ASHLEYI woke up at exactly 5am. I had made a routine of setting an alarm before going to sleep every day. I could not risk the triplets waking me up. Especially Axel, my worst enemy. In the last few days, I realized I woke up feeling happy. Now, I could look forward to seeing Derrick.I thought of the way he said my name. The softness of his touch on my face. I thought of his lips and a gasp escaped mine. The thought of him caused a sweet sensation in my stomach. I laughed as I recalled how jealous he was when I was watching Jordan’s video. I took a deep breath and buried my face in my pillow. As much as I wanted to spend the whole day thinking about Derrick, I could not afford to waste any time. I had a lot of things to do, including washing my step brothers’ cars. I was completely exhausted after doing all the chores and washing the cars. I yawned dizzily as I climbed the staircase to go back into the house. Just then the door was flung open and Axel appeared. I stepped aside
ASHLEYI woke up to a pair of deep blue eyes staring into my soul. I squinted my eyes, trying to take in my environment. I jolted in shock, my first instinct was to flee. It was Carson. He leaned forward as if to confirm I was still alive. Then he waved his hand in front of me. He put out his fingers, one, two and five. When I blinked, he nodded and got on his feet. “Thankfully, you are not dead yet. I was already wondering who will do the chores you left behind,” he said, “get up and do what you have to do. You have rested well,” he said, offhandedly and went upstairs. I noticed the living room was empty. I propped up on my elbows to see what exactly was going on. But a sharp pain cut into my skin, which caused me to wince. I quickly shifted my weight from the affected elbow. That was when I noticed the pieces of glass lying around. Then it all began to make sense. Axel had hit me hard against the wall because of Jasmine. I fainted. I was finally awake and all Carson cared about
ASHLEY“You are not saying anything, Ashley,” Derrick said after a prolonged moment of silence. I stared at him, like I had no idea what he said before.“You will come watch me play, won’t you?” he asked, looking deep into my eyes. I swallowed. Fuck it, Ashley. Fuck everyone! Just do what makes you happy. The voice in my head was louder than ever, prompting me to choose myself, choose my happiness. “Yes, Derrick. I'll come watch you play,” I said, fondling the bandana hanging on my neck. He heaved a sigh of relief “Now, that's my Ashley,” he said and kissed my cheek, briefly. I blushed crimson, with my eyes slightly closed, “thank you for asking, Derrick,” I said, smiling. He shook his head, “no, Ashley. Thank you for agreeing to come around. It means so much to me,” he said with a smile. “I have to go now. I'll see you,” he said and ran off. I couldn't believe what I had just done. I had brought more hate upon myself. I had to find Anita. She had to know what was going on.
THIRTEENI had never been so embarrassed in my entire life. I had suffered various episodes of bullying but never have I been so humiliated before such a loud crowd.I tried to block my ears from the whispers, murmurings and booings coming from other students. They seemed to be having the time of their lives as they laughed at me. I felt my body shivering uncontrollably. I had to leave as soon as possible.I managed to get up from my seat. I cleaned my sweaty palm on my skirt and tightened my fist. One, two, I swallowed and ran off without looking back.“Ashley, wait!” I heard Derrick call me.I knew I couldn’t wait. I quickened my pace without looking back. I was careful to avoid crowded paths because I couldn't stand any more mockery. I rushed into my classroom to grab my bag. I had to leave the school premises as soon as possible.I quickly stuffed my books into my bag and dashed out to the corridor in a hurry.“I see how hard you are trying to steal the spotlight,” a voice said fr
ASHLEY“You're gonna have to spill, Ashley. What did he do?” Anita was fuming.I had to explain everything to Anita. I could not allow her think Derrick was the bad guy, when in fact, he had done nothing wrong. I watched as her face transformed from enraged to impressed then a soft ‘awwwnnn’. Derrick waited for me to finish my talk with Anita. As soon as we were done, I went over to him. He looked really worried as he rushed and pulled me into his arms.“Ashley, I am so sorry. I had no idea things would turn out that way. It was supposed to be a special moment, I swear,” he said. I pursed my lips and stared at him for a few seconds. Then I inhaled deeply, “I totally understand, Derrick. And that was really thoughtful of you,” I said, calmly.He ran his hands slowly along my face, “I'll make it up to you, Ashley. I just want you to know I would never do anything to hurt you.”I nodded again, “my friend is waiting, I have to go now.”He looked over at Anita, “how about I walk you ho
ASHLEYHad they been in the hall all along? When did they come in? What exactly did they see? Phones were placed in our direction and I knew we were in deep shit. They definitely had videos and pictures of Derrick and I, while we made out.What now?Derrick turned sharply and looked towards the other students. He sighed and buried his face in his hand.“Shit!” he cursed.I quickly jumped off the table and adjusted my uniform, shamefully. I tried to hide behind Derrick who stood still with his back to me.“Slut!” someone shouted.This wasn’t going to be easy. It was as if the first person’s statement unlocked the mouth of others. They began saying really hurtful things.“Should we have given you some extra time? Maybe you would be fucking by now. Huh?” another student said and caused others to laugh at me.“You are really terrible at everything, even kissing! You are horrible, Ashley!”Oh no! This was not happening to me.My heart was beating really fast. How would I ever get out of th
