ARII have never experienced this before.There is a tent that’s lighted with golden and pink lights, fluffy soft pillows and duvets on the floor, creating a very cozy feel. It looks and feels like a slice of our own heaven where no one knows it exists.“What do you think?” Mimi looks at our finished project with pride, arms crossed.“It's…” so wonderful I have never thought this is something I will ever get to do or even be in. “Magical,” I gush out and kneel, peeking my head inside the tent.“I brought snacks, and you have all the things we bought earlier, right?”“Yeah,” I get the shopping bag, dumping everything on the floor. Mimi walks over to the window and draws the curtains so that we can get to watch the rain, the campy mood elevating.“You said someone is coming.”“I did,” she sits opposite me in her pajamas. “And she will. I think she is still settling in.”“Who is she?”“My childhood best friend. She had been away for years, but we still kept in contact. Her parents just c
ZADE“She is so hot,” Cass groans beside me, eyes on the cheerleader gyrating on another girl in front of us.Yeah, they are hot. On a normal day, I would love to watch them go from dancing to playing with each other in one of the many bedrooms in this house.But it's not a normal day. It hasn’t been a normal day for me for weeks.“Wanna watch?” Cass turns to look at me. He is planning on taking his cheerleader for a more fun time.“I have a girlfriend.”“Not that it has stopped you before,” he snickers, getting up to go to his fun of the night.I hate who I have turned to. A constant overthinker, pinning over a girl I can't stand, wondering what she is doing and how I can destroy the little joy she is having.“You look like you are bloated.” Logan hands me a cup, and I take it, not even wincing at the burn going down my throat. “What's going on?”“Just a bug I can't figure out how to crush.”“Olivia or ari silvers?” The jerk is smirking, having fun over my misery.“Both. They are dri
ARI“Mom, there is no need for a party. It's not a big deal for me.”“It is! It's not every day you get bonded to your true mate and also get your wolf back. This calls for a celebration, honey.”Getting bonded to a mate who doesn’t want me and getting my wolf back through him has left me with an amount of debt to repay and these feelings of gratitude towards him.“But I don’t want to celebrate.” I can feel myself losing this argument. If Mother wants a party, I know she will get a party even if it’s to the cost my comfort.She believes in celebrating every little thing, a habit that has developed over the years, and I can't find it in me to put my foot down and mean it.I want her to be happy, smile, and just enjoy what she is calling a good thing even if I don’t think it is.“I have already set a gown for you. It's not a big party, just a family dinner. I thought this could be the start of us four being an actual family.”I don’t want to disappoint her and tell her that he won't be
ZADEIt's still the same.At least on the outside. The same black gates are opening, leading to the long, wide driveway.The same house that’s adorned with fountains, statues, and the all seasons blooming flowers.It’s the same butler, who bows at me when I get out of my car and opens the door for me, and steps inside the foyer.This is where it all stops being familiar … untouched. It’s almost as if keeping the outside familiar will make it seem like nothing has changed overall.I slide my hands into my pockets, wondering if I should remain at the foyer and wait to be greeted or walk in, but that will mean differently.“You’re here!” she is wearing a big smile, hands open as if to hug me. “Come in, come in. this is your home don’t stand there like a guest.” She attempts humor, but it's all lost on me.“Thank you for inviting me.” My tone is cool as I let her lead me to the living area, where I see them.Father and daughter, talking as they share a drink. It looks casual. They look …
ZADE“Ari insisted on not having a party. I wanted everyone to celebrate you and your bonding. I know it must have been stressful and confusing at first.”“Mom, stop asking him so many questions.” Ari looks at me apologetically.“Mary is right, we would have loved if we had a big party. After all, not every day two powerful beings come into union like this,” Father adds as we all sit at the dining table, the servers starting to bring us the starters.“It's nothing, it was over in five minutes. I didn’t want a spectacle anyway. It's just bonding, nothing to make a big deal out of it.” Ari puts a napkin on her lap before glancing at me.They are all comfortable with each other. They are a family, and I feel like an outsider even if we are all seated here, connected one way or another.“You are not just anybody, and it's not just any bonding. He is the future king alpha, and you are a female alpha, the daughter to my mate. I think that deserved the biggest party of the century.”Everyone
