Chapter 4 - Coveted prize

~~~ Allaya ~~~

I take out a small traveling bag and toss inside some clothes, just enough to last me a few days. I plan on telling my father to deliver me the rest.

For now, I just want to avoid my step sister. I’ll leave the house in the middle of the night as a thief. I shouldn’t be the one chased out of my home, but I don’t have the strength or the will to face my parents and relate what happened to them.

They should know, but I’ll give Elena the chance to tell them.

I’ll miss my home, I’ll miss my parents, but I cannot live under the same roof with her, not anymore.

A sense of loss wrecks over my soul, she used to be my best friend, my light at the end of the tunnel. Every time I believed I didn’t fit in, she would beat some sense into me. But it’s all in the past. Elena betrayed me in the worst way possible.

I swallow my tears, she doesn’t deserve them.

Zipping up my bag, I pick myself from the floor and just when I’m about to leave, the one that I tried so hard to avoid barges into my room.

“Allaya, I’m so sorry you found out that way. I was meaning to tell you, but…”

“But what?” I snap, cutting her lame excuse mid sentence.

Her apologetic voice does not match the look on her face. There is no remorse in her eyes for sleeping around with the one that I loved, and that speaks louder than her words.

They say the eyes are the mirror of the soul, and all I can spot in hers is deep hatred. Was she like that from the start? Was I blind all this time?

“You didn’t find an opportunity to break it to me? We see each other every day, I’m sure that there were plenty of occasions when you could have told me that you’re banging my boyfriend.” My lips pressed together in anger.

Fake tears shimmer in her eyes, she drops herself on the cold floor. “I beg you to forgive me, Allaya, but there’s more!”

More…

Her words are echoing in my brain, while a shudder travels down my spine.

Well, at this point, I expect nothing good coming out of her mouth and I believe I’ve grown immune.

“Please, go ahead and entertain me!”

“I’m pregnant.”

I was wrong. My heart rate increases, and my stomach clenches with the force of my self-restraint.

I feel sick.

Heartbroken.

Outraged.

Full of wrath.

For the second time in the same night, a beast inside me presses to take over. It takes all the willpower in the world to fight back the anger that threatens to unleash.

“How many weeks?”

“Twelve weeks.”

Three months.

So I was a laughing stock for more than three months. A foolish part of me hoped that they had a one time mistake, but no, they were regular.

I rush out the door, not looking back even once, afraid that if I stay any longer, I’ll listen to that voice inside my head that demands me to rip out her heart and watch her bleed to death.

* * *

“So your dear step-sister finally showed you her true colors. I did warn you Allaya, the signs were all there, but you resisted to believe.” There is pity in Alexis’ voice, and when she wraps me in her arms, my composure goes down the drain, I break into tears.

I am in my assigned dorm room now, where I never spent one night. Why would I when the college is a twenty minutes drive from home?

Alexis has been my friend since highschool, and we ended up attending college together as well. She and Elena never got along, and I chose to take my step sister’s side. I was wrong, but there’s no room for regret now, it won’t undo the past, so where’s the point in that?

“Oh, I’m sorry for being insensitive!” She studies me with kindness and sympathy, then tugs a rebel strand of hair behind my ears, I’m a mess.

“I know exactly what you need.” Declaring confidently, she walks to the freezer.

My face lights up. “Cheesecake ice cream? You still keep some?”

“Always, sweety! Cheesecake icecream and a good fuck and you’ll be all smiles in no time! Unfortunately, I can’t offer you the latter.”

We end up bursting into laughter, I forgot how light the atmosphere is when I spend time with her. With Elena, there was always some sort of tension in the air, but I chose to ignore it, she was my family after all.

“Thanks for having me!”

“Hey, it’s your room as well, just that you decided to ditch me and live with your horrendous step sister.”

I raise my brow at her remark. “Don’t act like you don’t enjoy living by yourself. I bet Jake still visits you every night!” I glance at her with hidden meaning.

She shifts in her chair uncomfortably, then flashes a smile that doesn’t touch her eyes. “Well, considering that we broke up, I can confidently say that he doesn’t spend his nights here anymore.”

“Oh, Alexis, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”

I feel my face turn pale, I am a horrible, horrible friend.

I complain about betrayal, and I totally neglected my friend after I hooked up with Elijah.

Hell, I didn't even notice that she was hurting, I had eyes and ears only for that cheating bastard, I’m a selfish human being.

“It’s fine. It’s been four months so I’m good now.” She declares, hiding her eyes from me.

Four months?

“I’m a bad friend, I’ll make it up to you, I promise!”

~~~ Hayden ~~~

For the first time in my fucking existence, I cannot take a woman out of my mind, her image keeps replaying in my brain, like a broken video tape.

She was indeed the most gorgeous I have ever seen, but it is not her heavenly beauty that haunts me, but the hurt that I spotted in her innocent eyes. It awakened a part of me that desperately wants her pain to go away, to make her mine.

“You’re choking me!” Liam, my soon to be Beta coughs, his neck enclosed in my iron grip.

I tackle him on the ground, his entire figure in stinging pain. “Sorry, my mind was elsewhere.”

“Yeah, I noticed that, man!” He forces an attack, going solid and aiming for the neck too, but I’m faster than him and I dodge it.

“Mmmhmm.”

“What’s got your panties in a twist? Why did you want to train in the middle of the night? I need my beauty sleep, this face right here is high maintenance.”

I fight the urge to laugh at his words. “Is that how you talk to your future alpha?”

“Can I have a round too?”

My eyes snap to Landon, who is making his way to where we train, a huge grin plastered all over his face.

“How come you’re here instead of banging some poor innocent girl?”

“Ohh, but I never bang poor innocent girls, you know that!” He smirks.

“You know what I mean.”

He chuckles. “Now that you mention it, I guess none caught my attention today. Well, one did, but she was different, not the type that would jump in bed with me right away. Maybe after a few dates I’ll get my coveted prize.”

I raise a brow in surprise. “So you fancy a girl and you’re willing to date her. Fascinating. Isn’t that a first?”

“I guess you could put it that way. I like a good challenge and she might prove to be one.”

I tap his shoulder. “Tonight must be special. I also met a girl that I like.”

“You did?” He narrows his eyes at me suspiciously. “What was her name?”

“She didn’t stick around to tell me.”

“Well, all good, as long as her name isn’t Allaya.”

Could we possibly…

No, there’s no fucking way.

Author Note:

I want to thank you for supporting the story, I hope you are enjoying it and I promise you'll find the plot alluring! Please don't forget to vote with gems and give this story a five stars review for it to reach more wonderful readers! All my best! Adry.