Twisting You

by Simone Elise

  “You should get going, Chloe. You will be late for your next class.”

  “Tell me why you won’t let me transfer?”

  I was determined not to let this drop. It hurt way too much to just let him go with yet another thing.

  “I don’t want to lose you,” he grumbled, glaring at the floor. “I know it’s selfish, but I can’t let you go.”

  “You can’t do that to ME!” I roared and the tears dropped from my eyes “You want to keep me on a piece of string until you can have me! That’s beyond selfish, Xavier! It’s inhuman!”

  “I can’t and I won’t let you go,” Xavier said firmly and took a step towards me. “I told you I denied you, I told you I didn’t want you. I take it back.”

  “You can’t take that back!”

  “I’m not letting you go.” His eyes were black, the green lost in his need.

  “You’re cruel!” Tears dripped down my cheeks. “You want to keep your wife and you want to have me on the side!”

  “You’re my mate, Chloe.”

  “Then leave HER!”

  “I won’t do that.”

  I brushed the tears from my cheeks. “So you keep me until when?” Hurt crippled through my chest. If I could hate him I would. My emotions wouldn’t let me right now, but I knew deep down I had a very deep hatred for him.

  “Until I know what I want.”

  My mouth hung open. “Can you hear yourself? How selfish you are being?”

  Xavier’s face was stern. “After Saturday, I realized I can’t let you go. So I’m not going to.”

  I brought my hand with force against his cheek. “You disgust me,” I spat, taking a few steps back away from him. “I won’t let you string my emotions along like that. And you have another think coming, if you think I would go along with this.”

  “I won’t let you deny me, Chloe.”

  “Someone has changed their tune.” I crossed my arms and glared at him, the disgust evident in my eyes. “I’m not fighting our separation anymore. It’s happening.”

  “And you say I’ve changed my tune,” Xavier shot back at me. “I’m not letting you let me go, Chloe. Not even if it is the right thing to do.”

  Turning my back on him, the tears leaked down my cheeks. “I didn’t think you had it in you to hurt me even more. Guess I was wrong.”

  I yanked the door open and stormed down the corridor. I was well aware of the tears that stained my cheeks and I was well aware of the pain in my eyes. But I could not bring myself to cover them.

  I thought being denied was the worst heartache you could feel. How wrong I was!

  Being used by your mate. That made me hit a whole other level of agony and depression.

  Chapter 7

  I loathed him. That was what I was thinking as I sat at the back of his classroom, glaring daggers into the back of his head as he wrote on the board.

  “Chloe?!”

  I snapped my head to the side. Dan was looking at me like I was a complete weirdo or something. “What?” I shot back at him.

  “You’re glaring pretty hard there.” He smirked slightly before he placed a piece of paper on my desk. Glancing down at it, I saw it was an invitation.

  I frowned while reading the details. It was an invitation to his father’s birthday. “Is there a reason why your dad wants me to come?” I glanced at him, and he broke out in laughter, causing Xavier to spin around from the board.

  “Chloe, Daniel. If I have to separate you two, I will.”

  I rolled my eyes. I am sure he would love to do that. Xavier shot me an annoyed look before turning his attention back to the board. Glancing sideways at Dan, I saw he was holding in silent laughter.

  I mouthed “what?” to him, not getting what was so hilarious.

  “Look at the top of it,” he mouthed under his breath to me, trying to stay off Xavier’s raider. Glancing back at the invitation, I felt like hitting my forehead when I read my parents names at the top.

  “Oh, I get it,” I whispered under my breath to him. “I’ll pass it on.”

  Dan just nodded his head. “Got any plans for that night?” he said under his breath. I frowned, glancing at the date on the invitation. It was for this weekend.

  “No,” I hissed back, leaning across my desk to his. “Why?”

  “You should come anyway. Keep me entertained.”

  I smiled and nodded my head. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Ok, Chloe. Collect your stuff and come up to the front, please,” Xavier ordered in a stern voice. I think he may have been listening in on our conversation. Scooping up my stuff, I moved to the seat up front where I used to sit. Dan shot me apologetic smile as I brushed pass him.

