Steel: The Transformation

Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Alec POV

The door closed behind her as we stepped into our house. Our house, the words seemed strange in my mind. It felt like so much had happened since she had been here last. Almost as if I was someone else now.

She dropped her bags on the hallway floor and kicked off her shoes. She gave me a small smile, but her eyes stayed serious. I could feel them trained on me was I walked through the living room and in to the kitchen.

"Are you hungry?" I asked. I thought this would be a safe question, she has travelled for hours to be here for us. I felt a stab of guilt go through me, she had dropped everything and travelled here to help us and I had been too wrapped up in my own emotions to even stop for a moment and text her. My mind flashed back to Cleo and what had happened after the wolves had left us last night.

"No, I'm fine," she said harshly. She walked over the fridge, pulling out the carton of orange juice and pouring herself a glass.

"So, what's really been going on with you?" Her eyes bore in to me, I could tell from the shortness in her voice that she was pretty upset with me. In that moment, looking so angry, she still looked so beautiful. I felt my shoulders tense, I felt so bad for how open ended things had been left between us. A thought flashed through my mind like lightning, until now I hadn't really considered how right she had been. She had said that the bonding ceremony between Cleo and I would change everything. I guess I never understood what she meant.

"I'm fine," I started.

The huff that Rose let out told me to skip the small talk and go straight to the key points. Her impatience had always been one of her pronounced features. I used to find it attractive, how straightforward she was. I looked at her, once more realising everything I had once seen in her before.

"I know one of the Hunters," I said.

Her eyes widened at my confession, something I hadn't told anyone until Cleo. Rose's eyes were still wide, locked in on me studying every feature of my face.

"What are you saying?" her words were harsh and angry.

I studied her face for a second before replying, I could tell that she felt like she had been left in the dark. "My parents had me and my sister, she was not a Basati. She was just a human born into the wrong family. The Hunters did their number on her and she helped them do what they do," I stripped the story down to its bare bones, knowing she would be too impatient for anything else, especially with the mood that she was in.

I could see her hands shake for a while, before she collected herself. "Who knows about this?"

"Only Cleo," my words were neutral but I could tell that in whichever fashion I would say them, Rose would react the same way.

"Why did you tell her?" she bellowed. She took a short, sharp breath fruitlessly trying to calm herself down. "Did you think that was wise?"

"I'm not sure that you understand," my voce was sharp as I felt threatened by how she was questioning my judgement to trust Cleo.

"She knows me so well, with the bond we share I had to tell her. She already knew and I needed her to trust me. I would do anything to keep her safe, including taking out my own sister." I felt the gravity of the words hang in the air between us. Rose's mask of stone and neutrality had slipped. Her face was for once showing her true colours, I could see the hurt in her eyes as my words truly sunk in and resonated.

"Why don't you consider anyone else but yourself?" she spat the words out, for once she was releasing all of her emotions instead of holding them back.