ASHLEYI fell to my knees and cried my eyes out. I did not know which hurt more. The fact that I was so stupid to have fallen for a dare organised by my step brothers or the fact that it was Derrick, same Derrick I had started to have feelings for.If only I had listened to Anita when she warned me to be careful. Maybe I would have seen through his lies. Now I was in a mess, my videos and pictures were all over the place.I came to the conclusion that I was cursed.I sniffed, cleaned my face and got on my feet. The best place to go would have been Anita's house. But she had traveled. I had no choice but to go back home.I walked into the palace. And the first thing that greeted me was extremely loud music coming from the house. That was then I recalled that the triplets were throwing a party that evening.I sighed in frustration. I knew some students from Empire High would be at the party, so I didn't want to be seen. Instead of going through the front door, I crept to the back exit a
ASHLEYI was awake all night. The music playing in the living room did not go off for a second. While some guests got tired and slept, some were up, partying all night.I felt extremely dizzy. I really hoped that the triplets would be utterly knocked out so I could have some time to myself in the day.I was grateful that the guests left quite early. I quickly cleaned the living room and set everything in order before any of my step brothers came out of their room.I was doing the dishes in the kitchen when Axel shouted my name like his life depended on it. I shook my head in frustration. It was just 8am and I was already being summoned. I fucking stayed awake all night, tending to them in their drunken state.“Ashley!” he called again.I went out to the living room to meet Axel. He was seated with Brody. It was evident that the alcohol from the previous night had really dealt with them. Brody looked like his head was on fire. It was good seeing him too tired to even speak.It served
ASHLEY I recognized them the minute I saw them. Their faces were covered as were the faces of every guard in the palace. But there was something different when our eyes met. I felt a spark on my inside. My wolf surged within me, causing my heartbeat to triple. “They have come to rescue you. Your true mates!” I tried to wrap my head around it but my mind was blurred. I knew them, I felt it strongly, but I did not know exactly why they came for me. I wanted to stay back and check what it was about, but Killian would not let me. When he insisted that I left the throne room, I had no choice but to leave. As I went to my chamber, I saw another wolf. His eyes ignited the same spark in me. We stood staring at each other and just like the other two, he also was dressed as a guard. “Who are you?” I asked, calmly. “You do not know me? Ashley?” He looked heartbroken and shattered. “I feel a connection with you, but I do not know exactly who you are.” We went into my chamber and he took h
AXEL“All we need now is to reach the palace,” Carson whispered as he crouched beside me in the forest.Things were not the same after Killian defeated us and took Ashley away. Breaking the mate bond was extreme. It made it impossible for us to connect with Ashley, thereby making the search for her longer than normal. But we finally found Killian’s pack.While he was busy shuffling between his pack and the capital,we were busy making our way deeper into his territory. We had killed many of his guards and he had no idea what was going on. We had eaten deep into his territory. We took our time, knowing that this was no small battle.As the days went on, we were able to make our way into the village, hiding behind cabins and caves.“Now that they know we are here, we have to be more careful. I would also suggest that we hurry up and get into the palace,” Brody said as we sat down to strategize.We entered the palace at night, through the back. We injected the guards and put them to sleep
KILLIANAfter the marriage ceremony between Ashley and me, a wave of fulfillment washed over me. I stared at her with pride. My labor of many years finally paid off.I instructed the maids to set up a room specially for Ashley. She was my Luna and I wanted that to be evident in e etu way. I assigned some maids a d to get. They were to ensure that her needs were met.I visited my secret room to do a power check. I was elated when I discovered that some heights which had seemed impossible a while back, I now surpassed.I had a meeting with the elders later in the day. I could see the hidden questions in their eyes as they stared at me. But no one dared to ask me questions.“The time to claim what was rightfully mine is here. It's time to ascend to the throne.”They stared at me, still confused. Then they began exchanging confused comments among themselves. I wonder how I surrounded myself with such dummies.“It's time to declare myself as king of the entire capital. I will now be the
