It felt like the world was crashing down on my head. I could see it happening but I was rooted to the spot, my legs unwilling to move. No matter what I did, no matter how fast I wanted to run, the crash was going to happen and there was nothing I could do about it.I raced all the way to Ken’s house after my conversation with Zach and Zayn, eager to figure out the truth, to know what had truly happened last night. On getting there, I saw Fallory’s truck parked in his driveway so I decided against walking in like I often did. I rounded the corner, making my way to the back door, only to discover it was slightly ajar and that was when I heard them talking. Zach and Zayn weren’t lying. Everything they said was the truth but I had been wrapped up in the bubble of faux romance to see right through Ken’s disguise.For the first time in my life, I wanted to feel what it was to have someone desire you in ways you wanted. Maybe my mother’s condition left a gaping hole in my heart that I de
As a young girl growing up in the Silver Reed pack, I always felt like the black sheep. I was different, and I knew it. Maybe it was because of my red hair that blended in among all the blonde wolves, or maybe it was the fact that I always felt more comfortable with books than with the pack's usual activities. Nonetheless, I never thought they would hate me so much and the worst part of it was that, there wasn’t an end to the constant bullying. Everything changed when I was caught in a room with a rogue. Nothing happened, I swear, but they didn't believe me. They called me the whore of the pack, disgusting, and accused me of sleeping with him. From that moment on, I was shunned by everyone. No one wanted to be seen with me, talk to me, or acknowledge my existence.At school, it was even worse. They bullied me every chance they got. I was an easy target and didn't have any friends to stand up for me until I went to college and came back to see that my mother had gotten married to the
They helped me up and into a chair Maya had brought before turning to face Fallory and Dina who were standing in fear of what might happen to them. “You’ve taken this too far,” Zayn began, his voice loud and thunderous. “You’ve constantly flaunted our orders without any regard for me or for my brother, neither do you have any respect for our authority and you’ve proven it despite the fact that we’ve overlooked your excesses and asked you to turn the other way whenever Ari is involved.” “You just tried to murder her after everything you’ve done to her and I don’t think Zayn and I can continue to look the other way any longer.” Zach said this time around. I held the pack of ice against my head as I listened to every word coming out of their mouths. For as long as I could remember, Zayn and Zach have been dating Fallory and Dina. They were rarely seen without each other and the common thought of every one in the pack was that they were going to be mated soon and take their place as t
“You can’t be serious, Zach.” You’re going to leave me after everything we’ve been through?” Dina said, her voice cracking. The color had drained off her face and if it weren’t for the fact that this was a serious situation, I’d have burst out in laughter. Fallory’s face wasn’t any different. The color has drained off her face as soon as Zayn broke up with her as well. They had connived to ruin me but the tables had turned on them so fast that it was getting difficult for me to control the excitement coursing through my body. “We were only having fun with her, Zayn. We never meant for it to get blown out of proportion in the manner it did.” Fallory pleaded, trying to save what was left of her relationship. Zayn and Zach didn’t look the least interested in their pleas, their minds were made up and nothing was going to change it. “We’ve been meaning to break up with the both of you and this only propelled you into doing it earlier than we intended. For what it’s worth, I think you
I couldn’t help but look around the castle as we walked across and towards the staircase made of marble. Its opulent grandeur had caught my eye and that wasn’t just all there was to it. The castle itself was the epitome of architectural perfection, you could find no fault in it. The golden and crystal chandeliers, display of marble-covered floors and columns, and intricately decorated wooden furniture were a sight to behold. We walked past a foyer decorated with one of the golden chandeliers dropping low from the ceiling covered with architectural designs detailed expertly. I caught myself before I could let my hand roam over the plush velvet carpet, the silk upholstery, and the sculptures placed at strategic locations in the room. The estate was simply breathtaking and I could now understand why they never let me in here in the first place. This place felt ethereal, like a place pulled from a fairytale book. Maya had told me that they built a new castle when I left but I’d been l
Zach and Zayn were nowhere to be seen and after going through every possible location concerning where they would be without getting lost in this massive house, I felt justified enough about skipping dinner and spending the rest of the day in my room. They brought me here without giving me an explanation and they purposely ignored my presence throughout the entire day. This act only served as a reminder that they were likely never going to tell me why I was here. I was already feeling antsy concerning the number of bodies in the castle and the possibility of going out there to face a group of strangers didn’t sit right with me. Some things were never meant to be and this was one of them.“Is there anything I can get you, miss?” I heard a maid ask as soon as she opened the door to my room after knocking twice before entering. I smiled at her, having now become comfortable in her presence. It was still too sudden but she was now like the older sister I never had. “I won’t be comin
