Ivy’s POVHalf an hour later, Luke and I met in our originally agreed meeting point outside the MX Cinema. He was wearing a pair of khaki pants and a checkered shirt, his black hair slicked back.Even though I’d not felt any attraction towards him when I first saw his picture, I’d thought that would change after we got familiar. I was wrong.Seeing him, the first, albeit unwanted, thought in my head was that he couldn’t look more different from Sean. There was nothing about him that made my heart flutter. It was like looking at a casual acquaintance. He was not my type. At all.He smiled as he got closer to me. “Ivy. It’s nice to finally meet you.”I smiled back, hiding my disappointment. “It’s nice to meet you too, Luke.”He opened his arms for a hug and I accepted it. It was light and quick–I had no urge whatsoever to get closer to him. Even his cologne was not appealing to
Sean’s POVI gritted my teeth as I watched Ivy disappear down the street through the windshield. I slammed my palm against the steering wheel and cursed.What the hell? Everything had been going fine. She had been all over me, and she wanted me just as much as I wanted her. How on earth had it turned into this?I could not understand how she could walk away easily after what happened. My body was burning for her, wanting her to stay with me. My wolf was howling for her, the need to be close to her too much.And yet, it was not the same for her. I’d thought tonight would be a game changer–that we’d get closer and develop our relationship further. I hadn’t expected that she’d slam the brakes so hard. God, she really knew how to throw me for a loop.‘It’s all your fault,’ Dax accused.“What?” I snapped. How on earth was it my fault? I did everything I could, but she walked away f
Ivy’s POVPatrons scrambled from their seats as Luke crashed to the ground. Shocked gasps and excited shouts filled the bar as more made their way to catch sight of the action. Many pulled out their phones to record the fight.Luke lifted his head, looking dazed and confused. He had not seen the hit coming, and the next thing he knew, he was on the floor.“Who the hell are you?” he demanded, passing a hand over his jaw.I stepped quickly between them, hiding Luke from Sean. I glared at Sean. “What do you think you are doing?”Instead of answering, he grabbed my arm and jerked me to him. “Come with me,” he said, his voice low and commanding.I yanked my arm free, glaring at him. “No, thanks!” How dare come here and attack my date then order me to go with him? Who did he think he was? “Leave us alone.”“Ivy, I don’t have–”“Sean!” A loud feminine voice that grated on my nerves like a screeching chalk on a board interrupted him. Catherine appeared, wearing a black mini-dress and her usua
Sean’s POVMy jaw clenched and my hands curled into fists as I looked through the window at Ivy leaving with that rat-faced bastard. He hadn’t learned a lesson, had he? Maybe I should have knocked a teeth or two out so he’d know to stay away from her.Ivy smiled at him, her face brightening like she was looking at the sun.It was a week after I busted her kissing him in that bar, and I’d barely seen her, let alone seen her smile. We lived in the same house, and yet, this was the first time I was seeing her since that night.She spent all her time inside her room, with her door locked. When it was time for dinner, she came up with all sorts of excuses to not join us, including claiming that she was unwell.Today, I finally caught a glimpse of her, and it was only because she was leaving the house to go on another date with another man.‘That’s what you get,’ Dax said, his voice mocking. ‘You can only hide in the shadows, watching your mate go out with another wolf. How does it feel?’H
Ivy’s POVMy plan to avoid Sean until I left for college went perfectly, but it was not easy. I didn’t know how much longer I could get out of family dinners by claiming to be unwell.What made me feel horrible was when my mother came checking on me, worried about me. She would ask me to the hospital, but I’d tell her it wasn’t serious.She became worried that I wasn’t happy in our new home, and I assured her that wasn’t the case. If I kept this on, she would intervene more seriously, so I needed to get out of here as soon as possible.I spent most of my time in my room, reading and watching TV shows. It was the best way to avoid Sean. I didn’t want to risk running into him if I went outside. Only when my mother and Ken went to work and Sean left in his car did I dare to venture out.It was a bit extreme, but it was necessary. There were times when I thought about Sean and longed to see him, and I could not give in to those desires again. No matter what, I had to keep my resolve to ke
Sean’s POVI doubled over as the pain wracked my body, reaching deep in my bones. I gasped and grabbed my chest, gasping for air.Ivy, what are you doing?“Sean?” Catherine called, sounding worried. “What’s going on?”She released me and stood in front of me, reaching for my shoulders as I remained bent over. “Sean!”I pushed her away and walked towards the couch, needing something to support me. My entire body was trembling, and it felt like I had a thousand needles pricking my skin.“You are scaring me!” Catherine said, putting her arm around my waist. “Tell me what’s wrong. Should I call an ambulance?”“No!” I barked as I sat down on the couch. “No. I’m fine.”I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, trying to bring my wolf and body under control. Every breath felt like a catalyst to the stabbing pain in my chest. Dax was restless and in agony. I had to maintain control or he’d take over.“I’ll get you water,” Catherine said.The sounds of her rushing around the house reached my ear
