SWNOVELS Chapter One Thing in Common
Guadalupe tried her best to not show how much she was enjoying the constant bickering for her attention. Aiko was full-on basking in it.
After a week however, it became a slight annoyance. So, she decided to show her face in class.
It would take a toll on her since her cousins might be on campus keeping an eye out for her but, Guadalupe wanted something to do. Besides, she only had one two-hour class, so she wouldn’t be on campus long enough for her cousins to find her.
She also felt the need to let her two mates get along without her.
Her two mates. God, she feels like a character in a shitty Wattpad book. A high-quality one, though.
A hand squeezed her shoulder, and she was pulled out of her thoughts. Keon gave her a smile. “Get out of that head and go to class.” He ruffled her hair and gently pushed her forward. Guadalupe flipped him off, but smiled.
“See you guys in a few hours.” With a wave, Guadalupe parted ways with Keon and Violetta, and found herself in her regular seat in the lecture hall.
Surprisingly, Guadalupe was able to follow with the lecture. She ignored the chilling feeling of being watched, blaming it on Nox and Hades.
‘They probably have someone tailing me or something.’
The two hours went by quickly, and Guadalupe waited a bit to approach her lecturer. He looked pleased to see her.
“Ah, Ms. Wrayburn! I haven’t seen you in almost two weeks. How are you?” Mr. Gaillard was a tall, lanky man in his forties, but looked like he was in his late twenties.
Though he had his moments, he was leagues better than some of the other lecturers Guadalupe had encountered so far. She gave him a smile. “I’m doing well, sir.”
Guadalupe folded her hands across her torso, the eyes of a hidden stalker raising her anxiety to uncomfortably high levels. “I, uh, need to let you know that, uhm, I won’t be physically present from now on. I-I have a situation at home that needs me.”
Mr. Gaillard nodded slowly. “Thank you for letting me know Guadalupe. Just remember to be physically present for finals, okay?”
Guadalupe nodded, feeling slightly less uneasy.
The Powers that Be were really on her side to have all lectures recorded and posted on the university’s e-learning platform. It makes life easier for those who miss classes because of illness or work.
After giving Mr. Gaillard an unexpected hug, Guadalupe left the lecture hall, and began making her way towards the library to wait for Keon.
That uneasy feeling increased, Guadalupe was just about ready to break into a sprint. “Lupe, sweetie. Calm down, okay.”
Guadalupe was shaking; her palms were sweaty and her legs felt too weak to keep her up.
“Someone is following us, aren’t they?” she asked Aiko, and the mental presence sighed deeply before answering Guadalupe.
“Yes. But I’ll protect you as much as I can. Nox and Hades will do the rest.”
“So we just let them take us?!” Guadalupe was quickly spiraling into a panic attack. She was getting closer to the library, and the crowd of people was becoming more scarce, until it was just her, the buildings, and the half-full parking lot.
“If we try calling them, it might set the person off. And who knows what they will do then. It’s a bit safer this way.” Aiko said calmly as Guadalupe’s eyes scanned her surroundings.
She was taking wobbly steps towards the library, but it felt less and less safe the closer she got. Eventually Guadalupe just stopped, tuning into the sounds around her.
The sound of footsteps: slow, predatory. It made her shiver; it filled her with terror. The tremor in her body grew more violent as the footfall drew nearer; then it stopped, right behind her.
“Hello, princesa. Did you miss me?” Guadalupe never thought she would hear his voice again. His body heat made her skin crawl. His cigarette breath made her want to vomit.
She found her voice, surprised that it didn’t sound as terrified as she felt. “No Mateo, not particularly.”
A harsh tug on her hair forced her head back, and she was greeted with the unpleasant sight of her ex.
Those two years and some weeks really did a number on him.
His eyes were bloodshot, and the bags under them were dark. His hair looked like it was cut with safety scissors, pointing upwards on his head. Guadalupe had never seen Mateo with stubble until now.
"Let's go have a little chat, yeah?" He kept his grip tight on her hair, and began guiding Guadalupe to the back of the library where they met: "Denise." Guadalupe breathed, and the girl spat at her feet.
