I shrugged off his hand and slammed the door shut before he had the chance to say anything else. I was fuming as I turned to face Danielle who had a worried look on her face and I couldn’t blame her. Everyone on campus would be intimidated standing in front of Zach and Zayn. They were simply breathtakingly beautiful and imposing as well, it wasn’t an exaggeration but they’d be at least three inches taller than the tallest person on campus. “Do you think they’re going to leave?” Danielle asked. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know why they were here and why they sought me out. It could be anything ranging from a serious matter to a prank like the one they carried out on me before I ran away. “I don’t know, Danielle. But if there’s one thing I’m sure of it’s that they’re not going to be here for long.” I said. I could always wait them out until they had to return to the pack. Also, they won’t be able to come here every day and I could live without seeing them every couple of ho
“You have every right to be angry at us, Ari. We’re not going to dispute that for one second. We understand you hate us but—““C’mon, Zach. Don’t tell me that you tracked me down here because you wanted to give me a speech about how you understand why I hate you and your brother. If that’s why you’re here, I think you should leave. I don’t want to hear any more of it.” I said, cutting him short. “That’s not why we’re here, Ari,” Zayn said. “We were only trying to ensure that we can have this discussion without resorting to yelling and the likes.” “I don’t make promises, especially when it involves the both of you. You have no right to ask anything from me after you both humiliated me and indirectly chased me out of the pack.” I said angrily. “That’s not the entire story, Ari,” Zayn said, trying to explain but I wasn’t going to have any of it. “I don’t care, Zayn. You can save whatever explanation you’ve got, I have no use for it.” I said, not wanting to hear anything else he had t
Ari"Hey, look what we have here," Zach sneered, his eyes scanning my outfit. "Little Ari, dressed in her usual rags."Zayn chuckled, his eyes gleaming with malice. "Yeah, she looks like she just rolled out of a dumpster."Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. I tried to push past them when Zach blocked my path."Where do you think you're going?" he asked, voice dripping with condescension. “You can't leave so easily. Let's have some fun."“Leave me alone, please,” I cried out “Look at her crying, so pathetic,” Zachary spat out snickering while Zayn smirked. Their laughter echoed in my ears, sneers growing wider…wider until-I gasped awake, my eyes opening to bright lights. Taking heaving breaths I shut them tightly to calm myself.“A dream. It was all a dream,” I whispered frantically. Slowly the panic and memories waned and I began to calm down.It was more than a dream but a memory . Memories upon memories of torment. Of their presence. But things were different now. I was n
AriMy mom seemed oblivious to my shock, still smiling and chatting. Yet I couldn't focus anymore as I felt the car stop. What was going on?"Mom, are we making a pitstop or something?" I asked cautiously, cutting her off in the process as I tried to comprehend what I was seeing.Turning back to face her, I found hints of confusion on her face."No, sweetie, we're home.” She said and I blinked in surprise."Home?" I repeated. "But...but this is Alpha Jason's house.""Yes, it is.” her smile faltered for a moment before she nodded.I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. Alpha Jason had been the Alpha of the Silver Reed pack for as long as I could remember. Even before I'd left, there was one concrete fact. He was a widower ever since his wife died years ago and since then, he had never remarried. The only family he had were his twin sons…A chill ran through me. There was no way my mom could have married him…right?No way. I shook the thoughts away. I was thinking too much. It was
AriI had no idea how I found myself in the nearest bathroom by luck but I didn't care.Without hesitation I locked myself inside, desperation and panic brewing inside me. My mind was a mess and the cool bathroom tiles weren't enough against the storm raging in my mind.It shouldn't be. Of all the things I had anticipated, this wasn't ever in the cards. My mother had married Alpha Jason? Zayn and Zachary, my high school tormentors, were my mates?The universe had to be playing a prank on me. A shudder ran through me as the memories rushed back in full force, taking me back to when I was in highschool, constantly bullied for my poor clothes, my skinny appearance.The main perpetrators were none other than Zachary and Zayn. I had no idea why they hated me so much, yet from the moment I met them, they had their sights set on me. And nobody stopped them. Why would they when they were the sons of the Alpha, the most sought after and popular boys in school?Many even joined them.Those t
AriMy jaw clenched. Facing their stares I was frozen. In the end I didn't even need to come to them. They had come to me instead."Look at you. All grown up I see." Zayn said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.The reminder of the past left me shaky. Whenever they ganged up on me like this, it was nothing good.But I wasn't the weak girl who would cry. I could stand my ground now, and that was exactly what I was going to do."What do you want?” I asked, trying to keep my cool despite the butterflies in my stomach."Oh, we just wanted to welcome you to the family. You know, make you feel at home." Zachary chuckled, leaning on the other end of the doorway. "Save it, Zachary. I'm not buying it." I snapped."Look who's grown feisty,” Zachary smirked, “You’ve really changed in the year you've been apart haven't you?”And from the looks of it, they hadn't changed one bit.A part of me wanted to snap back but I stopped myself. So far, there were no cruel remarks compared to the past. For th
