Due to the commotion created by the return of the boy, James and I were able to slip by without anyone seeing us.James led me back to his car and drove away without saying a word. It wasn't till he'd put some distance between us and the station before the stopped the car.“I can't believe they found him so soon, and so easily. It all seems off to me”“I know what you mean” I agreed with James. “We still need to find out what happened to him. I know my dad will mention something about it soon. I'll let you know as soon as he does”I sighed. “Can you take me to the Lightwood's?”“You're not going home?”“Esme asked me to come over and I don't really want to stay alone right now. You understand right?”Strangely it felt like I was asking for James' permission, as though staying in the same place as Kieran would be a betrayal to him. I hated how complicated things had gotten between us after last night. “Yes, sure I'll take you there”“Thanks” The rest of the ride was silent as I kept
I looked straight at Esme as she delivered a shock to me. I felt used and betrayed.“That's what all of this was about wasn't it? that's why you wanted me here… it wasn't about my protection or anything”“No Eva just listen–”“You just wanted me close by for when your parents came. So it would look like you guys have everything under control”“Would you stop being a drama queen, that has nothing to do with you being here. I could easily throw you over my shoulder and drag you down here whenever they're around. Esme actually cares about you and whether you admit it or not, you're no longer safe on your own”That was the most Kieran had ever said to me at once and it really sounded like him defending Esme. So he did have a heart behind that hard exterior. I calmed down as I heaved a heavy sigh and fell on a chair. “You should've told me”“I knew you wouldn't want to come if I had… And I know it seems serious but our parents coming doesn’t mean you’ll be dragged off now. You'll at least
I found myself falling for him all over again. He looked so genuine…“Are you satisfied?” He said going back to his cold voice again. Of course he didn't mean it… he was just that good at catching me off guard. “Pass me your phone”“Why?”“So I can enter the location. I have his address, I just don't know how to get there”He gave me his phone and I returned it once I was done. We didn't say a word to each other till we reached the place. It was a small house in the middle of town. “So what's the plan? You just go in and talk to him?” I asked.I was met with no response. “I think you should let me do the talking”“I didn't bring you so you could keep talking. You brought me here, you've done enough. Just be quiet now”I didn't listen to him and I followed him out of the car. I raced to the door before him and knocked on it. His brows furrowed in annoyance and I smirked feeling satisfied. “So much for the wolf genes. You can't even keep up with a teenage girl” he rolled his eyes at
Jayden fell on the floor and hugged his knees to his chest. He shivered as he continued to shout and make incoherent sentences.“You… you're the devil… his eyes… the same eyes… you're just like him… leave me alone!!! Go away!!!” He only got louder and louder. I nudged Kieran.“We need to leave now, before someone comes in” Kieran was defiant. He knelt on the floor in front of him and grabbed him.“Tell me who? What did they do?”“The pain! Make it stop please! Ahh your eyes… go… go…”I heard his father's voice coming from outside“Have you gone mad boy?!” “Kieran we need to leave, now!”I grabbed him by the arm and we went out through the window. By the time we got back to his car, he was fully fuming. He hit the steering wheel a couple of times. “Stop it!” I yelled. “What was that? What were you thinking?”“He was lying and I have no time to play games”“He's a victim in all of this! In your messed up world. Whatever happened to him wasn't his fault. You should've let me talk to him
It was 7:16 am in the Lightwood mansion. Esme, Kieran and I were seated in the living room as I'd just woken them up with shocking news. It was still early when I'd told them, so Esme advised we all freshen up first before meeting in the living room to talk.“I can't believe he's dead…” It felt as though somehow I was still dreaming, and maybe soon I'd wake up from this nightmare. “Esme had a hand around and shoulder in an attempt to comfort me, but it wasn't working. In my mind, I kept replying the words over and over.Jayden is dead.“How do you know?” Esme asked meI sniffled, “James called me. Apparently, after we left, Jayden ran out of the house, and he didn't return last night. His father walked into his room very early this morning… and, he…” the words refused to come out.“It's okay…” Esme said gently “I need to know exactly what happened, pull yourself together” I turned to Kieran slowly and felt all my rage directed at him.“His father found him handing from the ceiling…
>I didn't know Kieran could be so heartless. How could he just stand there and say nothing? How could he act so unbothered? Did he feel no remorse at all?I felt just as guilty, Jayden's death was on our hands because we couldn't help him. We'd only made things worse. “Eva…”“This is all my fault. I shouldn't have helped him” “Don't say that… you didn't kill him”“But I might as well have. You weren't there… you didn't see the look in his eyes, whatever happened to him was a result of what Kieran did. I told him to stop… but he didn't listen”“We're not sure what happened. You shouldn't beat yourself up so much… Jayden could've still died even if you guys hadn't gone to talk to him”“No…” I got up from the floor and walked towards the stairs. “Where are you going?”“I want to be alone”Esme was only trying to comfort me, but I wasn’t satisfied. In the end, I chose to stay by myself and let the guilt eat me up. I'd rather be miserable than feel nothing at all. I could
