Class project

A hand was placed on his shoulder, and he tightly gripped it, about to make a move on the person when the individual’s voice rang out.

“Whoa! Take it easy. It is just me.”

Asher let go of the hand and leaned against the tree behind him. Aiden assessed his friend from top to bottom. A dark look was there in his eyes, showing off his aggression.

The victims of his physical violence got off from the ground and fled after bowing to them without looking back. Asher had blood over his fists as a sign of the fight that went down.

“What got you to attack them at the middle of the night?” Aiden questioned.

“They are fucking incompetent. It’s better to throw them out. They are only adding on to the burden,” Asher snapped.

It wasn’t unusual for Asher to be riled up, but there had to be preceding reason behind it. Contemplating for a while, Aiden questioned, “Have you met your mate?”

Asher’s silence was the only answer Aiden needed.

“Was she not up to your expectations?” Aiden asked.

“She is a damned human— so small, so weak, so cowardly. She can’t even talk properly. How can she be my mate?” Asher spat.

What irritated him was that he could not get those doe brown eyes filled with innocence from his mind. They arouse the protective instincts inside of him, and this disgusted him. He ruined those like her, not protect them.

“Should I get rid of her to end the problem?” Aiden offered.

Mates were considered to be the other half of a werewolf. They were emotionally tied to each other. However, Asher believed he didn’t possess those delicate emotions. A mate wouldn’t be able to intoxicate his senses.

Finishing her off would indeed get rid of any possible problem.

“Let’s leave her for now. It would bring greater troubles now. If she proves to be an obstacle, actions can be taken then,” he expressed.

Aiden silently stared at his friend before nodding.

°°°

One hobby that Esther had was reading diverse romance books. Only those moments brought her clarity and happiness. Shaken up by the incidents of last night, Esther read the books to get her mind off of the matters.

She did have countless thoughts in her head, but in the end, she concluded that Asher wanted to do a good deed for once.

At twelve in the afternoon, her door was pushed open. Esther, who was laying on the bed and reading her book, sat up. Confusion was there on her face as she stared at her sister.

Amy had the dress from the previous day on, showing how she just returned home now, and her family was messy as a result of intense activities of the night. She walked over to Esther, and solemnity covered her face.

“What happened with Asher yesterday? Did you approach him?” Amy questioned.

Was that what got her sister frantic so early in the morning? Although it was upsetting that Amy would doubt her in this manner, Esther was about to shake her head when Amy voiced out, “What am I saying? How would you even possess the balls to go after him? Was it he who came to you?”

Esther explained, “He offered to drive me home.”

It was more of a threat, but her sister didn’t need to know that.

Amy pressed her forehead while a scowl etched on to her countenance.

“If you want the best for you, stay away from him. Walk the other way when you see him. Got it?”

The hostility caused Esther’s heart to tremble. Was Asher more important to her sister than Esther? Bitterness filled Esther. What a funny thing to contemplate on when Amy wasn’t able to bear the thought of Esther.

“I understand,” she softly uttered.

°°°

True to her words, Esther tried her best to avoid Asher although she was sure she would never enter his eyes. She rushed out of the hallway he was in, and during the classes, she kept her head embedded in her books.

She tried to maintain her invisibility as much as possible.

However, luck abandoned her when she was grouped with Asher, Louis, and Aiden for biology. The death glare Asher shot at her got her to freeze in her position, and she desperately stared at the biology teacher in silence, praying for mercy.

However, her internal pleading went unnoticed.

“Everyone, sit according to the group. Hurry up,” the teacher ordered.

Esther couldn’t expect the boys to get up. Therefore, she picked up her books and other essentials before walking over to them. Louis and Aiden were seated together. The only available seat was next to Asher.

Esther looked at Asher’s bag on the seat and then at him. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Can you please remove your bag?” she asked.

He sneered at her before looking the other direction. Feeling awkward, she looked down on the ground, hoping for it to swallow her. She hoped she had more backbone to her.

Louis came to rescue by pulling his bag off the chair and smilingly joked, “He hates being told to do something. That’s why, you always have to ask him to do the opposite.”

Esther gave him a small smile before sitting down.

She tightly clenched on to the material of her pants. The musky notes of cedar wood and citrus overwhelmed her senses. The masculine hormones around her made her feel uneasy. Moreover, all of them were handsome and had well built bodies.

In addition to that, it didn’t help that many eyes were on her, assessing and judging her. She made her want to shrink herself down.

“We should select a place to discuss the project. Where do you think, Aiden, would be appropriate?” Louis asked, shooting careful glances at Asher to make sure he wasn’t agitated by any statement.

“Hmm,” Aiden said, “What about your place, Esther? Will it be possible to accommodate us?”

Thinking about it, Esther did feel safer under the protection of her home and said, “That would be fine. You can set the time.”

She had all the free time in her hands anyway.

After that, Esther concentrated on listening to the explanations of the teacher on details of project. It was hard to concentrate, but Esther believed she did a decent job under the conditions she was in.

The bell soon rang, indicating the period was over. The teacher stepped out of the class, and just as Esther was packing up, a hand slammed on her table. Shocked, she looked at Asher beside her.

He leaned closer to her, intoxicating her mind, before cruelly throwing out his words.

“The three of us wouldn’t be coming. Deal with it on your own.”

“Hey, Asher, that’s a little—”

Before Louis continue, Asher shot a glare at him that immediately shut him down.

Then, looking back at Esther, he asked, “Understood?”

Esther was used to having the project work being dumped on to her. Although that made matters difficult for her, seeing how the task was meant to be completed by a group, there were more advantages to it.

She didn’t need to socialize and had her own creative freedom to decide. Working with others made it tough for her to insert her ideas, and often times, she couldn’t point out their mistakes.

Working with three men, especially Asher, would get her sweating and rethinking about every action of hers.

“Yes.”

Her eyes didn’t hide the sparkle that arrived from excitement, and this made Asher frown.

Esther did have immense feelings for Asher but found it easier to admire him from afar. Upfront, he was way too frightening for her nerves to handle.

With that, she carried her bag and rushed out of the classroom whilst Aiden stared at her thoughtfully.

“If you don’t want to go, then don’t. Why are including me as well? She is seriously cute. I want to pursue her,” Louis commented with a wide grin.

Asher almost growled before he ordered, “Your training routine is too simple. It will be increased by a factor of ten.”

Louis gasped. “What do you mean?”