ZADEOlivia is mad.I wouldn’t blame her, I have been subtly avoiding her as I take care of this mess we are in.“Did I do something wrong?”I hate seeing her mad or making her uncomfortable.“I have been up and down dealing with this mess. You haven’t done anything wrong,” I pull her to me, kissing the top of her head.I used to feel good holding her. I used to love being in close contact with her, touching and even fooling around constantly. As werewolves, we are highly sexual and tactile so as much skinship as we can get, we welcome it.Now I am getting no joy holding her. A big part of me desires to keep her at a distance and not touch her because she doesn’t feel right.Because she isn't her.I think Olivia is starting to notice it too because she pulls away, giving me her back. She wipes a tear away, crossing her arms. I feel like a dick for doing this to her.“I thought that I could ignore it but you can't even hold me without thinking about her.”There is only one person who h
ARII have hardly slept the whole night.So when I hear the knob of my dorm room turn, I am wide awake, alert; but I am too slow because the door bangs open, and before I jump from the bed to the living room, I am tackled down on the floor before being hauled back on the bed.I am not weak, but I haven’t eaten for days too, so the assailants easily overpower me.Five girls to one.They are all wearing ski masks, but I know who it is even with the masks. Two people have promised me to make my stay here so much more interesting, and one of them is making it true to make their promise so early in the morning.She is carrying a bucket. I am struggling and trying to fight off the girls who have me pinned on the mattress, but I can't. So I am immobile as she tips the bucket, and ice-cold water that must have been from the freezer drowns me.The cold hit me, and I gasped, trying not to drown. I am soaked from head to toe, but I still struggle until the girls start hitting me.Punching and ki
ARII am a ghost, fleeting through lives and not even living. I get told to go this way, I do. When I am told to jump, I do.The only color and life that is in my life is the fact that I will be done with this life when I graduate. I thought it would be when I turned eighteen but no. That came with being told I had to mingle and be like the rest of the kids. Be like the legacies.The owner of the life I am living.Owners. That’s how I feel about them. Nothing in this life is mine. I don’t feel like I belong. I don’t wish to. I lost my home, I lost myself and right now I am only going through the motions.Sure, I act and show my mother that I am normal. I put on a fucking smile when I need to, and I laugh and tell a joke when it is needed. All for her not to look at me too closely. Not to question my character because then she might see me. The real me.Then she will see the real daughter she has.Dead. Hollow. An empty shell grasping at life even though I am failing to hold on.I find
ARIIt’s all happening too slowly, yet my whole body is frozen. My eyes widen as his face slowly closes in and his lips press on mine.They are soft, cushiony… and very hot. I can feel his breath on my face, the way he smells, closing me. Before I can control myself, I close my eyes, one hand touching his chest that’s inches away from mine, leaning in.It's hard ... defined ...I part my lips, and his tongue brushes inside my mouth, causing me to shiver and a moan involuntarily escapes from my lips, my knees getting weak.Just as I relish this feeling … this alien warmth I have never felt in my life … it gets ripped away and I am left panting, seeking it but the cause is stepping back, putting some distance between us.Zade looks at me with a cruel smirk, those silver eyes so dark and cold I think I might turn to frost as he spits down.“just like your mother and yet you say I shouldn’t do, what?” he wipes his lips like it's disgusting, no. Like I am disgusting before he sputs again.
ARINo beauty of the morning can melt away the anguish and the coldness slowly seeping inside my heart.“oh my!” my mom’s high-pitched exclamation makes me wince a little.“Hi Mom,” I murmur, tugging my lips into a smile as we hug but before I can sit down, she pulls me closer to her.“Whatever happened my baby? Have you been crying?”I nod, looking down, and when she pulls me for a hug, I feel the tears prickling again at the back of my eyelids. I squeeze them shut, not wanting to start another crying session. I missed my mom.I let her hold me until I am ready that’s when we pull apart.The visitor's court is set up like a restaurant, with an actual restaurant and tables under fancy umbrellas and green lawns.“I am so sorry baby, I should have come sooner,” she grips my hand and I frown.“What?”“I heard that you got mated but he rejected you,” she looks so guilty. “This is all my fault.”“How is this your fault?” my words come out a little sharper than I intend to and I notice her
ARIOn the flyer I was given, Evencrest Academy- the name scrawled out in big bold letters, it was made clear from the beginning that it would be nothing like the human schools I attended so far.Sure, it has only wolves, but they all come from different packs under one massive tree: the legacies.The legacies themselves are in the official pack- the Phoenix pack where Mr. Parker is the alpha, the king alpha, and his son zade, is the future alpha prince.With all the royalties going to the academy and the top of the cream pack daughters and sons of the pack members going there too, the curriculum is bound to be special and top-notch.Or so I expected.Today, there is a sort of trial going on.Yep, the school has an annual cull that happens after every red moon and the reason is to eliminate. One would ask themselves to eliminate what? After all, the students here are people who say death would cause shakes and disturbance. But no, this is a special type of trial.This is where all tho
