HANNAH
The moment I stepped through the gates of my school, I felt too exposed and too conspicuous. I wanted badly to put yesterday's events behind me, but just a few minutes in school, and I knew it would not happen. People stood in groups, whispering to each other while staring or shooting glances at me. Those who felt no need to hide the fact that they were talking about me kept pointing at me as they spoke. I held myself straighter and looked over their shoulders as I walked. The whispers, the pointing, the stares... I had already gotten used to them. I was the pariah here, the traitor's daughter. I knew it, and I didn't really care as long as I wasn't pushed around the way I had been the previous day. The only thing I was really concerned about was staying out of Asher's way. Asher. The thought of him sent a searing pain through my chest, and I clutched my backpack tightly. Last night, I had not slept a wink. Asher had known exactly how to punish me. He had been intimate with another girl. I couldn't tell if it had been Julia or someone else, but he had made sure he punished me by having sex with her all night. The pain I and my wolf felt had been so horrible it made me shudder to think about it. I had almost reached my locker when I heard peals of derisive laughter, laughter that sounded a lot like what I had heard from Arlene and the others yesterday. I didn't have to look far for the speakers. They were three girls, talking animatedly, with their backs to me. "...She lied, of course," the short one said with a toss of her head. "He can never be her mate, even in her wildest dreams. I'm not surprised that she's a filthy little liar. I mean, what can one expect from a traitor's daughter?" The second girl barked laughter. "Her dreams must be wild indeed to think she can ever be anything to the Asher. The girl is not even good enough to be Asher's maid." The third girl opened her mouth to respond but looked over her friend's shoulder and spotted me. "Ah. There she is." Fear froze my muscles, and then panic took over the moment I knew I was the one they were talking about. My mouth fell open, and my mind whirled as I realized several things. People knew that Asher was my mate. Asher had warned me never to let a soul know about it. I was in big trouble if he found out, and I was sure he already had. Fear gripped me, and I thought of my options. Asher would no doubt think I had spread the rumour. He would hurt me. He was that cruel. I was sure of it. The only thing I could do was to ditch school before he found me. The trio of girls were saying something to me I wasn't listening to. I took a step back, turned and ran smack into Asher. His look of hate and anger sent chills down my spine. "Going somewhere?" he said in a strangled sort of voice. Not a sound made it past my lips. "Follow me." My vocal cords unlocked enough for me to say, "I swear, I didn't tell anyone." But he was already moving away, and I had no choice but to follow. My knees were almost literally knocking together. I was scared, so scared of what he would do to me. But it turned out I actually had no idea of how vile Asher could be. Asher marched past the cafeteria, outside the building, and towards the woods behind the school. He went deeper into the woods. It was lonely and silent in there, and it made me think of everything that could go wrong. I could get hurt, and no one would hear me scream. "Asher," I said, choking on a sob. "Please, believe me, I didn't tell anyone." He stopped abruptly. I caught a flash of red, out of place among the greens and browns of the woods. It was Julia, dressed in a bright red sweater that must have cost the earth. She tossed back her glossy blonde hair, popped her bubblegum and gave me a once-over as she moved to Asher's side. I barely had time to take her in before I felt a sharp, stinging pain on my cheek. "What did I say about opening your filthy mouth!" Asher yelled, flexing the hand he had slapped me with. "I didn't say anything," I cried, holding my cheek. "I didn't tell anyone we are mates. I went home immediately after school, and last night... I was so weak that I didn't speak to anyone." "LIAR!" Julia barked out. "You spread the rumours. I have proof." "W-what?" Julia jerked her head toward some trees, and a girl came out, smirking. "This is my proof." Julia pointed at the girl. "Tell her what you told me." The girl shrugged. "I already told you everything. Hannah told me yesterday that she and Asher were mates. She told me he would regret not accepting her as his mate. According to her, Asher is the one missing out.” Asher's face reddened with every word out of the girl's mouth until he looked almost apoplectic with rage. "She's lying. She's lying. I have never spoken to her in my life. I haven't even seen her before." I cried, but it was no use. "Lying bitch," the girl muttered and spat on the floor. "Asher, I didn't-" "Shut up!" he bellowed. He turned to the girl. "You. Go." She nodded and ran off after pausing to give me an ugly look. Asher snapped his fingers, and two boys seemed to materialize from the woods. They grabbed my hands so tightly I couldn't move. "This bitch doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut," Asher told them. A cruel smile lit up his face. "She needs to be taught a lesson. Fill her mouth with your dicks. Maybe then, she'll learn to shut her mouth." Not thinking I had heard correctly, I went limp with shock. The boys snorted laughter. "My pleasure, Asher," said the bigger one with a leer. Then, there was a playful scuffle as they