AMELIA’S P.O.V

Kaden dropped me at home without as much as a goodbye kiss. I should have been amazed that he was acting like a perfect gentleman but I wanted more. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way my body was pressed up against his in the pool. I tossed and turned in bed unable to get rid of the ache burning between my thighs. I wasn’t able to fall asleep sometime during the early hours of the morning.


Training went by in a blur because Kaden was there. I could feel his eyes on me the entire time and it made me fumble during training. It didn’t help that I was in shorts and a fitted tank top. I could practically feel him scouring my entire body but just like at the lake, he made no move to act on anything. He just stood to the side and watched me. At the end of training, I expected him to come up to me or something but he got roped into a conversation and I had to leave so I wouldn’t be late for class.

When I got to school however, I knew something was wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on it but something about the air felt off and I braced myself for the worst that could happen. I assumed it was because Serena wasn’t speaking to me and I didn’t have the familiarity of her presence so as soon as I stepped into the building, I went out looking for her.

She was already in class and she was making an effort to pretend like she didn’t see me. I sat directly next to her but she refused to lift her head or acknowledge my presence. I cleared my throat but she kept her gaze on the book in front of her. I let out a sigh and pulled out the small Tupperware of pastries I brought as a peace offering. I pushed it over to her and she glanced over at it then finally looked up at me.


“If you think this is enough to buy my forgiveness then you might be right but that doesn’t mean I forgive you,” she drawled.

“I know that and I just want to apologize. I should never have put you in that position. I wasn’t trying to be skeptical of you or judge your intentions. I know you’re trying to look out for me and I am grateful for that.”


“It doesn’t seem that way especially when you’re hanging around Aiden all the time.”

“I wasn’t hanging with him. He was helping me because those guys who bothered me on the first day were following me. I bumped into him and he offered to walk me to the parking lot.”

She looked like she wanted to say something but at the last minute she changed her mind. She pulled the Tupperware closer to her and opened it. I had packed some of Pamela’s tea cakes and brownies. She reached for the cakes first and took a bite out of it. A small moan left her lips.

“I may have to be fighting with you every day so I can get these,” she mumbled with a mouthful. “I totally forgive you for being with the infamous man whore with the community dick.”

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. I was grateful to have my friend back on my side but that feeling had not left. Something told me that the worst was yet to come and somehow, I believed it but I chose to focus on the moment and what was happening. I had made up with Serena and that was the most important thing.

We had two classes back to back and by the time we were done, I was exhausted. I wasn’t prepared to go home yet so Serena suggested that we go to the café to get some work done. She showed me to a quiet part of the café that students rarely frequented. We settled under a large tree and she got us a mini pizza with soda to snack on while working.

We were working in silence when I heard footsteps. I looked up and I was shocked to see Lucy walking over to us. I hadn’t seen her since that incident in Kaden’s office. I flushed pink at the memory of me in Kaden’s office and I tried to hide it when I noticed she was coming over to our table. She sat opposite me and turned to Serena.

“Get out,” my eyebrows disappeared into my hairline at her nonchalant tone. When nobody moved, she crossed her arms over my chest. “Did you not hear what I said? I asked you to leave.”

“You don’t own the school last I checked and you do not own me,” Serena responded in the same tone Lucy had used. “Unless you’re willing to drag me out of here, I am not leaving. You can take your little spoiled bitch attitude elsewhere.”

“Do you know who I am? My father is one of the biggest war generals in the world. I could buy out your entire family without batting a lash.”

“You might want to start by buying a new personality.”

I was shocked that Serena was speaking to her so brazenly. I would never have dared to do that. I was in absolute shock and so was Lucy because her eyes were wide and her cheeks heated up in embarrassment. Judging by the looks in both girl’s eyes, I knew the situation was only going to escalate further and the last thing I wanted to do was get Serena in trouble so I placed a comforting hand on her arm.

“It is okay,” I assured her and she cast me a wary glance as if to be sure. “Just give us a few minutes.”

She huffed and grabbed her books. “I will be on the table directly opposite this one and if I smell anything fishy, I will break this up.”

I watched as she walked away and an unfamiliar feeling brewed in my chest. It felt great to know that someone had my back even against people of higher ranking than her. Serena was proving every day that she was an amazing friend and I was lucky to have her. I was so busy watching her that I forgot about Lucy until she snapped her fingers in my face to grab my attention.

“Can I help you?” I asked keeping my voice as light hearted and respectful as possible.

“I was supposed to have dinner with Kaden and his mother yesterday but he didn’t show up,” her told her a lot of accusation and I fought to keep my face neutral. “You wouldn’t happen to know where he was, would you?”

“Why would I know that? I haven’t even been formally accepted into the pack. Have you tried asking Caleb? Did you also check the office?”

“Of course I checked the office,” she spat. “Caleb refuses to talk to me. He claims that he is under a direct order from Kaden not to speak about his whereabouts. If you are lying to me, you will regret it so I’ll ask again. Where was Kaden? He seems to have an unnatural interest in you lately.”

“There is no interest,” I lied. “He just wants to make sure that I’m not a threat to the pack. I don’t know where he was but if I see him, I could ask him for you.”

“You fucking bitch, don’t be smart with me,” she grabbed my arm in a grip so tight that I winced. “You’re not a threat to anyone, you can barely defend yourself.”

“That’s enough,” Serena’s voice cut through the air.

I barely heard her approach but she was standing at the foot of her table and glaring at Lucy. For a second, I thought Lucy would make the matter more explosive but instead, she released my hand and shot me one last scathing look before storming out. I let out a sigh of relief once she had gone and I rubbed my wrist to soothe the burning ache.

Serena rushed over to me to inspect my wrist. It had started to bruise and my only prayer was that it wouldn’t stay long. I wasn’t sure if I could hide the bruise from Clara and the others and I didn’t want to tell on Lucy,

“Are you okay?” Serena asked and I nodded. “What did you do to piss her off?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, whatever it is, I think you should be careful. She doesn’t look like someone who plays fair.”

“I know, thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I’ll always have your back.”

I was on edge for the rest of the day. I went home shortly after because I needed to talk to Clara about it. I needed advice from someone who knew everything and although I trusted Serena, I wasn’t ready to tell her what was going on yet. My mind was a wormhole the entire drive and once I got to the house, I was grateful to see her in the living room.

“What is it?” she asked as she took in my expression. “Did something happen to you?”

“Lucy.”

That one word had her sitting down and gesturing for me to take a seat next to her. I told her everything that happened and how Lucy cornered me in schooled. She listened with rapt attention and by the time she was done, she was staring at my wrist with an unreadable expression. I could tell that she was annoyed but there was something else buried deep beneath that anger.

“First of all, we need to cover this up before Kaden arrives. He will flip if he sees that someone hurt you,” she rushed to her feet and started in the direction of the room. “Also, Caleb is coming in any moment, open the door for him. He forgot his keys at home.”

She disappeared to look for something to cover up the bruise and I waited patiently for her. While I was waiting, there was a knock on the door and because I assumed it was Caleb, I pulled the door open. I was shocked to see a stranger standing there with a bouquet of flowers. I was so shocked that I just stood there staring at him in shock and silence.

“Are you Amelia?” he asked and I nodded. “I have a delivery for you. Could you sign here?”

I did as he asked. “Who are they from?”

“All I was told was that it’s from an admirer.”

I took the flowers out of his hands dumbly and thanked him. He walked away without another word and I settled on the couch. There was a note attached to it and I opened it with a smile. The further I read, the more my smile grew until I got to the last line. My smile fell so fast as it finally dawned on me who the letter and flowers were from- Blake.