CHAPTER 122: CHAPTER 122 ALONE WITH THE PAIN

Draven’s POV

I stood at the window of my office, watching Caroline get into Jax’s car. Kyle had told me they were going to lunch. I took a sip of my coffee, feeling angry inside.

Alaric growled in my mind. "We should follow them. Show him she’s ours."

I wanted to run after them, hit Jax in the face, and take Caroline with me. But I couldn’t. When I had asked Jax to Ryan’s house, he’d told me the truth. He said he liked Caroline, but because she liked me, he would stay away. But he also said if I ever hurt her, he would try to date her.

And now, I have to watch another man try to get my mate.

I knew this wouldn’t last. Soon, I would make Caroline mine again. For now, to keep her safe from Howard and his mean daughter Ella, I had to stay away.

I picked up my phone and called Alpha Arthur. He was the Alpha of the Northern Territory and had been good friends with my father. He was helping me look into the money problems in the company and my father’s strange death.

"Draven, what is it?" Alpha Arthur answered right away.

"Alpha Arthur, have you found the Alpha Council person who checked my father’s death?" I asked, rubbing my head.

He sighed deeply. "Still looking. The information from three years ago has been hidden, many files are missing. I think the person took Howard’s money and left..."

I closed my jaw tight, feeling very stressed. "I understand. I’ll keep looking here. Thank you for helping."

"I heard you and Ella are getting married," Alpha Arthur said slowly. "What happened? What about Caroline?"

"Yes, it’s true," I said sadly. "I’ll tell you everything when we meet."

After hanging up, I couldn’t stay in my office anymore. Like how the girls had their Tuesday "girls’ night," my friends and I also met often to talk, drink, and play games. We’d planned to meet at the Social Club tonight, Ryan thought a busy place might make me feel better.

When I got there, I went right to the casino area to meet the guys. We played poker, which made me feel a bit better. I found myself smiling and talking with my friends, drinking soda, keeping my promise not to drink after what happened at Clara’s party.

Suddenly, I smelled very sweet perfume in my nose. Before I could move, arms wrapped around my neck like a snake. The awful person kissed me on the mouth, a messy, bad kiss that left my lips wet with her spit and covered in red lipstick. Alaric growled with hate inside me.

"Baby, you’re here!" Ella yelled with her loud voice, looking too happy to see me.

"Let go of me, you devil!" I growled while trying to pull her arms off my neck.

"Oh, baby, don’t joke with me like that."

"I’m not joking. Let go of me now," I said loudly, making people look at us.

Ella finally let go, her face red with anger. She pointed at my face and, with an even louder, higher voice, yelled, "Listen here, Draven, I’m having your baby, I’ll be your wife, and you should start being nice to me like a good boyfriend."

Great. Just what I needed, a big scene. I rubbed my face and, trying to stay calm, said, "Ella, we’re not getting married because I love you, because I actually hate you. We’re getting married because you and your father forced me, and you say you’re pregnant. But that doesn’t mean I’ll be a nice boyfriend or husband."

"Baby, think about it. Our marriage will happen, so just accept it and let me show you I’m right for you. I promise you’ll love me soon."

"You’re crazy. You haven’t done that in thirty years. How will you do it ’soon’ now?" Ryan said with a laugh, and others laughed too. Ella looked at him like she wanted to kill him.

"The problem, honey, is you’re with bad friends," Ella said, looking angry at my friends.

"I agree with that, but not because of them. I should have kicked your father out of my company and gotten rid of you long ago," I said, standing up. Alaric agreed inside me.

"Draven!" she screamed.

"Now do everyone a favor and go away," I said.

"Like it or not, you’ll be my husband. We need to talk, we have things to plan," she kept going.

"Talk? About what, you crazy woman?" I asked, shocked by how bold she was.

"Well, about the wedding party, where we’ll live, the honeymoon..." she said like it was normal.

"There won’t be a party or honeymoon. I already got you a place to live. Anything else?" I was very tired.

"It doesn’t work like that. I’m going to tell daddy everything," she complained.

"You know what, guys, I’m tired of this place. I have a better idea," Joseph said and got up. "Shall we?"

We all followed Joseph out. Ella stayed there, stamping her feet and yelling like a little kid who couldn’t get candy. We left the Social Club, and Joseph sent a mind message with where to go, a place I knew well.

When we got there, the manager welcomed us and took us to a special booth at Silver Moon, the best club in the area. Before we sat down, two waitresses in nice black dresses brought glasses and bottles of whiskey and cognac. Nate and I got sodas.

"At least here, gentlemen, that awful woman has never found us!" Joseph said, lifting his glass.

It was a nice place with pretty dancers doing good shows. We talked and watched, staying with safe topics. By the end of the night, I felt a bit better, but I kept thinking about Caroline. While my friends liked watching the dancers, I didn’t care. Since meeting Caroline, no other woman made me interested.

When the night was ending, I said goodbye and left by myself, seeing my friends’ worried looks. They knew I loved someone else, a pretty woman with green eyes and her son.