C9 Tear-filled eyes.

"Do you have something to say to me?"

I can tell she is embarrassed about being caught off guard. She opens her purse, brings out a handkerchief, and stretches it towards me.

"You're sweating."

"Oh, am I?"

I wipe my sweat. I can tell she's flustered. I smirk, returning the handkerchief to her. She smiles at me before turning on her phone. I smirk. I'll have anyone and anything I want, but William. He's acting so hard to get. I've got the looks, the build, the aura, just not so much of the brains. But who cares?

Snow

"She's new here. She needs time to adjust and balance her personal life and life as a hunter."

"That's the point, Snow. She's new. If anyone should be dying to get accepted, it's her. But she's acting all full of graceful air."

"Calm down, Kaitlin. You were just like her, remember?"

"Do not make references like that. I'm way better. Besides, why is she treated like a golden egg? You know something, Snow, and you are keeping it from me. When did the elders become soft?"

"They aren't, Kaitlin. But keep your curiosity to yourself. It doesn't matter if I know something. But here's a hint: stay away from her."

I watch a sour expression appear on Kaitlin's face.

"I should stay away from her. Snow, do you have feelings for Laura?"

I move menacingly towards Kaitlin. She doesn't flinch, daring me with those sharp gazes of hers.

"If there's anyone I'd have feelings for, it would be you, mi amor. Remember, you are stuck with me."

I pull her in, placing a peck on her forehead. She looks at me, filled with uncertainty.

"Don't look at me that way, Kait. You always want more, don't you?"

She pushes me to the bed, rolling over me. She pulls my top over my head, leaving me in my lingerie. She smashes her lips into mine, then pulls away immediately. I've been with Kaitlin for a few months, and I know well she's a teaser. She likes being the dominant one during training sessions and our makeouts. She's always the teaser, doing things to make me beg.

"I suppose you have a few things in mind today?" She assesses me from head to toe.

"You wore red. I like it."

She bites my lower lip, looking into my eyes. She slides her hand to my belly button, fiddling with my belly ring. She slides her hand down to my lingerie. She can feel the wetness oozing out of me. She rubs my clitoris, making me moan in pure ecstasy. I tugs at her hair, moaning louder. I pull her hard close to me, sucking on her tongue. She bites my tongue in a seductive manner. My hands roam freely around her body. I dig my manicured nails into her back.

She pulls away from me instantly. I look up at her. She's playing games with me.

"Do the nails hurt?"

No, it doesn't one bit. Count this as a punishment.

She winks and walks out of the room. I slump in bed, feeling so aroused. I circle the tip of my nipple and rub my clitoris with another. I thrust my fingers into my vagina and continue the process slowly at first, but I increase the pace. I bite on my tongue, not wanting to scream out loud. I continue the process, this time faster and thrusting deeper. I feel myself close to climax. Eventually, I cum, spewing my cum all over the bed. I remove my fingers to sniff. I feel tired but still aroused. I crawl on the bed, close to my closet. I open a drawer to bring out my vibrator. I switch it on and spread my legs.

CHAPTER 9

ASHER

I step off the bus, tilting my head and stretching. I had fun watching my brother drown in despair. He's such a loser. I've had my eyes on him all through. I want him to take his rightful place as alpha, but he seems to have little or no interest in becoming one. He has a timeline of three full moons to find his mate, but he seems to be making little or no effort in finding her. I hope my plan goes down well.

"Go on. I need rest and a change of clothes. I'm soaking wet from sweat in this outfit."

I raise my hand to pat her hair. She's pretty. I watch as she continues to whine about the stuffy bus and the long trip.

"Callie, I told you not to wear that. I warned you it was going to be a long trip and we would be cramped, but what did you say?"

She looks down at her feet, pouting.

"I had to look colorful at least to make a statement."

She's pissing me off, and she knows it.

"What statement, Callie?"

"Callie and Laura, you are paired to a room."

"Who's Laura?"

"She's a new girl, new in town."

"One of us?"

"No, Callie. If she was, you would've seen her already. Just go on in and be a nice girl. Remember, she isn't one of us."

