Annabelle’s POV
I followed Thomas up a ladder. We ended up in a pool house. The water in my cell must’ve been coming from the pool. We walked through the house. People bowed their heads at me and I nodded at them. Thomas lead me outside and to a van.
“You must be Princess Annabelle” a man greeted us.
I nodded and Thomas spoke. “She needs to see a doctor”
The man scanned my body, looking for visible injuries. “You are not physically hurt. Why do you feel the need to receive medical attention?” he inquired.
“Are you a doctor?” I questioned.
The man nodded. “A mental and physical doctor. I am part of the Sunset Guardian Pack. I’m Dr. Young”
“The doctor that saw me in my cell, he said that my wolf died” I explained.
“What do you mean she died?”
Both men waited for my answer. “Well, my mate is an ass-hole. He almost killed me, now he killed my wolf” I stated calmly.
“He killed your wolf?!” Thomas growled.
I shrugged. “That’s what the doctor said”
“Why does he think your wolf died?” Dr. Young questioned.
“I was able to touch the silver bars in my cell. I didn’t get burned. And I haven’t heard from Mia- my wolf- since I got here” I explained.
Dr. Young nodded and turned to Thomas. “Can you go get Alpha White for me”
Thomas nodded and started to walk away, but I blocked his path. “I don’t want Alpha White here” I stated as calm as possible.
“You need your ma-”
“That bastard is not my mate!” I shouted, cutting off the doctor.
“Anna” Thomas said softly. “He makes you stronger. You need that strength from him”
I growled at my best friend. “He cheated three times. I had to feel that pain three times. And the third time actually killed a part of me” I hissed. “He killed my wolf, Thomas. He hurt me too much. That guy is not my mate” I thought my best friend would’ve agreed with me.
Dr. Young spoke softly with sympathy. “Princess, you can’t change who your mate is. Jonathan screwed up, big time. But he came here to save you”
I scoffed. “He came here to be a hero. He came here cause he felt bad for me. He felt guilty. None of this changes anything. Jonathan rejected me. He blamed me for having to go though the pain of him being with Gabriella. He put me in a coma, but right after I wake up he leaves-”
“He left to give you time” Thomas interrupted me.
“He left to be with Gabriella” I spat. “Then he came back and apologized. And being the naive person I am, I gave him another chance. Then he takes me to meet his pack. But he has Gabriella lined up to be Luna”
“He didn’t find his mate when he was younger. Gabriella was a replacement” Dr. Young stated.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t care if she was a replacement. But the fact that she is- like currently- still a replacement, it hurt. The pain of knowing that my mate replaced me in every way possible was unbearable” I sneered.
“Was?” Dr. Young asked.
I nodded. “It was. I don’t feel it anymore. I don’t feel anything” I said. Both men stared at me in confusion causing me to roll my eyes. “I turned off my emotions” I explained. I thought doctors were smart.
“It hurt so much, that you turn off your emotions? You wanted to stop feeling everything just because of the pain?” Thomas questioned.
“You didn’t feel it. It hurt more than anything I have ever felt” I explained. “What hurts more is that its my mate’s fault”
*****
Jonathan’s POV
I walked to the front yard and saw Anna talking with Dr. Young and Thomas.
While walking to the main house, I decided that I would be there for Anna. Not just because we’re mates, but because I know this is all my fault. I hurt her a lot, so much that she turn off her emotions. She stopped feeling because I put her through pain. And that pain killed her wolf.
Whatever happens doesn’t matter to me. I just want Anna back. The giggling, happy girl that was in my office two days ago. I want- no, I need to get her emotions back. From what Dr. Young explained, people who turned off their emotions, only feel hate. For Anna, all that hate is directed to me.
The only way to stop the hate and bring back the rest of the emotions is to make her love me. I’ll have her fall in love with me. It’ll take time, just like Ian said. But she needs to feel. I know this girl isn’t Anna. This isn’t the girl I fell in love with.
Yes, I love her. I’ve been in love with her. And I will do anything to make her at least be able to tolerate me. I moved closer to hear Anna, Thomas, and Dr. Young.
“-my mate’s fault” Anna’s sentence ended.
Dr. Young made eye contact with me for a split second. If it wasn’t me who he looked at, I wouldn’t be able to see his gaze shift. “Alpha Jonathan didn’t mean to hurt you” Dr. Young assured her. “He cares about you”
“Cares?” Anna scoffed. “He put me in a coma. He cheated. He killed my wolf. He only comes to my rescue when I’m hurt because he feels guilty. Don’t you dare lie to me and say that he cares!”
Well, that stings. If only she knew how much I actually care. I never wanted her to be in pain. I didn’t know that she would be in pain. It hurts. Not because she’s angry at me, but because most of what she’s saying is true.
