Allure Of The Beast • Book I ✔ (Under Major Editing)

04_The Shadow

LAYLA

Now was the right time.

There was just an hour before the store closed for the day. Mrs. Adams was attending to the boys at the counter and I was done with my job. 

So I immediately flopped down on the wooden floor, crossing my legs, and pulled out the large thick black book with gold rims. My nerves buzz with excitement as I pull out the page where my bookmark stands. 

My eyes wash over the thick block letters saying 'MATE BONDING'.

It was an accident that my attention fell upon this dusty old book. It was all out of curiosity but I didn't realize when it became more. 

It was a known fact that there existed creatures called Alphas who were strong and had so many strengths that you couldn't do much but obey them. They were so powerful that they started misusing them and turned into the monsters that they truly were. They slaved the omegas and abused the betas. 

It was then that our King Edgar, a beta man, secretly formed his army and raised his voice against the fickle Alphas. Though they were immensely powerful, he did not stop and fought for our freedom and saved the world, wiping away the entire Alpha race. That was The Great War.

That's what we've been told ever since we were toddlers who didn't even know what war meant. 

But this book. This book that no one ever bought or borrowed. 

Mrs. Adams probably did not even know of its existence and nobody seemed to care, which only made me all the more curious of who those Alphas were that this book talked about in such a beautiful manner.

It's said that only an Alpha and an Omega could form mate bonds and only they could produce offspring. 

Maybe the part about forming mate bonds was true because no such thing existed but only they could reproduce? That was false because I've seen so many omegas happily married to betas. This only confused me furthermore and I couldn't decipher what was true. 

Maybe this was simply folklore of some sort and I needed to stop obsessing over those creatures but I wanted to know more. 

The way the book described the mate bond, sounded so beautiful and magical. 

I could never imagine loving someone so deeply and having someone made just for you. 

I laughed bitterly at that thought. 

Who was I kidding? I didn't even have a family let alone someone who would love me like that. It sounded impossible but my interest was not diminished as I continued reading.

"I should've guessed you'd be here." I hear a voice tsk at me. 

Looking up, I see Bella watching me through her narrowed eyes with her arms crossed across her chest. 

"Well, are you gonna get your ass up or should I lock you in and go home?" 

"Yeah yeah as if Mrs. Adams would let you." I smile at her annoyed expression. "Who hurt you, woman?" 

Immediately her face falls and she throws herself at me.

"That son of a bitch David is an asshole, Lay." She whined while still hugging me. 

"I told you he was bad news. Want me to break his nose?" And she instantly nodded, her eyes lightening up. 

"Can we trash his hunk of a bike?" Her grin widening with mischief.

"He dumped you?"

"Huh. Do you think I'd let him do that? I knew he's been looking at other girls. Got on my fucking nerve and I dumped him at PE in front of everyone. You should've seen his face." She giggles. This bitch. I laughed with her anyway because my girl deserved better. 

She was my co-worker and she went to the same school as Luke and me but since she was a year younger we didn't meet that much. She was a beta and a sweetheart who went wild when it came to boys. Luke thought she was secretly kinky but I didn't wanna imagine her sex life so I dropped that conversation. 

"You girls ready to go home?" We hear Mrs. Adams call and we scramble up and walk out after closing the store and bidding our byes. 

Mrs. Adams' house was right next door so she didn't have any trouble while Bella usually had her brother pick her up. My apartment was just a few minutes away from the store so I walked down the street.

I plug in my earphones on one ear and swipe through my playlist as the music fills in my ear. 

Then I feel it. 

My spine straightens with awareness as my heart races. 

It's been two years or maybe more since I've been feeling that presence. Of someone watching me but I made no effort to look into it because nothing more happened. 

It was as if a shadow followed me but it remained a shadow, never appearing in front of me. 

In the beginning, I tensed and my heart paced in fear but the fear went away because somehow I knew that the shadow would never hurt me. And I didn't realize when that the shadow turned comforting as I fearlessly walked down the streets at the dark hour knowing the shadow won't let anything touch me.

Or I was just going crazy and needed a therapist real soon.

•♧------------☆◇☆-------------♧•

Author: If you loved the book so far-

Luke: Me! Me, Author! I'll do it! I'll do it!

Author: Oh. Will you be able to say it?

Luke: *gets shy* I-I'll try...

Author: *smiles* Go ahead, love.

Luke: I-If you loved us so far, please let us know by coloring that little star orange!

Author: Comment-

Luke: Yes! And please do comment *giggles*

Author: *cries in cuteness*

~SN~