I was re-reading the address Casper had sent. There was no way I could miss this chance to experience something that sounded so fun. My gaze met the fury-laced gaze of the petite woman; her brown eyes felt like they were shooting daggers at me. She hadn't taken her eyes off me for even a moment since she got here. She had even called someone else to return the tray to the kitchen. Of course, the lady had also glared at me like I was a piece of shit. "I don't know whatever stupid thing you're trying to do, but I won't disobey Alpha's order and I'll watch you till you fall asleep." She gruffed. "Can't you at least-" "It's not like I'm interested in watching over you, so just remain quiet to avoid pissing me off even more." She rolled her eyes and finally sat on the couch. I internally groaned, this frustration was becoming unbearable. Being in the same room with her made me feel like I was choking. I knew Alpha Keegan was going to make me resume my punishments, but this was way too torturous. "I need to use the bathroom!" I rolled over the bed and quickly scurried to the bathroom before she could retort. My groans filled the entire bathroom as I washed my hands and face. "What the heck is her problem? Doesn't she have a life?" I rolled my eyes and glanced at my face in the mirror. Seeing my reflection made my memory flash back to being in the library and it felt like the person that had grabbed my arm from behind the shelf grabbed my arm again through my reflection. I suddenly remembered that though more than half of the person's face had been covered by a hood, I had seen a sly smile on his face, it felt like it was happening again right in front of me. I shook my head, wondering how the hell the flashback was so detailed, and why didn't I remember seeing the person's smile earlier when Alpha Keegan asked? I rinsed my face again to get rid of any terrifying thoughts and focused on the fact that I had to go on this date very soon, whether or not this annoying woman permitted me to. "There has to be a way to get rid of this woman." I muttered to myself and left the room. A shriek left my throat when I noticed her standing right in front of me. "I have to ensure no one takes you away from the bathroom." "Jeez... What are you? A ghost?" I heaved a sigh. "You didn't have to follow me." "I'm a guard, I'm supposed to be doing other important duties, not watching over you, so don't piss me off any further." She scoffed and walked back to the couch while I headed to bed. A new text popped up on my phone from Casper << Hey... do you mind if I pick you up? I just realized you might not have a means of transportation. >> I ignored the woman's burning gaze and texted back, << Sounds great. You can pick me up at the pack house garden, I'll be there soon. >> << Okay, great!>> He replied with a wink emoji. I kept my phone aside and stretched my arms out, yawning. "I'll head to bed now. It's late. Goodnight. Please turn off the lights when you leave." I yawned again and laid on the bed, covering myself with a blanket and turned around so my back faced her. I stared around, internally praying for her to leave. After a while and it didn't seem like she had left, I started making snoring noises, loud enough to disturb her and hopefully convince her to get the heck out of my presence. "At least she's asleep," she muttered, then I heard the sounds of her footsteps till the lights turned off and the door opened and closed. "Finally!" I jumped to my feet and hid clothes in the blanket to make it seem like I was sleeping then quickly headed to Alpha Keegan's wardrobe and grabbed one of his long coats, tucked my phone into its pocket and left the room. My heart felt like it was pounding faster at every step I took. I held my gaze to the floor as I hurried away and left through the backdoor, glad no one crossed my path. After grabbing my phone from the coat pocket, I tossed the coat aside and ran as fast as I could to the garden, panting for air when I finally got there. I texted Casper, << I'm at the garden. Where are you? >> << I'll be there in a minute. >> "Great!" I smiled, grateful that our little date was advancing to a bit of success. I was grinning from ear to ear like a crazy psycho as I stared around, enjoying the view of everything- from the moon and beautiful bright stars, how amazing the flowers looked under them. When my eyes traveled to the side of the garden, my smile slipped as a flashback of me lying on the ground appeared in my head. It felt like I could see myself lying on the ground lifelessly and three people were surrounding me and were saying something to one another but I was too unconscious to hear them. The flashback stopped but my heart did stop racing. " That was very weird. Alpha Keegan had said I was found on the ground of the pack garden but if I was unconscious, how did I have a vivid memory of that just now but didn't have any memory of it when Alpha Keegan had asked earlier?" It made no sense and it made fear kick in me. "Hey!" Casper's voice made a smile appear on my lips again and wash away my fear. I turned to him and his appearance made me feel really ugly beside him. He was in a cute red velvet suit coat, his honey brown hair was neatly brushed backwards, his hazel eyes seemed like they sparkled in the night light; he looked really great and here I was, just dressed in my normal rag-like casual gown. "Hi... Casper. You didn't mention that I'm supposed to dress good-looking." An embarrassed blush flushed my cheeks as I scratched my arm. "I didn't have to. I knew you'd look great in anything." He said with a lopsided smile. "Stop teasing me." I playfully rolled my eyes at him. "I'm not kidding, but you can hold on to your opinion. Let's head to the car." He led the way to his car; it was a black and portable car, it looked really new and shiny. "You have a very nice car." I commented. "Thank you." He said and opened the car door for me. It felt like a very strange gesture and was the first time someone was being a gentleman towards me. "Thank you." I was truly very grateful, it made me feel honored. I got in then he turned around and got into the driver's seat. The drive