I woke with my headache gone. Someone was shaking me gently. My eyes opened in the dim room and adjusted to see Liam. He was sitting on the edge of the bed near me. My eyes spilled over with tears from the dream that I knew was reality. I sniffled as my body shook with silent sobs. I was too tired to have my guard up. Liam was instantly worried.

"Hey, it's okay. It was just a bad dream," he tried to console me. It only made me angrier because I knew it wasn't a dream. I shook my head.

"It wasn't a dream," I cried.

"What happened?" he asked as his hand moved to my shoulder to comfort me. I jerked away from him angrily. It was insulting that he was going to try to ignore me and comfort me at the same time.

"We know who she is, but no one else needs to know. Do nothing; just ignore her," I said quoting him. "And your mom does know, by the way. She called you an idiot, and rightfully so," I said, calming my tears slightly. He looked at me shocked.

"You saw all of that? Were you there? Did you follow me?" he questioned. I threw the covers off of me and stood carefully.

"I didn't follow you. I was sleeping. I guess I dreamt it," I tried to explain.

"How much of it did you see?" he had the audacity to ask. I narrowed my eyes at him as I crossed my arms.

"You know what, just take me home so Sophia can properly 'take care' of you... again," I ordered angrily.

"Dinner is literally in five minutes," he argued.

"Your plan to ignore me only works if I'm not around. Follow the plan, remember?" I snapped at him. I couldn't help it, I was hurt. I wanted to claw Sophia's eyes out, and I didn't even have claws yet.

"You promised you would stay for dinner," he said stubbornly.

"Yeah, well I don't make it a habit to stay where I'm not wanted," I countered. I sighed and ran a hand down my face. "Forget it, I'll walk home if I have to," I said, more muttering to myself as I went to gather my things. Liam's hand touched my back. I flinched away from him so fast, you would've thought his hand was on fire.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled at him as I spun to face him. There was fear written in my face. Liam took a beat before he took a step back.

"What happened to you?" he asked softly. I hated that he saw right through my fear. I didn't want to answer that question. Saying that 'my evil step-mother tortured me' was just too cliché and I didn't want his pity. He didn't deserve to know anyway. He didn't deserve to know anything about me.

"What's all the yelling about?" Luna Addie asked as she entered the room. She was now dressed in a peach blouse and a pair of black slacks; untouched by the cold. Her expression softened when she saw my face. "What did you do, Liam?" she asked accusingly.

"Why do you assume it's me?" he asked with a hint of a whine. She only gave him a knowing look as her arms crossed over her chest.

"Well, for one, you're not the one who's hurt, but you are an idiot," she said. Had I not been so devastated, I might have laughed.

"You really do know, don't you? Sophia said you did," Liam muttered to himself. Hearing him say her name made me flinch as I cast my eyes down to look at my feet. Luna Addie growled at Liam.

"She should have backed off the second she knew. You should have broken ties with her the second you knew," Luna Addie said disapprovingly.

"You liked her," Liam said confused.

"Because I thought she was a respectable girl. But if she was, she would've gotten out of the way the second you told her you found your mate. Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves," she chastised her son.

"Mom," Liam began.

"Don't start," she stopped him sternly as her eyes shot to him. "I'm very disappointed in you, Liam. I thought I raised you better than that. You will not force this girl to do anything; especially when you won't even claim her as your mate. If she wants to leave, you can't make her stay. You don't have that right," she said diplomatically. It felt good to have someone stick up for me, but I couldn't help wishing that it would've come from Liam.

"I want to go home," I said to Luna Addie. I turned to Liam, but I couldn't look him in the eyes. I didn't want to get stuck in them again. "And I want you to leave me alone. Out of sight, out of mind, right?" I said flatly.

"I'll take you home," Luna Addie offered. I thanked her quietly before grabbing the bag and heading towards the door.

"Dani," Liam pleaded. I hesitated before I continued out and into the hallway with Luna Addie right beside me. She helped me down the stairs and led the way to their garage where four different cars sat. She chose an Escalade and unlocked the doors remotely. I got in and slammed the door behind me as the garage door went up. I was angry and upset, but I didn't want to seem rude to Luna Addie who was only trying to help.

"Sorry," I apologized for the door as I looked to her. She shook her head as she backed out of the driveway. The heat began blasting through the air vents.

"I'm the one who should be apologizing. My son is an idiot. I thought I taught him better than this," she said through clenched teeth. "My advice? When he finally comes to his senses, make him work for it," she said, gritting her teeth even more. I think she was even more pissed off than I was. I readjusted in the seat as I watched the passing scenery from the window. The rest of the ride was quiet but I could feel her apologies and sympathy hang in the air. Finally, we made it to the Wilders' residents; my new home. I was hesitant to push the car door open, knowing I didn't have a jacket, and the cold only seemed to get worse when the sun set. I could feel the cold from the window.

"If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to call me," Luna Addie said as she handed me a slip of paper with her number on it. I gave her a gentle smile.

"Thank you," I said sincerely as I took it. I had a feeling I would be needing it. I put my hand in the door handle and prepared myself for the cold as I grabbed my bag from the floor of the passenger seat.

"And if you don't feel like going ot school tomorrow, no one would blame you. Give yourself time, if you need it. I'll talk to Liam, but there's only so much I can do," she said guiltily.

"You don't have to do that. I want it to be his choice, not his burden," I said before I pushed the door open and quickly made my way inside the house. As soon as the front door opened, my grandparents were on me like crazy on a vegan. They wanted to know what happened, and how the Miller's house was. I only flinched when they mentioned Liam. I was tired and I just wanted to sleep for a while.

"Luna Addie brought me," I answered one of their questions. They looked confused.

"You know about...?" my grandma trailed off. I nodded.

"I don't know what's happening to me, but when I touch people, I see things...their intentions, their thoughts, their past... I touched Liam, and he showed me everything, but it made me pass out so he took me to his house and wouldn't let me leave. Luna Addie finally bailed me out," I answered vaguely. Although they probably already knew that seeing as they sent over my toiletries, but that was all I was willing to give.

"Liam, the Alpha's son? What did he want with you?" my grandpa asked innocently. I felt the tears threaten to kick up again but I held them back as I took a breath and clenched my jaw. After a moment, I was finally able to speak again.

"Nothing... he wanted nothing with me," I said softly, my voice betraying me at the end. By the looks on their faces and the feeling of pity I was getting from them, they knew.

"He's your mate," my grandma said out loud knowingly. There was no sense in denying it. I nodded once slowly as I tried to swallow the lump in my throat.

"I just want to go to bed," I said as I pushed the bag further up my shoulder and headed for the stairs.

"Have you had dinner yet? We made a vegetarian-friendly pasta," Grandma Nora offered. I couldn't even think about food with the way my stomach was churning.

"Thank you, but I'm not that hungry," I muttered before I disappeared up the stairs. I took a quick shower before burying myself in my mother's blanket. The smell was calming, but I still felt the hollow ache in my chest. I'd never stayed in one place long enough for a relationship, but this is what I imagined a really bad break up felt like. One thing I knew for sure though: there was no way in hell I was going to school tomorrow.