Chapter 46

~Alistair~

It was going to be the company’s anniversary soon, and preparations were being made to ensure that it was an enjoyable and pleasing event for everyone who attended, and according to my uncle, it was also necessary that the anniversary was the talk of the city for months.

“Are you sure you can handle this?” I asked, tossing a file over to Garrett, who was sitting opposite me.

He ran his eyes over the papers, and nodded his head, in the affirmative. “Yes, I can handle it. Just trust me on this one,” He said.

“You’ll earn my trust if you successful complete the task I have assigned to you,” I told him, wearing a smirk on my face.

“Whatever you say,” He said, resignedly.

Although Garrett worked with Carrie in her Veterinarian clinic, he had been willing to help me out with preparations for the company’s anniversary, at a high price, of course. Money was not a problem for me, and he took advantage of that fact when he had stated his price. He even suggested that I should go ahead and find a different Planning committee head for the anniversary if I could not afford to give him the price he wanted.

Garrett was really good with planning events, and had a good taste in varieties of foods, designs, embroidery, architecture, fashion, and was the only person I could be sure wasn’t going to ruin the anniversary for me.

“You can take your leave now,” I told him.

“Sure thing,” He said, and stood up, preparing to leave the office, when Jenny walked in, holding a large envelope in her hands.

“Alistair, someone left this in the mailbox. It was addressed to you,” She said, handing over the envelope to me.

“What could this possibly be?” I asked, collecting it from her, not really interested in what it contained.

“I wonder,” She said, looking at me, apparently eager to know what was in the envelope.

Garrett sat back down, crossing his legs, drumming his fingers, as he stared at me intently, also eager to know what the envelope was all about.

“What’s wrong with both of you?” I asked, eyeing both of them.

“These days, everyone sends stuff through emails. For it to have been sent through a mailbox, it ought to contain something special, and I’d like to know what that is,” Garrett replied.

“Well, I’m just here because you’re going to let me know anyway. I am your personal assistant after all,” Jenny said, taking a seat beside Garrett.

“Whatever,” I said, and tore open the envelope when the seal would not budge, leading to pictures the envelope had contained scattering all over the floor. All that was left on my laps was a piece of paper, which contained a short note.

“Guess what Eliana was up to last night. First loves do not ever die.”

My gaze landed on one of the pictures, and I could hardly believe what was right in front of my eyes. It was as though my whole world was falling apart, and had crumbled before me into a million different pieces. My heart was breaking, and I was forcing myself to believe that the sight in front of me was not real, and all I was seeing was just a figment of my imagination, and couldn’t actually be possible.

“What’s wrong, Alistair?” Garrett asked, getting up from his seat, as he bent down to look at what at caused me to be in such mood.

“Oh no!” He said, seeing for himself.

It was as though I had come against the ghost of someone who wanted to haunt me, and would not rest until I was dead. I had been stabbed, not in the back, but in the heart. I had been played, manipulated, deceived, and thrown out like I were a piece of trash.

Without thinking, I pushed away all that was on my desk in a fit of rage, angry and bitter because of how low Eliana had stooped, despite the promises we made to each other.

A week ago

After Aunt Salome’s defeat, we had been leaving the forest when Garrett had to excuse himself, stating that he was feeling really pressed, and even though we just wanted to leave the forest as quickly as possible, we had no choice than to wait for him while he went to do what needed to be done.

“My poor nephew, you risked your life just for the sake of an ordinary human,” Aunt Salome said, coming into view, limping.

“And how is that any of your concern?” I asked.

“I’m scared for you, Alistair. What if you saving your life and betraying your pack for the second time wasn’t worth it? What if she ends up believing this world isn’t cut out for her and leaves you for a human being like her? There have been several tales of a werewolf and a human being, but it never ends well, and I doubt yours would be any exception. She may end up betraying your trust, and you’d regret making your people suffer today for someone like her,” She said.

“I feel like breaking your second leg. If you don’t get out this minute, I’ll make sure you lose your ability to ever walk again,” I threatened.

“That won’t be necessary,” Katherine said, walking towards us.

“It seems you haven’t learnt your lessons yet. I can overcome your magic,” I said.

“I’m not here for you,” Katherine said, and clicking her fingers, she vanished into thin air with Aunt Salome.

I turned around, noticing Eliana trembling. I took her hands in mine, trying to calm her down.

“You seem afraid,” I noted.

She heaved a deep sigh. “What if your aunt is right, Alistair? What if risking your life to save mine wasn’t worth it, and I hurt you in the future?” She asked, with worry evident in her eyes.

“Shush!” I said, placing my finger on her lips.

“Don’t take what my aunt said to heart. You are worth it, and I know you won’t ever do anything that wouldn’t favour me,” I said.

She gently removed the finger I had placed on her lips. “I am responsible for what happened today. If you hadn’t broken free from those chains, your powers would have been taken away from you, and you may have been probably condemned to death as well. What if bad things keep happening to you because of the love you have for me?”

I smiled. “Listen, Eliana, I don’t care if people decide to use you as leverage against me because they know that the only thing that can bother me is if something bad was happening to you. It’s normal that people would use those you love the most to have an advantage over you, and that is absolutely not your fault. Love makes one vulnerable, but I’m willing to take my chances with you,” I said.

“You love me that much?” She asked, staring at me in disbelief.

“I love you more than you could possibly imagine. I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you, and you’re the only woman I ever want to love,” I said.