  I huffed to myself as I slumped in the seat. I knew why he wanted me close. He wanted to play with my emotions, and it inflamed my anger to know it.

  I flipped my textbook open. If I focused on the assignment, I could pretend to ignore the feelings for him that were coursing through my veins.

  ***

  “Chloe, your parents are coming around tonight for dinner. You, of course, are invited.”

  I clenched the books tighter to my chest, as the class moved past me, while Xavier spoke.

  “I have homework.”

  “Don’t lie to me. Lie to your parents, if you want to get out of it.” Xavier crossed his arms. “Though the boys would be disappointed. I told them you were coming.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” My nails dug into the hard cover of my textbook.

  Xavier shrugged his shoulders innocently. “I just told them the truth. If you cancel, you cancel.”

  I ground my teeth. I took a few steps before freezing in the doorway. Slowly I turned my head to look over my shoulder. Xavier had a smug look on his face.

  “Xavier, I would love to come and have dinner with your family. In fact, I have this perfect dress that would be great for the occasion.”

  Xavier’s smug look disappeared slowly as he narrowed his eyes. “Don’t play with fire, Chloe. You will get burnt.”

  Shooting him a sly smile, I turned my back on him and walked away. Two can blackmail and two can twist each other’s emotions.

  I just hoped I was doing the right thing.

  ***

  I slipped into the back of my dad’s car. He started the engine as soon as I closed the door.

  “Took you long enough, Chloe,” my mother chimed from the front. I pulled my dark blue dress down slightly as I sat.

  “I thought this was a casual dinner,” Chad piped up, eyeing the tight strapless dress I wore.

  “It is,” Dad added as he signaled to enter the highway. “Chloe has a date afterwards.”

  Chad’s lips curved slightly. “A date, eh?” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

  Rolling my eyes, I said, “It’s nothing serious.”

  “Tell us about him again, Chloe.” My mom said, like an eager child who wanted to hear her favorite bedtime story again.

  “His name is Cole. He’s a college student and he’s 20.” I cut out a lot of the details, not really wanting to share every detail about a boy I just met.

  “He’s human, then?” Chad frowned. “I don’t remember a Cole in the pack.”

  “Yes, he is human,” I confirmed, letting my eyes drift out the window as we drove down the highway.

  “So where are you going?” my dad spoke up.

  “Dinner.”

  Chad grunted, “You’re already going to dinner.”

  Rolling my eyes and shooting him a dry expression, I said, “Well, I couldn’t cancel on him. He was so eager when I ran into him at the mall today.”

  I was at the mall shopping for a dress to blow Xavier’s libido into overdrive. I knew this was wrong, considering I didn’t want to get any emotion out of him, but he inflamed my anger. It really got to me, the way he had so much control over our relationship.

  I really had ru
n into Cole. I wasn’t paying attention. I frowned slightly as I remembered running into him. He was sweet, and as far as humans went, good looking.

  “Why didn’t you say you had plans already?” Chad asked.

  “Because this works out well. It gets me out of Xavier’s early without looking rude.”

  The car fell silent at the mention of Xavier’s name. Because the reality was, what we were doing tonight was torture to me. But my father was the alpha and Chad would soon be. It was important that Dad treat Xavier like any other pack member. But really Dad wanted to check up on Xavier’s boys, see if they showed any signs of changing, which is why Xavier asked him over in the first place.

  “Won’t it be weird? Chloe’s one of Xavier’s students. Why does Emily think we are coming around?” Chad asked Dad. I too was interested in the answer.

  “Xavier told Emily that I am one his colleagues from the high school,” my dad answered while changing lanes.

  “So Chloe goes to the same school her father works at?” Chad asked slowly.

  “Chad, you are making this sound more difficult than it is. I teach the younger kids, if she asks questions,” Dad answered firmly. “And, Chloe, don’t give up any more information than that. I don’t like lying.”

  I nodded my head while drumming my fingers on my lap. “How long do I have to stay for?” I asked. “Because I told Cole he could pick me up at eight.”