KILLIANI took Ashley to a dimly lit chamber. It was bare and cold, save for a funny-looking bed. I had to be sure that she was ready to do my bidding. She had to prove herself worthy of my palace.I stood over her, my gaze unwavering.“You will be my Luna,” I declared, enjoying the way my voice echoed in the room, “we will be married, and you will serve your purpose.”“Never!” she barked, her eyes spitting fire.I chuckled, a low sound that ended almost immediately, “we'll see about that.”I began pacing the room, speaking of our future, of our children, of a life together. The more I spoke, the angrier Ashley became. She was not willing to do my bidding. Her eyes pierced my heart as she shot daggers with them. But I didn't care.I had come a long way on this plan. I had put in so much to ensure that I got Ashley as my Luna. Having her tight here in my territory was proof that the universe was granting my long-term desire.I tried to resist the urge to hit her. She kept swearing at m
ASHLEYThe moon was full and heavy, sending shadows all over the forest. I looked around trying to understand where we were at the time. I looked around trying to trace the road from where Killian parked his car.“My men will take care of you for the night. Enjoy the space given you in the cabin. Tomorrow, we will continue the journey to my park.”I did not respond to him, neither did I look in his direction.“You heard me right?”I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that this evil creature was the same Long Leg Ahjussi that I had known for so long. I felt miserable. I had been played. I let myself be used! To think I had sold some information to an enemy. “I want some time alone!”He looked down at me for a few seconds, “you can have your time alone but don’t try anything funny,” he said dangling his index finger in front of me.“I don't care what you would do to me!” I said, angrily.“Ashley!” he shouted, his voice laced with a wickedness, “I would advise you to corporate
ASHLEY“I am Ashley's online lover!”I stared at Killian with my jaw dropping in shock.Axel and Brody turned to look at me with confusion. I couldn't believe I was in such a terrible situation. It was too overwhelming to find out so many things at once.I thought we had escaped.Brody told me that waiting in the underground room was too risky.“That Killian guy is too sensitive and smart. We cannot let him get us so easily,” he paused and looked around, thoughtfully.Then he pointed to the wall at the other end of the room. I looked at the wall, wondering how we would go through it. He held my hand and rushed towards the wall. He stretched and tapped the wall and a pad of buttons appeared from the side. I had no idea that the wall was computerized. It opened up, creating a space for us to go through.I followed behind Brody and waited for him to close the wall again.“Carson is waiting for us outside the school walls. Just follow my lead and we will be fine. I'm sure Axel is facing h
AXELWas Killian monitoring us?I couldn't get my mind off what Ashley had shared with us. Killian was definitely monitoring us. We all agreed to be more watchful of him and to report any suspicious movement to the rest of us.I sat beside Killian during basketball training. Our team had just scored a superb goal and we were leading. Killian jumped on his feet and cheered for the goal. I remained in my seat while shouting at the top of my voice.Just then, Killian's phone chimed, and a message popped on the screen.If you let the info slip, then I think we need to act fast.I gasped and looked up. I was relieved to see that he was still occupied with cheering our teammates.His phone chimed again.She might have sensed something was off already and might have told the others. Was this about Ashley?I looked up to find Killian staring down at me. He quirked his brow questioningly at me. I ignored him and looked ahead.He sat quietly and picked up his phone. I expected him to check hi
ASHLEYHanging out with Killian was quite comforting. Being with him gave me a break from all the hurdles and pressure back in the palace. His presence always brought a sense of calm, a kind of balance in the weight of my life.There was so much to plan. I attended a series of meetings with my mates and the elders. Aside from the stress, I was getting used to the real life of royalty. But I found myself looking forward to the relief that came with spending time with Killian.I told Anita about him and I also told Long Leg Ahjussi. He said he was happy for me but he wouldn’t want someone else to take his place in my life. I laughed at him for being jealous.I reassured him that no one could take his place. While I relaxed with Killian in school, I did not discuss my life issues with him. I was careful to avoid telling him personal things and other occurrences in the palace. I felt more comfortable telling them to Long Leg Ahjussi. He was very understanding and we had come a long way.J
AXELI could not avoid the smell of sweat that filled the air in the basketball room. I sat in the front row, watching the others play, while waiting for my turn. The repeated thud of the ball against the floor echoed in my ears, while my eyes got busy with something else.I watched Killian, the new guy, with a mix of admiration and unease. His movements were effortless and his shots were calculated. There was an uncommon grace to his play that resonated with something deep within me. I concluded it had to be born from years of practice since he did not mention anything about being from a special breed or having any powers at all.But that grace, it was something. The fierceness with which he played could not be possessed by just any wolf. He seemed to have a perfect blend of expertise and that feral touch I couldn't place.At first, I'd been wary of him. His arrival had disrupted the school in a very haughty way. It felt like a sudden intrusion into our territory. But as the days pas