ZADE“When will you stop acting like a petulant child?”“I don’t know, father, when I feel like you have had enough torture and guilt over what you did.”I don’t see the punch coming, feeling it rattling my entire brain. He has never hit me before. We fight and break things, but he has never hit me before.“You can do all that you want to me,” he grabs me by the collar, pulling me up, “but hurt Mary, an innocent woman, and lashing out at her? That’s where you cross the line, son.”I push myself away from him, readjusting my blazer. “You can drop the act, no one is in here to judge you. I know the real you.”“And what is that?”“That you are a cold, heartless man who will never love anyone or put anyone above yourself, always for the seat and power you hold. Always for the seat and power you have.”He shakes his head, walking by the window, looking calm, but I would be a fool to let my guard down. There is a reason he is the most feared man.“Is that what you think?”“Think?” I adjust
ARII am grappling in the dark. Ever since my mother got mated to the king alpha, I waited and kept watch for the other shoe to drop. Years of running and hiding, never settling, and always on the road have turned me into someone who doesn’t believe in happy endings.Why did he agree to let us in his territory so fast? Why did he mate my mother so fast, then take us into his beautiful home?As I sat in that mansion—too big and grand—I felt like I would stain it. He assured us that we would be safe with him and that all the bad people looking for us would be dealt with.That we had a home now and we could rest because he is in our lives now.I don’t believe in knights, I don’t even believe in saviours overall.But then I saw her. She looked so tired, worn out, and in need of a break. I saw how she leaned into him, sighing as if she was resting for the first time in years.How could I ever take that away from her?It has been just the two of us, and it hasn’t been the best. She has tri
ARIDo I continue living a lie, or do I take a chance at this new life?I can't quit it, If I do, the one person I want them to be happy won't. If I show everyone just how lost, just how confused I am, they won't hesitate to tear me apart.So here I am, lost, still fumbling in the dark. Feeling all these things and wondering if they are my feelings or not.Tonight has been a perfect example of what my life entails. A show. Performance.I think Zade saw through that.A part of me hates how much I see myself, even if it's just a small part of myself in him. The only difference is that he has so much anger toward his father, hates my mother for receiving something that he feels she shouldn’t, something that she doesn’t deserve.And hates me for taking his place.It should be his mother and his father. It shouldn’t be my mother and I, happy and being a loving family. I can understand where he is coming from.And I hate that. I hate that I can relate in some way, even if he is hurting me.
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
ZADEMercy.That word alone makes me hit her at the back of the neck as gently as I can, rendering her unconscious. I hold her limp body, my eyes on her now sleeping face, as I breathe hard.I am scared.I almost lost her a few minutes ago, and then watched her as she almost slipped out of her mind. I stand up as I carry her bridal style to my car, where I am parked. I don’t mind the eyes on me, murmuring bout the girl who almost got run over by walking to the busy highway.I secure Ari on the seat before I get in myself and drive away.I knew something was off, from the moment I saw her mother walking out of the hotel, minutes after I had dropped ari and then the coldness that overcame me like I had been pushed in an extremely icy frozen lake.I don’t think twice, taking her to my private home, somewhere no one knows, not even my father. She is still out cold, and I start to worry that I might have hurt her. Lying her gently on the bed, I clean her up, making sure she is comfortable
ARISomething is breaking inside me.I can’t feel my touch, even as I touch my chest. I have gone numb, nothing truly registering as I sit on the floor, remaining in a state of static as she has left me.What you are doing is not worth it.Not worth it.Nothing is worth it.What do I do now?A murderer. A misguided child. Doing things that I shouldn’t, wrecking her life.A broken wail escapes my lips as I hunch down, feeling like I am taking my first breath.This is not how it was supposed to go. How can this happen? I killed someone, but I don’t know why. I don’t know why I keep getting angry, like I am in a cage, and when I am let out, I lash out at the first person closest.I wish I could stop, remember myself, and stop getting so angry, to stop my actions before they are thrown back at me, like I am going crazy and need to be put down.Everything I am doing feels wrong. Everyone keeps telling me that I am doing the wrong thing the wrong way.I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’