BLAIR’S POVI sat in the dean of students' affairs office, my fingers itching nervously as I fiddled with the hem of my shirt. Kade sat beside me, looking completely calm, which only made my anxiety worse. I lifted my gaze to stare at the dean, whose face was a mask of dissatisfaction. He kept glancing between me and Kade, and I was sure that if Kade hadn’t been there, he would have unleashed his fury on me. He just seemed to be holding himself back for some unknown reason. What kind of trouble had I gotten myself into? My heart pounded as I waited for him to speak. “Miss Thorn, some issues have been brought to the school’s attention concerning you,” Mr. Gregory, the dean, said in a serious voice after clearing his throat.“What issues?” Kade snapped immediately, acting protective as he adjusted in his seat, and staring at the dean with a frown. I stole a glance at him, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was the one in trouble, not me.Mr. Gregory cleared his throat once
BLAIR’S POV“I’m quite disappointed in you, Blair,” Alpha Steele said with a stern voice as I stood before him, my eyes fixed on the ground. I could feel Jaxon’s presence, and I didn’t want to look at him because I was sure he had a smug smile on his face.The ride here was long and hellish. Jaxon kept taunting me, asking me to apologize to him. He said if I did, he would put in a good word for me to his father.I had ignored him, acting like I wasn’t hearing him and that had obviously pissed him off because he was going to lay his hands on me.“Leave me alone!” I had screamed and the men in front looked back.“Mind your business and just drive,” Jaxon had barked at them. They did just that, facing forward and not paying attention to what was going on in the backseat. I realized that I wasn’t safe in the car even though I was not alone with Jaxon.“You know, you look prettier when you’re afraid or in tears,” he had said to me, touching my cheek with his finger.I moved away from him,
BLAIR’S POVI entered my room and slammed the door behind me, tears blurring my vision. I kept my head down, recalling how my day had gone.Leaving Alpha Steele’s home, no one had offered me a ride, not like I expected it after things ended that way. I tried to book several rides home, but each one cancelled on me like the universe had conspired against me. After waiting for several minutes, I finally found an old woman. “Why are you crying, child?” she asked as she pulled over to me and rolled down the window. I hadn’t realized I was crying until she asked. I wiped my tears immediately, offering her a fake smile before hopping in. “I’m okay, ma’am. Thank you for your concern.” The entire ride, I tried not to cry because she kept watching me through her rearview mirror. “Is it boy troubles?” she asked, trying to strike up a conversation. I really didn’t want to talk about it, especially not with someone I didn’t know.“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it with Granny,” sh
KADE’S POVI gripped the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles turned white, my jaw clenched as I forced my focus on the road ahead. Keeping my anger in check was damn near impossible after seeing Blair cry.Watching her so hurt felt like a knife had been driven straight into my chest. And I would do anything to pull it out and make her happy again. To see her move on without that asshole Jaxon in her life.But I needed help. And the only person who had the power to fix this was my father.Our relationship, however, was strained, if not completely unrepairable. After what happened last year, he barely spoke to me and a wall had been erected between us. But for Blair, I was willing to tear that wall down.Of course, it wouldn’t be easy. My father never made anything easy but this time, I would not back down.As I pulled into the estate, an uneasy feeling settled in me. This was where I had grown up, where most of my fondest memories had been made. But as I grew, this place became
BLAIR’S POVMy foot tapped anxiously against the floor and the room felt suffocating as each second passed. Jaxon sat across from me, glaring with open hatred. Beside him, his father, Alpha Steele, looked irritated.To my right, my mother sat with her head down, and her face pale. Robert, my stepfather, was the only one who looked completely at ease, exuding his usual confidence. And I was the only one struggling to keep it together. In fact, I was about to lose my mind. I never thought Robert would actually step in like this to help me in this situation. When he called yesterday, telling me to prepare for this meeting, I wasn’t sure if my mother had told him everything. She had told me she wouldn’t intervene but from the way things were going, I might not be going back to Jaxon after all.Alpha Steele cleared his throat as he began to speak again. “I understand that Blair is your stepdaughter, but her father made arrangements before he passed.”Robert raised an eyebrow. “Arrangemen
