Bride of the Cursed Alpha - Chapter 160: Chapter 160

Matt POV
Torben ran the entire night, his paws pounding against the earth in vengeance, and as I tried to outrun the chaos in my mind. Tam’s face kept appearing in my mind—her innocent smile, the way she reached for Torben as if least afraid of my feral beast, the way her eyes seemed to take my creature in. But with those thoughts came the ones that were vividly painted in my mind. Of my uncle being shot dead in cold. Of his lips and body turning blue within a matter of a few seconds, of how I couldn’t do a thing to save him, and of how I had to promise him to save her despite her being the reason for his death.
No, I couldn’t allow my emotions to take over my resentment for saving her. I just couldn’t let that happen. Not now. Not ever. Even though Torben urged me to go back and check on her to see if she had gone inside the house, I refused.
‘No, we go back. I have to find Tulip and Seth,’ I snapped.
Torben had to understand that these feelings were just confusion, misplaced emotions which were fueled by grief of uncle’s death. It was easy to push them away.
I returned home in the morning after Torben had spent all his energy. My bear was huge, and had all the world’s energy in him. I was restless, my muscles were sore, and my mind kept replaying last night’s thoughts. My parents were waiting for me, sitting in the main room of my house. Their eyes were filled with concern.
“Feeling okay, Matt?” Dad asked.
“Yeah!” I nodded tightly, my eyes darting to the window of the backyard.
Mom came to me. “I’m sure you are ravenous by now,” she said with a smile. “Why don’t you take a bath and come back for breakfast?”
I nodded. “Where’s Tam?” I asked as I inhaled her smell.
“Oh, she’s gone to school,” mom replied, wiping her hands on a napkin. “Don’t bother about her,” she added with a smile. “Today there’s a surprise for you and her.”
I blinked, wondering what she meant. When I looked at Dad, he also smiled mysteriously. Well, I didn’t have the time to play mystery-shitery with them, and so I rushed to my room and took a bath in a record ten minutes. Why did I feel my frustration rise to this level? Tam always waited for me to take her to school. But who cared? “Pfft!” I huffed. “She can go to hell for all I care!” The anger was all I could feel, and it burned as I got ready to leave. When I came down, I saw that mom had laid out a large breakfast, and Dad was already at it.
“So how was your first day of shift?” he asked, pride swelling in his eyes. “Your bear is bigger than mine!”
I chuckled. “It was good,” I said and told them about my first shifting experience, omitting the part where Torben came to see Tam.
“Great! If you’d like to rest, skip school today,” mom suggested.
“Nah,” I said. Grabbing my bag, I went out of the house, moving faster than necessary, feeling all the more impatient. I was behind the wheels of my car in a flash and zipped to school.
I parked the car and walked inside the building as fast as my feet could take me. My friends were already waiting for me near the entrance. Tulip smiled brightly as she rushed over. “Matt!” she said excitedly. “Boy, your bear is so beautiful! He is amazing, just like you!” she gushed, her voice full of adoration. She reached up to adjust my shirt collar, her fingers lingering a little too long.
I chuckled. “Thanks Tulip.” A brief surge of pride came over me. She giggled and locked her arms with mine.
“Where did you go last night?” she asked as Seth joined us. “We were all worried.”
“I ran,” I said in a clipped voice, not liking where the conversation was going.
“There’s an assembly in the main hall,” Seth informed. “We all have to be there in five minutes.”
“Assembly?” I asked with a frown on my forehead. “About what?”
He shrugged. “He will be announcing some important dates of exams.”
I didn’t want to go there because I wanted to go and see the only girl I hated the most. But I controlled myself and went to the assembly. And there, standing across the room, was Tam. Her small figure was surrounded by her classmates, who were chatting with her animatedly. She laughed and giggled with them, and the frustration increased in me. How could she be so happy, when I was feeling so fucking annoyed. Her eyes darted to me. My stomach twisted. Then her gaze dropped to where Tulip’s arm was in mine. Her gaze remained there for a long moment before she turned away. She continued to talk to her friends as if I didn’t even exist.
And I had no idea why this apathy from her unsettled me. I shook it off, focusing back on Tulip—the girl I was going to make my mate. My chosen mate. However, that small flicker of unease refused to leave me.
The principal announced the upcoming dates of our exams. He said that if we do well, he would recommend us to go to the human colleges. That was a huge thing and I really looked forward to it. And the main reason was that I wanted to stay away from Tam. The girl was becoming a constant source of irritation as she grew up. I wished that mom and dad found her real parents. But they had given up after a few years. Moreover, both of them loved her so much that it was nauseating. Sometimes, they favored her over me, which was absolutely bizarre. Well, only two months. After that, I will go to college. And if Dad didn’t allow it, I would go to the Everflame pack to take over as their next Alpha. In either case, I would be away from the little menace. The bane of my existence.