Double lines. Positive. I tried crushing the pregnancy test with my foot. I even threw it in the trash. But it couldn’t erase the horrible fact that I was PREGNANT from my brain. I looked at the picture of the 18th birthday I had just celebrated. My secret-boyfriend Joseph and I had taken sweet selfies, but those pictures now looked a little distorted. Unlocking the screen, I checked once more for a reply from Joseph. Only my own message stared back at me. Just like every time I’d checked before. The double checkmarks proved he read the message, but he hadn’t replied. I tried again. And again. Eventually, he stopped reading them. Lightning flashed outside. But I needed to know what Joseph thought. Now. I flew down the stairwell, and out the side door into the rain. I had no one else I could talk to. As werewolves, our inner wolf doesn’t show up until we’re 19. I loved dance. I practiced so hard, and I was good at it. That’s why I enrolled in Lunarhaven Academy, the best private elite school in the kingdom, as a cheerleader. Was I going to have to give it up? But then what would happened to me? Would I have to drop out from the Academy? My family never had time for me. My parents only wanted to hear from me when I achieved something. I could never tell my oldest sister, the perfect and beautiful Luna. The family’s favorite. If I confided in her, she’d tell Mom in a second. My older brother Dylan was the one I felt closest to, but he was overprotective. If he knew, he’d probably be on the first flight home from Silvermoon Academy, where he was spending a semester as an exchange student. Joseph had to answer. As a star soccer player, Joseph lived in one of the separate athlete’s dormitories. Rather than the single bed, shared bathroom dorms where I stayed, these were elaborate villas. Each room had their own kitchenette and personal bathroom. Each athlete was seen as elite. They were popular on campus, even with the faculty and staff. With that popularity came privilege and preference. Fancy dorms were only the start of the gifts they received. I had always been proud of Joseph for all that his soccer skills helped him achieve. He was someone Mom would adore. Now I cursed it a little, if only because a superintendent stopped me just inside the front door. Nearby I heard the bass of loud music and distant laughter. “Please,” I said. “Where is Joseph?” The superintendent wasn’t much taller than me, but the way she sneered down her nose at me made me feel small. “Joseph is in his room,” the superintendent said. “He asked not to be disturbed.” “It’s important –” “It’s getting late, isn’t it?” The superintendent crossed her arms. “Shouldn’t you be returning to your own dorm?” Movement shifted at the edge of my vision. I glanced down the hall and saw a tall, handsome man storm toward me. I would recognize that dark, windswept hair and piercing gaze anywhere. Asher. My brother’s best friend. One of the very last people I’d hoped to see. If he discovered I was pregnant, undoubtedly he would tell Dylan. I was no way ready for that to happen. Especially not before I spoke to Joseph. Asher’s intense eyes weighed heavy on me, taking in my full person, head to toe. When he looked back to my face, those eyes darkened further. This hint of anger was the only emotion on his perfect, blank slate of a face. I knew Asher didn’t like me. I’d met him several times with Dylan, and each time he’d only given one word responses to my attempts at friendly conversation. He never once returned my smile. Actually, I’d never seen him smile at all. Inching backwards, I told the superintendent, “Maybe I can come back tomorrow…” Too slow. Asher stopped at our side. Eyes fixed on me, he told the superintendent, “I can take care of this.” With the superintendent gone, I did the only thing I could think to do to protect my secret. I turned and ran. I’d been to this dorm a few times, always under the cover of night. Joseph never wanted anyone to know I was visiting him. Because of the secrecy, I knew the way to the stairwell that led to his floor. I only made it a few steps before Asher blocked my path. Captain of the hockey team, Asher daily trained for muscle mass and speed. Plus, as the son of an Alpha, he was naturally gifted. I should have known I wouldn’t make it far, but my panic had overridden my judgement. Now I felt both panic and shame. Asher continued to stare. Still clutching my phone, I instinctively wrapped my arms around my waist to hide my still-flat belly. Asher likely saw that too, but overwhelmed, I couldn’t bring myself to lower my arms. With my downward gaze, I watched as his hands formed fists. Then, he reached beside me and opened a door. I blinked up at him. “In here,” he commanded. No room for argument. I slinked inside, stopping at the center of the spacious dorm room. Asher entered behind me and closed the door. He stayed there, just inside the doorway. “Cynthia, why