Wolf under an oak tree.

The salty tears tasted bitter in my taste buds. I know that Ada must be really hurt from what happened now, but I don't think I had the courage to tell her that Alan was abusing me back then, and I still didn't have the courage either, and I know due to this stupidity of mine I have lost my best friend even though she didn't say it out loud, her actions spoke louder than words, and I know that things will never be the same between us even if she forgives me.

I slowly slid down the wall and hugged my legs to my chest and rested my head on it. What did I do to deserve this? Why is my life going downhill? I didn't have the answers to all these questions, but I did have an answer to all these problems, and that is to kill Alan for good this time and move on in life.

I wiped my tears and got up from the floor and went into my room to change my clothes. I have three days to come up with a foolproof plan to kill him, and I am going to get all the help I would need one way or the other.

Once I freshened up, I went downstairs to have breakfast. When I entered the kitchen, I saw that everyone was present there, except Ada. My dad was having his pancakes with a cup of coffee while mom was sitting next to him eating her breakfast with a copy of today's magazine in her hand and Beatrice was watching something on the iPad. “Good morning, mom.” I greeted her and went over and kissed her cheek, and did the same to dad too. “Good morning, dad.” And I went over to Beatrice and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, “Good morning, cupcake.” I said and she gave me a side hug before she turned her attention back to the cartoon that she was watching.

“Your breakfast is inside the oven.” mom said, so I went over and took the plate out and took a seat next to Beatrice. “Why didn't you wake me up last night, Iris?” mom questioned.

“You were sound asleep, mom, and I didn't have the heart to wake you up.”

“Still, you should have woken me up. Anyway, did you get what were looking for?” she asked me while she briefly dropped her magazine on the table and looked at me.

“I got it, mom. And I didn't expect I would get it here in this small town.” I spoke in riddles, and mom had a confused look on her face, but she didn't question me further. And then we eat our breakfast in silence again. When we were almost done with our breakfast, Ada entered the kitchen, and she didn't even glance at me. She greeted my parents with a warm smile and went over to the coffee machine, and poured herself a cup of coffee.

“So how would you guys love to come to town with me. I heard that they are having a small carnival in town today.” Ada asked looking at my parents.

“I think that will be great. Since I am getting bored sitting at home all day.” dad replied.

“Didn’t you just recover from a food poisoning recently? and you want to go back there and eat some more?” mom accused.

“I will be fine, darling. Moreover, I will not be eating anything from that damn bakery.” dad grumbled, and mom finally sighed and agreed to go.

“Iris, are you coming with us?” mom asked me and everyone was looking at me with expectation but I can see that Ada wasn't pleased, so with a heavy heart, I shook my head.

“I have to go and meet Walter later. So you guys go on.” I said with a forced smile, and I can see my mom’s glance at me, and I know that she must have felt that something was not right, but she didn't question it.

Once we were all done with our breakfast, mom, dad, and Beatrice went back to their respective rooms to get ready, while I stayed behind in the kitchen to help Ada with the dishes. It was a tense silence, and the both of us were working in sync with each other, not uttering a single word. And every minute that passes by in silence, my heart beats a bit faster.

Once we were done with the dishes, Ada left the kitchen without even a second glance my way, my hands trembled, and a tear left my eye, but I quickly wiped it away and left the house. Once I reached the packhouse, I went inside and made my way to the infirmary hoping that I might run into Mike or Elana. And luckily for me, I ran into Walter.

“Are you early?” he asked me, and I shook my head.

“So, can I have the ring?” I asked in a monotone, and I know that he must have felt my frustration, but thankfully, he didn't comment on it.

“Of course, always the impatient one. Come along, I kept it in my room,” he said and guided me back to the entrance of the packhouse. When we reached the staircase, we took a right, and that is when I noticed that this house has an elevator.

“I thought your house is a bit further away from the alpha’s house?” I asked him when we got inside the elevator.

“Yeah, I do have a house there, but I have my room here too,” he said, and right then we arrived on the third floor, and when the elevator doors opened, I felt like I was entering a hotel. There were two pathways, one going right and the other going left, with five closed doors on either side, and the entire place was done with wood which gave it quite a rich look. But what was disturbing was that this floor was eerily quiet, unlike the other floors.

“Why isn't anyone here?” I asked him, and he started walking toward the right side, and I followed him like a lost puppy. “It's because this entire floor is only for the beta and the gamma. This side of the floor is mine and the other side is Mike’s,” he explained while I looked out the window, which was facing the training ground and that is when I noticed that Jace was there with his supposed girlfriend training a group of teenagers.

I stopped right in front of the window and stared at them. And every time that woman touched Jace, I felt my blood boil, and I had a strong urge to go and break her bones, but I controlled myself and consoled my heart, knowing that I was never good enough for anyone.

After all, how will a very strong werewolf, more specifically an Alpha take a human as his mate, right?