The Alpha's Favour

XLII

"Hey," Hazel poked her head into the room. "Dinner's ready. And dad cooked Turkey." She announced.

"It looks like its gonna taste like rubber but he said if I get you to come down, I get to have a sleepover at Virginia's this weekend."

I gave Hazel a small smile.

I shifted where I sat by the only window of the room.

"Sorry Haze." I muttered. "Not tonight."

She frowned and I could tell she was disappointed but she didn't push. None of the Bensons did, not even Kat who I could tell was getting more and more impatient with my reluctance to talk about what had happened.

Hazel ran up to me suddenly and wrapped her arms around me. I had been receiving more and more hugs from her lately. I wasn't complaining, they were always welcome.

Hazel didn't know exactly what had happened the night of the AAP ball. And none of us were planning on telling the Benson kids any of the specifics. All we told them was the truth we thought they deserved and could manage; Roman had come back and we were almost taken away, me and their parents. That's why there were guards not only around the house all the time but they were around when they went to school and all around town for their safety.

"My wolf teeth came in." She spoke to me in a low tone. "You're gonna miss me shocking mum to death by ripping apart the turkey."

I wanted to laugh, I really did but laughing had become so difficult for me lately. I let out a low sound that I figured would be good enough.

When Hazel stepped back, she placed her hand on mine . "I'll sneak up an ice cream sandwich for you later, okay?"

I gave her a smile. I didn't want to tell her that food had been the last thing on my mind but I wanted to give her hope that I was feeling better so I just nodded.

Hazel left and not even a second later, Uncle Victor walked through the door leading me to believe that he had been listening in on the conversation.

"Hey baby girl." He greeted.

"Hey." I spoke in a quiet voice.

He had been coming in to talk to me everyday since the incident. The first week was the worst. Aunt Sarah had even suggested therapy. I think that's what scared me into putting in the effort to leave the room more often even if it was only to show the others that I was still alive.

But now we made small talk and occasionally, I opened up about that night and what I was still afraid of. But I never said too much. I told him things in bits and pieces, that's as much as I could handle.

"I made turkey." He spoke in a half enthusiastic tone.

I gave him a weak smile. "So I heard. I bet it's really good."

"Gordon Ramsey would be jealous." He spoke with a firm nod.

I shook my head but smiled at that.

He grabbed the swivel chair from the study desk and rolled it over so that he could sit in front of me.

"Sooo... how was your day?" He asked.

He aIways asked as if I didn't spend majority of my days in this very room.

When I didn't respond, Uncle Victor just kept talking.

"Well I went to work today and some guy spat the words 'Van Cliffe scum' at me."

I quickly looked up at him, horrified by his words.

Uncle Victor had fought so hard to remove the Van Cliffe stain from his name. Especially when he became a Silvercrest but all my actions had done was bring that stain back, bigger and more noticeable than before.