#questionable alpha

When she heard heavy footsteps, breaking branches and rustling the leaves, she quickly hid inside the dead tree and took a peek of the dark surroundings through the tree’s small hole. 

She saw him, his forest green eyes gleaming out of the pitch-dark night, like from those tales she had heard as a child about monsters whose eyes glowed in the dark. However, it was no longer a tale, as the ‘green-eyed’ monster was hunting her down.

“~Oh Annabelle...” he called, as she heard twigs break.

She held her breath, afraid that he might hear her. Her heart beat turned fast, as the footsteps got nearer and nearer.

“Come out... come out...” he said in a sing-song sort of way as if it this was a game of ‘hide and seek’, in the park.

The surroundings suddenly turned silent, and only the sound of the drizzling rain was heard. Knowing that curiosity can get her into trouble, she stood still and didn’t attempt to look outside of the trunk. She knew that Godfrey can appear just out of nowhere and didn’t care if she had to wait an hour, just as long he leaves the area. However, impatience won, therefore, she took a slight peek from the trunks hole. 

Much to her relief, there was no one,  no sign of Godfrey at all. With a sigh, she got out of the tree and took a quick look at her surroundings. 

“~Wherever you are...” a deep voice whispered from behind her, causing her to shriek. She knew who it belonged to, and wasted no time making a run for it. However, before she could even do so, strong arms wrapped around her waist, capturing her into his grasp. 

She screamed as she elbowed his rock hard chest a number of times until his hands pin her down, forcing her to wrestle him.

She bites his shoulder and then tried for his neck, and then kicks his balls until he forced her legs down, while she tried to scratch his eyes out.

He quickly disarms her, pinning both her hands. And just like that, he has complete control.

They pant as they looked at each other. It only lasts a second before he broke the silence. “~Oh Annabelle... I’ve missed you...” he says darkly, burying himself in the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent, causing some conflicting feelings within her. She felt flattered, aroused and afraid at the same time.

“Hmph...” she groaned in resignation. Was there any other way out of this? 

“Let me go...” she said in a low, but stubborn voice, as if warning him.

“I can’t... it drives me crazy... it drove me crazy...” he said, nibbling the skin near her earlobe, marking her once more. It caused her body to react in such unwanted way.

That quirk of his, it was so familiar, it was as if it happened to her before but she couldn’t pinpoint when? 

Though he often marked her, it was not always near the earlobe. It made her get pissed at herself that she could remember such lewd detail.

“I remember you now... Annabelle... and this time around... I will not let you go...” he whispered darkly. She didn’t know what he was exactly talking about, as he sounded like they go all the way back with the word ‘remember’. Cupping and grabbing the back of her head, Godfrey leant in and planted a gruff, possessive kiss on her mouth. The kiss felt like it was a show of dominance and ownership, rather than a show of affection. 

As he pulled himself off her, she gulped for air, lightheaded and breathless with the kiss. Assaulted by a hundred conflicting emotions, part of her wanted to fight, and flight. While another part of her was aroused.

He watched as her arm’s jerk useless in his grip.

“Go on...” he taunted. “Struggle all you want. Just gets me hotter when you fight back...” 

“It was your doing wasn’t it?!” she paused, choking a sob in the process. “It was you who did that to Leonard’s car!” she said, holding him responsible for everything that had gone wrong tonight. 

“Very smart...” he said patronisingly, which irked her in the process. “You know what else? Inter-School Fencing Competition... empty gymnasium... empty girls locker room...” he whispered, as he caressed her face.

Her eyes widened in realisation, as she recalled the incident that happened a long time ago. It made her feel horrified with the fact that after all these years, they still end up finding each other. “You were that boy!!” she said angrily. “You were that boy who took advantage of me!!”

“Small world isn’t it?” he grinned. “And don’t say I took advantage of you... I still remembered how you begged me to not stop...” he said, biting the skin near her earlobe once more. “It’s funny how you always run away and how I always end up finding you, huh?”

No wonder that ‘quirk’ of his was so familiar, it was the same person from years ago, when they were still both in ‘Sixth Form’. As much as she hated to admit it, she harboured feelings for that ‘boy’, and that boy from years ago was none other than Godfrey. It was twisted, but at that moment, he made her feel ‘wanted’, when everyone that mattered didn’t.

She was still a virgin then, but both of them did things to each other, all except ‘penetrative sex’. He may not have been the man who took her virginity, but he was the first man who had touched her so intimately.

