Chapter 14

*Izabella’s POV*

"Izabella, you have to eat." I looked up at Dad. He looked drained, I had never seen him that way before. His face was pale and his eyes slightly sunken, he almost looked sick.

"So do you, but that’s clearly not happening." I replied softly before returning my gaze to the screen in front of me. He sighed walking over to me slowly before taking a seat on my bed. I was using Tyler's laptop to watch random YouTube videos hoping to distract myself. It was not working, for the most part I had been staring at the screen tough my blurred eyes zoning out.

"When did you become such a smart mouth? Almost like Gray. Izabella, I'm fine," I snorted and he gave a weak smile. It had been six days since the attack on Galaxy, according to my father the re-building was going well. No one would tell me what exactly happened, who attacked them and it was getting to me.

"Eat, I'll go eat right now." He said as he got up, kissed my forehead and walked out.

I shut the laptop and frowned at the food he had placed on the dresser beside me when he had walked in. I was trying not to think about my mother, I would only start crying again. He told me to eat but I really had no appetite. Just looking at the food made me nauseous. I sighed laying down and turning onto my side as I shut my eyes deciding.

I didn't turn around as I heard my door opened and shut, I sat up to turn around when it locked. I stared at him for a few seconds wondering how he was crazy enough to come this close to me as my blood began to warm up.

"Iz –” he began but I got up and smacked him. I clenched my fist waiting for him to react, retaliate. He just licked his lip before he straightened his head to look towards the window behind me until he tried to speak again but this time I punched him in his face. His head swung to the side more aggressively but he didn't really move. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, moving his jaw so it let out soft cracks. "Izabella, just listen to -" I hit him again, harder but it didn't really affect him, he just rubbed his cheek. I immediately shoved his chest before I hit him again. He was not fighting back, I wished he would so I would have a reason to hit him even harder, also I would have welcomed any physical pain that distracted me from that which currently filled my chest.

"I never – I could have helped her –!" I hit his chest, "I-I could have been there –!" I punched him again, "I could have – I should have –!” I could not finish a sentence between my jumbled thoughts and my anger, “It's your fault! I hate you! I hate you!" I was attacking him with more force and power put into each swing of my fist, and he just took it for a few seconds until he grabbed both my wrist. I tried to tug my hands free but he held on.

"I'm sorry.” He said. I tried to keep hitting him but he held my wrist firmly and tears began running down my face, “Izabella, I’m so sorry.” He whispered. I shut my eyes. It did not matter that he was sorry now, it was too late. I kept trying to pull away from him but he would not let me go and I let out a cry shoving his chest, still he held on and suddenly I felt too weak to keep trying to hurt him.

No amount of punches were going to bring her back…

"I never –” I sobbed, "I never said goodbye to her, I –” I sobbed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have done that. I just… I'm so sorry," he pulled me against him. I immediately felt familiar sparks and warmth as his skin brushed against mine when his arms slid around my shoulders pulling my face into his chest. I clenched my fist between us. I didn't want to be close to him, but at the same I didn't want him to let me go because being near him felt so comforting. Stupid mate bond. I was too drained to fight him anymore. "I didn't want you to get hurt. I'm so sorry." I heard him whisper.

I shut my eyes too tired to hate him. I wanted my Mom. She always knew how to make pain go away, how to stop my crying, but she was gone. I was never going to see her again. I should not have come to Inferno. I would have been there if I was home, I would have been with her. I could have done something.

'No, you couldn't.' I didn't reply when Sean linked me, I just kept crying. It hurt. It physically hurt. I did not want to feel anything anymore. She was really gone...

-----

"Izabella."

"Izabella!"

"Let me sleep." I mumbled lifting my blanket over my face. I heard a weak chuckle as my cover was tugged away.

"Iz, come on." I opened my eyes and frowned at Cohen who was currently leaned over me.

"What?" I mumbled trying to get my eyes to adjust to his face in the dim light of the moon that came from outside the glass wall.

"Let's go for a run, I heard you were supposed to shift a week ago to give your wolf some time to breath." My eldest brother said.

"I'm tired and hungry." I mumbled putting my finger on his forehead to shove him away lightly. His chuckle this time was accompanied by a few others that I recognised as our brothers and friends. What were they all doing in my room?

"Come on, Iz. We all need some time out, and you haven't been out of this room in days." Adan said.

"Let. Me. Sleep." I hissed through grit teeth as I pulled my blanket back over my face.

"Look, Sis. You have two options: drag your depressed, annoying ass from bed or we're fucking throwing you out of the window." Gray. Oh, that idiot.

"Shut up." I muttered.

"I have those sour sweets you like that only that place near our school sells and I have ice-cream." I shot up but cried out when my head smashed directly against someone else's and they cursed as I fell back clutching my forehead in pain.

"Why is it that you always fricking hurt me?!" Sean hissed.

"Where's my sweets and ice-cream?" I glared in the direction his voice had come from because I could not really see him in the dark.

"Downstairs, damn it." He replied sounding annoyed.

I got out of my bed and ran downstairs but I stopped when I entered the kitchen, after my eyes adjusted to the light and saw nothing but an empty table, I frowned. Where the heck was it?

I heard a chuckle behind me and I shot a glare at Sean. That asshole lied about ice-cream and rare sweets! He was so cruel!

"Calm down, Izzy. We'll get your snacks later. Come on, let’s go for a run?" Cohen asked me but he wasn't asking ME.

My wolf growled her answer happily and I rolled my eyes.

"Let's go." I said.

"Stay close, the fences are our borders, don't go past them." Trent said, speaking to seemingly everyone.

"Uh-huh." I said. I was actually planning to lose them and go to Galaxy grounds. I wanted to see how it looked, maybe I would be able to tell what happened by the ruins even though it would probably be almost completely cleaned up by now. If no one would tell me anything about the attack, maybe the place where it happened would.

