Monster of the Night (Book 1 of Monster Series) (AU)

Chapter 7

Xavier didn't say a word. He neither disagreed nor agreed with me, and I had no idea what he was thinking. He looked at me from the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow when he caught me staring. "What?" he asked.

"Why are you so closed off?" I asked, and he shrugged. "What happened that has you closed off?"

Xavier didn't reply to my question and shrugged. "Why are you so open?" he asked.

I shrugged, hiked up my skirt, and hopped onto a fallen tree that would mark the end of the path between the castle and base. "I don't know," I admitted and placed my arms to the sides, letting my dress fall. "It feels like I can be open with you, ya know? I don't have to hide myself and be this prim and proper female that my uncle so totally wants."

"Which... uncle?"

"Alpha Bryson," I replied. "He doesn't understand that I am not like other females. I don't want to find my mate and be a "housewife." I don't want to be... stuck. Ya know?"

"You... don't want to be a "civilian," right?"

"Right," I confirmed. "I want to continue being a Guardsman with my crew, my family. I want to be here and meet new people, save and touch lives."

"Kind of like the Alpha?" Xavier asked, and I nodded. "You never told me what you'd want him to do if you ever met him again."

I shrugged. "I want him to say his name and thank me for helping him if I did. I don't like referring to him as Alpha when it has been two years since I had last seen him."

Xavier nodded. "Do you think he wants to meet you?"

I shrugged. "Dunno," I replied. "I hope so, but I think that he is scared. Two years could change a person, ya know?"

"Have you changed?"

I shrugged. "I hope not," I replied. "Except for the fact that I am now living in a pack instead of being with my group."

"With your mate?" There was something in his tone that had me look at him curiously. His jaw was set, and he looked to be upset about something.

"Not yet," I said. "I think my uncle wanted me to find my mate here, which is why he let me come in the first place, but I haven't met him yet."

"Your uncle sounds controlling," Xavier pointed out, and I let out a breathless chuckle.

"Yes, he does," I said. "I can see where you are going with that." I shrugged. "I think he doesn't want to be, to be honest," I added and stared at the end of the path that was coming up.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Well... I know that he is scared. He lost his brother and his sister-in-law to an attack on his pack and almost lost me." I shrugged and grimaced. "The attack was what had my wolf come out early."

"What happened to them?" Xavier asked. "The people that attacked your pack?"

"I killed them," I replied. I licked my lips and cleared my throat. "My uncle thinks that I need to be protected and watched out for. That means not doing anything "dangerous." He's scared that I could get killed or worse."

"What could be worse than death?"

I shrugged. "I dunno," I replied. "Bills?" I shrugged again. "Anyway, my uncle doesn't want to fail my father in raising me. I think he already feels like that."

"Why?"

"Because of my not normal childhood," I replied. I smiled grimly and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "But what he doesn't understand is that my not normal childhood did me more good than harm."

"How?" Xavier asked.

I looked down at him and smiled sadly. "Kindness," I replied. "It taught me kindness."

***

"It taught you kindness," Xavier repeated, and I rolled my eyes and scowled.

"Ok, I know it sounds stupid, but it did," I insisted. "I mean, it helped me make sure that I was kind to people because I don't know what someone has gone through. They could have had a shitty childhood, too, and you wouldn't know it." I shrugged. "Sometimes all a person needs is a gentle smile or a kind word to get them through the day or change how their day has been going."

"Do... you think it helped him?" Xavier asked. His voice was soft, quiet even, and it surprised me how an Alpha could sound so small.

I shrugged. "I hope so," I said, honestly. "However, I have no way of knowing if it did or not." I sighed and moved a hand through my hair, and shook my head.

"Does... your group know who he is?" Xavier asked, and I snorted and nodded. He frowned and cleared his throat. "Will they tell you?" His voice sounded different when he asked that, and I looked at him weirdly.

His jaw was set, and his face was hard. His eyes were like cold daggers, staring forward and not at me.

However, I knew that they were piercing, piercing in the direction we had to go as if he could see base and its inhabitants that lived in its walls.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "No," I said with a breathless chuckle. "That is one thing they want me to figure out on my own."

Xavier turned his piercing gaze towards me and studied me to see if I was lying or not. "Why?" he asked finally. "Why do they want you to figure it out on your own?"

I shrugged and grimaced. "Don't know," I replied. "I've wondered about it, but I know better not to ask."

Xavier stayed silent and studied me more. He wanted to ask why I knew better and not ask, but he didn't want to push.

I quickly looked at him when I felt what he wanted to ask only to have him close off again. I bit back a huff and moved a hand through my hair.

"They seem to like torturing me," I said finally and rolled my eyes, "if I ask them so many questions."

"How?" he asked. "How do they torture you?"

"With their silence," I replied. "Talking about him is something we don't do," I added, "like saying his name, besides, Alpha, and mentioning what all is on the file."

"What do they think of him?"

"They're ok with him," I replied and shrugged. "They don't think that he is a monster." I furrowed my brows and looked down. "They... also didn't want to have him in handcuffs nor have a hood over his head when we transported him back to his pack, but orders..." I trailed off and shrugged, grimacing.

"... said that it had to happen?" Xavier guessed, and I nodded.

"We did get around it a bit," I admitted. "Instead of using our high tech hoods, we used a burlap sack that I "stole" from the kitchen."

"What?" Xavier asked, sounding shocked.

I looked at him and grinned. "Yep," I replied. "I stole a bag from the kitchen and put it over his head, and it was the best damn decision I had ever made."