APRILSomehow, Nick’s voice had cut through my unconsciousness and woken me right up. The exhaustion wiped from my eyes like magic when I heard him yelling at Ace downstairs and I forced myself to jump to my feet. The amount of embarrassment that overwhelmed me when I realized that I’d been found out was maddening, crippling in fact, the kind that made want to pull my hair out from its roots. The more I heard him speak, the guiltier I felt about how things had played out. I regretted not just taking a cab to his house after Ace left me in the lecture hall with instructions to meet him by his car. It was dumb of me to think he wouldn’t find me where I hid to get through to Nick, and now I was paying gravely for my foolishness. The hurt in Nick’s voice tore through me as I hurried to the guest room and bolted the door behind me. I didn’t think I could ever face him, I would literally die from the shame. No fucking way. I just… I couldn’t. Things got even worse when him and Nick fig
NICKIt didn’t stop. Even after I barged in and lost it, it carried on. Hours before I stormed Ace’s house, I was in severe pain because my wolf could feel my mate being touched by another man in ways that only I should’ve gotten to touch her. It was sickening, infuriating, shattering. To sum it all better, it was undoubtedly the worst feeling in the world. The pain was so crippling that I couldn’t find the strength to move until the sex was over, that’s the only reason why I hadn’t barged in much earlier. And it killed me to witness how nonchalant and uncaring Ace was about everything when I confronted him. Let’s not get into the things I saw when I walked into that bondage room. That fucking broke me. To literal bits. With jealousy, rage, and disappointment. Knowing that he’d subjected her to all that and the place was reeking of orgasms and sex made me so furious that I could barely see clearly. To worsen things, she refused to leave with me. Refused to even acknowledge me. Re
NICKI could’ve left when she turned her back on me, but I just couldn't move. It felt like I was nailed into that spot and forced to watch her walk away. The way her shoulders were slopped defeatedly and her head was hung low made my heart hurt even more. I wished I could take her in my arms and promise her that everything would be fine, that I’d make sure of it even though its the last thing I ever did, even though it would cost me everything. But I knew she wouldn’t appreciate me going after her and badgering her even more. After the day she’s had, she was probably sick of anyone trying to bug her into doing something she didn’t fully feel up to, so there would be no point in trying any harder than I already had. Since I’d clearly exceeded my limit with her, I needed to let out these hellish emotions raging through me on someone else. Ace. My wolf growled in agreement within me and the next thing I knew, I’d set off to Xander’s house. We had each other’s locations synced, so I
NICK For a second, some part of me tried to dissuade me for throwing something he was vulnerable about back in his face, but I refused to be swayed in my decision. He’d trampled and spat on my feelings repeatedly since yesterday, and now it was my turn to do the same. “A silly threat huh?” I chuckled bitterly, “well, here’s a much better one.” The way his eyes darkened disturbingly signaled to me that he could guess what I was about to throw at him already, but he didn’t flinch just yet, maybe because he assumed I wouldn’t stoop that low even when he was being an insufferable fool.Well, he thought wrong and I was glad to prove that. “The next time you pull that foolish stunt of blackmailing her to do your bidding, I’ll make sure the entire world sees the pathetic evidence of how badly you spiraled after your first break up and almost got hooked on drugs,” I warned, a deep frown etched into my features as I spoke. In a flash, he was on his feet, eyes glowering with that of his w
APRILApparently, he wasn’t the type who backed out in the face of adversary. The adversary in this situation being my scandalous hours of being railed by one of my mate’s best friends. The fact that Nick put all the blame on Ace didn’t sit right with me, especially since I knew how much I’d enjoyed every second of being punished and fucked until there was no ounce of energy or orgasms left in me.The worst part of it all? I still had flashbacks of the entire night during classes and I had to fight off the urge to touch myself to the memories in the shower. That’s exactly why I didn’t feel worthy of all the effort Nick was putting into reaching out to me. While Ace was an asshole whose guts I detested, he didn’t deserve to take all the heat for what happens between us, besides it takes two to tango and I was a willing second after my arousal overpowered my logic. Because I felt like I didn’t deserve any of the affection and care Nick was showing me, I decided to stop responding to
APRIL I looked at the open package in my hand again and smiled, then threw my hands around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Thank you so much,” I peppered his cheeks with kisses as I pulled away. I don’t know why I didn’t think of changing my phone number, but it was so sweet that he thought of it and got me new sims, which allowed me to switch numbers as I pleased so his friends wouldn’t bug me anymore. “Anytime, sunshine,” he beamed at me as he started the car. We rode to the cinema while singing along to some rap songs that he was absolutely shocked I could sing. The fact that I knew every lyric was all thanks to my photographic memory, but I teased him by saying it’s because I was smarter than him, even when it came to memorizing lines. By the time we got the the cinema, I was fresh out of laughter from how he kept whining each time I knew a lyric that he’d forgotten. We held hands as we walked into the cinema, and as usual, every staff that attended to us commented on how g
