Alpha´s curvy bullied human mate

Chapter 7: Missing Penelope

When you face your fears, when you finally close the cycle of the worst experiences of your life, you're supposed to feel some kind of relief. You're supposed to feel good, even begin to heal.

So why did I feel so defeated? Instead of facing my fears, it seems that I had increased them.

But it was clear to me that reality was beginning to manifest itself in a very different way. After that encounter with Nate, I was practically devastated. And the worst part of it, if that's possible, was not understanding why I felt that way. The twins were very worried, of course. I had to grit my teeth and act as if nothing had happened. But there were times during the day when I just kept thinking about what had happened. Most of the time... I thought about how I had felt about that kiss.

Kissing Nate was... hands down, the most fantastic experience I've ever had in my entire life.

There, I said it.

But did it have to be him? Did he have to kiss me like that?

My whole body vibrated just remembering his lips on mine and his hands on my back. For a few brief seconds, I was someone else. my heart was racing and the whole world seemed like a fabulous place.

But of course, when reality hit, it was devastating. The fear I felt after that was beyond anything I could ever imagine.

I went back to work more panicked than ever, afraid I'd run into him somewhere and, frankly, wishing he wouldn't retaliate.

He was an Alpha, after all, and I didn't think he was going to sit idly by after I kicked him out of my house and rejected him.

I didn't understand why he was so interested in me, and I hadn't seen him like that with girls before, as far as I could remember. But people can change.

"Are you okay, Penny?" asked Marianne. I almost jumped. "Obviously not! You were going to have a heart attack just because I said hello! Not to mention that you've been pretty out of it all day... is it because of our handsome guests? Since they have very little time left here, are you worried we'll go back to being a boring town where Andrew will be the only good-looking boy around?" she asked, suspicious.

We both looked sideways at the boy wonder. Poor Andrew was in charge of the drinks. It was obvious he was totally bored by the presence of the Alphas, as all the girls kept muttering about the attractiveness of our guests.

"I think you were right, by the way," she added. I looked at her quizzically.

"About what?"

"About those fabulous CEOs not having good intentions," Marianne said, and I gulped. Let's just say I had it coming, but I was secretly hoping I wasn't right. "What happened?"

"Well... apparently some of the girls were invited to an afterparty... and some of the CEOs got intense," she said. I gasped. I felt guilty for not warning the others; I could have at least talked about Alpha Marco. He's a powerful man, but he shouldn't get to just do whatever he wants outside his territory. Or inside it, for that matter.

"Fortunately, one of them showed up, a big guy, and put the others in their place. He had the support of the others, including your admirer and his inseparable companion," she said, smiling.

"My admirer?"

"Yeah, the hot-as-hell dark-haired hottie. He came out to defend the girls and, in the end, there was nothing to be sorry about," she said, and I sighed. Maybe the Moonstone Pack knew that Alpha Marco couldn't be trusted.

The Alphas, without Nate, continued to have their meetings. I was particularly surprised to see Roger following me with his eyes wherever I went. I fear that his Alpha told him about what happened between us. But I was quickly distracted when I overheard comments from several of our guests that I found extremely alarming.

"Looks like some humans are missing," one of the Alphas said. I didn't like snooping around other people's conversations, but I was the only human here who knew who these men were.

"There's no proof... it's just a rumor. And no Alpha is going to snitch on another Alpha, especially not to humans..." another said. Roger listened attentively.

I was worried, but no matter how many times I asked around the restaurant, no one seemed to know about the disappearances. Everyone looked at me as if I was saying something crazy. "Penny, I think if someone went missing in this small town, we'd know about it," Jack told me very convincingly.

But of course, I couldn't say where I had gotten this information. I even went to the police.

"Miss, without a name, date, and description, I can't do anything," the officer told me very calmly.

"I don't have much information... I just heard about it from our visitors... you know, the CEOs," I explained.

"Well, these men have brought money to the town, so we should be grateful," he replied, annoyed.

It was then I decided that it would probably be best to investigate a little more on my own. I felt I owed it to this town that had helped me so much. After my shift was over, instead of going home, I wandered around town trying to find more information.

I checked some of the abandoned houses and some of the lots where kids used to hide to smoke and do weird stuff, but there was nothing.

No matter how many times I asked around, I only got the same information. Some guy went to college, some girl left town because of a boyfriend from another town... but no one could be considered missing.

I was about to go home, defeated when I heard an incredibly familiar voice just behind the only bar in town.

"For the first time in my life, I don't know what to do..." Nate said. I heard his voice hoarse, and that didn't sound right.

"We've never cared about this before, and in another situation, I would tell you to leave it alone, but we know we can't turn a blind eye now. Something is going on in this town, and it's probably werewolf stuff... and you know it," Roger said, trying to convince him.

"Not yet... I haven't made my decision... Beta," Nate said, speaking loudly as the Alphas did when they wanted to emphasize their position.

I remember Roger being a close friend of Nate's. Didn't pay much attention to me in the past, was more interested in training. He has brown hair and freckles.

He didn't seem surprised by Nate's attitude and was still arguing, which made it seem to me that the topic they were discussing was particularly important.

"Well, you know I have a duty...and I'm not going to let you ruin the pack," he said.

"Did you hear something?" Nate asked suddenly.

I was afraid they might have noticed that I was there, spying on their conversation. There were a few people on the street, but inside the bar, smells could mix, so I quickly went inside and pretended to be on my way to the bar.

I ran into Andrew, our bartender. He worked here after the restaurant closed. He was a really cute guy; nothing compared to the glorious werewolves, of course, but he was a nice guy.

"Penny, how nice to see you here, you never come to visit!" he said with a smile.

"Yeah, I, ehhhh... let's just say..." I started stuttering, not knowing what to say.

"Don't worry, nobody needs a reason to have a good drink. Life's complicated enough to need it several times a day," he said, laughing as he handed me a pint.

I stayed in and chatted with him for a while, waiting for the right time to go home, always trying to look as casual as possible. As the bar started to fill up, Andrew leaned against the bar and said to me, winking.

"You seem to be attracting a lot of attention tonight," he said, motioning for me to turn to the side, where I noticed Nate and Roger eyeing me suspiciously in the distance. Nate seemed to growl, and I quickly turned away.

"I have to admit, I'm a little bit scared of them," I replied, trying to look natural when the reality is that I'm on the verge of trembling.

"I don't want to sound overly suspicious... but they're pretty strange guys," he whispered to me. I let out a laugh and heard grunts, no doubt coming from where they were.

After a few minutes, I decided to go home after saying goodbye to Andrew. I could see in the distance that Nate was giving me a look as if he was trying to restrain himself.

As I left, I heard footsteps behind me. I remembered the disappearances and decided that the best thing to do at that moment was to get home as soon as possible.

My brothers had already returned to the pack, so I was alone. As soon as I got home, I heard noises in the forest.

"Is anyone there?" I called out.

I know, I know. it wasn't a good idea, and it sounded like a scene out of a horror movie. I was about to run back home when something moved.

The most fantastic wolf I had ever seen in my life appeared. It was very big, its fur was dark, and just seeing it brought a smile to my face. "Hello there..." I said.