The more time I wasted, the longer it would take me to go after what I was after and it didn’t make any sense. None of them knew what was going on and they deserved to at the very least. “I got a call from Maya and she told me that my mother had collapsed and I had to return home quickly,” I said. Danielle gasped but the Alpha twins remained calm like they always were. “Did she say what happened to her?” Zach asked. “I don’t know—or maybe she did, I don’t know. As soon as I heard my mother had collapsed, nothing else mattered to me and I don’t know what’s her current situation either.” I sighed. “If Maya hasn’t called you again. It means she’s being looked after and I’m sure she’ll receive the best care possible.” Zayn said. I didn’t doubt that Alpha Jason would do everything to make sure that she didn’t die but I couldn’t be here while that happened. “We’re not asking you to stay here either. We understand why you have to leave, anyone would.” Zach added.“Good. Because I have
“I’ve got a ton of questions and I need answers, Maya. I need to understand what happened to her, someone has to have an explanation for that.” I snapped, pulling at my hair. “If you need answers, you’re at the wrong place then. There’s only one person who can give you the answers you desperately seek. I’m sorry but I’ve told you everything that I can, it’s why I had to call you to come back home because you deserve to know the truth.” Maya said. “Do you know where I can find Alpha Jason?” I asked. “There are two places where I believe he’d be in if he hadn't moved her away from the pack and I wouldn’t blame him for being cautious,” Maya said.I gave her a quick hug as I hurried out of her store deciding to stop by the hospital first. If I can’t find them there, I’d stop by the house next and if they won’t let me in—I’d burn it down. I arrived at the hospital and I could recognize a couple of the faces I saw, they were members of the Alpha’s private bodyguards and it spurred my be
It was a struggle to get out of bed. After leaving the hospital because I didn’t want to break down in front of Alpha Jason, I ran back to Maya’s store and she stayed up with me, trying to console me as I wept uncontrollably for hours. I couldn’t remember falling asleep but the last thing I remembered was accepting a cold glass of orange juice from Maya and that was it. She had probably slipped something inside it to knock me out for a couple of hours and I couldn’t blame her either, she had probably needed to shut her eyes for a couple of hours. The sleep numbed my pain for a couple of hours but it didn’t do anything to dull the pain and the anxiety that was threatening to consume me with each passing second. I couldn’t help but draw a parallel line between this moment and the dark time in my life when my bullies locked me in a cell after kidnapping me after school hours. I remembered waking up in a cell. The air felt cold and damp. I was scared, I rushed towards the bars and ju
“Missed us?” Zach smiled at me as Zayn dropped their luggage on the front porch. I blinked several times, hoping that my eyes were deceiving me and they weren’t here on Maya’s front porch in the same pack they swore not to return to until they had my forgiveness. “You’ve been silent for a minute now and it’s worrying, is something wrong?” Zach asked, leaning against the doorpost. “Ari! Who’s at the door?” Maya asked but ignored her, my focus was on the men standing outside. “What are you doing here?” I glared at both of them. “We assumed that you’d be pleased to see us like everyone else is,” Zach said. His cockiness never failed to make me feel like bashing his head in. “If I remember correctly, you two were banished and when I pleaded with you to go back home, you said you wouldn’t because of a number of ego-fueled reasons.” I scowled. “Yes, we did but what you’re forgetting is that, we’ve already been forgiven before we decided to stay back and now that you’re here, we figu
I made my way to the hospital and I spent the last hour reading my mother’s favorite book to her while she slept. Before now, I spent a substantial amount of time talking to the doctor and trying to know everything that had to do with my mother’s condition. The doctor assured me she was only unconscious and even though they hadn’t recorded any of it yet, she would—at some point in time—have minimal brain activity because she’s alive but cannot be woken up and show no signs of being aware.The person’s eyes may be closed, and they’ll appear to be unresponsive to their environment. They may not respond to sound or pain, or be able to communicate or move voluntarily.Someone in a coma may also have very reduced basic reflexes, like coughing and swallowing. They may be able to breathe on their own, although some people require a ventilator, and a breathing tube to keep their airways open.Over time, someone in a coma may start to gradually regain consciousness and become more aware. Som