She touched my cheek, looking really concerned. “Alistair, your love for me is scary. If you love me this much, you’d hate me this much if I ever hurt you, and in the process, you’d take drastic actions,” She said.

“Well, princess, that should be the least of your concerns. I trust you, and I know you would never do anything to hurt me, or am I wrong?” I asked.

She shook her head immediately. “Of course not. I’ll never do anything that will hurt you, because I love you so much as well,” She told me, and in her eyes, I could see how sincere she was.

“You promise?” I asked.

She wore her ever bright smile. “I promise, Alistair. For as long as you love me, I will never ever hurt you,” She said.

“Then, you’ll always have to be on my side, because for as long as I live, I promise not to love another apart from you,” I said.

She reached out to me, and I bent low, taking her lips in mine, as we sealed our vow to one another, and I was so sure that she was going to keep that promise to me.

Present day

“She didn’t keep her word,” I yelled out loud, feeling immense anger and hurt, at the manner in which she had betrayed me and not lived up to the promise she made just a week ago.

“Calm down, Alistair, please,” Garrett said, looking at me with pleading eyes.

“I trusted her, Garrett. I believed that she would never do this to me,” I yelled angrily, letting my anger overshadow the sadness and hurt I felt at Eliana’s obvious betrayal.

“Alistair...”

“All this time, I had seen Eliana as a perfect little angel that didn’t even have the ability to hurt a fly, but I had been so damn wrong. She was just a liar and a pretender who had decided to break all the promises we made to each other, without even thinking twice. I swear, I’d tear her and that lover of hers apart,” I screamed, in anger, not waiting to even hear what Jenny had to say.

“Calm down, Alistair. Try to think these through first before jumping into conclusions. Take control over your emotions and try to be sensible, instead of being unreasonably hasty in your decision,” Garrett said, obviously trying to talk some sense into me.

I scoffed. “I can’t take control over any emotion, Garrett. I don’t possess rationality anymore, as every part of sensibility in me got lost the moment I found out my beloved Eliana had betrayed the trust I had in her,” I told him, still screaming.

“Those pictures may have been photoshopped, Alistair...”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out. I need to confront Eliana,” I said, in a more calmer tone, picking up one of the explicit photos of Eliana and Sam that were lying on the floor.

“You’re not going to confront Eliana in this state, are you?” Jenny asked.

“I am. I can sense if she’s lying because I’ll know when her heartbeat skips or rises,” I said, with a very determined look in my eyes.

“You still love her, Alistair. If you go to see her, you won’t be able to tell if she’s lying or saying the truth, because, deep down, you want this to be false. You’ll let your emotions cloud your judgment,” Jenny said.

I took in deep breaths, knowing she was making sense with what she had said. “I’ll go to see Sam, then,” I said.

“I’ll come with you,” Garrett offered.

“Unless you want to be on the receiving end of my anger, you’ll stay right here,” I said, in a firm tone.

“He’s right, Garrett. Let him go and confront Sam all alone,” Jenny said.

Garrett scoffed. “Are you even serious right now? I mean, shouldn’t you be dissuading him from doing this instead of supporting him? If you must go and see someone alone, it should be Eliana. Going to Sam’s place isn’t worth it at all. Relax your nerves, then go and ask Eliana calmly about the pictures. You should confront who you're closest with instead of the other party. Sam owes you nothing, but Eliana does. Ask her to tell you honestly. You're an Alpha, and you'll know if she's lying or not. I strongly doubt that you’d let your feelings get in the way of reading her honesty as your relationship depends on this, and I know you’re willing to make your relationship work.

“Maybe this is all a sham, and if you discuss it with Eliana, you can both figure it out; work out your differences and find out what truly happened. As someone in a healthy relationship, I can confidently tell you that going to Sam’s house to pour out your anger and frustration on him is not the right thing to do. Communication in a relationship is what makes it work, trust me,” Garrett said, and even though what he said seemed like the right thing to do, I didn’t think I was in the right frame of mind to talk to Eliana.

“Of course, you’d talk that way because you’re in a relationship with Eliana’s friend. I am the only one here who isn’t willing to play favourite sides, and I’m sure Alistair would do the right thing by following my advice. Listen, Alistair, my brother is just a kid. The fact that you’re madly in love with Eliana will cloud your sense of reasoning, because like I earlier said, deep down, you want every word that comes out of her mouth to be true,” Jenny said.

I thought about what they had both said for a moment, before coming to a conclusion. “Garrett, I know you mean well for me, but in this case, I guess your sister is right. I’ll go to Sam’s place, and since I don’t have any attachment to him, I’ll be able to be sure if he’s lying to my face,” I said, and without even casting a glance at their faces, I let the picture in my hand fall to the floor, and took out my keys from my pocket, then headed for the door.

“Be safe, please,” Jenny said.

“I will, and I’ll be back before you know it,” I said, before exiting the office, and slamming the door behind me.

At the end, all that was left was regrets. I never should have fallen in love with Eliana. I declared my own doom the day I had decided to get myself involved in matters of the heart. If I had just ignored the feelings that tugged at my heart, yearning and longing for her, I wouldn’t have gotten in too deep with her that it was now so difficult to just back out and see the truth that was right in front of me.

Even as I stormed off in a fit of rage to my car, heading for Sam’s house, I still had a tiny ray of hope in me that Eliana couldn’t have possibly gone back on her word. She loved me, and one doesn’t just go about hurting people that they loved, except if her feelings for me had changed and she didn’t feel the same way I did for her anymore.