Fated To The Lycan Brothers
Chapter 52

Suri Nightingale

I had no idea the extent of Wes' popularity until I was alone in a car with him and his phone wouldn't stop ringing or buzzing because of text notifications.

"You've reached Wes. What can I do you for?" His flirty voice message sounded off in the car speaker for, I don't know, the seventeenth time.

Usually, it's a girl leaving a message and he often waits a few seconds before deciding whether or not to respond to it. According to him, he only responds to the ones worth his time, but I don't know what he means by that nor do I want to know. "Wesley, this is Lisa from Ibiza Superclub. Let me know when you're good for a quick meeting to finalize the celebration details. I need you and your brothers to decide on a few things by the weekend. Get back to me as soon as possible because in case you have forgotten, this birthday bash is coming up real fast and-"

Wes clicked a button on his car's screen display before speaking up.

"Lisa, my favorite chica, it's great to hear from you. Of course, I won't forget what's coming up. It's going to be the biggest and wildest party Ibiza has ever seen." Wes exclaimed as he turned the steering wheel with one hand and in a swift motion.

I'm glad he wasn't looking at me because he would obviously have seen the blush that quickly appeared on my face. There's just something about a man that drives so effortlessly and it doesn't help that Wes looks drop dead gorgeous in every damn angle. I am also convinced that the varsity shorts he has been wearing since a while ago were being marketed as shorts to show off a man's bulge, because how is it even possible to look that... big?

Wes continued to talk to the girl named Lisa that I quickly gathered as an organizer and employee of that club thing. I also deduced that the said party was for them, the brothers. It was their big eighteenth because Wes wouldn't shut up about it.

He wanted it to be unforgettable. Something every single person would talk about and keep talking about for many years to come.

It all sounded so extravagant, but then again, this is them we're talking about. Keith is probably going to happily shell out loads of funds for this and it wouldn't scratch even the tiniest bit of his income or savings. The man could buy four private islands for each of them and he wouldn't feel the deduction.

We arrived at the parking lot behind the flower shop and couldn't help but remember my surprise interaction with Atlas here earlier. It caught me completely off guard seeing and hearing him seem so... soft towards Emily. It was like he was a completely different person.

There was no brooding, no gloominess, just... Atlas if he didn't have all that pent up anger and frustration in him.

The second he saw me though, that was when his expression changed and it was obvious his body language became much more stiff. Was I really that bad for him to react so negatively towards my presence? Did he really dislike me that much? Ugh, I don't know anymore.

"You ready, honey bee?" Wes asked as he looked at me with a smirk.

I didn't even notice he had already ended his call since I was so lost in my own thoughts.

"Uh, y- yeah." I nodded shyly before turning to the door to open it, but Wes stopped me, his warm hand on my shoulder.

The touch was so unexpected yet there was instantly this electric feeling that traveled all throughout my body and my heart skipped a beat. I don't understand it, but it's like the more I spend time with the brothers, the more this thing I'm feeling around them becomes stronger.

I have no idea if I like it or not.

"What- what's up?" I asked as I turned back to face him, but only moving my face to show my side so that he doesn't see me blush and make a total fool out of myself.

"I'm not really good at this. Never was." He stated with a deep chuckle and my brows furrowed in confusion just as my stomach fluttered at the sound.

Not good at what? What is he about to say... or do?

My heart was beating so loud and so fast it was near impossible to even hear my own thoughts.

Wes tightened his grip on my shoulder, making the butterflies in my stomach go even crazier.

"So, I'll just say it flat out, yeah?"

I managed to give him a slow nod.

"I apologize for being such an insufferable a*****e to you the first time you got here and well, the succeeding days you were here." He said out loud and for a moment, I thought I had just completely imagined all of those words, but when I turned to face him, he had such a genuine look on his face that solidified the fact that - nope, it was all real and I heard all of it correctly.

Holy s**t. Wes just apologized to me.

I don't know how long I was just staring at him, blinking like he had grown two new heads, but it must have been pretty long because Wes spoke up again.

"Okay, I need you to say something now before I combust in shame." He said before letting my shoulder go and he looked at me like he really was waiting for me to acknowledge him.

It was so f*****g cute I wanted to gag at the sight of it, and at the same time take a picture so I could never forget what he looked like at this very moment.

I wasn't sure what to say because my brain wasn't allowing me to think of anything right now so instead, I said the word that popped up in my head...

"Something."

Wes burst out into another fit of laughter and it was so infectious I couldn't help but laugh with him, too. We stayed like that for a minute or two and the whole moment just felt so refreshing. Unexpected, but I loved it.

