Chapter 3

I’ve been staring at my car keys and backpack for the past hour, thinking about my life.

I’m already dressed up for school, and Ella planned to go with me in my car since hers broke down a few days ago. But I lied and told her I wasn’t planning to go yet and that I had things to do before I left for school. 

I sigh. 

I will be fine, I tell myself. They won’t hurt me; I am their mate. But deep down, some part of me is telling me I’m wrong. They are the Quads Alphas, and I know who they are.

I’m going; I can’t let them scare me away from school. I have to go to school to finish my studies and fulfill my dad's and my dreams—our dreams.

I pull up to the school parking lot. I see one of their cars in front of mine. It was Tyson’s. I don’t see Ryan’s, Darius’, and Daniel’s cars anywhere close. It was Monday, and that means the week is going to be long for me. Probably the longest week I will ever have in my life.

My window is tinted. But even if they can’t see me, they can recognize my car, that’s for sure. Elena Deloris has the only pink car in school. And now that I feel a little guilty, I hate the fact that my car can easily be singled out among thousands of cars.

When I turned my head to the left, I saw Ryan’s and the other two brothers’ cars on the other side. I’m gripping my steering wheel tightly as I see the four of them standing together. They don’t just have similar faces; they also have the same standing posture. They are wearing the same outfit, the same color, and looking intimidating like they’ve always been.

I’m not scared of them. I know what I did to Ryan was right. He had been the one bullying me. What wrong did I do for paying back? 

I wanted to be that soft flower who doesn’t always stay quiet and let others push her around. I’m the soft flower that fights back. I don’t think I was wrong for what I did, even for trying to ruin Ryan’s life, because that bastard deserves it.

The four of them are known as the arrogant Quads Alphas. Tyson has a cheerleader between his legs, with his two hands grabbing her ass. She’s smiling; she loves it. She likes popularity, so she enjoys being around them, with her body as payment for their popularity service.

Girls crowd them like ants crowding sugar. One is sitting on Ryan’s lap as he sits in the back of his car. His hands are crawling up her hips.

Fear sets in my bones like an arrow shooting into me. I take my eyes off them. I’m not out of the car yet, but I know they are waiting for me to come out. They are all looking toward my car.

I hold my steering wheel, releasing my hands from it steadily. “I can do this. You can do this, Elena.” I’m drawing in a long breath as I say. The fact that I ran before, because of what I did to one of them, or that I found out I’m their mate, only weakens my confidence because they are going to destroy me. 

Elena, you will be fine, I tell myself. I have been strong since my junior school and pulled through despite the blaze Ryan set around me. If I survived then, I can survive this, I tell myself, summoning the courage to get out of my car. 

Everyone might think I try to ruin Ryan’s life by now. Since he kind of found out I was the one who did it to him, the news must have spread, and soon, I will become the talk of the school.

That’s why they all suddenly go quiet, looking in my direction as I step out of my ride. I’m having difficulty breathing. My chest feels tighter than ever before. My palm is sweating, and maybe soon, it will start dripping.

I hear some chuckles from the girls as they stare at me. My legs don’t make me lose my balance yet. I’m trying my best to start upright and not collapse with my heels. They are gossiping about me, but I am not bothered by that. What I’m worried about at the moment is the kind of stares I’m getting from the Quads.

They don’t say anything yet; they just stare at me. Trust me, it’s intimidating, and I’m praying for the ground to swallow me up, but it’s not opening. The bones in my legs are shaking, almost making me trip over my own feet. 

I’m wearing sunglasses over my eyes, which means they can’t see the fear or tension in my eyes. I can only see their faces, but the moment Ryan took his shades off, I stumbled backward at the coldness in his blue eyes. They send shivers down my spine. I’m gulping more saliva down my throat, but my mouth feels too dry. Nervousness.

He has never looked at me like that before. I mean, he has always hated me, but I have never seen it this much in his eyes before. His brothers’ eyes almost say the same thing, and I can interpret them. I’ve never read eyes before, but now I can, and their eyes say, “Welcome home, Elena.”

God, they are going to kill me. It’s all that rings in my head right now. 

My eyes sway away from Ryan's; I don’t know how, but then they land on Tyson’s. I haven’t told you their surnames yet. It’s French, and the fierceness from their surname sticks with them, too. 

Tyson is inhaling some drugs from his hands. I’m not surprised, typical Tyson. That is who he is; he gets high to stay alright, and if not, he might lose it. He isn’t holding any girl, but his green eyes are smirking at me devilishly. His smiles put some knots in my stomach. The eyes are telling me that since I’m their mate, I belong to them, and I cannot escape them. It makes me want to puke as I continue to read his smiles and his eyes.

Darius is another devil from a different planet. His dark brown eyes aren’t paying much attention to me, but I know there’s something huge and dangerous for me up there in his mind.

For god’s sake, I’m their fucking mate, giving them the access to teach me a huge lesson for trying to ruin their twin brother’s life. Now I’m regretting my actions and thoughts for trying to get payback, knowing full well that luck has never been on my side.

Whoever becomes their mate is very unlucky and shouldn’t have been brought to this life. And that person is me. I didn’t realize how unlucky I am until today.

My eyes find Daniel. He still has Jane Mark between his legs, rolling his hands on her hips. He smiles and raises two fingers at me as if he knows I’m staring right at him. My legs crumple in fear. It’s a little cold, but I’m sweating. I try to fight it out. I won’t show it; I don’t want them to know I am scared.

“Elena!” 

God! I sigh. It’s as if God sends her to my rescue, because my feet refuse to leave the spot I’m standing at.

“Ava, thank goodness you’re here.” I breathe out hard as if I want to cry. If I do, I cry in relief from this killing tension. She’s dragging me away from my car. She knows I can’t move since I’m staring at the guys.

She doesn’t say anything; she just walks us out of their presence. And she’s heading exactly where in my mind I want to be right now—to the ladies’ bathroom.

Ava takes me inside and locks the door immediately. It is not safe to leave it unlocked. Anything can happen now that I am in their territory.

“Ava!” I scream, hugging her as I let out the cry that has been pressing down in my throat ever since I stared at them.

“Elena, you will be fine. I know you are strong.” She pats my back. She’s always been good at boosting my confidence.

I pull out from the hug, grabbing some tissues to clear my nose. We hear the first bell for our class and instantly stare at each other, and she says, “Don’t worry. I’m still by your side. We have a class together.” 

I let out a sigh of relief.