are you here?” Asher asked. “It’s not your business.” “What could possibly be so important that you need to come here in a stormy day?” he asked. Turning to face him, I lifted my chin, defiant. Inside, my heart pounded. My hands would shake if I wasn’t clutching my waist so hard. The silence stretched as he watched me. I felt like an ant under a microscope. Suddenly he frowned, just a bit at the corners of his mouth, and turned toward the bathroom. He returned an instant later holding a towel. He held it out toward me. At that moment, I shivered. Adrenaline had gotten me this far, but now I realized how cold I was. And how wet. Looking down, my white shirt had become translucent against me, hugging my cleavage like a second skin. I hadn’t even thought to put on a bra before I left my room, let alone a jacket. The curves of my breasts, including my nipples hardened from the cold, were on full display. Asher had looked. He had seen. I snatched the towel from Asher and held it protectively over myself. Heat flared in my cheeks. “W-Why didn’t you say anything?” “Don’t worry,” he said with a tiny shrug. “You aren’t my type.” “Y-you–!” “I’ve already forgotten it.” His hooded gaze dropped to where the towel covered me, then away. Voice sharp, he said, “You won’t go unless you tell me why you’re here.” Who was he to give me orders? His breath was hot on my ear. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Or do I need to guess?” His gaze bore into mine like he could see straight through me. Dread clawed at my chest. “I need to see Joseph.” I compromised.
Two months prior, my brother Dylan had introduced me to Asher. Dylan had been about to leave for his semester abroad. “Asher’s my best friend,” Dylan had told me. Turning to Asher, he said, “I need you to take care of Cynthia for me while I’m gone.” I bristled with annoyance. Dylan was so overprotective, he always treated me like a little kid. “Dylan, I’m an adult now. I can take care of myself.” Dylan gave me a soft smile. “Maybe, but you’ll always be my little sister. You can’t blame me for worrying about you.” “You don’t need to worry about me.” Dylan opened his mouth to speak, but Asher cut him off. “I will take care of her,” Asher said like a vow. The tension in Dylan’s shoulders eased. “Good. That’s a relief. Thank you.” Neither man seemed eager to listen to me. Asher had only barely glanced at me the whole time. I’d heard of Asher even before meeting him. His cold, standoffish reputation preceded him. I had no idea how he and Dylan, always warm and smiling, came to be such good friends. Regardless, I purposefully avoided Asher since that moment, and he’d seemed content to keep his own distance. But now, standing in his dorm room with his hand on my arm, I was snared in his attention. Are you going to tell me what’s going on? He was still waiting for an answer. When I didn’t give one, his gaze narrowed. “How long after Dylan left did you hook up with Joseph?” Asher asked. “It’s only been two months.” I didn’t need my brother’s permission to date, and I certainly didn’t need to explain myself to Asher. “This has nothing to do with you.” I attempted to rip my arm from his grasp, but he held firm. His hand was hot on my cool, damp skin. “Joseph thinks he’s smooth,” Asher said. “He walks down this hallway to use the side stairwell up to his room. He avoids using the main stairwell, but none of us are fooled. Everyone in this building knows what he has going on.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Cynthia, I’ve seen him bring at least six girls up to his room in the past two months.” The air punched from my lungs. No, that couldn’t be right. Joseph had a solid reputation as a popular, future Alpha. He was a center forward on the soccer team, and never missed a practice. He held doors open for women, and everyone said how much of a gentleman he was. With me, he had always whispered soft sweet words in my ear when we were together. He’d complimented my looks, and my body, and sometimes he’d say how much he wanted to keep me wrapped up like a present just for him. Until today, he’d returned all my messages, usually including lots of text hearts. There was no way he could be doing the same with other woman. “You don’t believe me,” Asher said, not a question. “I have no reason to trust you.” I had to get away from Asher. I needed to see Joseph. “You clearly don’t approve. I bet you’d say anything to keep me away from him, but it won’t work!” I tried again to break Asher’s hold. When he wouldn’t budge, I grabbed his wrist with my hand and twisted. He didn’t even wince. Instead, his free hand pried my grip away. “Let me go,” I demanded. Asher’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t say anything. His touch wasn’t hard enough to bruise, but it was firm, like a shackle. I met his glare with my own. “You can’t stop me from seeing Joseph. Tonight.” “You want to see him so badly?” Asher