CHAPTER 23. THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER HARAI was still in a daze, staring at the man who'd just played 'knight-in-shining-armor' and had broken my fall.His striking resemblance with the Alpha Prince left me speechless. His brown hair which synched with his brown eyes was the only significant difference he had from the Alpha-prince.The Alpha-Prince had sleek, black hair that was mesmerizing to behold. And he had a more condescending, haughty demeanor than this man.But I had to admit his smiles were enchanting. His cheeks had definite dimples which lit up his face in such a heart-fluttering manner.I hadn't realized I'd stopped whimpering until his smiles widened. “You look more beautiful without the whimpers,“ he said.Huh? My brows arched in confusion. I wanted to leap out of his arms but he held me down.“Easy, dear.” He cautioned. Slowly, he guided me to my feet, still holding my hands. I buried my face into his shoulder, clenching my teeth at the stinging pain from the part of m
CHAPTER 24. A RIDE HOME HARAWho would have thought, right? Out of all the places I could see him again, it was here in the Red Cross pack, in this bar. With thousands of people in this pack, What are the odds that our paths would align? Indeed, the world is a small place.If I said I thought about him a lot, then I'll be tagged a lair. But in the past months, he did cross my mind a few times. And I get lost wondering what had become of him. If he was real, or just a ghost that had popped out from nowhere and had said something I needed to hear.His words that night had been my muse for escaping from Roland. I'd never thanked him enough for that night. For showing up. For saying something.”You're a member of this pack?“ My voice was in a brittle whisper. I feared he might not even hear me. “Yes, and you're not. So what are you doing here?“ I was going to answer, but he hushed me with his finger. “Hold on, don't you recognize me from somewhere else?““What?“ I was slightly taken aba
CHAPTER 25. RAGEDRYDER I chugged down the last of the whiskey and loved how it burnt in my throat. Again, I checked my wristwatch and it got me pacing around.The fireplace was warm enough to tune down the coldness my rage had brought along with it. Once again, I thought about mind-linking him but no, I still wasn't buying that thought.It would be an easy rant if I just mind-linked him. I'd rather wait until he shows up.The approaching footsteps got my head snapping up and speaking of the devil! “Ryder–“I cut him off with a hard punch to his mouth and he lost his balance, falling headfirst into one of the couches.“You were supposed to watch her!“ I yelled, and I felt Red come alive, eager to tear him apart.“Ryder, chill the fuck out!“ he yelled back, staggering to his feet. “What's this about?““Hara got hurt on your watch. I should have your head at my feet for your incompetence!““Take it easy, man. I never meant for it to happen,“ Jason said, trying to tone down my rage.“
CHAPTER 26. IN A DEEP SHITRYDER“Don't you get it, Tiffany? I'm gonna be out of town for a day or two. There's no way in hell I'm attending these meetings,“ I stared horribly at the hundred scheduled meetings she'd emailed me. How the fuck did my schedule become this jam-packed? And I'm just one person, My God. How am I expected to attend all these meetings?“But Sir, the meetings were confirmed and scheduled at the beginning of the month. It would be rude to cancel now. Can't you reschedule whatever it is you wanna go do out of town?““I'm visiting the flooded packs. There's no way in hell I'm canceling that.“ “But–““Cancel the meetings. I don't care if I come off as rude and inconsiderate. I'm not attending them. But feel free to reschedule…“The undertone sigh from her showed her damning frustration about everything. The meetings were over a hundred. Asking her to cancel and reschedule was a herculean task. But there was no other way.“Isn't there a possibility that you're gonn
CHAPTER 27. THE TRIPRYDER“Who did this, goddammit?!“ I grunted harshly, holding the newspaper in a crushing grip as I read all the printed lies. “This is fabricated,““So you didn't kill him?““I fucking did. But–“ “I can't believe you killed him, Ryder!“ Jason cut me off with his cry of despair.“Best believe it. He hurt Hara. Death was the consequence.“ I flicked through the pages and back to the front page. “This is bullshit!““You just admitted you killed him,““Yes, I did. But whoever wrote this is trying to make me look sinister and monstrous. They're insinuating that I've lost my mind!““Well, you have. You fucking have!“ Jason ruffled his hair in distress. “How do you not listen?!““I killed him for Hara. Not because I was in a blood rage, or because I'm beginning to lose my shit over the recent flood disaster. Whoever wrote this wants to make me look bad before my people!““And it worked!“ Jason flared up. “Listen to the chaos downstairs. Your Father will be up here any mi
CHAPTER 28. A WEIRD FEELING HARAI filled the lined-up shot glasses with a martini, attended to three orders at once, and filled up a bucket with bottles of beer on the rocks but I wasn't ready to take a break. I didn't want to.Anyone would say I was especially energetic today, seeing how I was all over the place, refusing to take as much as a two-minute worth break.Deep down, I knew I was getting exhausted. I could feel the tiredness slowly taking over me. I shut it out, forcing myself to exceed my limit.I had to be busy, so I wouldn't have the time to think. These churning thoughts wouldn't let me be and this was the only way I could keep them in check.Also, I was working a night shift. And for once, I welcomed its excessive buzz with an open heart. Keep the orders coming. I'd rather sink deep into work than into my misleading thoughts.“Can I get two bottles of tequila over here?“ A man asked, signaling with his hands.“Coming!“ I was already taking out the bottles from the ce
CHAPTER 29. HARAJason was taken aback by my question and I blamed it on how intense my tone was when I'd asked it.His brows were arched and the glass had stopped halfway into coming in contact with his lips.Slowly, he placed the glass on the counter and adjusted it on the stool.“Why do you ask?“ His voice was in a whisper. “Nope, no reason.“ I shrugged, trying so hard to be as nonchalant as I could. Although, I doubted he bought the act. His hooded gaze was still hard on me. “I mean, ever since he made the papers and the lady showed her firm support of him, they've been all everyone is talking about.““Uhmm…yeah. She's just like you heard, his fiancee. Except, there won't be any wedding, not with her,““Why not?“ “Because their relationship is missing the most important thing it should have,““What's that?““Love,“ he breathed out and downed the last of his drink. Love? That's silly. The lady had been so clear on how much they were a loving couple, blessed by the moon Goddess
CHAPTER 30. WATCHING YOU FOR ANOTHERHARAI let out another loud laugh and patted my chest, trying to soothe the hiccups.Jason handed me a glass of water and I quickly gulped it down.I dabbed at the water drops below my lips with a towel. Composed, I looked up to find him watching me with an amused look.“You don't have to laugh so loud. You're gonna choke on your saliva,“ He said, smiling at me.“Yeah, I know. What you said just cracked me up badly. I couldn't help it,“ I said in a low tone.“Has it been a while since you laughed this much?“ He asked, becoming serious all of a sudden.I nodded.He grinned, “So technically, I made you laugh after years of being sad. I can't help but feel proud of myself,“I chuckled. But I didn't say anymore words. My gaze was on the table which had our plates of chocolates.“Does that mean we're cool now?“ he asked. I looked up. “I brought you here without your permission. I'm asking if you've forgiven me for it.“ He added.Right. I almost forgot I