I watch Callie take slow but graceful strides away from me and towards the door. I sigh in delight. I'm lucky I have Callie as a mate. I feel bad for Arthur lately. He's gloomy. It might have to do with his parting away from William, but he doesn't know how necessary having a mate is. It's like having your other half. You feel what he or she feels. You know what they know. You love them unrequitedly.

LAURA

I feel my ass go numb, and my feet are itching to move around. Thanks to William, the drive down here wasn't so unbearable. We had little talks, jokes, and had a lot in common, though I felt the prying eyes of Goofy behind me. I walk out of the room, feeling quite uneasy with the so-called Callie. She reminds me a lot of Edna. I've not seen her around ever since then. I feel the pit of my tummy churn in anger. This feeling, it's been long I got it. It's the urge to kill. Why would I get that now in the middle of nowhere on a school trip? I walk on, wandering away from the guesthouse. I want to feel free, away from the noises, chattering, and stares. I loved the idea of moving away, but I feel like an outcast. I have no friends, no hobbies, no social circle. I just got to learn a whole new lot about my life, but I don't think I'm wanted there. Maybe Kaitlin was right. I'm a weakling, and nobody wants me. Am I a failure at birth? I'm a hunter, but I don't possess what others do. I sigh, taking slow strides. I stop to a halt on hearing whispers. I look behind me to check, but no one's there. I move a little forward. I see two people talking in hushed tones. I strain my eyes to see who it is. Naturally, my eyes zoom in on them. I could see them clearly even from afar. I could recognize one as Goofy (Arthur), and the other is a freaking handsome dude. I watch them talk about a few things, and I see him pull Arthur in for a hug before placing a peck on his lips.

"FUCK!"

Arthur looks back. He must have heard me. I run fast away from wherever I was. After running to a point where I couldn't breathe right, I stop. I look around, realizing I know nothing about where I was.

"Shit! I'm lost."

I turn on my phone. Luckily, there's network coverage here.

"You lost?"

I look up, startled. I sigh in relief.

"No, I'm not. I was just taking a stroll, that's all."

I watch him smirk. I stare at him for a while. I love my eyes gradually from his eyes to nose, brows, hair, and body. I bite on my lower lip subconsciously. Has William been this handsome?

"Relax, girl. Do you wanna eat me up?"

I raise my brow at him. What's he up to this time?

"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"

"You kept biting your lip."

He moves closer to me. He rubs his thumb on my lower lip. I watch him, astonished.

"It's all swollen."

Getting a grip of myself, I move away from him.

"What's wrong with you, psycho?"

"I'm not. I was stating the facts."

"I'm sorry if I mistook you for a psycho. Normal people don't go around touching girls randomly."

He laughs for a while.

"I'm sorry. You didn't think I was flirting with you, did you?"

I frown at his statement. He keeps a smug grin plastered on his face.

"No way in hell."

"Do you mind telling me why you wandered here all alone?"

I deliberate on whether to tell him the truth or not. Somehow, I feel my secret's safe with him. I decide to go with a plain truth.

"I had a lot on my mind. I wandered here, lost in thought, but now I regret it."

He places his hand on my head, patting it slowly and rhythmically. I feel my bones relax, and my body submits to his touch. It seems like all my worries have been lifted.

"It's going to get better, trust me. I've been where you are. Besides, what made you regret?"

"I saw Goofy with a guy, and they got a little intimate."

He giggles slightly, moving his hand away from my head. I look into his eyes.

"Who's Goofy? Your friend?"

I snort.

"You wish? He was sitting behind us during the drive, remember? The one making annoying sounds, distracting us during our game?"

He stiffens. He seems to recall something.

"By Goofy, you mean Arthur?"

I nod repeatedly.

"Yup, that one."

His face falls, his expression turning sour. He tries to mask his surprise, but it was too slow for me not to notice.

"Do you know who the guy Goofy was fooling around with is?"

I could hear his voice break several times. "Did I do something wrong?" I ask myself.

"None that I've seen around. He's probably from around here. He's blonde, about the same height as Goofy. He had tiny eyes, plump red lips, curves lips, and there was something peculiar about his eyes."

I think for a while. What could I be missing out?

"It's fine. Had enough of your stroll? We should hurry. It's almost dinner time."

He paused for a while, looking at me.

