Chapter 15

*Izabella’s POV*

"Corey!" I yelled happily as I sprinted over to him. I hadn't seen him in a week and a few days so spotting him in the hall made me a little overly excited.

He turned just in time for me to slam into him as I bear-hugged hugged him.

"Izzy! I missed you so much." He laughed tightening his grip on me.

"Hayley!" I yelled happily, seeing her behind him.

"Stop. Yelling." Sean hissed at me. I scrunched my face at him and he rolled his eyes at me, “You’re so childish.” He was back to his usual, grumpy self.

"Sean! Piggy back!" Sean smiled at Clara as he lifted her and swung her on his back. When had they become friends?

"She likes him. I have no idea why. But he seems to like her too, so it's cool." Tyler said as Sean and Clara began playing some game where they saw people in the hall as dangerous animals that they needed to avoid at all costs. She loved it, giggling as he tried his best to dodge everyone quite dramatically as he walked.

"They seem to get along well," I mumbled.

"Someone jealous? Don't worry, you have me!" Trent said. I laughed as he hung his arms around my shoulders.

"Oh yeah, guys, this is Tyler, my cousin," I pointed at Tyler and he waved at them, "Alexis, his mate, and Trent, some weird artistic guy I met in the forest." I said.

"I'm not weird." Trent muttered.

"I'm Hayley, and he's Corey." Hayley smiled.

"Apparently I'm a ghost." Kaden muttered. We laughed.

"Okay, this is the awesomest young Alpha ever, Kaden." I said. I heard Sean scoff and Kaden smirked.

"'Awesomest? Is that even a word?" Sean asked from somewhere down the hall.

"Don't be mad 'cause your girl likes me more than she does you," Kaden said.

"You wish." Sean said.

"I'm not his girl." I frowned.

"You're so damn stubborn, I thought we were done with that?" Sean glared at me. I opened my mouth to reply but Hayley spoke.

“You two have so much drama.” She said dramatically throwing her hand to her head. Sean and I frowned at her as they all began laughing.

"So, I got Aunt May's station wagon. Who's up for a trip to the mall?" I heard Alexis.

"Me!" I cried out the same time Hayley did. I heard Tyler and Kaden groan in unison.

"Why not? I mean, we could use some new games, go to the arcade, maybe even see a movie." Trent said.

"Yeah, let's go to the mall." Kaden was suddenly very enthusiastic.

"You kids going out?" I looked at Dad when he peeked out a room and smiled.

"Yes, Alpha. Would you like anything?" Sean asked. I rolled my eyes. He always sucked-up to my dad pretending to be all respectful and thoughtful.

"You guys to behave yourselves." Joe spoke from next to my father as they walked up.

"Look who's telling people to behave themselves." Cole said to my father. Joe frowned as my dad and Cole laughed.

"I'm doing your pack a favour by offering you temporary housing. Stop insulting me around my pack." Joe said frowning at them.

"Mmm... Alpha. You seem awfully unskilled around these two." Wayne joked. Joe glared at him as he ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek as we laughed.

"Well, we should get going. You know clearance sales, they always clear out fast." Alexis said disappearing to return with her handbag.

"Oh my gosh, there's a clearance sale?" Hayley asked.

"There they go." Corey shook his head. The guys chuckled.

"Here, Sweetheart," I looked at Dad as he held his card out to me. I smiled reaching out to take it, "Oh wait," he pulled his hand back right before I could touch the card, "You're not allowed back into this house until ten tonight." He grinned at me.

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"Well, you haven't exactly been out of your room in days, so you should get where this is coming from." Hayley told me.

I frowned at her. "That doesn't give anyone the right to ban me from the house." Dad snorted and I sent him a glare. Sure, he could do anything he wanted because he was my dad and Alpha. "Alright." I took the card from him.

"I'm driving," Corey took the keys from Alexis.

"You wish." Sean grabbed the keys from Corey.

"Let's just go!" Hayley said before Corey could argue for the keys, we knew that argument wouldn't end because Corey was persistent and Sean wouldn't change his mind once it was made up.

-----

"So, where do we go next?" Trent asked, he was carrying half my bags, which was only two.

We had been shopping for two hours. Hayley and Alexis had about six bags each, they really just let loose. It was cute how Tyler never complained while Alexis dragged him around though, while all Sean did was complain about how we were wasting his day and his time. He shut up when Clara dragged us to go to a toy store though. The guys also bought a few things and we all bought Clara a few things because she was sweet and little.

"How about we watch a movie?" Tyler suggested as we walked.

"Sure, what do you want to watch, Clara?" Kaden asked.

"Something with a princess in it." Sean answered for Clara as he waved the Belle doll Tyler had just bought her. She nodded smiling as she ate from the bag of chips Corey had just bought her. Gail would probably be mad at the amount of junk food we were feeding Clara...

I slowed down as I felt a breeze run through the mall that resulted in me shivering slightly. I was sure it was wind, but it felt odd. Alexis seemed to think so too.

"What is that?" She asked rubbing her arms slightly as she looked around.

"Probably just the wind, must be cold outside." Corey shrugged.

