Tainted Romance

by Simone Elise

  I went silent and just stared down at the textbook in front of me.

  “Allie, tell me who said that?” Zane’s voice softened just slightly.

  I hated the fact that tears were swelling. “Ebony, but even if she hadn’t been gossiping about it, I would still think the same.” I turned to meet his eyes. “You’re a jerk, Zane Harris, and I don’t care what you think of me anymore.”

  A fire in my belly was growing against him, and I did something completely out of character for me. I picked up my books and walked out of the classroom.

  That’s right I, Allie Winters, walked out of class early, and I didn’t even listen to the teacher yelling for me to come back.

  Chapter Forty-three

  ZANE

  Her hair was blowing in the summer wind. Her eyes shone with happiness as she laughed and carried on with the Falcon brothers. Even Blake was smiling instead of frowning like normal, although I would be too if I could be around her.

  “This party sucks.” Ebony threw her red plastic cup into the bonfire. “Who thinks of beach parties anyway? Who wants to party on a beach?”

  She was in an unusually bad mood, real bad. So much as look sideways at her, and she was ready to take your head off.

  Also noticed the way she kept looking in Allie’s direction. It was like the more fun Allie was having, the more pissed off she was getting.

  “Why does it matter? It’s an excuse to get drunk.” Taylor refilled his plastic cup. “And watch half-naked girls dance.”

  I would once agree with him, but now things were different. Allie was all I could focus on. Her and her white bikini, her laughter.

  Fuck, she was killing me.

  “You know what I hate most about the Falcon brothers?” Ebony piped up, out of nowhere. “I hate how they just cut everyone else out. Fuck. All they care about is Princess Allie,” she continued.

  “What the fuck is it with you and them?” Taylor gave her a weird look. “Seriously, Ebony, you’ve got an obsession with them.”

  “More like with one,” I corrected him, scoring a glare from Ebony.

  “What? You can’t pretend like you haven’t been watching Blake’s moves all night.” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Something you’re not telling us, Ebony?”

  “Fine,” she huffed, throwing herself down on the sand next to me. “He’s my mate. Happy?”

  My eyes widened, but it was Taylor spitting beer everywhere that got the best reaction.

  “It’s like fucking hell. How did I end up with that? Not to mention he is just blocking me out like I’m invisible!” she continued to rant.

  Suddenly, everything clicked into place. Why she hated Allie so much. Her obsession with what they were doing.

  “Fuck,” was all I could say to her, “That’s rough, Ebs.”

  She scoffed.

  “Rough! That’s just plain fucking hilarious. You get landed with the one dude that couldn’t possibly stand you, plus, he has literally watched you all these years slut around. Classic.” Taylor shook his head amused.

  She just flat-out glared at him.

  I placed a hand on her knee. “If it makes you feel any better, you’ve got a better chance of landing your mate then I will ever have.”

  “Since when did you go soft, Zane.” She shrugged my hand off. “I think I need another drink.” She stood up and walked off in the direction of the ice buckets.

  “You know when you really think about it, they are perfect for each other.” Taylor sat in the sand next to me. “I give it another two weeks before she is crawling back to him for a dose of attention.”

  ***

  ALLIE

  I slapped Blake’s arm.

  “It’s not funny! Mom seriously thought I had gone all wild-child on her. All I did was walk out of one class,” I huffed, sipping from the red cup.

  “Well, nobody would expect innocent Allie to do something out of character.” Chase laughed. “No wonder your mom nearly had a fit.”

  “A fit is an understatement,” I grunted. “Anyway, this is a night for me.” I collected my overthrow from the rock and slipped it on. “Mom said home by eleven, so I better not disobey her. God, she would have a field day with that.”

  “I’ll walk you home,” Blake offered.

  “Don’t be stupid. It’s like two blocks that way. I’m fine. You guys stay anyway, plus, that brunette has had her eyes on you all night.” I said to Blake, nodding my head her way. “Be careful though, she’s friends with Zane, and he is a real meanie.”

  “Meanie,” Chase coughed out in laughter. “Please say that word again.”

  I playfully glared at him. “Screw you, Falcon.” I turned my back to them and began to walk off. “Night boys!” I waved over my shoulder and kept walking.

  The last thing I wanted was mom ranting at me.

  I took the small steps two at a time and then broke out in a quick walk once I hit the pavement.

  I was about to cross the road when a van pulled around the corner sharply. Gee, talk about bad driving.

  I stepped back on the sidewalk, but it was when the van slowed to a stop that my stomach dropped.

  Next thing I knew I was being pulled into the van head first. I tried to scream, but my mouth was smothered. My heart was thumping through my chest. Oh my God. Oh my God.

  “Calm down, Allie.” A man whispered in my ear, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  The van took off again and all my hope of Blake or someone seeing me faded.

  What the hell was I going to do?

  I’ve been kidnapped!

  Me!

  Allie Winters!

  I pulled at the hand until it was off my mouth.

  “What do you want with me?” I screamed and kicked.

  “Calm down, Allie,” he said again, holding me around the waist, keeping me back against his chest.

  “How do you know my name?”

