Big Bad Alphas novel Chapter 32

Walking up to the house, I glance behind me at the two guards waiting in the car before ringing the doorbell. An array of speedy footsteps and squeak-like cheers erupts from the other side, and I spot Kendra peeking through the side window. I smile and wave. The door is swinging open in a matter of seconds.

"Isabella!" She shouts and clings onto me. My arms wrap around her, a barrier between her and the world. "I'm so excited!"

I squat down and brush the stray hairs from her beautiful face. "Did you do your hair yourself?"

"Yes, Moms with the Luna. She told me not to open the door unless it's you. I brushed it and tied it up like you used to," she explains and twirls the crooked pigtails between her fingers.

"Alright. How about I braid it? My friend Caroline taught me how to do a Dutch braid, can I show you?"

Kendra's eyes beam.

The house is the same. Nothing has moved beside shifted magazines on the coffee table and a new living chair beside the couch. Kendra leads me upstairs as if I am in a strangers house, and we sit on her bed while I weave the strands of her hair together. Glancing to the side, I see her packed bag. "You know, I was thinking that we could leave tomorrow. We can have a sleepover here."

"Why can't we go?"

"We can, I'm just a little tired that's all. If we leave tomorrow I'll have plenty of energy and we can do stuff all day."

Kendra's head bobs in all directions, making the braiding more difficult than it was on Caroline. "Like what?"

"Well we can get you unpacked, we can say hi to Caroline, my friend, we can go swimming in the lake if you like."

"I want to swim."

I tie the braid at the end and hop off the bed. "Then we'll do that."

While here, I grab some clothing I left behind in my bedroom along with some other things. Being in my room, staring at my white sheets, gazing at the old photographs, it all makes me anxious. Maybe I am a stranger in this house.

Kendra asks to go outside and we do. My heart jolts when I find the guards leaning against the car while their arms crossed, chatting. I rush towards them and apologize. "We're staying the night. I-I need rest, so we'll leave in the morning if that's alright. I'll get you two set up in guest rooms when we get back, for now, go on in and make yourselves comfortable."

Kendra pulls me towards the training grounds, which confuses me. I repeatedly ask her why we are going there, but she ignores me. Finally, I catch a glimpse of my mother in the distance, walking with my old Luna. Kendra shouts for them and I almost feel the need to hide. My mother's eyes land on me and soon enough we are too close.

"Isabella," she says my name, and it is unpleasant to hear, not like when Eric says my name. "I thought you two would be gone by now?"

"We're staying the night and leaving in the morning."

The Luna smiles at me, shifting the mood. "Well, it's lovely to see you again, especially since you are now a Luna yourself. Who would have thought."

"Not me," I mutter and look around the sparsely filled field.

"How is your mate, Alpha Tate?"

A sensation comes over the pit of my stomach as I glance back at her. "He's good. Everything is good."

"That's nice to hear. Causing no problems I expect? Attacking any other lands?"

The lights stay on.

"I said turn off the—" Looking back, I do not see Eric, but Alpha Kenn standing in the doorway, a hungry look in his eyes. He stalks towards me, and I fly off the bed, meeting him in the center of the bedroom. "What are you doing here? Where's Eric?" My eyes wander to the place behind him.

Alpha Kenn says nothing as the room begins to spin.

"Why are you here?"

He moves closer.

"Why are you here, James?"

His hands grip my shoulders and shove me back, my body tumbling onto the bed behind me. Before I can question and panic, James climbs on top of me, caging me in against his body. I breathe heavy as he leans down, his lips leaving delicate kisses against my neck. My eyes squeeze shut.

Shooting up with a sharp inhale, I gasp for air in the familiar setting of my old bedroom. What has my mind conjured up? Touching another, chest to chest, on my mates' bed?

I throw the covers off of me and knot my fingers through my tangled hair. The room's temperature has dropped significantly, leaving a strong chill lingering in the air. I get up and frustratingly slide the window shut, harder than normal. My hands stay on the window, bringing warmth to the frigid glass, and a soft fog forms around my fingers. Letting them drop to my sides, I groan and sit back on the edge of my bed.

My once cozy sheets have released any hints of warmth, leaving my bed cold.