BLAIR’S POVAs I got ready for school, Kade came out of the bathroom. I continued what I was doing without sparing him a single glance. The fight from last night was still fresh in my mind and I wasn’t in the mood to talk. I picked out a pair of jeans, a cropped sweater and applied a quick swipe of mascara before checking myself in the mirror. I could feel his eyes on me but I don’t turn to look at him. I didn’t want to. Grabbing my purse, I checked my phone even though there were no new messages. Just as I turned to leave, his voice stopped me.“Blair,” he called and I stopped in my tracks, my hand on the doorknob. “I’m sorry for yelling at you yesterday,” He said in a tone that was softer than that last night, but it didn’t make me feel better. I finally turned to look at him. He was standing near the bathroom with damp hair, wearing only sweatpants that hung low on his hips. Any other time, I might’ve admired the view. But right now, all I could think about was how easily he h
BLAIR’S POVI sat stiffly in the chair, my foot tapping against the tiled floor as I waited for Professor Martley who asked me to see him after class. I sighed, glancing towards the door and wondering when he was going to join me. His office smelled like old books and fresh coffee, and the blinds were half-closed.The silence didn’t help my thoughts as it drifted to Kade and Natalie. Just when I pulled my phone out of my bag to continue my little digging, the door creaked open, and Professor Martley walked in, adjusting the sleeves of his navy-blue blazer. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Thorne.” He said. “Good afternoon, sir,” I greeted, staring at the stack of papers on his desk instead of his face. This was one of those professors who took special interest in me when I did very well in my first year. But right now, he looked disappointed.The man exhaled, settling into his chair and adjusting before folding his hands in front of him. “I’ll get straight to the point. I called yo
BLAIR’S POVI exhaled sharply, picking up the paper to stare at it. “Will?” I asked flatly. “Yes. He’s an excellent student, one of the best in your year. He’ll help you catch up quickly.” I glanced at the paper once more, forcing myself to accept this reality. It was clear there was no way out of this, and honestly, I didn’t have the energy to argue anymore. Instead, I picked up my bag, ready to get out. “Can I go now?” I asked him.“Of course.” He replied. I got up from my seat and was already heading for the door when he called out to me again. “Blair,” he said and I turned, barely masking my irritation. “You know this is for your own good, right?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.I swallowed the sharp response sitting on my tongue and gave him a small nod.“Yes, Sir.” I said. “You may go.” He responded and I immediately left his office. The second the door closed behind me, I let out a heavy breath, raising the paper I’d been handed to take a better look at it.As I walked
KADE’S POVThe door creaked open, and Blair stepped inside. I glanced at my phone and noticed that she came back a little late today but I said nothing. I hadn’t gone to school… because I didn’t want to. I couldn’t stop thinking about how she refused to ride with me this morning and that just plunged me into a bad mood that made me decide to stay back. I watched as she let out a long sigh before dropping her bag on her bed, completely ignoring me. Was she still mad about yesterday?Without so much as a glance in my direction, she walked straight to her desk, grabbing her water bottle and took a sip.I watched her, noting the stiffness in her movements and that answered my question. She was still pissed. Not that I blamed her. I had yelled at her, walked out and come back really late at night. I needed to make this right.“How was school today?” I asked, keeping my tone light. “Fine,” she replied flatly, setting the bottle down and returning to her bed.Not much of a conversation
BLAIR’S POVI woke up to the sound of my alarm blaring and I pulled my pillow over my ears to block off the shrill noise but even that didn’t help. Groaning, I rolled over, smacking my phone until it shut up. When the noise stopped, I sighed, knowing I could no longer go back to sleep. Pulling up myself from bed was so tiring like I’d been wrestling with my own thoughts in my sleep. I stared at the wall for a while before my gaze shifted to the other side of the room and landed on Kade’s bed. It was still empty and I couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t come home last night. Again. I looked away, telling myself that I shouldn’t care. He was an adult. He could do whatever he wanted. He could stay out late, get a hotel, or even sleep in his damn car for all I knew. But that gnawing unease in my stomach wasn’t listening to reason. With a frustrated sigh, I reached for my phone, my fingers hesitating over the screen that just lit up.Where the hell did he go? I shook my head,
BLAIR’S POVThe taxi ride to Robert’s house felt longer than it actually was. I kept my fingers clenched around my phone, sometimes debating whether I should turn back. Was this really a good idea? Robert was my stepfather but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t the Lycan king who was respected in all the packs. If he even suspected I was prying into something he didn’t want me to know, he might not hesitate to warn me through my mother. But I had to try. I needed to know the truth, for my own sanity. As we pulled up in front of the Reid estate, I stared at the massive iron gates, feeling a strange wave of nostalgia. I had barely spent any real time here, yet the place was imprinted in my memory. The butler greeted me as soon as I stepped inside. He gave a small nod, his usual expression in place. “Miss Blair, welcome back.” I shifted awkwardly and offered him a smile. “Hey. Um, is my mom home?” “She stepped out for a bit, but King Robert is in his study. Shall I inform him of you
