CHAPTER 3

My phone was still in my hand. My mother was shouting, “Hello, Hello, Bianca!”

My sweaty palms pressed against my cheek as I stared undecidedly at my phone and the quadruplets. Their hands held up to hit me any moment from then.

I turned off my phone and wanted to insert it into my pocket when Rowan forcefully grabbed it and my arms.

“Why did you turn off the phone?” Rowan asked as he pinched my shoulders. “You want your whore mother to think that you don’t like the school?”

“No, no,” I spit.

“Shut Up!” Ash shouted.

Rowan dragged me to the locker's edge and had his face directly across mine.

“You have a large mouth, you know,” he said.

I felt a light breath flow out of his mouth. It was a little intoxicating.

He left me but still looked me deep in the eyes.

I turned away.

“We should reward you for your big mouth,” Rowan said.

“What do you want us to do to her?” Map asked, almost letting out a chuckle.

“We should kiss her,” Ash said.

“You can’t kiss the daughter of a father snatcher,” Oak said.

“Yeah. That would be gross,” Rowan said.

“And why did you even think about that?” Rowan asked, a little nervously.

“I wanted to make her bleed,” Ash said, “On the lips,” he added, after examining his brothers’ astonished looks.

I looked at them and found Oak’s lingering eyes on my chest, and Maple looking affectionately at me again.

I didn’t like these looks because I knew they had an evil intention towards me.

“Hey, hey,” Rowan slapped my cheek to face him, “Look at me. You are nothing here, but trash.”

I turned my head immediately, but he insisted that I look at him.

A teacher came into the scene and beheld what was going on.

“Miss Landre!” the teacher yelled, “What were you doing again?”

I looked at him in disbelief.

I mean, he didn’t see what was just happening.

Rowan let go of me and made a confused expression.

“Were you about to make another red ink on your school record?” He asked.

I did not say anything; I knew they would judge against me.

The quadruplets no longer held up the mean stare they did, rather, they held up an innocent smile that would easily trick someone.

“She was just trying to choke us before Rowan held her,” Ash said.

The teacher looked at Ash with so much attention before looking back at me.

“You were just… That’s it,” The teacher said, “You were going to clean the hallway for a week for skipping class, plus an extra two days for trying to strangle someone.”

“I wasn’t trying to strangle anyone, and there were some girls who made me skip class,” I said, already realizing that I ought not to say the last thing.

“One week and two days. That’s seven days,” the teacher said unconvinced.

“Maybe we could help her out,” Oak said.

“Yeah. That’ll be an awesome idea,” Rowan added.

“Number one rule: always treat newcomers friendly. We need this skill to manage our pack efficiently,” Ash said to the teacher.

The teacher looked convinced, and happy at them.

He nodded his head in agreement and returned to his office.

Oak’s phone rang.

It was his father, Ethan.

They had a conversation on the phone, which I couldn’t hear.

He dropped the call and looked at me in disgust after a few seconds of the dropped call.

“Come on. Dad’s outside waiting,” Oak said as he turned to leave the door.

“He said that we should bring her too.”

The quadruplets seemed worried by this act, but couldn’t counter it.

I put a few books that were in my hands inside my locker, and I hurried to meet the quadruplets.

I sat down fearfully between Maple and Rowan.

I tried as much as possible to not touch them, even though I did, I immediately apologized.

We reached home safely, without any further problems from the quadruplets.

Chloe, my mother, set the table happily for dinner.

She asked me what happened to my forehead, and why I didn’t wear a regular dress.

I replied her by saying, “I’m new in the school, and don’t know where I can step to avoid any incriminating injuries.”

She gave me a cheerful smile and warned me to be careful next time.

“So, how has your new school been, Bianca?” Alpha Ethan asked.

I took glimpses in fear at the quadruplets before I answered.

“It has been very good. I love the school.”

“And they have been showing you around?” Alpha Ethan asked.

“Yes,” I replied with clenched teeth.

Alpha Ethan gave his sons a happy smile. “Wow, I loved your hospitality towards her,” Alpha Ethan said.

“It was like practice. You would be able to treat your mates hospitably when they came.” The quadruplets nodded, as though they agreed with what their father just said.

“It worried me. You had not found your mates yet. I didn’t want you guys to end up the way your mom and I did,” Ethan said.

The quadruplets gave him a dissatisfying look. They blamed Chloe for making their mother leave her alpha. Well, their mother was a chosen mate, not a fated mate.

“Don’t worry. They would not end up the way you did,” Chloe said.

“I could feel it. They would have a beautiful Luna, someone who would be with them for the rest of their lives, and also make them comfortable. Remember, the best things come the latest.”

Ethan smiled at Chloe. Ethan’s expression dawned in realisation as he looked at me.

“How old were you, Bianca?” Ethan asked.

“Em… I was seventeen,” I said.

“You were supposed to turn eighteen soon, wasn’t it?” Ethan said.

“Yeah. Next Saturday,” Chloe interrupted happily.

“Yes,” I said.

“Maybe you could find your mate then,” Ethan said excitedly.

I shyly bent my head against the dining table, knowing that the quadruplets were looking at me in irritation.

“Wow, this was another milestone on your journey. We ought to put up a grand celebration, invite a few friends, drink a little…” Ethan was talking.

“And invite that little new crush of yours at school,” Chloe said.

I felt embarrassed at what my mom said.

I almost bent my head again when I heard Maple speak.

“She didn’t look excited about it,” he said, looking at Chloe and Ethan.

“Were you excited about your birthday?” he asked me.

I didn’t give a verbal response. My body language was cagey with my emotions.

I finished up my meal first and walked into my room.

I hadn’t forgotten about Leila's party tonight.

But I didn’t want to go.

I had to go because the quadruplets wouldn’t be there for any further harassment.

My mother, and Alpha Ethan wouldn’t let me leave the house for a casual party.

They would insist that I go with the quadruplets, or I didn’t go.

This meant that I had to escape my way to the party.

I found a perfect dress for the party and dropped it on my bed.

I heard a gentle knock on my door.

I hid the dress within my blanket, and headed to the door.

My heart thumping and my feet freezing, I opened the door to behold Oak standing before it.

“May I come in?” Oak asked, his eyes gleaming with a soft light.