Ivy's POV.I couldn’t stop thinking about it.The way Brandon had leaned in so casually, as if asking me to let him have me was the most normal thing in the world. As if it was inevitable. Like sooner or later, I was going to give in, and he was just waiting for me to accept it.The worst part? The way my body reacted. The vivid images that flashed in my mind, so clear, so intense, I could almost feel them.And he knew.He had smelled it.He had teased me for it.He wanted to touch me. And I—I would have let him.If the driver hadn’t interrupted. If we hadn’t gotten to school when we did. If the moment had stretched even a few seconds longer, I might have let it happen.The realization made my stomach churn.What the hell was wrong with me? What was I becoming?And why was it him, of all people?I absently nudged a fry across my plate, my appetite long gone. The cafeteria was filled with its usual chaos, students laughing, sneakers squeaking against the tiled floor, trays clattering a
Ivy's POV.The moment I stepped out of the office, I pulled out my phone and searched for the official announcement for the competition. My fingers flew over the screen as I skimmed through the updates, my heart picking up speed with every line I read.This wasn’t just some regular oratory contest anymore. What was once a two-day competition had transformed into a five–day competition, drawing in representatives from elite schools across the country. Winning didn’t just mean a trophy or bragging rights. It meant connections. Recognition. And, most importantly, a massive advantage in college applications.A 75% increased chance of getting into an Ivy League school.I exhaled sharply, my grip tightening around my phone.This was everything I had been working toward. My golden ticket. My chance to secure my future, to carve out a path beyond this town, beyond the weight of everything that had been dragging me down. This competition was my way out.But there was just one problem.It was
Ivy's POV.“No.”I met his gaze head-on, my heart hammering in my chest.Even though I wanted it.Even though my body reacted to the way he looked at me, to the way his voice dipped lower, to the way anticipation curled low in my stomach against my will.And I hated it. I hated the fact that I wanted it.Brandon didn’t look disappointed, not even annoyed. If anything, he looked amused, like my refusal was expected but irrelevant.“Well, asking was just for formalities,” he murmured, and before I could react, his hand slipped under my shirt.I sucked in a sharp breath, my entire body tensing at the warmth of his palm against my skin. My mind screamed at me to push him away, but I just stood there, frozen, helpless against the rush of sensation overtaking me.His fingers moved with ease, skimming over my ribs before cupping my breast, squeezing just enough to send a shock of heat through me. I bit down on my lip, hating myself for the way my body reacted, for the way my back arched into
47.Ivy's POV.Brandon stayed true to his word.It was unexpected, but he actually made an effort. He showed up to our tutorial sessions on time, brought study materials, and even wrote study notes that significantly lessened my workload. If I was being honest, he was incredibly efficient, probably even more than me, and I was surprised.But no matter how hard I tried to concentrate, my mind kept circling back to that first day. To what we did.Brandon, however, acted like it never happened. He never made any reference to it, never tried to touch me again, never even looked at me in a way that suggested he remembered. Our relationship was now cordial and what was supposed to be normal.I was supposed to be grateful for that. But every time he sat next to me, completely unfazed, a frustrating part of me wished he would.It was annoying.The day before we were supposed to leave for the competition, I decided to spend the evening with my mom. She was recuperating well after losing the
48.Ivy's POV.Flying first class should have been exciting. It was my first time, after all. The plush seats, the endless drink options, the kind attendants who seemed determined to pamper every passenger. It was a world away from what I was used to. Everything about it screamed luxury, from the warm hand towels they handed out before takeoff to the menu filled with dishes I couldn’t even pronounce.And yet, I couldn’t enjoy any of it.Not when Brandon was sitting directly across from me, his gaze fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.I refused to look at him. I kept my focus trained on the window, watching the clouds shift and stretch across the sky. But it didn’t matter. I could still feel him, his presence pressing into me like a heavy weight, making it impossible to forget what had happened last night.His hands. His mouth. The way he had looked at me afterward, like he owned every reaction he had pulled from me.My breath hitched slightly, and I pressed my th
Ivy's POV.One of the girls in the group scoffed, folding her arms as she turned to Aaron with a skeptical look. “Oh, please. You’re just trying to get close to her so you can steal her points. Everyone knows she’s the most brilliant one here.”A few students chuckled, nodding in agreement, but before I could even process the compliment, another girl shook her head.“I don’t know about that,” she said, crossing her arms. “Ivy isn’t the most brilliant here, Brandon is.”Dude, I'm standing right here.The conversation immediately shifted. A few murmurs of agreement rippled through the group, heads nodding as students exchanged glances.“Their school must be ridiculously lucky to have two prodigies like them,” one of the guys mused, adjusting his glasses. “Most of us don’t even have one.”“Right?” another student chimed in. “I mean, their parents must be over the moon that they’re stepsiblings now. Imagine raising two geniuses under the same roof.”I stiffened slightly at that, my finge