ZADE“She is going to kill her.”Rowan, my best friend snickers as he continues playing against me in the video game we are matching up against.“She is not going to kill her, because she knows that she is not supposed to,” I correct him, as I defeat him in the game.“Rhea said they are going to be jumping her, do you think she can survive that?”I know his twin sister is a menace and Livie’s best friend. Maybe Rowan is right, that the girl mated to me might be in danger tonight.“Dude, how lucky are you, being fought for by two hot girls, all wanting to be your mates?” Castiel, my other best friend's shoulder bumps me from my right side, as he takes the controller from Rowan's hand and starts another match against me.“he doesn’t want the new girl, he is set on only Olivia, his childhood sweetheart,” Logan who is seated behind us watching us play sounds so bored by the conversation, and his sarcastic tone grates on my nerves.“says the guy who is being driven crazy by a girl,” I stan
“Why do you hate her so much anyway?” a girl who is wearing all black asks as she crosses her arms, looking so bored.“Rhea, she is mated to Zade. What other excuse do you need to support me on this?”Rhea shrugs. “That's enough, it's just that she looks so pathetic. She is shaking.”“And? When has that ever stopped you from stepping on a cockroach?”Rhea shrugs again. “you're right. Let's do this I need to catch up with my show.”“do you think Zade might get back on us for this? I know you are not worried since you are his girlfriend and all, but I don’t want to get on his bad side,” the third girl looks at Olivia with wide baby blue eyes.“Katie, focus,” Rhea snaps her finger on her face.“zade doesn’t mind. He told me to have fun tonight right before he gave me this,” Olivia raised a club stick.“I see why you two are a match,” Rhea rolls her eyes.As they have this conversation, Olivia is still pulling my hair, and then she presses the club on my face.“Should I ruin your face fi
ARIZade is letting me take what I need from him, this time letting me have my way on my terms.It has been that way from the very beginning, but tonight, it's like he wants me to take care of myself using him and, in a way, take care of himself too, by using him.So when I guide him and press him on my opening, we both freeze, breathing heavily before I urge him with a pull of his hips to push inside me.And heavens, it feels delicious. The stretch, the feeling of him opening me up as my walls accommodate him until he is fully seated inside me …I contract, squeezing him, feeling the girth inside me and I want to swallow more of him, suck him in and keep him there … it’s a heady, good feeling.“Why won't you love me?” The hoarse whisper makes me open my eyes just as Zade looks at me. He is …crying?“What?” I ask, eyes wide.“Why did you say you can't love me?”“Because,” I shift, and we both groan. His hips jerk in response, and he starts moving slowly. He has forgotten about the que
ARIWhen the body is exposed to extreme cold, at some point, it stops supplying the less important parts with blood in order to save the vital organs.It has been quite similar to me. I have spent most of my life just functioning, and apparently it has been necessary for my body to cut off supplies to some of the things anyone my age would deem normal to have.There hasn’t been a case where I could feel anything other than flight and flight. But eventually, here I am.My body is thawing, slowly coming to life, and it feels so good.Zade’s tongue is slicking inside my mouth, seeking and touching every crevice inside. His body is pressed to mine to keep me up, one thigh pressed between my legs, one hand grabbing my butt, hips flushed.I am weak at my knees. I want him, I can feel him, and I am floating. I know I am kissing him, but I am also falling and falling, feeling safe that he will catch me.It’s a dam that has been let loose.He is mine. I shouldn’t feel this way. I should feel g
ZADE“But then it will be another, then another… if you can be swayed so easily, then is it even worth it?”“I wasn’t swayed easily. You and I know that there is more to us than a bond between mates.”“Hard to believe that when all that connects us is that.”“Our parents do connect us, too. Do you think we wouldn’t have crossed paths if we hadn’t been mates?”“We could have, but you would be intent on killing me or destroying my life like you did at the beginning.”“That’s true. But you can just chalk up my feelings and invalidate them, simplify them to one variable.”“It’s the only thing that is making sense. I mean, here I am, sitting in your love sanctuary, surrounded by your memories with her, and yet you are telling me it's me you want. What about her? Why was it so easy for you to just leave her?”“If you hadn't shown up, I already knew it would rather be her that I pretended with, cosplayed my inner wishful thinking even though it wasn’t true.”I close my eyes briefly before lo
