Chapter 154

I'm frozen in unexplainable terror when said person notices us, his determined steps slowing down when he gets close enough.

"Good day, Alpha Everett." Mae greets formally, bowing a bit.

I just stand gaping slightly, unsure how to act. I wasn't a Werewolf so I wasn't affected by his authority but he was technically my mom's boss so I mumble out a… "Hello, Mr. Everett."

He's dressed really formally for someone whose office is a couple hallways away from his house but I guess the image he had to keep and project was very important.

"It's a surprise to see you kids up here, are you by any chance looking for Renee?" He asks me, nodding slightly in a response to Mae's greeting.

"No, sir." I reply vaguely, very uninterested in telling him what I actually came to do.

He narrows his eyes, electric blue irises going dark and I suppress a shiver while Mae cowers, sliding behind me and I make a mental note to drown her in ice cream for putting up with all this for me.

"Very well, I have to be off now." He says, dark glare never leaving my face even as he continues his journey, tugging on his sleeves.

Mae sighs heavily, throwing herself on me which I allow because I caused her predicament.

"How can you look him in the eye? Or still be standing after all that?" She huffs out, awe shining in her brown eyes.

I just shrug, taking her hand and continuing our journey.

I didn't like Alpha Everett and I could tell that the feeling was mutual, I didn't approve of the way he treated Virgil and sure maybe my mom could have understood him after listening to his side of the story and knowing about him being a Werewolf.

But I couldn't, sending his youngest child at such a tender age to live with a distant relation just because Virgil reminded him of his wife was utter bullcrap to me, plus no one sat me down to explain anything so I was allowed to hold my grudges.

We get to Elise apartment and I run out of steam, freezing up.

Mae just gently pulls her hand out of mine to lift a hand up to knock on the door. "Today has already been horrible enough, let's just get this over with yeah?"

I nod seriously like we were about to raid a store, I felt just as nervous though, heart thumping when Mae's knuckles come in contact with the door.

I can't help but look around surreptitiously, feeling like Shana would pop out or Virgil would pass by and then I'd fall down the rabbit hole of trying to explain to either of them what I was doing in front of Elise's apartment.

The door swings open like she had been waiting for my appearance, I note with a bitter taste at the back of my throat how her cheerful expression drops and go icy when she sees Mae.

"Hi, Elise!" I greet her cheerfully, butterflying my fingers. "Mae said she wanted to tag along and since you never said I couldn't bring anyone else, I let her, you don't mind do you?" I overwhelm her, knowing that if she got her wits together she would find a way to either get rid of Mae or reschedule whatever this was.

"I… um…"

"We didn't come at a bad time, did we?" Mae asks in faux concern, her face hard and I note the darkening of her eyes to an unfamiliar purple.

"N-No… I mean…" She stutters again, thoroughly caught off guard.

"What's the hold up at the door, darling?" An icy voice calls from within the apartment in a crispy British accent and I internally cringe.

"Nothing, mom!" She throws over a shoulder, to us she gives us a choice glare. "Come in." She invites tightly.

I almost cut off the entire farce of a visit short by thanking her and turning around to go home but Mae is one step ahead of me and glides into the apartment much to Elise's dismay.

I walk in demurely after her, noting how fancy the decor of her house is and unsurprisingly, it's done in varying shades of white, making it look cold and bleak.

Her mom walks out of a connecting room with a crystal tray in her hands and nearly stumbles when she sights Mae, she's in a slutty blue dress, her hair perfectly done with jewelry winking from her ears, neck and wrists.

"W-Who is this, Elise?" She asks with huge amounts of disdain as she stares down at Mae who takes a seat uninvited. "I thought you were inviting that Hayden boy…"

"Hello, Mrs Hall." I greet coldly, stepping out from behind Elise.

"Oh! Hayden, darling, I had no idea you were here." Her tone changes instantly and I struggle hard to not roll my eyes. "Renee and I were just talking about you." She says cordially and Mae snickers scathingly.

"Sure." I mutter with heavy doses of sarcasm, taking a seat after she invites me to.

Elise looks scandalized, her plans definitely falling apart around her.

Mrs. Hall still nimbly places the crystal tray down, it's full of snacks --- well it's Elise's mom so more like hors d'oeuvres --- and delicate rectangle shaped crystal glasses, a glass jar of punch presiding over the fancy ensemble

I really didn't care for it, no matter how fancy it looked. I might be nice but I wasn't stupid to eat or drink anything Elise offerred me especially now that she is being pretty transparent with her intentions.

She gives her mom a pointed look while Mae and I just share uneasy glances, we just got here so we couldn't just up and leave but the longer we stayed the more likely chaos seems to ensue.

"Um…" Mrs Hall starts, faltering.

Elise mouths Mae's name to her but Mae is too engrossed in staring at the tray of edibles arranged on the tray to notice and I can tell that the look on her face isn't one of interest.

"Mae, dear? I need some help in the kitchen, could you lend me a hand?" She asks sweetly, her words dripping poisonously.

I almost want to smack her and ask sarcastically, 'like that?' but Mae gets up, agreeing stiffly.

"We'll be right back!" Mrs Hall exclaims happily, taking Mae's hand and darting away with her.