Chapter 17
*Jiselle**
I didn’t know what it was.
I was stupid for reacting.
Stupid for giving Emari exactly what she wanted.
But before I even realized what I was doing, my feet were moving.
The corridors blurred around me as I stormed through the academy, my heart
hammering against my ribs.
My hands shook, my breaths came short and sharp, and I felt like I was seconds away from bursting apart. Seconds from shifting.
I missed my wolf. I needed to let her out soon.
But I didn’t stop until I reached the cafeteria.
My twin was sitting there, thank the moon goddess.
Ethan was laughing at something, his head tilted back slightly as he nudged the person beside him–Nate.
They looked so normal. Like nothing had changed. Like my entire world hadn’t just shattered into a thousand irreparable pieces.
Ethan spotted me first, his laughter dying instantly as he stood and rushed toward me.
His arms wrapped around me, squeezing me tight.
“I knew you were okay, but-” He pulled back, his green eyes scanning me carefully.” Damn, Jizzy, I’m glad you’re alive.”
“Me too,” I told him with a half–smile.
“Every time I heard that bell chime, my chest would tighten until I felt that our bond was in place.”
“Same, Ethe. Same,
y
tried to respond properly, tried to hold onto the warmth of my brother’s love, but all I could see was Nate.
I barely managed to press a quick kiss on Ethan’s cheek before pushing him away. Because Nathaniel was the reason I was here.
Nathaniel was the reason I felt like this.
He was still seated, one elbow propped on the table, watching me approach with calculated ease. His expression was blank, void of any emotion–but the tension in his shoulders, the way his fingers twitched on the table, he wasn’t as unaffected as he wanted to be.
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I wanted him to feel this.
I stopped in front of him, ignoring the confused glances from the few people in the cafeteria. Most students were still either recovering from the assignment, resting, or being thrown back into the wild if they failed.
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
“You slept with Emari?”
Shock flickered across Nate’s face. There. There it was. But it was gone just as quickly, and he schooled his expression into something impassive.
He raised a single brow at me but didn’t deny it.
I scoffed. “I’m so stupid,” I muttered, my voice shaking with rage. “I should have listened to Ethan.”
“Listen to me about what?” Ethan asked from somewhere behind me. “What did he do,
Jiselle?”
I couldn’t answer. Couldn’t look at Ethan.
“What did you do to her?” Ethan asked again, this time, directed at Nate instead.
Nate’s expression didn’t change as he leaned back in his chair. “I didn’t do anything to her.”
I let out a humorless laugh.
“You’re right. You didn’t.” My hands trembled as I forced out the words. “This is who you are. This is what you do.”
I laughed again, shaking my head at myself. How could I have been so blind?
It wasn’t just about Emari. It was everything. It was the fact that he never wanted me. He was a playboy. He was known for being this kind of person.
And yet, it still hurt. Because in truth, he was my first.
And it had meant nothing to him,
“I don’t care who you sleep with, Nate,” I lied, my voice sharper than glass. “But she broke my rib. Do I really mean nothing to you?”
Amusement flickered in his eyes. He had the audacity to actually be amused.
“And if I remember correctly,” he said smoothly, “you left her with a headache that lasted three days.”
My vision flared red. “Don’t take her side!”
I felt someone step behind me, but I assumed it was Ethan.
Nate’s eyes flickered to them, then hardened as he leaned forward.
“So what if I did?” he growled, and the air left my lungs.
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“Are you admitting that you did?”
The person behind me gripped my shoulders, steadying me.
“Yes.” Nate’s eyes darkened, his entire posture going rigid.
Something inside me shattered. Again.
For the last time, I swore. The last freaking time.
Theard Ethan curse somewhere behind me, and it was then I realized that it wasn’t Ethan holding me up.
It was Max.
For once, I was grateful for his annoyingly perfect timing.
I leaned into him, but it wasn’t solely affection. It was because my knees gave out.
I had never felt pain like this before. Not even when I hit my head during the assignment yesterday.
