36. Numbness

I squirmed under their harsh glares. Everything went wrong. Kay was nowhere to be found and that thought was already terrifying me. Add to that the additional stress of standing in front of three werewolves. I could feel the sweat dripping behind my back. My feet were nervously tapping against the floor as Damon had his hold on me.





Mr Smith looked confused and I felt like a kid caught with the hand in the cookie jar. Ryan quirked his eyebrows in my direction but I couldn't even meet his eyes. The wind was blowing past us and I shivered.





"What is she doing there?" Mr Smith said with his lips pressed together. The look on his face as stared at me and wrinkled his nose was hurtful. I had an inkling that he didn't like me because I was Damon's mate or whatever and made it clear the last time but it still stung. There was no way I did something to him that gave him a reason to not like me. Nothing. Well, now you gave him a reason!





"Funny story actually," Damon said in a mocking tone and I winced at those words. That's what I said earlier to him.





Ryan cleared his throat, "We were in the middle of something"





Mr Smith grunted, "Something important. What is it you want?"




He pointedly stared at Damon as if he didn't want me to talk. His eyes kept shifting towards Damon's hold on me. For a mere second worry flashed in his eyes but then he blinked back.




"Anya here thinks that you killed my parents"




Wow. That was blunt. I flushed at the way Mr Smith snapped his head in my direction. Ryan, on the other hand, avoided looking at any of us, his eyes rooted over to the wall.




Damon finally loosened his grip on me which I used it as a chance to set myself free. He didn't look impressed at that. If it wasn't serious I would have teased him with my tongue.





"Is this a joke?" Mr Smith gritted blinking his eyes at me. When I finally met his eyes he seemed older than the last time I saw him. The worry lines on his face were prominent and dark circles under his eyes were visible. He had his face pulled in a frown with his jaw tensed.





"No-"



Damon harshly chuckled, "In the beginning, I thought the same but she had hard proof of you being the killer. Oh and Ryan helping you with it"




Ryan made a noise in the back of his throat, "Me? What?"



"Has this human lost her mind? Why are you entertaining her stupid theories?" Mr Smith scoffed, his eyes digging into me. I shifted on my feet, my eyes stinging with tears. It felt like everyone was ganging up on me and Damon was purposely making it happen. He was exposing my secret in the worst way possible. Like he was taking revenge for what I did.





Damon shook his head, "It gets better. Apparently, she eavesdropped on you while you were on call with Ryan"




My cheeks turned bright red at that. If I was wrong then I was ruined because Ryan was my teacher. He could make my class hell for me the entire year. Just the thought of being ridiculed in the class made my toes curl.





"She did what?" Mr Smith clenched his jaw, his fist balling by his side. I gulped loudly, scared of his voice which echoed around.





Ryan cleared his throat, "Anya what is this behaviour?"




"She heard you saying to Ryan about doing his one job and keeping eye on some girl." Damon echoed back an amused smile on his face. Anger bubbled inside me at the way he was getting back at me. It was ridiculous. I was tempted to find Kay and run away and never see him again. Maybe cry a little in my room while I'm at it.





"Seriously?!" Mr Smith exclaimed at the same time Ryan interrupted.




Ryan sighed, "It was not about you Anya. I met you on that by pure coincidence. Why didn't you consider that?"





At his stare I looked down at my feet, suddenly finding it interesting than taking part in the conversation. Damon nudged at my elbow to pay attention and the side of him, petty and revengeful was shocking. I had never seen him like that and would never like to.





"I thought shes your mate."




Damon clenched his jaw, "Uncle she is"




"I'm not so sure after this Damon. This human will ruin us at this rate. I cannot handle additional stress there's already enough on my plate." He rubbed his temples, his shoulder sagged and defeated. Damons face shifted at seeing his uncle like that.




"I know that"




"Do you?" Mr Smith scoffed, crossing his arms against his chest. "I feel like you don't care at all other than clearing your name and bringing your brother back."




My mouth slacked at the mention of Deans name. I thought no one apart from me knew about Damon's brother being alive. Damon stumbled at that information, his eyes bulged as he stared at his uncle.





"You know about him?"




Mr Smith sighed, "I am not stupid. I've seen you cry the day you found out about him and as much as I wanted to come clean I couldn't. There was too much going on"




Damon gritted his teeth, "Who else knows?"




"No one. Just me..." Mr Smith guiltily stared at Ryan, "And him now"




"Okay...okay you cannot tell anyone about this. Please Uncle" Damon stuttered, his eyes twitching and lips rolled in between his teeth. He was freaking out.




"I won't."



He turned to face me, "What about this one?"



Damon narrowed his eyes, "She won't tell"




"Whatever she needs to leave now"




I bit the inside of my cheeks, awkwardly rubbing my toes against the surface. That's what I was waiting for. Not. It was utterly humiliating to hear it from him.




"She is going to" Damon huffed, giving me a look.





Mr Smith hummed, "And to answer your questions the reason I was talking to Ryan was because of the journalist. That girl is trying to expose our kind and the business we run- huge environmentalist that one."





He licked his lips, "Threatened us with all the proofs she was going to get so Ryan was trailing her when he saw you. That's all there is to the story. Understood?"





I meekly nodded my head, my nails digging into my palm. Ryan still looked hesitant and nervous, not meeting my eyes. Was he hiding something?




"Words"



"Yes Mr Smith" I coughed




"Now please show yourself out"



Damon cocked an eyebrow when my eyes met him. Rolling my eyes I turned around in search of Kay. He was following me I could feel his stare behind me as I walked but I didn't care. My throat was dry and eyes burning with tears and I refused to cry in front of him. Not after he did me dirty like that.



"Anya"



"Don't" I responded harshly, my teeth grinding together. His scent was clouding me and I felt suffocation for the first time. A harsh reminder of what just happened.




"I'm trying to help"



"Yeah like I will ever ask you" I spat back walking as fast as my feet could carry. He easily met my stride because of his long legs. And also the fact that he was a werewolf. Stupid Alpha.




"So you don't want me to find Kay"




I froze at that. Of course, he knew that I was with her. Does anything get past him? I gritted my teeth and took deep breaths. As much I hated him at the moment there was no one I could rely on for help.




"Please" I swallowed harshly, not meeting his eyes but staring at his broad shoulders.





"Find her"



"Wait by her car" He mused



"But-"



"Not again please"




I huffed and turned around walking straight to the car. He was standing there for a while before he disappeared. All the while I walked to the car my heart felt heavy. The thought of Kay was constantly on my mind.





As soon as I got to the car I tried to call her but her phone was going straight to the voicemail.




"Fuck" I cursed under my breath, kicking at the tyre. Why did I leave her alone? It was all my fault.




"Eeks what happened?" Kay's loud voice filtered through, perfectly safe. I finally felt like I could breathe as she was walking towards the car. Without waiting for a moment I threw an arm around her neck and hugged tightly.




She giggled, "Oh wow I take it you missed me?"





"You have no idea" I whispered under my breath.




"What happened? Damon seemed pissed back there. I take it nothing went according to the plan" She muffled in my shoulder and I backed away.




Parting away from her I glared at the packhouse, "I don't want to talk about it"




"Oh okay."




"Let's just go please" I mumbled staring at her. She squinted her eyes in my direction, quiet for a while before she nodded her head.




She turned on the ignition and I sighed rushing towards the car. Somehow it felt like end and I wasn't experiencing anything but numbness in my body. Slamming shut the door of the car I stared ahead, refusing to look at the packhouse again.





"Is everything fine?"



I managed to muster a smile, "Just peachy. Let's go"
***