growled. “Come with me.” I planted my heels. I didn’t want to go anywhere with him. When we reached Joseph’s door, I squirmed against Asher’s hold with renewed fury. Asher couldn’t be here for this. “Let go of me!” To my surprise, he complied, but only to reach in front of me and open Joseph’s door. A dim table light illuminated the large space bright enough for me to see the tangled sheets of the bed – and the two figures entwined under them. Joseph had his mouth against the neck of another woman. His hips pushed between her open thighs. Her face scrunched up in pleasure. My stomach dropped to the floor. “Joseph?” It couldn’t be him. It had to be some other guy who looked just like him, who had borrowed his room. Joseph wouldn’t do this to me. The couple stilled. The girl, gasping, snatched at the sheet to hide her exposed breasts. Joseph rolled away from her and up onto his feet beside the bed. Grabbing the comforter, he wrapped it around his waist. “Asher?” Joseph ran a hand over his face, wiping sweat from his brow. He laughed. “Now isn’t the best time. Did you need something?” That was Joseph’s voice. His laugh. His face. His body, walking toward us. I couldn’t deny what I was seeing any longer. “Joseph?” I whispered again, chest aching. There had to be some explanation for this. Joseph’s hand dropped. He looked at me as if noticing me for the first time, and with that recognition, anger followed. His brow lowered. “Cynthia? What are you doing here?” Glancing between me and Asher, his lip curled into an ugly snarl. “Are you checking up on me? Did you coax Asher to keep an eye on me?” “N-No, I –” He wouldn’t let me finish. “You didn’t have to bring him into this. If we had something to talk about, we could do it privately.” “But there is something!” I said in a rush before he could cut me off again. I stepped into the room. “It’s really important, and we need to—” “Get out,” Joseph snapped. “But –” “Now, Cynthia.” Starting forward, he roughly shoved my shoulders, pushing me backwards. “I’m so sick of clingy girls like you, watching me every second.” My feet skidded across the floor tiles. I struggled to stay upright. “Do you think you own me? You think you can tell me what I can and can’t do?” His sharp scowl tore into me. “If you would listen –” “You’ve gone too far this time. We’re done.” “Joseph, please!” “Don’t call me. Don’t text me. Don’t speak to me.” My heels caught the doorframe, and I stumbled into Asher, who hadn’t moved an inch from where he’d been. His hand caught my elbow as I righted myself against the wall of his body. When I was steady, his hand fell away so quickly I wondered if I had imagined it. I turned back to Joseph. I started forward again, ready to fight to get him to listen. “I only want to—” Joseph slammed the door in my face. If I had been one inch closer, it would have broken my nose. I stood frozen for a moment, staring at the grain of the wooden door. Disbelief pulsed through my veins. I couldn’t move. How could this have happened? Asher crossed his arms over his chest. I faced him and found a pair of cold eyes staring back at me. He’d led me here, knowing this would happen. Embarrassment and hated curdled in my stomach. I felt I might be sick. His face revealed no hint of emotion. No sympathy. No guilt. No shame. He asked, voice flat, “Now do you believe me?”
“Now you’ve seen what Joseph is with your own eyes,” Asher said. “Now you understand why you need to keep away from him.” Slowly, my shock wore off. In its place, anger began to boil and churn. “You’ll thank me someday,” Asher said. “You want me to thank you?” I asked, breathless with disbelief. “I vowed to take care of you,” he said. Looking away, he added softly, as if to himself, “Guess I make a pretty good baby-sitter, after all.” His voice held a hint of pride. Baby-sitter?! My anger boiled over, and I snapped, tone biting, “You’re worse than Dylan.” Asher was more controlling and not nearly as kind. “You are not my brother.” I stepped closer to him, right up against his chest. He lifted one brow ever so slightly but didn’t otherwise move. “What I do and what happens to me is none of your concern,” I said. I wanted to shout, but we were already drawing attention again. But with a sharp look from Asher, any onlookers quickly moved on. Asher squared his shoulders. “I made a promise to Dylan. I don’t break my promises.” He wouldn’t listen to me. He didn’t seem to care what I thought. It was all so frustrating! I blinked back the tears from my eyes. I didn’t want him to see me cry. “Maybe you planned this all along,” I said. “Maybe you wanted to see your little sister humiliated? Did you want to watch me get dumped? Are you enjoying this?” “Cynthia.” There was something in his voice, but the emotion was so slight, I couldn’t read it. I was far too busy trying to keep myself from falling apart. “I never asked you to do this,” I said. Maybe Dylan had. But where was the