ELODIEHis jaw dropped and closed, and then he gulped. The sides of his ears turned bright crimson. He averted his eyes, hesitation flashing on his face.“Ducky—”I repeated my question; I wouldn’t let him leave without answering that.“I haven’t thought about it.” He responded.“Then think about it,” I said, leaning in so my lips would be close to his. “Can I get an honest answer now?”“One time.” He mumbled.Arching my brows at him, I questioned. “One time?”“Yeah.”“When?”“I thought about what you looked like without clothes once,” he admitted. “It’s not such a big deal. After all, you were different then.”“I was different.” I teased.
TEDROS“Think about it. I will go up now; you can come over to my room if you are ready.” She dashed away before I could respond.Damn it.I could tell that she was going to prepare whatever she wanted in the room. It had been three years since I had a woman, and she was making it seem so easy, but it wasn’t.She had given me an option, and I was allowed to choose if I wanted it or not, but I don’t think she was expecting a no. She was probably in her room, making arrangements for how the room was going to look.My thoughts were all messed up, and I was still worried about what happened to her earlier, even though she had brushed it off.Doing anything to keep myself busy, I picked up the plates and placed them in the sink. I washed them and then proceeded to check if the doors were locked. Glancing around, I tried to find something else to do.
TEDROSWhat was I doing? I couldn’t tell, but all I knew at that moment was that I wanted to kiss her. She had initiated the kiss; that was permission for me to go on. Her tongue slipped into my mouth, hesitant yet demanding. She pushed me back against the bed, her hand still wrapped around my neck and at the same time pressing against me. Although I had kissed her back, I still had that hesitation to deepen the kiss. That intoxicating scent that I had felt earlier filled me again. After the kiss at the church, I still had the feeling of her kiss against my lips, and I wanted to feel it again.Now I already have the chance to have another taste of her.She raised her head, peeling her lips from mine. Her hand slid off her neck, and she peered down at me; her eyes were dark with arousal. Her lips parted, making me throb even harder.Unbuttoning two buttons on my shirt, she slid her hand into it and ran my hand through it. Suddenly, the reason why I came into her room in the first pla
ELODIEThe sun hit my face, prompting me to move into bed. Touching the side of the bed, I tried touching Tedros, but the side of the bed was empty.Opening my eyes, I glanced at the bed, but he wasn’t in sight. Just as I had felt, the bed was empty. I slowly sat up, my back aching as I moved. The memories of what happened yesterday flashed through my head. I barely remember what happened after he thrust in because, after a while, I fell asleep and awoke to find him still there. Pulling the blanket over my body, I got out of bed only to crash to the floor. My whole body ached so much that I could barely stand, but the ache was more in between my legs. I knew he was huge, but I had no idea he was that huge to make me unable to walk. Just how long had he done it? I was sure that I had woken up tons of times and found him on top of me.I wondered where Tedros was; had he already gone to work? I held onto the bed and slowly stood, my legs shaking as I climbed back into the bed. Laying
ELODIEHe did everything okay, but he struggled to help me wash my hair. It took every ounce of self-control not to laugh as he struggled to detangle the loose waves of my chestnut hair that were always down on my back.I was afraid that he might pull out my hair, but he was so patient that I kept trying until he got it right. Moments later, he was helping me dry my hair after he had helped me put on some clothes. I had no idea that he could be so soft and careful. He went ahead and styled them after drying them.“All done.” He announced, raising my hair and dropping it. “How is it?”I stared at my reflection; he had added a butterfly hair clip to my hair, holding a few parts up in the middle. The hair clip color matched my eyes, as did the necklace that I wore.“It’s pretty; I look stunning,” I muttered, honestly. He also picked up clothes that I could wear to the office—broken white and sage green. I rose to my feet and spun around in the mirror. I noticed that my body didn’t ache
ELODIEStunned, I stared at him, hoping that I had heard wrong.“I shouldn’t have done it.” He responded. “I went into the room to tell you I couldn’t do it, but I guess I forgot about it.”What was he talking about? He didn’t act like that the previous night. “Let’s just forget it ever happened, okay?” He raised his brows at me, waiting for a response. Looking away from him, I tried not to snap at him and asked him what he meant by that. It was clear that he didn’t want me, and he even regretted sleeping with me.“It’s alright,” I mumbled, lying. “Aren’t you heading to work? You should get going.”I bit my lips, suppressing the tears threatening to drop from my eyes. I couldn’t bear to look at him, knowing fully well that I was going to cry if I looked at him.“Okay.” He replied.“Was the money in my card enough?” I asked, changing the topic.“It is enough.” He answered.“Okay.”He didn’t move for a few minutes, but when he did, I stared at my reflection in the coffee, and the tear
