ASHERI pulled off my jacket and threw it to one of the servants as I alighted from my car. The servants, stationed along the way, moved swiftly to the sides and bowed deeply, their heads lowered in respect, as I, the guards, and the principal moved past them. I swung the door open, its creaking hinges echoed through the silent corridor, and I stepped into the dimly lit room."Strap him to that chair," I commanded, pointing at a dusty, worn chair that sat in the center of the room. The room was barely used, and it seemed more like a storage room than a place for human presence. Only those with permission dared to enter this space. The guards moved swiftly to comply, their hands moved with efficiency as they bound the principal to the chair.My father wasn't aware I was back with the principal. I wanted to do to him what I felt he deserved before my father would appear. I moved close to the principal and placed my hands on the arm of the chair, my grip tightened as I whispered, "I, Ash
HANNAHMy eyes were fixed on Asher's back, I struggled to keep up with his brisk pace. The heavy backpack strained my shoulders, and the weight of the books threatened to topple over, but I held on tight, fearing the consequences of even dropping one. Everything was back to the way it was before I met the triplets. The bullying, the enslaving, the manhandling - it was all so familiar, yet it felt new and worse after experiencing a taste of freedom with the triplets. I was used to walking on eggshells around Asher, never knowing when he'd lash out next. But now, every step felt like a reminder of the life I didn't want to go back to.We walked down the hallway in silence, the sound of his shoe echoing off the walls as I struggled to keep up with his long strides. I walked as fast as my legs could carry me. If I wasn't directly behind him when he got to wherever we were headed, I knew I'd be in trouble. He'd shut the door, and I'd have to place the books on the ground to help myself wit
HANNAHMy first thought was that I was somehow in trouble. Big trouble. If the still blaring surveillance alarm wasn't any indication of that fact, then the stony faced expressions of the mall's security guards were. Somehow there was a tagged item in my possession. But I hadn't taken a thing so how could that be? I was scared but more than that, I was confused."What's all this about?" Willa said from beside me.The guard closest to us sneered. "Oh I think you know what this is about all right. One of you stole something.""We didn't-""Stretch out your hands and stay still so we can search you. Now!"I stretched out my hands immediately. I had nothing to hide and the earlier they found out they were mistaken, the faster I could put this embarrassing incident behind me and the faster Willa and I could get out of here before we started attracting the wrong sort of attention.The guard looked over at Willa who still had her arms crossed over her chest. "The same goes for you too, miss.
HANNAHI finally recovered my powers of speech in time to murmur a 'thank you' to Jace, but he was already far in front of me, holding the car door open so he didn't hear me. Before I could try again, I was hugged around the middle by Willa."I told you I would get you out," she said."Thanks Willa," I said, my heart metaphorically bursting with gratitude. "I owe you one.""Ladies," Jace said, drawing our eyes to him. He tapped on the open car door. "Shall we leave this place? We're going out for lunch," he added as he drove out of the parking lot. His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. "I hope you are hungry."I nodded. It would be great to have some food inside me. The scene with the security guards had left me still feeling quite lightheaded and shaken up."Good," he said and concentrated on driving."Jace," I said when he had been driving for quite a while. "Thank you so much for what you did there and... I'm sorry you had to leave whatever you were doing to sort that out. I'm
HANNAHAlthough Jace drove really fast, I felt like he could not get to my house fast enough. I sat on the very edge of the car seat, wondering what horrors Asher and his father had unleashed on my mother, now my only present family. Jace, thankfully did not go on offering hollow words of comfort. He seemed to know that silence was what I needed now. Silence was what I needed to process this."She will be fine," was all he said and I held on to those words fiercely.Jace started to say something when he pulled up in front of my house but I was already out of the car, racing to the front door. I threw the door open, expecting... Well, I didn't know what I was expecting but it was a relief to see that the house was still intact. And there my mother was, sitting on the sofa with a piece of paper that looked like a letter in her hands. She was here. She was alive and fine and that was all that mattered."Mum." I stopped for a few seconds to catch my breath. "You sounded urgent over the ph
HANNAHThe tension in the room was so palpable it felt like it could be cut with a knife. The only sounds were the nervous shuffling of my mother's feet, my laboured breathing and maybe the pounding of my heart. I was pretty sure it was beating so loud that everyone could hear it. I glanced at my wristwatch again, was surprised to see that barely five minutes had passed. Only five minutes? It felt already like five hours. Where were Jace, Cade and Chase? Seeing them here would make me feel so much better.I heard a footfall. I quickly turned towards the door but saw it was just one of the Alpha's guards coming to have a few words with Asher. Asher didn't seem to be paying attention to what the guard was saying. He was glaring concentratedly glaring at me. He had been doing so ever since I walked into the room. I looked away at once, stared at the floor. Somewhere on my right sat the Alpha. I didn't need to look at him to feel the full force of his displeasure. I refused to even look
HANNAHThe tension in the room was so palpable it felt like it could be cut with a knife. The only sounds were the nervous shuffling of my mother's feet, my laboured breathing and maybe the pounding of my heart. I was pretty sure it was beating so loud that everyone could hear it. I glanced at my wristwatch again, was surprised to see that barely five minutes had passed. Only five minutes? It felt already like five hours. Where were Jace, Cade and Chase? Seeing them here would make me feel so much better.I heard a footfall. I quickly turned towards the door but saw it was just one of the Alpha's guards coming to have a few words with Asher. Asher didn't seem to be paying attention to what the guard was saying. He was glaring concentratedly glaring at me. He had been doing so ever since I walked into the room. I looked away at once, stared at the floor. Somewhere on my right sat the Alpha. I didn't need to look at him to feel the full force of his displeasure. I refused to even look
HANNAHThe first thing I noticed the moment I stepped out of the vehicle was the absence of people. For some reason, the guards that had been stationed around my house for as long as I could remember, were not there. Frowning, I wondered why. Had the Wallace's called them off? I honestly doubted that. My mates took my security very seriously."Did you want to go somewhere else?" said the driver from behind me.I turned, found I was still grasping the car door handle."No. No. I'm good," I said.I stepped away from the car and the driver drove off. I reshouldered my backpack, half of mind on the amount of homework I had to do. As I stepped over the threshold, I froze. I opened my mouth to scream.The man standing opposite me with a wicked looking dagger at my mother's throat put a finger to his lips, motioning for me to be quiet. He was tall, built like a barrel. There was evil etched on every line of his scarred face. My head spun. I was in danger. My mother was in more danger. What