HANNAH"Call them now!" my mother yelled as she closed the curtains in the sitting room, her eyes darting around in panic. She dashed to the door and, after bolting it, pushed a sofa against it.I grabbed my phone with trembling fingers and dialled Cade, hoping he would answer before I and my mother's worst fears came true."Are you calling them?" My mother asked as she glanced over her shoulders for the tenth time in one minute. When I didn't respond but continued to stare at my phone, she drew closer to me and yelled in my ear. "Are you going to wait till we're dead?!""Mum, I'm calling them!" I exhaled and dialled Cade again. "He's not responding.""Perfect!" She threw her hands up in defeat. "They put you in trouble and then abandon you.""They didn't put me in trouble," I said and started toward my room, knowing that if I stayed in the same room with her, she would kill me with her words before Alpha Dawson's guards arrived to finish us off for good.In my room, I paced impatient
HANNAHMost people tell you that high school is where you get to figure out yourself and teenagehood is the best stage of your life, but honestly, that's bollocks.I think high school was a place where everyone got picked on depending on how popular they were. There was a hierarchy; the rich and famous sitting at the top of the list with their huge ego.And then, there was me, Hannah Baker.I lacked the three keys of coolness in high school, and I'll tell you what they are.One, don't try hard at anything. Unfortunately, I tried too hard at everything, especially my grades. I'd won best student of the year three consecutive times in a row and was best friends with most of my teachers. I also tried hard to stay out of Arlene's way, you know, big pudgy Arlene, who liked to pick on people.Two, make fun of people who do try. I bet you already know the drill. In high school, everybody made somebody's life hell—except me. Everyone made my life hell.I was at the bottom of every social list
HANNAHI found myself reading those lines repeatedly, and every time, it felt like all the air was being drawn out of my lungs.I couldn't do it. I wouldn't…The thought had jumped out of my mind almost immediately. Asher and his father wanted me but like a prized calf, carved up for auction. This had nothing to do with love or a change of heart – it was a display of dominance.I was all too aware that after the mating ceremony, Asher's terrible attitude would come to the forefront, and I would be stuck in a relationship that could potentially be life-threatening.That was not the life I envisioned for myself or the romantic dream I had always hoped for. The letter was essentially a death sentence and nothing else."I-I can't be his mate," I voiced when I finally found my voice, my lips trembling. I looked at Alpha Wallace and shook my head. "I won't let them take me."My fingers shook as I returned the letter to Jace, who could now meet my gaze. It dawned on me that I couldn't blame
HANNAHI used to wish every day could be Halloween or the masking ceremony. That way, I could wear a mask all day, and nobody would recognize me.But that was impossible.Meaning that wherever I went, PEOPLE would spot me and recognize me despite my efforts to blend in with my environment.And with people come great problems. Unfortunately for me, my problems followed me everywhere, especially my biggest ones—bullies.Here's something about the bullies in my life: they are like glitter; they get everywhere and are hard to get rid of. And today? Not so different from other days.For the first time in many years, I woke up in a room that wasn't mine. To say that I felt different would be an understatement.I had breakfast with Willa, disappointed that the triplets left for a pack meeting without informing me. At least, they should have texted or told me a little about the details of their meeting with their father last night."We should go shopping," Willa suggested as I drank my tea
HANNAHJace jumped into the driver's seat swiftly after handing Willa some money to settle the bill without properly explaining to her the matter at hand. I was lost in thoughts, wondering what possibly might have happened. I was so absorbed in my own worries that I didn't even notice Jace's request to fasten my seatbelt. It wasn't until he reached across me and his hand brushed against mine that I jolted back to reality.He fastened the seatbelt himself."Try to be calm, he said, trying to put my mind at rest. But my worries were stubborn, refusing to dissipate. I nodded, attempting to appear composed, but my heart continued to race with anxiety. He reached for the ignition, inserted the key, and swerved the car onto the bustling road, merging into the stream of vehicles heading towards my home.As we drove through the city, the familiar landmarks and sounds became blur, my focus was captured by the uncertainty ahead. Jace's attempts to calm me down did little to alleviate my growing
HANNAHI jumped out of bed at the first ring of the alarm and turned it off. I grabbed my bathrobe and rushed to the bathroom, still trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. My mind felt foggy, but my body seemed to be on autopilot, moving through the familiar morning routine. As the water from the shower poured on my skin, I jerked fully awake.I had picked out a dress the previous day, carefully selecting an outfit that was neither too pretty nor too plain. I didn't want to pique Asher's interest in me, but at the same time, I didn't want to appear too basic and risk losing the triplets' interest. I dried my hair, combed it, and packed it into a neat bun, securing it with a few pins. I checked my reflection, making sure I looked presentable. Then, I waited downstairs for my mother to get dressed. When she was ready, we departed and arrived at the meeting location ten minutes before the scheduled time.I was nervous as I stepped out of the car and onto the grounds of the Alpha's es