ZADEThere is something dark, alluring, and compelling about Ari Silvers that I have never been able to fully comprehend.Her beauty and magnetism are not the traditional kind. It's raw, demands that you see her, revere her, and ache to be close to her, so you can bathe in it.She is beautiful in the traditional sense as well, but then you look again. And again, and again. You are drawn in, wanting, needing, desiring, and even wanting to corrupt.She is pure, she is dark, she is innocent, but also twisted. She is all that you wish you could hold and covet to yourself, but you cannot. For it is not to be held by others and coveted, stolen, but to be looked at, worshiped, and if you are good, to be bathed in.But never yours.She is sitting on the rooftop.I followed the feeling of our bond, and I am surprised, a little unsure why she would be here. This is where she fell, almost to her death after all.Her knees are pressed against her chest as she looks at the far distance, lost in wh
ZADEI stop behind one balding man, I think he is here because he is a legacy. Not the official family but still as important. I can see the sweat trickling down his neck into the stiff, tight suit he is wearing.If I wasn’t so sure before, now standing behind him as he reeks of fear … it's solid. My hand goes through his back, and I touch the organ that’s beating and warm in my palm.Gasps echo around, but no one says a word, as they look at me with horrified expressions, save for my father, of course.“This man,” I turn to Jude, “you missed this man.” My fingers close around the beating organ and pull my hand back. The body shakes, twitching before his head thumps on the table like a log. The scent of blood permeates the air, thickening it with the tension and fear pulsing in the room.I walk over to Jude and let the organ fall on his file, and he looks at it, eyes wide. I am sure he isn't breathing. After all, I just killed a legacy, and he has a lot of mess to clean up.And also,
ZADEWe are back to ignoring each other.Or to be more precise, Ari has gone back to hating my guts and ignoring my existence. And when she sees me, when our eyes meet, those first two seconds, time seems to slow down, and it's only us. The world fades away, and it's us, and I usually get this feeling in my chest, this heavy thing that is threatening to drown me, but in a sweet way.It's only us, as if we know something, just the two of us, and then the moment is snapped and broken, and she is back to scowling at me, rolling her eyes.But I know, those few seconds, where it is only us, when time stops and we only see each other, feel each other… that is the truth of us.She told me she wanted devotion and then proceeded to lock herself in the bedroom before she left early in the morning, even though we did spend the night together.I didn’t sleep, not when she was in the next room and I knew she wasn’t asleep either. I listened to her breathing, every turn and twist in the bed.I list
ARI“What's going on inside this little mind?” his voice is so close to me, nose brushing my temple.I should feel something. A tingle, but I am so damn tired. All I want is to sleep, forget that I exist for a few hours before I start going back to my life. I can't escape it anymore, now can I?“Nothing,” I sigh. “I am just a little sleepy.”Is he expecting more from me tonight?I wish I had the girls with me. They would allow me to be in your space. Maybe I should call them, text them, but I don't have my phone. I remember crashing it in the hotel suite before I walked out into the traffic.Maybe I am not as okay as I think. But getting a grip is important.If I am going to avenge and face the people who ruined me to begin with, I can't let go of the reality. I need to be focused and work hard to make sure they don’t destroy me before I destroy them.I know I am not going to come out of it. The plans I made to go study law as further studies, get out of the pack and live my life as a
ARIMy life is a mess.It’s a fucked life, painful, dry, bland, void of colour.I am ugly too, rotting slowly inside, underserving of anything good because that’s just what is set in stone for me.Despite it all, despite feeling all of that, as Zade looks at me like I mean something, like I matter … I can't help but want to be under that gaze for a longer time.He is looking at me how he used to look at Olivia, like he might love me, like I mean something. He wants to know if I am okay, taking care of me, a gentle, caring touch on my cold, withering soul.I don’t deserve it, and yet.I yearn for it. Crave it. I can't not shudder under it.“Do you want me to ask you?”Yes. I want him to ask me. I want him to push for me to tell him what's going on in my head. For him to fight for me. I am selfish like that. Mother didn’t say anything untrue, because here I am, asking and taking what doesn’t belong to me.I came into this life, took Olivia’s man under fate’s guidance, and yes. It hurt.
ARII don’t think I have ever truly let myself think deeply about Zade, who is becoming, and his birthright. I am not one to attach my identity to the boy I am seeing or crushing on, and in this case, the boy I am mated to.But it's still heavy. I find it … sexy that he is already so mature, powerful too, and it's only going to get even better.Yes, I think I am crushing on Zade, and I can't control choking on my water once that fully hits me.“Are you okay?” he asks me as he rushes to my side, rubbing my back.“Yeah,” I wheeze out. “Guess I am a little surprised.”“Why?” he chuckles as he gets back to cooking.“The first thing someone sees when they see you is how spoiled you are.” That’s not true.The first thing I saw and felt when I first laid my eyes on him was just how magnetic and powerful he was. Yes, you could tell from miles away that he is wealthy, but it wasn’t the kind I got from the rest of the students.No, his was the quiet, generational wealth that just didn’t come fr