“That wasn’t cool, man,” Ethan said as he stood next to the table, finally coming into view. “Emari challenged her.”
“And Jiselle won,” Nate flung back at Ethan, eyes blazing. “Stop looking at me like that because I did nothing wrong. It’s not my fault your sister can’t control her emotions.”
“You’re a dick, Morningstar,” Max muttered, and I could feel the heat radiating from him.
Nate tilted his head, his lips curling slightly.
“You just know how to choose them, don’t you, Jiselle?” Nate taunted.
I blinked, my brain barely registering what he said.
“What?” I croaked.
Nate smirked. “Emari is Maximus’s ex. Maybe be mindful about who you’re really mad
at.”
I twisted
my
=
head to look at Max, who was still glaring daggers at Nate.
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. I felt sick. I needed to leave. Because Nate was right. Again.
He did nothing wrong. We were mates but we never agreed to be anything more–to be exclusive. And he was right in the regard that I couldn’t control my emotions. He was right about Max. I always suspected it from the first day but never had the guts to
ask.
He was right about everything. And I only had one person to blame.
Myself.
“You know what screw you.” I stepped out of Max’s grip, grateful that I didn’t fall. ” Screw both of you.”
And then I ran out.
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I avoided Ethan and Max’s call and darted through the cafeteria doors, across the pavement that led to the classrooms and into the hallways of the dorms.
Max caught me before I even reached the intersection of Black Claw and Silver Claw dorms.
“Jiselle, wait. Please wait.”
I ignored him, pushing forward, but he was faster.
When he caught my wrist, he was out of breath, his chest rising and falling hard.
I swung around, meeting those gray pleading eyes for the second time today, and I really looked at him for the first time in weeks.
The sharp angles of his face. The messy light brown hair. The way he stared at me with those silver eyes. He really was a work of art. He really was gorgeous. Gosh, he was too gorgeous.
“It meant nothing,” he panted. “Jiselle, I swear, it meant nothing.”
I swallowed, my voice hoarse. “Then why?”
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Her pack was close to mine. My brothers-” He exhaled. “They used to talk about her like she was trash. I didn’t know her at the time, and I hated it. I thought no female should be spoken about like that.”
I frowned, but I stayed silent. How chivalrous.
“At an Alpha meeting, they had a bet about who would sleep with her first.” His jaw clenched. “I intercepted them. Not because of the stupid bet, but because I was pissed at them. I didn’t want her to be used.”
“How long?” I whispered.
“A week. The length of the Alpha meeting in the region. It was hosted at my home pack and all the alphas‘ kids practically stayed at our house that week.”
“Did you… Did you sleep with her?”
Why did it matter anyway? It shouldn’t have. I didn’t know him at the time. And if he was in his third year now, that would have been years ago, when they both were teenagers. Like me and Nate Yet, his answer twisted something in my belly. “Once,” he said through a sharp whisper. “It wasn’t my intention when I first approached her, but around the fifth day, she made it pretty clear what she wanted and well… I was just a guy.”
I nodded, but finally looked away. I didn’t even know why I was upset.
That I didn’t know? Was I jealous?
He must have sensed it because he quickly added, “She slept with Lincoln on the last day. That’s when I realized some people don’t want to be saved. It didn’t mean
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anything.”
“It’s okay,” I mumbled. “It doesn’t matter.” I tried to walk away, but his grip tightened slightly.
When he spun me around, I saw something in his eyes that I never saw before. Worry. Pleading. Softness.
Gone was the teasing. The jokes. The smirks and cockiness.
This was just… Max, wasn’t it?
This was Max in his rarest and purest form. And he was giving it to me.
He was looking at me like I had the power to shatter him if I walked away. He was
looking at me like I mattered to him. Like he adored me… wanted me.
He was looking at me like I was more than just his best friend’s sister.
Or in his case, his sister’s best friend.
“Jiselle, please,” he whispered again, and I relented.
Before I could think twice, I stood on my toes and kissed him.