tried to determine who would go first. Seeing that they actually meant to go through with it, I screamed and began to struggle. "Shut up!" one of them yelled. I managed to yank one hand free. I attempted to bite the hand of the other, who tried to clamp his hand over my mouth. "Hold her down," Julia screamed. My hair was yanked backwards. I was forced to the ground, still screaming and struggling. Asher darted forward and pressed his hands savagely against my chest, pinning me to the floor while the other boy, who was cackling madly and panting in excitement, began to take off his trousers. Julia came closer to watch. The sight of them planning to see me experience the worst sort of humiliation suddenly made something in me snap. I managed to pull out a pen from my front pocket. Gripping it tightly, I brought my hand upward and stabbed Asher in the shoulder. He let out a howl of agony as the point sank into his flesh and immediately let go of me. In a second, I was on my feet, racing through the woods, unheeding the twigs and brambles that scratched me. "Go after her, you morons!" I heard Asher yell as I ran as fast as I could. I ran even faster, headed in the direction of my house. *************************************************"""************* Wide-eyed, I stared at the clock in my room exactly the way I had been staring at it for the last two hours. In the darkest corner of my room, I cowered, shivering. I couldn't stop thinking about what would have happened to me if I hadn't been able to escape the woods. Almost as soon as I had made it home, I had decided I wouldn't ever go back to school. Until Asher forgot about me, I would find a job as a waitress or a bartender. Schooling wasn't worth what they had planned for me. There were footsteps outside my door. I froze when a knock followed. A second later, my mother's voice sailed into the room. "Hannah. Lunch is ready. Come and eat." "Coming, mum," I said, but she was already moving away. Not having had breakfast, I was starved. I managed to pull myself up and strolled downstairs. Just as I was about to eat, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," my mum called. Something in me told me it wasn't good. I heard the door open. I heard raised voices. Three hefty men barged into the living room, my mother in tow, shouting and demanding an explanation. From the uniform the men wore, I knew they were from the Alpha. The men's eyes immediately fell on me, even though I had been doing my best to blend with the home decor. "Are you Hannah Baker?" one of them asked gruffly. I hesitated, then nodded. "The Alpha wants to see you. You're coming with us." "Now, wait just a minute." My mother managed to squeeze past two of the men, so she stood in front of me. "What happened? Why does the Alpha want to see you?" They ignored her and dashed toward me. The hands of the men closed on both my arms. “Don’t you dare take my daughter!” My mother cried. “Let her go!” But I was dragged out of the house while she screamed, demanding an explanation. And though I was scared out of my wits, I managed to say, "Don't worry, mum. I'll be fine." I was dragged into the car they came with. With a guard sitting on either side of me, they drove off.HANNAH"Did you stab my son?" Alpha Dawson asked in a mild voice, but his eyes told a different story.They burned and blazed and promised the worst kind of punishment for me. He was an intimidating man under the best of conditions, but right now, he looked downright frightening.I looked up at him from my place on my knees, with the tears streaming down my cheeks, his very muscled hands clenching and unclenching on the armrests of the chair he sat on as though he was resisting the urge to wrap them around my neck.The guards had forced me onto my knees before him, but though their hands weren't on me anymore, I couldn't have moved an inch even if I wanted to. I was petrified, frozen to the spot. My life could end at any moment if the Alpha so willed it. Attacking his son was tantamount to attacking him.I opened my mouth but could manage only a sigh. Somehow, my words got lost between my head and my mouth. All too well, I recalled my father being in this same position I was in whil
HANNAHI had only gotten three hours of sleep the previous night. My entire body was aching by the time I finished cleaning the pig pen, and I had walked home because Alpha Dawson didn't offer me a ride.“I want to fuck a hot chick tonight!” One of Asher’s friends yelled, jolting me from my thoughts.Their dirty laughter filled my ears. It grated on my nerves, but I didn't dare show my displeasure.I hung my head, concentrating on not calling attention to myself. They would poke more fun at me if I so much as moved. Surreptitiously, I shifted from one aching foot to the other. I had been standing 'on guard' behind Asher's chair for a long, long time while he talked and laughed with his friends, Julia and her girlfriends. To make it worse, he had made me carry his books, and now my arms felt numb. "...you!"I blinked, raised my head and realized Asher had been talking to me. They were all looking at me. So much for my attempts to melt into the background."S-sorry," I stuttered. "Wh
