Mercedes kept turning in her sleep and she was sweating. She was having a very vivid nightmare. What she saw was unsettling. A vicious wolf attacked her parents and two men in black. The blood that splattered covered the walls and their pleas for mercy were deafening. The nightmare she was having felt like it was something that had already happened. Mercedes woke up breathing heavily. She touched her forehead and wiped the sweat off it. Her heart was pounding wildly, and she looked towards the window. It was dawn already.
Her thoughts lingered on the nightmare she woke up from a little while ago. Confusion swamped her mind. How come did she have such a horrifying dream? What did it mean? While she was busy asking herself questions, the dots finally connected. The day she ran away from home, she left four dead bodies uncounted for. She did not know what happened nor did she have any recollection of prior events. Now that she knows that it was a wolf that attacked that night, she has figured out who it was. Her eyes widened in realization and fear consumed her. She started hyperventilating.
" I-I-I did it!" she said, hot tears falling down her cheeks. She shook her head and gripped her hair. " No! no, no, no!" She got off the bed and walked around the room frantically. She couldn't believe that she had committed such a heinous crime, and she didn't even know.
It started making sense as to why she was the only one to survive. She was fine, but the others were mauled to death. Mercedes crouched down with her head in between her legs as the memories of that night played like a broken record. She sobbed bitterly alone with no one to comfort her.
The door to her room opened and Crystal entered with a big smile which soon vanished at the sight of Mercedes on the floor. She came with two coffee mugs so they could enjoy and chat about last night's revelation. She placed the mugs on the nightstand and went to Mercedes.
" What's wrong, Mercedes? "Why are you crying?" she said to her with worry in her tone, trying to pry her hands away from her face. Mercedes flinched away from Crystal and turned away. She didn't want Crystal to touch her, but she was not having it. Crystal forced her to look at her.
" Come on Mercedes. Look at the state you are in. Just tell me what happened to you. Did someone hurt you? Why are you crying?"
Her sobs began getting louder.
She could not bring herself to tell Crystal why she was crying. She didn't want to see the look on her face when she found out that she was a cold-blooded murderer. She was disgusted with herself. She was afraid that if everyone found out the truth about her, they would look at her differently. Felix. How would he accept her now that she had done something unspeakable?
Crystal kept insisting until she broke completely. " I KILLED THEM CRYSTAL!! I KILLED THEM!" she screamed, frightening her. Crystal was shocked and confused by her outburst. She thought that maybe Felix rejected her and that is why she was crying. But now she could not understand what she was talking about, or who she killed.
She decided not to bombard her with questions and just comfort her. Crystal pulled Mercedes in her arms and let her cry. They sat on the floor until her cries subsided. Crystal was worried that she was going to fall sick by crying so much. She didn't realize until she heard light snores coming from Mercedes. She had fallen asleep. Crystal was stuck and she could not get up from the floor without help. Mercedes was lying on her, and she was heavy and her being pregnant prevented her from supporting her weight.
She stroked Mercedes's hair for a few minutes in silence. She felt bad for not being able to help her. Felix appeared and saw them both on the floor. He entered and went towards them.
" What's going on here?" he said, startling Crystal. She looked at him, but hesitated to tell her what had happened. Felix looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something.
" Morning Alpha. Thank God you are here. Could you help me with getting her to bed? "
Felix didn't waste any time and picked Mercedes up. He felt sparks when he was carrying her to her bed. It brought him immense happiness to be close to her. But the happiness he felt was replaced by anger looking at her tear-stained swollen face. He gently placed her on the bed and brushed away the hair on her face. He caressed her face and a frown appeared on his face.
" Crystal, what happened here? "Why was she crying?" he gritted out.
Crystal sighed and decided it was best to tell him what she knew. He would see right through her lies anyway.
" I don't know Alpha. I came here a while ago, and she was crying and saying something about killing. That's all I know as I couldn't ask her anything more," she said.
Felix didn't say anything back and tended to her. He touched her forehead to check if she was coming down on something. He took her in his arms and just sat there staring at her. Crystal took it as her cue to leave them alone in private. She sighed and left, going back to her room. One thing she was sure about was that things were about to change. Their Alpha finally got a mate, and he was going to receive some happiness as well. He was all alone for a long time.
Felix sat with Mercedes for the whole time she was asleep. He told Jake through the mind link to take charge for some time until he was sure that his mate was fine. It was not long ago that he had just discovered that she was his mate, and now he found out that she was crying. He could not help but wonder if she was crying about them being mates. A million things ran through his mind. The main thing was rejection. His heart strained with the thought of her not wanting him made him scared. And that is a first. Fear was not in his vocabulary, but this time it was the exception.
After some time, Mercedes started stirring awake. She had a headache and it was painful. She groaned, peeling her eyes open. Through her blurry vision, she saw Felix sitting at her bedside. He was starting at the window, consumed by his thoughts.
" Felix?" she mumbled weakly. Felix snapped out his thoughts. His attention was on her and he lightly squeezed her hand. He helped her sit up. Mercedes was surprised to see him there instead of Crystal. The last thing she remembers was crying about what she did. Suddenly, she panicked, thinking that he already knew what she had done. She pulled her hand away from Felix and looked away. Felix was hurt by her actions.
" What's wrong, Mercedes?" he asked softly. Mercedes turned to look at him and saw the pain in his eyes. It was the first time he saw such emotion in him. It hurt her that she was the reason he was feeling that way.
She closed her eyes in order not to see the look on his face.
" Please leave me alone. I want to be alone for some time," she said to him, and his heart shattered. She was pushing him away, and it hurt him that she was not seeking comfort from him or letting him help her. She preferred to be alone instead of leaning on him as she should. He decided not to push her for any explanations and left reluctantly. Mercedes turned away from him and silently cried. " I am so sorry, Felix. I'm sorry for hurting you. I am just not good for you all. I am a killer and you deserve better."
She said it in her heart.
Felix stood by the door and looked at her back. He couldn't understand what was going on with her, but he hoped that she would soon get over it. He hoped that it was not what he was thinking because he would not be able to take it. He sighed and left her alone, she requested. Just for that time, he would comply with what she wanted, but he promised himself that he would never allow her to reject him. It was not going to end before it began.