consideration for my feelings? Asher reached out for me, but I instantly shied away from his touch. Where would he drag me to next? I didn’t want to find out. “Leave me alone, Asher,” I told him and sprinted away. Regardless, as I rushed down the stairwell, I thanked every power in the universe that I had been able to keep my secret from Asher. He was so overbearing. I could only imagine what rules he would try to lord over me if he knew? Outside, with the rain to hide my tears, I finally let them fall. The towel I held – Asher’s towel – soaked through. In the safety of my dorm room, I tossed the towel and my wet clothes into a corner and changed into soft pajamas. I cried softly but refused to let myself fully fall apart. Despite what I had seen and how my heart was breaking, I still needed to talk to Joseph about the pregnancy. When he knew about the baby, maybe everything would change. Joseph, I’m pregnant. I need to know what you think. I waited. Double check marks appeared. I waited longer, but he sent no response. My thoughts returned to my family. I couldn’t talk to Mom, or my sister, or Dylan. My cousin Nancy was a nurse at the maternity hospital. If anyone would know what to do, she would. And while we weren’t exactly best friends, we were close enough that I believed she might keep my secret. “Cynthia?” Nancy’s kind voice came through the phone and I let out a broken, relieved breath. “Cynthia, what’s wrong?” The weight of the secret had been swelling inside of me all day, and it bubbled out now, breaking the dam I’d built to hold it. I told Nancy everything about Joseph and the pregnancy. I ended with, “Please, please don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell Mom.” Our family wouldn’t understand. “I won’t,” Nancy promised. She knew as well as me how conservative our family was about pregnancy. If they knew I had gotten pregnant, they would never forgive me. “And this guy… Joseph,” Nancy continued. “He’s a jerk. He’s not willing to step up.” I wanted to argue but Nancy was right. He had seen my text. If he wanted any part of the pregnancy, wouldn’t he have reached out by now? “Stop thinking about Joseph and decide what you want,” Nancy said. “You have options.” My hands trembled around the phone. I didn’t know what I wanted. When I thought of the future I had dreamed for myself, having a baby so young didn’t really fit. Especially when I would have to raise it alone. “Maybe I shouldn’t have it.” My voice was so small, I barely recognize myself. Nancy’s tone was gentle. “It’s not uncommon for student mothers to choose abortion.” The next morning, I sat in the waiting room of maternity hospital’s surgery wing, waiting for my number to be called. If I didn’t have the baby, my life could more or less go back to the way things were before. I could throw myself entirely into dancing and cheerleading. I wouldn’t have to live under the heavy weight of uncertainty about what I would do with my life, or what Joseph might think. Joseph had been so callous and cruel. His words continued to cut into me. I could almost hear them on repeat in my mind. Don’t call me. Don’t text me. Don’t speak to me. If I was so terrible that he never wanted to speak to me again, maybe I wasn’t good enough to have this baby. Besides, if I did have this baby, I would lose absolutely everything. My parents wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me. I’d be a black mark on the family. They’d undoubtedly refuse to continue paying my expensive school fees, and I’d have to drop out. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to go through with the abortion. I sunk into my chair, trying to clear my head. Thinking too much about it created cracks in my resolve, and I couldn’t allow any more doubt. Suddenly, a door opened, and a woman accompanied by a nurse was led into the hallway. Tears streaked down the woman’s face. She held a tissue but didn’t use it. She moved slowly, as if in a trance. The nurse guided her past the neonatal delivery room, and the woman nearly dropped to her knees. Her sobs were loud now, almost like howls. The nurse called for others to come help. One offered the woman a sedative. Nancy had warned me of this. During our phone conversation, she’d carefully asked if I had felt bonded to the baby. “If the wolf within the mother has already begun to feel an attachment, the procedure can be dangerous,” Nancy had explained. “It can be difficult for the wolf to understand.” The woman accepted the sedative. The nurses helped her into a wheelchair and rolled her further down the hall. I rubbed my hand over my belly. My stomach remained mostly flat yet, but I noticed now that some of my weight sat differently than before. It almost seemed like I ate too much, but I knew the truth. I was starting to show. A baby was in there. I could almost… feel them. A small warmth blossomed in my chest. A baby. My baby. A nurse at the check-in counter called a number. I looked at the slip in my hand. The number was mine.
