Having caught no sleep the entire night, my eyelids felt heavy, but sleep still evaded me. When a beam of light escaped through my blinds, I realized that it was breaking into a dawn and I might as well start getting ready for school. After an hour or so, I found myself walking towards my school building, not failing to notice the empty parking lot. I couldn’t spot his car in it, but again, he could’ve also parked it in the basement. Trying to ignore the potential disappointment in my mind, I made my way to his office anyway, sincerely hoping that he had come. True to my fear, he didn’t. I sighed at the sight of his empty office, not even a thing out of place. The man surely knew how to stay organized. Maybe I could come back during lunch, I thought, and made my way to my first class which was chemistry. I shared this class with Leslie, and the reminder made me groan. I was not ready to face her today. I was already running on a low battery, picking a fight with her was not on my l

I looked at my father in apprehension. I was surprised to see his disappointment with my decision. Wouldn’t he have done the same? “Yes,” I said, “Because it was Kiara Walce. How could I ever accept her to be my mate?”He gave me an incredulous look, as though my reason wasn’t logical enough. In his eyes, I was scared to find some disappointment. On his side, my mother held similar expressions of regret and sympathy, which honestly didn’t make me feel any better. “I don’t care who it was, Asher. Do you even know what it means to reject a mate?” He said, “You cannot go against nature’s norms like that. You might have just cost this pack its future heir.” I looked at him incredulously, “Dad, you cannot be serious right now,” I said, “Rejecting my mate doesn’t mean I can’t be with anyone else. You know I love Leslie right? I intend to be with her forever.”“But she is not your mate, son.”His reasoning was only increasing my inner turmoil. I was already struggling to deal with the con

“I do not wish to study in a place where I have such a threat from people like her,” Asher said, “I demand that she is kicked out of here.” Suddenly, I felt as though the life that I managed to build for myself was shattering before my eyes. With the Alpha involved, he posed a great threat to my scholarship. If that was revoked, I would again have to depend on the Stones for my education and there was no chance in hell that they would support me. They were merely waiting for a chance to ruin my life, and I had presented it to them on a silver platter. How stupid had I been to think this was a good idea! If only I had stopped myself yesterday from going to the Principal’s office. It wasn’t like what Asher had done was anything new to me. I had been mentally and physically abused all my life. If I had endured it a little longer, I would have had the opportunity to get away from here once and for all. Now I lost the only chunk of hope I held on to in life. I was back to square one. E

The restaurant was busier than usual for a Tuesday, forcing me to arrive early. The business was usually better on the weekends, but some special occasions call for extra duty hours. I could hardly complain about my situation because this was exactly what I needed. If left alone with my thoughts, I was sure that I would go crazy anytime soon. Most of my evening was spent juggling between tables, scribbling down orders on my notepad and fetching dishes from the kitchen. It was the usual drill, and on days like this it felt therapeutic. I enjoyed the monotony of it, the predictability of what would come after what. Doing things like this made me feel less tired, as it ultimately left the pressure off my mind, which is what drains me the most. However, every once in a while, I couldn’t help but let Marcus into my thoughts, and everytime he tried to enter the confines of my heart, it would painfully clasp shut. I hated my logical mind that wouldn’t just let me give into the temptation

I couldn’t help but notice the murderous look in his eyes. “Do you have anybody else in mind?” He looked skeptical, as though he was contemplating things. Since I did not have the energy to dwell into the matter further, I simply reclined backward, a tired sigh leaving my system. He was quick to take a glance at me.  “You should get some rest.”  I nodded, “I’m just wondering how to go to school tomorrow.”  “With me, of course.”  “I haven’t got any clothes.” “No problem.” He said, “We