Chapter 10

Alex entered the Sub Station frantically. Her eyes wandered the room before they found Justin in the kitchen with her parents. She stormed over, tossing her bag to the side of the room before facing her brother.

"Oh hey Alex, I…"

"I told you not to tell anyone!" She interjected her brother furiously, grabbing the attention of her mother and father.

"What are you talking about?" Justin asked as his eyebrows knitted together.

"Did you go to the Wizard council?" Alex questioned as she folded her arms over her chest. She clenched her jaw as Justin's face contorted with guilt. "How could you?"

"Alex, sweetie, what's going on?" Theresa asked as she and Jerry exchanged confused glances.

"Justin is trying to get Mason's werewolf powers taken away." Alex's voice shook furiously as she narrowed her eyes at her brother. She understood his intentions, but he didn't realize what he had just done.

"Justin, is this true?" Jerry asked his son.

"Yes." Justin nodded. "I went to the Wizard council to ask some questions and when I found out they could help I briefly told them what happened. They're investigating, but they may take away his powers."

"He knows what you're trying to do! You've only made things worse." She seethed, her chest heaving up and down.

"Did he say something to you?" Justin questioned, feeling his stomach twist. If Alex knew that Mason knew that meant he confronted her and Justin feared what had occurred during that confrontation. Alex seemed shaken up and he wasn't sure if it was just the anger she had towards him or if it was from whatever Mason said or did. He was hoping it was just anger, but somehow he knew that wasn't true.

"What do you think?" She muttered as she nibbled on her lower lip.

Theresa rested her hand on Alex's arm. She felt a twinge in her heart when her daughter flinched at her touch. "What did he do, Alex?"

Her eyes darted around the room, avoiding contact with her family. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does matter. What did he do?" Jerry clenched his fists by his side. His heart was pumping furiously, but he tried to remain calm from the sake of his daughter. He couldn't handle watching his little girl suffer anymore. He would do anything to go back and time and forbid her from seeing Mason. She probably would have resented him for it, but he would prefer that over what was happening now.

Alex anxiously toyed with the bracelet on her wrist. Justin stepped towards her, erasing the space between them and took Alex's hand. She inhaled sharply and jumped at his touch, but reminded herself that it was just her brother. He rolled up the sleeve of her sweater and cringed at the sight of the fresh bruised painted on her flesh.

"Oh Alex, did he do that to you?" Theresa's eyes widened and her hand found her chest as she examined the hues of colors on her daughter's wrist.

"Alex, you need to tell us what happened." Jerry said.

Alex swallowed as tears sparkled in her eyes. She absentmindedly traced the bruise on her wrist. "I…I wasn't feeling well in class so I left to go to the bathroom just to get away for a few minutes, but…I-I ran into him."

Alex's eyes scanned the empty halls as she started for the bathroom. A startled gasp escaped her lips as a hand roughly latched onto her upper arm. The hand pulled her forcefully, causing her to stumble towards its owner. Her head whipped around and her eyes met Mason's. He pulled her into the nearby janitor's closet, shoving her into the shelf in the back. She winced as her back slammed against the shelf before she fell to the floor. Mason closed the door and spun to face her.

Alex remained on the floor, paralyzed with fear and shock. She swore her heart stopped for a moment as he took a step closer to her, looming above her. She swallowed thickly and pulled herself onto her feet. Her eyes moved to the closed door, but he was blocking her exit.

"You're trying to get my werewolf powers taken away?" His jaw clenched as he took another step towards her, leaving little space remaining between the two.

Alex attempted to take a step back to distance herself, but her back was against the shelf. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He lunged towards her, a guttural growl emitting from his lips. "Don't lie to me!"

She inhaled sharply as he slammed her back into her shelf. "I'm not lying."

"Someone for the Wizard's Council paid me a visit to let me know that they are investigating me." His nostrils started to flare and the vein in his neck twitched.

"I…I didn't go to the W-Wizard Council." Alex stammered. She swore she could hear her heart beat echoing in the small closet.

"I told you not to lie to me!" Mason shouted furiously. His hands latched onto her upper arms and he shook her small frame violently.

Alex blinked dumbly at him. Her mind was clouded with fear. This was a different side of Mason and it seemed more dangerous. He was violent yes, but it was always in a possessive way. This was rage.

"I'm…I'm not lying, I swear. I d-didn't say anything." She hated the way her voice sounded weak. She winced as his grip on her arms tightened and his finger nails dug into her flesh. She tried to take a step forward, but he pushed her back. Her breathing shallowed. She pushed at his chest, but his hand captured her wrist in a deadly grip. She whimpered softly. "You're hurting me."

"You're going to pay for this." He twisted her wrist as his other hand reached up to grasp her jaw.

"I didn't do anything." She cried. She squirmed against him in an attempt to get free, but his strength overpowered hers. Her free hand reached behind her in search of something on the shelf. She found a spray bottle that she could only assume was some sort of cleaning product. She pointed it at his face and pushed down the lever, releasing its contents.

Mason grunted. He released his hold on Alex as his hands wiped at his face. She darted for the door, but her trembling hands fumbled with the locked knob in the dimmed light. She finally twisted the locked, but as her hand turned the knob, she was pulled back. "You're not going anywhere."

"Let go of me!" She shouted as she thrashed against him. His fist struck her abdomen and her knees buckled. She grabbed onto to the shelf to steady herself and her other hand reached down to feel for her wand in her boot. She couldn't think of a single spell in the moment, but she could flash herself out of the closet. His hand found her wrist again, pulling it away from her boot. She struggled against him, but he clenched her wrist painfully. "What do you want?"

