NATHANThe fucking wound wasn't healing. Fuck!He stood at the doorway, breathing heavily. "Lannon... Look, man, I can explain." I started. I let my eyes fall to the open hallway, a silent request that he should close the door.He stared at me with his unyielding gaze before he walked inside and slammed the door shut. With all the alcohol I had been drinking since I came back, the sound rang in my eardrums some seconds before it stopped."Won't you seat down?" I asked.He glared at me so hard that if eyes really killed, I would have dropped dead."Do I look like I fucking came for a cup of coffee and talks with you, Nate? Talk." He ordered me, folding his hands on his chest.If it were any other person, I would have kicked their ass at that order, angry or not, but this was Lannon and I really should have told him earlier. He noticed what he'd done and lowered his arms and sat down in front of me. A silent apology, which I accepted. Seriously, fuck the timing. It felt like all the
FAYE Today was the last day of school before we graduated. Kate and I were super excited. I thought it would be awkward graduating high school at nineteen, but it really wasn't. Instead, I'd had a year where I'd been myself and been in an environment with people my age. Besides Kate, I had more friends now. But Kate was still the only one I was closest to. It wasn't my fault that I finished high school later, anyway. It was Joseph's fault. Axel had trained me in marshal arts and self defense some months ago and now I was much stronger than I was before, even though I was still latent. It bothered me. How was it I had such a powerful Alpha for a father and I was born latent? When the time comes, would it be a valid reason for the pack to reject me? To turn me away and refuse to put me on the throne? Was I even worth it? Worth all this attention, time and effort being put into me? I thought that by now my wolf would have awakened, but nothing. I didn't feel even a hint of any
FAYEDays later and I still couldn't believe I was done with school. I woke up from sleep and lay in bed for a bit, staring off into space. I didn't have to get ready for school. That made me smile just thinking about it. I was through with high school now. I'd gotten a diploma. At some point last year, I'd really believed I would never finish school. I went to the bathroom and started my daily routine of taking a shower and brushing. This time for different reasons. I went into my closet and changed into a simple dress before heading downstairs.I heard Axel's voice and a little bark. What was that?I walked into the living room and saw Axel."Hey. You've been sleeping for a long time." Axel said."Hi " I said to him and turned to the furry little creature that stood by his feet.I let out a squeal and rushed to his side. "Is that a puppy?" I asked, moving closer to it."Yeah." Axel answered."Oh my gosh, such a cutie!" I said, smiling and leaning down to pet the puppy behind the
NATHANHoly crap, it was fucking loud in here.I motioned toward the bar and Lannon caught my drift as we threaded our way through the crowd and went to the corner bar.The music stopped for a bit, even though my ears kept thumping right along.Almost immediately, another song came on, blaring loudly through the speakers, making me scowl.I'd been hoping it would stop long enough for me to ask the bartender for a drink. Now I would have to holler at the guy.The bartender was preppy. Wearing a black shirt and looking so serious, I almost laughed.He probably thought since it was a sort of corporate party, he had to watch himself."Hey man, loosen up!" Lannon yelled at the guy.We ordered tequila shots, shouting across the bar at him. He threw us a thumbs up sign to show he'd heard us. We accepted our drinks and both of us turned around, drink in hand, to survey the assortment of people in the dimly lit interior."Your place is going to be super wrecked after this." Lannon said. I he
FAYE"TO COLLEGE," Mira said, lifting her shot glass filled with chilled Patron high in the air. "May it remember us fondly as it kisses our sweet asses goodbye!""Cheers!" I yelled in unison with the table as we clinked our glasses together before tapping them on the table and throwing them back. I hissed as the tequila stung my nose and throat, quickly reaching for a lime and sucking it dry."Shit, that burns," Mira laughed, her blue eyes watering."I hate tequila," I agreed, dropping the dry lime in the bowl and reaching for my beer."Same, but it gets the job done," Mira said. Mira and I both tilted our beers to our lips and took a long pull of it. Mira slid off her bar stool and pointed at me. "Be right back, I have to pee." I nodded at her and turned my attention to the other group of grads in the high scale bar where we were celebrating. Mira was my project partner in one of my classes. We’d gotten to know each other a lot over the last few years, especially being that we w
FAYEI should have guessed he'd show up here. But how had he known which bar and which part of town we'd be in? Mira cranked her neck in the same direction as the entrance to the bar. She told me not to look, but of course I didn’t listen — how could I?Axel had just walked into the bar, and I had to see for myself. As soon as I spotted him, my heart jumped, and the answer to the question Mira had asked just minutes ago became clear in my mind. It had been only a few months since the last time he'd visited.He had gotten busier and his visits had become few and far in between because of his workload and business trips. He'd told me he couldn't make it to the grad ceremony, the same as Yvonne.I hadn't minded that. They'd been present a lot already, and I wasn't so fragile that I'd need family today too. My mouth watered and, like a magnet, his eyes found mine just as the door swung closed behind him.He came with a group of men, all dressed in suits, and one clapped him on the sho
FAYEI loved the way Axel’s one hand rested easily on the steering wheel while the other held the gear shift. I loved the way the warm breeze whipped in through the windows of his new Porsche. I loved the easy conversation, and the easy silence — because we knew each other so well now. Better than when I'd left home. Axel let me choose the playlist as we caught up, him filling me in on his work, and what was going on with Yvonne, while I talked about my relief at finishing school finally, and reminisced about the things I would miss about Uni. Even though it had been hard, studying for a business degree, I had finally gotten it. "I can’t believe you're driving a Porsche now," I commented, running my hands along the edge of my seat.It was literally brand new, decked out, and it was dark and edgy. The interior was leather and sleek, the dashboard advanced, and the paint job was matte black. Even his rims were a dark charcoal gray, and I loved the way he looked in the driver seat —
FAYEAs soon as my plane touched down, before I even made it to baggage claim, I grabbed an Iced Americano from Starbucks. Not sleeping the night before an early flight and spending the night not sleeping, and worrying instead, had been a mistake. I was feeling a strange mix of exhaustion and excitement. I figured why not add caffeine to the mix?Sipping from the brown straw as I took the escalator down to baggage claim, I focused on remaining calm. When I saw Yvonne, a huge ball of warmth and love burst in my belly. She had a welcoming smile on her face as she stood, waiting for me with a large yellow cardboard paper that said FAYE, in huge block letters on it. I could barely hold myself back as I stepped off the bottom step of the escalator walked to her. I took three steps before I was in front of her and threw myself into her open arms, hugging her tightly, as my carry-on bag crashed to the tiled floors of the airport lounge, unheaded. She wore casual clothes. Which was a bit