Gone

I woke up around noon the next day which was Sunday. Somehow I was fully dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants and one of Riley's black t-shirts. Riley wasn't on the other side of the bed. I assumed he was downstairs.

I rolled out of bed and stood in front of the mirror in my room. My hair was a mess and I assumed that I got up in the middle of the night and changed. My powers must have abled me to do things without thinking about it. I knew this as true for my running.

My legs dragged me dazedly downstairs and into the kitchen. I looked around for Riley and he was no where to be found. I walked over to the round wooden table and realized that there was a post-it note in the center of it. I pulled it off of the table and read it.

Alyssa, gone to work. Called on a duty.

I looked up from the note and creased my forehead. This note was strange. There were several things about it that didn't make sense. One, Riley rarely left notes for me because normally he would just tell me by sending it to my brain. Two, even if Riley did leave notes he wouldn't say Alyssa. He would use play names like, Mrs. Ackers or Mrs. Riley. And three, Riley never went to work if he got called unless I came with him. None of this made sense. Why would he leave a note and why a note like this?

I continued staring at the note. My hand shot up to the phone that was on the wall. My eyes didn't leave the post-it as the phone quickly moved from the hook and into my hand. It felt nice to use telekinesis just to grab a phone.

My fingers pressed the numbers that would call Riley's cubicle or Lauren at the front desk. I pressed the phone to my ear and I kept looking at the note. If Riley answered the phone, I could ask him why he left the note. The phone rang several times.

"Hello? GWOOD Corp. Front desk. How may I help you?" The voice on the other end of the line said.

"Lauren?" I asked.

"Oh, Mrs. Ackers," she said. "What do you need?"

I frowned. "I was wondering if Riley came in today."

"Mmm, no ma'am. It's his day off today," Lauren said.

I looked away from the note. I was quiet for a second. "Alright, thanks Lauren."

"Anytime, Mrs. Ackers," she said.

I dropped the phone from my ear and pressed the off button. I used telekinesis to put the phone back on the hook.

What was going on here? Why the hell would Riley leave a note and lie in it? He's never done that before. It was so unlike him.

Right then, the doorbell rang. It rang again before I ran to the door. Please be Riley, I thought. I quickly opened the door and looked at the man standing on my porch. I smiled. It wasn't Riley, but I was glad to see him.

"Hello, Alyssa," Peter said.

I smiled more and stepped outside and gave him a hug. "Where have you been?" I asked still hugging him. He chuckled and the hug ended. I stepped back into the house. "Well, come in," I said ushering him in.

Peter smiled and walked in. I shut the door behind him. He turned around and looked at me with a smile.

"To tell you the truth," he said, "Ann and I have been on a little vacation in California. Thought I might pop in after several weeks of being gone from my leader."

I smiled. "Well, you're welcome anytime." Peter smiled. "So, where's Ann?" I asked friendly as I folded my arms across Riley's t-shirt.

Peter's smile slipped. "Ann's home sleeping. She's quite tired after the travel here."

I raised my eyebrows. "You took a plane?"

Peter smiled again. "Well, you're trying to seem normal and if it helps you I'll do my best to maintain myself from using my Vulcan pinch on someone."

I smiled. "Watching Star Trek again?"

He nodded. "As always."

It was odd having Peter and I in a room alone without Ann and Riley. It actually felt a lot more comfortable without being accused of so called flirting. Even if it wasn't like that for us. After all, I was able to change Peter's life around. He now actually loved Ann instead of hiding his powers from her. Their love was almost as powerful as Riley and I's.

"So, you just came to pop in and say hello?" I asked.

Peter nodded and lifted up his black jacket sleeve and looked at his silver watch. He looked back up at me. "I'm sorry, Alyssa. I have to go back to Ann."

I nodded. "Understood."

"Is Riley here so I can say hello to him?" Peter asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know where he is," I admitted.

Peter smiled. "Well, can I have a hug before I go?"

I smiled and unfolded my arms. I walked towards him and wrapped my arms around him. He enveloped me in his strength and his smell also enveloped me. I put my chin on his shoulder. His mouth went to my ear.

"I'm sorry, Alyssa."

I frowned and lifted my head off of his shoulder and looked at him. "What?"

He gave a smug smile while still holding me. "You are no longer the Alpha. You no longer have a husband and you no longer have a life."

I looked at him utterly confused. He dropped his arms from my back. I frowned with my mouth open. I backed up several steps. Peter just watched me continuously smiling.

"What have you done?" I asked knowing the answer he was going to give me was going to be bad.

He shrugged. "My power just begins at receiving the powers of others by their choice. It ends with me taking the powers of others and keeping them from that person. That person being you and your husband."

My eyes locked on him. "You stole my powers and my husband!" I yelled at him. I started moving towards him and stopped realizing I was feeling weak.

"Well, I'm not that pathetic. Of course I took Riley's powers and kidnapped him along with your dear friend Ann," he said still smiling. How could he smile?

I creased my forehead. "You kidnapped your girlfriend?"

He shrugged. "You can't do anything, Alyssa. The cops won't believe you, obviously and now you are just as useless as everyone else. I've already told you where Riley and Ann are, but just keep in mind that they aren't the only ones I have. I have one other special guest with them that you won't even expect."

"Why are you doing this Peter?" I asked bewildered.

Peter finally frowned. "Because I deserve to be the Alpha. I am more powerful than anyone on this planet now thanks to you. That's it."

"Then what now, Peter Latner?" I said calmly.

He gave a half grin. "If you want your people back, you're going to have to win them back."

I frowned. "Are you saying you are now my enemy?"

Peter frowned again. "I already have an army. Remember those people you fought when you were fighting Edward? Those are my people now. My army."

I sighed. "You can never win, Peter. Even with a big army like that I have something you won't have."

"What's that?"

I stared at him. "Leadership. Everything in it makes me more powerful than you."

"Really?" He said smirking.

I frowned. Peter's big iron fist balled up and flew towards my face. I tried to duck, but my human reflexes were too slow. His fist hit my nose and I quickly fell to the floor due to the blow. I heard a crash and I fell unconscious.