I reluctantly agreed to let them inside. It wasn’t like I had any other choice. I already opened the door and they knew I was awake, besides, there was nothing stopping them from forcing their way in if they decided to go down that route. My best guess was that they wanted to talk to me about a couple of things and I had issues to address with them as well. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to be civil with them for a couple of minutes and hear each other out before the emotions started to run high—especially mine. “I’ll let you in on one condition and you only have one option and that is to accept my verdict.” I said. “Do you really have to be this dramatic, Ari?” Zach sighed. “What’s your condition?” Zayn said. “No funny business in here and I meant, both of you,” I warned, pushing the open enough to accommodate both their large frames. “I’m not a circus clown, Ari.” Zayn chuckled as he walked past me. “You should tone down on your Hollywood movies, Ari. They’re bad for you.” Zach added
The days were moving faster than I had expected. I hadn’t left my room in a week and despite the maid’s best efforts to get me to do something else other than wither away in here, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything else at this point. No matter how depressing it looked, this was a comfort to me now and I found solace in it. It was starting to get concerning but I had no idea when this cloud hovering over my head would clear up but until it did, I was going to be in here. Besides, no one had any use for me around here so I wasn’t going to be missed. I hadn’t seen either of the twins in a week much to my relief. I was informed by a guard that they had embarked on a trip with the Alpha and they would be home soon.I sighed, the source of my misery returning meant that I would have to fake my happiness around them but I didn’t know if it was going to work this time around. I was already at my breaking point and I couldn’t take any more.I heard a knock on my door and it was thrown
Lying down on the raw concrete, I could feel the walls closing in around me. I felt the vicious pounding of my heart banging repeatedly against my ribcage.I shut my eyes tightly. I could still hear myself yelling out in pain over the cacophony of a billion shards of glass as the freakishly large man slammed my head into the mirror. I couldn't bring myself to bask in the pain I felt. I had little or less time to figure out what this was all about before I would be dead.I didn’t tell anyone where I was going—it wasn’t like Maya was in the mood to talk to me and while I understood her annoyance, a small part of me was glad that she didn’t bug me when I left the house this morning but now I wish she did. I couldn’t tell where I was, the scent wasn’t a familiar one and given how easy it had become for foreign faces to walk in and out of the pack, I could’ve been transported to anywhere while I was out. Instinctively, I touched where a shard of glass had cut me. The wound had been band
"Do exactly what I say or you die." I had lost my touch. That's what happens when you allow yourself to be caught in unfortunate situations.I could feel my heart racing despite my best attempts to compose myself.The accent was masculine and sounded gruff. There was no quake or tremor in the man's voice. His tone sounded calm and detailed. This was no hoax, if I went out of line, I would die.The thought of that alone terrified me. "What do you want?"I asked fearfully as the cold steel of his blade pressed into the small of my back.I needed a distraction. My first instinct was to lean into the hilt and spin sharply to his right, turning the knife away from my body. The man was probably left-handed, he would need a second or two to adjust his aim and that was enough time. He would be exposed on his right-hand side and I could land on a blow through that exposed gap giving me enough leverage to break his arm and bury the knife into his forehead.Old memories.But the woman who co
“Words are cool and all but don’t expect me to believe anything that has just come out of your mouth, Ken,” I said. “I would be surprised if you did but I didn’t come here to lie to you.” He said. “The last time I lapped up every word you said, you tried to drug me and rape me. And when I found out that it was all part of a bigger plan involving the five of you, it was already too late because it had already triggered the chain reaction that led to the sex video being circulated in the pack without my consent.” “Ari, I—““Don’t interrupt me, Ken. Let me finish before you say anything else.” I snapped. I knew what this was like and I wasn’t going to give him the room to lie to my face some more. I wanted to lay down rules and if he wasn’t pleased with it, the door was wide open for him to walk the fuck out the same way he walked in. “Okay,” He mumbled and fell quiet. “Firstly, I don’t trust and I don’t think I ever will trust you after what you did to me but that’s beside the poi