HANNAHFive days had passed since the meeting, and a routine had begun to settle in. Jace and his brothers had ensured my safety by sending guards to secure and watch my house, and a private driver to pick me up and drop me off at school or wherever I went. They knew for sure I was going to pick them over Asher, but they. needed to take extra measures in case Asher tried to make a move. They weren't taking any chances, knowing how unpredictable and volatile Asher could be.School hours had come to an end, and I waited for my driver to come get me. The usual bustle of students chatting and laughing faded, as most of the students had left for home. I stood there, lost in thought. After about twenty minutes of waiting, he arrived, apologizing profusely as he explained that he was caught in an unavoidable traffic jam. I nodded understandingly, and we exchanged pleasantries and I got into the car."Seatbelt." He called out. I smiled and reached for my belt. When I had fastened it, he start
HANNAHTWO DAYS LATERThe day had finally come for me to choose a mate. I sat in the meeting room, my mom sat beside me, her eyes cast downward, a scarf over her hair, covering half of her face to conceal the scars from the beatings she had received just two days ago. The room was heavy with unspoken words and expectations. Everyone was present, the Alphas from both packs, the triplets and Asher too. All of them were staring and waiting for me to make my decision, but I was lost in thoughts.I recalled the stern look on the leader's face as he warned me to comply. I remember he said he was going to kill my mother if I tried anything outside of his plan, and I feared for myself and my mom's life. His words echoed in my mind, "In two days, at the meeting, you will choose Asher as your desired mate.If you don't, there will be severe consequences. Your mother's life is already hanging by a thread. Don't make it any worse." I felt a chill run down my spine as I thought about the danger I w
HANNAH I paced my breathing and counted my steps under my breath to distract myself from what was going on. I just wanted to be in my head all the time, if that was possible. I wanted my mind to dissociated from what my body was being forced to do. But it was hard to find my happy place when Asher stopped walking and turned to growl at me. "Hey, walk faster, will you? What the hell is wrong with you anyway?" He eyed the pile of books I was carrying. "You had better not let any of those books touch the floor or you'll be picking them up with your teeth." I nodded, taking great care that my eyes remained downcast. That seemed to please him. He was always pleased whenever I didn't put up a protest to whatever outrageous demands he made. He kept walking. I followed. Things were now back to the way they used to be before the triplets had showed up. I was back to lugging Asher's books and things around the school, escorting him to glass and being his general dogsbody, or to put it more
HANNAHA loud knock on the door made me start violently. In a second, I had rolled off the bed and was on my feet.With a racing heart, I called out, "Wh-who is it?""Me," replied a voice, the voice of a maid.I clutched my chest in relief and weakly called for her to come in. Anyone who wasn't Asher or his father were welcome. I should have even known Asher wasn't the one in the first place as he would never knock."Hi," I said to the girl.She merely acknowledged me with a toss of her head. To the maids in this house, I was more or less one of them, was Asher's mate only in name."Master Asher wants you to do his laundry." the girl said and when I merely nodded, she added, "Now. His clothes are in his room."She couldn't have said anything worse. Doing his laundry, I didn't mind that, but going to his room was a whole different matter. I could only wish that he would not be there when I went to get the clothes.But of course he was. Fate wasn't giving me a brief these days. Asher ha
HANNAHI paced my breathing and counted my steps under my breath to distract myself from what was going on. I just wanted to be in my head all the time, if that was possible. I wanted my mind to dissociated from what my body was being forced to do.But it was hard to find my happy place when Asher stopped walking and turned to growl at me. "Hey, walk faster, will you? What the hell is wrong with you anyway?" He eyed the pile of books I was carrying. "You had better not let any of those books touch the floor or you'll be picking them up with your teeth."I nodded, taking great care that my eyes remained downcast. That seemed to please him. He was always pleased whenever I didn't put up a protest to whatever outrageous demands he made. He kept walking. I followed.Things were now back to the way they used to be before the triplets had showed up. I was back to lugging Asher's books and things around the school, escorting him to glass and being his general dogsbody, or to put it more acc