Brandon's POV.I couldn't remember the last time someone had irritated me as much as Aaron Vaughn.Last night had already been bad enough. He had walked up to Ivy with that smug grin, acting like they had some kind of history when they didn’t. They talked like they were old friends, like he knew her. He had been all over her, throwing compliments left and right, making her laugh in a way that made my stomach twist in ways I didn’t want to acknowledge.And now, in the dining hall, he was at it again.I watched as he pulled out her chair before she could even reach for it, acting like he was some kind of gentleman."Here, Ivy."She smiled as she sat, completely oblivious to the way he looked at her, like she was something special."Thanks, Aaron."I clenched my jaw.Then, as if he hadn’t already pissed me off enough, he leaned in, eyes warm with something that made my blood boil."You look really pretty this morning," he added, voice smooth, too smooth.Ivy smiled in response. "Thank y
51.Ivy's POV.Telling Brandon off was a stupid decision. Reckless. One made in the heat of the moment, driven by anger instead of logic. Because at the end of the day, I knew exactly how this would play out. I was the one who would lose.I lay in bed all night, staring at my phone, debating whether to call him, text him, anything to smooth things over. But every time my fingers hovered over his contact, I forced myself to put the phone down. I wasn’t going to be that desperate. I refused.Morning came, and I dragged myself to the dining hall, my stomach twisting in anticipation. I expected to see Brandon already there, sitting in his usual spot with that unreadable expression, waiting for me to break first. But when I reached the table, his chair was empty.My heart sank.Was this his way of punishing me? Not showing up at all? Letting me sit here and overthink everything? What if he was planning to sabotage the next round completely? What if he threw the whole competition just to ge
Amari's POVArlena kept begging.Her voice was raw from too many screams, too many desperate cries. She clawed at the filthy floor with shaking hands, her tears leaving streaks across her hollow cheeks.“Please,” she sobbed, her whole body trembling, “please. Not them. Please, not them.”She sounded broken. Shattered into pieces so small she couldn’t even gather herself anymore.But my father stood there, unmoved. His arms folded neatly across his chest. His face didn’t so much as twitch at her cries.“Do it,” he said again, his voice sharp enough to cut through steel. “Now.”There was no emotion in it. Just a cold, demanding order.Arlena shook so hard I thought she might collapse again. But somehow, she forced herself to move. She wiped the back of her shaking hand across her face, smearing dirt and tears across her skin, and pushed herself up onto her knees.Her mouth opened, and a low, broken chant spilled out.The very air around us shifted. The walls seemed to pulse in rhythm wi
Amari's POVI wasn’t even sure when things started to change between us. It had been slow and gradual. But it was there now, clear as day. He treated me differently. He spoke to me not because he had to, but because he wanted to. He listened, and I mean really listened. He laughed when I told a joke and even remembered little things I said, things I didn’t think he cared about. And it was all starting to make me feel something I didn’t expect.Hope.I stood by the window, arms folded lightly over my chest, eyes fixed on Brandon down in the courtyard. He was practicing archery again. His stance was solid and his movements were smooth.Every arrow he shot sliced through the air and each one landed dead center which made him look ten times more attractive than he already was.I think I was starting to get lucky.“Are you falling in love with him now?”I turned sharply at the voice, and all the warmth drained out of me in an instant.My father stood in the doorway. Arms crossed, jaw tig
Amari's POVDays passed, and little by little, I started to notice a change in Brandon. It wasn’t anything dramatic or obvious, not at first. But it was there, subtle, and almost easy to miss if you weren’t looking closely. But I was. I always was.I saw it in how he started being with Bella.It used to be that he barely acknowledged her, only offering her the occasional distracted nod or completely ignored her. But now? He actually paid attention. He went out into the garden with her in the mornings, letting her chatter endlessly about the bugs she’d found or how high she could jump. He started teaching her archery. At first, he just showed her how to hold the bow properly, but then I saw him actually crouch beside her, correcting her stance gently, patiently.Bella adored him. She always had, but now it was like she was getting the version of him she’d always deserved. And he was trying. For her. For once, it looked like he was actually trying to be a father.Even at dinner, he di
