Màu nền Màu tối Mặc định Xám nhạt Xanh nhạt Xanh đậm Vàng nhạt Màu sepia Vàng đậm Vàng ố

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I walk past Mrs. West and inside the house. I go closer to the room where the shouting is coming from. When I reach the room, I find that its door is closed. "Dad, stay out of it!" I hear Alarick say in his deadly voice before I hear his footsteps. He opens the door and when his gaze falls on me, he snidely remarks, "I'm glad you haven't lost your habit of eavesdropping."

"Alarick..." Mr. West warns from behind.

Alarick doesn't say anything and just walks past me. The banging of the front door indicates his departure from the house.

"How much have you heard?" Mr. West asks as he walks towards me. I can sense that he's worried about all things I might have heard.

"Dad, stay out of it," I quote Alarick's exact words. "That's all I've heard."

He looks relieved. "What are you doing here?" He asks confused.

"I'm here to talk to you about certain things," I say seriously.

"Like?"

"I know that you sent Anne to live in the pack house to bring me and Alarick close," I tell him.

"Are you here to tell me to stay away from the matters concerning my son and you?"

"Yes. Your involvement has made matters worse. Do you know what your son said to Anne last night?" I ask.

"I know. He told me everything. Anne is not going to stay with you all any longer. She's coming back to this house today. I can tolerate Alarick being rude to me but I can't tolerate him being rude to my daughter," Mr. West says.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Anne says suddenly appearing out from nowhere. Was she eavesdropping on our conversation? Mrs. West comes trailing after her. Anne continues, "I want to stay in the pack house!"

"Anne, you're not going to stay in the pack house," Mr. West says strictly.

"But—"

"My decision is final," Mr. West concludes. He turns to Mrs. West and says, "Go with Chriselda to the pack house and bring Anne's things back."

"Okay," Mrs. West replies.

"Can't I even go to the pack house to bring back my own things?" Anne tries to argue back.

Mr. West turns to his daughter and says in a warning tone, "You are going to stay here." His words silence Anne. Mr. West goes back inside the room.

I place my hands on Anne's shoulders and tell her, "Anne, it will be best if you stay here. Even I don't like it when Alarick is rude to you." Before she can open her mouth to say something, I stop her. "Take care," I say while giving her an assuring smile. Mrs. West and I exit the house and head back to the pack house.

When I knock at the front door, Charles answers. "Where is Anne?" He asks.

"She's back at her home," I reply as I get inside the pack house. I lead Mrs. West to Anne's room and help her pack her daughter's things. "How long were Mr. West and Alarick arguing?" I ask her.

"At first, they were just talking but then, their conversation turned into arguments and shoutings eventually followed. All this happen within the span of an hour," she tells me.

"Didn't you try to stop their arguments?"

"Chriselda, they are not kids that they need someone to stop their arguments. They are mature enough to solve their own problems and arguments." I don't say much after that.

After making sure that all of Anne's things are packed, Mrs. West takes Anne's backpack and we both exit the room. When we enter the living room, Charles' gaze falls on Anne's bag and that's enough to tell him that Anne is not going to stay with us any more. When Mrs. West departs from the pack house, Charles confirms, "So, Anne is not going to stay with us in the pack house?"

"Yeah," I reply as I sit on the sofa. "Alarick got what he wanted."

"What happened when you went to Mr. West's house?" Asks Daniel as he goes on to sit on the other sofa with Charles.

"A lot of things," I start to say. "Guess who else was present there."

"Who?" Both Charles and Daniel ask.

"Alarick," I answer. And I proceed to tell them everything that happened at Mr. West's house.

"That's the reason why Alarick was angry when he returned back here," Daniel says as realization crosses his face.

"Alarick is here?" I ask, surprised.

"Yeah. He is in his study," he replies.

"Does he like spending his time in his study or is it because of me that he prefers to stay in his study?" I ask.

"He is dedicated towards his pack. That's the reason why he spends most of his time in his study, thinking about the welfare of his pack. But, I'm going to be honest with you." Daniel pauses and then continues, "He has started spending more time in his study since you came here." I nod at his statement because I know it's true. We all remain silent for a while, each one deep in thought. It's been five days since I came to live here in the pack house. I've just got two more days to find out the reason why my mate is denying me.

I stand up on my feet. Charles and Daniel are surprised to see me standing suddenly. I have decided that I'm going to head to Alarick's study right now and I'm going to make him tell me the reason of why he's denying me. Not giving myself time to over-think about my decision, I barge into his study and close the door behind me.

He looks up from his desk at me with a look of irritation on his face. "Haven't you heard of knocking?" he asks.

"I have but I just wanted to annoy you. That's the reason why I entered your study without knocking," I say.

"You shouldn't have bothered yourself by coming in my study just to annoy me. Your mere presence has been annoying me since you came to live here," he replies.

"I know," I say. "And that's why I'm here to make a deal with you which will be beneficial to you."

"What deal?" He asks. He seems curious and confused at the same time.

I walk towards his desk and place my hands on it. Looking in his cold blue eyes, I say, "I know my presence annoys the hell out of you. So, I'm ready to return to my pack right now if you truthfully tell me the reason why you're denying me."