“I’m sorry.”I had to get out. “I don’t know what I’m doing here. I shouldn’t be here.” I dropped my number slip into the trash and ran to the door. Outside, with the hospital doors sliding closed behind me, I shut my eyes and finally allowed myself to breathe again. Now I was connected with my baby by some kind of almost-spiritual bond. I could feel their presence growing inside of me. To purposefully cut that connection now… I wouldn’t be able to recover. No, I would never get an abortion. I couldn’t. But there were other things I could do. When Nancy had spoken of options, one of them was adoption. With adoption, I could take my time considering it, and work to find the right family for my baby. I wouldn’t have to decide anything right now. My breathing came easier. Next, I opened a text to Joseph. He still hadn’t replied from the night before. I knew now he wouldn’t, but even so, he deserved to know what I had decided. I typed, I’m going to have the baby. I hit send before I could regret it, and clicked off the screen of my phone. The phone immediately buzzed in my hand. It was from Joseph. It read, Come to my room as soon as you can. Let’s talk. Hope coiled in my heart as Joseph let me into his dorm room. I ignored looking at the bed, last night’s hurt still raw within me. Instead I kept my eyes on him. He closed the door and faced me, but his gaze avoided mine. He looked at the ceiling and then the floor, but never at me. Yet even with his shifty eyes, that he had invited me here at all felt like a positive step. It gave me the courage to ask, “Does this mean you’ll help with our baby?” He huffed a sharp breath. Voice sharp as a dagger, he asked, “How can you be so sure it’s mine?” I stood very still as the world blurred around me. I could only see him, and the way he finally looked at me, like I was a pest to be rid of. “How can you ask me that?” I whispered, having lost the strength in my voice. My legs felt soon to follow. He hugged his arms over his chest, clutching at his elbows. “Just have an abortion, Cynthia. You’re young enough to have a quick recovery. It’ll be like it never happened. Then you can have the kids you want later.” “No,” I said. “I tried to. I-I can’t.” His face added disgust, looking much as it had the night before when he had kicked me out of this same room. Instinctively, I inched a half-step backwards. He followed. “Can’t or won’t?” I didn’t reply, and that seemed to confirm his worst assumptions. “I didn’t force you to have sex,” he said, his voice low now. Predatory. “You begged me for it. And now, what? You are trying to push this off on me?” He unhooked his arms and held them down at his sides, taut as bowstrings, hands like claws. “What do you want from me, Cynthia? Are you trying to blackmail me? Are you trying to get money for the abortion?” “N-no, I –” “Do you have any idea what would happen if word got out about this? To me? To you? If your brother knew, he would hate you. If the cheerleaders found out, you’d be kicked to the side.” I could barely breathe from the fury and fear and heartbreak that choked at my throat. How could I never have noticed that Joseph was so full of bitter hatred? How could he ever think so low of me, that I would try to blackmail him? Why did it sound so much like he was trying to blackmail me? My baby deserved better than this. Than him. “You d-don’t to worry,” I said, breaking only once. “I’ll take care of the baby on my own. You don’t have to be involved. We won’t bother you.” He stepped closer to me, and I was running out of room to back away. Every inch of his posture, his posture, and his words felt like a threat. “You’re still going to have it?” he spat out the words. I nodded. “You! Brazen little bitch!” He pounced without warning, slamming me onto the ground. Only his hands gripping fiercely in the front my shirt kept my head from hitting the floor. He crouched over me, feet planted at either side of my hips. He yanked me forward by my shirt until his face was directly in front of mine. “You were only ever trying to steal my sperm, weren’t you?” he shouted. His eyes were wild and dangerous. I’d never seen anyone so furious. I clawed at his wrists, trying to loosen his hold. He only gripped harder, ripping holes into my shirt. “After an Alpha’s son, weren’t you? Any would do, to fuck a kid into you. Then you’d soak up the reward, right? Guaranteed money and glory because you trapped me with your damn womb!” He was so angry, I half-expected him to shift into his wolf at any moment. My own wolf had not yet appeared to me, but I could feel her in the low whimpering in my throat. I slid my hands from his wrists down around my waist to cover my belly. I wanted to fight back, but I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t do much of anything like this, but I would give all I had to protect my baby. “You