  “Dad, just keep driving,” the man shouted at the driver. “But we might have to hurry this up as she won’t stop wiggling.”

  “Well, hold her the fuck down, Jace!”

  “Let go of me!” I yelled.

  “Can’t we just inject her now?”

  “LET GO OF ME!”

  “Fine.” The van came to a jolting halt, and the man from the front climbed into the back.

  Oh God. I was going to be raped, and then most likely killed.

  “LET ME GO! LET ME GO!” I kicked and screamed and kicked some more.

  The man grabbed my arm and straightened it out. “Calm down, Allie, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

  How did these two strangers know my name?

  Then I saw the long needle.

  “Please don’t. Please don’t hurt me,” I cried, watching the man line the needle up with my vein.

  “I’m not hurting you, girly. I’m giving something back that was taken from you,” he grunted and then he pushed the needle into my skin. A burning pain followed, and then everything went dark.

  ***

  They say the less you know, the less can hurt you, but if you had a choice, to forget every painful memory, would you take it? What if someone else made that decision for you?

  They chose to take your memories away?

  How would you react?

  But then, you wouldn’t know they had done it.

  So your reaction would be nothing.

  But if you were to be given those memories back, well then, that changes everything?

  “Who are you?” I stared at the old man sitting across from me in the van.

  I had only been out for a few moments; just long enough for all my memories to come flying back.

  And back they were.

  “Jace?” I twisted to stare at my brother. “Who is that?”

  “I’m your father,” he finally answered me.

  “Why did you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Give me my memori
es back? Why?!” If I had a choice, I didn’t want them.

  “You’re not part of their pack anymore, Allie. You are a lone wolf, like us. You have a right to know every memory, the painful ones and the good ones. No-one has the right to take my daughter’s wolf from her.”

  “My wolf was dying.”

  “Because of Zane.” He crossed his arms. “That boy was killing you. Now you have no connection to them. They won’t even be able to sniff you out.”

  “So, you can keep the act up if you want, Allie,” Jace added.

  “So, they thought they had the right to take my memories, and you two thought you had the right to return them?” I looked between them.

  “Wouldn’t you prefer to know who you are, rather than the you they want you to be?” Dad asked me.

  “I thought you were dead.” I glared at him. “All this time. You just stood in the shadows.”

  “I’ve always been close. You just never knew.”

  “Well, it seems everybody thinks it is perfectly fine to lie to me.” I felt raw rage creep into my veins. “What am I to do now?”

  “That’s up to you,” Jace spoke softly. “You can keep up the act until you’re ready to face them, or just remain a lone wolf with us.”

  “I’m not telling them anything, not until I can change and have control over my wolf.” I made a decision. “How do I face them, without them realizing?”

  “Just do what they have been doing to you, lie.” Dad handed me a cold bottle of water. “Now we have to get you home before your mother starts to worry.”

  She let them wipe my memories. Wasn’t she meant to protect me?

  “I hate her,” I whispered, undoing the bottle cap.

  “You will find, girly, that your hate list will grow larger now.” Dad climbed back into the driver’s seat, and I sat next to Jace.

  “I hate them all.”

  Jace placed a hand on my knee. “If they thought your wolf was dying, they wouldn’t have had another choice.”

  “They had the choice of telling me.” I looked him in the eye. “They always had that choice.”

  Chapter Forty-four

  Just act normal. How the hell was I meant to live in cotton candy land when everyone around me was lying to me? I reached into my handbag and pulled out one of mom’s anti-anxiety medications.

  I popped one in my mouth and swallowed it just in time as my locker door slammed shut, nearly causing me to choke on the small round pill.

  “What the hell, Blake?!”

  “Funny, I was gonna ask you the same question. Any reason you have been ignoring my calls?”

  Yeah, because you’re a fucking liar.

  “My phone was dead.”

  “And you forgot how to use the charger?”

  “Yeah, maybe I did.” I unlocked my locker again. Stupid Blake, stupid mom, and stupid Chase. My blood was slowly boiling the more I thought of it.

  Keep calm, Allie.

  Keep calm.

  “You’re not your normal self today.” Blake narrowed his eyes at me, studying me like I was some sort of experiment.

  “I’ve had a bad morning. Burnt myself with the hair straightener, then mom was fussing over me,” I played down the lie. “Now, can you get out of my face? I have a class to be at.”

  And you to get away from.

  He stepped to the side and let me pass. His judgmental eyes stayed locked on me until I turned the corner and walked right into one of the last people I felt like talking to.

  Ryder Harris.

  The new Allie hadn’t met him, so the new Allie just put her head down. “Sorry.” I went to go around him, only to have him side step blocking my path.

  “Allie, right? I’m Ryder.” He put out a hand.

  It would be rude not to take it, and the new Allie would take it.

  “Yeah,” I shook his hand, “How do you know me?”

  “I’m Zane’s brother, the man doesn’t shut up about you.”

  “Really? Because the Zane I know would rather swallow a glass of pins then speak to me.” I looked up into Ryder’s crystal blue eyes. He had let them do it too. He hadn’t stopped them. So much for a friend.