AriI landed with a splash in the pool, the cool water enveloping me. As I surfaced, sputtering, I looked up.Dina stood at the edge of the pool right where I was with a smirk on her face. Right beside her was Roland, my bag in her hand.“Oh Ari. I didn't know you were so desperate for a swim. You couldn't even change first?” Fallory giggled along with Daria.As I looked around, terror filled me. The place had turned silent with all the attention on me. I felt a surge of humiliation wash over me, bringing back memories of their torment. I looked around, seeing all the people staring at me, and then my eyes landed on Zayn and Zachary, at the far end of the building. They were smirking at me, looking amused.That was the last straw.Tears stung my eyes, but I fought them back. I refused to cry. Clenching my jaw, I bravely left the pool, and walked towards them. Keeping my face neutral against their smirks, I grabbed my bag away.“You should watch your words Fallory. And maybe your mak
“Where did you think you were going, Ari?” Zayn said, giving a twisted smile as he took one step towards me forcing me to take one back instinctively. I didn’t know what they wanted with me and I sure as hell didn’t want to find out. Nothing good ever happened to me whenever Zayn and Zach were around and I didn’t want a repeat of my horrible past. “I believe Zayn asked you a question, Ari? Can’t you speak any more?” Zach spoke this time around, sounding more threatening than his twin brother. “Can’t you pretend like you didn’t see me and I’ll pretend like you didn’t follow me here?” I said in a squeaky voice. I’ve always hated how I felt around them but there wasn’t anything I could do to change it—it was a little too late for that, I guess. “Your tongue has gotten sharper, hasn’t it?” The twins laughed in unison and I wondered what they wanted from me. Ever since I came back, I’ve made it my mission to avoid the two of them and I’ve done that successfully until this moment. “P
“You have every right to be angry at us, Ari. We’re not going to dispute that for one second. We understand you hate us but—““C’mon, Zach. Don’t tell me that you tracked me down here because you wanted to give me a speech about how you understand why I hate you and your brother. If that’s why you’re here, I think you should leave. I don’t want to hear any more of it.” I said, cutting him short. “That’s not why we’re here, Ari,” Zayn said. “We were only trying to ensure that we can have this discussion without resorting to yelling and the likes.” “I don’t make promises, especially when it involves the both of you. You have no right to ask anything from me after you both humiliated me and indirectly chased me out of the pack.” I said angrily. “That’s not the entire story, Ari,” Zayn said, trying to explain but I wasn’t going to have any of it. “I don’t care, Zayn. You can save whatever explanation you’ve got, I have no use for it.” I said, not wanting to hear anything else he had t
I shrugged off his hand and slammed the door shut before he had the chance to say anything else. I was fuming as I turned to face Danielle who had a worried look on her face and I couldn’t blame her. Everyone on campus would be intimidated standing in front of Zach and Zayn. They were simply breathtakingly beautiful and imposing as well, it wasn’t an exaggeration but they’d be at least three inches taller than the tallest person on campus. “Do you think they’re going to leave?” Danielle asked. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know why they were here and why they sought me out. It could be anything ranging from a serious matter to a prank like the one they carried out on me before I ran away. “I don’t know, Danielle. But if there’s one thing I’m sure of it’s that they’re not going to be here for long.” I said. I could always wait them out until they had to return to the pack. Also, they won’t be able to come here every day and I could live without seeing them every couple of ho
“How was school today, Ari?” Danielle began. “I couldn’t help but notice the scowl you had on your face as you walked towards me.” “I met a rude guy in class today but I handled the situation perfectly, I don’t think he’ll be bothering me ever again,” I replied. “Someone has been making a statement,” Danielle laughed. “Did it happen in front of the whole class?” “I stared at her mortified that she would even think I was capable of doing such. “You’ve lost your mind, you know that, right?” I laughed. “I was only teasing you.” Danielle nudged my shoulder. “Tell me, how was your day at college today?” I asked. “Do you know Tyler and I share the same class—not all of them obviously, but we share a couple of classes.” Initially, I thought this thing she had going on with Tyler was going to be nothing more than a distraction at first, but over time, it had developed into a relationship and I was happy for her. One of us deserved to be happy, we both couldn’t be single and miserable
