CHAPTER 26 – Blinding Doubts
KYLIE’S POV
He hadn’t flinched. Elijah had not flinched, not after my accusation, not when it seemed like what we had was on the line. Instead, he had taken all that I said in good faith, as though he had nothing to worry about. He even asked me out on a date.
A date!
I told him I would think about it, and today when he asked what my answer was, I had betrayed my subtle anger and said yes. Now, I stood in front of a mirror in my room, trying to decide between a black or red dress.
“The red.” I finally decided, tired of the back and forth. If Elijah didn’t like it, then he was just going to have to deal with it.
I heard a car horn and checked the time.
“Seven.” I sighed, just exactly the time he said he would be here. I had to hand it to him, he scored great points for being on time and keeping his word.
I picked up my purse and went outside. Parked beside my building was a black Bulgari, with the windows tinted, and when the driver’s window came down, Elijah’s cocky smile appeared.
“You look good,” he said, with a smirk, and I had to fight the urge to smile back at him. I was still sort of angry, after all.
“Thank you,” I replied as he got out of the car, holding a bouquet of tulips.
“flowers,” I said, and had to admit, they were damn well beautiful.
“beautiful flowers, for a beautiful woman. Although, I feel I should have gotten roses now. At least, they would have matched the dress.” I accepted the flowers gratefully. I also gave in and sniffed them, and a shadow of a smile lifted my lips.
“These are fine.” I said, and looked at him, “You look good as well.”
“I planned on spending the evening with a woman as beautiful as you. I had to look my best,” he said with a charming smile. And because I was angry, and didn’t want him to feel cocky, I cast my eyes heavenward and walked to the passenger’s side. But he was right behind me, quick enough to open the door for me. That gave him some more invisible points.
The drive to the restaurant was a short and quiet one. I had questions I was mulling over, and he… Well, I guess he felt comfortable in the silence.
The restaurant had a nice ambiance. Soft lowlights, with soulful piano tunes, really gave the night a romantic air.
“Would you like some wine?” Elijah asked when we got to our chairs, but I shook my head.
“water will do for me,” I said, not wanting my judgment to be clouded by alcohol.
“All alright then,” Elijah said and made the order.
“So what do you think of the place?” when the waiter had left us, and I shrugged.
“It’s nice if I’m being honest.”
“and your date?” he asked, and some of that cockiness had come back. I raised a brow at him and shook my head.
“Come on, ky. Give me something.”
I smiled a bit, “fine. I appreciate all of the effort he has put into this date. He gets an ‘A‘ for effort.”
“ahhh.” Elijah said blissfully and sipped from his wine, “Music to my ears.”
And just like that, all of the animosity I felt toward him since yesterday ebbed away, and I forgot how to be angry.
“You know, all of this cockiness is going to land you into some big trouble someday.”
“Oh please. I’m not scared of trouble. You would be surprised how much trouble I got into while growing up. My pre–teen days were the worst.”
I howled a laugh and gained a few stares. But I couldn’t help myself, the laughter just came. Elijah was chuckling too, and found himself settling into storytelling.
“Like there was this one time, I had to attend a class bake sale. Like I had my pastries all lined up, and whatnot. But when noon came, and I hadn’t eaten, guess what I thought was best to fill my tummy with?”
“you didn’t,” I said in disbelief.
“but I did,” he said, smiling in a way that said he was quite pleased with himself.
“I bet everyone was pissed off at you for eating the pastries.”
“pissed” is an understatement. The class teacher was livid. So much so that she asked me to pay for them.”
“but they were your baked goods!” I exclaimed.
“Tell me about it. But I guess even if the goods were ours, the money we made had to go to a charity. It was kind of a
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CHAPTER 26 – Blinding Doubts fundraising event as well.”
“ah, I see. But unfortunately, even after that situation, it doesn’t seem like you learned your lesson. Because you still always do things that are troublesome.”
“Some things you’re just born with,” he said, peacefully and looked delighted when the waiter made way with our dinner. “Well, dig in,” he said when he had started eating, and I just watched him.
“right right,” I said and began to eat. I don’t know what had made me stop to watch him like that. Perhaps it was something in the air, but I didn’t think there was anywhere else I longed to be right then, than with Elijah.
And that scared me to no end.
That night, I had a very fitful night. I tossed and turned until I found sleep, and even when sleep came, it was accompanied by nightmares.
In my dream, I was being chased by what I believe was a werewolf. I ran through dark woods, praying to God to save me from the danger that was only feet away from me, gaining ground with every passing moment.
I woke up panting, in a pool of my own sweat, and pressed my hands to my eyes.
“Dear God.” I whispered to myself, ” A dream. It was just a dream. ” I said repeatedly, trying to comfort myself. But it was a damned dream that felt all too real.
I reached for the glass of water I usually kept beside my bed, before going to the bathroom to splash some water on my face.
When I returned to my room, I heard my phone buzzing and saw they were messages from an unknown sender. I opened up the message and they were photos of Elijah and me from earlier that evening.
“it can’t be,” I said to myself, really confused. But it was. The photos looked like they were taken from an angle where the person behind the camera was hiding.
But who was it?
The strange part of the entire thing was that she couldn’t think of a single person who would do such a thing. Or who would have a reason to?
I sighed as I sat on the edge of my bed. Strange things were occurring right now, and I didn’t know what to do about it all. But one thing was sure, someone was stalking me and Elijah, and they had to be stopped.
When morning came, I met up with my friend Jessica and tried to catch up with her the best I could. Lately, I had been too focused on Elijah and hadn’t spent as much time with her.
“Don’t worry about it. You’re happy and that’s all that matters. “she said, as I put an arm around her shoulder.
“Happiness is fleeting,” I said, and she only scoffed.
“says the girl who is glowing from all that love.”
“I won’t call it love though, Jess.”
“Then what exactly would you call it?”
“I don’t know,” I said and sighed.
“Uh oh. You’re sighing heavily, which tells me something is off. Spill.”
“You know me too well.” I said and led us to a quiet corner, “I just don’t know if things between Elijah and me could work out.”
“Well, I find that hard to digest seeing as you’re so at peace with him.”
“Am I?” I asked, genuinely wanting to know, and she shrugged.
“He doesn’t give you headaches. At least right now. Is this about Justine though?”
“Justine? No, not all.” It was about the photos, the two nights before, and my new doubts, but I didn’t know how to bring all of that up right now.
“Well, if it isn’t about him, and maybe it is about you finding it hard to love someone new, then I’d say you should give yourself some grace. Be patient with yourself.”
“but… what if I just feel like I need to stay away from him for a while? Because I kind of want to.”
A small kind smile spread across my friend’s face, “then, I’d say, it’s a bit too late for that, my friend. Seeing as you’re already halfway in love with him.”
CHAPTER 27- He’s the Alpha
CHAPTER 27- He’s the Alpha
