Alpha Running Rogue

14. Tears

Matthew's POV

I struggle to breath as my eyes draw to the woman across the room, her breath matching the pace of mine. With charcoal wisps flowing to the waist of her jeans, and eyes as angry as the brewing storms stared straight back at me. I could not look away. I could not blink, for she would disappear if I did. The girl I had admired from afar stood before my eyes in a hazy swirl. Not a moment later, teardrops trailed down rough cheeks, defining an everlasting ache from the depths of my heart.

The woman in front of me was no longer the girl from the past. She no longer possessed the innocence of long before. The girl that sat reading by moonlight. The girl that stood with a determination in her eyes that would intimidate any opponent. The girl I stayed up wondering about until sunrise.

Her gaze was now guarded. Her stance, defensive. Swirls of grey amongst deep blue cleared my vision as a soft hand wiped the tears away.

"What's wrong Matt?"

I continue looking at her, taking in the brilliant whirlwind before me. Slowly raising a hand off of the desk I had been leaning against, I touch the side of her left cheek, beneath thick black hair that brushed against the back of my hand. She tilts her head against my touch, but she doesn't pull away from me.

"Arabella?"

"Hmm?"

"Arabella from the Midnight Storm pack? Arabella, daughter of Alpha Liam and Luna Maria?"

She sees the questions in my tone. A deafening silence passes before her words are conveyed.

"Yes."

"Arabella, sister of Alpha Elliot?"

"Yes."

"Are you my Arabella that left five years ago?" How? After so long.....how is it that she still evoked my curiosity? How is it that she still pulled on the tight cusps of my frantically beating heart?

"No. I never left, and I'm not yours. I never will be." Her words echoed in my ears, a rejection that sliced like glass upon open wounds.

~Flashback~

"Matt!" The young girl crashed into him and they both fell onto the green grass.

"Hey!" Matt whined, disgruntled that he had been tagged once again.

"I caught you! Your it!" She rolled off and began running in the opposite direction as quickly as she could, laughing at him all the while. Although she noticed that older boys were always taller than the girls, she was glad that she was taller than Matt. It worked to her advantage in most of the games they'd play. He could never outrun her and she would never let him. 

He was her only friend at the time, but both pups had to deal with the fate of growing up, and with time came chaos. 

"Why are you always so busy! you never play with me anymore!" He shouted at her. Once, she had beheld a smile that lit up her eyes whenever she saw him. Now, it only took interest at the snow frosted ground.

Looking up at him she replied in a detached tone, "I don't have time to play. Playing is for children. It's time to grow up Matt."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"If you don't want to make time for me that's all good. No worries. Excuse me for trying to give you a social life. I only hung out with you because I pitied your pathetic prissy life anyway!" Without thinking, he yelled the superficial thoughts that entered his mind on a whim. The rumours were surfacing after listening to them everyday for the past 12 years.

"Pathetic? Prissy? Why don't you take a look at yourself before commenting on my life! You have no goal, no determination and absolutely no direction! You're at a freakin' dead end!" she fired back just as angrily.

"You know what? go back to your books, go back to your stupid training. It's obvious you don't want me around your perfect life  anymore and you know what the best thing is. I don't want you around either."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

~End Flashback~

The door slammed shut and I realised that I knew her from before. I don't remember where or how, but for some reason, I knew her. My mind remains blank as I try to recall a familiar memory.