Chapter 24
*Jiselle*
“I’m never going to get enough of you,” Max groaned in my ear as I bit my lip. “Fuck, Jiselle, you feel so good.”
Heat coiled in my core as I relished the feeling of my body being tangled in his, my skin burning where his hands traced slow, deliberate paths.
I loved it when he praised me like that. I loved it when his voice went to that deep, husky murmur that was only reserved for me.
I needed him deeper… faster–at that perfect angle he found two days ago that always undid me. I needed him there. Right there and I needed it right freaking now.
Something shifted inside me as my emotions went haywire, my mind focusing on that one single thought.
That one single command.
I locked my gaze with his, and Max’s muscles tensed, his eyes flashing wide as a flicker of something wild and primal darkened his gaze. A low, unsteady breath left his lips, like something had snapped into place, then he did exactly what I wanted and…
yes.
It was perfection.
I buried my hands in his hair, and he smirked when I shuddered.
“Jiselle…” he murmured, his voice hoarse. “Is that what you want, baby? Right there?”
I nodded frantically, my head falling back slightly. “I didn’t realize I’d said that out loud,” I managed to say through shallow breaths.
“You didn’t.”
The thought barely settled before a loud pounding echoed through the room, yanking me back to reality. My chest heaved, my body still buzzing, but Max ignored it, his eyes still locked on mine like he was trying to figure something out.
I swallowed hard as the knocking continued.
“Unlike your room, I have two roommates, Max.” My voice was steadier than I felt. “One of whom is your sister, so if you’d be so kind-”
He groaned and rolled off me, running a hand over his face.
“Why didn’t we stay in my room again?” he grumbled.
I laughed breathlessly, my pulse still racing as I reached for my clothes. “Because when I try to study in your room, we never study, remember?”
His smirk returned, slow and knowing.
“Right.” He reached out, his fingers brushing my thigh, sending another shiver up my
Chapter 24
spine. “But then your room was empty, so the effort was still futile.”
I shoved at his chest and shook my head, trying to ignore the lingering heat in his gaze as I adjusted my clothes. Whatever just happened–whatever that was–I didn’t have time to think about it.
Eva and Emari stood outside when I yanked open the door, and the moment Eva took one look at my flushed cheeks and messy hair, she snorted.
“Nope,” she said, already turning away. “I’m not going in there right now. I wonder how my other big brothers, who aren’t fucking my best friend, are doing? I think I’ll go pay Lincoln a visit. It’s been a while since I’ve had a decent argument with someone.”
“Tell him I want my dagger back!” Max called from somewhere behind me, completely unfazed.
Emari didn’t even blink before rolling her eyes and shoving past me into the room, her signature scowl already in place.
She paused just long enough to glance over at Max, who was still lounging half- dressed on my bed, and let out a slow, mocking hum.
“Huh. So this is what desperation looks like,” she mused, crossing her arms. “Should‘ ve known you’d start scraping the bottom of the barrel eventually, Laker.”
Max didn’t even flinch. He smirked, tilting his head as his gaze flicked over her like she was barely worth acknowledging.
“I left
you there years ago, Nightshade. Jealousy doesn’t suit you.”
Emari scoffed, turning to me instead. “Hope you’ve got backup plans, Johal. He gets bored easily.”
I just rolled my eyes as she grabbed a book off her desk, muttering something about rotting in hell, and disappeared into the bathroom.
I sighed, rubbing my temples.
“Next time, we stay in your room,” I mumbled, dropping back beside him.
He chuckled. “Agreed.”
***
Two more students had died. But it had become just another Thursday at ATA.
I hated that I was becoming so desensitized to the violence. To the death. To the fact that none of us knew if we’d make it through the year. This wasn’t what being an Alpha was supposed to be about.
Max had to leave for class, and finally, for the first time in days, I had time with Ethan.
We walked outside, the cold air crisp against my skin. Snowflakes drifted from the sky, dusting the academy grounds. Winter was settling in.
“The next combat challenge is in wolf form,” Ethan said, stuffing his hands in his
Chapter 24
pockets. “It’s a week from now.”
My head snapped to him. “What? Wasn’t those supposed to start next semester?”
“Yeah.” He blew out a breath. “I don’t know what’s changed. Nate says they’re acting differently this year. Trying harder to pluck out the weak.”