“It’s barely 8:00 AM and my day is already ruined.” I sighed, running my hands through my already disheveled hair. I was already feeling exhausted and I just woke up. Maybe getting out of today had been a mistake, I should’ve listened to my instincts when it was trying to warn me that today was going to be a bad day and stayed in bed. I could always resume college tomorrow, it wouldn’t hurt anyone. “I know that look, Ari. And if you’re about to do what I think you’re planning, it’s not going to work.” Danielle said, her eyes glued to my face. “I’m not in the mood to argue with you, Danielle. Can you just let me be, please?” “I can’t do that, Ari. I’ve watched you in your lowest moments and I know how horrible it was for you, when you finally got over those dumb twins, you were at your happiest. I’m not going to let you slide down back there because of a loser like Tristan.”She had a fair point and it took a minute of scolding from Danielle before I saw it. “We better get dresse
It was three weeks after I submitted applications to different organizations when I finally got a call from one, asking me to come over for an interview. I was hoping that I wasn’t going to mess it up, seeing as I had spent most of my first months here working as a waitress—a job that I despised because of the rude customers and the drunk men who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.Today was the first day of college and I didn’t know if I felt thrilled or nervous. Nevertheless, it didn’t quite matter. This was my first day giving myself another chance at starting all over and I had no choice but to look forward to it. I woke up earlier to the aroma of coffee. Usually, that smell would delight me, but today, I immediately felt a wave of nausea that hit me hard as a thunderstorm.Whenever I felt like this, it often meant that something wasn’t right or I was probably going to have a fucked up day. Every morning, it was a routine for me to start my day with a cup of coffee and Dani
The shock set in as my eyes tore open and was greeted by the morning sun, the weight around my waist was his arm, the arm of the man whose name I wasn’t even sure that I remember from the club last night, draped over my body as he still slept peacefully, snoring light and unmoving as I slipped out of his hold as quietly as possible. He drank a lot more than I did last night, it wasn’t a wonder that he was still knocked out compared to me who took a few shots and turned down the rest I was offered. I spared a glance around the big spacious room, my jaw slightly dropping at the sheer size of it, and due to the glass that made up half of the walls of the room, I got a perfect view of the city from up here but I didn't have the time to be enthralled by the sight as I hurriedly looked away.This was nothing more than a one-night stand and I had to leave before he woke up. A soft moan escaped my lips at the soreness between my legs as I tried to walk. I looked back at the man sleeping pe
We entered a club that was filled with people. Dim lights and loud music filled the atmosphere. I could feel people's lingering stares at us but I didn't know if they were good or bad. I knew their eyes were on me and I felt uncomfortable. I tried to push it aside and went to the dance floor with Danielle and Valerie walking ahead of me. Danielle had said that everyone’s eyes would be on us and she wasn’t wrong. It was almost like we stole the whole show as soon as we walked in through the front door.Soon my hips let loose and started swaying to the music playing. Danielle and Valerie left to get themselves drinks, they offered to get me another glass of wine but I turned down the offer and within a couple of minutes, they were gone but I didn't notice I was alone.I could see him watching me from the bar. I tried not to pay him any attention but it was difficult to ignore the intensity in his eyes. It was pretty obvious that he found me gorgeous and interesting, but I wasn’t inter
A couple of hours later I slipped into the dress I'd gotten earlier today after Danielle’s constant persuasion. I didn’t want to do this but it was pointless arguing, there were some fights you weren’t going to win and this was one of them. I smoothed out the dress and looked at my reflection in the mirror."I think it’s perfect, Ari. I really do. I think all you need now is just a little bit of makeup to make it look super perfect!" Danielle complimented me, giggling as she did. She was excited about the prospect of having out with Valerie and I, she loved to party whenever she could. She was very much my polar opposite in many things but I loved her dearly. Valerie grabbed one of my liners and walked into my bathroom with it. "Emergencies, I ran out of mine!" She called out at the top of her voice.I chose a pair of red stilettos to match my dress and then I sat on the bed to put them on.I hadn’t dressed up in a long time and I kind of liked this feeling. It was a nice distra
"Yeah, that too," I let out a long sigh, "I just can't believe that they would gang up on me like that, and with all their friends involved at that, I still can't wrap my head around that thought and the pain I feel every time I remember how stupid I was to have kept myself for them. A part of me knew it was stupid but at the same time, I thought that they would be the…""Right person," we said in unison."It really hurts, my heart hurts and the fact that they would do that to me after all we shared just sparks the thoughts that you can never really know who to trust or who is genuine, Well, except you and Valerie, I guess. I think I've been destined to remain single for the rest of my life, just like the sisters in the Catholic Churches I see around." I confessed, a sad pout on my lips as I looked up at her.I was being dramatic but I didn’t care."And who told you the sisters in the church aren't married or at least have someone they're fucking?" Danielle asked looking away from he