CADEFor the very first time in my life, I felt what it was like to literally have the ground pulled out from under my feet. It was a feeling both surprising and unnerving, a feeling that left me breathless.It started the moment the girl ran into the classroom where I and my brothers were. Or was it the moment she turned those big, frightened, but pretty brown eyes to us?And her scent... her scent had been the most exquisite I had ever smelled. It had filed my nostrils to the exclusion of everything else. The urge to run my fingers through her long, wavy dark hair had been so overwhelming that it actually felt like I had done it. My wolf had screamed 'MATE'. My brothers- though I hadn't been looking at them- had responded to her in the exact same way I did. I had felt it. At the moment I realized that something truly bizzare- the three of us being mated to the same girl had happened- the door had been pushed open, a guy had barged in and tried to take the girl away.Said guy was cur
HANNAHI looked on as two of the guys tackled Asher. It was surprising because they did not hesitate before hitting him. For the first time, no one cared about Asher and his fucking status in the pack. They just held him down, and he tried to fight them off. Obviously, it was a lost fight for him. He was no match for one of the brothers, talk more of two of them."Should we help him?" Mace asked, but I shook my head. This was the only moment I had to watch him have a taste of his own medicine. There was a slight chance he would come after me later and punish me for what happened. But at least he would be doing that with bruises.One of the triplets, the one who had picked up my books for me, held my hand and tried to pull me away from the scene. I resisted initially because even though they saved me, I knew nothing about them besides the rumours floating around the school. And for all I knew, they could be even worse than Asher, and I was jumping from a bad situation to a more terribl
HANNAHThe triplets and I continued talking, and I found myself relaxing with them as time progressed. Then, I began to notice their features. While they looked similar, they had noticeable differences that made them stand apart.Cade was the tallest, with long brown hair up in a bun. His dark grey eyes complimented his pale, handsome face. He was quite muscular and had the typical bad-boy demeanour. It would be hard for any girl not to fall for his appearance.Jace, on the other hand, had blond silky hair, and it was obvious he cared a lot about his looks. His greyish-brown eyes shone with mischief, and while he had an easy-going smile, it was obvious that he wasn't one to be messed with.Chase seemed to be the one who talked the least. He was more observant than the two, with his dark greyish-green eyes taking in every detail. His dark curly hair had been cut off, but he had more facial hair than the other two. He also smiled the least, and I sensed people steered clear of him more
HANNAH"I'll train you," Cade said without any hesitation.My jaw dropped. "You mean that, right?""The first time I saw you, you were running from your dickish ex-mate," He slowly looked me over, the same way he did when our eyes met for the first time. "I want you to punch his face the next time."I couldn't help but smile. "That sounds like a good idea."I had never felt so happy in my life as I accepted. It was really ironic how one's life could turn around in a few hours. And that was my case.No guy this handsome had ever paid me the slightest notice. In fact, I wasn't sure there was any other man on earth with Cade's breathtaking masculine beauty.And yet, he was volunteering to do something that could change my life."Would you like to see the rest of the Estate now?" I turned to see him staring at me with a questionable expression and realized that I had been lost in thought."Ye—Yes. I want to."He took my hands and led me to the bigger side of the Estate. He showed me the b
HANNAH"I've never—" My voice trailed off, too embarrassed to admit that no guy had kissed me before Cade did, let alone three. "I think I'm comfortable. Yes."Almost immediately after I answered, I felt the room tense up. Or that was me.Jace was the first to react. He pushed toward me so quickly and pressed his lips to mine with a low groan. One hand tightly tangled in my hair as he deepened the kiss, and the other held me mercilessly to him.Cold chills sizzled against my skin in contrast to the hot and demanding heat pulling me from the inside.When he finally lifted his head, his expression was intense, like he was searching for answers on my face. "You have such an effect on me."My eyes fell on the bulge nearly pushing through his shorts, and I swallowed. He took my hands and slowly made me wrap them against his hardness.At that moment, Chase, who was standing behind me, started to plant kisses on my back. Then his lips trailed to my neck, his breath hot and heavy.While I rub
HANNAH“You led them here?” My mother yelled, her eyes filled with shock when she learned that I returned with bodyguards from Ice Stone Pack. “Asher Dawson will kill us if he finds out!”Although I had slightly expected her reaction and even imagined the scenario during my ride home, a part of me still hoped that she would be optimistic when she learned of the recent development in my life. And maybe a little bit glad that her daughter finally had a chance to be happy.We had always talked about me finding my mate, and when it turned out to be Asher, the sadness lingered between us. Was I too delusional to have thought she would be too excited to learn that I got a second chance?Hell! I expected balloons, a bottle of wine and an excellent toast to true love. Was that too much to ask?“Mum, can you calm down?” I asked, tapping my feet nervously on the ground. It was the only thing I could do in my situation.Sending the bodyguards back to Ice Stone was impossible, and I wasn’t even w