ASHER"You!" I pointed at the guard who was holding Matt's head back. "Dump some more water on him."As he poured the bucket of water over the choking, spluttering man, I kept punching him the face. The sound of my brass studded knuckles making contact with his wet skin made a rather pleasant squelching sound. My face split into a grin as I realized I could actually get used to this. The feeling of ultimate power and control was a heady one.Punching the shit out of this asshole certainly beat hitting inanimate punching bags at the gym. I adjusted the brass knuckles over my fingers, gave him one more punch below the eye before taking a step back to survey my handiwork.His face was satisfyingly bruised and covered in blood. The skin was split in several places. It wasn't a bad result for about thirty minutes work, I had to admit. Not even the pack's guards could have done it better. One of his eyes was swollen shut but I had been careful not to hit anywhere close to the other function
ASHERI could tell my old man was pissed from the moment I walked into his study. I wondered what was biting him. No doubt it was something or the other to do with the pack's administration. I was more concerned about his bad timing. Why he hadn't waited a few minutes more until after was done with Hannah? That bitch was asking for it."Where have you been?" my father barked, breaking into my thoughts."Huh?""I looked for you all over the house and in your room. You weren't there.""I was in Hannah's room. Before the guard interrupted, I was you know..." I lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "...trying to fuck the bitch.""You were what?"I raised an eyebrow. Why did he sound so disapproving? It was surprising because my father was many things, but not a prude."I said I was about to fu-""Yes I heard you the first time, Asher but this is not the time to have sex!""Why?" I grumbled. "She's now my mate, isn't she? She's going to get screwed now or later, so what's the problem?""The pro
HANNAHJace took Willa and I to go get lunch and I was still dumbfounded by what he had done back at the shopping mall. As we sat down, I was beside myself with embarrassment. I couldn't believe I had all of Julia make a fool of me and the video was probably circulating about now. “I'm so sorry for the embarrassment I caused you both at the mall”. There was no coming back from this. “It's alright, Hannah”. The way he said my name only reminded me of how he had called me babe earlier. My cheeks flamed at the way the word had rolled off his tongue without him even noticing. “I think that girl that came earlier was responsible for it. She most likely framed you”. I knew Willa was talking about Julia and I was glad that I wasn't the only one who noticed that. “And thank you for paying too. I'm going to work hard to pay you back”. There's no way I was going to allow him spend that much on me without paying him back. He hadn't even planned on spending that money and stupid Julia had to
HANNAHChase had come to take to take me for a completely unnecessary reason. He took me to meet the other guys because they “missed me”. They just wanted to talk and confirm if I was okay but I assured them I was okay and they let me go back to Willa. “I'm getting bored. You know what we should do? Shop!”. She barely gave me the chance to get back into her room before she jumped at me. She started to pull out outfits to wear, insisting that the dress she had on already wasn't good enough for shopping especially if it was going to take a lot of time. I wanted to protest since I didn't have any money but she waved that off and told me it was her treat. She quickly changed into jeans and a gorgeous top and we headed for one of the huge malls in town. She asked the driver to prepare a car for us and warned him in advance that we were going shopping. The driver laughed and I knew he had to be used to her impulsive shopping. It just showed how they treated their staff with respect. Ash
HANNAHI was seated in the presence of the Alpha of Ice Stone pack in less than an hour. The triplets dad was an extremely formidable person who gave out an aura that dominated the entire room. Their mom was also there, looking extremely ethereal beside her husband. Neither of them have talked to me since I came even though they were the ones who asked Jace to come and fetch the guys and I. They barely glanced at me. For them to have asked that I came, it meant that they knew who I was and I was afraid that they thought I wasn't good enough for their son since they hadn't even acknowledged my presence. The circumstances in which we were meeting wasn't helping matter too. Jace had mentioned on the ride over that their dad had received a message that involved me and I had an idea of who might have sent the message. The Alpha brought out a sheet of paper that he must have read and handed it to Cade without even looking in his direction. He seemed to be communicating with his wife thr
HANNAHI was panicking when I picked up the phone to call Cade. If not for the guards who had been with us, alongside the ones they had called who had come swiftly, I would have been taken away to the pack house. According to the pack guards who came to pick up me up, Alpha Dawson wanted to see me. I know it has something to do with what had happened in school earlier with Asher. The guards from ice stone pack had made it impossible for them to get to me, making sure mom and I were safe inside. There was no way they were going to back down just like that. Asher wouldn't give up after just one attempt which meant that they would be coming back soon. As soon as the call connected, I started rambling to Cade who told me to calm down and explain what happened. “I was with mom when we heard chaos outside. When we went to check, pack guards were outside and demanding that I go with them to the pack house. The guards you sent with me beat them up and sent them away but I know they'll be