Adam.I stood at the entrance of the hall that had been chosen for this unnecessary event, my gaze sweeping across the extravagant décor that adorned every corner. The ostentatious display was a testament to the lavishness that my father had spared no expense to achieve, a grand gesture intended to curry favor with the Queen. Intricately carved pillars adorned with gilded accents soared towards the ornate ceiling, shimmering under the golden hue of chandeliers that hung like beacons of indulgence. Every surface gleamed with meticulous polish, reflecting the wealth that had been poured into crafting this spectacle of grandeur.My jaw tightened as I surveyed the ostentatious tapestries, each woven with threads spun from the finest silks money could buy, depicting tales of heroism and triumphs of our lineage. The exorbitant amount spent on each piece was a testament to my father's relentless pursuit of the Queen's favor, a desperate bid to secure alliances and sway her opinion in our f
Maya.Looking dejected at my phone, I flung it to the other side of the twin bed; It had no sightings that I was interested in seeing. Well, I was too disturbed to use the phone properly. Peter had bought it for me a few days ago. He had also gotten me a job at one of the big stores. Wheew. I couldn’t wait to get back to the job. Maybe if I was working, my mind wouldn’t be thinking of what had happened last night. From the miniature kiss to the brashiness of Adam, to the presence of his other two brothers. I shook my head, and stretched my hand toward the makeshift table for the drug. Picking up the container, I gasped when I noticed that just one pill was remaining. What? Had I consumed the hard work of Laura in just a few hours, last night? I bit my lips, feeling my wretchedness and wickedness seeping through my pores. She would go berserk when she heard of this. She would go more berserk in wanting to know what had instigated me to consume the pills like sweets. Signing, I s
“Are you ever going to tell me the backstory of your life?” Diana asked immediately I stepped out of the bathroom, causing me to sigh so loudly that she chuckled. “What’s your deal, dude? You wouldn’t even let me dress up before querying me?” I asked, folding my arms across each other, giving her my best get-out-of-here-look. I needed to get dressed up. But the girl didn’t budge. If anything she looked amused. “Diana, can we talk about my past later? I need to dress up.” I finally asked, letting out another sigh, knowing that she wouldn’t budge unless I pleaded. My pity went out to the guy that would finally sink his clutches into her, or rather the other way around. Thinking of that, had me ruminating on the king’ son. “Do you and the queen’s children talk?” I asked tentatively, not sure what I was expecting to hear, especially as Diana looked at me like I was asking the most dumb question in the universe. “Of course, I talk with them, Maya. They are my leaders. Although, I am
I waited for the rebuke when I brought out my mask and placed it on my face. But there was silence. I opened my eyes that had been shut and peered at my new family. They were staring at me. We had finished breakfast a few minutes ago, and the others had left for a meeting in the great hall, a continuation of last night, and probably the finalization of the engagement. Not that I cared. But it was the same place Laura and Peter were going to, until they had seen me bring out my mask dramatically. “What are you doing, Maya?” That was Peter, slow to comprehend my reason for this, as I could see that Laura and Diana had caught onto my reasons. Their eyes were shrouded with anger and then pity; hopefully the anger was toward Adam and his brothers. “Please call me Dora, Peter. That’s the new name. As you know, this is my pack. I'm sure of it. The surroundings are familiar. I don’t want them to know it is me, until I find out what had happened to me. So, until then, I would don a mask
“So, you think that your boss is a young dude?” Diana asked whilst on our stroll. I had asked her first if it was possible for magic to make someone younger, voice and all. She had nodded, but had admitted that she didn’t know anyone in the community that did that. It’s a banned magic actually, since it involves sacrifices of human blood to stay young. I told her then of the call. She still found it funny. She believed that either I heard wrong, or the person speaking was the secretary, one of the assistants in the store I would be working in. “But he sounded like the boss, a young boss.” I said, not adding that the voice had sounded so gentle that I had wished to get a glimpse of the person speaking. Patience young warlock, you are a worker there after all. I smiled at the thought, then frowned. What was I doing goofing over a man’s voice? Seriously Maya, you don’t ever learn, do you? “So, where are we going first?” Diana asked, obviously giving up on trying to convince me of
“Dora, hi…I thought you would be joining us..” Noami started, when I fully faced her, my hand still clasped with Diana’s. “Don’t worry about the strictness of their faces, they are quite cool, especially the boys. I have seen how you catch their attention, and I think they will be pleased to see you, and know you…your mask..” I watched her stutter, like she hadn’t seen the mask that covered my face, like she was just seeing it now. “It’s something I have to wear.” I answered stiffly, probably because I didn’t want a conversation about the mask, or most probable because I hated that she had classified that crowd as cool. Yes sure I didn't know the queen’s children upfront, but from the tales of Laura, and I know she couldn’t lie to me, I was sure that they weren’t any good either. Just a bunch of entitled assholes and egocentric jerks. The triplets and Claire were entirely on a next level. Those were bastards, wicked bastards. Why was Naomi with them? Why did she find them a good
