"You think I should pack this," Chris asks me, waving a flat iron that's in her hand.
"You think you'll have time to curl your hair while we're on a mission in Alaska?" She puffs out in frustration.
Everyone has gone home to pack a couple of things for our trip to Alaska. Apparently, Emily owns a private jet. So, we're taking it instead of finding a flight to catch or doing a road trip.
She has a cute nickname for Alaric and a private jet. What else does she have?
"You're right. It's going to be freezing up there. These werewolves will be all warm and cozy while we're freezing our asses off."
I do a little chuckle when the door suddenly opens. I roll my eyes when I see it's Alaric.
He walks in like he owns the place.
"What do you want," I ask him. He doesn't seem phased by my harsh tone.
"How's the packing going," he asks, ignoring my question.
Chris looks between the two of us, not knowing what to do.
"I'm just going to leave. I'll see you guys later." She practically runs out of the room.
I lean my back against my dresser and wait for him to speak, but when he takes too long, I speak first.
"Alaric, what do you want?"
"While we're on the trip, I want you to stay away from MJ."
It takes me a while to register what Alaric just said, but when I do, I almost laugh in his face.
"Why do you care if I hang out with MJ on the trip," I play dumb.
"I think everyone can obviously see he likes you. I'm asking you to stay away from him," he says.
"You're asking me?"
"No, I'm demanding you to stay away from him." At this point, Alaric's eyes are flickering between a brown and hazel color.
I chuckle a little but it's not one full of joy.
"Are you serious? You want me to respect you and stay away from MJ, but you won't do the same thing with Emily," I say, meeting his glare with my own.
"I don't know what you mean," he acts oblivious.
"Oh, so you mean you didn't invite Emily over with the intentions of making me jealous," I ask, moving closer to where Alaric is, but still keeping distance between us.
"It shouldn't matter to you anyways. Didn't you say you wanted space from me?" An almost evil smirk crosses his face. I bite my tongue to keep in a curse.
"Yeah I said that because I wanted to focus on the mission, which is what's most important right now. I didn't say it was ok for you to go and date other girls."
"I'm not dating Emily," he says in an almost exhausted tone.
"Whatever you're doing with her, stop it," I growl out.
"Then stay away from MJ."
"You know I can't do that. Don't be ridiculous."
All of a sudden, my back is up against two walls, the wall behind me and Alaric's chest. There's no where I can look but up at him.
I think he's about to lean in but instead he just looks me in the eyes with burning rage.
"I can't promise I'll be able to keep my cool on this mission if I see MJ so much as glance your way."
I don't know why but my cheeks redden. Is it wrong that I find Alaric hot in this moment?
"I know that look," Alaric whispers. I feel his arm wrap around my back and his fingers draw circles on the skin of my back.
I close my mouth shut to prevent noise from escaping but the heat I feel threatens to burn it out of me.
"Just tell me what you want. There's no point in keeping your distance from me or wasting time."
His other hand plays with my collarbone and I let out a whimper when his fingers graze the bite mark he gave me about a year ago.
"I'd love to mark you again. This time without the vomiting."
The mention of vomit snaps me out of my trance and I move out of his trap, flipping us around, making him the one that's trapped. I back away, watching his surprised expression.
"I meant what I said. I'm focusing on the mission and that's all."
I watch him bite down on his lip in annoyance, probably holding back from arguing.
"Fine. I'll see you on the plane." All I do is awkwardly nod as he leaves my room.
I breathe out a sigh and decide to seal up my luggage of my already packed items.
"ANNE," I hear my father yell out from somewhere in the house.
"YES," I yell back. I hear footsteps heading towards my room. Knowing that it's him, I meet him at my room door.
"You have all your things packed," he asks.
"Yeah. We're just waiting for Chris to be done packing."
"Alright. I'll take your luggage to the car and you can signal me when Chris is done packing."
He takes my luggage and leaves the room.
I suddenly feel a weird sensation come over me and something feels warm in my back pocket.
I search inside my pocket in urgency. I feel a slip of paper that wasn't there before.
I take it out and see its an envelope that's not addressed from anyone or to anyone.
I tear it open to see what's inside. It's a small polaroid photo and my heart warms when I see the faces in the picture.
Emi, Angie, and Ben. Ben is watching as Emi helps mini Angie paint with her chubby little fingers.
A sad smile graces my face as I see the giant smile on my baby's face. I flip to the back and see a message written on the back.
"Learning new tricks! Hope I did it right. We miss you. From Emi," I read out loud.
I don't know why, but I start crying. I know my baby girl is safe and happy. I trust them.
She's just so far and she's growing so fast.
And I'm not there.
I'm missing all the best moments and I'll never get them back.
Not even after this mission is over.