CLAIMED

VIOLET

I stood frozen in place, Ryan’s words replaying over and over in my mind like a song I couldn’t turn off.. He was attracted to me?

Shock, surprise, maybe even fear… it all tangled inside me until I couldn’t tell one feeling from another. I didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to feel..

Except, a small voice in my mind challenged: “That’s not entirely true, is it? You do know what to say. You’re just being a coward”

I frowned, shoving the thought away. It wasn’t cowardice. I was just… overwhelmed. I was confused. This was Ryan, my stepbrother, the guy I had built my defenses against because I knew he’d never be interested in someone like me. He wasn’t supposed to care. And here he was, telling me he did.

My phone buzzed, jolting me from my spiraling thoughts. I pulled it from my pocket, blinking in surprise at the name on the screen. It was a message from Luke.

Luke: Let’s meet now in the school garden.

I hesitated, staring at the message. Luke? He’d been so distant lately, almost avoiding me for reasons I couldn’t figure out. Maybe he wanted to talk things out, explain why he’d been acting so strange. My heart swelled with a mix of relief and uncertainty. Whatever he needed to say, at least it would give me a chance to clear my mind, to escape Ryan’s words still clinging to my thoughts.

Tucking my phone away, I glanced one last time down the hallway where Ryan had disappeared. With a shaky breath, I turned and headed toward the school garden, hoping that maybe, just maybe, talking to Luke would help me make sense of the whirlwind my life had become.

The garden was quiet and shaded, the late afternoon sun casting soft patches of light over the benches and flowerbeds. I spotted Luke leaning against a tree, his hands shoved in his pockets, looking uncharacteristically tense. As I approached, he looked up, his usual bright smile nowhere in sight. Instead, he looked… hesitant

“Hey, Luke,” I greeted. “You… wanted to meet?”

He nodded, glancing away as if gathering his thoughts. “Yeah, I did. There’s… something I need to talk to you about.”

I took a seat on the bench nearby, waiting for him to continue. For a moment, neither of us said anything, the silence stretching out uncomfortably. Finally, he spoke, his voice softer than usual.

“Violet… have you ever felt like you’re losing someone without even knowing why?”

The question caught me off guard, but I nodded slowly. “Yeah. Lately… it feels like I don’t know what’s happening with anything.” I looked up at him, hoping he’d give me a hint, something to understand his recent behavior. “Is that… how you feel?”

Luke’s gaze softened, a faint, sad smile flickering across his face.

“Maybe. I just didn’t want to lose you as a friend, Violet.” He paused, the vulnerability in his eyes startling me. “But I also don’t know how to be your friend when… I’m starting to feel something more.”

My breath caught as his words settled in, his confession adding yet another layer to the confusion swirling inside me. I’d come here looking for answers, and now, it felt like I only had more questions.

“Luke, what do you—” I began, my voice barely a whisper, but before I could finish, he leaned forward and pressed his lips softly to mine. My entire body went rigid, stunned into stillness by the unexpected kiss. My mind scrambled, but my body remained frozen, too shocked to pull away or react.

Just as quickly as it began, Luke jerked away, stumbling backward as if he’d been yanked by an invisible force. But it wasn’t me who had pushed him.

“You fucker!” Came a low, furious voice that was all too familiar. The sharp scent of cologne hit me before I even looked up. Ryan was standing over Luke, his expression thunderous, his eyes blazing with a cold fury that made my heart race in both fear and something else I couldn’t name. His fists clenched at his sides, every muscle in his body coiled tight, as if he was barely holding himself

Luke started to respond, but Ryan’s glare silenced him.

“If you ever touch her again,” Ryan growled, his voice dangerously quiet, “I swear, I’ll end you. Do you understand?”

“Ryan, wait,” I stammered, trying to get between them, but Ryan’s grip on my wrist tightened as he turned his attention to me. Without another word, he pulled me away, practically dragging me out of the garden and through the quiet hallways.

