ZADEEverything should have gotten better.No, everything should have changed once I decided not to let my dislike for silvers get in the way of me making amends to her. But she has been avoiding me and acting like I don’t exist at all.I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind before but now? now she is all I see. Now she is the epitome of my existence.She is posing a challenge and that is to ignore me and treat me like I am inviscible. Like we are not bonded and I cant sometimes fele her when she hasn’t blocked me out.Like I cant feel her so close to me like we are sharing the same skin, breathing the same air. We are intertwined, I am wearing her mark on my skin, and she is wearing mine, a sign that we are meant to be together, wheter we like it or not.I haven't liked it for a long time and I hated her some more for it. But even then, when I was swimming in my denial, I knew that my life would never be the same once she busted in.She is not someone you simply forget or even
ARI“Ari! What a surprise, what brings you here?”I smile, bowing slightly in greeting. “Hello, Mr. Parker, I was in the city and decided to come in and say hello to you.” I meet his eyes. “Well, and thank you for the car and the new suite at school.”He laughs, sitting behind the large desk. “You don’t have to thank me, it was nothing. Sit.”I sit on the plush chair facing him, the large luxurious office very intimidating, or it could be the king alpha himself. His presence is very commanding, and his energy is felt, even without him trying to. You have no other choice but to obey and listen to him.I wonder how mother copes with this, as she is an omega; but then again, they are mates, so she is in tune with him.“Mary has not been in the best of moods,” he starts as he sits back, fingers drumming on the mahogany surface. “You haven’t been talking to her.”“I have been busy with school, but I intend to rectify that as soon as possible.” Lies. I have no intention of facing my mother
ARII am lying on my couch playing on my phone, Mimi and Max hanging out with me, when Max sits up from her seat, looking at her phone with wide eyes.“I can't believe them!”“What is it?” Max asks, looking up from her book.“The boys are doing an illegal street race,” Max shakes her head. “The last time they did this, someone died and the human police had to be involved.”“Who died?” I ask.“A human girl died. There are usually humans joining in on the fun, and the night is so wild and dangerous. I wish they would just notice how dangerous the people they are hanging out with are dangerous.”I shrug casually. “Some people prefer the darkness and the danger. How did she die?”“She was killed.”“What? Why?” Mimi asks, her round eyes wide behind the glasses.“Logan killed her.”That makes my jaw drop. “Whoa.”“yes, that’s why I don’t think it’s a good idea to hold another race especially with how unhinged they have been lately,” max lies down on the couch again. “those stupid assholes.
ARII look hot.As I look at my reflection in the mirror, I can't help but notice the progress in my psyche and how I look so different from the girl I was months back.That girl dressed and spoke from a place of pleasing everyone around her, to not upset anyone, and to remain in the background. I didn’t dress how I wanted, I didn't even eat some of the foods I wanted when I was at a party that my mother had hosted on yet another Friday night.I wasn’t myself, accepting to be dressed like a doll, going with the motions until I couldn’t know what was real to me and what wasn’t.I never had a chance to grow into myself, decide what I like and what I didn’t like. All of that was pushed away because it didn’t matter when I didn’t know if I was going to live long enough to see spring.Nothing held meaning in a life of survival, and all that I could do once we found a new home and we could sleep a full night without waking up to walk around the property was to continue living the life of a
ZADEI didn’t think much of anything at first when the guy I have been going for these races tried to deny me access and make the night fun for me.But when my car collection was suddenly gone from my warehouse, I knew something was up. No one knows about my warehouse save for the boys and the people who work there.They cant even meet my eyes, as I wait for them to explain why I cant see my cars, why the warehouse is fucking empty.“We didn’t do anything, we were all told to stand aside as they took the cars and left without a word.” One of them tries to explain, but my patience is starting to run thin.“Who are they?” Rowan asks as I turn around, looking around, trying to think who could have the guts to try crossing me like that.No one can try pulling some move like that on me because they know they won't be sleeping with their head attached to the rest of the body.“King Alpha’s command. He told us to stand down. We didn’t have any other choice! I am sorry, please spare us!”Of
ZADEThe whole world seems to fade out as I walk towards the girl who’s getting out of the car, looking around.“What are you doing here?”Her head snaps my direction, looking directly at me before she dismisses me by looking over my shoulder.My jaw clenches as Max walks up to me, looking a little uncomfortable. “Hey, Zade. We thought we could join in on the fun.”Is she dismissing me even now, in my event that she is not supposed to be? Seriously? “Were you invited?” I don’t conceal the cold venom dripping from my tone.“That’s the thing we-““Crashing my race?” I cut her off, raising my voice a little. “Leave.”I start leaving, not able to stand there and be ignored. I don’t know what's annoying; the fact that she is ruining my life or the fact that she is here, unbothered and blatantly treating me like I am invisible.“Are you okay? You seem a little bloated.”That voice stops me in my tracks, and I raise my eyebrows. Bloated? “Did you talk to me?” I turn around and point at mysel
