A week has passed since Sebastian and I had sex in his office and this mark is not dying down. I have to indefinitely wear a turtleneck or a scarf until the mark decides to disappear. Getting my period hasn't made the experience any better. Jason has been extremely cranky and irritable since that day as well. Working with him has been a nightmare and our interactions are severely limited. I don't walk into his office for daily reports anymore. Either Remi gives him reports or I send them online, which Jason has never asked me to do before.
Remi's training is completed and she will be taking the reins when it comes to most of the contact with Jason. Of course, she won't be in charge of anything too important and I'll still handle most of the office work and presentations. "How are you fairing?" Luke asks as he comes up from behind me. "I'm about to ask Delilah to cast that spell. I'm constantly shaking and even being in range of Jason is torturous. The effects of sex should be subduing my pain for at least a few hours but I think mating season has prevented that. As a matter of fact, sex with anybody other than Jason seems to make it worse. I can't keep on with this,"
"You only have to last a month and some," Luke says and sits on the couch. "Stop talking," I tell him as I type away. "Listen, maybe you shouldn't ask Delilah for the spell. It won't last long and by the time the effects of it wear off you'll still be in mating season. You and Jason are having a hard time enough as is and I highly doubt you need the mega effects of the mark."
"I'm well aware as to where I stand. But you're forgetting about Keith. He texted me the other day and we're going back in tomorrow. I won't be able to go on any operations with them but the women rarely do anyway so it'll be just us girls. Once again, it's my job to get information. It'll be hard to trust anything anybody says because of the Effingolos. I don't know what to do at this point. I can barely think because of the pain and my eyes are constantly puffy because of the crying. You know I can't handle internal pain. I just need it to stop."
The moment I finish talking a fresh wave of new tears falls down my face. Luke reaches out to me but stops, knowing nothing will help me. "Walk me to Delilah's office," I tell Luke, and leave no room for argument. He's instantly on his legs, doing anything that will help. I fiercely grip his hand and tremble towards Delilah's cube. "Do it," she doesn't spare me a glance, and immediately gets up and we head towards the women's restroom. Luke enters with us, not caring about how this looks. "We have to warn Jaosn first. His wolf is not going to like the mate bond being forcibly blocked. He will lash out."
Delilah doesn't need to continue her warning. I instantly dial up his personal number. "Yes," he bites out. "This is a warning. Our...connection is going to be cut off by other worldly means. You're not going to like it. Like at all." I try to be as vague as possible. You never know who is listening.
"Can't you do this when we aren't working?"
"All you get is a bad attitude, frustration, and a boner here and there. You don't understand the burning pain that is coursing through my uterus and body right now. Especially with my period on. So no, I can't make it another minute." I bite back. "Just make it quick," He hangs up the call. "We're good to go," I tell Delilah. She deeply inhales and starts a mantra-like sentence that I don't bother to interpret, knowing it'll be useless. She puts her hands on the side of my face and I don't fight the action. I only pray that the pain at least subsides.
A few minutes and some more unknown words later, Delilah opens her eyes and finishes the spell. The effect isn't instantaneous and I'm about to question the effectiveness of the spell before I'm hit with a wave of relief. At the same time, I'm hit with a wave of sadness and agony. Not physical pain but emotional. A loud bang echoes throughout the floor and I flinch.
"That's probably Madden. You need to leave here immediately. He's too irritable right now." Delilah urges. "Won't her presence calm him? And without the mate bond causing pain and sexual frustration there shouldn't be any bad side effects," Luke rebuttals. "Yeah, aside from the fact that werewolves are temperamental and wild creatures. Hell, Madden will most likely come after my head for blocking the bond. The mate bond is something that should never ever be tampered with. I'm only making an exception this time because it was an accident. We have to hurry out of here. Luke, you should probably tag along since you're regularly associated with Soren.
We all make haste outside the company. It isn't long before I'm getting a call from Jason. I look at Delilah and she gives me a look that says 'It's up to you.' I answer the phone. "Where the hell are you?" I'm hit with immediate aggression from his tone. "I left the building," I say with a shaky voice. "What the hell were you thinking, Soren? Why would you break our bond?" It becomes clear to me that Ace is the one talking.