“Ryan, I didn’t kiss him! He… he kissed me. It happened so fast—” My words came out in a frantic rush, but he wasn’t listening. He kept moving, his silence somehow louder than anything he could have said. We reached his car, and before I could try to explain again, he opened the door and shoved me inside.

I barely had time to catch my breath before he climbed into the driver’s seat, slamming the door and starting the engine. We pulled out of the parking lot in a heartbeat, leaving the school behind as he sped down the road. The silence was thick and stifling as he started the engine and sped out of the parking lot, his grip on the wheel so tight his knuckles were white.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything that might break the tension, but one look at his profile—the clenched jaw, the dark eyes focused on the road—was enough to shut me up. I sat back, pressing myself into the seat as the car moved faster, the world outside blurring.

I didn’t know what was coming next. And somehow, that scared me almost as much as the way he had looked at Luke back there.

Ryan screeched the car to a halt the moment we arrived home, his hands clenching the wheel so tightly. Before I could even process what was happening, he was at my side, yanking open my door.

Suddenly, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me against his chest in one swift, forceful movement.

“Let me go!” I yelled, struggling against him, my fists pounding his chest. But it was like trying to move stone; he didn’t even flinch. He carried me inside, ignoring my protests, and didn’t stop until we reached his room. Kicking the door shut, he finally set me down, but I could feel his energy crackling in the air.

“What the hell was that?” I demanded, breathing hard, my voice sharp as I tried to regain my balance.

His eyes were on fire, a dark, unreadable intensity blazing within them. I could feel my heart hammering as his gaze drilled into mine, every ounce of anger and something else—something almost possessive—radiating off him.

“What did you say to him?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

“Excuse me?” I replied, confusion clouding my thoughts.

“What did you tell him after he confessed he didn’t want to be ‘just friends’?” His voice was ice, his jaw tight. He took a step closer, and something in me rebelled. I knew it was reckless, but there was a part of me that wanted to push him, wanted to see just how far this intensity went. After all, danger was alluring in ways I couldn’t deny.

I squared my shoulders, lifting my chin defiantly. “I told him I liked him too.”

Ryan’s gaze sharpened, his expression darkening like a storm about to break. In a flash, he closed the distance between us, his eyes burning with barely restrained fury.

“What did you just say?” he asked, his voice low and menacing

“I said… I liked him too,” I repeated, my voice barely a whisper.

Before I knew what was happening, he’d slammed me back against the wall, his hand wrapping around my throat—not enough to hurt, but enough to make my pulse thunder under his grip, enough to make me acutely aware of his power.

My breath caught as I stared up at him, overwhelmed by his sheer intensity. The heat between us was thick, his presence filling every corner of the room until it was all I could breathe, all I could feel.

“That was a rhetorical question, Violet,” he growled, his voice so close it sent a shiver down my spine. “You’re not supposed to answer.”

My defiant gaze met his, and I saw the dark fire smoldering there. “Why not?”

“Because you’re mine,” he replied, his voice a fierce whisper, like a promise and a threat wrapped in one. “Every part of you—your mind, your heart, your body. All of it. You belong to me. And if any other fucker so much as thinks he can touch you, I will end him right in front of you if that’s what it takes to make you understand.”

I swallowed hard, a thrill of fear and something else, something dangerously exhilarating, racing through me. There was no doubt in his gaze, no hesitation. He meant every word, and it should be enough to make me afraid but rather I love every second

Maybe the pasta I had for lunch gave me this much nerve, or maybe I’d finally lost it, but here I was, pushing him further when I should have been running..

“And what if I don’t?” I challenged, my voice daring “What if I go for other men?”

In an instant, he released me. The patient, restrained Ryan I’d seen earlier today was totally gone, replaced by someone darker, someone whose hungry, primal gaze left me trembling—not with fear, but with a consuming lust.

“Very well, then,” he replied, his voice rough with a dangerous edge. “If that’s how you want it… you leave me no choice but to make you understand in a way you won’t soon forget.”

My heart pounded wildly, each beat louder, faster, until it was all I could hear.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

“Take of your clothes Violet”