CJMaddox's cold banjo-like eyes bored into his daughter with disgust and back at me with intense hatred. "Stay the hell out of this!" He screamed at her. "You're a fucking disgrace.""Maddox, please heap the blame on me.She's innocent. ""You won't tell me what to do, you cum gargling fuckwit!"I dodged again as he continued to strike me relentlessly, aiming for my eye and yelling at the top of his lungs. "You know what you are? A sex-mad walking vomit, a psycho! a child groomer!" he screamed, his voice echoing across the hallway. "Since when have you been eyeing my daughter? She's just eighteen, for crying out loud.""Maddox, please..""Fuck you!" He landed another punch, and I stumbled backwards pretending to be very hurt. A vein on his forehead became engorged and he let out a guttural roar. If it were possible for him to get me killed, I was definitely about to get my death wish today. He charged forward again and I ducked under his swinging arm.Although I could easily overpo
Lenora Fueled by anger, my dad clenched his fists, aggressively swerving through the mild, afternoon traffic. "Get the fuck out of the road, you coffin dodger!" He pounded his hands on the steering wheel and honked aggressively at an old man behind the wheels of a Ford Mustang who merged into our lane without care. He was so furious in an alarming manner that made me shrink into my seat without daring to meet his gaze and hoped we didn't end up in the hospital."I can't believe what you've done," he kept repeating. "I'm so ashamed and disappointed. Where are the values I instilled in you?"My shoulder slumped and I bit my lower lip to stop myself from bursting into tears. All my life, I've never given him reasons to be ashamed of me. His hurtful condemnation hurt more than a thousand slaps across the face. I felt like a failure for causing this reaction from him."You know what's fucked up? I thought that bastard, CJ, was a good man. I opened my home to a screwup, a backstabber, an
CJIn a crappy hotel room, I paced back and forth, my troubled mind consumed with hopelessness. I'd never felt such bouts of emptiness in a long time. Among werewolves, it was taboo for a male, much less an Alpha, to say he was heartbroken. But there was no other word to describe how I felt right now. I was more than heartbroken; I was devastated.I hated myself right now and everything I represented. For the second time in my life, I let myself get carried away by the same enemy, the same bastard that was responsible for all my problems.Stupid, stupid, stupid! I sank onto the edge of the bed, burying my face in my hands Because of me, Lenora was in excruciating agony. Because of me, her reputation was tarnished. I stared at the video again, groaning in frustration and that familiar feeling of being stripped of my power. My pulse rushed in my ears and I got caught in a mental loop of second-guessing myself. Maybe I wasn't so smart after all. Maybe I overestimated myself. That nig
Lenora A flash of wild grief ripped through me as I collapsed on my bed after drawing the heavy curtains and looking away from the untouched plate of fish and chips on the nightstand. The misery of CJ being a werewolf shocked me to the core, haunting me. The only sound was the occasional sniffle that escaped my trembling lips. My dad wasn't angry as much, instead, he had a sincere concern for me, desiring to help me get over CJ and pleading with me to get over him. A slight shiver made me tremble when he suggested earlier that CJ may have infected me with werewolf blood. I became scared shitless and even Googled the consequences of having sex with a werewolf to get an accurate prediction about what it would lead up to, and how fast I could die. There were no records available and so here I was, laying in this empty bedroom in this empty house with a sickening sense of terror eating away at my insides. Raindrops tapped gently against the window pane, and I pulled the thick co
LenoraStanding in front of my bedroom mirror, my hands trembled as I adjusted my skirt. Anxiety coded my thoughts as I prepared to face the unknown. I didn't know what to expect upon returning to school and wondered who else had seen the damn video.My intestines tangled with several thoughts flying in and out of my head. I wanted to stay back for a bit, but my dad insisted that I go back to school and that the sooner I got over this trauma, the better for me. He had hired forensic experts and investigators to trace the phone number behind the video, wanting justice to be served.Dad and I flew to Eldridge after Esme dropped us at the airport. She hugged me, reminding me to call her and tell her whenever I had a problem. At least something good had come out of all of this, and now, my sister and I were back to being friends and confidants. She was glowing now, and it was scary how falling in love changed people's lives. She never used to be so optimistic and I could see Alex's inf
CJA low groan escaped my lips as I faced the bare walls which had faint outlines of where picture frames used to hang. Lenora's call disturbed my thoughts. I had to conquer my natural reaction of rushing to Eldridge to kill that bastard, Killian.But before her call came in, Mariselle and I were painstakingly selecting the items to pack and deciding which to leave behind, gathering boxes and wrapping them up with tape and bubble wrap because I felt staying here was a mistake. After the call, I stood behind my daughter, thinking through a haze of confusion. Mariselle, who was taking down the photographs from the wall and wrapping them in protective materials, stopped when she noticed I wasn't dismantling our furniture."Dad, what tragedy has befallen you?" she pursed her lips, her gray eyes boring into mine. My mouth twisted in a sad half-smile and I turned away. "It's nothing." She sighed with exaggeration, watching me with a critical squint. "Wow, the master of pretense has arr
