°Amy's POV°
It took all my strength to keep my composure when I saw him again. How dare he show his face after everything I had told him? He stood there, grinning from ear to ear, as the tired driver sped off leaving a trail of dust, as he was already exhausted about the fact that I wasn't complying and then this… With a smug expression, he pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to me as if I was in desperate need of help from the dust. I scoffed loudly and slapped his hand away. “You don't give up easily, do you?” I shot back, folding my arms tightly across my chest. His chest rose and fell slowly, and a cheeky smile lingered across his lips, which only made me angrier. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he insisted, as he casually slipped the handkerchief back into his pocket, completely unmoved by my annoyance. “Hell yeah... how would you know?” I retorted, shrugging and turning away from him. I tried to leave him behind, but he wouldn’t quit, he kept following me like a pesky fly buzzing around a stale meal. I couldn't stand him. “What do you want?!” I yelled, spinning around to face him. He just stood there, calm and unflinching, as if he didn’t notice my anger, or my frowning face. It was unnerving to meet his gaze, I felt as if he was looking right into me. Maybe I didn’t hate him entirely, perhaps I liked him a little. “I want you,” he replied, his voice soft, his breath warm. “Dreamer,” I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes dramatically. What did he take me for? “My dreams always come true,” he said with a smirk, as if he found everything amusing. I scoffed again, shaking my head in disbelief. “And what makes you think I would ever date someone like you? You know, someone with a public third leg,” I said, arching a brow. I watched him flinch slightly at my words, but he quickly recovered, chuckling as if my insult was just a joke. Well, it wasn’t funny to me. “You really are something else,” he whispered, stepping closer. My heart raced for reasons I couldn’t quite understand. Even though it was chilly that morning, every where felt hot…it was just like burning in a cold room. Before I knew what was happening, the distance between us closed, as he leaned in, his lips just inches from mine. I could easily slap him or kick him and teach him not to act like the bad guy around me, but then again, I felt helpless…like I wanted more of him. “What’s the matter? Can’t resist this?” he murmured, as he stretched out his arms wide, making his shirt a little bit tighter as the lines of broad chest and abs could be seen through it, “Now hop in the car or things will get worse for you.” I swallowed hard. Worse? What in the world could he possibly mean? I scoffed, “And what could be worse than sticking around with you?” I asked him as I fixed my gaze on him. “Well, you’re going to be missing out on a great ride in my Porsche unless you agreed to come with me,” he shot back. “Is that so? You think I’d prefer to squeeze into that filthy car of yours?” I back fired. The surprise on his face made me smile mentally—I wanted him to know I wouldn’t back down. “Porsche is not filthy,” he replied, a grin spreading across his face, though I could see the annoyance bubbling just beneath the surface. “Well, as long as you’re in it, it sure is,” I said, turning to walk away. If avoiding his annoying advances meant I had to trek to school, then so be it. I’d rather walk under the sun than suffocate in that car with him! And then it happened—I sprained my ankle. I missed a step entirely, and before I knew it, I was falling to the ground with a painful thud. A sharp pain shot through my ankle, making it nearly impossible to get back up on my feet. Jeremy approached me slowly, looking down at me with a mixture of amusement and something else, maybe concern. It made me more angry to see that smirk on his face as if he thought I was some kind of puppy who had just tumbled down. “Looks like someone is going to need my filthy Porsche,” he said with a playful tone, with a trace of satisfaction in his voice. “Or would you prefer to miss the school test today? I suppose that would be tragic for the school’s genius.” His eyes sparkled with mischief, and I found myself wishing he would just disappear. Before I could fight off whatever offer he was making, he already scooped me up the ground like picking a floating feather from a pond. I was surprised by how warm and strong his arms felt around me. For a split second, I thought about resting my head against his sturdy chest, but I quickly shook that idea away. “Let me go!” I struggled to wriggle free, annoyed at my own weakness. “Say it again and I’ll drop you right here,” he warned, his voice dipping into an annoyed tone that sent a shiver down my spine.°Amy’s POV°I looked at Christian for a long moment, maybe too long. His eyes were steady on me, like he was waiting for something, waiting for me to open up, but I couldn’t tell what he really expected. It wasn’t necessary for him to know, was it? Why did he even want to know? What good would it do him—or me—if I peeled open wounds that I was still trying to stitch shut myself?I sighed, the sound heavy and tired as it slipped out of me. My fingers found the little pendant hanging from my neck, rolling it between them the way I always did when I was nervous. My eyes fell on my lap, tracing the folds of the fabric pooled over my thighs. I stared so long it felt like maybe I could disappear into them if I just kept quiet. Another deep breath left me, rough and uneven.“Well…” I started, though the word got stuck halfway out. My chest tightened as if the air itself was too heavy, like the sentence I was supposed to form would suffocate me before I even got to the first full stop.But th