“This girl is just so full of herself..” Claire stated. She must have noticed that I was appealing to Adam. Took a second. “What else would I be full of, Claire, shit? Apologies my dear, but not everyone is like you. I, specifically, refuse to be full of that.” I said, without waiting a beat. Naomi cackled first, then the rest joined, including Adam. I rested back on the pillar, feeling a bit content, after that. Diana jabbed me lightly, but I knew she was happy that I was getting along, or rather pretending to get along. Claire was red in the face. She stood up sharply, attempting to walk toward me, and maybe, I don’t know, throw out a slap or something, but Adam held her back. “It was just a joke, Claire. You don’t need to get worked up about it.” I watched her deflate and sink back to her position on the pavement. Her anger wasn’t totally out, but it was diffused now. The power of Adam. Sickening. To think I had been under the influence. By this time, Duke has taken advan
“Dora, wait!” Noami. She was the one speaking, and I wondered why. Shouldn’t she be with her friends? I mused, turning around to glance at her, my hands still fitted in with a Diana whose lips haven’t yet gotten rid of the smile. She had been so proud of my comeback to Duke. Yes, it had been an empty threat, but she believed it was a sign of growth on my part. Diana thought I should keep up the act, perhaps become a bully to the bullies, since my identity to them was unknown. I stayed silent, till Noami got to me. She was breathing deeply, and exhaling the same, like she had run a marathon, despite the fact that it hadn’t been up to three minutes since we had left the shade. I waited for her to speak, pretending to be aloof to her ploys that we be friends. Partly because it would suit my new persona, and partly because I wasn’t sure if her loyalty had really laid with me when I was still the bullied Maya. What if all her friendly gestures had all been part of a big plan? To des
Levina darted her eyes between I and Raul, wondering if it was a good choice to leave the drama that was about to unfold. When she stood up, I was sure that she had made the choice to hear a drama she wanted to happen, from me; for if she chose to stay, it might not happen. It amused me. I watched, keeping the amusement away from my face, as she sauntered away from me, to the door. She was about to leave when Raul suddenly called her back, drawing my attention to him for the first time since he had come into the store room. "What's my mother delivery doing here?" It was then I realized that I was still squatting by the carton. Oh god. I mentally palmed my head, since doing that physically would only toughen the uncertain situation we were already in. How do I convince Raul that I had not touched the carton? "I don't know. We had been offloading the cartons when we had seen it." Levina's confidence was something to be envied. Raul looked at her, and then at me. I had stood up imm
I found out that the boy Levina liked was Sinclair. Back in class, when the headboy was listing the rules and regulations by which the contest will be governed by, I had, out of a whim, turned aside to look at my friend; only to find out that she was watching Sinclair as an ardent fan would; not just a mere fan, but a fan in love with her object of fanship. Levina had been been hanging on his every word. And when he had called out her name—as the my campaign manager—listing off the do's and don'ts of her office, I had watched her ears turn pink. I had been amused. But I hadn't told her. That would’ve embarrassed her the more. I had decided to wait until she was secured enough to let me know about her likeness for the headboy and when it had started. Has Sinclair noticed her love for him? I wondered, subtly glancing at her now. Well if he did, he had a good way of hiding it. It made me consider the nuggets I had given Levina earlier; the ‘ignore him yet be in his space’ advice. Sin
This week has been uneventful. I surmised as I watched the professor summarize her teaching for the day. Even my magic classes that had been slotted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays had been uneventful. Seeing as I had a better control of my magic, I just did as they asked me, without any extra flourish. There was not a note of extra in me, of having fun whilst doing magic—not with the threat of Adam and his brothers hanging over me. Since the week started, till now, I had been waiting for the drop of the other shoe, but so far nothing has happened. It was like last weekend didn't happen, like my scar hadn't shown itself. And for my neck, all efforts to cover the mark had been futile. So, I had taken to wearing scarfs around my neck, and since it was a cold season, no one had raised an eyebrow at the piece of accessory which had never been equated to me. I had also gotten more friends, than I would have liked, or rather acquitances—people who liked me because I wasn't an ordinar
