Born to Change [Completed]

22: Austin...

The weeks passed by fairly quickly. I keep updating the Enterprise about what's going on here and such. I haven't talked to Adrian yet, I'm still mad at him for not telling the truth and he's avoiding me. I'm feeling a bit more comfortable here in the pack house, which is really strange. Sure, the first few days I'm squirming in my seat but after a while I'm pretty okay. I guess it's safe to say I'm warming up to them. I have a feeling I'll regret it. But I really hope my feeling is wrong.

Except for this Austin guy, the supposed Alpha. He watches me with cold eyes and a blank expression on his face. On other days he'd look at me as if I was just a lab rat they recently experimented on. But it's pretty obvious he hates my guts. He seems the kind of guy who loses his temper and cuts you up into tiny little pieces and eat you on a gold plate in the White House. Call it a gut feeling - no pun intended.

Sometimes I forget why I'm here. Being here just feels so right. Like it's my real home. Unlike at the Enterprise where people size you up and think they're above you. Here it's like a huge extended family. Nobody's left out. Guess that's how packs are. But I have a feeling they just really love each other. They're loyal to their pack and each other. Why aren't the hunters like that? Would it kill them to socialize with each other without pride getting in the way? That's why Hunters are so stiff and distant from others. They think that if they show weakness or compassion to each other they won'r be great Hunters. That's why Hunters never pair up or go in groups. They think individuality is the key to success and fame.

Hunter hands me a glass of pink lemonade which I kindly accept. We're outside in front of their pool and I'm lounging on one of the chairs while the other pack members play around.

Hunter sits beside me for a while before saying he 'has to take a dip'. He runs off to the pool, whooping and all the while removing his shirt. Which by the way, hits me on the face even though I'm yards away from him. He dives into the deep end and splashes everyone who's within a ten-foot radius from him. And that folks, is called 'taking a dip'. Splashing and blinding everyone with water.

I roll my eyes and take a sip from the glass of lemonade. I finger the hem of my t-shirt, a habit I've come to do when I'm nervous or bored. Underneath my t-shirt is a one-piece. Not like I swim or anything. I feel someone sit next to me and I ignore the person and focus on the slice of lemon on my glass.

"Elle." The deep voice comes from the person whom I least expected to talk to me.

I face Austin and he has on a serious face, but unlike the previous ones this one doesn't make me want to sleep with my eyes open tonight.

"Yes Alpha?" I ask. Gosh, I feel so fake right now.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, and I bite my tongue to prevent myself from saying something I'll regret later.

"Okay, well, as okay as I can be from where I came," I sadly say. I should get an award for these stuff!

"Where did you come from?" he asks .

"The stork brought me," I say innocently with Bambi eyes that I'd perfected over the years. Or maybe it's natural? Whatever.

He gives me a look and I tell him my so-called 'story' the Head included in the package. Basically I just escaped from the Hunters because they were 'abusing' me.

He nods at the end of the story. "So you've realized how hot and irresistable I am when you were gone?" he says cockily and I smack him upright in the head.

"In your dreams!" I snort.

"No, in your dreams." He winks at me and I wonder why he let his guard down. I mean, the guy was staring me down for days and now he's being all chummy with me. The world's upside down!