I watched as everyone began shifting and I followed. I was a little surprised when my wolf didn't try to take complete control immediately when we shifted. I glanced at Cohen and Sean. They were going to be the hardest to lose.

'Galaxy.' I thought to her just in case she got upset that we were running from our mate again. She growled softly in agreement.

“Keep up.” Cohen growled before he went sprinting into the trees. I followed him as did everyone else.

I actually liked the wind against my fur, I realised I missed shifting just as much as my wolf did. I had never really run through a forest taking in the fresh smell of nature as my paws touched the cold, soft grass. Cohen's grey wolf stopped running suddenly and I jumped to prevent running into him, landing on the ground next to him with a growl.

'Where's Kade?' He growled softly. We all looked around, Kaden was gone.

'Alex?' Tyler was looking around frantically as he could not spot his mate.

'Hide and seek. You're counting, Ty.' The growl came from somewhere in the trees. Alexis’s game was perfect to allow me to sneak away!

'Me? But –’ before Tyler could finish his sentence, the rest of us had run off. I heard him growl in frustration and I laughed before I began sprinting towards the fence.

When I got to the fence I jumped over it and kept running until I reached the Galaxy fence. It was half built so I just ran by it and onto our grounds. I slowed as I reached what was supposed to be my house. It was completely broken and what was left of it was burnt... There was almost nothing left. I spotted a house that was only half-broken. It was Hayley's house so I ran into it, luckily her room was mostly intact. I shifted and pulled on a pair of her sweat pants and a random shirt, luckily we were practically the same size. I walked back out of her house and began walking past all the broken houses, in the distance I could see the houses that had being re-built. I spotted the library and grimaced at its condition. It was burnt badly, the outside of the building blackened but it was still standing.

I walked into the library, my bare feet crunching broken leaves as I stepped on them. My eyes fell on what used to be walls filled with books. The library had always looked huge but now that it was almost completely empty, burnt books laid all over the floor but I wouldn't say they took space, it looked massive. Kind of like half my school in one room now that the maze of shelves were gone. I bit my lip as I walked over to where the kid’s corner used to be.

"You shouldn't be here." Surprisingly, the voice did not startle me.

"I could say the same thing to you." I replied running my finger along the black wall as I walked along it slowly.

"I knew you would come right here... I had to follow. Could be dangerous around here." He said. I sighed.

"Sean, stop pretending." I turned to him, "You don't like me. You don't care what happens to me. This mate bond thing can't just change that, it's making you think you don't hate me, but you do –” I was saying when he let out a loud groan.

"I don't hate you, Izabella. I’ve never hated you." He said.

"Oh? Yeah? Then what do you call the past ten years?" I asked throwing my hands up. He let out a grunt seemingly frustrated as he looked at the wall across the room.

"I was jealous. Okay?" He said. I stared at him confused. What? Jealous? Of what? Who? I opened my mouth but he raised his hand to silence me. I didn’t like it, but pouted as I kept quiet, "I was jealous because... Try to understand, I have always been strong, when I was little, I was always the most powerful in the room – still am, but then Ian brings you home one day and suddenly someone's stronger than me." He said. What?

"I’m not –” I began to say I wasn't stronger than he was.

"Don't interrupt." He cut me off. I glared at him, he just ignored the look and continued, "You were stronger than I was and I hated that. I was pissed. You were the Alphas only daughter and you were… cute and nice and everyone began liking you, I was jealous. I was jealous that you were stronger. I was jealous that my pack liked you, I felt like they liked you more than they did me –” I scoffed and he glared at me so I just raised my hands in surrender to let him continue, "So I told everyone you had a disease –” I laughed. I remembered that, Ian and Cole were pretty mad at him for that, he had based it on my yellow eyes and told everyone it was contagious. He smiled at me, "When that wore off, I made up some other things. I trained every day even when I didn’t have to, I forced my dad and Ian to go harder on me than they ever had and it took me less than a year to get stronger than you," he smirked.

"Shut up," I rolled my eyes as he chuckled as he walked closer to me, I ran my eyes over him suspiciously.

"Anyway, I couldn't hate you. I wanted to, but I couldn't. So I made it look like I did because I didn't want anyone to know I actually uh..." He cleared his throat, "Liked" he mumbled, "The girl I 'hated', the diseased, Amarelo." He said.

I frowned at him. "I'm not diseased." I said.

"You sure?" He smirked, "I always figured you had rabies, your wolf being so aggressive." He added.

"Shut up," I shoved him. He chuckled before looking at me.

"Though she does have very, very alluring eyes.” My jaw dropped.

“Don’t say that!” I snapped despite feeling my wolf burst with happiness in my chest.

“So... There. You happy now?" He asked. I shrugged.

He licked his lips looking around before stepping closer to me, I stepped back cautiously at the movement. He smirked as he stepped forward again causing me to step back. I cursed in my mind as my back hit the wall. He stepped close to me so he was basically leaned over me before he lifted his hand to the wall just beside my head. I swallowed at the proximity.

"So..." His eyes lingered down to my neck and my eyes widened slightly. Hell no!

I lifted my hands onto his chest and forcefully shoved him back making him stumble away from me surprised.

"I thought we were cool now?" He asked.

"Yeah, we're cool. That doesn't mean I like you, doesn’t mean I'll let you mark me." I said walking across the room so there was space between us. He rolled his eyes.

"Not yet. You won't let me mark you yet..." He said smiling at me.

I glared at him before I bit my lip and sighed softly, "Not yet." I mumbled under my breath. His smile turned into a smirk and I rolled my eyes.

He was still an idiot. He would probably always be annoying.