MasukELENAâS POV By lunch, the number on my wrist had smudged into a blue mess. Fine. Whatever. It wasn't like I had it memorized or anything. (I had it memorized. All ten numbers. I wasn't proud of that.) "You keep looking at your arm," El said around a mouthful of fries. "That's the fourth time." "No I don't." "Hayden. Back me up." Hayden said nothing. He suddenly found his water bottle very interesting. "Coward," El said. "I'd like to survive lunch," he said. I pulled my arm under the table and glared at both of them. "Can we not make this a whole thing?" "It's already a whole thing, Lena. A boy wrote his number on your arm in front of the entire school. There's no version of this that isn't a thing." "He's pushy," I muttered. "That's all it means." "Mm-hm." El leaned back, arms crossed, wearing the smug look she always got right before she said something I wasn't going to like. "Is that why you haven't washed it off?" I froze with a fry halfway to my mouth. "I knew it," s
HADES POVâSo,â Alex said, sitting down across from me at lunch. He had a big grin on his face. âHow did it go with your mate?ââFine.ââFine, fine? Or fine like you got told no in a parking lot in front of forty people and now youâre dying inside?ââThe second one,â Jeremiah said, not even looking up from his food.I didnât answer either of them. Zach had been quiet and angry ever since I walked away from her. It felt like a door slamming, over and over, deep in my head.*You left,* he growled. *Why did you leave.*âBecause she wanted space.â*She didnât ask for space. You just guessed.*âShe needed it. I could tell.â*Dumb.*âThanks.âHe didnât say anything else. He just kept pacing inside me, restless, like heâd finally found the other half of himself and now he couldnât sit still. It felt like something was pulling at my chest, telling me to go back and find her.I hated that I understood exactly how he felt.âCap.â Alex waved a hand in front of my face. âYouâre staring off again.
ELENAâS POVHe didnât move. Didnât smile. Didnât look at anyone else.Just me.My stomach dropped somewhere near my shoes as Hades crossed the lot, helmet swinging loose from two fingers like he had all the time in the world. Every step he took, the crowd parted like he was Moses and they were a very horny, very nosy Red Sea.âOkay, this is not happening,â I muttered.âItâs happening,â Hayden said beside me, voice tight. âItâs very much happening.âEl grabbed my arm. âLena. LENA. Breathe.ââI am breathing.ââYouâre doing the thing where you stop breathing and pretend youâre breathing.âI didnât have time to argue, because Hades stopped a few feet away, and up close he was worse. Unfairly tall. Jaw like it was carved by someone with a personal vendetta against average men. And those eyes â the same ones that had locked on mine across an entire ice rink like a heat-seeking missile.Ria, traitor that she was, went absolutely feral in my chest. *Mate. Mate. MATE.*âShut up,â I told her.â
HADES POV Me; How can she leave,where are you? Cous: humâI can't tell you. Just give her time she'll come around. Cous: besides, you're her second mate. I raides my eyebrows at the message. Second mate? She had one before me? Me: second mate? Cous: yup to Jason. He rejected her because she was fat and now he wants her back. Elena, fat? My mind drifted back to the night of the club. *flashback* âI'm Elena Robertâ The girl yelled after me and I smirked finding my way through the crowds.* *end of flashback* Me: Whats her last name. Cous: Roberto. The other girl is ls also Elena and they're best friend. Can you believe. She's the one. Fuck she looked great now. Like a fucking goddess. Elena. Me: how do you even know that much about her? Me: we're friends ofc I know most things about her. Me: keep an eye on her⌠Cous: why should I? Me: You wouldn't want to defy me. Hayden Deville. Cous; okay bitch. I rolled my eyes at his last text putting my phone in my jean pocket. ââ
HADES POV âFuck, I canât wait for us to crush those pussies,â Jeremiah grinned, practically vibrating with anticipation. I didnât bother responding. My wolfâZachâhad been pacing nonstop inside my head, restless and aggressive in a way that set my instincts on edge. Suspicious. âYou good, Cap?â Alex asked. I smirked, masking it. âAlways.â âIâm sure heâs just thinking about how many girls heâs gonna bang tonight,â someone laughed. I shook my head just as my phone buzzed. Cous: Iâm here already. Break some legs. Me: Fuck off, sucker. Cous: Iâm wishing you well, coward. Say it to my face. Me: Try me. Gotta go. Cous: Good luck out there! Me: I donât need luck. I win regardless. âItâs time,â Coach announced as he stepped into the locker room. I rose, gripping my hockey stick as the team gathered. We slammed fists together, chanting before skating out onto the rink. The moment my blades hit the ice, Zach roaredâso loud it almost ripped from my chest. Mate is here. âWhat?â I mu
Elena's PovThe burst of laughter was loud, satisfied, and purely vindictive. "Oh, that was satisfying as hell. Did you see his damn face?" Elena crowed, collapsing into her chair.I nodded, still smiling. "I knowâso epic, mehnn."Hayden, ever the pragmatic one, summed up the whole situation, carefully linking the past to the present. "So, he rejected you when you were fat, and now that you've worked on yourself, he suddenly wants you back?""Exactly," Elena and I confirmed in unison."The audacity of him calling all this," I gestured dramatically down at my new figure, "a 'surgery' or a desperate cry for attention is just incredible."Hayden blinked, looking thoughtful. "Did you work out because he rejected you, though?""Uh, partly," I admitted, shrugging slightly. "Well, it's mostly because I want to be hot. It's just a lot of reasons, honestly." I let out a long sigh, the complicated truth heavy in the air.We had settled into our seats in the middle row just as the main lecture
ELENAâS POV "Elena?" he asked, and I glared at him."The one and only! What's your problem?"The way he blinked at me like heâd just discovered fire made my skin crawl. Boy looked confused and horny at the same time â a deadly combination of stupidity."When did you become this beautiful?"I almos
Elenaâs POVâIs that Elena?ââI wouldnât have recognized her if not for her face.ââDamn⌠she looks different.âYeah, yeah, keep talking, people. Thatâs exactly what I want. Let them choke on their own jealousy.Lena and I walked through the hall like we owned it. Our steps hit like thunderâevery e
ELENAâS POVâArgh, fuck, I feel like Iâm losing my mind!â I groaned, my chest heaving up and down, sweat slicking my skin after the relentless jogging Aunt Kate had dragged me through. My legs screamed in protest, my lungs burned, and yet she stood there like some impossibly perfect drill sergeant,
ELENAâS POVThe studentsâ shouts faded into the chaos of my pounding heart as I turned toward Jason. His eyes locked on mine, and Riaâs growl ripped through me again, louder this time, sharp and demanding.âMATE!â she bellowed, claws twitching beneath my skin.Jasonâs face darkened, his gaze stripp







