SCARLETT “What?” My voice sounded hollow even to my own eyes and I found myself turning slightly to look at him. He was still looking straight ahead, hands jammed into the pockets of his trousers and an unreadable expression on his face before he turned to look at me and the lump in my throat grew in size. He did not even make any move to move closer to me, yet I found myself staggering back a little. “I asked if you enjoy watching.” “What? I don’t… what are… I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” “You don’t,” his voice sounded like mockery and the corners of his lips lifted in a sardonic smirk, one that made my heart thump faster and made it almost impossible to breathe. “No, I don’t,” I said in a brave voice even though bravery was the last thing I was feeling right now, “and if you’ll excuse me,” I started for the elevator’s door, grateful that it had reached the ground floor and the door would slide open anytime soon. It was supposed to stop anytime soon but
SCARLETT Five days later and I still couldn’t get the mental image of his long fingers casually brushing over my wet folds out of my mind. I know it was crazy and obscene to even think of him that way, to relive those tortuous 50 seconds where my stepbrother-to-be had caressed my wet folds and shoved his hand into my face to show me how wet and aroused watching him fuck another girl’s mouth had made me. Heck, he had derided me while at it and made me feel like a dirty slut but still, his words aside, his fingers had been the best thing to ever touch me. And it had been just for a couple of seconds! I hated myself for reacting to him, hated myself for not being able to put him out of my mind. I’d have said I was never going to see him again but I wasn’t going to let go of a dream job just because of an asshole. A dream job that I got fair and square. But at least, I could say I wasn’t going to see him and his brothers again outside of a formal setting. That was until Mom fo
SCARLETT He took me to an Afropop event; a concert by an upcoming Nigerian artist and to say I had the time of my life would be an understatement. Immediately we entered the hall with loud music and swaying bodies and cheering voices, my worries dissipated and I became one with the music. I didn't want it to end but even when it did, I was in high spirits. Blake was extremely nice to me. He even got me ice cream and chicken on the drive to where I live and I couldn't help but wonder how someone as nice and amazing as him could be siblings to someone as rude as Alex and as vile as Logan. Thinking about Logan made my anger spike and my palm balled into a fist subconsciously. I still couldn't believe how nonchalant he had sounded when I brought what he did up at dinner. I just couldn't understand how someone could be as vile as that when he practically ruined my life. “We're here,” Blake’s voice jolted me out of my reverie and I looked around to see that we were packed in front
SCARLETT It was Alexander Vaughn and my heart skipped several beats as he walked in, dressed in a dashing black suit. Everybody bowed their respects before they started filling out and I followed them but not before daring a glance at Alex. He wasn't looking at my way. Instead, he was focused on Maeve who now wore a seductively proud smile and I instantly connected the dots just before I stepped out. The blonde hair and that smile. She was the one on her knees the other day. She was the one Alex had been fucking her mouth. The realization sent an alien feeling through my body. I couldn't name or describe it but it seemed so much like jealousy which was ridiculous because there was nothing to be jealous about. “How long do you think they'll spend today?” Ken, one of the stylists Anna Chen introduced to me earlier asked another girl whose name I had forgotten. “The shoot is in an hour so I'd say they'd be done before then.” “As if that has ever stopped them before.” From th
SCARLETT What happened was that our building collapsed, just like it has been threatening to for over a year now. It was a risk staying there and we could only be grateful that it happened during the day when almost all the occupants were at work. If it had happened during the night, a lot of casualties would have been recorded but now, nobody died and only a few people were injured. "This is fucked up, hmm?" Emma's voice came beside me, "What are we going to do now?" I knew she said we were just too polite. She was all sorted out. Her boyfriend has been bothering her to move in with him for months now and I knew he just called her a few minutes ago to tell her he was on her way to pick her up. And for me, I was lost. I had no one to turn to and nowhere to go to. I was completely stranded. It was five days to payday so I was completely broke right now. The money I had with me would not even pay for three nights at the cheapest hotel and I still have to get new clothes because I
SCARLETT Blake pulled me into a very big bear hug the minute I stepped into the house. “Welcome home, Scarlett, Maria told us that you’d be living with us now,” For now, I replied in my mind. Even though I had accepted Mom’s offer, I didn’t plan on staying here for more than 3 months. Because hopefully, in three months, I would have sorted myself out, would have paid off my loans, and be financially stable enough to get a decent apartment for myself. That seemed far-fetched but I was more than ready to work thrice as hard to make it a reality. “Yeah,” I replied to him and a very wide and cheery grin touched his lips. “That’s so nice, now I can properly take you under my wings and treat you like a baby sister.” His tone was harmless but there was something about the way he said it, about the way his eyes lingered on my face that made my heartbeat increase. Come on, Scarlett. What’s wrong with you? Everything was wrong with me! Everything! Less than an hour ago, I was