ARI“You don’t have to do it.”“I know, but I want to wipe that smug smile off his face when I win,” I smirk, watching the prince walk off with a brunette in his arm. Is he now becoming a man whore?Max sighs. “You think it’s a good idea to go against him?”I turn around. “Are you doubting my capabilities?”“I just care about you,” she holds my hand. “I don’t want you to be hurt any further because of him.”“Yeah,” Mimi, who has been silent, joins in. “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. We like you as you are.”“Thank you guys,” I smile. “But this is not going to get me hurt. I know what I am doing. I can't let him get away with being all cocky and thinking the world is revolving around him.”“Ari,” Max squeezes my hand gently. “I know you are mad about what he has been doing to you. But if you keep on going down this road, it won't end well. People like him don’t operate in normal worlds.”That is what is pissing me off even more. Ideas that people like him and his boys all
ARIShe can't shut up, can she?“You are not his, never will.”“And you will?” I can't help but laugh at that.“At least I will be his for the night or even a couple more. He will want me and touch me. He will be with me in ways you can only dream of. That’s the difference between me. You are a weirdo who lurks in the shadows, and I am the girl he saw and took an interest in me.”I let her go in an instant, only for my fingers to wrap around her throat and snap once before she falls with a thud on the ground.An exhale rushes out of my lungs, and the world's falling silent for a second.Then I look down at my hands. One hand is bloody, my claws have retracted, and now my short black painted nails are coated in blood.My eyes catch something on my feet and I take a step back, once blank eyes look into nothing, mouth open as if in a scream.The girl who was talking and saying all these things is now dead … and I think … I think I killed her.I … killed her.I have killed her.My hand go
ZADE“But then it will be another, then another… if you can be swayed so easily, then is it even worth it?”“I wasn’t swayed easily. You and I know that there is more to us than a bond between mates.”“Hard to believe that when all that connects us is that.”“Our parents do connect us, too. Do you think we wouldn’t have crossed paths if we hadn’t been mates?”“We could have, but you would be intent on killing me or destroying my life like you did at the beginning.”“That’s true. But you can just chalk up my feelings and invalidate them, simplify them to one variable.”“It’s the only thing that is making sense. I mean, here I am, sitting in your love sanctuary, surrounded by your memories with her, and yet you are telling me it's me you want. What about her? Why was it so easy for you to just leave her?”“If you hadn't shown up, I already knew it would rather be her that I pretended with, cosplayed my inner wishful thinking even though it wasn’t true.”I close my eyes briefly before lo
ZADEThere is something dark, alluring, and compelling about Ari Silvers that I have never been able to fully comprehend.Her beauty and magnetism are not the traditional kind. It's raw, demands that you see her, revere her, and ache to be close to her, so you can bathe in it.She is beautiful in the traditional sense as well, but then you look again. And again, and again. You are drawn in, wanting, needing, desiring, and even wanting to corrupt.She is pure, she is dark, she is innocent, but also twisted. She is all that you wish you could hold and covet to yourself, but you cannot. For it is not to be held by others and coveted, stolen, but to be looked at, worshiped, and if you are good, to be bathed in.But never yours.She is sitting on the rooftop.I followed the feeling of our bond, and I am surprised, a little unsure why she would be here. This is where she fell, almost to her death after all.Her knees are pressed against her chest as she looks at the far distance, lost in wh
ZADEI stop behind one balding man, I think he is here because he is a legacy. Not the official family but still as important. I can see the sweat trickling down his neck into the stiff, tight suit he is wearing.If I wasn’t so sure before, now standing behind him as he reeks of fear … it's solid. My hand goes through his back, and I touch the organ that’s beating and warm in my palm.Gasps echo around, but no one says a word, as they look at me with horrified expressions, save for my father, of course.“This man,” I turn to Jude, “you missed this man.” My fingers close around the beating organ and pull my hand back. The body shakes, twitching before his head thumps on the table like a log. The scent of blood permeates the air, thickening it with the tension and fear pulsing in the room.I walk over to Jude and let the organ fall on his file, and he looks at it, eyes wide. I am sure he isn't breathing. After all, I just killed a legacy, and he has a lot of mess to clean up.And also,
