I handed Jade a glass of cold lemonade. He took no time to take it from my hand and started to gulp it down like he was really thirsty. In seconds, the glass was already empty. He let out a satisfied sigh and smiled. “Darn…” I chuckled. “You must have been really thirsty.” I put my own glass to my mouth and took a few sips. It tasted really cold. It was cold and was the perfect refreshing drink for the weather today. He laughed lightly. “Yeah, I was, sorry.” “No, it’s okay. I can pour you another if you want?” I offered and he nodded once as a shaky smile claimed his lips. I took the glass from him and began to fill it up with more lemonade.“Before I came here, I was actually jogging. I saw the mansion and could not resist stopping by to see you,” Jade confessed, and butterflies slow-danced in my belly. “That’s why I’m so thirsty.” And also apparently why he was dressed the way he was. He looked sweaty when he was escorted in by the beta, so it made sense that he had just come fr

Jade seemed to make sense. Being vengeful was exhausting. Being angry all the time was draining. It was also quite the opposite of fun. But was I willing to let all that go? Was I willing to entertain the idea of forgiveness? I looked Jade in his eyes and asked him, “Have you forgiven Chad and his family for what they allowed to happen to your mom?” He seemed taken aback. He swallowed and then shook his head. “Now, that’s not fair. It’s different.” “Is it? Because I see it as almost the same.” I proceeded to stand to my feet. “If you can’t forgive Chad and his family and have refused to talk to him for all these years, then I don’t think you’re the right person to be telling me to forgive a murderer.” “Katara…” He stood up too. “I mean, Lucia.” He corrected himself and then stopped me. “You know what? You’re right, I am not the one that should be telling you to forgive when I struggle with my own demons. But I am only trying to help you here. I am only trying to watch out for you

I stared at the prisoner for a few seconds and then I felt Jade gently tap my shoulder as he reminded me, “We really should get going, Lucia.” I glanced at him and nodded before looking back at the woman. Jade was right, each second we spent here increased the chances of us being caught by the betas. We needed to leave, but I also needed to get the prisoner under control.She could mess up everything. If she even breathed a word of Jade and I being in here, it would be game over. “How can you help?” I asked her. She smiled and her lips cracked some more. I really wished I had water to give to her. “I can help you all escape. I know where the keys are for the cells. They are usually on the betas but I can swipe them away.” She sounded excited and her eyes were filled with hope. “And what’s in it for you?” Jade asked the same question on my mind. “Isn’t it obvious?” She smirked. “I want in. I want to be part of the prison break.” I did not have time to argue with her and we needed

I tried. I tried to stop the tears from trickling down my face but could not. At least not anymore. Imagine that all you had known was just ripped away from you. My entire pack and my life were ripped away from me There was no more Thunder pack. So many people had died; innocent people. All because of one man and his anger. “Katara, please…” My supposed father walked closer to me. “I told you that I regret why I did that. You’re right, she did not deserve to die. I should not have killed her. But when I saw her, she reminded me of Dalton. Looking at her, I was reminded that Alexa chose him over me,” He explained. I sniffled and then wiped the tears that had fallen from my eyes. “Maybe I should go around murdering people when I'm upset.” My voice was filled with sarcasm. “Welp, I deserve that. I did not set an excellent example for you and that kills me. But as I said, I don’t regret doing that. The only thing I regret is killing that sick girl.”“Hmm,” I mumbled and ran my hands t

Jade walked from behind the counter and headed in my direction. He had a small grin on his face. “Hi,” He greeted me in a breathy way as he sat across the table from me. “What are you doing here? I thought I was the one that was supposed to come to you?” I stared at him for a few seconds longer, admiring how perfect he looked. But then I caught myself. “Uh, yes. But a change of plans. My parents hate you, they were only pretending when they saw you at the mansion.” He snorted out a laugh. “Yeah, I figured that out soon enough. It was strange that they were being nice to me all of a sudden; raised a red flag.” He seemed nonchalant. “And let me guess, they don’t want me back at the house?”I nodded. “They don’t. We all had a big fight about you and my supposed mom even packed her things to leave. Unfortunately, she did not and was going to babysit me all of today so you wouldn’t come over.” “So she’s not home right now, is she?”“No, she was the one that dropped me off. Chad helped m