As I walked out of the Queen’s palace which was now filled with suffocating air, my heart pounded like a drum. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that Adam might have found out who I really was. I couldn’t shake off the fact that he might put two together—the mark and my accurate information on Maya—and conclude that I was she whom he sought. Maya. The thought of this possibility sent shivers down my spine, and my mind raced with fear and uncertainty.For months, I've hidden my identity well, keeping the truth open to my adopted family alone, keeping it tucked away from prying eyes and whispers in the community and the pack. But now, a careless slip, a moment of indiscretion on my own end, and everything had come crashing down—it felt like the walls were closing in on me. Could this be the reason why my significant other hadn’t wanted me to speak to their parents?‘Was it the reason?’There was no response; just the thrumming of energy I felt. She was choosing to keep quiet? Quite unde
Had I dug myself deep into a hole by bringing up the subject about Maya? I wondered, sinking into the tension that had surrounded us after Adam's last statement. Rachel's mouth has never gotten around getting closed, and Raul's grip had tightened on my hand. The triplets all had smirks on their lips, masking, almost completely, the uncomfortableness that the topic on Maya had brought up. I shook my head. Even if I hadn't talked about Maya, the triplets wouldn't have allowed Raul to leave here with me, without making some lame agreement. "Dora, is this right? Did you agree to it?" Raul asked, incredulity ringing in his voice. I hissed from irritation, before I could stop it, causing Noah's smirk to get more prominent. "Why would you think I will agree to such stupid suggestion made by egocentric fools to soothe their egos because a girl turned them down?" "I'm sorry, I just…" "You thought I will be way over my head because three fine ass boys were coming for me." I freed my hand
At my question, I noticed first that the boys became confused. They were still sporting looks that claimed that I was lying, that I was wasting time, but at the same time, I could see the doubt of their own selves, of their own story accounts, like they weren't sure of their earlier stance. I saw it in Adam's jerk, and his subtle staggering back, as if I had dealt him a blow. I saw it in Noah’s lip biting intermittent motions. I saw it in Daniel’s subtle shifting of feet, and twitching hands. Then, I saw Adam dart a glance at his brother, Noah, then at himself—an inward look into his mind—as if trying to recall something that seemed out of his grasp. His brothers were in the same turmoil, and if I wasn't hearing their heart rate, if I wasn't as confused as they are, I might have called them liars. But my ears were attuned to their heart rate, my eyes were attuned to the several emotions that ran through their face in split seconds. The triplets were confused.They were confused abo
I would have said no to Raul's request if we were alone in the hallway, considering the topic I had just bashed Duke for, considering the fact he had been aware of the matter, but for the Lycan boys. Rachel had no place in my thoughts. If I were to deny Raul his request, then the purpose of kissing him in the first place would be defeated. I couldn’t allow that. Not that I regretted the kiss though. "Yeah, sure. I would love that." I managed to say without gritting my teeth, even going ahead to clasp his hand in my mine, when what I wanted exactly, was to slap him for endorsing his family's misconduct. He must have known my thoughts on him, because he instantly made an apology with his eyes. I diverted my gaze, I wasn't going to forgive him that easily, not even with those cute eyes of his. I made no comment as I and Raul walked past Rachel and Adam, not until Daniel called me, right after I walked past him and Noah. "You must think me a joke, if you believed I was going to let y
"So where did I stop with my story?" I asked, ignoring the subtle tap on my elbow—Raul was handing me a lame warning, to stop with it. That would be expected, considering the hatred I was seeing in Duke's face now. I had taken a huge guess when I had mentioned the fact about the throne—it had come up when he had spoken of me after the throne-as if Raul had the potential of being the next one on the throne, even though there was no strand of white hair on his head. It told me that either the Queen had so much faith in her second son, or she had placed the faith on the bethrothed. That brought my attention to Diana, and her former classes with the Queen. Could Diana be the bethrothed one? If she was, then I hoped that Raul had really denounced it. I couldn’t bare the thought of Diana being plunged into this mess of a family. As much she was strong willed, she would be broken. I loved my sister too much for that. I would have taken this incident as a pointer to start speaking to her,
Three seconds into my kiss with Raul, I forgot that I was supposed to disengage from the kiss when the boys went through the bend and came to hallway we were in, I forgot that they were coming, I forgot that I had made a plan like that, I forgot that this was a kiss meant to deliver a piece of information, not for pleasure. When Raul grabbed my ass however, and squeezed, when I moaned into the kiss biting his lips, enjoying the moan that escaped from his, there was an intentional cough that brought reality into my vision again, that brought my attention to the burning mark on my neck. Oh my god. This was good. I concluded, when I remembered myself. Raul was a good kisser. Despite knowing that there were more than three people watching us, I was adept enough to still play the game. I smiled at a Raul who was shocked by my gutsy kiss and smile, but who remembered quickly how to smile flirty. Satisfied with our interaction, I disengaged from the hug. Slowly. With infinite flourish, I