Chapter 13

Penelope backed away, frightened by what had just happened. Neither she nor Topher had seen that coming. Her heart thumped furiously, racing a thousand miles per second as she watched Topher slump, and in the next second, he was drowning in a pool of his blood. She watched petrified, as the monster who was now human, took slow deliberate steps towards her, savoring in his head, the dirty things he would do to her. Regardless, she continued to move away from it, unsure whether to run or not. She racked her brain in a desperate attempt to come up with an idea that could help her survive, and when it seemed all hope was lost; in the direst situation, she finally remembered she had her gun with her. A firearm that her mom had gotten her and made sure she always carried around. Not even sure if it was loaded or not, Penelope pulled the gun out and aimed it directly at the monster in an attempt to scare it away.

"Weak human!" it chuckled uncontrollably, amused by Penelope's feeble attempt to stop it. "You thinks that can sstop me?" Its raspy voice pitched ( as it tried to establish dominance and instill fear in its prey). "Nothing can sstop me!" It made an ear-deafening screech and in instant, it lunged itself onto Penelope to finish her once and for all.

Penelope's heart skipped a second as she saw before her, what could mean the end of her existence. The blood in her veins pumped vigorously as time itself seemed to slow and she became aware of herself. Aware of her thumping heart and her harsh breathing. Her eyes caught detailed information of the monster that was still in mid-air, plummeting towards her. It scared her, and so she shut her eyes and pulled the trigger.

"BANG!" the sound of her gun echoed.

She still shut her eyes, refusing to open them because she doubted the job was done. She expected to see the reptile laughing at her when she'd open her eyes, but when she did, she saw it lifeless with a bullet hole in its forehead. Any other person would've been excited they had killed something that was after their life, but Penelope found herself doing the opposite. Her chest tightened and guilt washed over as she watched the monster in the human body bleed to death. To her, it felt like she'd murdered someone. Maybe things would've been different if it was still in its were form, but seeing it as human, disturbed her, and it kept haunting her even in her present state. Lying there while being watched over by Hendell and her mom, she was fighting another battle inside her head.

Bale leaned on a banister, supporting his weight on the stair railing while he conversed with his housekeeper, and after they were done talking, he dragged a suitcase up the stairs as he led Jane to the guest room.

"I know it isn't much, but I need you to stay as long as possible." he placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled ruefully at her (there was sadness in his charming blue eyes).

"This is more than enough. Besides, I don't think all this is necessary" Jane returned his smile with an affectionate one.

"Trust me, It is. You know, it's really scary outside these days." He paused for a moment as if weighing the next words he was about to say. "There are barely a few people that know me so well, and I don't want to lose them" his voice cracked a little.

"You're not losing anyone, Bale" Jane tried to assure him.

"You don't get it, Jane" he argued. "I know I'm not supposed to say this, but I'm scared. I've liquidated some of my dad's stocks and disbursed it among the pack, but it still feels like I'm not doing enough. I feel like I'm not doing enough to protect everyone in this trying time." he confided in her and she hugged him impulsively. Jane was impressed that he could be honest about his feelings. Finding an alpha who could do that wasn't easy to come by these days. They all pretended to be strong so their pack wouldn't look down on them, or to motivate them. Whatever their reasons were, she was proud of Bale, even though she couldn't relate to the amount of pressure he was under.

"I feel that goes a long way to prove that you're truly worthy of your position as alpha. And as a reward, I'm going to make you a meatloaf now. Just the way you like it." she smiled at him, trying to lighten his mood, and it worked.

"You see why I'm not ready to lose you? Barely a few people know me as you do. And no one knows how to make my meatloaf like you do" Bale laughed heartily. Jane laughed too, excited that her trick had worked, but deep down she felt guilty too. Right there, in Bale's arms, she felt like she was taking advantage of him. It disturbed her to know that she could do anything just to brush her skin against Bale's. She loved Bale and wanted to be more than just his beta, but she couldn't tell him because she knew he didn't like her in that way.