“So, she is your mate,” Julia commented, nudging her uncle.
Asher gave no reply to that.
“Who?” Louis questioned. Following that, Julia turned to look at the man seated on the backseat and stared at him with ridicule at how dumb he was.
Then, it clicked.
“Don’t tell me. Esther is his mate? That small her? Mated to this beast?” Louis was beyond shocked.
“Tell me about it,” Julia commented.
Asher’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as the temperature in the car drastically dropped, showing off his upset mood. He then enunciated, “She is not my mate.”
His words surprised no one.
Julia shrugged her shoulders, and leaning against the car seat, she uttered, “Then, Uncle, you need to act like it. Since when were you the one to protect others?”
°°°
Esther was walking back home on a fine afternoon when a car stopped beside he
“What a coincidence! That works out well then,” Julia expressed, “I had tickets to their concert, but no one to take along. What do you think?” Esther felt as if she was a child being enticed by a candy from a stranger. However, being able to go to a concert with a friend and, at the same time, watch her favorite band was too attractive of an offer to turn down. Surely, Esther didn’t do great with crowds, but right now, she placed that at the back of her head. “Do you want me to pay for that? The ticket?” Esther carefully questioned. The price of concert tickets can be expensive. Hearing Esther’s proposition caused Julia to burst out into laughter and enunciate, “You really don’t have any friends. Silly, I am asking you out here.” Esther rubbed the back of her head and uttered, “Sorry.” Julia waved her hand at that before expressed, “Oh, right! Do you know who else loves Aster?” Esther raised an eyebrow. “My Uncle, duh!
Esther didn’t miss flash of irritation that crossed his eyes before he strode over to her. The sight of him made him want to cower.“Didn’t I tell you I will kill you off if you show yourself in front of me?” he shot at her aggressively.Esther turned her phone to show him the text and uttered, “I have nothing to do with this.”He scoffed, not bothering to look at the screen.“Since when do you have a friendship with Julia? You’re pathetic. Stay away from her,” he uttered.Esther felt indignant and didn’t appreciate being talked to like that. She lowered her gaze and nodded before voicing out, “I apologize.”Hearing that caused his eyes to darken before he turned and walked away, not in the mood to entertain her.Once he left, Esther let out a breath of relief before looking at the ticket. Since she had the ticket, it would be wasteful if she didn’t attend i
Luke, who was about to go out to search for Esther, received a message on his phone. Seeing how the sender was Aiden got him to raise an eyebrow before he clicked on it. The content caused his eyes to widen.“Fuck!” he exclaimed. The location sent was supposed to be of Esther, and the girl was two towns away. He couldn’t believe how she got there.Holding back his urge to curse, he looked at Amy, who was preparing to head out as well, and said, “She is at Fernhert.”“What?” Amy asked in disbelief, pressing on her forehead. “What would that idiot even do there?”Luke shrugged his shoulder. “The text was from Aiden.”“That fucking bastard, how do they know her location? If they are involved in this, I swear—”Seeing how his sister’s eyes were flashing golden, Luke placed his palm on her shoulder and said, “Now is not the time to get angry. We can de
Just as Julia opened the door, she was greeted with a punch to her face. The impact caused her to take a step backwards, and glaring at the perpetrator, she exclaimed, “Are you crazy!?”Amy stared at Julia fiercely and behind her was Luke. She then spat, “Who gave you the permission to approach Esther?”“What the hell? Is this what you are so agitated about? You are weird.” Julia scoffed.That was enough to get Amy further triggered, and before she could make another physical attack on Julia, a powerful voice resonated through the place: “That’s enough.”Asher appeared— his aura threatening and frightening. But that didn’t make Ellis siblings cower. Their bearing match up to his.Amy stepped forward to confront Asher and grabbed his collar before saying, “You bastard, I thought I already warned you to stay away from Esther. What are you doing lurking around her like creeps?&rdq
Seeing how Esther’s eyebrows were knit together, Julia chuckled and said, “What are you thinking so deeply about? We are seriously not friends. Well, you can say we hung around together for mutual benefits.”Esther nodded.That’s when, she recalled about something and inquired, “How did Amy and Luke know about my location yesterday?”Esther didn’t tell them about it, and they had no clue on her hanging out with Julia. The fact that they knew her location and also Julia’s involvement made Esther curious about the reason.She didn’t have the opportunity to question her siblings about it.Julia looked away guiltily. She couldn’t say to Esther that Aiden had been tracking her. Therefore, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “Oh, right! About yesterday, were you alright? What happened? I am so sorry about my Uncle.”Esther saw how she dodged the question and decided to not pu