"I want to go to bed." Trent swung his arm around my shoulders so he could lean on me as he yawned.

"You could always sleep in the trunk of the car," Sean joked. Trent chuckled.

"I'll consider that." He said.

*Sean’s POV*

I didn't mind Trent and Izabella. I had a feeling he would join her list of best friends that already consisted of Corey and Hayley. It was cool though, I didn't doubt that she did not like him that way and vice-versa. He was a cool guy.

"Who wants popcorn?" Tyler asked all of us as we reached the theatre. I chuckled as everyone bombarded him with their orders at once.

"I'll help." Trent said.

"Me too," I said bending to put Clara down carefully as she had been on my back.

"Do you want anything to drink?" I asked her.

"Mmm… a slushie." She said. I nodded and looked at Izabella.

"Same?" I asked smirking. She nodded with a slight frown at me and I chuckled. I knew her very well, even though she would deny that.

I followed Tyler and Trent over to the food counter as we discussed what else we were getting ad how to split it.

Once we reached the front of the line, I opened my mouth to tell them about the slushies but I stopped and turned to look around when someone called me. It sounded like a hiss-whisper type of thing, I thought one of our friends were jokingly trying to call me but none of them were looking over at me and t seemed to have come from closer than they were to us. I furrowed my brows in confusion. Must have been my imagination...

I turned my attention back to the guys and we finished ordering and collecting before we joined everyone and went to see the movie.

Thanks to our friends careful seating plan, I sat in the back beside Izabella, she did not seem to mind as much as she would have in the past and I was ecstatic about just that little bit of progress even though I kind of wished we were cuddled up like Alexis and Tyler were. I was in the last seat of the row. We had been watching the movie for about twenty minutes when I heard someone whisper my name again. I turned my head in the direction came from but there was no one there as there were no more seats beside me. My eyes ran back towards the doors but there was no one there and I frowned figuring maybe I was hearing it because I was exhausted. I turned back to the screen but almost gasped when I heard it again and my head snapped to see who it was quickly. Still nothing.

"Sean," Izabella looked at me, ‘Are you okay?’ She linked. I nodded.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm – uh... great. I – uh... I'm going to the bathroom." I got up and walked out before she – or anyone else – could object or ask more questions about why I was acting weird.

I walked into the bathroom running my hands over my face and through my hair. What the hell was going on with me?

"Sean," I almost cried out hearing the familiar whisper as I turned around quickly and came face-to-face with a pale man. His skin was a very pale, almost powdery white and his hair a stark contrasting black. I was not easily shaken, but the bathroom had been silent when I entered so I assumed there was no one in it and I had not heard the door open. His eyes were surrounded by dark circles. I would have thought him to be dead if he wasn't staring right into my face. "Sean." He repeated.

"Who are you? How do you know me?" I asked, alert and ready to go at him any second.

"A friend of yours.” He seemed to think that answer was sufficient for both questions, “Have you forgotten the reason you came to the Inferno to begin with? You're just going to let them get away with it?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Look, I don't know who or what you are," I could not place his scent. If he were a wolf I would have been able to detect a distinct scent, human too, but he just smelt like… ash, "Or what you're talking about. So stop whatever the hell you’re doing, stop calling me and stop following me." I said.

"You wanted revenge." He said. I clenched my jaw. How did he know that? I had not told anyone about it, not even my friends. It was the reason I followed Izabella to Inferno – that, and the fact that I found out she was my mate and she just ran off. I wanted to kill them for killing my mother and I needed to get my mate away from them before they hurt her too. At the time, I truly believed it was them and I planned to make them pay, but not anymore. Joe and Ian got along quite well despite being two different types of wolves, there was no reason for him to choose to attack our pack.

"Not anymore. How do you know that anyway? Who are you? What are you?" I asked glancing over him.

"They killed your mother." He frowned at me.

"They did not.” I really believed there was no way Joe would have orchestrated that and I had grown to like the Inferno wolves a lot in the little while I had known them.

"You're just going to let them get away with ripping your mother apart?" He kept pushing as he stepped closer to me.

"What are you doing?" I asked standing my ground to prove that I didn't fear him, whatever he was, as he was trying to be intimidating. I could not sense much power from him, but I knew very well things weren’t always blatant.

"You’re just going to believe they did not because Joe is a ‘nice person’?" He chuckled.

"I don't know if they did anything and yes, I am. Who the hell are you?" I was beginning to lose my patience.

He frowned at me, his almost colourless, dry lips bending slightly down at the corners. It looked like they would crack if he bent them any father.

"How annoying. If you just did your job and took care of them, I wouldn't have to do this. It wouldn't hurt so much." He said. My job?

"What are –” My voice caught in my throat when he placed his ice cold hand on my wrist and suddenly pain shot through my arm. It was like I had been stabbed by thousands of tiny needles before my skin burst into flames.

I shouted out in agony, suddenly unable to move as his hand seemed to burn into my arm; it felt like my skin was being ripped apart, the pain spreading to every inch of my body. I fell to my knees as my entire body burnt. The room around me burst into flames. I could hear him whispering. A spell? I couldn't focus on his words. The pain was too much. The stabs, the fire. I felt like I was going to die.