That night I felt lost… like somehow everything had gone from bad to worse in the twinkling of an eye and I was caught in the middle of it all. James' words echoed in my head over and over again…“It was my fault thinking you'd pick me over him”I couldn't explain the situation to James without betraying Kieran and I couldn't help Kieran and myself without hurting James. I hated this feeling of helplessness. Like I was just being tossed by the waves instead of riding them. I didn't hear Kieran returning home till late that night. I felt his lingering presence when he passed my door and I heard his own door when he entered his room and closed it. I still wanted Kieran. Despite it all, I wanted him to comfort me, to hold me in his arms and tell me everything would be fine… but I knew those desires of mine would never be fulfilled. We had been bound by a cruel fate, one I was yet to understand completely. At least I still had Esme, although our relationship wasn't as rosy as it used to
I almost couldn't believe my eyes as I stared at Adam laughing and smiling and chatting like nothing had happened. I didn't recognise the rest of the group, but I was sure they had all been together the night Jayden went missing.How could they sit around and laugh their hearts out when their friend was dead? Did they not care? Were they happy about it? I remembered what Jayden had told me that night…“They told me I had to go into the woods and wait till someone came to get me… I didn't want to do it, but my mum… Adam said he was going to make her work harder for her, he'd get her fired… and we need the money”They had definitely set him up. Was it just a prank? Were they bullying him for the fun of it? Or was there more? Did Adam know something or someone? Adam was definitely a bully. Everyone knew that about him but he mostly got away with the things he did since he was the Mayor's son. He was officially our next lead. I would tell Kieran about my suspicions as soon as I got home.
Just then, James returned with his dad. I peeled my eyes from the woman, focusing on the reason I'd come."Sheriff Smith, good afternoon.""Eva, how you doin', James here told me you needed some news articles for a uh, an essay?""Yes, sir.""Okay, you can check our old records, James will take ya,""Come on," James nudged me, and I followed him down the corridor and into a small office by the left. The room was filled with shelves. Stacked on each shelf were books and old news articles. The room wasn't dusty, a sign of regular cleaning. The only furniture in the room was a desk and two chairs on opposite ends of the table. They still looked brand new. Perhaps no one was actually posted in the office. "This is the storage room. Well, one of them. This place is accessible to the public under the right circumstances. The main storage room for sensitive information is elsewhere." I looked at all the work before me. As I advanced further into the room, I saw that the files were properl
Just then, James returned with his dad. I peeled my eyes from the woman, focusing on the reason I'd come."Sheriff Smith, good afternoon.""Eva, how you doin', James here told me you needed some news articles for a uh, an essay?""Yes, sir.""Okay, you can check our old records, James will take ya,""Come on," James nudged me, and I followed him down the corridor and into a small office by the left. The room was filled with shelves. Stacked on each shelf were books and old news articles. The room wasn't dusty, a sign of regular cleaning. The only furniture in the room was a desk and two chairs on opposite ends of the table. They still looked brand new. Perhaps no one was actually posted in the office. "This is the storage room. Well, one of them. This place is accessible to the public under the right circumstances. The main storage room for sensitive information is elsewhere." I looked at all the work before me. As I advanced further into the room, I saw that the files were properl
Esme hadn't returned to the mansion after almost 2 weeks and at that point, everyone was worried. She was practically missing and none of the calls to her phone were going through. Mine and Kieran's mating ritual was happening soon too and it wasn't something that could be postponed. Everyone hoped that she would return before then.But there was no luck. It was the night of the ritual and Esme was still missing. "You look beautiful, Talia told me as she prepared me for the ceremony. I still didn't know exactly what was meant to happen. Esme was supposed to tell me and I never got the chance to ask Kieran. So I was basically going there with no clue of what was supposed to happen. "I'm so nervous" I admitted."Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll do great.""Thanks Talia"She smiled at me before she led me outside the mansion where the ritual would happen under the light of the full moon. She escorted me like a brie going down the alter and like a groom, Kieran was waiting at the e
