Cynthia Dion: "I earned this participation pass, and if I don't take part today, the instructors would be disappointed and probably bully me," I tried to explain, but all he did was shake his head in response to my concerns."Cynthia! Why do you defy me? Didn't I mention how much I dislike it when people challenge my decisions?" He tilted his head, gazing at me intensely; it reminded me of the time he had accidentally spilled scalding broth on my face."Mr. Holt, please!" I was overwhelmed with emotion and wanted to cry right then and there. I had fought so hard to earn this opportunity, and now I was considering giving up?Mr. Lowell and Ms. Kylie will be devastated; they'll never trust me again. And I wasted a spot that could've gone to a deserving applicant instead of someone like me who was intentionally avoiding the game."Hush! The contest will be dangerous; you might get hurt if you play anyway," he said, glaring at me and pressing a finger to his lips.He then straightened hi
Cynthia Dion: "That’s none of your business," I whispered, attempting to avert my gaze from him."Atticus?" I turned around at the sound of a voice and found Maleeka standing before us, closely watching our expressions."Sister!" He sounded delighted as he called to her and rushed past me with a cheerful grin, wrapping his arms around her. That clarifies why he seemed oblivious to my previous remarks.It seems he spotted his sister behind me and wished to shield her from hearing me discuss how badly he had treated me.She appeared genuinely content, which put me at ease. I scanned her quickly and felt a reassuring sense of relief when I saw her in high spirits."What are you two still doing at home? Didn’t you win the contest entry tickets?" She looked a bit unwell, but her overall demeanor was joyful, and her movements were somewhat restricted, probably to avoid making herself feel worse.Atticus rolled his eyes and shook his head, saying, "Mr. Holt advised against her participating
Cynthia Dion: "You know what? Let’s not talk about it. I don’t want to get stressed," she said and stood up. I realized it might be too overwhelming to discuss that with her.Despite my outward smile, I was shattered inside as I spent the day with Maleeka. I missed an opportunity to help the rogues, all because of one person. I was even afraid to confront him again, especially now that Maleeka had warned me about how dangerous he might be.He returned home late and didn't really engage in conversation with me. He went straight to Maleeka's room to greet her and spend time with her. Maleeka told me that Atticus had informed her that Rosalie had won the competition, and I must admit, that made me very angry.Now that she had won this contest, she would become a real nightmare for the rogues. Even though the school was closed for a few days to celebrate the winners and give everyone a chance to relax, I knew she would become even more relentless toward me the following day."Did you hea
Author's POV:"Oh my God! I'm so happy," Rosalie said, her joyful dance filling the playground.Atticus dunked the ball through the hoop behind her, and Enzo ambled about, not quite as active."I wish that slutty bitch had come. I was hoping to give her a piece of my mind," Rosalie sighed, plopping down and setting her trophy aside."Why do you have to mention her now, during this happy moment?" Enzo rolled his eyes at Rosalie's fixation on Cynthia and settled on the ground in front of her."Because I really can't stand her," she shrugged, stealing a quick glance at Atticus, who dropped the ball upon hearing Cynthia's name."Why didn't she show up today?" Rosalie inquired, turning her attention to Atticus as he joined them."Why are you asking?" Enzo interjected before Atticus could respond, knowing that if Atticus spoke, he would likely scold Rosalie for repeatedly bringing up the same topic."Because she took up a spot," Rosalie shot a glare at Enzo for preventing Atticus from respo
Cynthia Dion:As soon as I heard those hurtful remarks, I made my escape. I quickly pushed his hand away and stood up. He grunted and tried to grab my hand to stop me, but I had already rushed off towards the restroom and locked myself inside."Cynthia, come out! You're going to regret this!" he yelled, pounding on the door with anger until I heard a tap on the bedroom door. I believe he turned away to see who he had disturbed at this late hour."What?" he demanded in an enraged tone."Is she okay?" I overheard him say, "I'm coming," as he hurried out of the room and locked the door behind him. He sounded concerned when talking to someone.I had no idea what had just happened, but it was confirmed that he had left the room.I questioned whether my action was brave, considering that I knew if he was capable of harming his unborn child, he might also be capable of harming me.I didn't feel like leaving the restroom, and I stood by the door, unsure if it was a ploy to lure me out. I had
Cynthia Dion: I walked out of the room, scanning the area for him. They were waiting for breakfast to be served as I calmly made my way to the courtyard, where they were sitting at the outdoor dining table.Thankfully, Mr. Holt was already seated next to Maleeka and encouraging her to eat some fruit. Maybe he wasn't in such a bad mood after all?"Ehm!" I cleared my throat, and I noticed Atticus put his phone down and give me a once-over."Hey! Good morning." Mr. Holt didn't even glance my way, but Maleeka warmly greeted me first.I'm glad I don't have a wolf because she would have been upset about not being welcomed by her mates. Being mated to them didn't really matter to me; it didn't affect me the same way it would affect my wolf."Hello, how are you today?" I asked Maleeka, grinning at her and stealing a glance at Mr. Holt out of the corner of my eye."She's fine," he replied on her behalf, turning his face towards me and giving me an intensely cold stare."Oh, that's fantastic,"
