Bella:
“Why didn’t you say something all this time?” Ryder asked in a loud voice, and I shrugged with a frown.
“Are you going to yell at me for remaining silent after falling off a tall building because of you?” I asked, raising my brow.
He was about to speak when the twins placed a hand on his shoulder and told him to calm down.
I did not care because all I could think about was rejecting them, regardless of how many good things they did for me.
“Look, Bella, we apologize for what we did and hope you can forgive us. I know it almost cost your life for us to apologize, and I sincerely hope we can move on,” Finn said, and I stared at him silently.
Their words sound inferior to me because the last time Ryder attempted to apologize, he spilled the food, and they all mocked me. The thought of it caused untold pain in my heart, but I was not ready to talk about it.
“Thank you for the gifts,” I managed to say, and everyone fell silent for a few moments.
Someone knocked on the door, then opened it.
“Hazel!” I exclaimed when I spotted her beautiful brown eyes.
She pushed aside the triplets and rushed to hug me.
“Bella, I am sorry I could not come yesterday. After what happened, it was difficult to find you, and your mother only let me leave school this morning to see you,” she said in a ball, and I chuckled.
I had only known her for a few days, but it felt like forever. She pressed her body against me for a while and then remained like that.
“I could not sleep all night, Bella,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“I am fine; Hazel and I will be back at school in a few days.”
This was clearly a lie because, contrary to my expectations, the healing process was not smooth. My vampire was hurt, and the necklace was the only thing keeping me together.
“We wish you a speedy recovery, Bella, and we will be on our way,” Ryder said, turning away with the triplets as Hazel wrinkled her brows.
This was not school, and they did not have the entire school’s support while bullying her.
When Ryder opened the door, Hazel’s boyfriend walked in carrying a large teddy bear and a basket.
“So, who are you supposed to be?” the triplets inquired at once, grabbing the gifts from him as he stood half bent, hands on his knees, panting.
“He is my boyfriend, and...”
“He is bringing Bella gifts,” Kai said, frowning.
I rolled my eyes, wondering what they were up to at the moment.
“When did you guys start caring about Bella? Did her fall cause you to have a concussion?” Hazel inquired, and I chuckled, but the triplets maintained their position.
“And you, Kai, you prevented me from assisting Bella yesterday, so what do you care?”
“Who becomes our mate is not our choice, and everything happened prior to the reveal. Bella is our mate, and she is only supposed to see us, so you should leave!” Finn warned.
“He is going nowhere,” Hazel said, and I took her hand calmly.
“For those who would easily throw me under the bus, I do not expect you to want to control my movements because we are mates. I can see whoever I want to, and wherever I want to.”
“Yeah, as long as he does not have a dick,” Ryder said, grabbing Noah’s collar while Finn tossed the gifts on the floor.
“I was already leaving. You do not always have to be an asshole, you know?” Noah asked, slapping Ryder’s hand and leaving the room.
The triplets gave me one more glance before leaving, assuring me they would return.
When they left, I let out a huge sigh of relief, and my face immediately fell.
“How unlucky can one get?” I questioned Hazel, who stroked my hand.
“It was bad enough that I had to live with them, but now I have to deal with the fact that they are also my mates,” I said, and she drew me into a hug, gently parting my back.
“Look at the bright side.”
She pulled away from me.
“There is a bright side?”
My eyes widened as I asked, hoping to hear the good news.
“You will be the hottest girl in Howlstone, with the three hottest guys in school at your fingertips. Fae is going to make you live under a rock.”
Fae. That name elicited a wide range of emotions, many of which were negative. I wanted to end her life the same way she wanted to end mine, but I could not do it right now.
“What? I thought the frown on your face should have turned into a smile by now,” she said, and I sighed.
“Not everybody wants that. I want what you and Noah have. You found one mate at the ball who adores you, but what have I found? Trouble.” I sighed.
“You can make it entertaining.”
She smiled, but my expression was flat.
“I do not intend to do that, and I have decided to reject them.”
“What?” the triplets echoed, and I looked up to see them standing in front of the door.
My mouth dropped open, and my lashes fluttered.
“Are you insane or out of your mind?” Ryder yelled, and Hazel stood up, but I grabbed her hand.
“Please give us some space, Hazel,” I said, and she squinted her eyes at everyone before leaving the room.
The triplets crossed their arms and stared at me before Finn spoke.
“Say what you need to say to us, Bella,” he said, and I took a deep breath.
“We cannot be mates, so I reject you all.” I said, and they all fell to their knees, groaning in pain.”