"Puta gorda." Denise hissed, and Guadalupe almost laughed.
"I see Mateo taught you a few words; how nice." Guadalupe held in a wince as Mateo tugged her hair harder. Denise drew closer, an ugly snare on her face, and Guadalupe knew what came next.
Her cheek stung, but at least she didn't give them the satisfaction of hearing her squeak.
"You said you wanted to talk?" Guadalupe directed at Mateo, and he huffed, sending a hot gust of air across her neck and cheek.
"Yeah, let's talk about how you ruined our lives," Denise began, leveling her eyes with Guadalupe, "Let's talk about how we're going to fucking kill you."
Guadalupe sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Let me get this straight," Guadalupe began, adjusting her footing to ease some tension on her scalp.
"I'm going to die because I decided to leave a relationship where I was being abused and cheated on, and because said abuser and his mistress decided to attack and kidnap me? Which, of course earned them a rightful punishment."
Mateo tugged on her hair again, and Guadalupe stifled a cry. "Yes." Denise agreed, and Guadalupe blinked slowly.
She would have tried to understand them, but then she realized that it would have been fruitless.
"Not only that," Mateo said lowly, turning her head at an awkward angle to look at him, "you got my whole family deported. I have fucking no one; nowhere to go."
"Except hell." Aiko murmured, and Guadalupe huffed. But Mateo took it as mockery.
"Oh? ¿Es chistoso?" Mateo spun Guadalupe around to face him. He was empty handed, but still as threatening as a gun-wielding psychopath.
Glass shattered against her head, and Guadalupe was out.
The debilitating second-hand fear they felt should have told them more than enough, but the shock of pain had them on campus in less than ten minutes.
Nox was vibrating with fury, Zev mere seconds away from coming out.
Hades placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't lose your temper now, Nox. It will not help us find her."
The two of them stood behind the library, where her scent and the scents of two other people were strongest. They were still fresh, and if it weren't for the fact that it was broad daylight, he would have shifted and went after her.
The second Jamie and Keon rounded the corner, they snarled. Nox and Hades turned to them, closing the distance. "You know." Hades stated, and Jamie snarled.
"Of course I know. I was friends with them once." He dragged his hands through his hair and tugged on the ends.
"I shouldn't have left her..." Keon murmured, and Jamie squeezed his shoulder. "You didn't know, Ke. Don't beat yourself up."
"I know where they might have her. Let's go." Jamie rushed out, and Nox and Hades followed silently.
"When I get my hands on that bastard..." Zev trailed, and Nox clenched his fists.
"Not even the Gods will save him." Hades gritted out, and the four of them set off.
Guadalupe lay silently on the tiled floor, blood trickling into her mouth as she bit her lip to silence her sobs.
"Guadalupe..." Aiko lamented, her voice sounding broken. "I'm so sorry." She cried, and more tears rushed out of Guadalupe's eyes.
"Aiko... he had a gun pointed directly at our head. I know you're strong, but not strong enough for that."
"And they were silver!" Aiko cried again, and Guadalupe's heart clenched tightly.
"I wouldn't put it past him to fuck a dead body either." Guadalupe lamented, and Aiko wailed. Guadalupe could feel her shutting down.
She was ruined; her virtue was snatched away from her by the one man she vowed never to give it to.
Her mates were the only ones she ever even thought about. And they weren't the ones to do it.
And now they wouldn't want her anymore; because she was ruined. Soiled.
A stream of blood pulled into her line of sight, and Guadalupe tilted her head up, coming face to face with Denise's lifeless body. More tears trickled out of her eyes and she shut them tightly.
'I'm so sorry, Denise... I'm so sorry.'
Guadalupe curled in on herself, heaving and quivering against the cold floor.
She blocked out the sound of him moving around the room, and succeeded. So when he grabbed her by her hair, she screamed.
"Look at what you did." Mateo hissed, dragging Guadalupe closer to the cadaver. "Look at what you did to Denise!" Her ear rang as Mateo screamed directly into it.