Cynthia Dion: When I got back to my room, Mr. Holt was using a laptop, lying in bed. I didn't want to stay in the same room with him.He kept his eyes on the laptop and mentioned, "I've told the staff to get the oceanfront farmhouse in Maui ready for our honeymoon."I gulped nervously and fidgeted with my fingers, wondering why the heck we had to go on a honeymoon when it was clear we didn't like each other. I just couldn't grasp his underlying motive for all these chaotic actions.He noticed my unease about being alone with him and gave a sly grin, then asked, "Do you reckon you can get ready in just two days?"I felt a lump in my throat at this news."Why do we have to go? I mean, Maleeka needs you; your child needs you," I said, hesitating to get closer to him.I felt a deep fear at the thought of what he might do, so I kept my distance."So, are you saying you think I'm irresponsible and that I'm making these plans to shirk my responsibilities?" He seemed to be trying to shift th
Cynthia Dion: He was really mad, and I thought he might change into his wolf form any moment. Then, when I looked up at him, I saw something strange happening to his eyes."Atticus!" I didn't realize that his anger wasn't directed at me, but I was so scared of his wolf side.I released his arms and stepped back to keep myself safe."Fu---," he grunted, then started coughing as if there was no tomorrow."Here!" I hurried to give him some water, but he was too focused on his pain to think about anything else."Atticus!" I knelt beside him, gently rubbing his back in an attempt to comfort him. However, he continued to cough and flinch."We should get you to the hospital," I whispered. As I tried to get up from the ground, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back down again."No!" he adamantly rejected the idea. "That would go against me." He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, wrapping his other arm around his stomach to suppress his cough.I could tell he didn't want Mr. Holt to hear hi
Cynthia Dion:It’s been two years since that unfortunate event happened.Maleeka couldn’t accept that she could no longer force Zeon to be with her.Atticus finally cleaned Eva’s grave, cleared her name, and even buried Zeon next to her. We also renamed the specific block in school to be Eva.I do think that day when I was cleaning in that block, it was Eva’s disturbed soul still wandering around.Maleeka was in the mental asylum, showing no signs of improvement. Atticus made it very clear that even if Maleeka gets better, she will be severely punished.However, things have changed in our relationship as well.We were not only two, in fact, we have welcomed a cute baby girl into our lives after a few months of that whole sad incident.We named her Flora."Flora! Stop running around," I rolled my eyes at her as she ran into Niles, Rosalie, and Enzo’s son.We have gathered around my father’s pack that I’ve recovered to celebrate my pregnancy news with my people."So, how did it go?" Att
Cynthia’s POV:As he finished telling us why he did all that, our faces changed colors. My eyes were teary, and the counsellors looked guilty, too.Maleeka had been breaking down after her dirty criminal history was displayed to everyone.I didn’t even know what to say anymore. The story of Eva and the horrible life she had because of the mean and selfish people around her was so bad.The fact that my mother didn’t even help her out and let the poor victim take a fall broke my heart.I know she was thinking she was doing it for me and Flora, but to push someone else’s daughter into such a shitty situation just for the sake of your daughters is not an excuse.Not to mention, I wonder if what Flora and I went through our entire lives was our mother’s karma, and maybe Eva’s broken heart cries are shadowing our happiness."Zeon!" Since Atticus couldn’t even say a word, I whispered in tears, "I understand your pain and Eva’s suffering, but hurting others wouldn’t bring her back. You can le
Author’s POV:Years Ago:It’s been a month since Eva passed away on the school grounds, and Zeon killed those rogues. Rowdy was the only one that survived, but he went into a coma after that night.Zeon had no clue what to do because it seemed like everybody was more focused on the ones that got killed than on Eva."She was innocent," he yelled at the counselors, who shook their heads at him."We will call our first witness here, who will explain to us how Eva had been clawing at the other boys and meeting them in the library." The elder of the counselor spoke as he pointed at the door. All eyes turned to the door, waiting for this so-called character witness.Zeon didn’t have a very good feeling about it. It seemed like something bad was about to happen. Why did they even need to have an investigation?A she-wolf got gang raped and killed. Why were they investigating her? It was beyond his mind, and he was just plain hurt and lost. There was nobody on his side. He was suffering and w