Lying on the floor was the same water that had given me directions to the bathroom. He was sprawled out on the floor, covered in his own blood.I let out a scream, but Kieran quickly held me and pulled me back so I couldn't see the body anymore. "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. I'm right here with you. Nothing is going to happen." His voice was soothing, and he succeeded in calming me down."Come with me." Kieran led me back outside, and he notified the manager. Soon, the place was filled with cops. They questioned me, and I told them exactly what had happened. "Are you okay?" Kieran asked me while we waited for the cops to let everyone go."They threatened me, and then they used that poor man to send a message. What kind of people play with the lives of other people like that?" "Rouges can be quite brutish in their ways. They'll go to whatever lengths to prove a point. Whoever did that was here tonight, and they probably slipped out before we even saw the body" "That poor man did
Lying on the floor was the same waiter that had given me directions to the bathroom. He was sprawled out on the floor, covered in his own blood.I let out a scream, but Kieran quickly held me and pulled me back so I couldn't see the body anymore. "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. I'm right here with you. Nothing is going to happen." His voice was soothing, and he succeeded in calming me down."Come with me." Kieran led me back outside, and he notified the manager. Soon, the place was filled with cops. They questioned me, and I told them exactly what had happened. "Are you okay?" Kieran asked me while we waited for the cops to let everyone go."They threatened me, and then they used that poor man to send a message. What kind of people play with the lives of other people like that?" "Rouges can be quite brutish in their ways. They'll go to whatever lengths to prove a point. Whoever did that was here tonight, and they probably slipped out before we even saw the body" "That poor man did
I was looking forward to mybdate with Kieran. I didn't do anything fancy, especially because I didn't have any nice dresses that could fit my baby bump. Talia managed to find me a cute summer dress that fit perfectly. and she helped me with my hair and a little bit of makeup."It seems Kieran is really putting in the extra effort," She said"Yeah." "I'm happy for you Eva, you deserve to be happy." I smiled at her through the mirror as she helped me detangle my hair. Kieran knocked on my door at exactly 7:40 pm."Are you ready?" "Yes, I am,""Shall we?" He offered me his arm to take, and I did so gladly. "Where are we going? I asked him as he held the car door open for me.""You'll see." I still hadn't seen most of Blackbourne since I mostly went from home to school and back, and the route the took was on the opposite side of the roads I was more familiar with. Wherever it was that we were going, I felt safe knowing that I was with Kieran. We ended up at a high-end restaurant ove
"I'll admit there's definitely something there," I told Alaric. I didn't want to admit just how deep my feelings were. Alaric laughed. "See, I knew it. You could only play hard to get for so long. Eva's a great girl. Treat her right," He said seriously. I knew I hadn't been fair to her since we'd met, but I intended to change that. I made up my mind that once she recovered and woke up, I would take her out on a date. And then I'd confess to her how I really felt. "You know what? I'll tell her. I'm going to ask her to give me a second chance, and I won't hurt her again." "You better not because Talia's told me to break every bone in your body the next time you hurt Eva's feelings. "I won't. Not again." While we were talking, Leah came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me. I made eye contact with Alaric, and he cleared his throat and excused us. "What is it, Leah?" "I miss you,""What do you mean? You see me every day.""Barely. You're always with Eva. Just because she
4 months passed, and I was already in my last trimester. Plans were underway for the mating ritual between me and Kieran. The pregnancy had begun to weigh me down more, something about carrying a wolf baby. The doctor said I would only get weaker because the child was taking more of my life force as it grew bigger. I still didn't know its gender because I wanted it to be a surprise. I twisted in bed and let out a grunt."Be careful, Eva," Talia said as she rushed to help me into a more conformable position. "It's fine, I'm fine. Just...""Extremely weak?""Yeah, that." "I'm really worried about you. You still have 2 months before you have to deliver, and you already look halfway dead. The baby is taking too much from you." This had been Talia's Countenance since the doctor first told everyone about the baby taking up my own life force."It's okay, Talia. I already made it this far. I'll be fine, both me and the baby. You'll see" "I'm just worried about you," "I know." I sighed
James' confession and declaration of love caught me by surprise. I wasn't sure what to say or how to respond. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything just yet. I just wanted you to know" He looked out the window, and silence filled the car for a moment before he spoke again"Did you come alone? Do I need to drop you back?" "Oh, umm... no, I'm not alone. I'll just call him now." I brought out my phone, and Damien picked on the first ring."Hi, can you come pick me up at town Square?""You left the woods on your own?" "Yes, I just wanted to go for a walk. Just come now so we can go. I'm tired already. And not to mention hungry." The pancakes had barely done anything to my slowly growing tummy."I'm on my way,""We could grab a snack if you're still hungry. We're right outside the bakery." James suggested "Oh yes, thank you! That would be great. Just get me the best pastries they've got." James chuckled, "Yes ma'am." James was back very quickly, and I munched down on one of the