I made my way to the hospital and I spent the last hour reading my mother’s favorite book to her while she slept. Before now, I spent a substantial amount of time talking to the doctor and trying to know everything that had to do with my mother’s condition. The doctor assured me she was only unconscious and even though they hadn’t recorded any of it yet, she would—at some point in time—have minimal brain activity because she’s alive but cannot be woken up and show no signs of being aware.The person’s eyes may be closed, and they’ll appear to be unresponsive to their environment. They may not respond to sound or pain, or be able to communicate or move voluntarily.Someone in a coma may also have very reduced basic reflexes, like coughing and swallowing. They may be able to breathe on their own, although some people require a ventilator, and a breathing tube to keep their airways open.Over time, someone in a coma may start to gradually regain consciousness and become more aware. Som
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
I made my way to the hospital and I spent the last hour reading my mother’s favorite book to her while she slept. Before now, I spent a substantial amount of time talking to the doctor and trying to know everything that had to do with my mother’s condition. The doctor assured me she was only unconscious and even though they hadn’t recorded any of it yet, she would—at some point in time—have minimal brain activity because she’s alive but cannot be woken up and show no signs of being aware.The person’s eyes may be closed, and they’ll appear to be unresponsive to their environment. They may not respond to sound or pain, or be able to communicate or move voluntarily.Someone in a coma may also have very reduced basic reflexes, like coughing and swallowing. They may be able to breathe on their own, although some people require a ventilator, and a breathing tube to keep their airways open.Over time, someone in a coma may start to gradually regain consciousness and become more aware. Som
I made my way to the hospital and I spent the last hour reading my mother’s favorite book to her while she slept. Before now, I spent a substantial amount of time talking to the doctor and trying to know everything that had to do with my mother’s condition. The doctor assured me she was only unconscious and even though they hadn’t recorded any of it yet, she would—at some point in time—have minimal brain activity because she’s alive but cannot be woken up and show no signs of being aware.The person’s eyes may be closed, and they’ll appear to be unresponsive to their environment. They may not respond to sound or pain, or be able to communicate or move voluntarily.Someone in a coma may also have very reduced basic reflexes, like coughing and swallowing. They may be able to breathe on their own, although some people require a ventilator, and a breathing tube to keep their airways open.Over time, someone in a coma may start to gradually regain consciousness and become more aware. Som
“Missed us?” Zach smiled at me as Zayn dropped their luggage on the front porch. I blinked several times, hoping that my eyes were deceiving me and they weren’t here on Maya’s front porch in the same pack they swore not to return to until they had my forgiveness. “You’ve been silent for a minute now and it’s worrying, is something wrong?” Zach asked, leaning against the doorpost. “Ari! Who’s at the door?” Maya asked but ignored her, my focus was on the men standing outside. “What are you doing here?” I glared at both of them. “We assumed that you’d be pleased to see us like everyone else is,” Zach said. His cockiness never failed to make me feel like bashing his head in. “If I remember correctly, you two were banished and when I pleaded with you to go back home, you said you wouldn’t because of a number of ego-fueled reasons.” I scowled. “Yes, we did but what you’re forgetting is that, we’ve already been forgiven before we decided to stay back and now that you’re here, we figu
It was a struggle to get out of bed. After leaving the hospital because I didn’t want to break down in front of Alpha Jason, I ran back to Maya’s store and she stayed up with me, trying to console me as I wept uncontrollably for hours. I couldn’t remember falling asleep but the last thing I remembered was accepting a cold glass of orange juice from Maya and that was it. She had probably slipped something inside it to knock me out for a couple of hours and I couldn’t blame her either, she had probably needed to shut her eyes for a couple of hours. The sleep numbed my pain for a couple of hours but it didn’t do anything to dull the pain and the anxiety that was threatening to consume me with each passing second. I couldn’t help but draw a parallel line between this moment and the dark time in my life when my bullies locked me in a cell after kidnapping me after school hours. I remembered waking up in a cell. The air felt cold and damp. I was scared, I rushed towards the bars and ju