Ivy’s POVLuke’s hands moved clumsily between my legs and on my chest, touching me in a way that made me want to swat his hands away. He was like a sloppy child, reaching for whatever was close to him but not knowing what to do with it.In the end, I had to think of Sean to get aroused. While Luke panted all over me like he would blow his load any moment, I allowed my brain to take me back to prom night.I recalled how close Sean had held me on the dancefloor, allowing me to feel his bulge through his pants. Then in the elevator, when we could wait no longer. And finally in his room, when he gave me what I’d been fantasising about all night.I could almost see his thick veiny cock. I could also imagine his voice asking if I wanted to suck it. I could almost taste his salty cum when I finally got him in my mouth. He kept a hand in my hair, urging my movements as I took him deep and then withdrew.The sound of my phone ringing rent through the room, jolting me back to reality. I pushed
Ivy’s POVIn the cab on the way to the hospital, my heart would not stop beating erratically. I was excited but I was also nervous. I was sure of what I was going to do, but the anticipation was mixed in with dread.What if it was too late?I’d done a thorough job of pushing Sean away. I’d told him to his face that I was not interested in him and bragged about going out with another man. I’d shown him in so many ways that I was not interested in pursuing a relationship with him.What if he had given up on us and wanted nothing to do with me anymore? If he rejected me after I confessed, could I take it?I did not have my wolf, but my feelings for him were not trivial. I needed him with an intensity that scared me.Now that I’d accepted my true feelings, I understood why it had been so hard to move on from him. I wondered if keeping distance from him would have worked. Or, would I have ended up feeling so pathetic that I went looking for him?I got to the hospital and headed towards Sea
Ivy’s POVSean kissed me hard, his hand at the back of my neck keeping me in place as his lips ravaged mine. His body pressed onto mine, pinning me to the seat.He used his other hand to capture mine on my lap, making it impossible to push him away. It was a punishing kiss that left my lips feeling raw.When he pulled back, I was fighting for my breath. We stared at each other for a few moments, neither of us saying anything as we sucked in much-needed oxygen.Finally, I was able to make words. “Sean…what the hell–”“Stay away from Ezra,” he ordered me.I paused to take a few more breaths and let his words sink in. “What?”“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I want you to stay away from him,” he said. “I hate him.”“What?” I repeated, feeling confused. He hated him? I hadn’t sensed any animosity between them,
Ivy’s POVEzra was Sean’s cousin. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that coincidence. I mean…I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been a tiny bit disappointed when Sean showed up at the gym earlier.I know that makes me sound shitty but I really wanted to reconnect with Ezra, and I felt like Sean would get in the way of that.Since we left campus and headed to the restaurant, my stomach filled with butterflies every time I looked at Ezra. It was the kind of feeling I got when I was around someone I had a crush on. It could be memories from the past flooding my brain, but it felt like more.I hadn’t felt like that around anyone in a long while. Sure, I was attracted to Sean. But with Sean, it was the mate bond between us that drove my emotions crazy.With Ezra, that wasn’t the case. There was no bond between us, and yet it felt like I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I wanted to talk to him through the ev
Sean’s POV“Here, like this. Keep your shoulders straight…yeah, like that. And always remember to keep your core stable…that’s very important.”I groaned and scoffed.When I showed up to pick Ivy up after her last class of the day, I hadn’t expected to find her getting a one-on-one training session with my cousin.I had to stop myself from stepping in and stopping them multiple times. That bastard was using all kinds of excuses to be close to her. Like now. He was placing his hands on her waist, pretending to be correcting her posture.If it’d been anyone else, I would have ripped their hands from her a long time ago. But this was Ezra, my cousin who I’d always admired. He wasn’t just some sleazy bastard using excuses to cop a feel…right?The more I looked at the two of them, the more he looked like a sleazy bastard.He needed to back off from my mate by at least ten feet. But I couldn’t just jump between them, could I? Not only was my cousin Ivy’s trainer, but apparently, they were o