BLAIR’S POVI sat on my bed with my legs folded beneath me and my phone resting in my palm as I stared at the screen. The soft beats of the music I was playing filled the room as I distracted myself with online gossip.I had been waiting for Kade for hours. My damp hair clung to my shoulders, still slightly wet from the shower I had taken earlier, an attempt to relax and ease my nerves. But It didn’t work. Nothing could erase the restlessness I felt while waiting for Kade. I checked the time again and it was 10:14 PM. Yet he still wasn’t home. I had expected him to walk through the door by now, and maybe as usual, act like nothing was wrong, like he hadn’t just spent days avoiding me. But there was nothing. I let out a slow breath, tapping my fingers against the screen of my phone. I wanted to be furious at him, a huge part of me was. But the anger wasn’t as deep as I thought it would be. Instead, it was tangled up with worry. Now that I knew the truth, everything made much m
KADE’S POVI pulled my jersey over my head, the sweat cooling on my skin. The locker room buzzed and teammates were grinning, still hyped from the game and their voices overlapped as they talked about the practice we just had. “Damn, man, you killed it out there,” Craig said, clapping me on the back. “You were on fire,” Nathaniel supported. I smirked, tossing my jersey into my locker. “You all act like you didn’t play, too.” “Yeah, but let’s be real. The way you played made us seem like supporting players. It was just like the game we player with Velmora.” Laughter spread through the room, and I shook my head, grabbing a towel to wipe off my face. Craig leaned against the locker beside me. “So, Captain, you gonna go easy on us now that you’re in charge?” I let out a short laugh, shaking my head. “But Coach hasn’t made me captain yet. It hasn’t been announced yet.” “Come on, man,” Edward piped up. “You think he’s gonna pick anyone else after you’ve been killing it like t
KADE’S POV “Someone did this!!!!” My body jolted up as my eyes flew open. I tried to orient myself, disoriented for a second, unsure of where I was. Then I saw Blair standing in the doorway, her clothes in her hand, dripping with water all over the floor. Her hair hung in messy strands, and her eyes were wide with rage as she glared at Jaxon and Harper who were seated on the other side of the room.“Who did this?” she screamed, her voice carrying pure, unfiltered anger. I pushed myself up, my heart racing as I looked around, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. “What happened?” I asked, my voice still rough from sleep, but I made sure that the concern was clear in my tone. Blair's finger shot out toward her suitcase, which was now nothing more than a soaked pile of clothes. "Someone drenched it with water," she snapped. "All my clothes are wet now. I have nothing to wear." I could see the frustration on her face, her usually put-together appearance completely go
Kade’s POVHer back felt stiff under my palms and there were knots of tension along her spine that I massaged with my thumbs. She let out a shaky breath, her head tilted forward as I kneaded her shoulders.“Honestly, this is the worst time of my life,” Blair groaned, her voice muffled as she pressed her face into the pillow. I huffed a low laugh, still massaging in slow circles across her muscles. “Worse than when I got poisoned?” I asked, half-teasing but only because I didn’t want to admit I’d been thinking the same thing all day — about how much shit she’d been put through. She was quiet for a moment, then she mumbled, “I’m actually contemplating it.” She let out a dry, tired laugh. “I can’t believe I spent the whole day lifting bricks like some prisoner in a labor camp.” Before I could reply, she pushed herself up abruptly, her hair spilling over her shoulders in tangled waves. She turned to face me and with a serious face, she said, “This is forced labor. Literal forced lab
BLAIR’S POVI looked around the storage room, still struggling to believe this was really happening. The place was filthy. Dust covered everything, empty boxes were lying around, the walls looked like they would crumble in any second, and the floor was nothing but broken wood and scattered trash. Mrs. Priscilla stood in front of us as if this disaster was something to be proud of.“Boys and girls,” she called with a crooked smile, like she wanted to offend us. “This is your first assignment,” she said and my stomach twisted.Jaxon frowned and asked, “What exactly are we supposed to do here?”Mrs. Priscilla turned to him and answered, “You’ll tear down the wall near the pipeline, rip up the damaged flooring, and clear out every piece of debris in this room. I want it spotless.”I couldn’t stop myself as I grumbled. “You have got to be kidding.”She acted like I hadn’t said anything. Her finger shot out, pointing at me first, then at Jaxon. “You two will work on that wall.”My jaw drop
