How to Love an Alpha

Chapter 22

<*Unedited*>

I woke up the next morning around eight. I could hear from all the shuffling downstairs everyone else was already up. I sat up, stretched out my arms, and yawned. I through the covers off of me and got out of bed. I walked downstairs in my pajamas to find Victoria, Flynn, Dalton, and mom by the island.

"You're finally up!" I heard Flynn exclaim in a kidding tone.

"What'd you wanna eat?" mom asked, sliding her hands into her front pockets of her jeans.

"I'm not hungry." I replied rather plainly.

"What are talking about? You need something in your system." She disagreed.

I rolled my eyes slightly before looking back at her. "I'll just eat one of the muffins."

She gave me a small smile that seemed to been sewn with pity. I tried to disregard it, but it just stayed etched freshly in my memory. I grabbed a muffin from the counter and started to bite into it. The doorbell rang and I nearly fell out of my seat trying to rush to the front door.

"Hey hold up, Kenzie." Dalton demanded.

"What? Why?" I slightly hissed, offended.

He ignored my questions and brushed past me. After he opened the door, I felt my heart sink and jump at the same time. It sunk because it wasn't Gabe, but it jumped because it was Grace. I hadn't seen her in what seemed like forever. She timidly came inside. She wore a sweatshirt and a pair of jean short. She had herself wrapped in a small hug as she stepped inside. It was almost like watching a wounded animal. She looked fragile and broken. She didn't sport the "pointless bun" today. Instead, her hair was down and wavy. She looked very pretty with it down, except, she didn't feel pretty. I didn't think she felt anything except depression. She must've seen me staring at her, because she gave me a look. I stared one last moment with slight commiseration before I turned my attention to Dalton.

"I just wanted to see if Mackenzie was up yet." She explained.

Something clicked suddenly. I wasn't sure what it was. Something inside me abruptly made me want to hate her. But you don't hate Grace. She's been so good to you. I told myself. No, she's the reason your possible daughter is going to be forced into marriage. I felt that my mind was suddenly at war. That my heart and mind were torn to two sides. The side that knew she had meant well and the side that hated her for it. I knew very well that she hadn't done anything wrong. I also knew that she was broken inside. Her life had shattered in less than a year. She'd done nothing wrong, and her life had pretty much disintegrated. I tried to push away the sudden hatred.

"I'm fine. Thanks for stopping by." I turned and started to the kitchen. "I'm going to, uh, go see Gabe." I told Victoria and mom.

"Alright, have fun." Mom smiled.

I left the house and got into my car. As I started to drive, I felt myself start to think again. Why was it that mom and everyone else seemed so happy. Were they not distressed that Zeke was gone? It'd be barely a week and they seemed to be over his death. Everyone. Apart from myself and Grace, that is. I arrived at Gabe's house and he was sitting on his roof. I closed the door and called up to him.

"Gabe! What are you doing?" I asked him, shielding my eyes from the sun.

I watched a smile paint his face as he stood and jumped down. I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked a brow.

"You're gonna kill yourself." I smirked, letting my eyebrow rest.

He smiled with a chuckle before pulling me into a hug. Then I felt myself in a deep kiss. It almost alarmed me, to be Frank. I didn't pull away, though. It was nice.