Violet
The car roared to life, the sound of my raging heart dying down over the powerful hum of the engine and then Elijah drove off.
I stood staring like an idiot at the black beast that disappeared from my view, still trying to process what Elijah had said.
Maybe I should follow him but it was already nearing dawn and he had driven off to Goddess knew where with a thinly veiled threat aimed at me.
I was out in the open but all the air around me couldn't fill my damn lungs.
'Breathe, Violet. Breathe'
"He is going to cut me open and torture me." I mumbled to myself, my palm slapping my forehead.
"Not with a knife and he said you would enjoy it" Rain supplied and I mentally rolled my eyes at her.
Couldn't she have shown up earlier when I was trying to explain my predicament to him?
My phone rang and I fished for it from the purse to see a dozen missed calls from my parents. I had put it on silent mode earlier.
"Do you want to give your dad a heart attack by running off the second you came in?" Mom shouted at me without bothering to say hi or hello.
"I am fine, mom. On my way back home."
She continued to lecture me but I disconnected the call, got in the car and returned home.
Mom was already waiting at the gate for me, temper and worry both balanced precariously in her body language and expressions.
She didn't let me step out of the car but rather dragged me out of it and inside our home. It was a relief that not many people were around to see me getting schooled like a disobedient child.
The second she closed the door, she went full on mama bear mode and started shouting at me. I simply sat and let her finish, let the anger dissipate and her shoulders sag a little.
I deserved it. Not many people loved or cared about me. She had every right to be mad at me given the scandal I had created for no fault of mine due to the video.
Dad stood by the window, sighing dramatically every now and then as if to reassure me that everything was going to be fine.
Dad was always the one who used less words than mom. And she would use his name to make me obey. Typical mom. But I loved them both. A lot.
A smile tugged at my lips when I stole a glance at him and mom whirled at him, hands on her hips.
"Luke, are you going to just stand there?" She glared at him and dad immediately stepped forward.
"Violet, you put me and your mother in a lot of worry. With everything else happening, could you spare us poor folks from further trouble?"
The raw appeal in his voice almost hit me like a rock. Hard.
"Yes dad" I said in a low voice but mom wasn't impressed.
"Why are you requesting her? You are the alpha of this pack, Luke. She has to do as you say."
"She had the worst day of her life, Miranda. Cut her some slack." Dad insisted and I jumped up from the couch to pull them both into a hug.
"I am truly sorry, I mean it. But I bring good news. I have found someone to help us." I delivered the breaking news, hoping to see some relief blossom on their faces.
Instead, mom began firing questions at me with the precision of a sharp shooter.
"Who is he? What pack is this? Where is it located? And when did you negotiate?"
Okay, I really hadn't thought about this all the way through. For now, I just had the answer to her first question.
Mom and dad kept looking at me expectantly, and I finally answered.
"Elijah Lockwood has agreed to help us"
For a second neither of them reacted. I was met with radio silence. And then it was total chaos.
"Are you out of your mind? You could have said Satan and I would have believed but that man...he is a selfish, evil person who does nothing for himself. We would better die than be indebted to him."
It turned out that I was really the only one who had no idea who this man was. Lucy's reaction back at the restaurant wasn't far off if even my mother knew about him.
I grabbed her by the shoulders to make her sit down with me.
"Calm down, mom and listen to me, please."
Dad too sounded hesitant.
"Violet, I have always let you make your own decisions but that man is anything but helpful. I appreciate your help, but I have a meeting with a few more alphas today and I hope I will be able to figure out something."
However, mom was back with her questions.
"Did you run off to meet him in the dead of the night? Did he hurt you?" She immediately began checking me for injuries.
"Mom, I am fine. And I need you both to calm down. He isn't as bad as you think. He didn't know me yet he saved me in the restaurant, remember?"
Somehow, everybody kept forgetting that. Though, he had also stuck the knife in the rogue's skin countless times and warned me to run away.
At least, he didn't shy away from who he was. He was honest about himself.
Mom grabbed my shoulders dramatically and asked, "He isn't known to help people out of the goodness of his heart. What did he ask for in return? Our pack? Property? Your unborn child?"
My mother was truly weird.
"Technically, he didn't ask for anything. He just told me to give me something worthy of a trade off in exchange for an alliance."
Mom and dad exchanged a confused look, disbelief evident in their eyes.
"Just like that?" Dad asked curiously, though I could hear a hint of surprise in those words. Like he was proud that his daughter could pull something like this off.
Mom glared at him and Dad adopted a stern expression yet again.
"He gave me twenty four hours to come up with a solid offer so if you dont mind, I have some serious research and digging to do."
Meanwhile, mom was completely against the idea.
"No, absolutely not. That man is a menace. He is known to torture people just for the fun of it."
"I have to agree with your mom, Violet. Nobody wants to deal with him."
"But thats the exact reason we should go with him. Nobody will mess with our pack if he is by our side. Crisis averted!"
I had not even planned to tell them anything until I had secured the alliance but now I had to live up to my promise of saving my home.
"What will happen if you don't come up with any good within twenty four hours?" Dad asked and I fumbled for a response.
My heart beat erratically when I recalled the way he had promised me torture that sounded a lot like fun.
And for sure I was not going to give my parents a real heart attack by divulging those details.
"I will figure out something, don't worry," I said, my voice sounding far too hopeful than I was.
"Or you could conveniently miss the deadline and take option two" Rain supplied.
"Shut up" I hissed though I couldn't deny feeling breathless all of a sudden again.
