Hated By The Alpha-Chapter 97: Stranger things

"You’re a real witch?" Caleb asked Audrey as they stood in front of the hospital.

He was holding a bottle of water in his hand, sipping gulp after gulp to rinse the nausea away.

"Yes, Caleb," Audrey replied.

"Unbelievable," Caleb said.

"Better believe it, hun," Maria patted his shoulder.

Caleb stared at Maria and Audrey and wondered what next those two had in store for him.

How was he supposed to forget what he had seen now? He did pity Adeline, but he also knew she had a dark heart; maybe she’d learn from her mistakes this one.

"Come on, we’ve got lots of things to discuss," Maria said and dragged Audrey away from the hospital, Caleb stared longingly at her as she walked away from him.

"I need to grab something from the kitchen, hang on," Audrey said and walked toward the kitchen as they entered the pack house.

"I’ll come with," Maria replied and immediately followed behind.

Audrey pushed open the door to the kitchen and stood frozen at the door, staring right at the table they normally sat to eat.

"Hey, why not go in already?" Maria said and tiptoed behind Audrey to see what she was staring at with an amused and shocked expression.

"Oh no! Not on our dining table!" Maria screamed.

Sandra and Lawrence were busy eating each other’s faces out on top of the small table in the center of the kitchen.

Sandra was the first to notice her friends and she mercilessly pushed Lawrence off her, causing him to land unceremoniously on his butt. She quickly scrambled up from the table and jumped down to the ground, backing her friends and speedily arranging her clothing.

"Ahem, we’re sorry for interrupting; we were just about to leave," Audrey apologized with a smirk.

"Yes, let’s go, Couz," Maria said, dragging Audrey away from the erotic scenes.

"No wait, it’s not what you-"

"Yeah, we didn’t just see you sucking his mouth like you’re life depended on his lips," Maria teased.

Sandra turned red, wringing her fingers together in embarrassment.

All this while, Lawrence sat on the floor, not having the courage to face Sandra’s friends, he knew how savage they could get. And, he had learned yesterday night that all of them knew of his first encounter with Sandra, making him all the more guilty and embarrassed to face them.

"Chill, babe. He’s yours; you’re free to eat him alive," Audrey winked and quickly closed the door before Maria added something more embarrassing to her statement.

"Why? She looked so cute to tease," Maria complained.

Audrey rolled her eyes and walked toward the stairs that led up to the condo.

"Um, have you seen Alex?" Maria asked as they climbed the stairs.

Audrey thought of it for a while and realized that that was the case.

She hadn’t seen her beloved friend since last night. She wondered who Alex took home last night.

Little did she know that her lovely friend was the one who got taken home.

"Oh well..." Audrey sighed, "Everyone is marked; it’s just me; no one’s willing to mark me; I’m so poor," Audrey pretended to cry as they entered the condo.

"You know that’s a lie," Maria said, pausing her lips.

Audrey shrugged, "It’s true." She pouted her lips at Maria.

Maria rolled her eyes and walked up to Audrey on the sofa, sitting beside her.

"Hey, jokes apart, why didn’t you let him mark you, and why didn’t you mark him?" Maria asked seriously.

Audrey sighed and relaxed back on the sofa.

She knew this question was about to come anytime soon, from Maria or someone else, so she wasn’t surprised.

She turned to Maria and said, "For now, we’re only fucking, Maria, we’re adults, so it’s mutual. He understands," Audrey shrugged.

"Are you sure it’s mutual?" Maria asked.

"Uhg! Fine, it’s not," Audrey sighed, standing from the sofa and going to get water from the fridge.

"So, he did want to mark you?" Maria also stood and followed Audrey behind.

"Mm," Audrey nodded, unscrewing the cap of her bottle of water.

Maria leaned against the dining table, drumming her fingers on the sides. She bit her lips, looking deep in thought.

"Okay, I’m not going to be unreasonable and ask you why you don’t want to mark him or get marked by him. But, doing this, will you be able to leave when the time comes?" Maria asked thoughtfully.

"Trust me, I don’t have control over it. Neither of us does. And it’s more challenging for me to control myself around him as I possess the wolf of the moon goddess. That horny bitch," Audrey was exasperated.

Maria stared at Audrey for a long time before slowly walking up to her and engulfing her in a warm soothing hug.

Audrey closed her eyes and hugged her cousin back. It was just like she thought; at the end of the day, family was the only thing that comforts you.

"Whatever you decide, I’ll be here for you," Maria patted Audrey’s back in comfort.

"Thanks, sis," Audrey said and suddenly kissed Maria’s cheek.

"Eww! That’s disgusting!" Maria pushed Audrey away from herself and used the back of her hand to wipe her kissed cheek.

Audrey laughed softly, winking at Maria.

"Yeah, act all disgusted, because my name didn’t start with a C," Audrey said in a teasing manner.