LenoraThe brooding danger and panic eating at my heart made my chest feel as if it would burst. Kevin, Linda, and I shivered under Kilian's rough maltreatment. The bastard was so brutal he had to force us down in front of his minions, making us beg like filthy animals with our hands tied behind our backs. My stomach twisted into knots as my teeth rattled. It was the first time in my life I'd ever been beaten or subjected to this torture. Never would I have imagined Killian to be a terrible person. He masked his cruelty and his ruthless personality well and deceived everyone into believing we knew him. We were so blinded by his good-boy persona. After the phone call with CJ, I was on edge, having no choice but to open up to Linda about everything.I met her outside the faculty and drew her aside to avoid anyone interrupting us. She took a seat in the nearby grassy field and waited patiently for me to speak."Girl, what's eating you up?""Don't freak out," I looked around cautiousl
LenoraAt the sight of CJ's wolf, Killian immediately shifted into a wolf. Panic consumed me but because CJ was here, I verbalized the pros and not the cons, feeling a strong awareness of CJ's presence and a biting cliffhanger effect. It felt strange, yet at the same time, right, as if CJ was meant to be my savior. His pupils dilated to reveal his red irises.Good timing, dudeSnapping his jaws open, fear, stark and vivid, made my body tremble. I had never seen something like this before.In a maddening rage, CJ's wolf lunged at Killian's wolf, who swiftly dodged his attack and charged at him again. They tumbled back and forth across the hall like wrestling dogs, snarling and snapping at each other, neither giving the impression of ever winning.CJ down on Killian's hindquarters and ripped out a chunk of meat from the bone with ease. Killian roared in pain, and I knew CJ must have injured some bones because blood sprayed everywhere. Killian twisted in midair and managed to kick CJ
LenoraI was busy making sure that the party was going in full swing and tried as much as possible to avoid Titan. Unfortunately, his charming smile and seductive voice had gotten some females in the house, including the married ones. He flirted with anyone, not caring whether they were married or not, and I was annoyed. I couldn't wait for him to get the hell out of my house.I hated him so much because he was a very good pretender and hated myself for falling for his cheap ploy. The party was over. CJ asked me to show the entourage their rooms. I was about to walk past a room but gasped in shock when he drew me inside and shut the door."What are you doing, Titan?" I yelled, giving him a dirty look. I never knew I was capable of being this angry. I felt like using a knife to stab him.My nasty look didn't stop him. Instead, he was adamant and had an amused smile. "You know you turn me on when I see you mad. I missed your lips, darling. And this is between you and me, but I came here
RubyI couldn't believe that that wicked boy and his father were here. It hurt more that he was sitting at the dining table chatting with my dad, looking so smug and confident as if he had done nothing wrong and was fooling my dad, who didn't know how terrible the boy was.He didn't even glance at me and was acting like I was invisible. I felt a surge of pain. How could people be so cruel and heartless? I wanted to scream at him, to tell my dad and everyone how much he hurt me. But I couldn't do that because the Lycans were very important and powerful, and they were my dad's guests. My dad beamed with pride, and I could tell that he was so happy.I was glad that my sister spiked Enzo's food, and I wished she had done more. I couldn't stand being in the same room with him anymore, so I excused myself to get some fresh air. My mom gave me a worried look but didn't say anything. She was also battling with her demons.It didn't help that Jade and Luca were also around. I didn't want to se
Ruby My niece, Jade, hugged me so hard I could barely breathe. Squealing in delight, she wrapped her arms around my neck, almost lifting me off the ground."Can you believe it, Rubs? We're in senior year! This is going to be the best year ever, especially now that I have a boyfriend," she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with happiness.Pretending to share her enthusiasm, I returned the smile. There were familiar faces here and there, all chatting, laughing, and reminiscing about their summer. I wished I could escape from it all and go back to my quiet room where I could lay in bed all day. I didn't care about senior year or any of the things that Jade was babbling about. I just wanted to be left alone.I was in the bathroom doing my thing when I heard Tammy and the other queen bees of the school walking to the bathroom. They were putting the finishing touches on their makeup and also talking about who was dating whom. My stomach tightened when they mentioned Luca and Jade."Oh my God,
