CHAPTER 69

CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
I had not believed that Trina’s sternness would work but it actually did. For a second there when the silence had hit after she spoke, I had been afraid she would blow everything else but instead not only did she put them in their place but also got them got to agree to join forces with me without licking their boots. From where I stood just a few paces away from where she sat at the bar all alone, drinking a cocktail, I couldn’t help but feel guilty. I approached her, siting in the next to the stool as I signaled for the bartender.

“I’ll have what she is having,” I said. He nodded and went back to where he had been standing earlier.

“You know that’s one of the fucked lines guys use in bars to try and score a night with you?” She pointed out.

“Yeah, we used to get lots of those on girls’ nights out,” I chuckled at the memory. Back then, it had been fun and all three of us were happier and less stressed out by life,” Trina?”

She half turned to look at me,” Yes?”

“You were wrong about something. All these instances I’ve been caught up in, did not leave me unscathed. Maybe my wounds are not visible but I’m hurting inside every time I see you or William. The world is punishing me in its own way, making sure I can’t even have the guy I want, or a moment of peace in my life. When I close my eyes, I’m either punished by the memories of my murdered family or the dreams of the man who probably hates me now. For what its worth, I think I’m getting punished by karma right now,” I forced a small smile on my face,.

Her facial expression remained unchanged for a few seconds but then she offered me a small smile of her own,” Well, now that I’m half vampire, you can’t beat me in any drinking game,”

“Is that a challenge?” I smirked, knowing this was her own way of telling me to move past it. Maybe now that we were friends again, I could eventually help her become nothing like the impulsive hybrid Drake.

“You want to bet?” she cocked an eyebrow.

I chuckled just as my drink arrived. Taking it, I raised the glass to click with hers, “I hope that this is the start of us being friends again,”

“Well, I missed you,”

“I missed you too, Trina. So bad. And I hope soon enough you can forgive me for not being able to protect you,”

Her gaze softened, growing ladened with emotion before she cleared her throat noiselessly,” Drink up. I thought this was a challenge,”

I put the edge of the glass against my lips, tipping it to let the sweet taste of the cocktail bathe my tongue. Amidst turning down a couple of men and loosing count of the number of cocktails I’d already downed, I found myself extremely tipsy.

“How does it feel?” She suddenly questioned.

“Hmmm?” Damn! I could barely feel my tongue, let alone my head. Fuck! I needed to slow down on the drinks.

“To have very hot men crave you the way they do,” I could barely make-out her face.

“What do you mean?” I questioned.

“William is young and very hot billionaire and yet he still very much obsessed with you. Collins is the son of a very wealthy man and also happens to be the Alpha of the best werewolf pack in town and just like William, he can’t seem to get enough of you. Now a giod knows how many years old original hybrid, known to only care about himself, actually gives a lot of shit about you. So how does it feel?”

“Trina, I really don’t want to talk about it. Tonight, let it be just about me and you, okay?” I pointed.

“I’m pretty sure you realize that you are the hottest among us , You pretend that you don’t notice it but you like it,” She went on, refusing to deviate from the subject.

“Why would you think something like that? There is no such thing as the hottest among us. We always get attention every time we walked into a club together,” I gave a confused stare. Where was all this coming from?

“Sure,” She took a sip of her glass.

“Trina, what is all this? You’ve been focusing on my looks so much? You think I want to get roped up with some men? Of course not. If you are trying to make me feel guilty, then its working pretty great because that’s all I can feel right now,”

“This is not about making you feel guilty,” she paused,” Its about what you said. Remember the night you snuck off to the washroom with Collins and we met back at the hotel we were staying in? You said you needed time to figure out what you really want when it comes to a man. You gave a whole speech on that and I actually thought William would be the last person you hurt but clearly, I was wrong. I just didn’t think you meant having to hurt more men in the process,”

“What are you talking about? You clearly said you hate Collins,” I pointed out, surprised. At the same time I was already fighting against the memories of that beautiful piece of man. I had tried not to think about him all night and now just the mention of his name was enough to get me back in the same place I had been avoiding.


“ I said that in a fit of rage,”

“You sent him a fucking recording, Trina,”

“Because I was mad at you. Not because I hated him!” She snapped, sighing softly,” I got so mad coming into the realization that my life was nothing like I was used to and then I walked out of the room and the first thing I see is you dressed up in a sexy, elegant dinner dress like you weren’t the reason I was in this mess in the first place,” she paused yet again,” You need to stop this, Nadia,”

“Stop what?” I questioned.

“Whatever game you are trying to play. On one hand is Collins, who even though you can’t admit, is actually the man you want so damn bad and on the hand is Drake who is devoting his life, sticking next to you. You tell him that you want nothing to do with him and then you show up , looking like you want someone to rail you so damn bad in a place where he is. You saw that fight with him and Darius. How is he supposed to remain unattached to you, his promised mate, whatever that means when you keep showing up like that?”

“I didn’t wear this for him! What’s up with everybody assuming that I did?”

“Then why did you wear it?”

“Because it was the same fucking dress, I wore on the night Collins and I fucked in that washroom. I was trying to prove to myself that the breakup didn’t affect me and that I shouldn’t care about it,” I swallowed down.

“What is so hard about admitting what he means to you?” She questioned after a few second silence.

“He is the son of the man who murdered my family and my childhood best friend. If I let myself fall for him, I will be betraying the spilled blood of everyone who died that night and I’d be sure to deviated from my only goal and that is to revenge,” I pointed.

“You are afraid of falling for him?” she questioned.

“Very much. He was right; it was not just about the sex and I guess I knew it from that first time it happened,” I said. Fucking Collins!

“Then I guess its too late because you are falling for him and so damn fast at that,” she placed her palm on my shoulder,” Whether you want it or not, you are already deep in a mess and with it is falling for the wrong guy at possibly the worst time ever. You need accept what you feel for him but you don’t have to act on it. The moment you do, people will get hurt and potentially both you and Collins. He is very hot and an Alpha, but as long as he is part of the enemy, then its not worth it,” She pointed.

“The what do I do?” I questioned after some time as the hard reality hit me. Yeah, my little break up with Collins had hurt more than I cared to admit.

“Just stay strong and stay away from Collins until you’ve revenged the people you lost in the hands of Carson White. You can’t let that devil of a man go Scot-free after what he did,” She pointed out.

“Okay but am I allowed to drink some till I pass out?” I questioned rhetorically.