Noah’s POV

I’d been trying to articulate it for weeks, this suffocating feeling I carried with me for days. But hearing Kayden publicly claim Ashlyn as his mate made it easier to name.

It was want. Ugly, gnawing want.

From the moment I crossed her path in the hallway, I hoped she was just the help. It was easier to fuck the help. But when I found out she was going to be my new stepsister, I did what I always did best; retract, pull back and pretend.

But by playing the cold, indifferent jerk, I had accidentally pushed her straight into the arms of the Alpha’s son; Kayden Shaw.

I leaned against a locker, watching Ashlyn fumble for a reply with a helpless look on her face as Kayden’s confession dropped. The stares, the murmurs, they closed in around her, and I wanted to drag her out of it because I knew what the people of LHN High were capable of doing to her. But instead, I stayed still.

“You don’t have to give an answer yet,” Kayden told her gently. “I just needed you to know.”

Then he pulled her into his arms. And she didn’t resist. They remained like that despite the murmurs. I’d seen enough for one day. So, I turned and walked away.

I drove home after school with the image of Ashlyn in Kayden's arms sealed into my mind. I walked into the house, heading straight for the stairs, when my father’s voice stopped me.

"Noah, where's Ashlyn? We’ve got news to share with the both of you." He said.

"I don't know where she is, Dad. I’m not her fucking chaperone.” I lied, walking past him.

But I knew exactly where she was. She was pressed against Kayden Shaw’s chest, wrapped in his orbit, choosing him even after school. It suffocated me. Why? I shouldn’t care. She shouldn’t matter.

“Fuck!” I breathed as I collapsed onto my bed and sighed, running a hand over my face.

Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Natalie. You coming to Kayden’s W2SY party?

I replied with a curt, "No."

Another text came in, but I ignored it. My thoughts were already elsewhere, until the creak of a door across the hall snapped me upright.

It was Ashlyn. She was on the phone, and instantly, my werewolf senses sharpened my hearing, zeroing in on her conversation.

"...my mom and I still aren't on talking terms, it's shitty, I know, but how could she have said yes to marrying him?" she whispered.

"...I don't care, Kaylor."

I closed my eyes and listened harder.

She paused. "...You're right. So, his name is Kayden Shaw, he's the—"

Ring! My phone vibrated with another call from Natalie. Fuck! I ended the call and strained to hear Ashlyn again.

"...he invited me to come to his W2SY party."

Wait, he invited Ashlyn? I listened for her answer.

"...of course I said yes. Anything to distract me from this morbid mansion."

I scoffed. Morbid mansion? I stopped listening after that because my decision was already made. I guess I was going to Kayden’s stupid party after all.

Kayden’s party time was slowly approaching. I left my room just as she stepped out of hers. Even in simple clothes, she looked flawless. Her enchanting blue eyes held mine, and for a good second, I couldn't look away.

She broke the awkward silence. "Are you going to Kayden's party too?"

"Yeah, Natalie wants me there, so..." I lied smoothly. There was a moment of hesitation, then I asked, "You got ready pretty early."

She tucked her hair behind her ear, trying not to fidget. “Yeah, well… Kayden’s dropping me off, so he’ll be here any minute.”

Just then, her phone buzzed. She glanced at it and her face fell. She reread the text, clutching her phone tightly while forcing a brittle, tight smile. Disappointment, that was the look.

"What happened?" I asked.

She tucked her hair behind her ears and lowered her gaze. "He... he can't make it. Stuck preparing with friends."

"I'll drive you, then," I offered, trying not to sound too eager.

She blinked with surprise. "What—what about Natalie?"

"She's got her own car. She’ll be fine.”

And just like that, we were leaving together. As we walked downstairs, Ashlyn passed by Walter and her mother without sparing them a glance. While me, I acknowledged them with a nod before Ashlyn’s mother called out to me.

"Noah?" I stopped and turned. She looked at me with pleading eyes. "Talk to her for me, please. She can't keep shutting me out forever."

I gave her a small, single nod.

Ashlyn and I rode in silence. The cabriolet’s top was down and the wind played with my hair, tugging hers towards me. She leaned on the window, with her eyes fixed on the passing houses.

I gripped the wheel harder than I needed to, because if I looked at Ashlyn too long, I’d steer us into a wall. We stopped at a massive house and I parked.

"We're here," I told her.

This was one of Kayden’s properties he always allowed the guys at football throw regular parties at. Cars were lined outside and the place was filled.

Ashlyn got out. "I'll see you later, I guess."

"Maybe," I muttered, then walked in a different direction.

The loud music immediately swallowed my thoughts. I hated parties and loud music. I only liked the noise when it drowned out the moans of the women I fuck.

After a few minutes of trying to make small talk, I knew I was fooling myself. I tried to blend in with people I never spoke to, tried to pretend I wasn’t watching her. But I was only here for Ashlyn's sake.

I scoffed to myself. She looked like she was having a blast, laughing with Kayden and his friends. So I turned to leave, but then I heard Kayden's friend call out to her.

"Okay, Ashlyn, tell us something you've never told anyone before!" He teased.

I spun around. Ashlyn was drunk, laughing wildly. She yelled her answer for everyone to hear. "I'm a virgin, and I don't mind being fucked tonight!!!!"

Kayden’s friends cheered and laughed with her and my entire body went rigid. She had no idea what those words meant here. What wolves would do with them. I couldn’t leave her now. I had to get her out of here.

I watched her subtly, pretending to sip my drink while following her every move. She made the universal sign for needing to pee, holding her middle. "Oops! I have to pee!"

Kayden asked if she wanted him to go with her, but she waved him off, giggling. “Nah, I can go on my own." He let go of her hand.

Now was my chance. I followed her up the stairs, making sure no one noticed me. I slipped into the bathroom after her and locked the door. The click startled her.

"Noah?" she breathed, her lips parted and her eyes went wide. "What are you doing here?"

"You're a virgin?" I snapped. "You don't mind being fucked tonight?”

“You heard that?” Her brows pinched. “It was a joke—”

“Ashlyn,” I cut in harshly, “I don't know if that's normal in the human world, but at Les Hurleurs Noirs, you keep that to yourself, or you say it to the one person you want to fuck you.”

She swallowed hard, then took a step forward until there was no distance left between us. Drunk on alcohol and defiance, she looked me straight in the eye.

"I'm a virgin,” she whispered, softer this time, “and I don't mind being fucked tonight."

Then, she did the unthinkable. She hesitantly reached out and brazenly caressed me through my trousers. Through fabric, she felt exactly what I’d been fighting to hide; my throbbing hard dick.

"Please stop it, Ashlyn," I whispered, but she didn't listen.

She pushed further, with her fingers brushing the line of my waistband. They slipped lower until my hand shot out, clamping around her wrist.

"I said, stop it!" My eyes flashed a deep red, and my fangs tore down past my lips before I could control them.

She gasped, looking at me with sheer horror plastered on her face. And that broke me. I dropped her hand like it burned.

“Ashlyn—”

“Please leave.” Her voice trembled, but the message was clear. She was afraid of me.

“I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t make me scream, Noah.”

I stepped backwards slowly with regret. Then I turned, unlocked the door, and walked out. Why did I ever think coming here was a good idea?