40LUCIEN’S POV.I immediately turned back into my house, locking the door. What the hell was Monica doing in my street? How did she get to choose this place in all the unoccupied houses in New Orleans?Then I clenched my fists as I began to suspect it for what it was. It had been planned, and Angelou was definitely in on it. Whether or not she had deliberately made it to New Orleans, I knew she coming to live as a neighbor was definitely deliberate. Did she think I’d ever look at her? Did she think I was going to fall in love with her or pronounce her as my mate if I saw her on a daily basis?I called women like her leeches because they stuck on so hard, refusing to leave unless certain measures were taken against them, and that was very annoying. I thought I had escaped her by leaving her domain, who knew she’d follow me all the way to where I lived?A low snarl left me and I went back out the door, locking it securely. People like her were the type who would happily break into some
41MONICA’S POVI sat on the couch in my living room watching it get filled up with furniture by the humans I had paid to do it, thinking of Lucien. I had called a taxi immediately he had left and had made sure the taxi man drove crazy on the roads just so we wouldn’t lose sight of Lucien and I had scanned his neighborhood for houses, looking for who was likely to sell their houses or pack out so I could move in after receiving a handsome sum from me, but luck was on my side. There was an empty house and it happened to be right in front of Lucien’s house.Now that was fate.Maybe something was wrong with our wolves and they weren’t howling to each other? That couldn’t be possible. We weren’t mates but that didn’t mean we couldn’t be in love.It seemed like Lucien was going to be a lot of work, and despite myself, I began to doubt if I could actually have him because he drastically changed after leaving my home. Although I had seen the signs, I had not expected it to be as hard as this
42LUCIEN’S POVWhat did she think she was doing? Why was she sitting in my house comfortable instead of going back to her house? Did she think it funny? Was it that easy to be an unwanted visitor in someone else’s house?He needed all the time he could get with Adria and she was there sitting and making pointless conversation?Adria looked at me like she was wondering if she heard me right. Why would I want a moment with a meighbour I had just met that day? And I didn’t want her to know how I knew Monica because I didn’t want her to feel uneasy at all.It was definitely going to be a little intimidating when the man you loved had someone who was just like him and understood him better than you ever would, and I wasn’t going to let that happen.Monica looked at me in surprise, not expecting me to say something like that, but when I stood up, she didn’t hesitate in standing.I took her to my store where I was sure Adria wouldn’t hear us.“Get to the point. What do you want?” I asked, a
43ADRIA’S POVEver since Lucien returned, we had even become closer and our age difference could not even be considered a barrier. Although, day by day, I secretly got worried as students seemed to question our relationship with their stares.If it was known that I was in a relationship with a teacher who taught a class I took, it would not be convenient for Lucien as the school would query him. It all boiled down to the fear of favoritism and although Lucien was not someone like that, the school didn’t know him the way I did so of course our relationship had to be kept secret.The only reason people weren’t openly questioning our relationship was probably because of Miss Darcy, a female professor who almost all the male students were head over heels for. Miss Darcy was easygoing, great with conversations and was always seen with a male student, talking to them about whatever troubles they were facing. The same went for Miss Lester but she was a little careful with the male students,
44MONICA’S POVI got up from my chair and started to pace around my room with my finger on my chin. I had to think fast. What was the quickest way to Adria? I already knew she had three friends who always flocked around her and honestly it could make my mission a lot harder. If she was always with her friends, there was no way they’d like to let someone new in.Or if I could seduce one of the guys, then it would be possible for them to let me in, but then I didn’t want to stoop so low as to seduce a human and also it would be bad if Adria mentioned anythng about me dating her friend to Lucien. That wouldn’t be too good so instead I had to think of something fast.I resented her a lot for daring to love someone like Lucien but there was no other way than dallying with her. The thought of divulging Lucien’s secret to her also crossed my mind because I knew humans got scared the moment they found out about our true identities but I didn’t want to risk Lucien finding out and staring at m
45ADRIA’S POVAlthough I was grateful to see her fighting for me, it was a little weird to hear her call me her friend. We barely knew each other, and even though she had said it just to get the girl off my back, everyone would expect us to hang out together and I wasn’t sure how my friends would take that.You know, among friends who’ve been together for a long time, it’s kind of hard to let someone new in.“I shouldn’t mess with you? You’re hilarious. You come to school one day and decide the smartest kid in college is your best friend, who doesn’t want that? Well, let me tell you, Adria here has people she mingles with so I’d suggest you should be the one to sulk somewhere and not to mess with me because you do not know me at all and the first thing you’d want to know about me is that when I get real angry, I get real violent!” The girl shouted, and I saw Monica’s face turn red.“What!?” Monica shrieked.“Monica…” I called softly, rising to my feet and putting a gentle hand on her
46ADRIA’S POV“Why do you think so?” I asked her immediately and she sighed.“I do see him take a lot of girls into his house. At first I didn’t suspect him. I thought they were all going to him for tutoring, but thinking of it, they were too much for tutoring. Everyday is a brand new girl going through his door or coming out, and they’re always female. So, when I saw this post, that was exactly what came to mind. I think he’s the one that’s been talked about.” She explained, staring at her phone which was still in my hand but I found it quite hard to believe.There was no way Lucien was juggling students. I rarely saw him with any other girl except me. He felt for me. I saw it in his eyes. Although I knew that was what girls who ended up being played always said about the guys who had deceived them, I just couldn’t believe it.Lucien couldn’t lie. He wasn’t that kind of person. Even if he truly had girls going in and out of his house, it was probably for tutoring. Yeah, he was hands
47ADRIA’S POVI wasn’t sure what her stare meant but it felt like she wasn’t pleased with me hanging around with Monica. The last time she had asked me about Monica, I hadn’t really said much like we were close so she was probably thinking I was friends with Monica and refused to tell her or she thought Monica was taking up my time and I wasn’t really hanging out with them.Well, Monica wasn’t at fault for that, Lucien was.Immediately I thought that way, I felt guilty. I was the one at fault for not being able to split time between my friends and my boyfriend and now Stacy looked like she felt Monica was the one secretly taking up my time even though she had known her for only a week.I wanted to signal to her but she looked away and the car sped off.My hands found my phone in the pocket of my jeans and I immediately dialed her number but her phone was switched off. Did Stacy really think I would trade her for Monica or choose anyone else over her?“What’s wrong?” Monica asked, and