LOGINWooo! The tension is thick enough for a knife to cut through. Whose side are you on though? Team Ronan or Team Evander? Drop a comment and tell me why!
~Valerie~The silver lighter in my pocket feels like it weighs fifty pounds. Every time I move, the cold metal digs into my thigh, almost hitting the exact spot where Evander’s hand had been the night before. It’s like a reminder that I’m carrying a piece of him on me, a trophy I never asked for but can’t seem to throw away.I look toward the bar, where Rikky is working. She’s across the room, slamming a tray of shots onto a table for a group of patched members. Her movements are stiff, her shoulders hunched up to her ears. Even from here, I can smell the hurt coming off her, a sharp, sour scent that cuts through the thick smell of grease and hops. She doesn’t look at me. She’s acting like I’ve already betrayed her, and the worst part is, she isn’t entirely wrong.To leave the lighter on the table would have been a public rejection, but to keep it? Keeping it is an admission. It’s accepting the claim he just staked in front of the whole room.The environment in the pub has shifted. It
~Valerie~ The air behind me shifts, getting heavy and hot. I don’t have to turn around to know Ronan has reached the center of the room. He stops just inches from my back, his presence like a wall of fire. I can feel the heat radiating off his massive chest, a scent of winter wind and old leather wrapping around me. Across the room, Evander hasn't moved. He’s leaning against the railing of the stairs, his tattooed arms crossed, watching us both with a dark, satisfied smirk. I’m being pulled in two directions. Ronan’s presence behind me makes me feel safe, like he’s a shield against the rest of the world, but it’s also suffocating. I can still feel where his teeth sank into my neck last night. Then there’s Evander. His gaze from across the room makes me feel exposed, like he’s stripping the clothes off my body with his eyes, but it makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever been. I’m paralyzed. I’m terrified that if I breathe too hard or move too fast, the thick concealer on my neck wi
~Valerie~The sun hitting my face feels like a personal attack. I wake up with my body feeling heavy and sore, my muscles aching in places I didn’t even know could hurt. For a second, I’m confused, lost in the fog of sleep. Then I move my head, and a sharp sting in my neck brings it all back.I reach up, my fingers trembling as they graze the skin. The bruise is there. It’s thick and swollen under my touch. I scramble out of bed and rush to the mirror, pulling my hair away from my throat.I gasp. It’s worse than it felt in the dark. The mark Ronan left is purple and loud, a messy blotch right over my pulse. It looks like a brand. It looks like a claim. Every time my heart beats, the bruise throbs, reminding me of his teeth and the way he growled into my ear.After taking my bath, I spend forever in front of the glass. I dig out the heaviest concealer I own, dabbing the thick cream over the mark until the purple turns into a flat, pasty beige. But it’s not enough. The skin is still puf
~Valerie~I strip my clothes off in the dark, letting the denim shorts and the thin tank top fall into a heap on the bathroom floor. I don't care about the mess. I don't care about anything except the weight of the water I’m about to put between me and the rest of the world. My skin feels like it’s vibrating, a low-frequency hum that starts at the bite mark on my neck and ends deep between my thighs.I step into the shower and crank the handle until the water is scalding. I want it to burn. I want the heat to match the fire Ronan and Evander started in my blood. As the steam fills the small room, the scent of the Alphas rises from my skin one last time, woodsmoke, winter air, and tobacco, before the soap washes it away.But the memory is stuck. It’s etched into my nerves.I lean my forehead against the cold tiles, letting the hot spray beat down on my back. My hands are trembling as I lift them, my fingers tracing the line of my throat until they hit the swollen, tender skin of the hi
~Valerie~The taxi smells like stale air and old plastic, but it isn’t enough to drown out the scent of what I just did. I’m huddled in the corner of the backseat, my hand clamped tight over my neck. Every time the car hits a bump in the road, I wince. The bruise Ronan left is throbbing, a deep, hot pulse that tells me he didn't just bite me, he branded me.My skin feels tight and itchy. It’s the dried slickness of Evander’s touch. It’s everywhere. I feel heavy, used, and completely messy.I grab my reflection in the window, panicked. I look like a wreck. My hair is wild, my lips are swollen, and my eyes are too bright. I immediately start pulling my curls forward, draping them over my left shoulder. I need to hide that mark. If anyone sees that dark, purple hickey, they’ll know. They’ll know I was pinned against a wall by a man who is supposed to be my guardian.I feel like a criminal hiding the leads to the evidence.I reach into my bag and pull out a pack of wet wipes. My hands are
~Valerie~My legs are fucking Dede. Every step away from that VIP area feels like I’m dragging my body through thick, hot coals. My inner thighs are slick, sticking together with every stride, and the air hitting the wetness between my legs is a sharp, cold reminder of what just happened.I’m shaking. Not because I’m scared, though I should be, but because my nerves are fried. My skin is still humming, vibrating from the way Evander just handled me. It’s a raw, scorching heat that won't settle.I stumble down the back stairs, my heels clicking like a countdown on the wood, and duck into the staff locker room. It’s pitch black. I don't turn on the light. I can't look at myself in the mirror right now. I don't want to see the flushed, wrecked face of the girl who just let the Vice President finger her into a mindless puddle while she was supposed to be pinning away for the President.I lean against the cold metal of the lockers, gasping for air that smells like old gym bags and industri







