4

Ian appeared to be in shock. He released my hand right away.

Everyone burst into laughter. He glared at the others, telling them to shut up, and they did.

"I-I did not mean to get in your way. But–"

I paused when his gaze returned to me. His dark eyes captivated me and made me unable to move or speak.

"What exactly are you doing here?" He questioned me with gritted teeth.

His question astonished me. Before I could answer his question, another voice rang out.

"I invited her. She is my friend."

I turned around and noticed Luke. I felt relaxed when he came to my rescue. Abigail was alongside him. He came up to me and held my hand.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked me.

I gave a nod without saying anything.

"When did you start making friends with nerds?" Ian asked with a careless tone.

I felt hurt by his question. I lowered my head, trying to conceal my emotions behind my glasses.

"Don't speak about her like this, Ian. She had done nothing to you. Stop picking on her unnecessarily."

Ian frowned upon hearing Luke.

"Excuse me? Did you say I was picking on her? Like, seriously? Don't I have anything else to do in my life?"

"Ian, leave it. Let's drink," his best friend, Ronald Solace, said to him.

"Yeah, it's better if we continue the party. I have no intention of arguing either." Luke let out a sigh while gazing at Ian.

Ian nodded before shifting his gaze to me. I peered at him through my glasses, and when he caught my gaze, I quickly looked away.

He rolled his eyes and turned around to rejoin his friends.

Luke turned to me, saying,

"I am so sorry."

I raised my head to look at him. "For what?"

"You almost got lost at the party. I should have welcomed you from the outside."

"No, it's okay."

"You came to my party and received a lot of attention, which you did not want. It's my fault."

I looked around at the other people who were still looking at me with judgmental eyes.

I told Luke that he did not need to be concerned about me. He then introduced me and Abigail to some of his friends.

His friends were decent, just like him. They were kind people. They did not judge me based on my looks or appearance.

Abigail wanted to dance, while Luke was chatting with his friends. So I went to sit on a couch near them. Abigail tried to persuade me to go with her. But I had enough for the day. I did not want any more attention. So I refused to go with her.

My gaze wandered around the entire poolside. My eyes fell on Ian once again. I had no idea why my eyes were always drawn to this bad boy.

What was the feeling all about?

I was not the type of girl who could get involved with a bad boy. I was not like the other girls he had slept with. He always spent the night with girls who eagerly wanted to be played by him. As if the girls would gain a reputation for warming his bed.

I noticed he was looking at a girl while sipping on his drink. My focus shifted to the girl. My eyes nearly popped out when I saw her strip off her dress and reveal her white bikini, exposing her almost naked body to seduce Ian.

Everyone started to cheer for her. She winked at Ian before jumping into the pool. A few minutes later, some other girls joined her in the pool.

Ian smirked at the girl. His gaze remained fixed on her the entire time, as if she were his prey for tonight.

For an unknown reason, I felt my heart arch. I averted my gaze from him.

The white bikini girl emerged from the swimming pool. She picked up a black bathrobe and tied it. She approached Ian, kissed his cheek, and said something into his ear. He nodded at her with an indifferent face, showing that she was not so important for him but only a girl for tonight. The girl exited the pool area and went indoors.

I was shocked by these types of girls. How could they sleep with him? Why did they do that? When they clearly knew that he would never make them, then why?

All of these girls were from well-known families. In fact, their parents knew about this, but they never stopped them. They were waiting to entangle their daughters' lives with the Alpha's only son. What if he preferred one of them for his future Luna?

I pushed all of my thoughts aside and got up from the couch. I should not be thinking too much. It would be better for me to stay as far away from Ian as possible.

"Where are you going?" Luke asked me. He was holding two glasses in his hands.

I assumed he had come to give me some time. He offered me one of the glasses.

"I need to use the washroom," I told him.

"Oh. Then let me lead the way." He stated this while extending his hand forward.

"Luke, where are you going?" One of his friends questioned him.

I glanced at his friends and then at Luke. "You can tell me the direction. I can go on my own."

"No, I can't trust others."

"I promise, I'll be fine."

I insisted. I was not the type of kid who needed a guardian outside to keep me safe.

He gave me the direction. I exited the poolside and entered the living room. I walked in the direction Luke had told me.

I walked past the crowd and looked up at the stairs. Luke suggested that I use the restroom, which was upstairs.

But I decided not to do so when I noticed a couple kissing on the stairs.

I asked a girl about the washroom downstairs. She gave me a look, but said it was in the right corner.

As I stepped there, a tall boy bumped into me, causing liquid to run through my hair. I realized it was beer. My hair was completely soaked in beer.

"You should have watched out," the boy told me.

I ignored him and proceeded to the right corner. I was startled when I noticed the entire corner was dark.

"Did that girl give me the right direction?" I mumbled as I moved towards a door.

I opened it, and luckily it was a washroom. I looked in the mirror and saw my wet, beer-soaked hair.

I quickly washed my hair in a sink before using the washroom.

Before leaving the washroom, I took off my glasses and put them in my bag. I washed my face because it felt stinky from the beer drops that had rolled down it.

I walked out of the washroom, running my fingers through my hair. When I closed the washroom's door, once again the whole corner turned dark.

I took slow steps toward the direction I had come from. A bit off in the distance, I could see colorful smoke.

I began to stride, but I gasped aloud when someone caught my hand in the darkness.

I felt a pull and then found myself pressed against a wall.

I could not see the person in the dark, but I could see the silhouette of a boy.

"What took you so long to come out? Were you playing with yourself?"

Hearing the deep voice, my eyes widened.

It was Ian!

He got close to me and sniffed. "Why do you smell so different right now? What kind of fragrance did you wear? "I liked it," he said, moving his face closer to my neck.

I was so shocked at that moment that I could not let out a single word.

His nose touched my neck, and he slowly rubbed it against my skin. My breath hitched.

"Fuck! You smell so good."

I could feel his body pressing up against mine and his hands encircling my waist.

I could feel his warm breath against my cheek. I did not know what was happening. Why did he approach me and grab me like this?

But before I could say anything, my eyes widened in the darkness as I felt a pair of warm lips brush against mine.

He did not give me a chance to understand anything before smashing his lips against mine.