"For you to keep your damn mouth shut!" He roared as he pinned her against the shelf. He leaned down so his mouth was against her ear. "And for you to break up with Dean."

"In your dreams." She spat through gritted teeth.

"You're mine." A grin spread across his lips as his hand slid down her waist and found its way to her inner thigh.

Her breath caught in her throat. "Don't touch me."

"But I already have." He whispered against her neck before sucking on her delicate flesh. His hand inched further up the inside of her thigh as he grinded into her.

She swallowed the bile rising in her throat. Her stomach gurgled with nausea. She once again attempted to free herself from him, but she couldn't budge. She lifted her knee to kick him, but he was one step ahead of her and sent another punch to her ribcage. She let out a cry as stars danced behind her eyelids. "Stop."

"Stop fighting this." He grumbled against her neck. His hand snaked up to the button on her jeans.

Tears blurred her vision. She couldn't breathe. Her chest ached as the speed it was striking. The bell rang, followed by chatter in the distance. Mason suddenly peeled himself off Alex, narrowing his eyes at the trembling brunette. "I'm only letting you go because it's too risky. But this isn't over. You better keep your damn mouth shut."

Justin lifted her other sleeve to find a bruise of her right wrist as well. "Is your abdomen bruised too?"

Alex pulled her wrist back and angrily wiped at the tear that escaped her eye. "No…I don't…I'm fine."

"Alex, lift up your shirt." Theresa said softly.

"No. I don't…. don't…" She shook her head as her voice trailed off.

"Sweetheart, we just want to see if you're bruised. Nobody is going to hurt you." Jerry could see the panic in his daughter's eyes and tore at his heart. He wanted the carefree, sarcastic, happy girl that she had been prior to all of this, but he wasn't sure if any of that girl was left inside of her.

"Let's start with just your cardigan." Theresa suggested. It was a smaller step for Alex and she also wanted to see her arms and back.

Alex hesitated before she slipped off her purple cardigan, leaving her in her black tank top. She fumbled with the sweater in her hands nervously. Theresa frowned as she examined the finger shaped bruises on Alex's upper arms. She took two steps back to look at Alex's back side and found a large bruise on her left shoulder and another peeking through her dark curls. She also took notice of how distinct her bones appeared. She moved back so she was in front of Alex. "Can I lift your shirt up now?"

Alex nodded reluctantly. Her body tensed as she felt her mother's hands at the hem of her shirt. She dropped her sweater as her hands came up to stop Theresa's hands. Her heart sped up. Images of Mason flashed through her mind. "Stop."

Theresa retracted her hands and held them in the air. "It's just me, Mija."

Alex bit down on her bottom lip. She felt dumb for freaking out over her own mother's touch. "I…I'll do it." She slowly lifted her shirt, stopping right below her chest.

A swirl of black and purple welts decorated the left side of her abdomen. Theresa's heart ached at the pain that her daughter was suffering from physically and emotionally. "Maybe we should go to the emergency room."

"No!" Alex shouted as she pulled her shirt back down. She took a step back and shook her head frantically.

"Alex, this is proof that he's hurting you." Justin began. He opened his mouth to continued, but Alex cut him off.

"No! The reason he did this is because he thinks I said something." Her eyes were wide and wild. "It doesn't matter how much proof there is, all he has to do is turn himself into a werewolf to hide."

"Not if I kill him first." Jerry muttered through clenched teeth.

"This is why I went to the Wizard Council. If they take away his werewolf powers, he can't hide."

Alex threw her hands in the air. "He's out for revenge just for telling them! What do you think he's going to do if they actually take away his powers? You have to go back to the council and tell them to forget what you said."

"No, he can't…."

"Please!" Alex choked out. Her lower lip trembled before tears erupted from her eyes.

"Oh Mija." Theresa frowned. She took a step to her daughter with her arms open.

Alex collapsed into her mother's arms. The fear constantly flowing through her veins was consuming her. "H-he's going to come after me."

"No, we wouldn't let that happen." Jerry said protectively. He stepped beside his wife and placed a gentle hand on Alex's back.

"It's already happened and he just keeps getting worse. There's no stopping him." She buried her face in Theresa's shoulder as she let out a sob.

"I'm going to fix this." Justin announced with a slight nod.

"There's nothing to fix. There's no stopping him." She latched onto her mother as if she were her lifeline. The terror swimming in the pit of her stomach was paralyzing. Mason was dangerous. He would stop at nothing to get his revenge. Alex knew if the bell hadn't rung today he would have gone all the way with his assault and that terrified her. She couldn't be watched every second that she was out of her house and those seconds that she was alone was when he made his move. She felt trapped. There was no way out of this. There was no evidence against him or at least not enough to get him locked behind bars for a long time.

Theresa exchanged worried glances with her son and husband as Alex trembled in her arms. They were scared too; scared for Alex's safety. Mason was relentless and needed to be stopped. Theresa was also concerned Alex would never recover from her anorexia was long as Mason was still around. He was the main problem; the cause of her downward spiral. He took away all control from her. They needed to do something about this because she couldn't stand to watch helplessly anymore. Theresa feared if the anorexia didn't kill her daughter, Mason would.

Thanks for reading! Things have taken a turn for the worse. I apologize for the delay in updating. I know I addressed this in my other story, but I don't believe I've told you guys that I am currently battling Lyme disease. After many, many health problems over the years I finally received the diagnosis in December and began antibiotics. However, antibiotics make things worse before they get better for Lyme patients and when you've had it for a while it requires multiple courses of antibiotics. This included some cognitive/neurological symptoms I had been dealing with, which made writing difficult. This was and may continue to be the reason for lengthy time between updates, but I'm trying my best! Anyway…hope you enjoyed!

Review!