"How could you see all his features, though it's becoming dark?"

I rub my hair for a while, thinking of a suitable answer, but even I don't know how.

"I'm not sure. I could just see it."

"Common, it's getting late out here, and trust me, you don't want to stay out for long in places like this. They've got a pretty lot of untrained ones."

I jump into the sky, trying to catch a fly.

"You seem to know this place pretty well, judging by how magnificently you turn around these corners without contemplating whether you might miss the road. Have you been here on a trip before?"

"Yeah, I've been here a lot, but not on a trip. We go to new places each summer, form new alliances. You ask too many questions for a lady. You sure are a handful."

I nod my head, feeling embarrassed again. The rest of the journey to the guest house was quiet.

"Thanks, William. I could've been lost or gotten into the hands of the untrained ones."

He laughs.

"You have an excellent memory. It's fine. Bye."

I turn, moving away.

"Wait, William. I remember his eyes. They had some glint of gold."

I turn back, moving towards the room. I'm going to skip dinner. I need rest. I walk into the room, hoping to find Callie, but she wasn't anywhere in the room. It obviously wasn't long she left the room, judging by heaps of clothes all on the ground. Her makeup was all over the table. I feel bad for whoever she might be with. She's too flashy, if you ask me.

"Common, girl. No one asked for your opinion."

I turn around the room. Did I hear something, or is my mind playing dumb tricks? I listen attentively for a few seconds to no avail. I shrug. It must have been me thinking weird things.

William

I roll around on the bed. It can't be. She must have seen things wrong.

"Really? She saw things wrong but got the description right? You made the choice. Stop acting all pitiful. He can go to whomever whenever."

"Cut it off, Liam. Yeah, I made the choice, but I can't believe he really did."

"Whatever. Don't involve me in whatever mess you created. I warned you to stop mindlinking me anytime you goddamn feel like. I need some privacy. I don't go around taking control except during full moons, so I'd appreciate you respect my boundaries."

I feel the bond go off.

"Screw you."

I grunt, knowing well he won't hear a thing I say.

The door opens slowly. I shut my eyes, breathing slowly. I'm faking my sleep. I hear him walk towards my bed space. He sighs loudly before walking over to his bed space. I relax.

"You can't fool me, William. You know that. Besides, who sleeps with pants on?"

I turn around, facing him. His bed is opposite mine.

"I wasn't faking my sleep or anything. I just shut my eyes close, that's all."

He snorts, backing me, taking off his shirt.

"I never said anything about you faking your sleep."

He turns to me, taking off his pants, leaving him in his briefs. I drool mentally as I watch him. He takes slow, graceful strides towards me. I gulp hard.

"You like what you see? You can touch it whenever and wherever. It all belongs to you."

Fuck! I scream mentally. I could hardly contain my bulge. I could feel it harden, pressing against my pants. I curse inwardly at my arousal.

"Fuck off!"

He grins, squatting down towards me. He grazes his hands across my thighs. A very silent moan escapes my mouth. I hope he doesn't hear.

"Should I fuck off? Do you want me to?"

I jerk his hands away from my thighs, standing up from the bed. I move across to the table.

"Had a fun night?"

"Nothing fun."

I feel hurt. He lied easily.

"Anything unusual happen off the campgrounds?"

I could hear his heartbeat increase its pace. He tries to control it, knowing I could also hear it.

"Nothing," he manages to say.

"If you say so, I guess you can't be fooled by me, but I'm a complete fool."

I could hear his footsteps draw closer. He places his hands on my shoulder. I turn towards him, masking my hurt expression with a cold one.

"Nothing happened. I didn't mean to."

I cut into his words.

"You didn't mean to? You mean to tell me all that happened was a mistake? How intimate did you two get? And were you so into action that a human saw you?"

He squeezes my shoulder so tight that it hurts.

"I'm sorry, William. I didn't mean to. You told me you wanted nothing more to do with me, and I lost it."

I turn to him, detaching his hands from my shoulder.

"You lost it and decided to go for Fredrick. You know so well what my history with him is. I didn't expect you to go haywire for him. Tell me honestly, have I been a fool for loving you?"

He looks at me with tear-filled eyes.