TEDROSSigning the document in front of me, I crooked my head to the side. That was the document for the meeting I had just finished. There was still one more meeting I had to attend before closing.My eyes trailed to the card that was on the table; it was a black card, Ducky’s card. Seeing the card made me think of her—had she really gone to the office?I rubbed my forehead as the picture of her shocked face filled my head. I had been a jerk; how could I tell her that I made a mistake sleeping with her when she was glad that I did a great job?‘Let’s forget it ever happened, okay?’What the hell did I mean when I said that?Although she hadn’t complained or snapped at me for suggesting that, She had just avoided my gaze; it was more like she didn’t blame me
“We brought the money for the payment of the loan,” I announced this as soon as I stepped into the base of the loan sharks. The building was luxurious, with bright lights that showed around the place. Seven men were in the living room, two sitting and the rest standing. Each of them had a cigarette on their lips.However, the biggest man in the middle of them all caught my attention. He had a scar on his left eye and down to his upper lips. From one look and the scent I had perceived from them, they were werewolves. The biggest man was a beta, and the rest of them were omegas. Yet each of them had a terrifying aura that distinguished them from all the other omegas I had met. Perhaps it was because they didn’t belong to a pack. They were rogues.“Welcome.” The one with the scar said, “So, you are Tedros, the brother of Cole?”Ignoring his question, I gestured for one of the men who had come with us from Elod’s security. He approached me with the briefcase.“We are here to pay back t
ELODIEGlancing at Tedros, I could see he was curious about that. Why had I mentioned it in the first place? Now, I have to talk about it.I was pissed that he had ignored my texts and calls; however, there was still a sense of relief in me. I was glad his look-alike hadn’t shown up when I was alone in the elevator.Also, I was yet to learn what was wrong with me.“I have been counting all the girls you dated,” I answered. “It doesn’t matter; you’ve heard my final answer, and since you weren’t with your phone, I’ll let it slide.”I rose to my feet and headed for the bathroom. “I’ll go shower,” I said but paused halfway. “There are no clothes to change into if I shower.”“You can wear my jacket. It has buttons,” he suggested. “You’re short, so it’ll probably stop at your knees or mid-thigh.”I glared at him for calling me short. “Alright. It would be best if you took off the jacket now. I have to go.”“Alright.”Tedros took off his jacket, and I took it from him before heading for the
TEDROSLeaning my back against the wall next to the elevator, I sighed. Ducky was probably asleep by now. She must have thought about it like I asked her to.Her words couldn’t stop ringing in my head.“It’s because I love you, dumbass!”Dang it.How could that be possible?To be honest, Ducky and I were nothing alike. She got good grades in school, became the top student in all her classes, won all sorts of competitions, and even became the school president.She always shines bright everywhere she goes. She’s a role model for several students. Why the heck did she notice me of all people? An average student who barely passes his math exams.Come to think of it, our paths were nothing alike. She was on the academic path and super intelligent, while I, on the other hand, was on the sports path.I did quite well in sports and won tons of awards too.I had always thought she would go for a more academic guy and not someone like me who couldn’t solve quizzes with her or enjoy the same boo
ELODIETedros' eyes were wide in disbelief as he stared at me. I had just laid out my feelings for him, yet all he could do was look at me like I had said something shocking.“I’m telling the truth,” I insisted. “I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, but you’ve never seen me as anything more than a friend! Even now, we’re married, yet you still treat me as just a friend.”Tedros shook his head, trying to snap out of it. “Are you serious?”“Believe me or not, I don’t care. But I’m not going to let you kill yourself!” I growled.He slowly raised his hand, placing it on mine, which was gripping his collar, and gently pulled it down. “I think you’re confused, Ducky,” he murmured. “Why on earth would you love a man like me? You could love anyone in the world, yet you chose me.”As I opened my mouth to respond, he placed a finger on my lips to silence me. His expression was unreadable.“Think it through carefully. Consider what you really want. Do you want to keep me alive, or do y
ELODIETedros's gaze held mine, a serious look on his face. Had he just asked if I was seeing something no one else could? How could he have traced it back to two months ago?“Am I wrong?” he asked. “What is it that you’ve been keeping from me for the past months?” He paused. “It was the same when you came here, too, right? The vase cut on your forehead wasn’t you, was it? It was them. Isn’t that right?”He knew. He already knew. There was no need to hide it anymore.“That’s right,” I replied. “I can see what other people can’t.”His eyes widened for a second, then slowly turned into a frown.“What do you see?” he asked. “Why don’t you fight back when you see it? Why do you keep letting it hurt you?!”“Because I can’t fight back.”“Why is that?!” he demanded.“It’s way too strong for me!” I answered. “It’s way too strong for me.”“Did you try?” he asked.The question made me pause. Come to think of it, I hadn’t tried fighting the look-alike whenever he appeared.The first time he grab