"It was far too painful. Being away from you, that stabbing pain, the burning, all of it. I couldn't stand it. I was miserable and to be honest, I think it would've killed me if I kept at it for as long as we needed to."
"That's only because you keep resisting," Ace's frustration is palpable. "It may seem easy for you since your conscious is free of guilt and consideration of others but mine isn't. Let's not forget the big fact that we aren't actually mated. This was an accident." He tries to control his breathing before responding to me.
"You asked why I haven't reacted to that woman-"
"That woman has a name," I frown. I can practically see him roll his eyes. "I don't feel anything for Saiya because she doesn't evoke anything out of me. It's as simple as that. Pure attraction. We can be something if you let us."
"Try convincing Jason of that before you try to convince me. This is the perfect time for you two to get acquainted without me. You guys need a serious talk. If you need more motivation you should know that I will never accept you as my mate without you and Jason becoming one. Figure yourself out before dragging me into the mess."
"...Why do you have to make things so difficult, foxy?" His voice sounds defeated and I start to feel bad. "Hey, this is for the best. It's not like I'm leaving forever, okay. But we can't be around each other if it's only going to cause pain. So for now we need to focus on ourselves and when we're ready we'll meet again."
"Deal, but I won't spend long without you."
"I won't make you. I need to settle a few things anyway,"
"See you on the flip side?" The sudden change of words forces a chuckle out of me. "See you on the flip side," and the call ends there. My heart feels a sharp pang and I'm hit with sadness. "Woah, are you okay? Your whole face changed," Luke pops his head from the back seat of the car. "Nothing should be wrong but I feel dull. I don't know why. The moment I stopped talking to Jason I just...I don't know," I clench the part of my chest where my heart lies beneath.
"That means the bond is deeper than expected. While I didn't permanently cut off the bond, the effects are the same. When a mated pair is separated they experience depression. If you two were fully mated it would be a lot worse. The pain would feel excruciating as if you were dying from the inside out." Delilah keeps her eyes on the road. "You mean I haven't been feeling that already?" A sadistic scoff leaves her mouth. "Not even close. The pain is as deep as the love when it comes to supernaturals. You love intensely and you experience pain intensely. There's no in-between."
"Did we ever clock out?" Luke questions and we all look at him. "I don't think that's our biggest priority right now," Delilah sneers. I sit back in the passenger seat and close my eyes.
---
"Are you ready for this?" Keith asks me. I force a smile. The sadness increases with time and I can only think about Jason. What good does this mark do for anybody?
"Ready as I'll ever be," We're at the same house we were in before. The guys are lined up and ready to go with their keys in hand. Keith kisses me on my forehead and taps my ass. "I'll see you in a bit," he smirks then turns around to leave. Felina kisses Keagen goodbye. Alysia rolls her eyes but it's apparent that she's hurt by the action. Upon seeing me her expression changes. She wipes the sad look off her face and jogs up to me. "Hey, it's good to see you again," Her words are genuine and she releases a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, same here," Her face drops. She starts to assess me then asks, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, life has been kind of hectic but for the most part, I'm fine." Much to my surprise Alysia wraps me in a quick hug. "I feel you. Since you left Felina has been on a rampage. She didn't appreciate me kicking her ass, you stepping on her, or Keagan setting her straight. I don't know what she has on Ke but we are getting to the bottom of it," Alysia says as if we're a team. "Woah, where did this come from?" Alysia gives me a questioning look. "Well, before you left you asked if I wanted to get rid of Felina. I assumed we were going to take her down together."
I'm left a bit stunned but then smile. "Right, I didn't think you'd be down to work with a stranger. Don't you find it weird that I come in here immediately looking to take one of your members down?" Alysia waves her hand and rolls her eyes. "Who doesn't want to take Felina out on the first meeting? I'm glad we finally have somebody who is willing to do something. You're not as tied down as some of us here are. You can get away with more. With us trying to recover from our lost resources and the internal conflict going on, you're the least of anybody's concerns."
