WINTER."Now, what do you want?" He repeated with his eyes pinned on mine. I gulped fearfully and tried to avert my eyes from his piercing gaze, but I found it almost impossible to do.It was almost like his beautiful blue orbs were calling out to me as though they were compelling me to keep staring at him."Winter?" He beckoned with that cold voice of his that always sent shivers down my spine.Words. I had to form words. I opened my mouth to answer, but no words were forthcoming. My brain had gone blank and completely numb as all my thoughts flew out the window. Being in this room alone with him must've been the dumbest shit I had ever attempted in my entire life.What did I think when I asked to speak to him privately?I should've just said what I had to say and left, but I didn't because somehow, my subconscious had tricked me into believing that I would survive standing in front of this man for no longer than five minutes without going weak in the knees."Why did you agree to du
WINTER."Let me go, Slade. I don't belong to you. I'm not a property that can be tossed however and whenever." I said weakly.My voice conveyed the opposite of what I wanted him to do. I wanted him to hold on tighter. I wanted him to kiss me, and does it sounds crazy that I wanted him to touch me as well?Breathe Winter!I kept chanting to myself as I steadied my hands on his chest to keep myself from touching him intimately."Please stop, Slade. You can't keep on doing this..." I whispered and tried to pull myself away from him while trying to catch my breath."I don't want you to pretend it's not happening, Winter. You feel it." He stated, staring at me.Except for the occasional frown on his face, he looked calm and coordinated while I was practically heating up like an active volcano. My whole body was on fire. It was almost like I just came down with a fever, but that wasn't the case. I knew better than anyone to understand that this hotness was from another type of sickness th
WINTER POV.Unwanted son? What exactly did she mean by the unwanted son? Who was she referring to? And why was no one explaining anything to me? Who was this woman that had just walked into the room unannounced?I darted my eyes to Summer to see if I could get a hint of what was happening, but her face wasn't giving out any information either. The only look etched on her face was the usually irritated scowl she had on whenever she saw me, so I knew then that it would be pointless to try and get something out of her."It is only because of my irresponsibility that my son is who he is today," The strange woman challenged. "At least he is better than your sons combined, and I know that the thought of it alone is eating at you, my dearest Ashley. Tell me, how do you even sleep at night knowing that my son isn't a product of your household and would forever rule over you."She gave a devilish smile that seemed to annoy mother.I could tell what she said got to her because my mother clampe
SLADE.Gloria's words got to me. I'd be lying if I said that it didn't. She might be my foster mother's friend, but she knew nothing about me. I wanted to retort and tell her off, but I didn't. Again, I didn't want to be the reason why they would have any issues in the future. Plus, I didn't want to have problems with my foster mother too.I knew that Gloria was only saying this to get me upset, and I wouldn't give her that satisfaction. It seemed like that was her plan all along. She wanted disputes between us. Ever since she knew that I was her mate's son and she was practically my stepmother, she despised me.The more I tried to reach out to her, the more she pushed me away. I knew she hated me because she felt I was competing with her sons, but that was the least of my worries. I loathed her as much as she did me, but I would never try to disrespect her, especially in the presence of my foster mother-Luna Ashley and my mother."I would appreciate it if you stopped calling me name
SLADE POV."You should taste this chicken broth, mother. I had it made especially for you." Britney dished out for mother after the meal's maid had tasted it. It was a rule I had set in my pack, and I abide by it wherever I went to avoid getting poisoned because many people plotted evil against me, and I didn't want to fall victim to any of their plans. We were all seated at the dinner table as they brought in the dishes and placed them around the table. The dining room was one of the most oversized rooms in the mansion. The high walls and spacious room accentuated the place perfectly. Not the mention the attractive decor that was draped around the four corners of the room. The warm colors always made me feel at ease, but I couldn't say the same for today. I was very pissed that it almost made me lose my appetite.After successfully dragging mother out of that place, I compelled her to have dinner and retire to her bedroom for the night. I could tell she was still pissed by my deci
SLADE POV."Hmph!" I grunted in pain when the healing herbs used in tending my wounds came in contact with my open wound.I shut my eyes briefly to curb the pains that coursed through my entire body like a throbbing headache."Just sit still and let me handle this properly," Jude said begrudgingly. I knew from the tone of his voice that he was upset. He had always opposed this duel from the very beginning and had seen no reason for me to be involved, but I had blatantly refused to heed his advice, and now, he was forced to tend my wounds against his wish. "I am sitting as still as I can, Jude."I retorted. He had no right to blame me. No one does. I had never asked for this duel at first. It was all Damien and Daniel's idea to spite me initially.As Jude continued tending to me, my eyes scanned the crowd at the arena today. The mob of people present were more than that of the previous day. I wasn't surprised, though. Everyone was gathered today to watch the fight and see who would em
WINTER."Aren't you coming to watch the fight at the arena?" Damien had asked me for the umpteenth time that morning. No. I didn't want to watch, but it doesn't look like I have a choice or say in the matter. If I should refuse, we might end up arguing about how unsupportive I was towards his brother's needs. It wasn't like they asked for my permission before they placed me as a bet on this fight, either.I was unaware, and everyone involved felt I should be okay with it."Do I have a choice?" I threw him a side glance and tucked my stray hair behind my ears before putting on my jewellery that had been neatly arranged for me on my desk."You make it sound like I'm forcing you to do this" Damien huffed a response. "This is a family matter, Winter, and you are my wife. You're supposed to be involved in everything that has to do with my family and me.""I never argued with that fact," I muttered a reply.I stood up to leave, but he closed the distance between us. "Excuse you? What do y
BRITNEY POV.I saw Slade watching her. I didn't want to act upset because he was already under much pressure, but I couldn't help but feel hurt. When he had stood up despite his injury, I had thought that it was something urgent, but it wasn't. The only reason why he left so quickly was that he wanted to see her again, and I wouldn't say I liked it."Come on, Slade. let's go." I held onto his arms, forcing him to come with me, and he did.We arrived at the arena, and a while after, he was called to go back onto the field to continue the duel.I knew he wouldn't agree to back out of this fight, and I think I knew why. It was because of Winter. He was doing this because of her. I wanted to confront him badly but didn't want us arguing about irreverent stuff, so I gave up on trying to convince him.I walked back to my seat with Slade's mother, and we sat down side by side. The rematch started as soon as possible, and for the life of me, I was terrified.I didn't know what to do. The fir