ZADEWe are back to ignoring each other.Or to be more precise, Ari has gone back to hating my guts and ignoring my existence. And when she sees me, when our eyes meet, those first two seconds, time seems to slow down, and it's only us. The world fades away, and it's us, and I usually get this feeling in my chest, this heavy thing that is threatening to drown me, but in a sweet way.It's only us, as if we know something, just the two of us, and then the moment is snapped and broken, and she is back to scowling at me, rolling her eyes.But I know, those few seconds, where it is only us, when time stops and we only see each other, feel each other… that is the truth of us.She told me she wanted devotion and then proceeded to lock herself in the bedroom before she left early in the morning, even though we did spend the night together.I didn’t sleep, not when she was in the next room and I knew she wasn’t asleep either. I listened to her breathing, every turn and twist in the bed.I list
ARI“What's going on inside this little mind?” his voice is so close to me, nose brushing my temple.I should feel something. A tingle, but I am so damn tired. All I want is to sleep, forget that I exist for a few hours before I start going back to my life. I can't escape it anymore, now can I?“Nothing,” I sigh. “I am just a little sleepy.”Is he expecting more from me tonight?I wish I had the girls with me. They would allow me to be in your space. Maybe I should call them, text them, but I don't have my phone. I remember crashing it in the hotel suite before I walked out into the traffic.Maybe I am not as okay as I think. But getting a grip is important.If I am going to avenge and face the people who ruined me to begin with, I can't let go of the reality. I need to be focused and work hard to make sure they don’t destroy me before I destroy them.I know I am not going to come out of it. The plans I made to go study law as further studies, get out of the pack and live my life as a
ARIMy life is a mess.It’s a fucked life, painful, dry, bland, void of colour.I am ugly too, rotting slowly inside, underserving of anything good because that’s just what is set in stone for me.Despite it all, despite feeling all of that, as Zade looks at me like I mean something, like I matter … I can't help but want to be under that gaze for a longer time.He is looking at me how he used to look at Olivia, like he might love me, like I mean something. He wants to know if I am okay, taking care of me, a gentle, caring touch on my cold, withering soul.I don’t deserve it, and yet.I yearn for it. Crave it. I can't not shudder under it.“Do you want me to ask you?”Yes. I want him to ask me. I want him to push for me to tell him what's going on in my head. For him to fight for me. I am selfish like that. Mother didn’t say anything untrue, because here I am, asking and taking what doesn’t belong to me.I came into this life, took Olivia’s man under fate’s guidance, and yes. It hurt.
ARII don’t think I have ever truly let myself think deeply about Zade, who is becoming, and his birthright. I am not one to attach my identity to the boy I am seeing or crushing on, and in this case, the boy I am mated to.But it's still heavy. I find it … sexy that he is already so mature, powerful too, and it's only going to get even better.Yes, I think I am crushing on Zade, and I can't control choking on my water once that fully hits me.“Are you okay?” he asks me as he rushes to my side, rubbing my back.“Yeah,” I wheeze out. “Guess I am a little surprised.”“Why?” he chuckles as he gets back to cooking.“The first thing someone sees when they see you is how spoiled you are.” That’s not true.The first thing I saw and felt when I first laid my eyes on him was just how magnetic and powerful he was. Yes, you could tell from miles away that he is wealthy, but it wasn’t the kind I got from the rest of the students.No, his was the quiet, generational wealth that just didn’t come fr
ARIIt’s weird.I woke up feeling this gut-wrenching painful reminder that I was still alive, that I am still feeling, and my mind is still as loud as before.I wasn’t ready to face myself, the world, or even reality, so I went back to sleep despite not knowing where I was. I could hear someone, a female, who would come and look after me once in a while. I should have been worried that a stranger was hovering over me.But I didn’t care. That’s how gone I was. I did manage to sleep more until I woke up again, and the tension in my temples was lessening.Someone was touching me like I was so fragile, and I could feel how gentle they were being. I knew it was Zade even before I could open my eyes.It felt better, the chatter, the exhaustion… it all lessened when he was around like this. It’s something I have come to notice, not ready to admit it yet, but it’s there.I could hear his thoughts. They were so unguarded, I wondered if he knew I could hear them, and it’s the first time I've be
ZADEShe is so beautiful.I exhale softly as I sit on the bed, watching her sleep. I can't resist reaching out with gentle fingers as I push back her hair off her face.Her hands are tucked under her chin, pressed to her chest, her body curled in as if she is feeling cold or protecting herself from something.But she isn't feeling cold; her body temperature is higher, too, which prompts me to stand up and walk over to the screen door. I slide it open, and the soft light curtains let the air in, billowing soundlessly.I had this bedroom built with a terrace garden, so it feels like someone is sleeping in a garden. I know she will love it when she wakes up.I sit on the floor, watching her as she exhales softly once cool air hits her skin.She had a massive panic attack, and I wasn’t there to help her. The first one she ever had was when she saw me kill that crush of hers –something I don’t regret, but I do regret triggering it- and she broke down in the bathroom.I knew she didn’t want