Should she be telling me this? What if I have other intentions? Something tells me her intuition isn't wrong most times and that's what she's rolling with.
"So what's the plan?" she giddily asks me. "We don't have one yet. We both know that Felina has something on Keagan. First things first is finding out what that dirt is. Do you know anything that would make Keagan clam up like this?"
Alysia's brows scrunch as she tries to think of something. "I mean, Ke has always kept his personal life tight-lipped from the others but there's nothing shameful about his family." This information gets my gears running. I quickly jog to Keith who is about to take off with Keagan after telling Alysia I'll be back.
I open the passenger door without warning. He doesn't jump or get surprised, he only turns his head towards me. I hug him then whisper in his ear, "Check your phone in ten minutes," I give him a quick peck on the cheek before leaving without giving him much time to react.
I walk back to Alysia. "I'll ask somebody to look into it. What we have to do for now is follow her. Lucky for us we get to spend hours with her," Alysia rolls her eyes. I know Keith said stalking was out of the question but that was before we knew Felina was the bad guy here. "Yay," sarcasm laces her voice. "Come on girls, it's margarita night!" Felina exclaims before walking into the house. Alsyia and I give each other a look before walking in together.
"So, how has everybody been?" Felina says a tad too peppy for my liking. "Why are you in such a good mood?" May sneers. "Because- you little twat- my man and I have been great. What more is there to ask for?"
I lean into Alysia. "Didn't you just say she's been in a pissy mood? She seems pretty chipper to me," I whisper. "She was," Alysia sneers. "How is your hand?" Tasha, the woman with pink hair smirks as she references the injury I gave Felina. Felina's mood dampens for a second but it's quickly replaced with another grin. "It's doing just fine. Keagan can attest to that," Felina smirks triumphantly. Alysia grits her teeth before she snaps. "What the hell is your problem? You've been a pain ever since coming here. And we both know there's no way in hell Keagan would've ever left me for you so spit out whatever you have hanging over his head!"
I cringe at her lash out.
"Denial is such a hard thing to deal with. I don't have anything over Keagan's head. He picked me. Simple as that."
"He doesn't know you!" Alysia sounds like she's trying to convince herself more than Felina and Felina catches onto it. "You know, it's going to make it all the better when you don't find whatever it is that you're looking for. It'll dawn on you that you really are replaceable and Keagan is doing this of his own free will. Your will is going to shatter and you're going to be heartbroken. But go ahead and run around like a chicken with its head cut off. It's amusing."
Alysia's certainty falters as she considers the reality that Felina is right. "We don't know anything for sure, and there's no reason to take your word. Nobody changes so drastically that quickly. Besides, there's no denying the love and yearning that Keagan feels for Alysia whenever he looks at her. You may have him physically, but you'll never have him emotionally, and it's going to make it all the better when you never get what you're yearning for. It'll dawn on you that Keagan will never love you, no matter what you do, and you'll never be satisfied with just his touch. If you really had him, you wouldn't need to flaunt him or cling to him like he's going to leave at any second. But go ahead and run like a chicken with its head cut off. It's amusing." I retort
Felina grits her teeth at her words being thrown back at her. Alysia gives me a small thankful smile, and everybody sits with a satisfied grin on their face. "You're nobody. You don't know anything. Who do you think you are to say anything about Keagan and our relationship?" A sadistic grin falls upon my lips.
"Isn't that what people think about you?" I lay my head on my hands and tilt it, feigning innocence. "Yes, that's exactly what we say about her," May cheers. Felina's mouth spreads into a strained grin. "Fine, you think you're such hot shit-" I quickly cut her off. "Don't get it twisted. I'm hot and you're shit," Felina brushes off my comment and continues with her sentence.
"-Then I challenge you. When the guys come back, we'll duel. Baddest bitch wins." Everybody goes silent. "You think that I need to kick your ass to show that I'm better than you? That's funny. I swore you were the mollycoddled, conceited, home-wrecking whorebag." This releases a slew of snickers from the crowd.