NICK She had to be furious after hearing that confession. Right? Unsure of what to do, I found myself searching for an a explanation to justify why I’d stuck my nose where it didn’t belong without her permission. “I just… I couldn’t watch them treat you so badly and do nothing, I know it wasn’t my place to infringe on your privacy and make that decision, but I had to help somehow,” I rushed out the words, hoping they made sense to her. I couldn’t read April’s emotions even through the mate bond right now.It was just blank, but sometime around when she was questioning me, I’d felt uncertain if hanging in the air around her. Now, there was nothing, almost like her ability to feel had vanished into thin air. “Thanks for your help and your honesty,” she said in a robotic tone and started on her way out of the cinema, not holding my arm like she was before that fool stormed in and ruined a perfect night. Unsure what to make of her reaction, I just followed quietly behind her, and ev
APRIL Each time I thought that Nick couldn’t possibly outdo himself, he proved me wrong. Even after all the amazing ways he’d had my back of late, realizing that he’d paid off my debt was the most flooring realization. I knew that he would go to endless lengths to make me happy, but I never thought anyone could spend thousands of dollars on me and keep quiet about it. He truly did it from a good place because anyone else would have flaunted it and held it over my head. The burden of being indebted to those loan sharks for years and being treated like a literal slave just so they could keep mooching of me was something that kept me up at night and had made me cry several times. The fact that he’d finally relieved me of it was literally the best thing anyone had ever done for me. When he said that he was now my family, he truly meant it, and he’d been proving it at every turn. However, when he admitted to being the one that had paid my debts, I wasn’t sure how to react. I just fel
APRIL Nick looked clearly wounded by my refusal to go with him and I hated that whenever I made a decision about the guys, someone always ended up hurt. However, I was making the right decision this time around, and while I hated that Nick was caught in the crossfires, I had to stay back and cater to the man who literally got caught in a firing for me two days ago. As much as I wanted to catch up on everything that happened between when the police barged into his home to arrest him and now, that wasn’t high up on my list of priorities until I was able to nurse Ace to health for saving my life even when I didn’t deserve it. So, for now, Ace’s full recovery was my main focus. But I couldn’t help how horrible I felt about Nick’s hurt expression that I was clearly responsible for. “I’m really sorry, Nick. I know this doesn’t make you feel good, but I think it’s best if I stay with Ace for now,” I apologized in a solemn and sincere tone.He stepped closer to me and leaned in, his feat
ACEI stirred slowly, gradually opening my eyes to find a head of flowing hair beside me that was buried in a copy of Pride and Prejudice.April’s pretty face was undoubtedly the best of sight to wake up to, especially after being unconscious for a quite a while. Even in my state of mind, I knew that I was constantly worrying if another bullet has hit her despite the one I’d taken, so it was a huge relief to see that she was hale and hearty.For a few beats, I was simply content with watching her, pleased that the bullet had hit me instead of taking the life of a woman whose beauty rivaled that of goddesses and renaissance paintings. “Is Darcy worth your attention more than I am even though I’m on a hospital bed?” I finally broke the silence. “You’re awake,” she turned to me with a huge smile on her face and was throwing her hands around me in a hug before I could process anything. But as quickly as her hands wrapped around me, she withdrew like my skin had burnt hers. It’s either
APRIL I’d been in the shower for a few minutes now, and my phone had rang countless times during that period. No one called me these days, so I always felt like doom was once again lurking close by whenever my phone rang. It would either be someone bringing me bad news or someone who’s more than eager to rain more insults on me since that’s all I got from people these days. I wasn’t eager to find out who was calling me, so I took my precious time in the shower and only stepped out when I was done with my twelve step bath routine and no sooner. When I headed to where my phone was on my bed, it started ringing again and I grabbed with the speed of lightning when I read the caller ID.The relief that hit me was instant and overwhelming and I had to pause for a second to realize how silly that was before I hit the answer button. “Ace, hi! How’re you doing?” I asked immediately, realizing how awfully worried I was about him even after my unpleasant run-in with his mom. “It’s his mothe