I went to the castle because Thomas said she needed my help. I left, then kissed Gabriella; but I went back to the castle the same day. When I kissed Gabriella in front of Anna, I went to her room because I knew that I hurt her. I went looking for her because I knew none of this would’ve happened if I wasn’t so attached.
I had already explained everything to Dr. Young. He said that Gabriella and I were each others’ support mechanism. We were together when our parents died, and we became each others’ stability. But that only resulted in my relationship with my mate being screw up to the max.
Every time that I hurt Anna, I knew what I did. And I did feel guilty. But that’s not the only reason that I keep coming back after I hurt her. I’m fighting for her. I want her back. I know that I messed up a lot of times. But its never gonna stop me. I’ll keep making mistakes. But I’ll never stop coming back for my mate.
“He does care” Thomas insisted. “You just don’t feel it”
“I don’t want to feel it!” Anna shouted. “Its either I feel everything- all the pain and the little sparks of happiness- or I feel nothing. And I’d rather feel nothing than go through that pain again”
‘Leave’ I ordered my pack members through the mind-link. They all went to the backyard. Leaving me, Ian, Dr. Young, Thomas, and Anna.
“So you don’t want to feel love? The love that only your mate can give you. The love that you have with Jonathan?” Thomas inquired.
“I can’t feel it” Anna said quietly.
Thomas took a step closer to my mate. “Just let it in. You might have to go through the pain, but you’re not alone”
Anna shook her head and backed away from her best friend. “I-I don’t want to turn it on”
“Why not?” Thomas questioned softly.
“Cause everything will come back. Every feeling, Thomas. The guilt, the jealousy, the fear, the regret. Everything. The pain” Anna took a deep breath. “And it’s not one at a time anymore. When I turn it on, its all just gonna hit me. All at once. I can’t handle that”
“We’ll all be here, Anna” I said, making my presence known.
She turned around and glared at me. “I don’t want you here” she snapped.
“Too bad. Cause I’m not going anywhere” I stated defiantly and crossed my arms.
Anna scoffed and chuckled dryly. “Wasn’t it just a few days ago that you promised you wouldn’t go anywhere?” she asked sarcastically. I was about to argue, but Anna continued to speak. “All it took was for Gabriella to walk in your office. You forgot that I even existed” she hissed.
“Can you guys give us a minute?” I asked while never taking my eyes off of Anna. I heard the guys leave, then it was just me and Anna. I don’t know how the humans slept through all the noise we’re making, but none of them came outside.
“What? Are you gonna explain yourself? Try to justify what you did with a bunch of lies?” Anna questioned angrily.
I shook my head and took a few steps towards her. “There’s no explanation that would excuse what I did” I started. I wasn’t going to tell her about what Dr. Young said. I didn’t want to add more into this whole mess. “You deserve so much better than me. So I’m here. I want to make this right. I want to fix this because I-”
“Feel guilty?” Anna cut me off.
“No. I mean… Yes, I feel guilty… But that’s not why I’m here right now. I love you, Anna”
*****
Annabelle’s POV
Did he just…?
He just said that he loves me.
I froze and my face paled. Jonathan reached out to touch me, but I stepped away from him. “I-I can’t be here r-right now” I stuttered. “I’m sorry” I spun around and ran as fast as my legs could take me. I sprinted into the forest and ran. Far away from my mate.
‘Mate’ a voice in my head whispered.
‘Who’s this? Jonathan?’ I thought to the voice. Even without wolves, mates can mind-link one another.
‘Go back to Jonathan’ the voice said. It was male, so I knew that it wasn’t Mia.
‘No. Who are you?’ I questioned the voice.
‘Mia needs help. Go back to Jonathan’ the voice pleaded.
I stopped running and started panting. ‘Mia? She’s okay?’ I asked.
‘Help Mia, go to Jonathan’ the voice demanded and started to fade away.
‘Wait. Who are you?’ I said.
The voice was quiet, but responded with one word. ‘Max”
“Who the hell is Max?” I asked aloud, while turning back around. I don’t know who Max is, but he knows Mia. And he said that she needs help, so she must still be alive. That’s all I need to know.
I decided not to run back, but to fast-walk. It would give me time to think about what I’m gonna say to Jonathan.
I can’t just go back and say nothing. I ran off after he told me that he loves me.
But I have to go back. There’s a small chance that Mia is still alive. I don’t know who Max is, but he could be lying. Even if the chance of Mia being alive is slim, I have to try to get her back.1
*****
I got back to the neighborhood about three or four hours after I left. It was around midnight, I spotted the house. Ian was out front, talking to Jonathan, Elliot, and Thomas. Most of the cars that I saw earlier, were now gone. I slowly made my way over to the group of guys.
