chapter 3

Roxanne's POV:

"Honey, you know wearing a beautiful dress for just one day couldn't kill you, right?" Mother asked seriously while Father drove.

"What's wrong with my skinny jeans and vest?" I asked back seriously.

"Everything. You look like a homeless, stranded omega who's picked up by an alpha on the streets to become his servant out of kindness," Kyle answered while playing with his gamepad.

I was about to fire back when Larson's laughing voice caught my attention.

I looked at him coldly, giving him a glare. When our eyes met, his laughter instantly died out.

Kyle, who was sitting between us, looked up and glanced at both of us for a quick second before going back to his gamepad.

"Dad, Roxanne wants to pick a fight with Larson," he reported as Father looked at us through his rear-view mirror.

I sighed and turned slightly to look out the window in silence.

I still couldn't understand why Larson was traveling with us.

I understood that we were all invited to Tamara's birthday, but what I didn't understand was why he was in the same car as us when his family was right behind us, driving to the same destination.

"Honey, happy smiles! We'll be at your aunt's place in less than five minutes," Mother announced loudly.

I pulled out my iPhone from my pocket and used it as a mirror to look at my face.

I was slightly pale and looked rather tired because I couldn't sleep last night, thanks to her.

Her words about Larson having feelings for me were stuck in my head, and I spent hours laughing at that fact and denying it at the same time.

I forced a smile across my face, then sighed softly, giving up on trying to smile again.

"You look hideous when you force a smile," Larson mind-linked me.

I angrily looked at him, growling as a warning.

"Do you want to die?" I asked loudly, then quickly composed myself when Father stopped the car.

"Roxanne, manners. Also, no fighting or insulting one another here," he said seriously as I frowned.

Here. What did he mean?

I looked around and noticed that we were already at our planned destination.

Father came out and went around to open the door for my mother, while we all got out.

The house door opened, and Aunt Samantha came out with a wide smile plastered on her face.

"There you all are," she said as she approached us.

She immediately hugged Dad and pulled back, then embraced Mom.

I smiled and walked past them, heading to the door when Dad's voice made me halt my movements.

"You need to greet your aunt, young lady," he commanded through our mind link.

I sighed heavily, then smiled and turned, going back to where she was standing, looking at Kyle and touching his cheeks.

"Auntie Samantha, how are you?" I greeted her.

She turned and faced me with a smile, then leaned in and kissed my cheek lightly.

"You look prettier than the last time I saw you," she said as I laughed softly.

No matter how kind she acted or how sweet her words were, I could sense her discomfort around me. At first, I brushed it off easily, but as time went on, I began to realize she was distant and rarely made conversation with me.

"Thanks," I answered in a low tone.

"Uncle Ian and Aunt Amelia!" Tamara screamed immediately as she came out of the house. As usual, she was dressed in one of her ridiculous outfits.

Her hair was curled into two side ponytails. A beautiful golden heart necklace was around her neck, and her dress looked childish. It was pink and screamed princess.

She was like those little perfect brats in movies that one never paid much attention to or avoided for the sake of not being bullied.

I was expecting her to run into their arms as usual, but when she stopped talking and froze with a shocked expression on her face, I got concerned.

When I looked to my side, I could see Larson looking at her with a pale face. Although he looked calm, his body movements showed how uncomfortable he was.

Everyone was looking at them in silence.

"What's going on between the two of you?" Kyle asked loudly, causing Tamara to run back inside the house with a loud scream.

Auntie Samantha quickly rushed after her with a confused expression on her face.

"Way to go, man. Did you have to make her feel uncomfortable on her own birthday?" Kyle asked as I looked at my father and noticed that the expression he had on was one I knew too well.

"No way," I whispered, then looked at my mother, fully understanding what was going on.

"Larson, could we have a talk with you in private?" Mother asked him calmly as Uncle Neo's car parked right behind ours.

"Sure," he answered.

"No, Mother, we all want to know if they are mates," I said loudly as Kyle dropped his jaw in shock.

"What?" Uncle Neo asked immediately as he had stepped out of his car to open the door for Aunt Toni.

"We are no longer kids, and I know damn well what that expression Father has on means. When Tamara saw Larson, she was so shocked that she screamed and ran back inside the house,so something is going on," I said seriously.

I didn't know what I was feeling at that moment, but my heart was hurting badly and sweat was forming on my forehead.

"She's not my mate," he answered, then walked past us and went into the house.

"He is lying," I whispered, knowing he really was.

"I know," Uncle Neo responded and went after him.

"Oh shit," was all Kyle could say while I stood there, feeling like the air in my lungs was suffocating me. My knees were also about to give up.

Kyle wrapped his arm around my waist and smiled while giving me a nod.

Once our parents and Aunt Toni had gone in, he slowly let me go.

"Wipe away your tears," he whispered softly, then walked into the door, leaving me all alone.

I moved my hands to my cheeks and noticed they were wet.

When I saw Uncle Blade's car drive into the compound, I quickly turned and ran behind the house, knowing fully well that the road I was going to take led to a nearby forest.

I wanted to be alone because my heart was hurting badly and tears couldn't stop falling.

"Why?" I cried as I ran into the forest.

Each step I took was weighing me down, and my vision was blurred by my tears.

Why was I crying for such a man who had hurt me over and over again without remorse in our pack? A man who had treated me like I was nothing. A man who avoided me and threw my feelings out of the window. A man who didn't love me.

I hit a rock and fell on my face first.

The physical pain I was experiencing was nothing compared to the pain that was in my heart. I lay there, sobbing loudly because I didn't know how else to get rid of the heartache I was in.

"I wish I could disappear," I screamed out, then stopped sobbing when I heard footsteps approaching me.

I slowly sat upright and wiped off my tears, knowing it was definitely Kyle.

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now," I said in a cracked voice.

When I received no reply, I turned just to come face to face with some substance being sprayed on my face.

I coughed a few times as my vision became even more blurry. I wanted to stand up, but my knees gave out and I fell into someone's arms.

The last thing I could feel were the beautiful tingles before my world turned into darkness.