APRIL If I thought I was the connoisseur of bad luck before, now I was certain that I was the embodiment of evil luck. There’s no other reasonable way to explain the horrible things that befall everyone that was unfortunate enough to be around me. Ace, like his best friends, was now suffering for the sin of ever having his life intertwined with mine.He’d gotten in the way and taken a bullet that he didn’t deserve. It would’ve been best if I’d gotten shot and wiped out of their lives so that could finally experience good fortune instead of an endless streak of bad luck. Now, Ace was unconscious and in the Intensive Care Unit, and I heard his father yelling at the doctors to get his only son out of ‘that lousy coma’ before he burnt the hospital’s reputation to the ground and then he stormed off. I swallowed fearfully after watching that scene unfold, but I still gathered some courage and forced myself to walk to the nurse’s desk and make my presence known. “I’m here to see Ace Jac
APRILIn my next life, I’d either come as a monarch’s favorite tea cup, or not come at all. All because this life was started to feel far too gloomy and devastating to live through. If my first life was this tedious, why would I consent to another one? No bloody way. Aren’t you being a little too dramatic? came my subconscious’s snarky interruption. I wasn’t being a little too dramatic though. This wasn’t even adequate drama for someone who just came to terms with the fact that she’s a bad luck charm. Everyone around me always met their unfair share of tragic events, and once the bad luck dice started rolling, it wouldn’t stop until I was back to being deserted and alone. First, it was my father who died. Then, my mother who abandoned me right after and lost every ounce of motherly care for me. Then, every best friend I’ve ever had was cursed with a shitty love life until they moved on from me. And now, I’d single-handedly crushed a friendship that had been carved in stone from w
“Isn’t the prophecy already manifesting?” Those words echoed in the underground office that had been the secret meeting place of the three most influential and powerful Alphas in existence. There was an unsaid weight crushing on the shoulders of all three men as they processed that dreadful question.The prophecy which must not be repeated by the gods’ messenger who relayed it to them.That was the prophecy they were cursed with the responsibility of crushing to dust, and they’d been working tirelessly to achieve that for over a decade. That’s the reason why that question was a slap in the face to the two Alphas it was posed to. Alpha Bright, Nick’s beloved dad, turned to Alpha Jackson, Ace’s least favorite parent, who posed the question.“You called an impromptu meeting and made me fly several miles to get here, just to throw around odd speculations?” he frowned while Alpha Davenport snorted derisively beside him. “Odd speculations, you say?” Alpha Davenport laughed bitterly, “do
APRILI nodded obediently, biting down on my lower lip and looking down to drink in the beauty of him pumping in and out of me and the addictive hot slams that followed. Every moan, every kiss, every bite, every flirty eye contact, every lick and every stroke was mind blowing. It felt like our souls were synced and the pleasure made us a little crazier by the second. “You’re so responsive, so tight,” he tightened his grip that was now on my ass while my legs were locked behind his neck. I just moaned back my response and let myself float in bliss as he hit every stimulating spot in my core. He was buried so deep inside me and from the way he was throbbing uncontrollably right now, I knew that he was seconds away from exploding inside me. The thought of that made me clench around him, aiming to milk every last glorious inch of his cock. “Good girl,” he kissed me and held me so tightly to himself that we were breathing the same air. Then, he started to pound into me so recklessly
APRIL Every ounce of anger he was holding unto faded as he grabbed me.Now, his eyes were filled with vulnerability and all that rage from before was no where to be found. He looked like he was seconds away from breaking down completely at my feet.“Please don’t leave me, April,” he pleaded for dear life, “I’d hate to hold you here against your will, so please, stay with me of your own accord.”I looked away from him, unwilling to agree to his ask so easily. “Nick, we need some space away from each other, we really do. So, just let me go,” I sighed heavily, trying to gently pry my arm out of his grasp.He didn’t let me get away from him, because soon he had both hands gripping my arms and he nudged me so I was looking at him again. It was hard for me to hold his gaze because he was now looking at me like his entire world was crashing before him. Was I the reason his world was crumbling? I desperately hoped not, because I wasn’t worth it. “I’m so sorry, but I can’t respect that,” h
APRILWhen he reappeared in the living room minutes later, he was dressed in shorts, scenting of mint and grapes and I couldn’t even believe he was the same man that had beaten Xander like a mad man. The man smiling at me right now and ruffling a towel through his damp hair was nothing like that beast I’d encountered earlier. “April,” he breathed and threw the towel aside and blocked my path. The next thing I knew, his arms were enveloping me whole and he sniffed in my scent like he’d been dying to do that for far too long. I tried to step away from him but then he pulled away from the hug and started to inspect every corner of my skin worriedly. “Are you hurt anywhere? Did he harm you in any way? Were you restrained with chains at any point?” he asked as his hands continued to roam my body.Something snapped in me and I was suddenly enraged.“Really?” I let our a sarcastic laugh, “are you really going to pretend that you can’t bear to see a bruise on me after nearly killing your