Asher sat at the classroom designated for detention with Aiden and Louis. Aiden was concentrating on the papers in front of him whilst Asher and Louis ignored them. With a grin on his face, Louis typed away on his phone whereas Asher seemed to be contemplating on something seriously.After a while, he questioned, “What is a tsundere?”The word felt very much foreign to his tongue. Recalling how Esther had addressed her with this term, it had been bothering him, and he wanted to know the meaning.That caught Louis’ attention, and looking towards Asher, he slyly stated, “That actually depends on the context. Where did you hear it?”Aiden rolled his eyes and provided the explanation: “Tsundere is a word from Country J. It refers to people who are soft within but acts coldly outside.”Louis glared at Aiden. If it wasn’t for Aiden, he would have gotten an explanation about the scenario Asher heard the word
When she thought she would be taking her last breath, the hold loosened, and Esther’s legs weakened, causing her to slid down the wall. Sitting on the ground, she stared at him with tears glistening in her eyes.Relief spread through her. She didn’t know why he decided to spare her life when the intent was clear in his eyes. Her lips trembled.Asher stared at the marks on her neck and ran his hand through his hair before commenting, “Boring.”Then, turning his back on her, he uttered, “Now, if you are done crying, scram.”At this point, Esther felt exhausted of his extreme hatred, and right now, he obviously wanted to end her breath. This made her bravely question, “Why? Why are you doing this to me?”What was worse that she liked him even after all of this. Then again, from the moment these strong feelings of hers sprung for him, she knew there would be no going back. Asher had that tight of a grip o
Julia stared at her Uncle questioningly as he drank down the contents of the water bottle. She nudged at Louis, and this resulted in the teenager to raise an eyebrow at him. She then indicated with her expression for him to ask Asher on the details. Although Louis didn’t wish to, he could only bite the bullet at Julia’s intense stare and voiced out, “So, what was up earlier? What happened with Esther?” Asher was silent for a second before responding, “My rut is coming up.” “You think that because of your rut, you are having these certain inclinations towards Esther. Aren’t you just trying to convince yourself, Uncle?” Julia teasingly commented. “Have I been going too lenient on you lately, Julia?” He directed a glare at her. This made Julia raise her arms and stated, “I was just saying. But what did you actually do to Esther?” He chose to ignore her question and said, “Julia, your stance earlier left too many openings, and it was unstable. You shouldn’t be having these amateur fa
“Was your love for me a lie?” Esther cried out.Asher pressed on to his forehead and expressed, “Quit being so dramatic.”“Men are really heartless creatures or else how can you push me to the execution ground. Yesterday you were hugging me and loving me, and now, you want me dead?”“Esther.”Asher stared at her sternly.This made her pout and deflate, almost falling off to the ground in the process. Asher grabbed on to her collar to prevent that from happening.“Why have you only grown to become more and more childish?” Asher pinched her nose while staring at her with adoration in his eyes.She scrunched up her nose.“Alright. Your family is waiting outside of the door. I will go and open it.”Esther showed a helpless expression. Whatever, sooner or later, she will have to face her family. It doesn’t matter if she gets beaten up. Just a little painful and a whole lot embarrassing.Taking in a deep breath, she steeled herself and gestured to Asher to open the door.“Alright. I am read
Asher sounded disappointed.“That’s all? Because I hardly looked at you for few days, you thought I had no feelings for you? Even after I opened about everything to you? I told you over and over again that breaking the bond wouldn’t change anything. You couldn’t trust me?”“How am I supposed to read your mind!? You are always blowing hot and cold. It’s tiresome. What about you? You weren’t any less insensitive! Didn’t you think it would hurt me if you avoided me?Don’t you have common sense? Or was it a game you played to torture me because I wanted to break the bond with you? That’s your favorite hobby, right!?”“My hobby? Yeah, you are right. I am paranoid. I enjoy testing people at every turn and don’t trust anyone. But I wanted to do that with you. Fuck! If it wasn’t for your sake, I wouldn’t have ignored you.Do you know what I felt like every time I looked at you? Tortured. Do you understand how empty I felt without the bond? Unable to read your emotions, it was all too foreign
Asher stared at her in disbelief.“I am in last stage of stomach cancer. That’s why, I will be content to get to see you married, and it’s sad that I won’t have the luxury to see your children. Nonetheless, I hope you will be happy in the future.”“You are lying,” Asher responded.Esther sighed.“I wish I was too. There’s a lot I wanted to do, but too bad, my life is short.”At this, Esther saw Asher taking out his phone, and alert, she grabbed on to his hand, asking, “What are you doing?”“Arranging for the tests. You will be done for if you are lying.”This made Esther nervous.“Can you not? I am exhausted of having to go to doctors, getting poked, and having to take medicine. I won’t stop you from doing whatever you want, but please, don’t force me to see a doctor. There’s no hope already. I just want to spend my last days peacefully.”“Shut up,” he ordered, “there’s no way that’s the case, and you will be seeing a doctor whether you like it or not.”“I was sad, thinking that you w