don’t deserve to bear my blood!” he yelled in my face. Suddenly a sharp, visceral hatred sparked within me for this man. I thought I knew hatred before, but that had been nothing compared to this. He dare Joseph threaten me? More, how dare he threaten my child? He released my shirt, and my back hit the floor. His hands found my shoulders instead. His fingers dug deep into my skin. Clutching my belly, I squeezed my eyes shut. “Get away from her!” A feral voice roared from the doorway. In an instant, Joseph was ripped from atop me and sent flying into the wall. He landed on his desk and rolled onto the floor. A pair of strong arms curled around me and plucked me from the floor into a bridal carry. I was held against a muscled chest and looked up into the piercing eyes of my savior. Asher. I blinked, but he didn’t disappear. He was really here. I didn’t understand. He was aloof, cold as an iceberg, and distant. Yet here he was, arriving just in time as if I’d dreamed him. On the ground, Joseph stirred, groaning. Looking at him, Asher growled deep in his throat. I could feel it vibrating where my hand pressed against his chest. Asher held me closer. He cradled my body gently, like I was someone precious. Someone fragile. I glanced over his shoulder to the door. It had been kicked in with such force, the wood had splintered. Chunks of it littered the floor. Asher must have been furious to do that kind of damage. What could have triggered him to use his werewolf strength? At once, the blood drained from my face so fast, I felt lightheaded. Joseph had been yelling. You don’t deserve to bear my blood! How much had Asher overheard?
Without another word to Joseph, Asher carried me out of the room, down the stairwell, and into his own room. His hands lingered on my shoulders. He brushed his thumbs lightly over tears of my shirt, where Joseph’s fingers had marred my skin with bruises. The air between us felt charged. The silence was thick. “Are you pregnant with Joseph’s baby?” He likely already knew. To deny it now, would only make things worse. “Yes.” He exhaled slowly, as if trying to keep himself calm. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I stepped back from him, out of his reach. He let his arms drop. “Why would I tell you?” I asked. “None of this concerns you.” His mouth pressed into a hard line. Fire sparked in his eyes. “Dylan talked about you all the time. His little sister, so sweet and innocent. Guess he doesn’t really know you at all.” “Don’t talk to me about Dylan,” I snapped. “And don’t act like you know me.” He stared at me for a long moment, and I shifted under the weight of his gaze. Then he grabbed his phone from his back pocket. “What are you doing?” I asked at once, panicked. “Texting Dylan,” he said simply, like that didn’t mean the end of my world. “Why? You don’t have to do that.” Asher’s thumbs moved fast over the phone screen. “Dylan asked for updates on you. I think this counts as a damn big update.” “You can’t!” I jumped forward, reaching for his phone. He held it up high in the air, well above my head. “Please, Asher. Don’t!” His fingers paused. He glanced down at me. I knew I only had one chance to convince him. “If you tell him, he’ll come back, and if he comes back, he could ruin his whole future. You know how hard he has worked to be a part of the exchange program.” “He’d want to know,” Asher said flatly. “And with a reason like this, maybe he should come back.” “No, please.” I held my hands to my chest. I wasn’t telling Asher the full truth. I didn’t want to give voice to my truest fears. But if it would stop Asher, then I had to. “If Dylan finds out… If he comes back…” I closed my eyes and gathered my strength. “He’ll kill Joseph. Or try to. And he won’t just ruin his academic future but his entire life.” I could imagine it. Dylan’s protective wolf tearing out of him, attacking Joseph. If Asher was truly Dylan’s best friend, he would know I spoke a frightening truth. Dylan was so protective of me that he’d kill for me. The quiet stretched. When I opened my eyes, Asher had lowered his phone. “I’ll take care of it,” he said. “You can’t tell him.” Asher huffed a sharp exhale. His gaze fell to the bruises on my shoulders. “Only if you promise not to see Joseph alone again.” Relief flooded through me. “Okay.” He returned his phone to his back pocket and turned from me. I rushed from his room before he could say anything else. Back in my dorm room, I paced again. I had found a moment of peace, but I knew it wouldn’t last. I felt so helpless. With Asher in on my secret, who knew what he would do? He’d agreed not to tell Dylan for now, but what if he changed his mind? And then there was Joseph. I was still reeling from his reaction. My shoulders ached. Covering my face with my hands, I struggled to maintain any sense of calm. A knock on my door sent me jumping nearly out of my skin. I pulled myself together and went to the