Author’s POV:Years Ago:After that day, Zeon and Jacque were escorted out and even got detention. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Nothing happened to Maleeka; the guards were even assigned to her to stop Zeon from coming after her.She would go to school every day and watch Zeon and Eva together. She was not at all satisfied with what she had done; in fact, if Eva were still alive, she would consider herself a failure.Although she was surprised to hear Eva get pregnant again, And this time, she couldn’t even get near her because all the eyes would be on her."This is the girl," she had asked for some rogue criminals to meet her after school."She is beautiful," there were five rogue young boys, probably 19, the same age as them."She will be alone in the school today, doing some assignments in the library. You can enter the school and get your hands on her. Listen, her mate will be there, but you can take him out with wolfbane. Remember, you are not supposed to hurt h
Author’s POV:Years Ago:"What do you mean by she stole your mate? Zeon is her mate. That’s what everybody knows." Mrs. Dion, who thought of Maleeka as this innocent and sweet little girl, was ready to accept any lie she was going to tell her."She was the second chance, mate. Zeon accepted me two years ago. We used to be together; we were never separated, and then i--- then I got pregnant with him, but during that time, she joined school. She caused my abortion. I know it is not an excuse to do the same to someone else, but think of it as your own daughter. You have a little daughter that you gave birth to with so much difficulty. Can you imagine anyone hurting her? Just imagine what I have been through." She sniffled as she shed crocodile tears. She was sneaking glances at Mrs. Dion, too.She wanted to get out of this mess by any means."I am so sorry that happened to you, but I still have to tell the counsel about the video. You can rest your case before them. If you are innocent,
Author’s POV:Years Ago:"How the hell did it happen?" Ever since Zeon got informed about Eva’s accident at school, he has been wandering in the school’s hallway and crying.Jacque and Bonnie had been sticking with him and feeling worried about him.He was in disbelief that such a horrible thing happened to Eva on the school’s grounds."There is no way she just fell off the stairs," he shook his head, not ready to believe what the school staff has been telling him."I understand your concern, but getting all stressed out won’t do anybody any favors," Jacque stepped forward to comfort Zeon, who was going crazy worrying about Eva.Bonnie and Jacque were worried for their friend and Zeon; they had never seen him so stressed out. On the other hand, Maleeka had returned home but was a little panicky. She has hurt Eva before, but this time she was directly involved.It just made her feel a little stressed. What if somebody saw her? It happened in a school, so there was a huge possibility so
Author’s POV:Years Ago:Eva was hanging out with Maleeka a lot after that day. She told Zeon that Maleeka apologized and promised to act well around her. Although he didn’t believe Maleeka, he couldn’t force Eva into deciding who to hang out with and who to ignore.He was just too concerned because Eva was too pure in her heart. One day, when Zeon was sent to the councillors for some pack-related stuff since he was supposed to be the royal beta of the pack in the future, Maleeka visited Eva.She knew Eva would be alone at home, so she didn’t want to miss this opportunity to mess things up for her. She has heard from Eva’s friend that Eva was pregnant, and it has enraged Maleeka.She was glad she heard her friends talking because she was ready to do any dirty job in order to stop Eva from giving Zeon an heir."I am so happy," Eva was pleased, clapping hands every two minutes and imaging having a child with Zeon."You two got married, too. I am surprised you hid it from me," Maleeka wa
Author's POVYears Ago:Zeon’s confession of love to Eva has left everyone in shock. Prior to this day, everybody assumed Zeon was going to accept Maleeka, but it all changed. Zeon didn’t hesitate to send back everything Maleeka had bought him in order to keep him to herself. He had cut ties with Maleeka entirely and had Eva move in. He was back in his old home, but because Eva was happy there, he didn’t feel any difference. In fact, he liked it more that way.One day, when Eva had fallen asleep, Maleeka kept blowing up his number. It had been months since Zeon and Eva had moved in together. He had been taking care of her in school to make sure nobody bullied her. He knew the instant he left her alone, Maleeka would approach her to say something."Talk to her; give her closure," Eva finally raised her face and told Zeon to speak to Maleeka."I have many times. She is not ready to understand anything," Zeon got up from behind Eva as he unwrapped his arms from around her and picked up t
Author's POV:Years Ago:"What did you say?" Zeon expressed, shocked when hearing her concern.Did she really think he was capable of killing her? Did she really think of him as an animal enough to kill someone?It surprised and unsettled him at the same time."Are you going to do something bad to me?" she proceeded to ask him while tears ran down her cheeks.That moment was the moment of realization for him.He never intended to hurt her. He was just making sure she didn’t leave until he told her what he felt."No! No! EVA NO!" He yelled in desperation, "Before even laying a finger on you, I’d end my life," he rested his hands on the tree and brought his face closer to hers."I didn’t bring you here to hurt you. I brought you here to let you know how much I’m hurting," As his tone softened and his eyes were filled with mist, she realized he was suffering and had used the wrong way to express his emotions."I’m sorry that I did that. I shouldn’t have stolen the chance of making a deci