Chapter 9: Confusion

**Elliot’s Point of view**


"No."
No? I tell her I want her and she says no?
I try not to show that she hurt my feelings.
"Why?" I mumble. 
Her gaze softens. Does it hurt her as much as it hurts me? 
"You know why."
I pull back from her, running a hand through my hair.
"That's no excuse. You and I have been friends for several weeks. We already liked each other while knowing what pack we came from so don't try to make me think you hate me."
"That's not what I said. But I never wanted a mate."   
"That's not possible. Everyone wants to find their mate. We'll never be happy without each other."
"I'm doing just fine on my own, thanks." She spits.
"Oh yeah? Yet you want Derek!"
"Derek? What's he got to do with it?"
"I know about your little arrangement."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
She looks lost.
"You really don't know what I'm talking about?" I ask in surprise.
"No. Explain it to me." She says angrily.
I sigh. "My dad told me that you and Derek are going to mark each other. Your dad and Alpha Jack discussed it."
"What?!" She yells and I signal her to keep her voice down. Someone might hear us and I better not be seen near the Blue territory.
"I don't believe you. My dad wouldn't do that to me!"
"Yes, he did. My dad even told me that Derek liked you and that you liked him too."
"He's unbelievable. I know he wants me to find my mate and hopes he's an Alpha but I didn't think he'd sell me out like that." She says through her teeth. 
I feel her tense and angry and without realizing it I put my hand on her back and she visibly relaxes.
"You're lucky. We found each other and I'm an Alpha."
She pulls away and turns to face me.
"He meant any Alpha but you."
I pursed my lips. "My father will not be pleased either. But I'll make him see reason."
She sighs and gets angry. "You don't understand. I don't want a mate, I never did."
"Why?"
She presses her lips together and looks away.  
"That's not important. What matters is that we have an enemy in common. And it's a lot worse than we thought."
I sigh. I'm getting to know her well enough to tell she doesn't want to talk about it. Not right now anyway. I'll eventually get her to spill the beans.
"You're right. I can't think of anyone who would want to hurt my pack and my territory. The only enemies we have are you."
"Same goes for us." She says.
She looks like she wants to say something but changes her mind.
"Go ahead and say it. You think we're the ones who hired them and we asked them to attack us too so we wouldn't be suspected. But it is you who want our territory!" I get angry.
"No, it's you who want our territory, but that's not the point. We have to find out who is behind this."
"And how? It's not like we can say how we know all of this. We're completely stuck. If we talk we'll be banished or killed, but if we don't say anything we risk condemning our packs" I say, desperate. 
She sighs. "I don't even know where to start." She says, discouraged."I would have liked to ask the rogues more questions but I think they were done talking."
My heart grows heavier at the memory of the interrogation we went through and the fear I had. Not for my life but Alice's.
"How did you do it anyway?"
"To ask them questions? They're not smart and they were too happy to know things we don't."
"Not that. How did you manage to get free?"
"That's because of Barbie." She says with a Machiavellian smile. I look at her without understanding. "I saw that the blonde had pins and by fighting, she dropped one. I had to contort myself a lot to get it but I managed." She says with a smug smile.
I look at her in disbelief. 
Crazy. Completely crazy.
"So you figured you'd insult her and get beaten up in the hope of getting a hairpin near your hands? To possibly force the lock on the handcuffs like a bad action movie?" I ask in disbelief.
"I made a bet, that's all." She says with a shrug.
I pull my hair out. "I thought you were crazy but you're actually suicidal!" I scream.
"At least I did something!" She says, with a harsh voice. 
Suddenly I feel guilty. If we are alive, it's thanks to her. She is the one who saved us.
"Thank you." I say softly. She raises an eyebrow. "Thank you for saving us. Without you, we would be dead."
"Wow. It seems to take a lot for you to say that." She says in a mocking tone.
I sigh. "I should have been the one who save us. That's my job."
"Your job?" Suddenly she seems to understand. "Because you're the man, right?! I don't fucking believe it! I'm not a damsel in distress, so you keep your macho medieval comments to yourself!" She spits. 
"That's not what I meant."
"But that's what you said."
I sigh and run a hand through my hair. 
"It's just that..."
"Just that what?" She gets impatient.
"I just wish I could have shown you that I could take care of you. To protect you as you protected me." I say, looking down at the floor in shame.
She remains silent for a long time. She already didn't want a mate and now she's got one who can't even help her. I don't stand a chance.
My heart breaks at the thought and tears come to my eyes.
I feel electric shocks on my cheek. 
Alice forces me to raise my head and I look into her eyes that express not disgust but sweetness.
"Thank you." She says.
I don't understand. "For what?"
"I didn't thank you. When we attacked the group of five rogues the last night. He almost killed me." She murmurs.
"Pfff you bet! I was the one with a knife halfway down my throat."
"And I was the one with a whole knife in my shoulder."
"That's nice, but it doesn't count anyway. At best it's a tie."
"You're really going to keep score..." She says, rolling her eyes. I giggle and she laughs with me. The atmosphere is light and I am pleased with the complicity between us.
She seems to realize it too but unlike me, she closes up.
"I'm off. Good night." Then she turns on her heels.
"Wait!" I say as I grab her arm but she jerks away. "We still have so much to talk about."
"I already told you I didn't want a mate." She says coldly without looking at me.
"I think you're lost and that's normal. But please, promise me to think about it."
"No, it's very clear to me."
"I already told you that I want you and deep down you want me too. Otherwise, you would have already rejected me."
She turns her head so fast that I am afraid she will break her neck. She opens her mouth ready to say something.
*"But what an idiot! You're pushing her to leave us! If she rejects us I'll kill you!"* Screams Leo in my head.
"Alice..."
But she doesn't let me finish and runs off to her territory where I can't follow her.
I can't follow her and it's killing me. I can't let her go like this.
*"Well done. Really good work. IDIOT!"* Says Leo. Very angry, he decides not to talk to me anymore and retreats to the back of my mind.
"Elliot!"
I look back at Alice who is running towards me, her eyes glowing a deep green. She doesn't slow down and throws herself into my arms, nearly knocking us over.
"Don't loose hope, I'll change her mind." She says in a deep, husky voice.
I feel Leo get agitated and before I know what's happening, he takes control.
He holds her face with both our hands and looks deep into her soul.
"What's your name?"
"Cassiopeia. But Alice calls me Cassie because she thinks it's too long."
"Cassiopeia." He says like a caress. "Like the constellation. Such a beautiful name shouldn't be shortened."
She giggles "What about you? Tell me your name."
"Leo."
"Leo..." That way of saying my name makes me shiver. "Like the constellation too? We have so much in common, the Moon Goddess must want to see us together!" She says with a big smile.
"You are so beautiful." Says Leo in a husky voice and Cassiopeia's eyes darken with desire.
"You are too. Even in my dreams, you weren't this handsome." She says with a wink. "And so was Alice even though she wouldn't admit it. She's mad at me and I'm not going to hold long. I just want to ask you to be patient. I want you and I will convince Alice. I just need time."
"We'll wait. But don't be too long. I'm not as patient as Elliot."
We hear a noise in the distance. "It's a guard. Hurry away, I'll create a diversion." She leaves and I hear her talking to a man a little further away and I take the opportunity to run off, smiling.
All is not lost.