Alliance of Shadows: NEIL

I felt that something was off the day that Clara told me and Dad her only sibling, her little sister, had passed away in a car accident. Then, as if it was part of everyday conversation, she dropped an even bigger bombshell. Her niece would be coming to live with us. She’d arrived from the airport in the back seat of Clara’s Mazda with only the clothes on her back and one suitcase. I had been expecting more, but there was none. It was a little depressing, to be honest. When they showed her upstairs to her room, it was clear that she was happy enough to have a bed and dresser of her own. She didn’t seem to care that it was one of the smallest rooms in the house and never asked for more than she was given. My original view of her was extinguished as I quickly learned that she could walk without making a noise, which was kind of scary if I was being honest, and that she loved to read. Clara had put Izaria in the room across from me and had asked me to look out for the girl, but that tiny mouse kept the door tightly locked all the time. The longer I watched over her from afar, the more I learned without trying. She could cook and clean, often helping out without a single complaint. Quick to help with anything around the house, she didn’t seem to mind getting dirty in the garden, either. A few months after she moved in, I finally got a little closer to her. Clara and Dad left for work, and I thought I was alone in the house. Keyword: thought. I had no sooner secured my place in the kitchen to eat my bagel and drink my coffee when I realized I wasn’t alone. As I lifted my gaze to check the time, I locked onto a set of blue eyes. The bottle of water in her hand slipped, falling to the countertop with a dull thud as she fumbled with the cover. The mix of emotions that flickered in her eyes, ranging from fear and uncertainty to recognition and dread, told me that she had thought she was alone in the manor, too. I felt like she was hiding something from everyone around her. The truth was hidden just behind the oh-so-obvious façade she put up for the benefit of her oblivious Aunt and my father. I looked at her, fully taking in her appearance for the first time. Nothing was supposed to come out of it, but when her eyes met mine and she smiled? The curve of her lips as they tilted upward cemented everything for me. I decided right then and there that she would be mine no matter what. From that moment, no other woman mattered. For the first time in a long time, I wanted to put her happiness above mine. I just had to wait just a little longer. That was a month before her seventeenth birthday, and for the last six weeks, I hid my desire for her away. I locked it down tight, keeping it on a short leash, but I knew that if she spoke even one word to me or got a little too close, my perfect control would shatter. It was agonizing, but I continued to watch her while keeping my distance to avoid an accidental encounter that would literally undo me. Ice cold showers had quickly become my best friend during that time. Now, I realized too late that I should never have gone into her room. I should have pushed her away after that kiss she gave me, but then who was the damned adult here? That’s right. This guy right here. Had I thought things through, I would not be feeling like I’d just become the worst person in the world. Though I think her mother and step-father took that prize, to be honest. If she decided to rat me out to my father, I would be stripped of my pack status and sent packing in a heartbeat. What the hell was I thinking? Laughing at the irony, I shook my head. I wasn’t thinking. My mind had been filled with visions of a certain mahogany-haired girl that captured my heart and soul with a single smile. Dazed, I walked across the hall to my bedroom, closing the door behind me before I collapsed on the bed. I was rethinking everything I'd done after hearing all she had gone through before moving in. What did she think of me now, I wondered as I ran my hands through my dark hair. Groaning as I pulled the duvet up over my head, I willed the beckoning darkness of sleep to take me. It was not much longer before it claimed me, either. I woke feeling someone curled up at my back. Confused, I raised my head to look at the clock on my nightstand and read the time. The bright red digits stared back at me: 3:38 AM. Had I been so out of it that I never felt her climb into bed with me? When had she even come in? I could have sworn that I locked the door… Either that or the girl had some mad lock-picking skills I needed to know about. I shifted my weight to look at her, brushing a strand of hair out of her face as she slept. She moaned in her sleep, shivering slightly. Pulling her closer and covering her with my thick comforter, I wrapped my arm around her waist and lightly touched her shoulder with my lips. Where she was dressed in only a t-shirt and a pair of booty shorts, I knew she was cold because I kept my thermostat set at ten degrees Celsius and slept with the window open. Despite the scars that marked her skin, she was gorgeous in every