The Alpha's Match

A Mistake

Lauren's POV

This time when Tom offered me a drink I accepted. In fact, I took a bottle of tequila for myself.

"We need to talk," he began. We were sat on a huge sofa in front of a roaring log fire and shared a blanket between us.

"Okay?"

He reached behind the sofa and picked something up to toss over to me. I recognised it immediately, with my name tag on it, it was hard to mistake. I couldn't look him in the eye. Crap! I had actually forgotten about my film in all the excitement. "Did you watch it?"

"Yes," he answered gruffly. He was mad. I poured myself another shot. The taste burnt my tongue. "You lied to me." If he watched the tape than that meant he saw a wolf transform into Lewis...

"I didn't lie, I just withheld information." I corrected. I risked looking up into his stony eyes, he was still mad.

"You said that nothing was going on between you and this guy-"

"There isn't anything going on."

"Don't! Don't lie! You covered up his secret for him. Clearly, something was going on." He was yelling now. I took another shot of drink. I could feel my own temper rising.

"Nothing is going on. He doesn't know that I know, right. I didn't tell you because I thought that you would kill him." He looked slightly sheepish. "It was you!" I realised in horror. "You shot him!" I was yelling now. "You could have killed him!" His chin jerked up and his eyes blazed but I couldn't read his expression. "You might be happy to hunt them down but I'm not. I want to learn everything about them. Why they exist, how they differ from us." I was waving my arms about the place and when I was done I drained another shot - pulling a face at the sharp taste and spilling some down my chin.

"And how did that turn out? They tied you up and abandoned you!" He had a very good point there.

"But aren't you curious as to why?" I argued.

"They're animals!" Tom replied sharply.

"No, they're just different."

"God, they've got you confused big time." He was on his feet now. His movement flung the blanket on the floor and it tangled with his feet until he kicked it roughly aside.

"Why do you hunt them? I mean what have they actually done?"

"Have you forgotten the animal attacks that you asked me about?"

"They could've been animal attacks!" 

Tom stared at me incredulously.

"Are you kidding me?!" He was breathing heavily. I half expected steam to billow out of his nostrils. He turned his back to me and leant his palms against the ornate fireplace.

"I was attacked by a bear. The idea isn't impossible. I'm just saying that it's not right to just hunt them down because of a theory. They might not all be bad. Plenty of humans kill people." Lewis didn't seem bad and he certainly didn't deserve to be persecuted for being a werewolf. I didn't even think that Connor was bad, simply desperate to save the man he loved.

"I can't think like that," Tom replied stubbornly. I got to my feet and swayed unsteadily.  Tequila on an empty stomach was having its effect on me.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm the hunter!" Tremors were rippling down Tom's back. "It's my duty to-"

 I pulled him round to face me. Tears were streaming down his manly face. I brushed them away with my fingers.