I walked away and they didn’t bother to call me back. I figured that they wanted to leave me alone or they were tired of chasing me around. I could tell that they were both angry that I wouldn’t give this up but I didn’t care. I wasn’t doing this for them and if they wanted to save their reputation, they didn’t have to help me. I could do it all by myself and if things turned out ugly, I’d take the punishment myself and without anyone’s help. I mean, it wasn’t like I was a crowd’s favorite around here anyways. My reputation here was cooked and what’s one more dent in my already broken shield? It wasn’t going to matter much either way. Even if I was ridiculed by everyone, I had no intentions of staying here—not after what they did to me and besides, I had a whole new life to return to when my mother fully recovers. I made my way out of the State Building and debated on where next I should go. I thought about heading to the hospital but I wasn’t sure Alpha Jason would be pleased with
“You should’ve said something or you could’ve walked in.” Zach frowned. “What difference would it have made?” I asked, looking at them. “For what it’s worth, we’re glad that you’re here. We had plans to talk to you before we resume for the day.” Zach added. I wanted to argue further but it seemed pointless. I had to listen to what they wanted to say first before adding anything. I had a couple of questions for them as well but I didn’t want to push it until I understood everything going on. “Come in then,” Zach ushered me in, while Zayn closed the door. I made my way to the couch while they remained standing. “Is there a problem?” I asked, unable to stay silent any longer. I didn’t like the way they were looking at me and sharing glances between themselves, there was something I didn’t know yet. Something that they didn’t mention while I was listening in on their conversation. “Our father told us everything you said about Beta Jude and we want to confirm if what he said is t
I had no more words to say so I simply nodded and made my way out of the room. If he wanted proof, I would go out of my way to make sure I found proof. My guts rarely let me down and I knew that this wasn’t one of those moments when I regretted listening to my gut.There was something in here and I only had to dig deeper to find out what it is and put all of this to an end. I had nothing against Beta Jude, he seemed like a nice guy and he had a great family as well. People loved him in the pack but the man I saw in that building had a different personality altogether. I would figure it out eventually. I wasn’t going anywhere for the time being and my studies in college would have to take a backseat right now. “I thought you’d be out until tomorrow,” Maya said as I walked in through the front door. “Only if you want me to sleep on the streets. Alpha Jason asked to take the night off today while he looks after her.” I answered, falling face-first on the couch. “You don’t sound go
I watched them walk away and I knew that I couldn’t wait until tomorrow. I had to tell someone about this and suddenly, Alpha Jason came to mind. He had instructed me to come to him if I had any piece of information that was vital to finding who poisoned my mother and there was something suspicious about Beta Jude and a mysterious man talking in a place like that. Small margins mattered and I wasn’t going to ignore them. I made my way back to the hospital, hoping to meet Alpha Jason alone. I made it past the guards standing at the entrance without any fuss before entering the room. Alpha Jason was sitting on a couch, his eyes glued on my mother who was still sleeping peacefully. “Has she woken up yet?” I asked softly as I took the empty chair next to him. “No, not yet. The doctors keep reassuring me that she would but I don’t care about their words anymore. It means little to me these days, you know?” He sounded broken and on his face, I could see the pain I held in my eyes too
The tears were flowing freely right now and there was nothing I could do to stop it much to my annoyance. Deep down, I knew that they weren’t lying but I didn’t want to admit it because I didn’t have the room to feel weak right now. I had to be strong for my mother because if she were in my shoes, she would be doing the same thing for me and I didn’t want to be caught lacking. The thought of quitting flashed through my mind but I quickly discarded it. As soon as I felt a lot better, I would go back and talk to the Alpha twins once again and I was sure that we could agree without having to fight because I needed this.I heard voice speaking—muffled voices but I knew that they belonged to two grown men but I couldn’t make out their faces from where I was. I didn’t know what I was going to be eavesdropping on but as I wanted to move away, I heard a name being called. “Alpha Jason.”He was my step-father and if this was a conspiracy involving him, I had to get in on the juicy parts.
Alpha Jason stared at me, debating on what verdict he would give after hearing everything I’d said. I was hoping that he wasn’t going to turn me away because I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I didn’t just need this because I didn’t trust Zach and Zayn, I also needed it for myself. I was going to lose my senses if I didn’t find something to keep me busy and there was nothing more befitting than looking for the person that poisoned my mother. I need that motivation and Alpha Jason’s approval was key to getting it. “I’ll let you do this on one condition, Ari.” Alpha Jason said. “Whatever the condition is,” I said. “The moment something goes wrong, I want to be the first person to know about it and I want it to come from you—not my boys and most certainly, not a third party either.“I give you my word,” I said. “They’re at the state building, just tell them I gave you the clearance to join them and they will explain everything you need to know.” “Thank you. Look after her fo