✔️| The Gift of a Curse {1}

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER TEN

"I am not a museum's artifact; you can stop staring now." I say once I findthe courage to speak up. Once we stepped out of the house, Owen insisted onwalking to 'the house' rather than shifting into our wolves claiming that heneeded the fresh air.
"Areyou going to explain the chaos that took place back there?" I ask him when heremains silent. I punch his arm when he keeps quiet for the second time causinghim to look at me with a concentrated look.
"Ido not think I have the words to make you understand what happened back there."His seriousness makes me believe him. Furthermore, something inside me compelsme to not worry or care about it.
"Wellthen, I have another question. I figured some stuff on my own such as: theraven haired man is Alexander Cresswell, the aggressive older man is his father,and the older pregnant woman is his mother. Which means there is one morequestion left; are you the beta or the gamma?" I ask him even though I know heis neither. I do not miss how he shivers when I say the word 'gamma.' I do notask simply because I know he will not answer me.
"Iknow you already know my name, but I believe I should formally introducemyself. I am Owen; the head warrior of the Open Wound pack." He stops walking,gives me a charming yet a non flirting smile, and offers me his hand to shake.
"Well,I am Shadow Prior from the Red Eclipse pack." I accept his hand giving it asqueeze before I pull my hand away and resume walking.
"Youknow I have never met a woman like you before." His smile turns into a smirk.
"Whatdo you mean?" I ask out of curiosity knowing that I will not be affected by hiswords.
"Well,you have piercings on your face, you are outspoken, and you did not addressXander as alpha." I take a mental note; this guy is perceptive.
"Wellthe piercings are a symbol for my individuality; my words belong to me and notto the males of our sick-minded community; and I have a problem withauthority." I confidently explain.
"Ihave to say though, Alexander Cresswell is not who I expected him to be."
"Letme guess, you anticipated a cold hearted man who tortures when he is bored andkills when he is angry." His expression turns grim and somewhat livid causingme to burst out laughing.
"Donot be silly I am not the kind of person to believe in gossip and reputation."He stops in his tracks and looks at me with hope in his eyes.
"What?Are you saying that you believe he is a good person?"
"Iam saying that I do not believe every word I hear, I only believe what I seewith my own eyes, hear with my own ears or the person that I hear theinformation from is trustworthy and has a perspective that allows him to tellthe truth without hiding anything or adding anything to it. Now, I do knowAlexander Cresswell's reputation, but I do not know who he is; I do not know ifhe is a good son or a good alpha. I do not know if he is cold hearted and I donot know what his principles and values are. Therefore, I cannot judge him forany of that." For a reason unknown to me he smiles proudly at me; it seems heis relieved with my claim.
"He did kill six werewolves."He points out in a low tone while looking me dead in the eye.
AmI the only one who feels like the head warrior is testing us? As if he iswaiting for us to slip up about something?
NoAccalia, you are not. I also do not like how he is reacting to everything I say.
"True,but I am not ready to go through every person's bad deed and judgment, I simplybelieve that I can do something more creative with my time. Besides, everyoneon this earth has done something that others believe is an unforgivable sin.Just because some people's actions are more extreme than others', it does notmean we have the right to criticize them." I give Owen a quick glance before Inudge his shoulder urging him to continue walking.
"Now,I am not defending what he did, or claim that it is okay in any way. I dobelieve, however, that one's personality is a complex thing; it cannot bedetermined based on one action or quality." I bite my inner cheek; I have nevertalked about these kinds of things with anyone before, only with Nick and Clay.Then again, no one was willing to talk about these kinds of things with mebefore.
"Ihave to say, I like the way you think, this is why I have to give you thispiece of advice. I know that his name is Alexander but in the Open Wound packhe is Xander, you should stop calling him Alexander." I want to laugh at theimportance of his alpha's nickname, but I restrain myself upon seeing theseriousness on his face.
"Andwhy is that?" If I was in my pack, I would do the opposite of what I am told.But ever since I came here, these people have not acted even remotely the sameway as the people in my pack do. Thus, I am giving them a chance to prove thatthey do not have rotten brains. That does not mean I am going to let my guarddown; you know the old and overrated saying claims: 'Better be safe thansorry.'