SCARLETTThe next morning, Alex and I stepped out of the house at the same time and immediately, his signature scent, the one that filled my nose last night greeted me. It brought back memories of what I've been up to last night and instant shame burnt through me. Alex walked to the car park, entered a blue car whose beauty and class I couldn't start to describe and he drove off. Without a backward glance at me, without offering me a ride even though he knew we were going to the same place. Such a jerk, I thought to myself just as warm breath fawned my neck. I startled but it was only Blake smiling at me and looking so fucking surreal while at it.How can someone look so cute and hot and handsome at the same time? And why wouldn't my heart stop fluttering? He's my stepbrother for fuck's sake! You had a wet dream and got yourself off to the thought of your other stepbrother. Feeling your heart flutter because of Blake is really mid, don't you think?"So you're already going to wor
SCARLETTI turned around slowly, my palms clammy and my heart racing in my chest. Whatever I was about to say died in my throat when I came face-to-face with him. He has his sleeves rolled up and the sight of his bare arms did something unexplainable to me. It made my brain zap, made my eyes linger on his fingers, the same ones that had been brushing and parting my folds with ease in the elevator just a couple of days ago. "What are you doing here?" his quiet voice interrupted my thoughts and it made me jump a little as I looked up at him again. His eyes were dark and unreadable and a smirk that looked darkly amused tugged at the corners of his lips."I... I came... Maeve asked me... She told me to drop a package for you and no one was here so I...""You could have just dropped it and left but what did you do? You waited. What were you waiting for, Scarlett?"The sound of my voice on his lips made my brain flip just as the absurdity of his sentence dawned on me."What? What do you.
SCARLETT “How many minutes apart are your contractions?” “Can you feel the pups crowning already?” “Should I get the midwives?” My husbands circled around me like vultures readying their prey, asking me a million and one questions like I was not as clueless about childbirth as they were. They’d read a library worth of childbirth and parenting books from the moment I found out I was pregnant and yet they were as nervous as a completely ignorant parent would be. “Stop hovering over her, please,” Hyacinth sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked into the birthing room, “the birthing process will begin any moment and I’ll need you all to either be quiet and or absent so I can get to work.” They all murmured amongst each other before finally falling quiet. “I’m going to give you a mild anesthetic so you don’t feel a thing and sleep through it, alright?” she turned to me with a kind smile and I nodded. I felt nerves already wrecking my body upon hearing that, I was reminded of the c
LOGANThree long yet amazing months went by and the D-day finally arrived. I couldn’t believe that I was about to be married to Scarlett and it seemed that neither Blake nor Alex could believe it seeing how nervous they were while getting dressed for the ceremony. We’d watched her become the best version of herself in the last three months and judging from all the power and potential she radiated, even three Vaughn men might not be enough of a match for her. Still, I was beyond elated to see what a marriage as unique as ours had in store for us in the coming years. And for the rest of our lives. “I still can’t figure this shit out!” Blake whined as he wrongly knotted his tie for the hundredth time and Alex and I laughed at him. “If you’re too nervous to knot your tie, maybe you should just sit out the wedding ceremony,” Alex teased him. “Yeah, it’s a small wedding anyways. We’ll just add your name to the marriage certificate and crop you into the pictures for the wedding album,” I
SCARLETTWe did it? “Yeah, we fucking did it,” Logan’s excited response made me realize that I’d asked that question out loud instead of in my head as I’d assumed. “And that’s only because you had the balls to put yourself on the line when we weren’t willing to take that risk,” Alex added, flipping a pancake effortlessly with a slight tilt of the pan. Inwardly, I rolled my eyes at his stellar skills, wondering how he was able to pull that off when I couldn’t even do it while carefully using a frying spoon. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you’re no longer focused on our victory over the Shahato and you’re now hating on everyone that can make a proper pancake unlike you,” Blake said through a chuckle. I narrowed my eyes at him, picking a grape off my plate and throwing it at his head for teasing me. “Ow!” he exclaimed when it hit his forehead. “Serves you right,” I grinned before taking a generous bite of my sandwich. That led to back and forth banter, and as much a