He shoved her onto the body, still warm and lifelike. If Guadalupe didn't know any better, she would think that Denise was merely unconscious.
Guadalupe badly wished that she didn't know any better.
"You know," Mateo began, pulling her up by her hair, "she was pregnant." He brandished a knife, pressing it against her throat.
"No." Guadalupe whispered in disbelief, and Mateo pressed harder against her throat. "You calling me a liar?"
"No." Guadalupe whimpered, the lump in her throat becoming too much to bear.
"She was pregnant." Mateo repeated, and Guadalupe could hear the sadness in his voice. "We were going to kill you; then harvest your disgusting organs." He dragged the knife across her throat, not breaking skin.
Guadalupe whimpered. "We would have gone anywhere we wanted to after we got the money." Mateo continued, running the tip of the knife across her cheek.
He tugged harshly, forcing her head back and straining her neck. Mateo's face twitched, and Guadalupe could see the tears in his eyes, waiting to spill. "And you ruined that. Just like you ruined everything else."
Guadalupe was choking on her sobs. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, wishing that there was something that could have been done to spare Denise.
"That won't cut it." Mateo hissed, pressing the tip of the knife into her cheek. "But I will."
Guadalupe sobbed harder, wishing that she had never gotten involved with him; wishing that she had left with her mother instead of staying; wishing that she simply stayed home with her two bickering mates.
"I love you." Guadalupe whispered as she squeezed her eyes shut. Aiko screamed for Nox.
The knife pierced her skin, and Guadalupe screamed.
A strong gust of wind blew past her, carrying two scents she had grown accustomed to. Mateo's presence disappeared from behind her, and Guadalupe's eyes popped open as she began to fall backwards.
A pair of arms wrapped around her before she hit the ground. "Ada!" Jamie called, and Guadalupe clung to his forearm.
"James." She whispered, struggling to find words to speak. Jamie hushed her. "It's okay. You're safe."
Relief flooded her system and made her weak. Guadalupe broke down into a pile of sobs, holding onto her best friend for dear life.
He carried her out to the truck after he bent his head over Denise and said a quick prayer. The girl's soul wasn't completely rotten; she was just blinded and misguided.
Keon gave her a fierce kiss on the forehead, and the tightest hug Guadalupe had ever received.
In the back of the truck, Jamie and Keon tended to her wounds, listening intently as Guadalupe blubbered on about what she went through. They tempered their rage, saving it until they were done patching Guadalupe up.
The two of them shared a look and nodded at each other. Jamie went back inside the abandoned building while Keon remained with Guadalupe as she curled in on herself and sobbed.
Mateo tried to regulate his breathing, but with a monstrous hand clamping down on his windpipe and blood-red eyes glaring at him, it was a difficult task.
The echo of slow footsteps had his tear-filled eyes searching past the bulky masses ready to ram him through the wall he was held against. A familiar figure graced his sights, and a tear slipped out of Mateo’s eye.
“Jamie! Jamie, gracias a Dios! Ayudame, por favor.” He pleaded, uncaring that his voice cracked. The Jamie he knew would have rushed forward, thrown the two men off him and let him escape.
But this Jamie only glared at him; the harshest glare Mateo had ever seen from him. “Remember how I always warned you that your treatment towards Ada would come back and haunt you?” Jamie slowly stalked forward, looking more and more deadly the closer he got.
He looked from the hetero-chromatic eyed man to the red-eyed one, a smirk growing on his face. “Meet karma and your worst nightmare. Not even Hell will save you.”
With a final disgusted look, Jamie turned and walked away, unbothered as Mateo let out a blood-curdling scream, and heard the echo of a sickening crack.
It was what he deserved.
The floor and walls were smeared with blood; so were their clothes.
Nox and Hades looked at each other; really looked.
There were so many differences between them: their hair, their eyes, their build, their very race.
But there was only one thing they shared; one stance that they agreed on.
It was silent, and subtle, but they came to a compromise.
I don't like you, you don't like me. But we both love and want to protect her. And that's good enough for me.
~(づ￣ 3￣)づ~