"Well,when Jocelyn mind-linked us to inform us there is an invader in her home shementioned that the invader is here to warn us about an upcoming danger. Xandercares about his people too much to not give you a chance to explain what thisthreat is. Which means you will be staying here for at least a few days, and ifany of the pack members hear you call him Alexander let's just say you will endup with at least one bone broken." This claims that Alexander's people actuallyappreciate and respect him. And while I will not consider Owen's words to belies, I will not believe them until I see a proof.
"Thatstill does not answer my question." I raise my eyebrow at him as we step intothe front steps of a huge mansion. I am assuming this is 'the house.'
"AlexanderCresswell is the name that the world knows; the name of the alpha who isresponsible for 'the triple crime.' Xander is the name of the alpha of the OpenWound pack; the alpha who puts his pack before everything else includinghimself." He states before opening the front door and stepping in withoutwaiting for me.
Luckily,I have never been the shy type, so I enter the building right after him to bemet with another muscular guy. He has curly light brown hair, and dark browneyes; they are almost as dark as dark chocolate.
"Wellhello, I am Chance. I am the beta; I am also the funniest person you will meetin this pack." Chance offers me his hand, I accept it.
"CrystalPrior." He moves my hand towards his mouth and gives my knuckles a soft kiss.
"Itis nice to meet you beautiful." He gives me a wide smile.
Suddenly,a girl almost as tall as Chance walks towards us in angry steps until shestands a few centimeters away. He seems happy while she seems angry, fumingeven.
Chanceis about to say something but he is interrupted by her grabbing his hand toforce him to let go of mine before she gives him a hard slap on his rightcheek. A few seconds of silence pass as Chance's joyfulness vanishes and he isnow staring at the woman who looks like she is ready to slap his other cheek.
"Yougot some nerve you bastard." She yells at him raising her hand to hit him onceagain. Chance, however, grabs her wrist before she has a chance to touch hisskin.
"Canyou please calm down?" He is surprisingly calm; I cannot see any hint of angerin his eyes or body language.
"Calmdown? You want me to calm down? You just kissed a woman in the house where wesleep. Am I supposed to welcome her with open arms?"
Iswear to God she is the human animated version of angry bird. I tellAccalia as I try hold in my laughter.
Actuallyshe puts angry bird to shame.
"Howmany times do we have to do this? I am not cheating on you."
"Ohsave it. Your pathetic words will not work on me this time. Who is the whoreanyway? And why would you choose her over me, huh? Can you not see her tattoosor piercings? She looks like Dracula and you cheat on me with her?" At thispoint the woman; who I am assuming is Chance's mate looks like she is on theverge of exploding seeing as her yelling can wake up the dead. I just ignoreher and examine my almost healed shoulder.
Normally,I would have snapped back at her, but I am busy scolding myself for evenallowing myself to think that there is a little possibility that this pack orits people are any different from my own; this woman is a prove that it is not.I am confident of who I am and how I look, but it still pisses me off whenpeople comment on my style choice. Look into the mirror then come and criticizemy style.
"Donot call her that, you have no idea what is going."
"Whilewaiting for Xander, I can tell you what is going on..." Owen makes the mistake ofinterfering.
"Explainwhat? That my mate does not want me anymore? That he found a better woman tospend his nights with you.?..." I stop listening to her endless list of falseassumptions.
Thiswoman surely has some serious insecurities. Accalia mutters in annoyance. Ican tell that she longs to tear Chance's mate's hair apart, one strand at atime.
Iknow that she deserves a few bunches in the ribs, but we came here to warn thispack about the warriors that are on their way right now to this territory tomurder every soul that lives here. If we so much as say the wrong thing to theangry bird, they will not trust anything we say. Accalia growls at me, butshe does not reply.
Theangry bird looks at me as if she is planning how to take my kidney out with herclaws. Luckily, the front door opens and Alexander walks in.
"Xanderyour best friend is cheating on me, you have to do something about it."Chance's mate clings to her alpha. He does reply to her but I am focused on theman standing behind Alexander, and he happens to be staring at me with a glintin his eyes.
"Thereis something called trust, you should try it some time." The man says; I sensesarcasm in his voice. The angry bird's eyes widen when she acknowledges his presence.She kicks the wall on her left with her leg before she angrily walks up thestairs while muttering things I do not bother to hear.
"Youmust be Shadow." He offers me his hand; I do not hesitate to take it. There issomething familiar about him, something that subconsciously makes me trust himeven though I do not even know who he is.