“I’ve got a ton of questions and I need answers, Maya. I need to understand what happened to her, someone has to have an explanation for that.” I snapped, pulling at my hair. “If you need answers, you’re at the wrong place then. There’s only one person who can give you the answers you desperately seek. I’m sorry but I’ve told you everything that I can, it’s why I had to call you to come back home because you deserve to know the truth.” Maya said. “Do you know where I can find Alpha Jason?” I asked. “There are two places where I believe he’d be in if he hadn't moved her away from the pack and I wouldn’t blame him for being cautious,” Maya said.I gave her a quick hug as I hurried out of her store deciding to stop by the hospital first. If I can’t find them there, I’d stop by the house next and if they won’t let me in—I’d burn it down. I arrived at the hospital and I could recognize a couple of the faces I saw, they were members of the Alpha’s private bodyguards and it spurred my be
The more time I wasted, the longer it would take me to go after what I was after and it didn’t make any sense. None of them knew what was going on and they deserved to at the very least. “I got a call from Maya and she told me that my mother had collapsed and I had to return home quickly,” I said. Danielle gasped but the Alpha twins remained calm like they always were. “Did she say what happened to her?” Zach asked. “I don’t know—or maybe she did, I don’t know. As soon as I heard my mother had collapsed, nothing else mattered to me and I don’t know what’s her current situation either.” I sighed. “If Maya hasn’t called you again. It means she’s being looked after and I’m sure she’ll receive the best care possible.” Zayn said. I didn’t doubt that Alpha Jason would do everything to make sure that she didn’t die but I couldn’t be here while that happened. “We’re not asking you to stay here either. We understand why you have to leave, anyone would.” Zach added.“Good. Because I have
It felt like my whole world was collapsing yet again in front of me, I dropped the phone as I slid to the floor, ignoring the sound of the phone slamming against the ground as I broke down in tears. I didn’t deserve to be in this situation and my mother didn’t deserve this fate either. She was supposed to be home with the man she loved, having the time of her life, so who would dare harm her? I could feel the tears drop down my face as I angrily wiped it away, sniffing and trying to clean up my face. Crying wasn’t going to solve a lot of me right now, I had to do something other than sitting here and moping. Danielle pushed the door open and stared at me worriedly. “Is there a problem, Ari? I came rushing as soon as I could.” “I—uh, I just got terrible news, Danielle. And I think—I can’t, I need to go home. My mother. . .” I broke down in tears again, my body racking with sobs. Danielle wrapped her hands around me as she comforted me.“I know you’re hurting but you can’t do anyt
I walked back into the apartment still reeling from the shock of what had just happened. Last night, Zach and Zayn had been flirting with the idea of returning to the pack and today, they invited me to their house to have dinner. I was too stunned to say anything and Zach came to my rescue, asking me to think about it before giving them an answer. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” I heard Danielle’s voice and I jumped in fright, throwing my bag at her head, narrowingly missing hitting her forehead because she was quick enough to duck. “What the hell, Ari?” Danielle snapped. “You nearly gave me a heart attack, Danielle!” I said, trying to calm my racing heart.“We’ve been living together for a long time now, why are you acting like you saw a stranger?” Danielle snapped. “You’re right, Danielle. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak out like that. It’s just that I thought were spending the entire weekend at Tyler’s like you said you would.” “His room is just still in this building
Zach and Zayn didn’t relent in protecting me and trying to sway me with gifts either. Robert had come looking for them at a party after he had been discharged from the hospital and he ended up getting beat again and his friends all faced the same fate. No one knew who did it because no one saw anything to begin with. Zach confided in me that they saw Robert coming and they lured him and his friends away from the party before taking turns beating them to a pulp. Robert had reported them to the police but there was no sufficient evidence to prove what he was claiming and no one aside from his friends was willing to corroborate his allegations. “I’m curious, Zach. How did you get everyone to like the two of you on campus?” I asked. We were in my room, after Zach coerced me—yes, coerced me into allowing him to make me dinner and here we were. “We are very likable people, Ari,” Zach replied, his eyes glued to his screen. Did he forget he was supposed to be in the kitchen or something