I shivered at the thought. More wolves died in wolf–form challenges, due to the fact that wolves were more vicious and hated being challenged. You don’t walk away from á wolf–to–wolf fight. Most time, one person dies.
I shivered at the thought but decided to change the topic.
A week. That’s all I had to get as much training from Nate… or Max.
Shit. Why didn’t I think of Max first?
I exhaled, glancing at Ethan. “How’s Nate anyway?”
He hesitated, looking conflicted and I frowned.
“Ethan?”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Was Nate ever… into you?”
“Why would you ask that?” I stiffened.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged, but he was watching me too closely. “Nate can be Nate–l know that. But ever since you started dating Laker, he’s been… off. Distant. Snappy. I‘ m starting to feel like he liked you.”
I swallowed hard. I didn’t deny it. I didn’t say yes either.
Because I wasn’t sure.
I knew there was something between us. I knew he had been physically attracted to me. But had he ever actually liked me? Had he ever wanted me in a way that wasn’t purely instinct?
“Did something happen two years ago?” Ethan asked, his voice lowering.
Every muscle in my body locked up at his question, and he saw it. He always did when it came to me.
“Why do you say that?” I asked, keeping my voice steady.
Ethan frowned, his expression unreadable. “Now that I’ve been thinking about it… when Nate left suddenly, you were upset. For months. You tried to hide it, but I noticed.”
His green eyes–our green eyes–locked onto mine.
“Did something happen between you two? Did you date and it ended badly? Is that why he left so suddenly and a year early?”
“No,” I mumbled, grateful that he was off track a bit.
Ethan studied me for a moment longer than usual which made me shift uncomfortably. But thankfully, after ten dreadful seconds, he finally relaxed.
Chapter 24
“Good,” he mumbled. “Because when I told him not to date you, I wasn’t trying to be a dick who wanted to keep you two to myself to avoid being a third wheel or something. I was just being a brother who knows his sister. But also someone who knows his best friend.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off.
“We were kids. He already had a reputation, and I may be your brother, Jizzy, but I could see the changes in you too–in ways that any male, including Nate, would notice.
I just didn’t want him to hurt you.” His voice softened. “Because I know when
you
love
…
you love with everything in you.”
My throat tightened. “Ethan-”
“I hope you know that,” he added.
I nodded. “I know, Ethe. I know you’re always protecting me.”
He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Good. Because if, for some reason, I was the one who made him pursue other women instead of you, then I’m partly to blame if he hurt you.”
“Don’t say that, Ethe,” I sighed. “But did you tell him though?” I asked. “What you just told me?”
He nodded slowly. “I tried. But Nate dismissed it. Said it doesn’t matter.”
I stiffened.
Ethan let out a slow breath, his expression clouded. “I was confused but I let it go. But when I saw him and Laker fight…” He shook his head and looked at me, something deep and conflicted in his eyes. “I realized I might’ve messed up.”
Pain twisted in my stomach.
“It’s not your fault,” I said and I meant it.
Ethan had practically told Nate the promise could be broken, yet he still avoided it.
But I smiled at my brother anyway. “It’s okay, Ethan.”
This would have been the perfect time to tell him the truth–that Nate was my mate.
But what was the point?
Especially when I couldn’t even tell my own boyfriend.
hated seeing the look of disappointment and warning Eva gave me every time she realized I still hadn’t told Max.
“Nate doesn’t have feelings for me,” I said. “I think he just hates Max and doesn’t want him to have access to me like that. For whatever reason, they hate each other. But above all, Nate is still protective of me. We did grow up together.”
Ethan nodded. “Did Laker tell you why they hate each other?”
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I shook my head. “Did Nate tell you?”
“Nope,” Ethan said, popping the ‘p. “Something about them being too similar. I don’t know how to read between the lines.”
I scoffed, about to change the subject again. Evan warned me about looking too much into this ‘first–year unknown‘ stuff, and though I knew myself enough to know that I wouldn’t stop, I had to ensure Ethan did.
“I heard there’s a coursework activity coming up,” I said. “It’s worth 30% of our grade but we won’t know when-”
My sentence was cut short as I felt a sharp prick at the side of my neck.
I stiffened, my breath hitching as a strange coldness spread from the point of contact. The snow–dusted path blurred as my knees buckled, and Ethan’s voice was a distant, panicked echo, but I couldn’t make out the words.
Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.
The last thing I saw was the sky, dark and endless, before everything collapsed into blackness.