"Wow, Alysia. You can't spit fire, so you have your little bitch do it for you. How pathetic." Alysia is about to speak up, but I talk first. "And you can't beat Alysia in a physical fight, so you try to pick one with me. How pathetic."
"You never shut up, do you?" Her frustration is clear. "No, I don't." I smile. "Whatever, I'm not going to let you bring my mood down. Today is supposed to be about celebration. Who is up for a game?" Felina looks around at all of the girls. While there are other girls, the main circle seems to comprise May, Alysia, Felina, Tasha, and Felice. "What game?" Felice suspiciously asks. "The classic, truth or dare." Tasha gets up from the couch and pulls out vodka. "You bitches ready to get shit faced?" She grins. "I'm not playing a child's game," I sternly say. May rolls her eyes. "You don't have a case just yet."
"Trust, it'll be fun," Alysia assures me. "Great, so we're all in," Felina smiles. It's weird to see everybody agreeing with her on something. "Newcomers first. Soren, truth or dare?" Tasha asks. "Truth," multiple groans are shared across the room. "I didn't take you for someone to play it safe." May scrunches her nose in distaste. "You bitches are insane without alcohol. You think I'm ever going to pick dare around you guys?" Tasha cackles. "Fair enough. If you had to choose between fucking Keagan or your ex, who would you pick?" She grins, and Alysia stares at Tasha slack-jawed. Tasha meekly shrugs as if saying, 'Don't hate the player, hate the game.' "Keagan, over and over again," I take a shot of vodka just at the thought of my ex. "You know you're supposed to drink only if you skip, right?" Tasha asks in bewilderment. "I know,"
"Damn girl. What did your ex do to you?" Felice asks. "You'll have to wait til my turn comes around again." I smile. Felice puts both of her hands up, surrendering. "Anyway, May, truth or dare?" I ask her. She feigns shock and puts her hand on her chest in a dramatic manner. "Little ol' me? Dare, obviously." I figured. It wouldn't make sense otherwise since she hassled me about choosing truth. "I dare you to plead to Felina and ask her if you can lick her boot," I make a dare that I know she'll drink to.
Felina smirks, and May's eyes practically fall out of her face. "Hell no. I'll take two shots to that." And true to her words, she does. Felina genuinely laughs and takes no offense. "Aw, playing it safe, are we?" I ask her. "I have to be alive to play anything, and I'd rather die before pleading to anybody for anything. Especially to Felina and especially not to lick her boot. I do have dignity."
"You didn't seem to have much of that when you were shouting Owen's name to the gods above the other night." Felice grins. "I'm sure she did a lot of pleading that night," Alysia pitches in. May chuckles in amusement, but her blush is clear. "Fuck all of you,"
"You first," Felina winks. The girls are actually getting along. You'd never think they were just at each other's throats. "Alsyia, truth or dare?" May asks. "Truth," May rolls her eyes, but continues the game. "Would you hook up with Jace's fine ass if he were to approach you again?" May comically wiggles her eyebrows. Alysia's face flushed in embarrassment. "Oh my god, of course not!" She frivolously waves her hands.
"Why not?" I ask her. She looks at me as if I am stupid. "Because I'm still in love with Keagan. Jace seems to have actual feelings for me. I would never lead him on like that." She says defensively. "Yeah, well, if you get an opportunity for emotionless sex, take it. It fucking rocks, and you don't want to be out of practice. Besides, why does Keagan get to have fun with Felina but you can't shake your ass a little? Take it from me, being uptight is not the way to go." I say. May and Felice cheer to that. "Oh my god, we should totally go clubbing tonight, girls!" Tasha says with much excitement. "You know we have to stay here whenever the guys are out," Alysia says sternly.
"Tight ass," Felice smirks. Alysia rolls her eyes. "We don't go out when the guys are on a mission in case we get into trouble. If we need backup, we don't have any." Alysia clarifies for me. "I'm sorry, are we not a group of badass women? We can handle ourselves just fine. Rules are made to be broken." I goad Alysia on. A small smile pulls at her lips. "That's what I'm talking about!" Tasha exclaims. "Sounds like we've got a plan," Felina says and gets off the couch. "Make over time!" Felice says excitedly and runs up the stairs, signaling the rest of us to follow.