°Amy’s POV°“What?” The word slipped out before I could stop it. My voice cracked, thin as glass, and I blinked hard, but the tears still came anyway. “What did you just say?”Christian’s eyes didn’t waver. He didn’t laugh it off. He didn’t take it back. Instead, he stepped closer and cupped my face with both his hands, his palms warm against my damp cheeks. His thumbs brushed the tears I couldn’t hide, his touch, gentle and steady.“I said I like you,” he repeated, his voice softer this time, like he wanted the words to sink straight into me. “Very much. More than I should’ve admitted right now. But it’s the truth. And now that you’re here…” His eyes searched mine, slow and steady, “I’ll always be here for you, Amy.”The tears broke loose then, sliding hot down my face. My chest caved in, and before I could think better of it, I threw myself into his arms. My forehead pressed against his chest, and I sobbed into the soft fabric of his green shirt. It smelled faintly like cedarwood an
°Amy’s POV°The silence pressed down on me, so heavy I thought my chest would split open. Lydia’s words still echoed in the room like a bell that wouldn’t stop ringing.“Is he the father of your child?”I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak. My throat felt full of rocks. My eyes darted to Christian, and for a heartbeat, I saw the same shock mirrored there on his face, the same panic tightening his face.And then—before I could even open my mouth—he spoke.“Yes.” His voice was steady, firmer than mine could ever be right now. “The child is mine.”I blinked, my heart lurching. What?Christian didn’t stop. He straightened up, his gaze never leaving Lydia’s. “Jeremy’s just a friend,” he added quickly, his tone smooth, like he’d practiced it a thousand times in his head. “It’s me. I’m the father.”Lydia froze, eyes flicking between us. For a moment, her face was unreadable, and my stomach twisted. But then—it softened. A slow smile spread across her face, wide and glowing, her whole body easi
°Amy’s POV°For a second, I thought my eyes were lying to me. That maybe the tea had done something strange, or maybe sleep had twisted reality. But no—he was there. His voice had already torn through me, raw and familiar in a way that made my chest ache.“Christian!”The name burst out of me before I could stop it. I didn’t think about what I looked like, or the cup slipping from my hands and spilling hot tea across Lydia’s rug. None of it mattered. All I knew was the boy—no, the man—standing in front of me, his wide brown eyes mirroring the same disbelief burning in me.My body moved before my brain caught up. My bare feet smacked against the rug, then the cool wooden floor, and then I was across the room, flinging myself at him like I’d been waiting years for this exact moment.Tears blurred my vision as I crashed into his chest. His shirt was rough under my cheek, smelled faintly of grass and sun-warmed air. I wrapped my arms around him so tightly I half expected him to gasp for b
°Amy’s POV°I just woke up from a short nap.The bus ride felt like forever, though it couldn’t have been more than thirty minutes. I sat beside Lydia, clutching my little pendant like it carried my whole life, which it kind of did. She hummed a tune under her breath, something old and familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Every time I sneaked a glance at her, I found her staring out the window as if the world outside was more interesting than me. But her hand rested over mine the whole ride, steady and warm, like she knew I would bolt if she let go.When the bus finally screeched to a stop, she nudged me gently. “We’re here, darling.”I followed her out, my bare feet dragging against the gravel road. The air smelled different here—less of exhaust and hospital bleach, and more of earth and wet grass. The houses were spread apart, not stacked on top of each other like in town. Lydia led me down a narrow dirt path until we stopped in front of a small cream-painted bungalow with a slanted r
°Amy's POV.°I sat at the bus stop, pressing my hands against my thighs, biting my lower lip as if I was feeling cold…but I wasn't cold, even though my hands trembled and my knuckles turned white each time I clenched my fists.I didn't know what I was doing there, but all I knew was that I was waiting for the next bus to arrive…Yes, I wanted to run, but to where will I go? In a twinkle of an eye I'd lost everything, my mate, my dignity, my mother and my father who I hardly knew…until now when he was just after my powers. Why? He didn't know I was carrying the child of an Alpha, did he? Well, the questions weren't necessary, he's dead for good, and I'm on the run, trying to save whatever face I had left…I wouldn't go back to Jeremy, I wouldn't let him know about this child, I wouldn't trust him a second time or even give him a second chance to ruin my life and yes, I was one of the girls he smelled their panties…The thought of everything shattered me, the public embarrassment, the p