Go after mate

 Mr Johnson looked up from the television when he did not hear the noise of the door closing only to see his daughter still standing in one position.

 " What are you still doing there? Did I not ask you to go and get me some food?”

 " I don't have any money” she will be damned if she uses her savings to cook for him, never. She will rather be beaten up than do that.

 She can't touch that money now because she has come to the conclusion that she needs to leave her father before he kills her. Furthermore, she won't be stupid like her mother. She could already feel her body depreciating day by day. Even if she can't finish high school , she will manage. After all, she doesn't even have enough money to pay for her last year in high school. She will rather use it to run away to the city.

  " You don't have what?”

 " I don't have any money” she repeat

 " Good, then I will have to search your room” .

 He stood up and walked to her room. She didn't even follow him or try to stop him because she knew that he wouldn't be able to find any money. She hid her savings inside a box and buried it in the backyard. Any time she wants to add another amount of money, she will dig It out and put it inside the box and bury it before rolling a big stone over it to mark the position. She is not as stupid as everyone thinks.

 After some minutes, he came back and began to search her in a rough manner and when he did not find anything on her, he punched her angrily, sending her to the floor.

  " Where is all the money?”

 She kept mute as he punched her repeatedly and after some time her dragged her and pushed her outside

  " Don't come back to this house if you don't have any money”

 Melody knew that if she did not bring any food, she wouldn't be able to enter the house. Her father can even lock her outside for a week. She still needed to go to school, even if she won't be able to complete her studies. She has only one choice. Not only that, but she needs to go to Miss Betty's house and collect what her father gave to her.

 Her father is going to kill her if he hears of it, but she has no other choice after all she bought those things with her hard-earned money!

 With determination, she walked the little distance to Miss Betty's house, but when she got there, she hesitated. Miss Betty will surely spread rumors if she does not tell her father and her father was a proud person who hates disgrace and if he finds out that she was the one who brought the disgrace? Hah!!

 She was tired of thinking for her father alone. She needed to start thinking for herself, she had to get the foodstuff. And damn the consequences. 

 She lifted her hand and knocked and after some seconds the door was opened but not by Miss Betty. It was Madison.

 " Look who we have here, Melody Johnson. Hmm, after being saved by Mrs. Simpson you still came back, am sure that she will be disappointed” Madison was still angry that she didn't get the chance to bully Melody at school the other day, and she had really been escaping. It was like she suddenly got lucky.

 " I am looking for Miss Betty” Melody ignored her because she was here to collect the food stuffs not to get in trouble with Madison

 " What do you want with my aunt?' Madison scowled.

 " Maddy, who is there?” Miss Betty's voice came from inside the house.

  " No one important”

  " Melody"

 The both of them chorused, making Madison's face turn red with anger. 

 Melody was more scared of what her father could do to her than what Madison could do to her. The only thing Madison could do was pull her hair, make fun of her, and those things were little compared to what her father could do.

 Miss Betty was surprised to hear that Melody was looking for her. Did she have a message from her father? She ran to the door. 

  " What are you doing, Maddy? Come in Melody”. Miss Betty opened the door wide for Melody after shoving Madison away

 Melody walked into the house and looked around, the house was cozy. The way she felt was difficult from what she felt in her house.

 " Did your father send you to me?” Miss Betty asked expectantly.

     Melody was almost sorry for Miss Betty, she did not know the man she was falling for. She can do this. Madison stood at one side watching Melody and her aunt with a scowl on her face.

 " Miss Betty, I'm truly sorry, but I need those foodstuffs my dad sent to you” Melody avoided looking up.

 Miss Betty's face changed. What was Melody talking about? Foodstuff? But her father gave them to her. Why would she need it back?

 Melody couldn't bear the silence, so she rushed to explain 

 " It's me who wants it back, not my father. You see Miss Betty, I bought them with my hard-earned money, not my father's, so I need them back. I can't stay hungry. That foodstuff can last me until I get paid again” she explained briefly. She just hopes that Miss Betty will understand and even if she chooses not to, she won't be leaving without her foodstuff

 " What is she talking about, Aunty?” Madison asked.

 " Her father gave me some food and said that he bought them and …. '' Miss Betty tried to explain everything to her niece

 " How could you collect something from that man, aunty? Do you want this idiot to go and start spreading rumors that her father is feeding my family?" Madison could not believe what she was hearing, for God’s sake her family is richer than everyone in county vee!

     Miss Betty bowed her head in shame after being reprimanded by her niece. She wanted to brag to her friends that her fiancé gave her some food.

 She got furious and rushed into her kitchen and began to pack everything into a bag. She was even ready to start cooking before Melody arrived. Now she will have to go to the market. Dammit.

 She pushed the bag into Melody's hands and pushed her outside. Good riddance to nonsense.

 Melody looked at the bag in her hands, 'she got them back, they were bought with her money' she kept on telling herself. From how angry Miss Betty appeared, she knew that within an hour, the news would have spread through town, but she didn't care. For now at least, she will deal with the problem's as they come. She walked back home with the heavy bag of foodstuff clutched tightly in her hand's.

**

 Hunter stopped when he got a scent of his mate. He decided to take a walk after leaving that café. He finally knew who his mate was. It was Melody, the girl who made the coffee.

 His heart still hurt anytime he remembered the bruises he saw on her face. Who could have done that to her? She was still a kid for God's sake and needed to be loved, not beaten up.

 He could still remember the way her heart beat sped up when she heard that her father wanted her home. Why was she scared of her father? Was he the one that gave her those bruises? These two questions were what he still could not answer after asking himself repeatedly for hours. That's why he decided to walk to clear his head. He could not run in his wolf form even if he wanted to.

     

 He saw her walking out from a corner. Her head was down again and she was hiding those bruises. He wanted to talk to her, but his mind was blank. What should he say first so as not to scare her?

 He began to follow her as she walked quickly like a ghost was after her. Even if he was walking slowly, he could still keep up with her.

 He kept on following her until he heard the voice of his beta talking through the mind link

 " Repeat what you said”

 " Alpha, you have a call from your father”

 Hunter looked at his little mate, who was getting farther and farther away from him. 

 Should he keep on going after her, or should he get back to the hotel to answer his father's call? He knew that his father could never call him unless it was important.

 Go after mate

  Go after mate

 His wolf kept chanting in his head. He really wanted to go after her, but by God what will he say? If he gets close to her, he would be tempted to touch her. He would also get angry if he found any more bruises on her.

    He watched as she rounded a corner and disappeared out of his sight. He turned around and walked back to the hotel to answer his father's call.