BLAIR’S POV“Wake up!”My eyes snapped open, my head aching like I’d been pulled out of a nightmare. Except this was the nightmare.Mrs. Priscilla’s shadow came over me and I looked up to see her hands on her hips as she glared down at me. I scrambled to my feet even though my legs were wobbling and wiped my eyes to blink away the sleep in them. What the hell was the time? And why was she standing in our room like some deranged rooster at the crack of dawn?Beside me, Kade groaned, half-buried under his thin blanket. He turned away from Mrs. Priscilla, pulling the sheet higher over himself. His hair stuck up in every direction, the dark strands messy from sleep, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from smiling.Mrs. Priscilla wasn’t nearly as amused. She marched over to his bed with all the grace of a military general and tapped her fingers sharply against his forehead. “Up. Now.”Kade’s groggy mumble came muffled from under the blanket. “Go away with your fat hands.”M
BLAIR’S POV I tugged my jacket tighter around me, hating how the cold wind kept sneaking past the fabric like it was on a personal mission to freeze my bones. Winter wasn’t here yet, but it sure as hell was announcing itself like an unwanted guest. I blew air into my palms for warmth, glancing at my phone. It was already two minutes past eight. Seriously? Mrs Priscilla had barked at us about being here at eight sharp. Where was she now? “This is all your fault, Blair,” Harper snapped and I turned to her. Her arms were crossed like a spoiled brat who’d just been told no for the first time in her life. “We wouldn’t be here freezing if it wasn’t for you.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Of course, she’d find a way to twist this around. God forbid Harper takes any responsibility for her miserable life. Apart from freezing my ass off, being dragged away from the comfort of my room, my warm bed, and decent food, forced to spend two hellish weeks around criminals… yeah, the cherry
BLAIR’S POVMrs. Priscilla was a woman who seemed like a myth in Northvale. Many called her “the absolute nightmare” and she was notorious for her methods in bending and stretching students till they became perfect. And here she was, standing in front of us, looking completely in her element. Her expression was neutral, yet somehow filled with an energy that made my stomach sink. The way she surveyed the room, like a queen inspecting her soldiers, only made my anxiety worse. Why did Mr Gregory have to involve her?Mrs Priscilla cleared her throat, and he gave her a nod. “Go ahead,” he said, like he was handing us over to a prison warden. The woman clasped her hands together and began to speak. “I’ve been informed that the four of you have been rather… naughty.” I swallowed hard. That word, coming from her mouth, sounded like the start of a horror movie. Kade, beside me, still looked lost, like he was waiting for someone to tell him who the woman was. Of course, he didn’t know.
BLAIR’S POVI looked at Kade as I listened to the recording, realizing he was the one who made it. He smirked and I looked away, turning my attention to Harper who had just walked into the cafeteria, and was now staring into her phone.And then the whisperings started. “Oh, look who finally decided to show her face.” Someone let out a loud, mocking laugh. “Harper, how does it feel to steal your best friend’s leftovers?” A fresh wave of murmurs spread across the hall. “She really thought Jaxon was worth it?” “What a jealous little wench. Blair leveled up, and Harper just couldn’t take it. She just has to go after her friend’s boys.“She and Jaxon deserve each other, two pathetic losers.” “Who does that?”I sat still, putting a hand under my chin and watching the scene unfold. I tilted my head, wondering how Harper was feeling now that she was being treated like a joke. She seemed to have been so untouchable for so long, and now that she’d fallen, everyone was getting their
KADE’S POVWe finished basketball practice and Jaxon still did not show up. Or maybe he didn’t come to school at all, because he was being ridiculed. If that was the case, it was funny because how could he not have the balls to take what he always dished out?As I was undressing in the locker room, my teammates complained about being hungry.“We’re going to the cafeteria. You coming, Kade?” Jasper called, standing at the door.“You guys can go without me,” I replied, waving them off. “I’ll join you soon.”“Aight.”They left and I was alone in the locker room. I relaxed for a while, listening to a new jam Craig shared. Afterwards, I took a cold shower and changed into my clothes before texting Blair.“”Hey princess, where are you?””Her reply didn’t come immediately and I was about calling when I got a text notification from her.“”I just left the dean’s office. Meet up at the cafeteria?””“”You bet,”” I texted back.I barely made it three steps out of the locker room before coming fa
BLAIR’S POVI woke up to Kade beside me, his arm lazily draped over his eyes, and his chest rising and falling. For a second, I just watched him, soaking in the quiet. It wasn’t often that things between us felt this… peaceful. When he finally stirred, blinking at me, a lazy smile curved on his lips. "You watching me sleep? That’s kinda creepy, princess." I rolled my eyes, stretching my arms over my head. "Shut up. I was just making sure you were still breathing." He chuckled, pushing himself up on one elbow and planting a kiss on my lips. "I meant what I said last night, Blair. I won’t let things like this come between us again. I’ll communicate more. Promise." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Swear it." He held up three fingers like a scout. "Swear on my life." Then, as if reconsidering, he added, "Okay, maybe not my life. But I swear." I smirked. "Good. Because if you pull another disappearing act, I’ll hunt you down." He let out a low laugh, ruffling my hair. "I’d like