Amari's POVI screamed.It came from somewhere deep and full of everything I’d been holding in for far too long. I didn’t even think before I grabbed the vase and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall with a hard, cracking sound, exploding into pieces that rained down like glass rain, sharp and glittering.I didn’t stop there.The table next to me, decorated just this morning with fresh flowers, went flying too. I kicked it hard, sending it crashing to the floor, the wood cracking with a split that echoed around the room.The lamp followed, my hand curling around the base before I smashed it down onto the floor with enough force to make it shatter.Then the photo frame.That one made me pause for a split second, just long enough to see the smiling faces frozen behind the glass. Me, Brandon and Bella. I didn’t care. I threw it with even more force than the others. It hit the wall and shattered, glass and photo separating mid-air, falling in different directions.Six years.Six f
Amari's POVThe grand dining hall shimmered under the soft, golden glow of the chandeliers. The light bounced gently off polished surfaces, crystal glasses, silver cutlery, and the golden designs along the edges of the table.The scent of roasted meat, herbs, and wine filled the air, settling over everything like a blanket meant to comfort and impress.I sat next to Brandon who was seated at head of the table, dressed in midnight-blue silk. My hair was pinned up, and I wore the same polite, polished smile I’d been holding since the first Alpha arrived.Beside me, Brandon looked composed enough. His suit was neat, though his tie had taken some convincing earlier. His expression was blank, his eyes dull, but he was sitting upright, eating slowly. I considered that a win.My father sat at the other side of Brandon, directly in front of me, like he always did, confident and regal.Seated with us were three visiting Alphas from smaller packs. They looked a bit overwhelmed by the size of th
Amari's POVBella giggled as she stabbed at her fruit slices with her tiny fork, completely focused on chasing a grape around her plate. Her face was a mess, syrup smeared around her mouth, a little on her chin, some even caught in her curls. I smiled and reached over with a napkin, wiping her face gently. She squirmed and giggled harder, but didn’t pull away.“Sit still,” I murmured, laughing softly as I cleaned the last of the stickiness from her cheek.She gave me a look, and then went right back to her fruit. I leaned back slightly and took a bite of my toast, chewing slowly as I watched her.Mornings like this almost felt real. Something normal families had. It was nice to pretend like I wasn’t neck-deep in secrets and schemes, tangled up in power plays I hadn’t asked to be part of. For a few quiet minutes, it was just me and Bella, a simple breakfast, and the illusion that everything was fine.Then the doors slammed open, the force of it echoed through the hall, and we both fl
Amari's POV6 years later.“Mummy!”The sound of Bella’s voice echoed down the hallway, breaking through the quiet afternoon and pulling my attention away from the book I’d been reading. I looked up just in time to see her tiny figure racing toward me, curls bouncing wildly with every determined little step.She came barreling in like a force of nature, bare feet, messy dress, cheeks flushed with excitement, and launched herself straight into my arms. I caught her with a soft laugh, lifting her up and holding her close.“There’s my sweet girl,” I said softly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She smelled faintly of flour and sugar, and her small arms looped around my neck like she never wanted to let go.She giggled, wriggling excitedly, the kind of energy that made it clear no nap was happening anytime soon. But just as I opened my mouth to ask what she had been doing, the front door opened and Brandon stumbled in. The scent of alcohol hit before he did, clinging to the air l
Brandon's POV Ivy crawled over to her mom slowly. She was shaking all over, hands trembling as she knelt down and pulled her mom’s head into her lap. Her fingers hovered over her mom’s face for a second, unsure, before finally brushing gently across her cheek, like the soft touch might somehow bring her back.“Please wake up,” she whispered, her voice breaking halfway through the words. “Please, just wake up.”Her hands were barely steady. She kept touching her mom’s face like she was trying to memorize every part of it. Her thumb smoothed over her mom’s forehead, then her temple. And all the while, Ivy’s whole body shook like she was coming apart from the inside.I stood there, frozen. Watching her fall apart in front of me. It felt wrong to even breathe.Her voice cracked again as she whispered something else, but it was too low to hear. Her shoulders shook harder now, her head bowed over her mom’s, and I could see her tears falling, soaking into the blood-smeared skin below her.
Brandon's POV We were hidden in the back of this old, dusty cabinet, with a musty smell like it hadn’t been opened in years. Ivy was pressed in beside me, knees drawn up, her back hunched forward to keep from bumping the wooden panels. We’d been there for a while, waiting, and barely breathing. Honestly, I had planned to come here alone because it was going to be clearly dangerous. But of course, Ivy wouldn’t have it. She insisted, practically begged, and when I tried to shut her down, she just kept pushing until I gave in. And now we were both stuck in this tiny space, our knees brushing, her shoulder tense against mine.She didn’t say a single word. Neither did I. There wasn’t anything to say. We both knew what we were walking into. Or at least, we thought we did.Then we heard several distant footsteps. We both froze, and I carefully moved my hand, adjusting my position just enough so I could peer through the narrow crack in the cabinet door. The light outside was dim, the room