C3

I opened my eyes and saw Kairo watching me. He was sitting at my small desk, his huge body looking way too big for the wooden chair. He had his pants on, but his bare chest was on full display. I could not believe last night. I had liked him since my first year at Moonridge Academy, and I never thought he would ever notice me. Until now.

My body felt totally sore, a sweet tiredness settled deep in my bones. I felt so happy. I smiled at him, but he did not smile back. Something tight squeezed my chest with worry.

I pulled the sheet up to cover my naked body and sat up. "Is everything okay?"

"I have to go," he said. His voice was completely different.

"Okay," I murmured, trying to read his face. He was like a stone wall. "When will I see you again?" I pulled my knees to my chest, feeling scared but wanting to fight for him.

"That is not a good idea," he said. My heart sank, and total confusion hit me. He wanted me last night. I felt it.

"Why not?" I asked. Usually, I would run away from rejection, but with him, I wanted to push his buttons. "Why not, Kairo?"

"Because you are in way over your head, Nia," he snapped, sudden anger burning in his eyes.

"I don't understand," I whispered. "Please talk to me."

I felt so pathetic, begging a guy to talk to me in the early morning light. But the sudden change was breaking my brain. Last night was perfect.

"What is there to talk about?" His voice sounded like an icy winter wind. "It was just a fuck, Nia." He smirked, but my mind refused to believe it. "After all, your family is great at sleeping their way around."

He stood up fast and started grabbing his clothes from the floor. He put them on, never looking at me, and walked toward the door.

"What are you talking about?" I cried out.

An awful pain started spreading in my chest, making it hard to breathe. Tears made my eyes blurry as I watched his big back turn away from me.

"Your mother destroyed my pack family," he said, turning his head. Those blue eyes were colder than ice. "She slept with my father and ruined our lives. She took a mother away from Kellan and Zuri. It cost a Queen her life."

His words felt like a hard slap to my face. My mom would never do that. She was a good moon healer! She followed the pack laws perfectly.

"I don't understand," I stammered. I was twenty-one, and I waited a long time to lose my virginity. I refused to believe this was a mistake. He never looked at me with disgust before. I had liked him for three years. "You did not have to sleep with me just to tell me this," I choked out.

Breathing hurt so much. The man who held me so gently last night was gone. He burned everything to ashes. He used me as a toy. He was cruel and ruthless, just like the scary stories people told about the Supreme Alpha.

"But I did," he growled, his voice low and scary. "Imagine my surprise when I found out you were Zuri's pack-bond roommate. You fell right into my lap like a pretty little gift." He stopped and stared at me. "Your mother ruined my family. What better way to pay her back?"

I stared at him, my poor heart breaking into pieces. It hurt so bad. How did I miss his hatred?

"You are a sick bastard," I snapped, using the only mean words I had. I had no idea why my mother would do anything to the Adeyemi pack. I never even heard their name until I met Zuri on our first day of school. This was a horrible coincidence. "And you are pathetic! You could not find a better way to get revenge than to sleep with the daughter of your enemy?"

He moved like a flash of lightning. In one blink, he was right over me, gripping my face tight. His eyes flamed with pure anger, cutting into my soul. I flinched, wishing I was stronger.

"Watch it, Nia," he whispered softly, but the threat was terrifying. "I made you scream my name in pleasure last night. I can make you scream my name in terror just as easily. Then you will see how sick I can be."

My breath shook, but a stupid, desperate part of me looked for hope. If he made it feel that good last night, maybe he cared a little bit. If he hated me, he wouldn't have tried so hard to please me, right?

"Why?" I forced myself to ask.

"Why what?" he snapped, looking annoyed.

"Why did you sleep with me?"

"You wanted me, and I wanted you," he stated plainly, like he was talking about the weather. He cared more about fixing his jacket than my shattered heart. "Now that I have had you, I am satisfied. I can move on to the next girl. Besides, it was a double win. I got to sleep with you and get my blood oath retribution."

My chest throbbed, every breath squeezing my lungs. "That is so cruel," I whispered, my voice shaking. "Making love should be about caring, not hate."

"Nia, we just fucked," Kairo said coldly. "Nothing more, nothing less."

How could he say that? It was everything to me.

"Besides, you were so easy," he added. I stared at him, totally confused. "Your mother took from my family, so I took from your mother."

He turned his broad shoulders and walked toward the doorway, leaving me behind like a piece of trash.

"It wasn't just that for me," I whispered, humiliating myself even more. His words were clear, but my heart physically ached.

He stopped walking, his big body stiffening, but he did not turn around. This morning was a total nightmare.

"If I knew you were going to be a jerk like the other boys at school, I could have just saved my time and slept with them," I blurted out. "Pack matches fall apart all the time. My mother shouldn't have done it, but it takes two people to cheat. Maybe they loved each other! You couldn't do all this just because two adults had an affair. What could possibly be worth this?"

"Ask your mother. She caused deaths that can never be paid back. Be glad I let you live."

He looked over his shoulder, his icy gaze giving me shivers. Even after those mean words, my stupid body still wanted him. It had always reacted to him this way.

"Do you want the truth, Nia?" he asked, leaning his huge frame against the door, completely blocking the exit. He slid his hands into his pockets, his face hard and scary.

"The truth?" I echoed. The passionate man from last night was completely gone. Now he was a cruel stranger filled with burning hatred.

"The truth, Nia, is that you were just a willing pawn for my revenge," he growled. "My mother lost her life. Your mother took from an Adeyemi, and we always settle the score. Neither you nor your mother should ever play with wolves."

My eyes filled with tears as the door slammed shut. I had put my whole heart on my sleeve for this monster.

It would never happen again. For anyone.