  “My brother really knows how to make an impression.”

  “A lasting impression. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a class to get to.” I pasted on a fake smile and went to walk around him, only again I was blocked.

  This was getting old quickly.

  “You know you shouldn’t give up on him. Sure, he has a hard exterior, but once you break it, well, it’s worth it.”

  “I’ll pass. Zane is about as friendly as a tiger and I’m the meat. Anyway, why should I bother?”

  Yeah, Ryder, why should I bother?! He had let them do this to me. My mate hadn’t stopped them. My mate hadn’t protected me.

  My wolf was still only dull, but even by remembering this, she came to with a snarl.

  “Excuse me.” I walked around him and headed for Chemistry. I needed to get out of here.

  “I’ll see you around,” Ryder said over his shoulder as I successfully passed him this time. I gave him a half wave and picked up my pace. I knew this was going to be hard. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy facing all the people close to me that had just let me become nothing.

  I could hardly bring myself to look at mom this morning.

  How could I keep this act up when all of them lied?

  I walked into Chemistry, and because my mind was elsewhere, I just took the first spare seat.

  At least I was in the back as my lack of attention would go unnoticed by the teacher. Then his scent hit me. My body stiffened, my grip on my pencil tightened, and my eyes glared down.

  Ebony and Taylor followed in after him, their scents didn’t cause my body to boil though.

  While I was gritting my teeth, they came to the back of the room and took up three seats just down from me. Of course, they would want to sit in the back.

  “Can’t believe you just ignored him.” Taylor dropped his books on the table. “The man took a risk, Ebony. You could have at least said something back.”

  “Does a glare count as something back?” Ebony’s words were tight and clipped. “It wasn’t like I asked him to speak to me.”

  “He’s your mate, at least he is trying.” Zane’s voice was like velvet to my ears and a knife to my heart. “Wouldn’t have killed you to have just said hi back. Doubt the man will ever bother again, as I know I wouldn’t.”

  “I don’t want him, and the sooner he knows that, the better.” She threw a dirty look at Zane and caught my glance. “And what are you looking at?”

  I could say something nasty back, or I could just ignore her or… “If you’re friends with someone, why would you ignore them?”

  “Excuse me?” Her eyes narrowed at me, and I was well aware of Taylor and Zane’s eyes on me now.

  “You said he was your mate. Mates don’t ignore one another. You know what you should do, you should just get whatever it is off your chest and tell him, and then you won’t feel the need to be a complete bitch to him because clearly there are reasons behind why you want to ignore him.”

  Her mouth hung open for a moment before she snapped out of her shock and just glared at me. “No-one asked for your opinion.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Just being helpful.”

  “You don’t even know what we are talking about, so why don’t you get your dead mutt eyes off me and onto the teacher.”

  “EBONY!” Zane roared at her, slamming a closed fist down on the table. “Shut the fuck up.”

  Looks like Zane was still touchy when it came to the mate subject around me. I don’t know why, it wasn’t like he cared enough to tell me or at least stop them.

  Ebony turned back around, and her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. Zane’s little outburst had scored us some extra pair of eyes, and not to mention put an awkward tension in the air.

  Although th
e old Allie wouldn’t have felt it.

  But I did.

  I felt it right to my core. Zane still cared for me in some sick and twisted way, and maybe I could use that to my advantage.

  “You know you rushed off in such a hurry you forgot that I was in this class.”

  My eyes bounced off the desk and met Blake’s furious green eyes.

  “Sorry.” I dragged my stuff to the side and spared up space next to me. “Like I said, it’s been a morning from hell.”

  He threw himself into the chair and crossed his arms. It seems he was in a worse mood than when I left him.

  Then my mind was struck with a wicked idea. I knew I was going to make trouble but fuck it, they deserved it, well, Zane deserved it.

  “Although my morning picked up, I ran into this guy.” I drummed my fingers on the desk. “You might know him.”

  Blake grunted.

  “Ryder Harris?”

  His head snapped my way. “What the fuck you doing near that fucker?”

  I arched both eyebrows. “So, you do know him?”

  “Yeah, and he’s bad fucking news, stay away from him.”

  “He didn’t seem that bad. Kind of charming, cute, and he sort of smiled with all dimples,” I fake gushed.

  “He’s bad news.”

  “He actually looked like a whole lot of good news.”

  I heard a pencil snap.

  “I mean it, Allie, he’s no good. Why would you be interested in the bloke anyway?”

  “Hello, in case you haven’t noticed, Blake, I’m a girl.”

  “Doesn’t mean you want the first bloke that walks past.”

  “Please, Blake, you know me better than that.” I drew circles on my notebook, pretending to be deep in thought. “There was just something about him that was different.”

  Blake scoffed, “Typical.”

  “What?”

  “You can’t have one, so you are naturally drawn to the other.”

  I knew exactly what he meant by that comment, and I wanted to slap him across the head for saying it, but then again sweet, doe-eyed Allie wouldn’t have a clue.

  “What are you on about?”

  “Nothing. Can you just focus on class or something else?”

  “Why?”