  I lit my phone up. It was 5:25pm. Sighing slowly, I wished I could skip this dinner altogether.

  “You can go at eight, Chloe. It’s important for you to begin to make other connections,” my mother cut in before my father could answer.

  My mom was rather excited about this whole thing. I knew why too. She wanted me to find a nice human to settle down with. She made humans sound like pets.

  The car slowly pulled up in front of a house. I sneered when I took in the white fence. Well, Xavier was living the dream with his big fancy house, white fence and lovely family.

  I opened the car door, eyeing the house. We were in the suburbs and I saw Xavier’s flashy BMW parked in the driveway next to a fancy-looking mini-van.

  “This is like some sick joke,” I said under my breath, walking beside Chad, our parents in the lead.

  Chad chuckled under his breath. “The white fence is a little over the top.” He smiled and held the gate open for me.

  “You’re telling me, Chaddy.” I linked my arm through his as we walked to the very large front door, our view slightly blocked as our parents paused before ringing the doorbell.

  “We could still make a run for it,” I muttered under my breath to him, but Mom turned her head and shot both of us a “not impressed” look.

  The door was flung open, and then something flung out of it, attacking my father’s legs. Pushing his way through and looking extremely proud that he had, Charlie stood with his hands on his hips and stared up at me wearing a goofy grin.

  “Choc, you CAME!” he screamed and my body flinched at his tone.

  “Hi, Charlie.” My tone was flat compared to his. “How are you?”

  Charlie reached up and grabbed my hand. My body curved over slightly as he began to pull me, my arm falling from Chad’s. “Choc, I got us chocolate for dessert. I asked mom. She said we can play Xbox until supper. But we have to play games which are three players because of Nathan.” Charlie spoke so quickly it was hard to understand each word.

  I was pulled into the house and my eyes widened at how nice it was. It was one story, but it was so large and open.

  I attempted to straighten, as Xavier walked up behind Emily. Emily had an apologetic smile on her face when she saw her son attached to my hand. Charlie pulled on my hand, trying to drag me into the very large living room to our right.

  “Lovely to see you again, Chloe.” Emily smiled and then welcomed my parents and Chad. They exchanged greetings and introductions. Taking my eyes off Emily, I met Xavier’s eye for the first time that night. I smiled a sly smile, when I saw his jaw clenched and the tight fist at his side.

  “Come on, CHOC!” Charlie huffed, pulling with all his might.

  “Charlie, stop that. Chloe isn’t dressed to play around,” Emily said firmly.

  I frowned. I doubted my dress would affect my ability to play an Xbox game.

  “We’re playing Xbox now.” Charlie huffed and pulled a little harder. “Nathan hid the ball, so we can’t play soccer.”

  “Oh, that’s alright then.” Emily smiled. I noticed how her eyes frowned slightly as she looked me up and down.

  “Sorry. Chloe has a date after dinner. And since we are already in town, she’s going to leave from here, after dinner. I hope that’s ok?” My mother explained with her sweetest voice. I suppressed a grin.

  “Oh, that’s alright. I thought you were a little overdressed, Chloe.” Emily spoke softly with a slight laugh. “Lovely dress, though.”

  “It’s Chanel,” My mom added. I rolled my eyes while both women gushed over it.

  “I wish I had the figure to wear something so tight.” Emily laughed, while gesturing for us to follow her into the dining room.

  “It’s not that tight,” I muttered under my breath as she and my mom walked away. I didn’t glance at Xavier, but I knew he was staring at me.

  “COME ON, CHOC!!” Charlie screamed and stomped his foot.

  “Do we even have time before supper?” I asked, frowning at the little boy pulling on my arm with all his might. “And where’s Nathan?”

  “Nath’s coming. Quick, come on. We can get a game in before they call us for supper.”

  I took a step, giving in to Charlie’s pull. He stumbled back slightly, not expecting me to follow him. He then began to bounce up and down, with my hand in his, as he led us into the living room. I saw that the very large flat screen was already on with the Xbox logo lit up.