“You were that boy...” she repeated, and a tear fell down her cheek, which he wiped with his thumb. A strange and unexpected gesture, coming from a terrible man. “It was confusing and twisted, but I wanted you...” she blurted out, without thinking. 

At first, he felt shocked with her sudden confession, and then delighted to learn that there was a part of her that wanted him.“Then? what about now? we can be together now!” he insisted, cupping her cheeks.

“I’m sorry... things are not like before, I can’t, we just can’t,” she said, as tears threatened to fall. Godfrey’s gripped began to tighten in her face, to the point where it became painful for her. Anger was evident in his green eyes. She was so fickle to him, even worse than Emma, that it was starting to piss him off. 

 With all her might, she raises her leg and knees his rib cage, causing him to tumble down on the side. He gripped his waist, groaning in pain, as Annabelle took the opportunity to free herself from his grasp, and quickly get up.

She immediately kicks his stomach, adding more pain to injury. “You know why we can’t be together?!” she screamed at him. “I know why Betty killed herself!! I know what you did to the previous girl before Betty!!” she said, declaring to him of what she had found out after reading a particular entry in his diary. It was so disturbing, that she finally made a decision to end this twisted relationship with him. If he had done it to the previous girl and planned on doing it to Betty once Emma finally ‘breaks’, what more would it be for her?

 In the diary entry, she read that Betty wanted, to kill herself upon learning that he had taken Emma captive. Betty loved him so much, that she’d rather kill herself than he kills her, like what he did previously to the girl before her.  

“Look! you don’t understand! it’s different-” he says, trying to reason out with her, however, she immediately cuts him.

“Shut up!! I don’t want to hear your lies anymore!” she snapped at him. “This is the last time I’m warning you... leave me alone!!” she says, before turning around, and quickly running away, deeper into the dark woods. Taking this as an opportunity to finally escape, while he hasn’t fully recovered from the kick she had given him.

“I’m not yet done with you!! We’re not yet done!!” she hears him shout angrily, as his voice echoed throughout the dark misty woods.

Just past the long stretch of woods were houses, and one of them were her late grandparent’s house, which was now occupied by her cousin. If she were to make it there before Godfrey catches up to her, then she can plan her next move and be safe for a while. 

                                                           **********

Terrence placed down his tea cup and plate full of pasta on the coffee table, as he reached for the remote to turn the tv on.But before he could lean back, he the sound of the back door creaking open was heard. 

Quickly taking the umbrella that was nearby, he slowly approached the kitchen where the back door was, ready to defend himself against the unknown intruder.

“Terrence! wait! it’s just me!” the intruder said, as she suddenly jumps in front of his path, almost giving him a heart attack.

“Annabelle? what are you doing here? what happened?” Terrence asked as he lowered his ‘weapon’ down. He’s well aware that Annabelle wouldn’t visit at a time like this unless there was something wrong. This was their late grandparent’s house, and this place was where she always ran when there were problems in the past. Only now, Terrence, her cousin, lives here.

His eyes widened upon seeing her in the bright light. Her shirt was muddy, there was also some cuts and discoloration on both sides of her cheek. It looked like she was attacked.

“My goodness! what happened to you? have you been attacked?!” he frowned, as he examined the bruises that were starting to change colour.

She looked away and nodded. “Listen... I just need to stay for one night, is my old bedroom still fine?”

“Of course, it’s still fine, clean as is. I just haven’t put sheets on the mattress. I have extra pillows from the old guest room... I’m sorry, I mean you haven’t visited the house for a long time.”

“It’s fine Terrence...” she said, brushing his concern off. The fewer people involved, the better.

“So are you going to tell me what happened to you? we should I call the police and report this!”

“It’s better if you don’t get involved...” she sat down on the couch and leant back.

He stood there and glared at her. Some things never change. It was like they were back at sixth form when she had told him tearfully that she was assaulted. However, she refused to tell details and report the incident to the police.

“You’re doing this again! You ask for help, yet you do not let us help you!” he said, as he crossed his arms and sat back down.

“You will not let this go? wouldn’t you?”

“No... not this time...”

“It’s a long story Terrence... and besides, I don’t want you to judge me...” she looked down sadly. In the past, she refused to tell details about her problems, not wanting to get judged or burden someone with them. But now, it looked like she didn’t have much of a choice, as Terrence confronts her about it.

“I’m listening... and I won’t judge you,” he assured.

She sighed in resignation and then began retelling her version of the story, everything back from the beginning. 

A/N: I might do some soft editing, because I might’ve made some grammatical errors.