The girls holler in excitement and run after her. I hold my hand out to Alysia. "This is a bad idea," she warns me. "I know," I say with a happy grin. The mood is infectious, and Alysia soon has a wide grin on her face, and we giddily follow the rest of the girls.
---
"We are smokin' hot!" May exclaims. "Damn right we are," Felina says as she admires herself in the mirror. Felina is wearing a small, tight red dress that completely hugs her figure and gives her somewhat of an ass. It reaches just above her knees. Her black stilettos give her some height, and her makeup is sharp with a cat eye, pristine eyeshadow, and bright red lipstick. Her shoulder-length hair is laid down in waves, and it gives a sexy bedhead kind of vibe. A quaint necklace sits above her collarbone.
Felice wears a light purple dress with a short front and a long back. Her heels are smaller, which suits her since she's already fairly tall. Her makeup is all natural, with the only exaggeration being her winged liner. She wears an earpiece that wraps around her outer ear. It's flaunted as her hair is pinned behind her ears.
Unexpectedly, May wears a frilly pink dress that's ridiculously short. Her light gray boots cover the rest of her as they reach past her knees. Her hair is up in a bun, and her makeup has a bunch of jewels over her smoky eye and elongated lashes. She opts for studs instead of dangling earrings. Her choker glitters as much as her jewels do.
Tasha's dress is more simplistic. It has spaghetti straps and lowers into a deep V-cut. Her black dress flows in ripples above her knee. Her silver stilettos are accompanied by a silver anklet and silver jewelry. Her hair is kept in its usual style.
Alsyia's emerald green dress dips in a low V-cut and a back cut that stops above her ass. Her dress is shorter on one side and longer on the other. Her hair flows in its natural waves, and her stilettos are dolled up with gems. Her earrings are the same kind of emerald green that's nicely paired with a necklace with an emerald gem that sits in the middle of her collarbone. Her makeup is wild while her outfit screams sophisticated.
Her smoky eye and sharp liner are paired with a little bit of blush. Her light pink lipstick radiates a look of innocence.
I stand out as I'm the only one wearing pants. I'm wearing a dark blue faux leather crop top with a deep V-cut that slightly cuts into my breast area, stopping a good distance from my nipples. Its strings are wrapped around my neck and back. It's paired with petite black faux leather cargo pants and dark blue heels. My hair is tied in a messy bun, and my silver hoops dangle in coordination with a small silver necklace. My makeup is entirely black, which makes my hazel eyes stand out.
"We ready to roll?" Tasha asks. Everybody gives their own version of a yes. We all hop into a black SUV. Rap music blares in the car, and we all shout out the lyrics until we reach a club about an hour away. Apparently, it is the best club around. I make sure to keep Delilah's necklace on me since I can't drop my location to Keith. If I tell him where we're going and he doesn't say anything, then he can get into serious trouble. I made sure to send him a text telling him to search for anything and everything Felina could get access to on Keagan and Alysia. Keagan is more inclined to protect Alysia than himself.
"Who is going to be sober?" Felice asks. "I will," I volunteer. "Great," May claps her hands as we're heading in. We all stick together at first before splitting into pairs. Alysia and I stick together, Felice and May run off with each other, and Tasha stays on the dance floor with Felina. "It's been a while since I've done this." Alysia nervously tells me. "Half the club has their eyes on you," I tell her through the roaring music. She softly chuckles, and I only catch the act because her chest moves up and down. "I'm pretty sure they're looking at you," I roll my eyes. "Yeah, I highly doubt that." She frowns. "Why?"
"Because you have that innocence about you that makes any man want to completely ravish you until lewd expressions are the only thing they see on your face," I tell her earnestly without shame. Her mouth slightly drops, and she starts to fan herself. "Wow, you know how to get a girl flushed," she jokes with a laugh. "We can practice. The only thing these guys want is sex. I think I'd make a good mock-male."
