but I took a deep breath. I could do it, I told myself.

Curling my hand over his arm, I gazed into his eyes,making sure to bat my eyelashes at him a few times. The worst that could happen if he were to ask was to tell him I tried using a mascara but my eyes were too sensitive for it. "So, how did you think I did?" I turned my head to whisper into his eye softly, almost sounding like a purr. I wanted to hug Dar for whatever she taught me then because whatever it was, it was working.

Adri tensed as soon as I grabbed onto his arm and I could feel him shiver as I whispered into his ear. He took a while to respond, probably to adjust to my weird behaviour or to calm himself down. I couldn't be sure.

"Great, my Bella." He mumbled, not looking directly into my eyes, causing my heart to clench in disappointment.

So that was it? Was that the signal he was trying to give me? That he wasn't interested? I could feel my wolf whine in misery.

Adri's POV

"She is drunk," I told myself sternly in my mind. My Bella wouldn't go around showing her... I didn't even want to think about it but that image was imprinted in my mind.

I would be fooling myself if I didn't admit that I liked her. I didn't know since when I found out but I did. I had liked my best friend more than how I should feel for a best friend, which was why the way she was acting was driving me crazy.

Was she flirting with me? She had to be drunk, that was the only possible reason. I've never seen her act this way, and to be honest it was refreshing and I couldn’t help but feel lust coursing through my veins. Even my wolf agreed with me.

But my undiscovered mate tugged at my mind, reminding me that I couldn't make the same mistake twice, definitely not to Belle. I couldn't lead her on only to push her away, the same mistake I did with Dar which came with too much a cost for me to risk.

I forced myself to calm down and told her, "Great, my Bella,” even though I didn't even see how she did.

I did my best to avoid her eyes because I didn't know what I might do if I did. Her eyes were beautiful, it might not special to anybody, but it was to me. They were almost like windows to me, where I could stare deep into her soul and feel everything she was feeling. We always shared such a close bond. I was afraid what she might do if she found out how I felt about her. The last thing I wanted was for her to run away from me when she had finally returned next to me after two long dreadful years. I didn't think I would be able to bear it.

"My turn," I said with relief as I removed my arm from Belle.

Focusing on the game, I made a quick shot before looking back at Belle. To my astonishment, I saw her sitting at a counter talking and laughing with Josh, almost as if she was flirting with him. And damn that guy was standing way too closely to her for my liking. It was so obvious that the guy was into her.

What was she thinking? Had she forgotten what happened with the beta and third in command not too long ago? No, she's just drunk. Go and save her dude, my wolf defended her.

He's right, I thought as I made my way to her quickly.

"Hey, having a good time?" I asked her as my arm slid around her waist. She looked extraordinary in her little black dress. My voice leaked of sarcasm but I didn't care as I shot Josh a look of warning. He looked at me warily before walking off.

Finally...

"Hey, I was just talking to him A!" She protested.

"It didn't look so innocent to me," I mumbled softly as I wrapped my other arm around her waist, bringing her in for a hug.

"Are you jealous?" She chuckled, “Don't be, you know I'll always love you the best." She placed her nose at the crook of my neck and I couldn’t help but feel as if we fitted as well as two matching puzzle pieces.

Yes, but not the love we want. My wolf grumbled in my head which I quickly shut off with a reminder that we were waiting for our mate.

I busked in the peachy scent she smelt like and she snuggled in closer to me. 

Just then, I suddenly felt eyes on me. Turning around, it was none other than the alpha himself. I knew he liked Bella. He was too obvious, especially from that whole fiasco that happened in the kitchen. I would make sure he wouldn’t be able to hurt her. No one messes with my girl, my wolf agreed with me whole-heartedly.

Meeting my gaze, he held it defiantly but gave me a nod and looked away after some time. It was a rule in our society that if we stare into an Alpha's eyes in a threatening way, he or she was asking for a fight. A fight to overthrow the alpha's position.

It was a smart choice for him to look away because I didn't think I would hold back if he decided to come my way. From all the things they had done to my Bella to the potential risk and danger that hung with their pack, I knew they were of no good and would definitely go up against him if he wanted to fight. I would never leave my pack in the hands of that man, even if he hadn't done much to prove that he was up to no good.

"Hey guys, who's up for a some classic truth or dare?" Daryl asked, breaking my train of thoughts.

"How about spin the bottle?" Gale asked excitedly to which Hayes nudged him forcefully, "if you want to kiss us guys, then fine, be my guest," as both of them emerged from the kitchen holding barbecue food.

"Food!" The boys hollered with glee as they ran towards them as if they had been starved for days.

Afterwards, all of us gathered into a circle with out food as we got ready for the game. I didn't really want to participate but I knew I had to because my pack members would be looking at me to make the decision. I was well aware that the primary purpose of this game was to hook up with girls but if I refused, it would be equivalent to rejecting the Alpha which was very rude. Hell, I never liked politics.

Belle never liked this game but in the state that she was after finishing the entire bottle of her beer, I doubt she was even thinking straight at the moment. I tried preventing her from joining but all she did was say, "why? But it's so much fun!" And went ahead to sit at the circle.

I quickly grabbed some water for her in hope that it would help diffuse the alcohol in her system.

"So, let's start!" Daryl announced as he spun the bottle in the middle of the circle. 

Fnally, things are starting to heat up! Are you excited to know how Adri feels about Belle? I can't wait for you guys to read what will happen next because I promise you it's gonna be exciting! Do stay tuned for the next chapter!

As usual, thanks so much for reading. Please vote and/or comment if you deem appropriate! Can't wait to hear what you guys think :) 

xx