Isla’s POV~
Lockers were slamming loudly, people were shouting, the bell was about to ring for the first classes.
But right there, in front of my classroom, the world narrowed down to just the four of them.
Maddox stepped in first.
He didn’t say anything.
He just leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead.
It wasn’t a peck.
It was a brand.
His lips were warm, and soft, and he held the kiss for a second longer than necessary.
“Go,” he whispered against my skin.
Then Brock.
He took my hand.
His grip was firm.
He squeezed it once and it seemed to say, I’ve got you without using words.
He looked me in the eye, his eyes were serious, and then let he go.
Slade was behind me.
I felt him before I saw him.
His fingers brushed the sensitive skin of my neck, right where my pulse was hammering.
It was a light touch, barely there, but it sent a shiver down my spine.
It was possessive.
“Don’t cause trouble,” he murmured against my back.
Then Colt.
He was leaning against the doorframe, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world.
He winked at me.
“See you at lunch, beautiful,” he said.
And then they turned.
The four of them walking away down the hall was a sight.
They moved in sync.
The crowd parted for them instantly.
I watched them go, feeling the ghost of Maddox’s lips on my forehead and the burn of Slade’s fingers on my neck
I was blushing.
I could feel heat rising up my neck, burning my ears.
I took a breath, held it, and stepped into the classroom.
The noise cut off instantly.
It was like someone had pulled a plug.
More than thirty heads turned toward me.
More than thirty pairs of eyes locked onto me.
I froze.
My hand was still on the doorknob.
I waited for the jeer.
The snicker.
The whispered freak.
The paper ball to the back of my head.
It didn’t come.
They just stared.
There was fear in their eyes, sure.
A lot of fear.
But there was something else.
Curiosity.
Awe, even.
I walked to my desk.
My steps felt heavy, like I was walking through mud.
I reached my row.
I looked down.
And I stopped breathing.
My desk was clean.
Not just “no trash” clean.
It was spotless.
The surface was wiped down.
There were no gouges from knives.
No gum stuck under the lid.
No mean notes scrawled in marker.
No empty soda cans.
No dead insects.
It was just…
a desk.
A normal, wooden school desk.
This was the first time in three years.
For three years, this desk had been my torture chamber.
It was where I sat while they whispered about me.
It was where they shoved my head into the wood.
It was where I cried silently while the teacher wasn’t looking.
Now it was clean.
I sat down slowly.
The chair didn’t squeak.
I ran my hand over the wood.
It was smooth.
I looked up.
A girl in the front row, Sarah, I think her name was, caught my eye.
She usually looked away when I looked at her.
Today, she didn’t.
She gave me a small, tentative nod.
Then she turned back around.
My heart was hammering against my ribs.
They were…
waiting?
The teacher walked in.
Mr.
Henderson.
He looked nervous.
He cleared his throat and started the lesson, but he didn’t yell at me when I took out my book.
He didn’t make a comment about me being late.
Hours slowly blurred.
I tried to listen.
I really did.
But the words on the chalkboard swam together.
Algebra.
History.
English.
It all sounded like noise.
All I could think about was the forehead kiss.
The squeeze of my hand.
The possessive touch on my neck.
And the clean desk.
It felt like a dream.
A cruel, twisted dream where I was the princess in a tower, except the tower was a high school and the princes were monsters.
The bell rang for the break.
Lunch break.
Or maybe it was just a bathroom break.
I didn’t even know.
“Dismissed,” the teacher said.
I stood up so fast my chair scraped the floor.
The sound made me flinch, expecting a reaction from anyone, but the class just kept their heads down.
I needed air.
I needed to get out of this room before I screamed.
I walked out into the hallway.
It was packed now.
The noise was everywhere.
I kept my head down, clutching my books to my chest like a shield.
I just needed to breathe.
I turned the corner toward the girls’ bathroom at the end of the hall.
It was usually a safe haven, the one place the guys didn’t go.
I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
It was empty.
I walked to the sink, dropped my books on the counter, and gripped the porcelain with both hands.
I looked at myself in the mirror.
My eyes were wide.
My pupils were dilated.
My lips were slightly swollen, like I’d been kissing someone.
I leaned forward, splashing cold water on my face.
The water was freezing.
It shocked my system.
I stayed there, hands gripping the sink, water dripping from my chin, trying to remember how to breathe.
I reached for a paper towel, my fingers brushing the rough texture of the dispenser.
That’s when I felt a prickling sensation at the base of my skull.
My wolf didn’t just react; she screamed, Danger.
Danger.
Danger.’
I froze.
My hand was still in the dispenser.
I looked up, my eyes snapping to the mirror.
And there she was.
Bella.
She was standing in the doorway, perfectly still.
She wasn’t looking at the sinks or the stalls.
She was looking right at me.
Her eyes were wide.
Dark.
And they were full of murder.
Shit.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
How long had she been there?
Had she been watching me wash my face?
Watching me tremble?
For a long moment, neither of us moved.
I was trapped between the cold porcelain of the sink and the door frame where she stood.
The air felt thick.
I braced myself.
I knew Bella.
I knew a slap was coming.
I knew the hair-pulling was coming.
I tensed my muscles, ready to duck, ready to run, ready to fight.
But then, something changed.
It was a subtle shift in the muscles of her face.
The hatred that twisted her features, melted away.
It vanished so fast it was like a mask dropping.
Something soft.
Almost…
a smile?
It didn’t reach her eyes.
That was the thing.
Her eyes stayed dead.
But her mouth curved up.
She started walking toward me.
Slowly.
My wolf was going insane inside my head.
Move!
Bite!
Run!
She was screaming that this was a trap.
This was worse than an attack.
An attack you can see coming.
But I forced myself to stay still.
I gripped the edge of the sink, my knuckles turning white.
I turned my body to face her fully, squaring my shoulders defensively.
Bella stopped three feet away.
Close enough for me to smell her perfume.
“Isla,” she said.
Her voice was soft.
Too soft.
“Can we talk?”
I hated that smile.
It looked wrong.
Everything about it was wrong.
“About what?” I asked.
My voice sounded raspy.
I cleared my throat.
“About what?”
Bella’s smile didn’t waver.
It was painted on.
“About…
everything.”
I stared at her.
I scanned her face, looking for a trick.
Looking for the sneer hiding behind that politeness.
But her expression was open.
Vulnerable, even.
“I owe you an apology,” she said softly.
She took a small step closer.
“What?” The word slipped out before I could stop it.
“I’ve been…
awful to you.” She looked down at her hands, twisting a ring on her finger.
“For years.
And today especially…”
She trailed off.
She looked up at me through her lashes.
The classic innocent look.
“But the truth is…” She paused, letting the silence stretch.
“I was jealous.
The quadruplets are…
they’re everything.
You know?
Powerful, gorgeous.
And I thought…
I thought if I could be with Colt…”
She let that hang in the air.
I didn’t say a word.
I couldn’t.
My brain was trying to process this.
Bella, apologizing?
Bella, admitting jealousy?
It was impossible.
She cleared her throat, breaking the silence.
“To cut everything short, I’d like to apologize for everything.
And as for the rumour…
about you being…
a prostitute.”
My jaw tightened.
“I know it’s not true,” she continued, her eyes locking onto mine.
“The quadruplets wouldn’t mate with someone like that.
They’re too…
particular.”
I pressed my lips into a thin line.
What was I supposed to say to that?
Thank you?
I forgive you?
Both felt like lies.
Bella saw my hesitation.
She moved again.
She extended her hand toward me.
“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“But maybe…
maybe we could be friends and start over?”