“Anna!” Jonathan exclaimed and ran towards me. I took a few steps back and held one hand up, stopping his movements.
“What happened?” Elliot asked, coming up behind Jonathan.
My mate ignored him and mind-linked me. ‘Why’d you run off?’ he questioned.
‘I need space’ I answered quietly.
“If you wanted space, then why’d you come back?!” Jonathan shouted angrily.
I glared at him. “You don’t get to be angry! I didn’t do anything wrong!” I yelled.
“I have the right to be mad! My mate thinks I’m an ass-hole an-”
“I don’t think you’re an ass-hole. I know you’re an ass-hole” I corrected. Jonathan growled at me. “You can’t be mad at the truth. You. Are. An. Ass. Hole” I stated.
“If I’m such an ass-hole, then why’d I come here to help you?” he questioned.
I shrugged. “I’m wondering the same thing”
Jonathan sighed, no longer angry. “I-I… I love you, Anna. I came here because I love you. I told you that, and you just ran off”
“You don’t love me” I stated. I looked over Jonathan’s shoulder and saw Thomas, Elliot, and Ian watching our conversation. Well, aren’t they just the best? They give us so much privacy.
“You can’t tell me what I do and don’t feel” Jonathan replied. “I do love you. I don’t care if you don’t feel the same way right now. But I know that you can love me”
I shook my head. “I can’t love you. I don’t have em-”
“I know you can’t feel anything now. But before all of this, you at least liked me. When we were in my office, you were happy. You can’t deny that”
“I wasn’t happy when you started making out with Gabriella a foot away from me” I stated bluntly.
Jonathan didn’t say anything, he just looked down at his feet. I walked past him and stopped in front of Elliot, Thomas, and Ian. “Who’s Max?” I asked.
Elliot shrugged. “Never heard that name”
I looked to Ian and he shrugged too. “Don’t know who that is”
“Maybe he’s in Jonathan’s pack” Thomas said. I turned back towards Jonathan. He was kicking small rocks with his foot.
“Can you ask him, please? I don’t think I should…” I trailed off. Thomas nodded and walked to Jonathan. I looked at Elliot and Ian. “So you didn’t kill him?” I asked Elliot.
“We’re good. I don’t trust him, but I’m not gonna kill him” Elliot stated. “Plus, Alyssa’s back at the castle making everyone watch some chick-flick with her” I simply nodded.1
“What did Max say to you?” Jonathan questioned from behind me.
“You know Max? Who is he?” I asked, instead of answering his question.
“He’s my wolf” Jonathan stated. “What did he say to you?” he repeated.
“He told me to come back”
Jonathan studied me. “Why would you listen to some random voice in your head?” he asked.
“He knows Mia, my wolf. He said that she needs help. And that I need to go back to you” I said quietly.
“So she’s alive?” Thomas asked.
I shrugged. “I think so. Can you ask Max?”
Jonathan nodded and his eyes glazed over. He blinked several times, until his eyes were golden, meaning Max was in control.
“Max?” He nodded. “How is she?” I asked, referring to Mia.
“Very weak” Max said sadly. “I am very sorry. Jonathan is a stupid human”
I chuckled. “Yeah, he is…” I trailed off before going back to an important subject. “About Mia. Is she gonna be okay?”
“I honestly don’t know” Max sighed. “I don’t want to pressure you, but it would be easier for her if your emotions were on”
“How would that be easier? Wouldn’t it just hurt more?” I questioned.
Max shook his head. “The positive emotions that you would have, plus the feelings that you share with Jonathan, would make Mia stronger” he explained.
But would all of that overpower the hurt. There are a few times when I was happy, there were feelings that I had for Jonathan; but there is more pain. The pain from Jonathan cheating. My parents.
I didn’t even mourn. They’ve been gone for almost a month, and I cried for them twice. When I saw their bodies, I cried, then went into a coma. When I found my locket, I cried. But I never dealt with the fact that they are gone.
“You won’t deal with it all alone” Max spoke softly. “You have me, Jonathan, Elliot, Alyssa, even Ford”
“You have me too” Thomas said, stepping forward.
Max glared at him. “You’re not mated” he said with his eyes narrowed at my best friend.
Thomas sighed. “We’ve known each other since forever. Stop being a jealous mate” Thomas replied.
Max rolled his glowing eyes. “You have him too” he said grudgingly. “They can all help you get through it. I can help too, just tell Jonathan to let me in control. I have to go”
“Thank you, Max” I said. Max nodded and closed his eyes.
Jonathan’s eyes opened and they were back to their blue-gray color. I yawned and lost my balance. Thomas quickly helped me stand straight. “Let’s go home. Its been a long night” I nodded and we walked to one of the cars.