SCARLETTAgain, they’d come to my rescue at the perfect moment.Unlike the last time, I refused to lose faith in them, so seeing them was more than an answered prayer, it was the confirmation of a truth I’d been steadfastly holding unto.I felt relief course through my entire body as the army pounced on the Shahato warriors, shifting to their wolf form and ripping our enemies apart before they had the chance to rejoice over my burnt corpse.Suddenly, the regret I felt when I was thrown into the portal that brought me here washed away and I was pleased with myself for following through with the baiting plan that brought us this far. I had a feeling that after this battle, we’d finally know peace and harmony instead of the chaos and despair we’d had to endure for months now.I was so lost in imagining a time of calm and quiet that I even forgot that fire was slowly creeping towards me as the altar behind me burnt away. It was when I smelt thick fumes suffocating me that I looked behind
LOGANI still felt shitty and stupid for how immature I’d acted when Scarlett disappeared behind that godforsaken portal.Blake didn’t deserve to be choked so heartlessly when all he did was keep me from breaking my foot to pieces—because believe me, that was my intention when I started kicking that rock. Yet, he’d stopped me from hurting myself foolishly and I repaid him like an absolute asshole.I knew I’d apologized, but it didn’t seem enough so I made a mental note in the back of my mind to make it up to him somehow after we rescued Scarlett.“Guys! Over here! Quickly!” Hyacinth called out to me and my brothers and we rushed to where she was bent over on the floor and holding a glass shard.“What did you find? Please give us some good news,” Alex practically begged as he crouched beside her.“Their sorcerer must’ve mistakenly dropped this while closing the portal in a hurry, and now I know exactly where those bastards took her,” she jumped to her feet and Alex followed suit.“Wher
ALEXFan–fucking–tastic!This bloody plan blew up in our faces just like I’d predicted it would. Those cunning bastards just zapped our mate through a portal and I couldn’t feel her through the bond from the moment they disappeared into it.I guessed that neither Blake nor Logan could feel her either because they equally seemed like they were going mad.“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck this!” Logan yelled on the top of his voice while kicking a rock repeatedly until I heard a toe snap and blood started to ooze from his boot.That didn’t stop him though, he kept spitting profanities and angrily kicking the rock until Blake ran towards him and dragged him away from the rock and set him on the floor.“What the hell is wrong with you, Logan? How the hell does that fix shit!?” Blake leaned forward, placing his hands on both knees while screaming right into Logan’s face.Instead od answering, Logan reached out and gripped Blake’s neck and started to twist it with rage burning in his eyes. I immediat
SCARLETTThe morning of the full moon had finally arrived, and just like everyone else, I hoped that things went according to plans.None of us could handle any surprises because the chances of the plan going smoothly hinged on us being in complete control. To ensure that nothing went wrong, Hyacinth got a team of sorcerers to cast truth spells on the army in a bid to uncover any hidden spies from the Shahatos.Once we confirmed that every warrior was loyal to us, we finally let them in on the plan for the first time since we’d hatched it.Afterwards, Blake and Alex guided them through morning drills and helped them memorize the parts of the plan they were instrumental to, Logan and I kept Hyacinth company while she and her group of sorcerers did a location spell.Unlike the former location spells they’d casted to locate me when I was captured, this was much more likely to work because she’d used the blood of the prisoners that were recently executed. She assured us that with a team o
SCARLETTOnce again, Hyacinth had to come to our aid.We rushed Alex home and called her to come by the house as soon as possible. After ten minutes that felt like an eternity, she finally arrived and got to work on speeding up his healing. She explained that he invested wolfsbane and that’s why he wasn’t healing even after Blake and Logan cleaned and bandaged his wounds properly as soon as we got home.Hyacinth fed him some potions, but when they didn’t work, she told us that the wolfsbane had been in his system for far too long so she would need a powerful spell to magically detox him of it so his wolf could heal.While she convened with the powers that be on the required spell for such a crucial procedure, I paced the entire room worriedly while saying prayers to the moon goddess and ignoring the words of comfort being thrown my way from Logan and Blake.For some reason, I still felt fractions of the fear and pain I felt when I thought he was going to take his life just to prove a
SCARLETTAn hour passed and I immediately rallied Logan and Blake into the car to go in search of Alex. The longer we went without being able to contact or find him, the more I regretted listening to Logan and Blake instead of my wolf.And now because of my negligence, we were all worried out of our minds for Alex.It was almost nightfall and neither of us could reach or find him still. And believe me, we’d tried everything we could possibly think of. Logan tried to track his phone but his men found it dumped in a roadside bin and had no other means of tracing where he went from there because the traffic cams in that area were all busted.After that dead end, we’d all gone around the city in search of him but we couldn’t pick up his scent talk less of find his car.Normally, we’d have assumed that he was just somewhere blowing off steam and stayed home to wait on him. But ever since the marking ritual, we had a much stronger bond and could feel each other’s emotions and a while ago we