BLAIR’S POV“What’s wrong with Kade?” I wondered, walking down the hallway at school. I could see people glancing at me occasionally, but I didn’t care anymore. They could say whatever they wanted but the best revenge was getting Jaxon out of my life. But now, the one person I actually wanted to keep was pushing me away. Did I say something bad to Kade? I couldn’t think of anything wrong I did to him even after spending hours yesterday thinking about it. So why was he so cold to me yesterday? He left the room without even asking me about the details of the meeting. And then returned very late at night and didn’t say a word to me. He just laid in bed and slept off like I wasn’t in the room. And this morning, he left so early like he was avoiding me.I sighed, gripping my bag tighter, and telling myself that he would come around. He probably just had terrible mood swings. But just as I turned the corner to my locker, I froze. My eyes widened as I took in the sight before me. Standin
KADE’S POVI felt like a piece of shit.No. Lara made me feel like a piece of shit.I accepted my father’s deal, knowing fully well there would be consequences with dating Lara. But I never expected those consequences to come wrapped in a Dior dress with an insufferable need for attention.At first, I told myself I’d break up with her after a few weeks. I’d make up an excuse to end the relationship, maybe even set her up to cheat on me. I didn’t care, as long as my father believed I had nothing to do with the breakup and our deal remained intact.But now? Two weeks felt like a lifetime. Hell, two more days and I was going to lose my mind.But how could I end it so swiftly when my father texted to remind me of our deal. He warned that ending the relationship with Lara would have consequences. I hated her voice, the way she spoke in that babyish tone, thinking it was cute when all it did was grate on my nerves. I hated how she paused at every reflective surface, checking herself out as
BLAIR’S POVI thought I’d seen the worst when it came to triggers. Jaxon and Harper had always been on my mind, but nothing prepared me for what I had to deal with Lara and Kade. Kade returned to the room after lectures but barely said a word to me. When he did, he mumbled something about using the bathroom. I was expecting to know why he wanted to talk to me at the cafeteria before Lara interrupted. But he didn’t bring that up or even act like he wanted to speak to me earlier. He just went straight to the bathroom and when he got out, he picked up his phone and began to scroll away. I acted like I didn’t notice but my heart was tearing to pieces over the fact that he wasn’t even trying to strike up a conversation. Where was the Kade that moved in with me? Fine, he wasn’t an extrovert but he used to glance at me sometimes. This new Kade pretended I didn’t exist even while sharing the same room with me. Sighing, I stole a glance at him, about to speak. But a knock sounded on the d
BLAIR’S POVRobert stepped closer, his expression darkening. "What did you just say?" "Poisoned? How?" Mom put a hand over her mouth, glancing at me. The doctor adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, keeping his face carefully neutral as he explained. "I’m sorry but your son was poisoned with Greenfox leaves." He hesitated for a second before continuing. "We managed to get most of it out of his system, but his recovery will be slow. As you all know, Greenfox puts someone in a coma and we’re past the critical stage, so he’ll live. But I can’t say when he’ll wake up." I barely heard the rest. My chest tightened, and a sharp pain shot through my ribs as I clutched at them. My body shook as I tried to make sense of what I’d just heard. I struggled to steady my breathing, my thoughts racing. Kade was in a coma from Greenfox poisoning? Where did he even get the leaves? I turned to Robert, who barely reacted. But I saw how his fists clenched at his sides, perhaps in an effort t
Blair’s POV“Kade?” I called through my cracked voice.My feet were barely stepping over each other as I ran alongside the stretcher, my fingers holding Kade’s arm tightly like he’d disappear if I let go. Kade had suddenly collapsed, his body shaking uncontrollably as he struggled to breathe. The first thing I had done was to call the emergency number, and waiting for them took like forever. We were finally at the hospital and he was being rushed in. The nurses were barking orders and a doctor soon joined us. “What happened to him?” The brown skinned doctor asked, the question specifically directed to me.I shook my head because I honestly didn’t know. “One minute he was talking and the next, he was like this,” I answered, pointing at Kade whose eyes were closed now. “Please, save him,” I cried.The doctor barely acknowledged my plea as he turned to the nurses. In a professional voice, he gave his orders, “Get him to trauma one. Start an IV and push two milligrams of Atropine. I wan
BLAIR’S POVI was sitting in bed, trying to focus on my writing and not the sound of Kade’s game in the background. It wasn’t too distracting, but I just couldn’t stop glancing towards him.Kade must have finally gotten bored because he turned to me and I quickly looked away before he could notice that I’d been staring.“What are you doing?” He asked, sitting up.“A project.” I didn’t bother looking up to meet his gaze but I knew that he nodded, like he actually believed me. “Really thought you were never going to speak to me again,” he added. “I’m working on it,” I muttered. He chuckled, clearly amused, but before he could say whatever was on his mind, the door swung open. I looked up, and my stomach dropped. It was Lara and she was standing at the entrance with a suitcase in one hand with smaller bags hanging off her arm. What the hell. “What are you doing?” The words slipped out before I could stop them. Lara rolled her eyes. “What does it look like? I’m moving in.”