Bella:Seeing the triplets in pain pricked my heart, but I braced myself because they had treated me like an animal earlier.“This is very cruel of you, Bella, and—”“You know my name is Bella?” I cut Ryder short before he could finish his sentence.All this time, he had only called me names or, at best, my surname, but for once, he realized I had a name.I watched the three of them, fuming on their knees, trying to mask their pain with anger. A part of me prayed they would reject me too, and the other part feared how much pain I would go through when they did.“What are you waiting for? Too chicken to reject me?” I questioned, trying to push them to their limit.Ryder was about to speak when Finn grabbed his hand and stood up.“We know better than to reject you back, Bella, and that is the only way the mate bond can be severed. Even though we are in pain,” he paused, grabbing his chest with a frown as he tried to maintain a firm tone, “We won’t reject you.”After he finished, there w
Bella:I took Hazel back to the room as fast as I could, then I dumped her on the couch, returning to get a couple more sachets. After that, I went back to my room, got into bed, and decided to finish my snack of chilled blood sachets for the night.My mind pricked me as I looked at Hazel peacefully asleep, and I hoped that one day, when she found out, she would forgive me and know that what I did was right.“I came about thirty minutes ago, and I searched for her, but I couldn’t find her…”My mother’s voice trailed off.I pulled the sachet out of my mouth, tossing it under my bed, just as she pulled the door open.“Oh, she is here,” she said, ending the call and rushing towards me with a worried face.“Where have you been, Bella?” she questioned, placing her hand on my head to check my temperature, which was fine now because I had fed.“I’m fine. I had to get some fresh air,” I said, frowning.No matter what she said or did, she was the same person who wanted me dead.“Please do not
THIRD PERSON POV:Fae and Ryder lay side by side, his thoughts drifting back to Bella’s rejection. He hated his life at that moment, especially the fact he had to stoop so low for Bella’s attention.“Who does she think she is?” he muttered aloud, sitting up abruptly.Fae, lost in her own thoughts about what she had done to Bella, barely registered his words. She knew that once Bella spoke up, there would be an investigation, and there would likely be witnesses. That fear gnawed at her, but she kept her focus on Ryder.“I wish I could make her disappear,” Ryder said, flopping back onto the bed in frustration, his arm brushing against Fae’s chest by accident.The touch startled Fae, pulling her out of her thoughts. Seeing the frustration etched on Ryder’s face, she climbed on top of him, hoping to distract herself and him. She pressed her lips to his neck, but he stopped her, grabbing her hands.“What are you doing? We only have about thirty minutes before breakfast, and I don’t want to
Bella:I hated them so much, but why did it hurt again seeing him with Fae? She was the person who had attempted to murder me, and yet he showered her with love.“Fuck you!” I groaned, slapping my chest for the pain it felt.I walked as fast as I could to Hazel’s room.When I grabbed the handle, Hazel caught my left hand.“Bella!” she called out. I turned to face her with tears shimmering in my eyes. “You do not have to keep doing this to yourself, please, Bella,” she pleaded. I swallowed hard, pulled the door open, and threw myself onto the bed.She shut the door and walked towards the bed.“I’m fine,” I muttered. She tried to hold my hand, but I withdrew, because I was ashamed that she had to see me this way.I wiped away my tears, then I took a deep breath, turning off my emotions. I was a fool for switching them back on, and I didn’t care if I was running from my problems. This seemed better, and I had better things to waste my emotions than some boys who didn’t give two shits abo
Bella:After Ryder was suspended in front of the entire school, I couldn’t pay attention to classes for the entire day. He had so much effect on me, and it bothered me a lot because I switched off my emotions, but he still found his way to bug my mind.“Turning off your emotions doesn’t affect me,” my wolf spoke, answering the question which had been bugging me the entire day.The last bell went off.Students rushed out of the class while I packed up my books after wasting an entire day for nothing. Maybe I should have stayed back, I reasoned, but then it was too late to cry over spilled milk.“Hey, do you know what extracurricular you want to take now?” Hazel asked, and I looked up to see her never-ending smile plastered on her face.I sighed, slapping my forehead because I had forgotten I needed to take an extracurricular to boost my credit units.“You cannot be sad all the time, and you know that.”“I’m not sad, I just feel guilty for what happened to him, and...”“Isn’t that what
Third person pov:When Ryder got home, his heart sank badly. He knew he had made a mistake, and he knew it would not be long before he would get a call from his father. The fact Bella moved out seemed like a good idea to him, but when he opened the door to his room and saw her space was bare, he felt a wave of sadness, which left him shaken for a moment.“You won’t even look at me after what you have done to disgrace me the entire day.”Fae’s voice cut through his thoughts, drawing him back to reality. She was supposed to be his peace, but right now she threatened it, and it made him wonder if this was worth it.“Look, Fae, I’m sorry for crossing the line, and I hope we can move past this,” he said, walking straight to his wardrobe to change.He pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the door of the wardrobe, taking out a casual shirt. He was about to pull off his pants when Fae got up from the bed.“That is all you’ve got to say?” She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. “Is this
Bella:“Girl, I don’t know what you were up to, but keep it up,” Hazel said the moment I stepped into her room.I looked around, noticing the room had been redecorated with a new bed just for me, and my bed was perfectly laid.I knew she wouldn’t hesitate to talk about what happened today, but I wasn’t in the mood for that. Spending a day with Ryder felt weird, and although I couldn’t easily let go of the fact he was a monster, I realized he had a heart.“Don’t you have extracurricular activities to attend?” I asked, and she shrugged.“Yeah, I do, but luckily the computer club can’t function without me,” she said, placing her fists on her waist, which made me laugh.I sat on my bed.“So what’s it gonna be? Will you join the club today?” She questioned, leaning in towards me with our faces touching.“I think I want to join the cheerleading squad,” I pushed away her face.Her face fell when I said this, but I was certain. I didn’t want any more workload because I was already struggling
Bella:We walked into the class opposite, and Fae walked up to the twins.“We need some suits,” she said, and they stared at both of us.“What for?” Finn asked with his brows creased.“Duh, to fight.” Fae slapped her forehead while I stood still with no words. Of course, I feared losing to her, but I knew I had to be brave and not let the fear get to me because that would only be the beginning of my failure.“I don’t like the sound of this, and I think you should sit it out, Bella,” Kai said, and I frowned at him.Since when did they care about me? I questioned myself as I stared at him. Wouldn’t they be glad if she stabbed me with a sword, and I was no longer in existence? It would lessen their burden of having a mate like me.“Good thing you are not my mum, and you cannot tell me what I can or what I cannot do,” I said to him, and then he scoffed.The suits were handed over to us, and we got dressed. We took our positions, and I took a deep breath, about to make a call for a start,