Maria glared at her but decided to ignore her words; reacting to her would only fuel her.

"I just need to find the right time to discuss everything with him," Audrey said seriously.

"Like, the amulet and your relationship?" Maria asked, fishing out her phone from her small handbag.

"Just the amulet...for now," Audrey replied.

"OK, fine," Maria said, narrowing her eyes to read a text from the screen of her phone.

"Everything okay?" Audrey asked as she saw Maria staring seriously into her phone.

"Um, it’s Mom," Maria replied, reading the second text.

"What did she say?" Audrey was curious to find out what her aunt had sent to Maria, she rarely texted her.

"Uh, two texts; first, she asked you to video call her immediately; second, she asked me to come home. Seems like she didn’t like the message I sent her yesterday," Maria scratched the back of her neck.

Audrey frowned. She wondered what the situation might be that made her aunt request a video call and what kind of text Maria sent her that caused her to ask for her return.

"I’ll be right down, let me quickly grab my phone from the bedroom," Audrey said and quickly sprinted up the stairs.

She was back in the blink of an eye, just as she stated.

Audrey and Maria went over to the sofa and lowered themselves on it.

Audrey was eager to speak to her aunt and discover the situation, while Maria was starting to feel anxious and sweaty.

Maria remembered the picture and message she had boldly sent to her mother yesterday and embarrassment watched over her. But she didn’t want to let Audrey know, so she was calmly sitting beside Audrey, waiting for her mother to pick up the phone.

On the fourth ring, Maria saw her mother’s face appear on the screen with the white background of their living room.

"Hi, Miranda, long time," Audrey giggled seeing her aunt’s face after so long.

Miranda smiled warmly at her, "How are you doing, child? I see you’ve unveiled yourself to him; that means you’ve gotten the amulet?" Miranda asked, completely ignoring Maria beside Audrey.

Audrey shook her head, "But not for long, soon." Audrey assured.

"It better be sooner, child," Miranda said with a heavy sigh.

Audrey shared a concerned look with Maria.

"Did something happen?" Audrey turned serious immediately.

"I didn’t want to bother you, but it’s happened three times already; I don’t think I can fight them off anymore," Miranda said.

Audrey furrowed her brows deeper.

"Tell us, Aunt, we can figure it out together," Audrey encouraged. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"It’s Elena, she’s been forcefully converting wolves to dark witches and sending them to our secret coven. I don’t know how she found it, but she did," Miranda massaged her forehead before continuing.

"They tried many times to break down my magical barriers but together with the other witches here, we’ve been able to hold it up. But, I don’t know for how long," Miranda narrated.

Audrey shared another look with Maria then turned back to the phone.

"I’m sorry I didn’t know what you’ve been going through, but I just got to know about her conversions yesterday when they attacked us during the full moon," Audrey informed.

"That witch! She’s sensing something, and I guess it’s your ever-growing power. She wants to get her hands on the amulet; that’s why we have to come together in situations like this. Time is running fast," Miranda advised.

Audrey nodded, "I will come back soon, Aunt, but for now, could you let Maria stay with me?" Audrey asked, batting her eyelashes at Miranda.

"Good luck, child," Miranda said and abruptly ended the call.

"Ugh! What a situation!" Maria groaned and slid down from the sofa, sprawling herself on the floor.

"Now, what did you do?" Audrey asked Maria.

"Nothing. I just sent her a picture of I and Caleb kissing and told her that I’ve mated with a werewolf, and..." Miranda said like it meant nothing.

Audrey stared incredulously at Maria, but she still proceeded to ask calmly, "And?"

"And, I also texted her that I’ve decided to let my mate turn me into a werewolf, too," Maria finished with a slight shrug.

"Oh, that’s cool," Audrey replied, matching Maria’s nonchalant attitude toward the situation.

Maria looked at Audrey for a long time before suddenly diving her leg and wailing like a cat.

"Help me out! She’s about to disown me!" Maria begged hopelessly.

"Hey, quit it, he’s near, I can sense him," Audrey pushed Maris away from her leg.

"Ouch!" Maria cried, rubbing her elbow that had hit on the leg of the table.

Audrey ignored her and went to open the door for Alpha Lake, feeling like she’d missed him for ages. This was the issue, she wasn’t supposed to be feeling that way, but if your wolf was Avery, then you must feel what she wants you to feel.

She opened the door and was surprised to find Alpha Lake and Mark standing in front of it.

She was just about to ask Mark what he was doing there when Maria suddenly pushed her out of the way and jumped on Mark in an aggressive hug.

"Brother!" Maria exclaimed happily like someone seeing a family member again after a decade.

Brother?!

Audrey felt like she’d been thrown into a cauldron of confusion because she felt her brain stirring nonstop with impossible situations that could lead Maria, who was her cousin, to call Mark, who wasn’t related to her at all, her brother.

Could things get any stranger?