door. The boy behind it was an athlete I recognized from Joseph’s dorm. He handed me an envelope with my name on it. It wasn’t Joseph’s handwriting. I sighed in relief, thanked the boy, and closed the door. Opening the envelope revealed an invitation to a party at the athlete’s dorms, held the day after tomorrow. Scrawled along the bottom was a note addressed to me. Come or I’ll call Dylan. – Asher I crushed the envelope into a ball and threw it across the room. I didn’t want to go to any party. What could Asher possibly be thinking? But I didn’t have any choice. Two days later, I arrived at the athlete’s dorm for the party. I scanned the crowd, and quickly found who I was looking for. I rushed across the room and cornered Asher near the drink table. He lifted a plastic cup to me in greeting. I barely refrained from smacking it out of his hand. “Why are you doing this to me?” I hissed. “You can’t possibly think there is anything I want to celebrate!” He tilted his head and started walking. I followed him to a more private corner of the room. Infuriatingly, he still didn’t say anything. He leaned against the wall with a type of lazy confidence that made me want to rage. Only the people around us kept me from yelling. “You are the most insensitive man I’ve ever met,” I snapped. “Why would you force me to come here, knowing what you know?” He continued to refuse to speak, rankling all of my nerves. “Even a robot has more feelings than you!” I said, louder than I meant to. I relented at once, glancing around, but no one paid me any attention. Asher looked at me then, a hard edge in his gaze. “Calm down, trouble maker.” I frowned at him. “You want to know why you’re here?” he said. “Look around.” I wanted to argue that I already had, but his emotionless face had me holding my tongue. I looked around again, slower. The room was full of beautiful women, with long legs and short skirts. A couple of them I recognized as fellow cheerleaders. Several more, I remembered their faces but not where I’d seen them before. The rest were strangers. Everyone talked and laughed, having a good time. Other than Asher, there wasn’t a man in sight. “They’re all girls,” I said. Asher lifted a brow. “And what else do they have in common? Or should I say, what do they have in common with you?” Certainly they weren’t all pregnant. And only a few were dancers like me. No, there had to be something else that tied us together, for Asher to mention it. Asher pushed off the wall, leaning over my shoulder instead. “Do you need a hint?” I had one growing suspicion but I wasn’t sure it was possible. Or that Asher would take the time to arrange it. When I looked up at him, his lips twitched like he meant to smile but couldn’t. “You guessed right.” I hadn’t said anything, but he must have seen it in the surprise on my face. “Look around, Cynthia,” Asher said. “A flirt? A secret girlfriend? They’re all here.” He hummed, clearly satisfied with himself. Watching him, I didn’t know what to think, or what to expect. The hard edge in his eyes froze over, ice cold. “Every girl in this room is one of Joseph’s conquests.”
“How did you do all this?” I asked Asher. Asher shrugged. “Joseph uses the same, weak password for all of his social media accounts. You’d think someone with so much to hide might have taken a bigger interest in security. Hacking in was child’s play.” It couldn’t have been as simple as he made it seem, but his easy confidence made me wonder if he was capable of anything he set his mind to. “He’d added a couple hundred girls on his socials, some from the academy, some not. Reading his messages, it was pretty clear that the girls didn’t know about each other.” Asher leaned against the wall, appearing relaxed except for the way his hands formed fists. “He likes to sneak around with naïve girls that don’t know any better,” he said. Is that how he thought of me? Naïve? But then, maybe I was. Or at least, I had been, before Joseph attacked me in his room. I hugged my arms around my waist. I didn’t want to think about that. “What are you really up to, Asher?” I asked. What was the purpose of bringing us all together? Did he expect us to bond somehow? Make friendships? That seemed unlikely. “Just wait and see,” he said, giving nothing away. Asher had promised Dylan to protect me. So far, he’d been dedicated to that promise. I didn’t know what was going to happen tonight. But, if nothing else, I could trust Asher to keep me safe. So I moved to the wall by his side and tried to relax as much as I could. Then, a few male athletes entered the room, followed by Joseph himself. One of the athletes nodded at Asher. A second pressed a drink into Joseph’s hand. A third, behind Joseph, lifted a camera. Along the far wall, a screen unfurled. A projector clicked on, and an image appeared on the screen – no, a broadcast. The camera behind Joseph’s shoulder now projected his every move. “I told him this party is for him,” Asher said softly into my ear. “He thinks were all here to celebrate his success.” I watched on the screen as Joseph drank deeply from his plastic cup. After lowering it, he flashed a bright grin and saddled up to one of the women in the room. His low voice came through the speakers. “You come around here often, baby?” The girl tilted her head, confused. A few gasps sounded around the room. Someone dropped their drink. The volume of the music lowered. Joseph didn’t seem to notice, leaning in closer to the girl. “If I tell you a secret, would you let me kiss you?