  I sat down next to Charlie as he burst with excitement, explaining the game we were about to play. I pretended to listen to him, as I took the remote he handed me. While I focused all my attention on the little boy, I ignored the stares from his father, who was still standing in the foyer, watching us, or, to be exact, me.

  Chapter 8

  “So who’s the lucky boy?” Emily asked me across the table as I sat down in between Charlie and Nathan.

  “Anyone I may know, Chloe?” Xavier asked lightly, but I knew he had way too much interest in who was taking me out.

  Picking up my knife and fork, I began to cut the meat. “Um, no, he actually goes to college.”

  “Oh, an older man.” Emily smiled. “And you guys don’t mind?” she questioned my parents. I wanted to roll my eyes. My mother couldn’t be more thrilled about me settling down with a human. Pity my heart was still locked with Xavier’s.

  “No, not at all.” My mother shot me a small smile. “We think it’s good that Chloe is reaching out and making other connections.”

  Her words held a double meaning, though Emily wouldn’t have picked up on the second one. Charlie made a grunting noise next to me. I glanced at him. He was struggling to cut his steak.

  I pulled his plate to me and began to cut the meat up into pieces.

  “Oh, Chloe, you shouldn’t have done that. Charlie really needs to learn to use a knife correctly.” Emily frowned at me.

  Keeping my expression dry, I glanced down at Charlie, who now looked slightly upset.

  “Don’t worry about it, Char. My dad always cut my food up until I was—” frowning, I glanced at Dad, trying to keep my voice light. “How old was I, Dad?”

  “I think nearly six or seven, Chloe. Personally I think you made it a habit.” His face shone with amusement. He was right. When I was little, I got him to do it because I enjoyed sitting in his lap.

  I shrugged my shoulders and turned my attention back to Charlie, who had a small grin on his face. “See, Charlie, no big deal.” I winked at him before glancing at Nathan, who was having the same problem. Ignoring their
mother’s warning, I cut Nathan’s meat too.

  “So, Chad, what is it you do?” Emily asked, turning her disapproving face away from me.

  “I work in a factory,” Chad answered pleasantly. Because secretly Chad really wanted to work in a factory, but his life was consumed with learning the ropes of the pack.

  “Do you enjoy it?” Emily smiled at him.

  “Yeah, I love it.”

  I shot a sideways glance at Xavier. He sat at the head of the table. He smiled at me and mouthed a ‘thank you,’ which I frowned at. Then he gestured his head down at Charlie who was chewing on a piece of meat. I nodded, now getting what he was on about.

  I turned my attention back to my plate, which I had hardly touched. Not because I wasn’t hungry, but because my stomach was full of nerves and tightness at being so close to my mate and not being able to touch him. Or really even speak to him freely.

  Xavier was killing me silently and, what was worse, he knew he was doing it.

  “Um, Chloe?”

  Snapping my head up and looking at my mother, I frowned “Yes?”

  “Emily asked if you enjoyed being in Xavier’s class.”

  Emily she was looking happily in my direction, waiting for a response.

  I could say I hated it, but some part of me loved it because I could be near him. Most of me though suffered in silent pain being close to him.

  “Yeah, it’s gym and health, you know. School is school.” I shot a fake smile and then stuffed my mouth full of veggies, hoping to end the conversation there.

  “I hope he isn’t a strict teacher.” Emily laughed lightly while giving her husband a look full of love. “I would hate to hear he is the gym teacher who always makes you run laps or something.”

  Xavier gave her a warm smile. But it caused my eyebrows to frown when I realized it was a fake one. Perhaps his love for her was a lie too. He was good at keeping secrets and living lies.

  “No, not at all. Though I think Xavier’s time gets consumed with girls. He’s popular with the ladies,” I replied coolly. I knew it was mean of me to say, but I didn’t like the look she gave me when I helped Charlie.

  “Oh, I bet,” she replied while reaching for her wine glass. She shot me a smile, but her eyes were narrow. I couldn’t understand her sudden jealousy towards me.