Lenora After the craziness the previous night, I woke up at five-thirty with a splitting headache. Luckily, there were painkillers in the drawer. After taking them, I decided to go for a run to clear my head and escape from the nightmare that had happened last night.I put on my running shoes, grabbed my phone, and checked the flight app again, hoping to find a way out of this hell, but the next available flight was at seven PM, which meant that we had to wait for another fourteen hours before we could leave Bali.Muttering to myself, I tiptoed out of the room without wanting to wake Ruby, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed. She looked so innocent, like an angel, and I felt like a failed mother, for exposing her to strangers who had tried to hurt her.I began running along the beach, feeling the sand under my feet and the breeze on my face. The rising sun painted the sky with orange and pink hues but I couldn't enjoy the beautiful scenery and, despite trying not to focus on what
RubyI sobbed uncontrollably, bitter with myself and that pretender, Enzo, who ended up being everything I never thought he'd be. He seemed harmless, but little did I know that he was up to no good.My mom led me out of the nightclub, her eyes wide with fright. Although I suspected she was a bit tipsy from her stumbling movements, she still managed to hail a taxi and shove me inside.I hated her. I hated her for making me come to Bali with her. I hated her for encouraging me to explore and have fun. I hated her for being a hypocrite and a liar.But I couldn't tell her these things, so I kept quiet.We arrived at the hotel, and she locked the door behind us and turned on the lights. She looked at me with concern in her cornflower-blue eyes."Baby, what happened?" She asked softly. "Did that boy hurt you?"I glared at her through my tears. "And how's that any of your business?"A gasp escaped as if I'd struck her, and her face paled with tears gathering in her eyes."Don't raise your vo
Lenora The first thing that hit me when I stepped into the nightclub with Titan by my side was regret. Unable to fill my lungs, my thoughts turned inwards. I didn't know what it was, but it felt like Titan was controlling my mind, taking control of every cell in my body and keeping a tight grip on my consciousness.When I got to the door, I realized just how stupid I was acting. After CJ called me earlier, I decided to stay away from Titan, knowing that I was growing an attraction for him, but here I was in the club with him, ready to dance the night away. He took my hand and gave it an appreciative squeeze before releasing it.The music was too loud, and the lights were flashing everywhere, making it impossible to see past the crowd, but Titan's eyes were glued to me as if he wanted to see what was under my clothes.I didn't belong here. Maybe if Ruby hadn't gone out for the karaoke night with Enzo and I had someone to talk to, I wouldn't have agreed to come out with Titan.But when
Lenora An adorable smile appeared on Ruby's face, and Enzo grabbed her hand as they ran off, laughing. My daughter looked so happy and carefree, and I could tell she was into the boy. I couldn't blame her. The young man was dashingly handsome, with eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. His hair was parted neatly on one side of his head, with a few tendrils that had escaped, falling onto his forehead. He had a well-built body and strong arms.Standing beside his father, I stole a glance at him. His eyes lit up with a warm smile as he watched the children."It seems our kids are really into each other," he smiled, thrusting his hands in his pockets."It seems so," I cleared my throat and smiled back. But when Titan leaned closer to me, my body froze with paranoia, my blood started beating rapidly, and my heart skipped a beat as though it wanted to escape from my chest."You know, there's something very unique about your girl. Something I can't quite place my finger on," he reac
Ruby I was as high as a kite. The vape was so powerful, and it made me feel dizzy and lightheaded. Enzo was high too, and he was smiling, talking, and even touching me."Enzo, please. Let's go," I tried to push him away, but he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. Then he planted a kiss on my neck."Come on, don't be a sourpuss. We're having fun, sweetie."My body shivered, and I pushed myself away from him. "I really have to go to my mom."Adding enough strength, I stumbled away from him and towards the hotel, hoping my mom wouldn't be in the room. But when I opened my door with my key card, she was on the couch watching a movie on the TV.My heart skipped, and I hoped she wouldn't notice. She merely looked in my direction and waved at me. I sighed in relief when I snuck into the bathroom to wash my face with cold water.After failing miserably to sober up, I snuck into the bedroom and hit the bed, pulling the covers over my head and closing my eyes.I woke up hours late
Ruby I ran into my mum at the hotel lobby, just as I was coming back from the beach. She looked surprised to see me and flustered, like someone running away from something."Darling Where have you been?" she asked. "You need your sunscreen so you don't get sunburned," she said in a motherly voice."I was at the beach. What about you? Where are you coming from?" I asked, staring at her flushed cheeks.She smiled sheepishly and glanced around. "Oh, I was just... sightseeing. You know, enjoying the beauty of Bali."I raised my eyebrows and smirked. "Sightseeing, huh? With whom? That man?"She blushed and shook her head. "No one, just by myself."I didn't believe her for a second. I knew she was lying but decided not to confront her about it. I didn't want to ruin our vacation. Besides, it was none of my business. She was a grown woman, and she could do whatever she wanted except cheat on my dad."Come on, let's go to our room," she grabbed my hand..We entered our room and locked the do