MATED TO TWO: A BULLY AND A GOODBOY

6

Athena:

“Come on,” Daren said softly, extending his hand to me. I hesitated for a moment because his decision still took aback me.

“Athena!” he exclaimed, his voice slightly raised, and I felt compelled to extend my hands to him. He took it right away, gently drew me up, and led me away from the enormous crowd of people who had a lot to say about what had happened. I walked with Daren with tears in my eyes until we reached a lonely hallway, where I withdrew my hands from him, causing him to come to a halt.

“What on earth were you thinking?” My breath was shaky, and I fixed my gaze on him.

He looked at me with a drawn-down expression, showing that he was aware of his mistake.

“We will talk about it later; I need to get you home,” he said, grabbing my hand, but I slapped his hands away.

“Why would you do something like that? You know Cameron is…”

“What was I supposed to do, Athena?” he yelled, causing me to take a quick step back. I held my breath for a moment as I noticed his brow furrow, waiting for him to unleash whatever he had in mind.

Daren grabbed my hand again as the students approached us in the hallway.

I did not hesitate this time, and I followed him down the hall until he was outside the school grounds. When I got outside, I took a deep breath and inhaled the peaceful air around me. It was a beautiful day, and the sun had spread its beautiful smile on the earth’s crust, but it felt gloomy to me as a cloud of sadness circled around me from the humiliation I had just received.

Daren led me to the parking lot where he parked his black Mustang, and then he took out his keys without letting go of my hand. As we got closer to the car, he pressed a button on the remote, causing the lights to flash.

“Get in,” Daren said flatly.

When I got in, he crossed the seat belt over my chest before slamming the door shut. He walked to the driver’s seat and sat down, then remained silent for a few moments, his hands steady on the steering wheel. I took slow, silent breaths as I pondered what to do or say. He started the car and drove out of school before I could say anything.

Even though I knew Daren was the good guy, I was concerned about what might happen. He had been silent for a while, as if he was trying to avoid saying anything hurtful to me. I did not want him to act like he liked me, and it would have been easier if he had condemned me.

“You do not have to do this, Daren,” I told him as he turned onto the street that led to my stepmother’s house.

He immediately slowed down, raised his brow, and fixed his gaze on me for a moment. He said nothing to me; instead, he wheeled his car around and sped off down the street, making me cling desperately to the seat and anything else I could grab.

“Please, Daren,” I yelled, but he would not stop. He swerved dangerously on the highway, as if on his way to commit suicide. What scared me the most was seeing the red glow in his eyes when I looked at him.

When I saw a trailer approaching, I yelled loudly and grabbed his arm.

When my hand touched him, he swerved into a bush, then hit the brakes, and the car came to a stop, slightly hitting a tree. He panted heavily, as did I, tears streaming down my cheeks. I reflected on my life and how finding my mates had been a bad idea. Perhaps I was better off as the fatty, filthy, and revolting omega.

“f**k!” Daren yelled, slamming his fist on the steering wheel. Then I unbuckled my seat belt and flung open the door.

My stepfamily despised me, but none of them had attempted to murder me, whereas Daren had. This was something that even his brother couldn’t think of doing.

“Athena, please wait!” Daren yelled, opening and slamming the door hard. He chased after me, adding to the crunch of the dried leaves we stepped on. With one swirl, he drew me into his chest. The damp and leafy feel of the surrounding bushes was pleasant, but sharing the moment with Daren was not.

“I am sorry,” he muttered as he cupped my cheek and looked me in the eye.

Was he serious? I questioned myself as I looked into his eyes, which were filled with regret.

“I decided in haste, and you don’t know how much it bothers me. I promise I will go to any length to win, and I will protect you because it is my duty.”

My stomach fluttered a little when he said this, but I quickly shut it down because I could not fall for his sweet cues after what he had just done. I scoffed as I pushed him away.

“You almost killed us, and all you can think about is the stupid duel.” I paused, briefly shaking my head as he stared at me.

“What if you died? Isn’t that a landslide victory for Cameron? You could not even remember your li...”

“I was born to sit on that throne, and I will protect it with everything I have,” he cut me off.

“Well, if you love the throne so much, go get it!” I yelled, then turned around to walk away. He groaned and pursued me, but I refused to listen to him.

I was furious because it was unbelievable that he had been thinking of the throne and not even me.

“f*****g hell!” I cursed aloud.

I quickened my pace, and the next time I took a step forward, I fell freely. I closed my eyes and yelled out loud.

“Stop, stop!” Daren yelled at me.

“It is not deep, and you can open your eyes,” he said, and I did so, only to find myself in a shallow ditch.

*******

Daren pulled me out of the ditch and drove me back to his house to change my clothes. I had just finished putting on his sweatshirt and pants.

“You can come in now,” I told him as I examined myself in the mirror. His clothes were a little baggy, but not as baggy as those of the book girlies and their buff boyfriends. This made me sad, but when he opened the door, my face straightened out.

“Let’s get you home,” he said, and I nodded as I approached the door.

As we walked downstairs, I tried not to think about what had happened today. It was his responsibility to protect the throne, and if that was his top priority, so be it.

“Shoot, I forgot my keys,” Daren said as we approached the bottom of the stairs.

“I will be right back,” he said, rushing up the stairs. The moment he disappeared upstairs, I sighed loudly.

After that, I stood for a while to admire the living room’s exquisite design. The still-life portraits of the alpha king made me wonder how much influence he had over the twins. Daren was similar to his father. He had a strong desire to be in charge, and despite his outward softness, it seemed he would rule the kingdom with an iron fist, just like his father.

As I surveyed the room, I ran my hand along the walls, and just as I was about to touch the massive diamond-encrusted knob, the door flung open, causing my heart to stop. I thought it was the king at first, but then I noticed Cameron smirking by the door.

“Look who we have here,” he said, and I took a few steps back.

He closed in on me and ran his hands across my face, getting closer with each step as my body became weaker and stiffer. I was ashamed that I could not fight back, and I wanted to punch and snap my wolf’s neck.

“Do you see that throne?” he asked, grabbing my shoulder and turning me around to face the throne, which was covered in pure gold and diamonds.

“Frequenting the Navajo mansion will not give you a better chance of sitting on that throne,” he whispered in my ears, sending terrible shocks down my body and cutting my breath short.

“Daren could not care less about you, and...”

“Leave her alone!” Daren yelled all at once, rushing up to us and yanking Cameron apart. He was about to throw another punch when I stopped him, and Cameron burst out laughing.

“Only cowards act like you!” Cameron spat, then shook his head and walked towards the stairs.

“See you in two days,” he said with a wink at Daren.

“As for you, dirty omega, learn to use your senses properly. I mean, I know we are twins, but we do not smell alike. You should be able to tell the tiniest difference in our smell, and you could have avoided what happened today.”......