started and we experienced the most awkward silence. The silence made me think about the strange flashbacks again and they made worry kick in me. Who were those people? How did I end up in the garden from the library? Was my life really in danger? Was Alpha Keegan right by not making me go out? Could I possibly be putting my life at risk for going out at this time? Casper's a guard, he'll protect me. I assured myself and glanced at Casper who glanced back with a warm smile, a simple act that made me feel more at ease. We arrived at the restaurant and he opened the door for me again. I stepped out with a small "thank you," then we headed into the restaurant and had our seats by the glass wall. Except for both of us, there were only two couples in the extremely large restaurant. The theme of the restaurant was red with silver interiors. Everything looked in order and looked very expensive. A waiter came and asked us to order something. When I read through the menu, my eyes almost fell out at the expensive dishes served here. "The price of one meal is almost equal to the cost spent on me for two years!" I could hide my astonishment. "Why'd you make us come here?" Casper burst into laughter. "I'm sorry for laughing, it's really nothing. Just order anything." "How'd I order anything? I'll feel like a criminal." My eyebrows curled upwards. "Fine, just being the same order for both of us. I want red wine and maybe you can serve orange juice for her." He said to the waiter who nodded and took his leave. "Casper, it's just food. Why does it have to be so expensive? It's not necessary. It'd make me feel like a burden. You don't have to spend so much on me. If you badly want it to be this restaurant, we can just have water." I was genuinely very bothered about wasting his money; whereas, my stomach felt it was the perfect time to rumble loudly, calling to my him notice I hadn't had anything to eat this night. "You're obviously hungry, so water won't work. It's really nothing. I can afford it. Don't you know that charge aside from the pack doctors and nurses, the pack guards are the highest paid in the pack. We're in of the general security and our effort is greatly appreciated. The meal cost might be my pay for one hour or two or half an hour. Enjoy yourself, this doesn't happen everyday." I stared at him without a word, blinking at shorter intervals. It was new news to be that the guards were paid really high. The meal was served on our table and the sight alone made me feel like drooling. The presentation was classy and appetizing. I began to munch on my food while Casper ate only a bit at a time and was talking about different incidents he had experienced in his life as a guard. "There was a time I snuck out of pack training to play my role as a guard. I was really new at that time and ought to start my role the next three weeks after the final training and exam, but I was too eager to start working, so I pretended to be an appointed guard." He chuckled, taking a sip of his wine. "While on fake duty, I heard a sound in the bushes. Since I was close to the border, I thought it was a rogue or something really dangerous, so I was extremely scared. It felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest as the sound became closer. I wasn't prepared for it yet, so I was screaming for help like a high school teenage girl screaming over a K-pop idol." he laughed. "Then what was it? Was it actually something scary?" "It was just a little pup from the pack who had shifted for the first time and was exploring her wolf form. Turns out I had just called unnecessary attention." "It must've been so embarrassing." I burst into laughter. "Yes. I could've lost my job and my dream of becoming a guard would've been ruined." He ended with a chuckle and resumed eating his food. "It was your dream to be a guard?" I quirked an eyebrow at him. "I thought guards were just assigned to duty based on their strength." "Yes, but I badly wanted it for the money. My father had died when I was really young so Mom has always been struggling for me as a single mother. I figured out that being a guard certainly pays well and I wanted to make her happy and comfortable. Back then, I was a very weak wolf, almost as weak as an omega, no offense." He added and I nodded in affirmation. "I had to escape the stupid strength test and worked really hard on developing my strength, and with intensive practice, I boosted my strength to match with the standard of the Dark Stone pack guard and that's why I'm who I am today and my mother is living a comfortable and happy life." "I'm proud of your hard work and I'm sure your Mom is too." I smiled, taking a sip from my glass of orange juice. "Yes, she definitely is." He added with a proud grin. "I'm really curious about the strength. I didn't know one could do that. I thought you're bound to your natural strength as a werewolf forever." "Yes, it should be that way, but it takes extremely difficult training from someone with a specialty in it to boost your natural strength to a higher level." "Wow, I'd definitely consider it." "Uh... I don't know," he scratched the back of his neck, "but if you're ever interested, I'm here to help you out." "Thank you, I'll let you know if I'm ready to do it." I could do with a little strength boost, but definitely not anytime soon. We resumed our meal while talking about random activities in our lives till we were done with our meal and the night was becoming darker. "I think it's time to leave." He rose to his feet and extended his hand to me. I was confused at first on what he wanted but placed my hand on his; he helped me rise to my feet. "I had such an amazing time with you and hopefully, it'll happen again." He said with a gentle and warm smile. "Hopefully." I grinned, feeling heat flush to my face. "Then a second date is a deal, princess." He said with a playful bowl and lifted my hand to plant a kiss on my knuckles. I giggled at his gesture but my happy face flushed down the drain and my face was clouded with terror when my eyes met with Alpha Keegan's burning amber eyes. His gaze warned me that I had placed myself in a huge mess.

Chapter 40 Chapter 40