"Okay," she says with a smile. I clear my throat and lean into her face to whisper in her ear. "Those lips would look great around my dick," Alysia snorts her martini out. When I pull back, her face is scrunched in disgusted distaste. The sight makes me laugh.
I hunch over from laughter. "That was appalling," she bitterly says. "Then I did my job. Don't make that face, though. Men's egos are easily shattered, and you don't want to get a drunk man mad and start a fight. Try to de-escalate it first with something along the lines of 'It was interesting talking to you, but no thank you.' Or 'I'm just looking to hang with my friends tonight.' And if none of that works, then you can punch the shit out of him if he gets aggressive." I smile.
Alsyia nods her head, raking everything in.
"So, how do I flirt back?" She questions. "Do whatever first comes to mind," I tell her. She fidgets with her hands. "Um, you look hot. Do you want to come upstairs with me?" She says without confidence. "Would you go upstairs with you?" She cries and bangs her head on the bar counter. "No," I chuckle a bit. "Then let's forget about everything and dance." I grab her hand and drag her to the dance floor. We sway our hips and do silly moves. I start to sing along before I'm interrupted. "Your voice is amazing," Alysia gushes. "Oh, stop it, you," I say, playfully.
She laughs and rolls her eyes. We both get down low and start to rhythmically bounce our asses. We find Felina and Tasha on the dance floor, and we rotate between each other. Felina and I pair up and make a killer combo on the dance floor.
Maybe if she weren't with Keagan, everybody would get along a lot better. After about an hour of dancing, we all fall down in the lounge area where we find Felice and May already seated. Everybody but me holds an alcoholic drink. "You know you can have at least one drink," Felina says. I shake my head. "I'm not the biggest fan of drinking anyway."
She shrugs, not bothering to convince me. "Let's continue our game." Tasha pipes up. All the girls are down for it, so we continue our previous rotation. "Felice, truth or dare?" Alysia asks. "Dare," Felice says with certainty. "I dare you to kiss Mr. Hottie over there," Alysia grins as she nods towards a tall man with brown hair. His eyes are a honey gold. His stature is slim but not thin, as some muscle gives him a solid build, but I doubt there are any abs under there. A bad feeling creeps into my stomach, and I instantly frown. "I will if you take a go at his friend," Felice challenges Alysia, and with a little bit of liquid courage, she takes the bait. "Wait," I tell both of them.
They look back at me with a questioning stare. "Alysia is finally getting out there," May groans. "Don't go near them. I have a bad feeling." I say with a dead serious expression that makes Alysia and Felice flinch. Felina sits up a little straighter and takes a closer look at the guys. "What would you know? Just let them go." Felina shrugs. "I know you probably won't mind if something happens but I do, and I'm telling all of you right now to stay far away from them." My voice is stern and commanding. Alysia falters. "If you have a bad feeling then we shouldn't ignore it," Alsyia says and walks back towards me. Felice looks at the guys in disappointment before she eventually sits back down as well.
"I'll bring them over here then," Felina says with determination. I quickly get out of my seat and stand in her way with a sturdy posture. "You wanna speed up the date of that fight you promised me?" I question her. I'm not playing with this matter. Those guys are bad news if my stomach cramps are any proof of that. "You won't win," Felina glares.
"Come on guys tonight has been fun. Let's not ruin it." Alysia says. Neither Felina nor I get to say a word before a towering man appears behind me which sends a chill up my spine. "We saw you ladies staring and wanted to ask if we could join you." Nobody says anything and Felina and I have a silent conversation. 'Don't you dare,' I say as I glare. 'Try me,' she says with a grin before actually speaking to the guys. "We would love if you guys joined us," she says while looking me directly in my eyes.
I turn around towards them and come face to face with a chest. I look up and make eye contact with a man with fiery red hair. I don't mean a ginger. No, I mean actual red hair, and it doesn't look dyed. His milk chocolate skin is a major contrast to the red and his eyes swirl with red and gold. I smile blankly. This man is definitely not human!