Hetakes a hold of my hand and uses it to pull me into his chest. Before I canreact, he gives me a kiss on my right cheek. A moment later, the mysterious manlets go of my hand and take a step away from me.
I take a second to study him; he has messydark brown hair, yet it is still attractive; his eyes are hazel, his skin'stone is a little lighter than Alexander's; and his lips are a little thin. Heis not the most handsome man alive, but he is still good looking.
"Myname is Joshua Fairchild." I jump in surprise and excitement causing Alexanderto growl at me and Joshua to raise his eyebrow at me.
"Icame to this bloody place to find you, well both of you actually." I lookbetween Joshua and Alexander.
"Well,it must be really important; you risked coming to the Open Wound territory." Hesits down on one of couches and urges me to do the same. I look at Chance andOwen before I take a seat on the couch opposite to Joshua's. The beta takes aseat beside me; Owen stands by the bookshelf, while Alexander bends on the wallby the window.
"Itis. I came here to warn you about what the alphas are planning to do to yourpack." I know that it is going to take much more explaining on my part beforethey actually understand the risk they are facing.
"Andhow do we know that you were not sent by the alphas to do their wicked bidding;whatever that might be." Joshua gives me a grin as he leans his shoulders andplaces his elbows on his thighs.
Alexandergrowls once again. I do not miss the fact that he remains silent while Joshuadoes all the talking. I also do not miss how the notorious alpha keeps staringat me. His eyes expose him; he is having a mental war, one that is clearly takinga toll on him.
"Well,I was actually sent by someone, and he told me that you will trust me if Ishowed you this." I say pulling Nick's necklace from under my shirt.
Alexander,Owen, and Chance stare at the necklace in confusion while Joshua stands upabruptly and walks towards me. He pulls me up by my arm and looks me dead inthe eyes with as a tear slides down his cheek.
"Ishe okay? Did something happen? Is he injured? Does he need my help? Is he..." Icut him off by putting my hands on his chest.
"Heis perfectly fine, well more annoying than ever but he is okay." I try tolighten up the mood. Joshua chuckles and gives me a nod.
"Hehas been annoying since he was a child; I doubt it will ever change." We bothburst out laughing.
"Soif you are close to him, then surely you know that he is a witch."
"YesI do, the necklace kind of implies it. It also means I know you are a witch aswell." I place the necklace back under my shirt.
"Whoare you talking about?" Alexander growls loudly. Thus, our laughter dies out.My best friend's brother and I look at each other before he gives me a smallnod.
"Longstory short, Joshua and I have a mutual acquaintance. He sent me here to informyou that there is a group of the best trained warriors from all twenty eightpacks heading towards this territory as we speak. They were given a mission bythe alphas to eliminate the Open Wound pack, every last one of them." Silenceconsumes the air as all four men take in the new information.
"Ido not know this mutual acquaintance of yours. Therefore I do not have tobelieve him. For all I know, he is one of the alphas." Alexander says coldlywhile looking at me. His words earn him a vase of flowers to magically be thrownat his head missing him by a few centimeters.
"Whatthe bloody hell was that for Josh?" Alexander Cresswell is so damn scary whenhe is angry. Still, I find myself letting out a small giggle. The alpha's headturns to me and his expression immediately softens.
Theway he is acting towards us is seriously freaking me out. I can feelAccalia shudder.
Iam starting to believe he has some kind of disorder.
"Thatis for indirectly implying that I would ever associate with any other alphas otherthan yourself you asshole."
"Joshdo you trust this mysterious witch?" Alexander becomes serious.
"Iwould trust him with my life and yours, and everyone in the pack." Joshua looksat his friend.
"MayI ask who is this ambiguous knight in shining armor?" Chance softens his voicesarcastically. He is trying to ease some of the tension, and he is failingmiserably. I want to answer, butJoshua's panicked face makes me change my mind. It is possible that just likeClay and I did not know about Joshua, Alexander, Owen, and Chance do not knowabout Nick. Perhaps that is how the brothers want it; the question is why.
"Iwould prefer it if we do not discuss his identity just yet." I doubt my sanitywhen the notorious alpha, his beta, and the head warrior accept his request;their trust must be really profound.
"Mypack consists of almost eight thousand people, and that is without my witches.How on Earth do they hope to massacre my people?" Alexander's possessivenessand protectiveness are evident in every word he says. His statement indicates that he will actuallygive me a chance to be heard.
"Wewould kill them all the second they pass the border." Chance says.