sense of the word. I had waited years for her. Shit, nope. Down boy! Beating back the thoughts that ran rampant through my mind, I reined in my desires and pulled her back to my chest before going to sleep. Later that morning, I no longer felt her soft figure by my side when I woke a second time. My eyes flew open as I propped myself up on my elbows only to see her sitting on the edge of the bed with something in her hands. That object happened to be my cell phone. I read the message over her shoulder and growled in frustration. Unfortunately, it was about that stupid bet I made with my friend John. Damn it, I thought by now he would have forgotten all about it. Apparently, he had not. I groaned, knowing that any chances I had with her ended because of a single text. Then, as her tears started to fall, she muttered, “I should have known that I was nothing more than a stupid conquest. I thought that, just maybe, I could trust someone for once. That I could trust you, but I guess I was wrong.” I grabbed the phone from her hands, forcing her down to the bed in a sorry attempt to make her listen to me. She struggled, but I was a lot stronger than her, even on my worst day. She could have screamed, but we both knew that my father and Clara were already gone to work. On top of that, we lived so far out in the country our nearest neighbour was almost four kilometres away. She stared up at me with those big blue eyes of hers. Her chest was rising and falling with each breath she took. “Would you please just listen to me?” I pleaded. Man, I hated begging, but I needed her to understand. I needed her to hear me out before this crap got too out of hand. Shocked, my eyes widened as a sound similar to a growl escaped her clenched teeth. I wanted to laugh, but I wanted to be angry at the same time. I wanted to make her… What? Pay for an imaginary crime she didn’t commit? Oh wait, invasion of privacy was a crime, wasn’t it? Maybe I should be more reasonable about this. Maybe. I needed to come clean, or I'd lose her. God, why was my life so cursed? I stopped my train of thought right there, realizing that I pinned her arms above her head. The action had caused her tank top to ride up, exposing her stomach. Looking down at her, I licked my dry lips as I willed my saliva to dampen my now dry-as-a-bone throat. I hardened at the sight of the bared flesh that I had touched and tasted the night before. She still carried the faint scent of strawberries and cream from the bath she had afterward. She gasped as her entire body tensed when my free hand touched her soft belly. I found myself becoming hyper-aware of her on a more intimate level. My eyes darkened slightly as her lips parted enough that she could suck in a hiss of breath through her teeth as my hand on her stomach travelled to caress her hip. She was beautiful. All-natural from the crown of her mahogany curls to the tips of her unpainted toenails, too. I had never seen her wear make-up or use expensive beauty products like the other girls her age. Hell, I didn’t even know if she owned any. She had well-rounded hips, and her backside was firm. Her thighs touched at the top, near the juncture of her core, and her legs tapered off into a set of delicate ankles and dainty feet. Absently wondering what her shoe size was, I let my gaze travel the length of her body. I lowered my head to her neck, inhaling her scent, committing it to memory. She trembled, and it was not from pleasure. I lifted my head to look into her eyes. They were brimming with unshed tears that made her eyes look like twin pools of liquid sapphire. “Please, don’t,” She whispered. “I won’t touch your things again. I swear.” My heart ached as her words sunk in. The power of that one statement snapped me back to reality, and I put myself in her place for just a second. She had been unforgivably hurt in the past. Especially for her to think I was that level of evil. I looked down at her and grimaced slightly at the tears that glistened on her pale cheeks. Mentally cursing myself for scaring her, I relaxed the grip I had on her wrists. Slipping my arms under her as I dropped to the bed, I pulled her to my chest. “No, honey, I would never take anything from you without your consent. I promise,” I said. Encircling her waist with one arm, I buried one hand in her mahogany locks and held her closer. What the hell was I thinking, pinning her down like that? Having just woken up was no excuse for my behaviour. As gently as I could, I wiped away the few tears that leaked from the corners of her eyes, trailing over her cheeks. “I’m mad that you went through my phone without asking me first, but I need you to let me explain what’s going on before you blow up at me.” I waited patiently. Then, after a few minutes, she nodded for me to go on. My mistake had cost me, but I was ready to take responsibility for it. I admitted to my wrongdoing - explaining everything as best as I could. She pleaded with me between sobs, begging me not to tell him anything that happened between us the night before. I told her that no one needed to know unless she wanted to say something.