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” My stomach twisted. He’d used that same line on me. By the rising rabble of the crowd, I gathered that I wasn’t the only one. The object of Joseph’s current desire scoffed at him, and Joseph finally started to look around. Eying the faces of the girls around him, recognition sparked on his features. His eyes went wide. He started for the door but his movements slowed, sluggish. He dropped the drink he’d been holding. It splashed across the carpet. “He’s not going anywhere,” Asher said. I looked at him. “Did you drug his drink?” Asher didn’t deny it. Many girls closed in around Joseph, voices rising. The earlier laughter had entirely vanished. Now there was only arguing, shouting – anger. “I’m his girlfriend!” one girl yelled. “No. I am!” said another. “Who are these women, Joseph?” one screamed in Joseph’s face, voice echoing through the speakers. “Who are we?” someone replied. “Who are you?” Yet the chaos cleared quickly, the more they argued. I expected the girls to start fighting each other, but to my surprise, they almost seemed to rally together against a common enemy. Joseph. The man who had lied to each and every one of them. One girl slapped Joseph clean across his face, leaving an ugly red mark on his cheek. I moved without thinking. My hatred powered my legs as I walked forward, pressing through the crowd. When I reached Joseph, he was barely holding himself upright. “Cynthia,” he said, voice shaking and pathetic. “Cynthia, please. Mercy, please.” Where was his mercy when he had shoved me down to the ground? When he had screamed in my face? When he had threatened our child? He would find no mercy here. I grabbed his shoulders and dug my fingernails into his skin, just as he had done to me. I leaned close to him and he whimpered. “This is my revenge,” I said into his ear. Then I kneed in him hard in the groin. He sucked in a sharp breath and collapsed. I stepped backwards, disappearing into the crowd. Other girls quickly took my place. Asher found me in an instant. With his hand on the small of my back, he guided me toward the exit. In Asher’s dorm room, I sat at his desk and scrolled through the school forums. Posts were already flooding in, reporting on Joseph’s many infidelities. Some threads were going viral, with hundreds of responses by the minute. Some had pictures. Aggrieved girls posted every ugly picture of Joseph they could find with cutting captions like, I can’t believe I wasted time on this trash. Soon, videos poured in from the party. A few girls had kicked him when Joseph was down. Another gave him a black eye when he tried to stand. He eventually slunk away to jeers and mocking laughter, to nurse his wounds in some secret corner alone. It felt like a victory. Like revenge, properly delivered. And it was all thanks to Asher. Asher stood in the center of the room, watching me or watching the screen over my shoulder. I couldn’t tell which. I owed him a proper thank you. Maybe more than that. So I stood and turned to him. “I misunderstood you,” I said, lowering my head. “I’m sorry.” His silence spoke volumes on its own. I hadn’t said enough. “I should have known you weren’t like I’d heard. Dylan wouldn’t be friends with someone heartless.” Licking my lips, I chanced a glance upward. “Thank you for being like my big brother.” Asher’s persistent silence became unnerving. “Big brother?” he echoed, brow raising. He closed the distance between us in two large strides. I forced myself to freeze, not wanting to flinch away when I was trying to apologize. He lifted a hand. I sucked in a breath. Gently, he tucked a stray hair behind my ear. His fingertips trailed down the side of my neck, feather-light. “Cynthia.” His low steady voice sent shivers down my spine. “I don’t want to be your big brother.” Throat suddenly dry, I swallowed hard. “Then what do you want?” I whispered. I didn’t want to break the spell that kept his hand pressed softly to the corner of my neck and shoulder. This was so unlike the Asher I knew. Where was the usual distance he kept? But then, nothing else about tonight had been ordinary. Why should this? “Asher?” I was afraid he wouldn’t answer. Please don’t shut me out now. The ice in his eyes began to thaw. “Let me be the father of your child.”
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