It was already way past midnight when the party finally came to an end.
I had thought that I would eat dinner with Caleb and return to Julia, but I couldn't find the right time to escape without coming off as rude. So, I spent the whole evening chatting away with my mate, and the alpha and luna.
"I need to find Julia." I stood at the door of the VIP room and informed Caleb while scanning the hall outside.
"Will you be staying at her place tonight?"
"I think so. It's too late to ask her to drive me back to Roseville."
"Okay, let's find her then. I hope she is still around."
I hoped so too. I hoped she wasn't mad at me for leaving her alone the entire night.
Caleb and I walked hand in hand in search of Julia. We found her waiting for me by her car.
"Julia!" I gave her an apologetic look. "You didn't wait here for long, did you?"
"No, I just came out."
Oh, heavens! I was in trouble. Julia wasn't even trying to put on a fake smile which meant that I seriously pissed her off. I can't blame her for being angry at me though.
"Are you ready to leave?" she asked in a monotone.
"Mhmm…" I gulped and turned around to face Caleb. "Thank you for tonight. I will go now."
"Okay." Caleb almost made my heart stop when he suddenly leaned in and gave a soft kiss on my cheek. "I'll call you later. Goodnight, Valerie."
"Goodnight," I whispered, lost in his mischievous smile.
After watching him head back inside, I finally regained my composure and turned around. Without saying a word to me, Julia got inside the car and put on her seatbelt a bit aggressively. I heaved a sigh and got in the car too. Before I could put my seatbelt on, she started the car and began driving.
A couple of minutes passed by, but we both didn't utter a single word. The prolonged silence between us made me feel guiltier and guiltier.
"Jul…" I took a deep breath and looked at her angry face. "I know I shouldn't have left you alone, but things turned out that way. I couldn't leave the table when the luna kept talking to me with so much enthusiasm."
Julia finally broke the silence after a whole minute, the annoyance still visible on her face. "I'm not angry at you for disappearing for the whole night, Valerie. It's just that…" She restlessly tapped her thumb on the steering wheel and shook her head. "You know what… Nevermind me. It can't be helped."
"What can't be helped?" I asked while knitting my brows.
"The fact that your mate is Beta Caleb."
"What?" I laughed at that unexpected answer. "Don't tell me you are mad because you don't like Caleb."
"Something like that," she replied bluntly, which I wasn't expecting at all.
"Why? Did he… do something to you?"
"No." Julia sighed and bit her lower lip.
"Did you guys get into a fight?"
"No! How can someone like me afford to fight with someone like him?"
"Then what is it? Why don't you like him?"
Julia took a turn and slowly parked the car in the driveway of a relatively old house. She swiftly turned off the engine and got out of the car. I was starting to get restless but instead of answering me, she grabbed the bags from the car's backseats and questioned me as if nothing was wrong, "Why are you still sitting in the car? We're here. Come on. Let's go inside."
I got out and happened to slam the door of the car a bit louder than I wanted to. I clenched my jaw and demanded an answer. "Julia? I asked you something!"
"It's… complicated." She pulled out a key from her purse and opened the house's front door. She went inside and left the door open for me.
I restlessly scratched my arm and followed her in. "What's so complicated?" I asked her yet again while climbing the stairs.
Julia opened the door on the first floor, revealing a decent living room. She took off her heels outside the door and went in. She dumped all the bags and purse on the couch and then mumbled as she disappeared from my view, "I'm too tired to talk about it right now. So, let's talk tomorrow. I will prepare a bath for you."
The more she avoided answering me, the more agitated I became. I felt as if she was hiding something big from me. I clenched my jaw and removed my heels, barely holding myself back from throwing them off my feet in anger.
I walked inside to hear the sound of running water from the far left corner. I slumped on the couch and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to calm my boiling temper. I didn't want to ruin the night by getting mad at Julia. After all, this was the first time I was visiting her new home.
"The bath is ready."
I followed Julia's voice and pushed the door open. I saw her changing out of her gown in her bedroom. She saw my reflection in the vanity mirror and pointed her brows at the open door to her left. "Bathroom is over there."
I gave her a nod and entered the bathroom. I saw a set of nightdress and a towel neatly placed on the counter. I then went to dip my hand in the bathtub, the water was perfect in temperature.
"Do you need a hand with the zipper?" Julia poked her head through the door and asked me.
Right! I had forgotten that this gown had a zipper on the back. "Yes, please."
She unzipped my gown and closed the bathroom door after stepping out. I slipped out of my gown and stepped into the tub. The warm water instantly soothed my aching feet and back. The bath was so relaxing that I didn't realize I was there for almost an hour. I didn't mind it though, I was feeling refreshed and calm, my anger quelled.
Julia probably got tired of waiting for me; she was sleeping in an awkward position in her bed. I covered her with a blanket and took another for myself. After turning the light off and quietly shutting her bedroom door, I tiptoed to the living room to crash on the couch.
I shifted all the bags from the couch to the floor and prepared to sleep.
Ah! I almost forgot to turn off the alarm. I'm so glad that tomorrow is Saturday.
I grabbed my phone from the purse, and to my surprise, I saw two missed calls and several unread messages.
Don't tell me Ms. Pride was waiting for me to come home!
I quickly checked the missed calls, only to find that they were from Caleb. I then checked the messages, which were also from him.
He was asking if I reached Julia's place safely, and why I wasn't picking up the phone. He was worried that something happened to me.
I couldn't help but feel deeply touched by his concern for me.
So, this is how it feels to have a mate, huh? I could get used to this.
Since it was almost 3 AM, I didn't return his call. I simply texted him saying I arrived at Julia's home safely and was about to go to sleep.
Just when I put the phone aside and closed my eyes, my phone rang loudly.
I cursed in my head for not keeping the phone in silent mode and quickly picked up the call so as not to wake Julia up.
"Hello," I whispered.
"Hello, mate," came the sweet reply.
"You haven't slept yet?" I asked.
And he responded, "I couldn't sleep without hearing your voice."
Ugh! I swear I'm going to get a heart attack one of these days. Caleb is too good at making my heart flutter.