MALIK
I noticed her as soon as she walked in, and I noticed her now as she strolled back into the hall. Her lipgloss was smeared. Her hair looked a bit messy, with some strands out of place. There were too many people here to pick out only her smell, but I could easily guess what she had been doing. Something I had been unable to do in such a long time.She had been fucking. I knew she was familiar, and only now did I realize where I had seen her before. My reaction to her this time was worse than the last time. Crazier.
The men at the table with me laughed at something Hank, my friend, said. He was the one who invited me. If he hadn’t, the council would have found another way in. I was still yet to understand the purpose of this party, but when the council notified me of it, with strict instructions to attend, I took up Hank’s offer.
Everyone at our table was in a suit. The party started about an hour ago, and we had seen our host only on
Waylen would kill me. I kissed a man. No, I didn’t. He kissed me. But it didn’t feel wrong, and at one point, I had been the one leading the kiss. I touched my lips. They were tingling. What the hell was that about?His Elizabeth? I belonged to only Waylen. But as I told myself that, my heart reacted differently. Waylen would be pissed. I stepped away from Malik before he could make me do something sillier. He reminded me of Waylen in more ways than one. They both had that dominating aura, the switching eye color, and a fascination for werewolves.Were they in a cult?“Now, we are even,” I said. His head cocked to the side as he sized me up. I had to clear my throat twice to make a coherent speech. “But you shouldn’t have done that. My boy—”No, Waylen wasn’t my boyfriend. I couldn’t say boss, it nullified the intensity of our relationship. What were we? He called me baby the other day, and he ha
Something was moving under me. I pressed my hands into the hard surface and groaned. I could hear voices, eerily familiar voices. I almost panicked until I realized that was a good sign. Waylen was here with me. He saved me. Unless… unless he was the one who took me in the first place.I peeled my eyes open. Red lights hit my side of the window as we waited for the light to turn green. Waylen hadn’t noticed I was awake. He was on the phone, growling to the other person on the line about a man and some hunters. The name, Kane, didn’t ring any bells, but Waylen’s tense side profile was an assurance that he didn’t like the man.“Is he still at the party?” he said into the phone. The person’s reply must have pissed him off. He snatched the phone from his ear and tossed it on the console. “Fucking council.”Horns blared as the light turned green. There was a rush as cars in line tried to get ahead of each o
“It’s not important,” I replied. I stepped back to create more space between us. Waylen tried to follow but stopped when he spotted the card at his feet. I moved, but he was faster. “Waylen. Ezra.” He held Malik’s card above his head. “I took it because I wanted you to meet him and talk like you planned to do before Joe ruined it. You sounded so distraught back then. Baby, that meeting was important to you, so I wanted to help.”“You didn’t take it because you wanted to work as his assistant?” he sneered. The heaviness in my chest rose to my throat. This conversation was pointless. I might as well have been a prisoner awaiting execution because he had made up his mind. To him, I was a needy, little whore. He tore the card in half, and I swallowed my gasp. “I guess you wouldn’t mind me ripping it?”“I…” He arched a brow in response, tearing the halves into a cleaner ha
WAYLENI was fuming. My stupid mind thought now was the right time to replay that image of Beth kissing Malik over and over again. It didn’t matter who kissed who first because they both seemed to be enjoying the moment. What the fuck was wrong with her?The pieces were yet to fit. Did she invite him to the party? Did she know who he was? Did the council send him? Len chuckled like the thought of them sending Malik to the party was funny. The tracking device on her phone showed she was home. I switched on my laptop to check the live feed of her room. She just arrived.I watched, my teeth grounding in frustration as she dumped her clutch on the bed and stripped. I would have told her about us tonight. Why did she have to ruin it? If she had been a little more patient, she would have had the orgasm I denied her earlier.Was that why she did it? How the fuck was she already discussing a job with someone she had only just met t
A week passed without Waylen calling. I didn’t know what I expected, maybe a phone call or text. An apology. Something, anything. I swiped at the tears that escaped my eyes. Why was I so surprised? He was of the same specie as Ian. All they did was lie and break hearts. After everything that had happened with us, how dare he treat me that way? Calling me names to make a point?I shoved my foot into the holes of my jeans. I was going to Mom’s first, then moving to Fumi’s. Her husband wasn’t home, as usual. I didn’t want to stay in this house and mope about Waylen anymore. How could he talk about caring for me yet so quickly discard me?Everything reminded me of him. The bed, the living room, the couch. He had been everywhere in this house, even the kitchen. I gave him so much power over me, and when he had enough, he showed his real, nasty colors. God, I was newly pissed at myself.The signs were always there. He was a ps
MALIKStalking was bad. Stalking Elizabeth was a horrible idea, but I was out of options. Something happened between Waylen and her. I didn’t know what; I probably would never know, but I couldn’t stop thinking about my mate, her safety, and our future.Guaranteed, I felt a little better knowing she cooped up at her best friend’s place, not her house like she had done for the whole of last week, but I couldn’t stop myself from driving to this old stadium every morning, sunglasses over my eyes, baseball cap over my scalp to disguise myself as I watched her and her best friend jog around the field.They did this two days ago, yesterday, and today. Fumi was on black tights and a tank top. Elizabeth too. The driver would arrive to pick them up in twenty minutes, and I would follow behind to be sure they got home in one piece. I didn’t trust Kane’s silence.Why did Elizabeth stop going to work? She spent th
MALIKElizabeth finally texted back. But when I thumbed the screen open, disappointment flooded me. Another day, another negative answer. It was a sign for me to stop bugging her, but I couldn’t, even if I tried. The mate pull was more potent than me, and like any other wolf, I was a servant to the force.So far, her replies had gotten less cautious. The last few days had seen her opening up. She could be flirty but always retreated when I tried to steer us into deeper waters. I didn’t know how to handle this. I had never courted a woman, never had to learn because I didn’t think I would require the skill. I reread her reply to my offer of a date.Elizabeth: Can’t make it. Got no clothes to wear.We both knew that was a lie. First, I asked for her home address to surprise her, but she refused. I had the option of sending flowers to Fumi’s place, but that would be creepy. My constant stalking was already wearing Ansgar’s n
Malik was a gentleman. The epitome of perfection. When I told him I had nothing to wear, a big fucking lie, by the way, I didn’t expect him to offer to take me shopping for a dress. Lana said I could pick whatever I wanted, so I grabbed a pair of shoes and jewelry to match the dress. I didn’t know if those two were an item, but I wouldn’t overthink it. I refused to act on my jealousy like I refused to climb on his lap in the car and beg him to let me ride him like a horse.He made me feel things. Things only Waylen had come close to making me feel. Things I thought only Waylen was supposed to make me feel.What did that make me? In Waylen’s words, that made me a whore. I kicked memories of him out of my mind. My ‘supposed’ betrayal was not a reason for him to slut shame me. I would assume that was a thing with males given what happened at the stadium last week, but Malik was proving my theory about men wrong. He was a gentleman.