The Outburst
Xander’ POV
Red. Red was all I saw as I walked out of the dining room. I had no idea where I was headed exactly, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I was too mad to do so. My footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, I knew I was being loud, but to hell with that. Anger nipped at my skin and I felt the urge to punch something. In fact, if I didn’t, I wasn’t sure I would be able to calm down.
I shook my head as I continued walking. The lights hung up on the wall flickered lightly with each one I passed, almost as if they could sense the bad mood I was in. I even had the urge to break one of them, but I decided against it. Or more specifically, It was already too late to go back because I’d already walked past them and it would make no sense if I went back.
Still without a particular destination in mind, I yanked open the first door I saw. I had not the faintest idea of where it led to, until I pulled it open. Even when I did, the scenery up front did nothing but anger me the more.
Fuck.
I allowed a string of curses slide past my lips as I went down the stairs that connected the porch to the garden. I’d exited the dining room with the hopes of going somewhere else to cool off, but now that I was here, the garden only seemed to stoke the fire that was already burning bright inside me.
It wasn’t the garden. It was the memory attached to it.
I wiped my face with my palm as I fought over the control of my mind. No matter how hard I tried to suppress it, I only found the memory climbing back up with more intensity than I was using to push it back down.
I let out a frustrated sigh as it finally won, the memory replaying in My head. This was the exact spot where I’d met Kieran after Sabrina introduced us to each other. Or more accurately, the spot where I’d bumped into her trying to run away.
I shut my eyes as I really thought about that night. Up until now, I still hadn’t figured out why she wanted to escape. Was it because of Sabrina? No, both of them had been together for a while, even before I arrived back home, so there was no way she was trying to leave because of her.
A tiny part of me knew the answer. She was running away because of me. She’d probably realized that we were mates, the exact moment I did too, and since she had suffered in her previous pack, I guess she didn’t want the same thing happening again.
I hoped.
That night wasn’t only about her trying to run away, it was the night I’d actually seen her. The night I’d really seen how gorgeous she was. I always blamed the goddess for not giving me my mate in time, but all that blame vanished the moment I pulled her into my room. Kieran was just so perfect, it made waiting for her worth it, even though I’d initially given up on it.
I was finally happy to have her in my arms, and out of the blue, someone else was trying to steal her from me, and right under my nose too.
My anger burned brighter as Kieran’s memory disappeared, just to be replaced by the scene in the dining room. I had no grudge against Oliver, mind you. We’d been friends for years, and this wasn’t the first time he was popping into the mansion unannounced.
In fact, he did it so often if he hadn’t come around when he did, I would have come to the conclusion that something was wrong. I was happy he was here. His company was nice and genuinely welcome, but what irked me to the bones was the fact that he wasn’t letting Kieran be.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
Fuck.
From the moment he’d arrived, he had set his eyes on Kieran. I honestly thought he was giving her all his attention because he hadn’t seen her before, but Alice was also a new addition and he didn’t even look at her once. Not even once.
Throughout the whole dinner, I could swear his eyes were solely on Kieran. Even when he started talking, he directed everything to her. How dare he…
“Hey man.” Someone’s hand rested on my shoulder from behind, catching me off guard. I spun around immediately, just to realize it was Oliver. “Are you okay?”
I said nothing as I studied him. He was panting, which made me realize that he had burst out of the dining room shortly after I did. And since I didn’t have any particular destination in mind, it made it harder for him to easily locate me.
Good. He deserved that.
“Xander?” He called out to me again , cutting through my thoughts again. “You didn’t answer my question. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I shrugged his hand off and for a moment, I saw something like hurt and surprise flash in his orbs. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Then why did you storm out of the dining room like that?” He took a couple of steps, stopping right in front of me. “I really don’t think you would have just stormed out like that if something didn’t happen.”
“What if something did happen?” I tilted my head to the side. “What would you have done then?”
“Tried to figure out what it was!” He said calmly, almost like it was the most simple thing in the world. “Whenever you have something bothering you, I’m always there for you to talk to, right? So if it’s one of these scenarios, then you can just tell me.”
“It’s nothing.” I shook my head. “I’m fine.”
“With that heavy frown on your face?” Him pointing out my frown only made the facial expression deeper. ” No way in hell would I believe that.”
“I wasn’t feeling the meal.” I quipped. “I got tired of the food and that was the only way to excuse myself.” I said.
“You’re lying.” Oliver narrowed his eyes on me. “That food was really delicious” he said as he closed his eyes, probably imagining the meal, before he suddenly opened his eyes again.
“I could bet Kieran was the one who made it.” he said.
What?
What the actual fuck?
“For real.” Oliver continued, obviously not reading the room. “She’s so beautiful, I wouldn’t put it past her to be a good cook as well.”
“I see.” I let out through gritted teeth as I fisted my hands by my side. “I didn’t know that.”
“I would have complimented her before you left.” Oliver smiled, and it annoyed me to the bones that it looked genuine. “Did you see how she was blushing all through? How she bent her head low and…”
“Enough!” I’d had enough of his rambling about my own mate to him. “Just shut up!”
“Are you okay, dude?” Confusion appeared on Oliver’s face. “Did I say something?”
“Yes.” I huffed. “All of this started ever since you started talking.”
“W-what?” Oliver stuttered. “What are you talking about?”
”
“I’m talking about Kieran.” There was no use mincing words any longer. “Kieran is my mate!”
“Oh man.” The look of horror on his face was one I would have made fun of it were under normal circumstances, but right now, there was nothing remotely normal about any of this. “Shit! I swear, I had no idea.”
“Maybe if you had calmed down a bit, you would have realized that Kieran is in fact my mate!” I yelled at the top of my voice even though I knew that there was no way he would have known that. I inhaled and exhaled in anger, with my nostrils flaring at intervals. Maybe if I wasn’t so angry, I would have heard the rustling behind the hedges, indicating that someone had been listening in on our conversation.
Fuck.
I really hoped not.