Esther froze.
The musky scent of him coupled with citrus and cedar wood floated into her nose, intoxicating her. Those intimidating blue eyes of his sent blood rushing through her system.
Before she could get lost in the beauty in front of her, he let go of her. She stumbled. Nonetheless, she managed to stand right this time, and realizing how everyone had their eyes on her got Esther sweating.
The words were stuck in her throat, and the urgent need to escape overpowered the presence of Asher. After mumbling a soft and almost incoherent thank you, she rushed away from the scene.
Louis cackled at the sight, commenting, “You terrified her.”
Paying no mind to his words, Asher chose to walk away.
°°°
The art class was a torture for Esther who had a difficult time drawing a straight line. As the teacher explained about a certain technique, Esther was lost in her thoughts and began to scribble randomly on the paper in front of her.
This was one of those classes Esther shared with her sister, his. The girl was the favorite of the art teacher with her immense talent in the field. This is not what made Esther envious of her sister. It was that her sister had a relationship with Asher.
Although the relationship wasn’t anything stable— with both simply fulfilling their needs— at least her sister had the courage to approach the man. Remembering about the mess she was earlier, Esther slammed her head against the easel before her.
This caused the easel to shake, and before it could fall down, Esther caught it, feeling relieved at herself for not causing a mess.
This is when she heard laughs from beside her, and this made her turn her head. Her eyes met with a pair of green ones, and there was amusement written in them.
She recognized him to be Louis Grey, a close friend of Asher’s. He had the most friendly personality of the bunch , and packed with humor, he had his way when it came to words to charm the women. He had his fascinating looks to help as well.
Knowing that his laugh was targeted towards her, her cheeks burned due to embarrassment while she turned to face towards the canvas before her.
“Hey, you are that girl from earlier! The one that was scared away! You are cute!” he commented.
Esther stared at him with widened eyes and her lips parted.
‘Did he just talk to me? Should I reply to him? But I don’t know what to say to that. Will he think of me as someone arrogant?’
Sensing the fear and panic on her, Louis asked, “Are you afraid of me?”
Esther shook her head immediately and awkwardly said, “Thank you.”
Louis held in his urge to squeal at how adorable she was. She had a soft voice and small stature. Her scared and cautious demeanor made him want to pet her.
“What are you thanking me for? Hmm,” he teasingly stated, leaning closer to her.
Before Esther was able to say anything, the teacher yelled, “Leave my class if you want to flirt, Louis, Esther!”
Clearly feeling the teacher’s scorching gaze on her, Esther rested her head against the canvas, hoping for this humiliating moment to be over soon.
Esther’s home was a twenty minute walk from school. She used this period of time to observe those around her and draw ideas inside her head that she would never get the chance to explore.Esther’s brother, Luke, went with Amy in the car. The car was brought for Esther and Amy to use together. However, because Amy went to a lot of social gatherings, Amy used it on her own, and Esther didn’t have a driver’s license.Because of how awkward it felt with her siblings, Esther chose to travel by foot.As always, Esther arrived to an empty home. Both of her parents were career driven, and as one of the most sought-after lawyers, they were barely at home. Even when they were, Esther had no part of their attention.She knew her parents were disappointed at her. The timid her had no voice and would let anyone easily overpower her. The subservient side of hers was seem as shame to her parents. Esther did feel guilt for turning out this way, bu
Leaning against the counter, boredom was present on the features of brooding man. He held on to a glass of whiskey whilst watching the boisterous and unrestrained teenagers dance to the music. Seated on the counter was Julia Knights. Her red locks was pulled into a bun, and she had mesmerizing, androgynous visuals. She held on to a glass of wine. “What got your knickers in a twist, Ash?” She questioned. Being his niece, only she was able to get free pass for such disrespectful behavior towards him. “He is probably agitated that he hadn’t yet met his mate,” Louis commented, “And I do hope he doesn’t meet her. I don’t know who she is, but I feel bad for that poor soul.” “Don’t agitate him further. Last time it ended up with a broken jaw for you,” Aiden Hayes reminded, patting on Louis’ shoulder. His feral instincts were especially riled up today, and not in the mood to deal with these nuisances, he voiced out, “Going out for a smoke.” As
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?”
Julia Knights was named a wild beauty by everyone, and Esther was yet to see her in action until today. She watched in wonder as she took down four boys larger than her, and in the end managed to stand straight, sneering.Envy took root at Esther’s chest, knowing she wouldn’t ever be able to match up.“Stop hiding,” Julia’s voice resounded, directed towards Esther.Esther was about to go the female’s washroom when she saw Julia being cornered by four boys. After that, it barely took Julia ten minutes to have them all on the ground. They scrambled away quickly following this in fear of Julia.Disheartened at being discovered, Esther nervously walked out from behind the wall whilst praying Julia would spare her from the punches. Esther heard rumors on how Julia was related to Asher, and seeing their fierce expressions, Esther could see the resemblance.Assessing Esther from top to bottom, she said, “Got extra
Watching his niece make her way over to the table caused a frown to form on Asher’s face. As Julia pulled back the chair and sat down, Louis commented, “Eh? What is that you’re wearing? Since when did your sense of style get so weird?”The sweater was obviously few sizes smaller for Julia.“Don’t ask me about that. Those mutts thought it would be great to attack me in the hallway and got me all covered up in blood. At the end, I had to borrow from this tiny girl.”“Name?” Asher questioned.“Esther,” she enunciated, “Why?”Louis’ eyes brightened up in recognition, and he uttered, “She is cute, isn’t she?”“Stay away from her,” Asher commanded, directing to both of them.“But of course, your Uncle has deeply rooted grudge towards her,” Louis pointed out.°°°One of the best way to relief
Seeing how everyone got along with another and joked around caused envy to rise in her chest. When would she be able to lead such a life? “Now, this is a new face. Who are you?” Esther turned her head to face Joseph Brown. The teen in front of her was a fellow teammate of her brother, and from the rumors she had heard, he was anything but pleasant. He enjoyed harassing girls and bullying the weaker students. Because of the money he had at home, these records can easily be hidden. Esther didn’t understand why her siblings would choose to hangout with someone like him. Then again, she couldn’t yet comprehend how the hierarchy system worked. The drunk teenager wasn’t a good news, and Esther, not fond of creating a scene, decided to leave that place silently. But before she could take a step forward, her arm was grabbed. “Darling, there is no need for shyness here,” he whispered to her. His greasy tone caused goosebumps all over her body.
“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!
“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,