KADE’S POVI paced behind the basketball field, holding my phone tight in my hand. Things were getting out of control and I needed to end it, no matter what came next. Lara just had to go. I couldn’t continue with such a suffocating relationship.I took a deep breath and checked my phone screen. I’d been waiting for my father to call back, and finally, my phone buzzed in my hand. His name flashed across the screen and I answered immediately. “Hello, D—” “I was in a meeting,” he cut in sharply, almost impatiently. “This better be important.” I drew in a deep breath, gripping the phone tighter. “It’s about Lara,” I informed him. There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. Then, his voice finally came, “What about her?” “I don’t think I can continue with dating her,” I said, forcing the words out before I could talk myself out of it. “It’s just not working out.” He exhaled loudly into the phone, and I could already hear the lecture coming. “We had a deal,
BLAIR’S POVLara’s Instagram post this morning was all but forgiving. Even though she said she forgave me yesterday, the post said otherwise. I didn’t mean to check. I had just been scrolling through my feed, minding my business until I saw it. Maybe it was because I stalked her for so long that it made it pop up. Or maybe the universe just enjoyed messing with me. “You weren’t chosen, sis. You were just convenient.” That was what she posted.I could tell that she was throwing direct shade at me, and the last part struck a nerve. “I was just convenient?” She was definitely not over things, even though I apologized to her. And if I needed any more confirmation, it came the second I turned the corner in the hallway and saw her waiting by my locker. But she wasn’t alone. Two of her friends stood beside her with their arms crossed, ready to pounce at me. I recognized both of the girls from a couple of Lara’s Instagram posts and I knew this wasn’t a coincidence. This was an a
BLAIR’S POVI could still feel the pounding of my heart as I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t push the memory away. Kade and I had almost fucked instead of talking. How did everything spiral out of control like that? I couldn’t even stop myself. I was literally enjoying making out with my own stepbrother. What’s worse? His psycho girlfriend had walked in on us. I squeezed my eyes shut, groaning internally. If only Kade had listened when I told him about the door. We would have had enough time to get dressed, and none of this would have happened. But no, he didn’t. Now I was stuck here, feeling like an idiot, replaying every second of that disaster in my head. “I wish this was a bad dream,” I muttered to myself, staring at the ceiling.The room was too quiet, but my mind was too loud. What was going to happen now? How would Kade explain the situation to his girlfriend?Just imagining him doing that made a lump form in my throat. Did I jus
KADE’S POVI finally had Blair in my arms, and the feeling was intoxicating. Her lips moved against mine, desperate and hungry, matching the desire burning inside me. We had been circling each other for too long, resisting what we both knew was inevitable. Every glance, every accidental touch in this room had only fanned the flames, making this moment feel like an explosion.And now that we were here, I wasn’t holding back.My thumb pressed against her soaked panties, teasing her as she instinctively rolled her hips, chasing my touch. The soft, shuddering breaths she let out sent a thrill through me, making my cock even harder. Her fingers tangled in my hair in response, nails scraping against my scalp, and I groaned, the sensation sending a shiver down my spine.I knew I should slow down, let her breathe, let us savor this but I couldn’t. Not when she was finally here, melting against me, needing this just as much as I did. All the anger, the distance, the nights spent pretending
BLAIR’S POVI stared at my phone, frowning at Kade's text. "Can we talk? In the room, 1 p.m."I scrolled down to see if there was more to the text, but that was it. No explanation. No context. Just an expectation that I’d drop everything and show up.I scoffed, checking my schedule. Empty. A sigh slipped out. How did he know? Had he looked beforehand?Leaning back, I debated whether I even wanted this conversation. Through the window, I watched people moving through the halls, letting my thoughts drift.Eventually, I pushed myself up with a sigh, ready to go back. There was nothing else to do, and I was also curious to know what he wanted to talk about.Thirty minutes later, I was back in my room and I hesitated at the door, staring at it for a long minute before proceeding to go inside. I pushed the door open, immediately hit by the rich aroma of food. Was Kade cooking?Dropping my bag, I rolled my eyes and glanced toward the kitchen as I shut the door. Did he really think one mea
BLAIR’S POVYou’d think getting cheated on was painful. But watching the one person I shouldn’t have be with someone else was even worse. The feeling was worse than anything I’d ever experienced and I wished I wasn’t affected.I wished I wasn't feeling this pain but seeing Kade and Lara together or even thinking about them made my heart squeeze in such a way that made it feel like it was really breaking.I grabbed my pillow tighter, trying to hold back my tears. But that didn’t work, my shoulders shaking in silent sobs that pushed out. I pressed my face against the pillow , not able to even cry out in my own room. This morning, Kade had clearly made his choice. No matter how much I tried to see it differently, this girl he just started dating was more important to him than I ever was. I just couldn’t understand how he had come to fall in love with her. Did he know her before? When did they start dating? How could he comfortably let her stay here or even kiss her in my presence?The