Ivy’s POVEach pair of students sparred in turn while the rest of us watched and Ezra evaluated their performance. I was nervous about my turn. I didn’t think I was extraordinarily bad, but my partner was the trainer, so I would probably look worse than I truly was.Finally, it was our turn and we took our positions facing each other.“Ready?” Ezra asked me.The rest of the class was watching more attentively than before. I’m sure they were all eager to see what the wolfless half-human was capable of.“Yeah,” I said, raising my hands up to my face.Even though Ezra was taller and stronger than me, I wasn’t scared. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. But I also didn’t think he would go easy on me. Which was fine, because I didn’t want him to think that he had to go easy on me because I didn’t have a wolf.After all, this was a combat exercise in human form. In a real life situation, I wouldn’t be able to choose my opponent. I had to give it my all.Ezra threw the first punch, and I stepped bac
Ivy’s POVEzra walked into the class with an authoritative air around him. The class went as quiet as a graveyard as he made his way towards the group. When he stopped, his grey gaze swept over the class.“My name is Ezra Walker,” he introduced himself. “I’ll be your trainer for this class throughout the semester. I expect total cooperation and discipline from all of you. I don’t like slackers. If you’re not ready to put in a hundred percent effort, you might as well leave now.”He paused, as if giving any people with second thoughts a chance to walk out. When everybody remained still, he continued, “I also expect everyone to respect everyone in this room. In my class, the only thing that separates you from each other is your performance. I don’t care who you are or which pack you’re from. If you don’t play by my rules, I’ll strike you out immediately. Do I make myself clear?”Scattered replies came from the students. Demi, who had previously placed herself in front of the group, slow
Ivy’s POVBefore entering the dorm room the next morning, I stopped outside the door for a few moments. I knew Sam and Eve would definitely have questions about last night. Hopefully, they were not in the room and I could skip–or at least delay–the questioning.Taking a deep breath, I reached for the handle. The door was unlocked. They were inside. I hoped it would just be Becky inside, but as my luck would have it, I found Sam and Eve inside.“She finally returns,” Eve said as soon as I walked through the door.“Ooh,” Sam cooed, “I wonder where she disappeared to?”They looked at each other and wiggled their brows.“Nowhere,” I said, casually taking a seat at the table in the middle of the room. “I met an old friend and got distracted.”Eve hopped onto the table and raised her brow at me. “For the whole night?”I nodded. “Yeah. We had a lot to catch up on.”Eve gave me a smile and then said, “Drop it. We saw you leaving with Sean Harris.”What?“Me?” I asked, feigning confusion.“Don
Ivy’s POVI had to reject Sean.That was the only clear thought in my mind as I made my escape towards the restroom. I had tried and failed to move on from him. My feelings were too strong, and all it took was a small trigger to bring them back to the surface.Since they’d proven too much for me, rejecting him was the only way to end the connection between us. Once I rejected him, I would sever the bond between us. Maybe then, I could move on.Without the bond, I could be attracted to other guys and stop feeling like my world was ending whenever I saw him with another girl. Only then would I be able to look at him as who he was–my step brother and nothing more.It was the best thing I could do for everyone involved. I would be free from this uncontrollable need and unbearable pain. I would no longer jeopardise my mother’s marriage. Sean and I would finally be able to act like proper step siblings.I wiped away tears that spilled down my cheeks. Realising what I had to do hurt. It hurt
Sean’s POVAs soon as I saw Ivy, it was like a switch inside my body got flipped. I hadn’t been a fan of this outing, but suddenly, this was exactly where I wanted to be.My wolf stirred excitedly while my cock twitched in my pants. It was impossible to not crave her instantly when she looked like that.She was wearing a short backless dress that hugged her curves snuggly and left little to the imagination. If I got my hands on her, that dress would be gone in a flash.The problem was that I was not the only one noticing just how sexy she looked. I caught sight of several males whose eyes were stuck on her like glue, the only thing missing was drool down their chins. I had the urge to drag her away and bring her somewhere only I could look at her.‘What are you waiting for?’ Dax growled. ‘Claim her!’I almost jumped forward to do just that. But then, I remembered that she had chosen another male over me. She wanted nothing to do with me. She was likely here to meet her boyfriend.“The
Ivy’s POVI looked away, sucking in a breath. I was trying to act normal, but inside, I was going nuts. My heart was racing like crazy while my mind went blank.Why was he here? I had not thought for a second that he would show up here.“Holy shit, Sean Harris is here,” a girl on the table next to ours shrieked. “Oh my god.”“I swear he gets hotter everyday,” another one said. “Look at him…why is he so handsome?”“Who is that?” Eve asked, following everybody’s gaze.“That’s Sean Harris,” Sam supplied. “He is the famous Alpha that every girl on campus covets.”“Oh,” Eve said. “I totally see why.”All around us, more admirers sang his praises.“Shit, it’s Sean!”“He’s so hot!”One of the girls started fixing her dress to make her breasts look plumper. “I’ll definitely get him tonight,” she said.“Keep dreaming,” her friend told her. “You’ll be lucky if he so much as looks at you.”“What’s that supposed to mean?” the girl asked angrily.“Just saying,” the other girl said. “Don’t you reme