ANXIETY

SHAWN I've been waiting for Valerie the entire day in the Pack house but there's no sign of her returning home. I know she's intentionally avoiding me. She was pretty nervous in the morning and her goose bumps were just a major proof of that. I liked that a lot, but what I don't like is her avoiding me. I want to talk to her, apologise, however it looks like she'll never let me do that. Hell, I have never apologised to anyone and I'm going to make an exception here, letting my pride aside so that I can be with my mate. When afternoon comes, Oscar and Evie come back to the Pack house but there's no sign of her. I know it's useless asking either of them her whereabouts given the looks they have been giving me. Therefore, I go to look for her in the city. I search for her in almost every shop in the city but there is no sign of her. Since I can't tolerate her absence anymore, I immediately organise a bonfire tonight with a pointless reason to welcome and get to know the Riverside Moon Pack. I'm looking for her in the mall now and still, I can't get her scent. I get into my car and start driving back home, hoping that she might have returned to the Pack house by now. As I drive off, I spot her red car parked in front of a library and realise that I didn't check in any libraries and it's the place where Valerie always hid herself in the past. As soon as I stop my car, I see her coming out of the library in a hurry and hopping into her car. She looks so innocent that I can't stop the smile from appearing in my face. She's wearing the same shorts and top she wore in the morning which looks damn good on her. I don't like the thought of other men looking at her like that. She is mine and mine alone! I follow her car from behind, to make sure that she reaches safe. I reach my house after I make sure that Valerie has reached the Pack house safely. When I go into the kitchen for a glass of water, I look at the stick note in the refrigerator. It's from my dad who has so far followed my orders and left the Pack. He came back just three days ago and he's gone again. I throw the note in the dustbin and head upstairs to change. When I reach the Pack House, a bonfire was already been set up and people are gathered around. "What's the exact reason for this bonfire?" Abed asks, handing me my drink. "To get to know the other Pack." I mutter dryly to which he chuckles. "Do you seriously think they would want to know us?" he asks and I glare at him. "Or does it have to do something with Valerie?" his mate Pamela asks me, grinning. I growled at them and they both smile. A few minutes later, Evie comes downstairs with Edith and Nathan but still, there's no sign of Valerie. "I hate that guy." Jasper says from beside me and I follow his gaze which is on Oscar. I smirk because I can't agree less with him. They are all talking and laughing and I tune in to hear what they are saying when I hear Valerie talking. "And the guy over there was continuously babbling about cotton mattress when Valerie was clearly asking for a woolen. However, when he wouldn't stop Valerie got so pissed off such that she went and grabbed a woolen mattress, tore it apart, caught a fistful of wool and said 'this is what wool looks like'." Evie says while chuckling, "and I swear to goddess the guy didn't even look her in the eye after that." Everyone in the group bursts out laughing. "That is something Valerie does." Edith says while chuckling. "Where is she?" Nathan asks curiously. "She's getting ready, I asked her to look good." Evie says, winking at Edith. "She always looks good, but today someone else is going to judge her." Edith says chuckling. "Who is going to judge?" Nathan asks confused and trust me, I'm also confused. "Oh honey it's a girl thing which you'll never understand." Edith says giving Nathan a peck on the lips. "Come on bro, let's go somewhere else, these girls are weird." Oscar says and they both walk away from the ladies. I hear Jasper sighing when Oscar walks away. "Honestly, I can't wait to see the look on his face when she comes down." Evie says, giggling. "It'll be the same one as Jasper's." Edith tells Evie and I look at Jasper who is also smirking at his now blushing mate. "Someone is calling me." Evie says running towards Oscar and Jasper stiffens again. "You can't always run away Evie." Edith says loudly, grinning. When she turns towards me, she gives me a warm smile and I nod at her. This is the only person in their Pack who likes me. A minute later, I hear the sound of heels clicking and immediately, I feel my wolf sitting up straight inside me. Her scent hits me immediately and when I look at Valerie, my heart skips a beat. She looks damn beautiful. The jeans and the top look so sexy on her. When I see other male wolves looking at my mate, I growl at them and they divert their gazes. I looked at Valerie who is now walking towards the drink corner. "Told ya, he'd be speechless!" Evie says loudly disturbing me from my daze and I look at her to see that she's grinning at me along with Edith. It's then that I realise that I have a big smile on my face. I immediately make a straight face and they both look away. Just then, Ivan comes running towards Nathan, Edith, Evie and Oscar. "See that girl over there? She's testing Valerie's nerve!" Ivan says to the group, pointing ahead. I follow his gaze and look at my mate who is now smirking at Caroline and I growl immediately. Caroline is a self-centered cow and the only reason I tolerate her being in the Pack is her dad who is my dad's good friend. I don't want Caroline to be anywhere around Valerie. My mate is innocent and Caroline is the last thing that you can refer to as 'innocent'. I've never wanted her in anyway because I don't want her to be boasting about banging an Alpha. When she tried to flirt with me the first time, I threatened to kill her if she ever tried talking to me and that was the last time I spoke to her. She disgusts me. My wolf and I don't want her near our mate at all! I remember her insulting Valerie in school and I didn't mind it at that time. However, that was then and this is now. This time I wouldn't even let her hurt a single hair on my mate. "Who is she?" I hear Evie asking from behind me. "Caroline." Jasper replies. "The ex-best friend?" She asks disgustedly and I'm sure her expression matches mine. "Holy Goddess, Val was friends with that thing?" She asks, shuddering. I look at Valerie who is leaning closer and whispering something to Caroline. Before I can hear what Valerie is telling her, she walks past Caroline after giving her a scary glare. When Caroline turns around, I hear everyone in their group laughing. "Holding that?" Oscar asks to no one in particular. I look at Caroline who is holding a glass with some drink and I look at my mate who has nothing in her hand but is walking ahead. "How long do you think it'll take before she is doomed?" Ivan asks chuckling and believe me, I can't understand what is so funny. "Hmm... five seconds tops, starting from now." Evie says. They are counting the numbers from backwards and when they stop at one, I notice Valerie stopping and immediately, Caroline's glass breaks and she runs inside screaming. What the hell just happened? Everyone in their group is laughing, clapping or whistling. Valerie who had a serious face before is smirking now, looking at her Pack. When she looks at me, I'm back in my earlier daze. It looks like she's checking me out and I can't stop the smirk from my face. When she realises that she has been caught glancing at me, her cheeks turn pink and that makes her look more beautiful. She turns away and I frown at that. "Nice one." Oscar says, giving Valerie a high-five. "I must say your choice in friend's sucked big time once, but I'm glad it improved because of me." Evie says while tapping her own shoulders. Damn, she can brag!