A chill travelled down Esther’s spine. At the sane time, she felt indignant. What right did he have to accuse her in this manner as though she cheated behind his back?Back then, it was him who fervently ignored her, and these years, she suffered badly. She was all alone with strangers. And it’s not like she wanted to be away; she had to be away.“I-uh, it’s none of your business. It’s been five years, Asher. Weren’t we just childish high school students back then? What happened back then shouldn’t even matter?”Asher’s eyes darkened further.“Say that again.”Esther was about to repeat those words when she got intimidated by his eyes. Her senses could easily perceive the danger, and she silently turned to face the window. She wasn’t foolish enough to provoke the beast.And then, they stopped in front of a mansion. It was grand. Esther stared at it in amazement and wondered how much Asher actually made in a month. Asher then got down of the car and ordered her to follow behind him. A
“Dad’s home. Yikes! I am going to bed, Esther. Good night.”Before Esther could say anything, the child rushed off to her room, and she laughed at her antics. Despite Dylan’s repeated warnings, Lily still got into a fight in school and got injuries. Not wanting to be scolded by her father again, she hid.Esther shook her head.The main door opened, and Dylan stepped in. She raised her eyebrow at the signs of joy seen on his face. Work made him exhausted usually, so this was new.“What happened?” she questioned as the man removed his blazer and placed it on the couch.“I met with an old friend from the council today, and it seemed that Stephen was caught, five years ago at that. It’s sad we lost connection for long.”Stephen and Esther did lay low for these five long years. Esther had no connection with the werewolf council, and Stephen didn’t have complete trust in them. He was afraid getting involved would result in him being caught.“You sure?” Esther asked.Dylan nodded.“Confirmed
Esther bent down and fixed the hair of the child in front of her. No older than five, the girl had doe brown eyes, brown hair pulled into two ponytails, and chubby cheeks that made one want to pinch them.In other words, she was adorable.“Now, take care of yourself, and don’t get into fights.”“Yes, Mom! Are you coming to pick me up?”Esther pretended to think about it for a while.“I am not too sure about it.”“I will give you a kiss, Mom.”With that, the tiny girl plastered her lips on to Esther’s cheeks, leaving behind a small kiss before stepping back with sparkling eyes, blinking at Esther in expectation.Esther laughed. She hated leaving her apartment, but she could do anything for her adorable baby.“Sure.”The child grinned widely.“Then, make sure to bring enough money with you. I want to buy this big dollhouse. Dad scolded me, saying it’s a waste of money, and I will break it. What would he know? The dollhouse is so pretty. I want it.”The girl scoffed, folding her hands ov
Before he passed out, he growled at Esther. Although he tried to resist, the drug was too potent for his self will.Stephen was a cautious being, but due to his arrogance, Esther had the upper hand in this. He thought he figured her out entirely, and due to this, he felt she would be helpless. Esther was after all like an open book.Esther’s acting skills surprised even herself. When push came to shove, even Esther can adapt and act accordingly. She was proud of herself for staying calm under the situation and not breaking down.Of course, Esther did not have the time to celebrate for long. What was way more tasking for her had to be when she moved the man to the shotgun seat, so that she could take the driver’s one.With all the rough handling, she was almost scared he would wake up. His weight felt nearly impossible for her to handle, but her willpower made sure she carried on.Following so, she drove the car following the GPS. Upon spotting the man and his child by the roadside, sh
Asher made her frustrated, incredibly at that.Because he believed Esther fell in love with someone, he kept an eye on her the entire time, and once the day at school was over, he dragged her to his apartment. She couldn’t even resist because he was ready to start a fight with her siblings over her.Esther too held on to her will and didn’t talk to Asher unless it was regarding breaking the bond. That only got him to be more aggressive, and he threatened about marking her.Just when Esther thought one bond was too much.Marking is the werewolf version of being tied until death. At least it was too harsh to force it upon someone else. But the way Esther kept on challenging Asher’s bottom line, she distinctly saw it as a future possibility.That’s why, she had to do something drastic.She tried a lot of techniques. She cried and begged him, screamed at him and tried to provoke him, threw a hunger strike, and attempted to come out of her shell to act ambiguous with another man which ende
“Was that what upset you these days?” Asher asked.Over this period of time, he noticed that Esther was unusually tense and spent lesser amount of time with him. He didn’t push it, thinking it was due to exams coming up. She should be stressed over it.“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” Esther asked.At first, she thought that she would have to act sad, but now, the reality of everything hit her, making her emotionally unstable. Asher didn’t want to do anything with her.When it was an unrequited love on her part, she wasn’t saddened by this because for her, it was impossible for Asher to like her back then. But now that she got to taste his sweet affections, everything was painful.Asher sighed.“It didn’t matter,” he responded, “that’s why, don’t let it create an issue.”This made Esther’s heart sink.“Your mate, it could have been someone else, and you would have treated her the same.” Esther voice was low. Her eyes were on the floor, and tears started to well up in them.At this,