"Howmany warriors are they sending?" Joshua asks. I can see him and Alexander havinga silent debate.
"Theyare sending a warrior from each pack, so twenty eight." Alexander chuckles, heturns his attention towards me. The sound caused my heart to skips a beat; hischuckle sounds intimidating.
"Takingthem down would be as easy as taking down a rabbit."
"Thatwould be true if they did not have a witch transform silver into gas." All eyesburn holes into me as I wait for at least one of them to explode, and that is exactlywhat happens.
Justin a few seconds, the bowl of fruits on the table that is in the middle of theliving room gets thrown at the window shattering it into tiny pieces. The bowlcollides with the tree that is right outside the window. The middle table isabout to follow but Joshua grabs Alexander's hands preventing him from makingan even bigger mess. Just from throwing one thing out of the window, his eyesbecome reddish and he is sweating excessively.
"HeyXander, look at me." He walks closer to the alpha while still holding his handstight. The only sound that can be heard is Alexander's loud and harsh breaths.
"Letus count together to ten, yeah?" Joshua starts counting, and with every number,Alexander takes a deep breath until he is not fuming. Still, he takes a fewminutes to collect himself before he talks again.
"Asmuch as I yearn to hear the rest I cannot, not without the others. It is almostdawn so let's just rest for a few hours and in the morning you will tell usalong with the others the specifics." He points his finger at me.
"Wait,I tell you that they are on their way and you tell me that you are just goingto rest for a few hours?" I cannot help but almost scream at him. Therefore, Iget growled at by Chance. The beta gives me a silent glance before heading towardsthe stairs his mate used earlier.
Asfor Joshua, he gives me a wink before he walks out of the front door. However, thehead warrior clears his throat and leaves as well. I stand awkwardly with onlyAlexander in the room. I watch him as he rubs his eyes with his hands and letsout a tired sigh.
"Howis your shoulder?" he asks lowly eying my torn bloodied shirt with a distantlook in his eyes.
"Completelyhealed." I answer shortly; I do not feel comfortable around him. But every timeI think about the way he acts, I feel as if there is an invisible wallpreventing me from knowing something important. That wall forces me to somehowpush it aside, ignore it.
Ican see him battling with himself as he clenches and unclenches his hands overand over. I also see him almost take a step towards me but stops himself at thelast moment. He lets out a frustrated huff and runs his right hand through his blackraven hair, pushing it back.
"Comeon, I will show you to your room." He gestures for me to follow him with hishead. It may be just my sick brain playing tricks on me, but he walks reallyslowly and really close to me as if he is waiting for our hands to accidentlypump into each other or for any skin to skin contact to happen.
"Youhave some valuable information that will possibly determine my people's future.So, you will be staying here; the house where Chance, my gamma, and I live." Hesays as we walk through the hallways.
"Itis good to know you care Alexander." I do not realize what I had said until itis too late. My words make the tension even more unbearable. He immediatelystops in his tracks and faces me.
"Donot call me that." he stands so close to me that I can feel his breath brushingmy face. I unconsciously stare at his face. His eyes are truly beautiful; thereis something about them that is so captivating. Perhaps it is because of allthe sadness and pain that are shown through them. But then again, I hardly knowanything about this man.
Itake a small step backwards to make some space between us. I notice a smile onhis face, not a smirk but a smile, but I choose to not question it. If I try toanalyze everything this alpha does, I will surely have a mental breakdown.
"Yeah,Owen mentioned something about it being the name the entire world knows andhates."
"Exactly."
"Well,no offense but I do not know you and I am not part of your pack. So, I find ita little weird to call you Xander." He raises an eyebrow at me.
"Andfrankly, the name Xander does not suite you." I shrug.
"Well,if you are not going to call me by my chosen name then you will have to come upwith another one. Because I really hate my birth name." He says with a hint ofamusement and anticipation in his voice.
"Iwill have to think about it, and I will tell you what I come up with in themorning." I smirk at him as we approach a white door.
"Icannot wait. Well, this is your room; you will find anything you need inthere." He looks hesitant before he leans in and presses a gentle kiss on mycheek. He immediately runs away and hides behind a door that is next to mine.
Whatthe hell was that about?
Hellif I know. I block her and walk into the room. I do not know how or why,but for a second there I felt completely comfortable around him. I still thinkhe is weird but he is definitely not what I expected him to be, somehow he isbetter.