ELODIEWas she just my imagination? But the ice cream was so real—I could see it. I held up the ice cream for Tedros to see.“Are you seeing the ice cream in my hand?” I questioned. “You can see it, right?”His eyes trailed to my hand, and for a second, my heart skipped a beat. If he didn’t see the ice cream, how many other things had I been imagining?Fear ripped through me. What the heck was wrong with me? I had seen that girl, listened to her, spoken to her, and even touched her. There was no way I could have imagined her.“Yes. I can see it,” Tedros confirmed. “You’re holding the same ice cream I bought you, except I never asked a kid to give it to you.”I felt the blood drain from my face.“Did you see the little girl when you got to the car?” I asked.He shook his head. “Nope.”No?“She was standing next to the window,” I mumbled. “In a pink dress with two braided ponytails?”He shook his head again.“How could you not see her?” I asked, my voice trembling.The cup of ice cream
ELODIEThe culprit had been caught, yet I couldn’t bring myself to ask who it was. The guilt of finding my mate and being married was eating me up. I hadn’t thought much about it, but was I going to have to reject one of them? I shook my head to snap out of it. I was good at hiding my emotions, and I wasn’t going to let them show.“Who was the culprit?” I asked.Even though the culprit was behind the rogue attack, I had been the one to run on the broken glass and jump out the window like that. His look-alike was the one who made me get injured. There was no way I could tell him that, though. I’d let him believe it was the rogue who got me into that condition.Besides, one rogue broke my head and made the glass pierce even deeper.“Are you alright?” Tedros asked.I looked away. “I’m fine. My injuries have healed on their own.” I turned back to him. “Don’t you think I’ve needed medical attention too much? I must be worrying everyone.”He reached out to stroke my head. “We might be worri
TEDROSWalking out of the cell with Jeremy and Mom, I rubbed my temples. That was stressful. I hadn’t gotten enough sleep for days, and dealing with that made my head throb.I wondered how Ducky was doing. Has she woken up yet? I wanted her to wake up, but I wanted her to wake up with me there.“I always knew she was trouble,” Mom said. “She had always been troubled since she was a little girl. Thank goodness she never ended up as my daughter-in-law.”Jeremy groaned. “That’s right. I disliked her too.”I had banished her from the pack, but I still needed to consult the elder of the wolf clan and bring the situation to them. Although Ducky could give her the punishment she wants, another pack could take in Jessica.All I wanted to propose to the elders was to make sure that Jessica never gets into another pack. If that happened, she was still going to be able to come close to Ducky, which I don’t want.“I will have to get an appointment with the elders,” I told Mom and Jeremy. “I will
TEDROS“What the hell?” Jeremy questioned. “The rogue is your mate and happened to be the leader of the rogue attack?! Does that mean you asked her to attack our pack?” he growled.I could sense the anger in his voice as he growled. They had told me nothing about Mira being the person who had led the other rogues to our pack.Jessica said nothing but took the antidote from her mate and gulped down all of the contents.She held her neck and began coughing vigorously. It took several seconds for her to stop coughing.Jeremy wasted no time; he grabbed her, lifted her by the collar, and slammed her against the cell.“Did you ask your mate to attack this pack?” Jeremy demanded. “I heard two rogues broke into the house to find the Luna. They wouldn't have gone there if no one from the pack hadn't told them.”Jessica held Jeremy's hand and tried to stop him from holding her up.“It isn't a coincidence that you had a fight with her the day before and got embarrassed instead,” Jeremy continued
TEDROSMy gaze turned to Jessica, who looked stunned for a moment before tears began rolling down her cheeks.“I think someone is trying to frame me,” Jessica cried. “Why would a rogue that attacked my pack claim to know me when I don’t even know her? She’s been lying all along, and now she’s trying to lie again.”Jessica looked like she was telling the truth, but there was no way I was going to buy her words.“Do you know her?” I asked the rogue.“Yes,” the rogue confirmed. “We’ve spoken to each other tons of times. She knows me too, but she’s pretending not to.”The whole situation was confusing. Jessica claimed she didn’t know the wolf and the she-wolf said she knew Jessica well.I had no idea who to believe—Jessica, whom I knew, or the rogue who was staring at Jessica with a determined look on her face. I could tell something was going on between them that Jessica didn’t want to talk about.“Stop lying!” Jessica snarled. “Just shut the fuck up and stop lying about me.”I stared at