It reminded me a lot of my first time with Devon and to say how incredibly nice it was finally being able to bond with him like this would be an understatement.

"If I knew your humor was that broken I would have befriended you much sooner," he shared, which made me turn to him and suddenly ask something I've been long curious about.

"So why were you guys determined to kick me out at the start?"

Wes didn't look as surprised by the question as I thought he would be. He merely gave a shrug as he moved to face the front and asked, "Honestly?" He turned back to me, his eyes staring deeply into mine like he was thinking of something.

"It was more for you than for us. We're all... a little messed up in our own ways, Suri, and being in that house with us wouldn't have been good for you. We were trying to save you from us." Wes suddenly confessed and holy shit...

I was definitely not expecting that. It sounded so real coming from him that I was taken aback.

"And... what about now?" I managed to ask.

"Now?" He repeated as his eyes looked away and glanced around as he started to think.

After a few seconds, his ice blue eyes looked at me with warmth. "Now we're still pretty f*****g messed up, but we can't imagine that house without you in it."

"I..." I swallowed nervously. "I don't know what to say..."

That was half the truth. The other half was I didn't want to open my mouth because I feel like if I did, I'd end up opening up a little too much and telling him about my true emotions, then it'd be some kind of psychiatric session nobody asked for.

A cheeky grin curved his lips. "Don't have to say anything. You know you can't live without us either. Well, mostly me because I'm your favorite, aren't I?" He pushed his hair back just as he gave me the sexiest wink and lord knows he knew exactly what he was doing right there and my face turned warm in an instant as a blush broke my face.

"Ha. I knew it. You're blushing." Wes mocked me and I tried to defend my honor, but it was too late. He had already come up with that absurd conclusion that I couldn't live without them and he was actually my favorite.

Then again... maybe he's not so wrong either. Maybe.

-

Work was even more fun with Wes hanging around the café and that was a whole sentence I did not expect to say in my entire life. Ever.

It turns out, Maria has a soft spot for boys like Wes, and by that I mean boys who are good with words and have very charming smiles.

Wes ended up helping Maria with all of the baking stuff and what's even more surprising is that he was actually very good. Granted, he mostly just did the 'heavy lifting' which involved lots of kneading the dough, but even so, he knew some of the processes. "I've spent some time with quite a few bakers. Besides, girls can't resist a guy who looks good in an apron and is even better around the kitchen," he said so casually I couldn't help but snort.

The confidence this man had used to seem so obnoxious to me, but now it just somehow adds to his charm. Oh how the tables have turned.

Customers began to pour in like crazy and I'm half convinced it's because everyone just wanted a glimpse of Wes as they continuously asked for his number and to take pictures with him.

It was a whole spectacle, but Maria loved it because, well, the sales were off the roof.

"Feel free to come back any time, Wesley. The café is much livelier with you here." Maria said to the little blonde prince who was now snacking on numerous cookies, his 'payment' for all he did on tonight's shift.

Meanwhile, I was still on cleaning duty and was practically salivating at how good everything smelled.

"Oh you can count on it, bonita Maria." He flashed her those winsome smiles of his that made Maria instantly giggle like a smitten girl.

See what I mean? He was just too good with the ladies no matter the age.

"Especially if my assistant over there is that cute. It's a big work motivator. At least, right next to the cookies." Wes let out a soft chuckle and oh my lordy, how does he do that every time?

How can he make such a sound and suddenly my knees are like jelly and any second from now I might be rushed to the hospital for a possible heart attack?

"Hey, you're my assistant, not the other way around!" I managed to say in order to change the topic, but the blush on my cheeks is as obvious as day.

Thankfully, nobody does notice and after Maria says her goodbyes, it's just me and Wes while I close up the store.

"I saved you some cookies." Wes said in a whisper tone like Maria would hear us and he'd get into trouble.

As he leaned closer to me, the warm breath coming from his mouth skated down to my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

"Thanks, how thoughtful of you." I told him while I moved around the keys in my hand.

"s**t!" I cursed as I accidentally dropped the set of keys on the floor.

It's only my second time locking by myself, and I have still yet to really get used to it, but I was confident that I could do it and I wanted to prove that to Maria so... here we are.

I think Wes noticed my exasperation, but instead of actually doing anything to help me, he just leaned his body sideways by the glass door as he watched me with a smirk on his face.

"If you're going to just make fun of me, Wessie, I would rather you wait by the car." I narrowed my eyes on him.

Wes' smirk grew wider as he moved his body closer to me, his arms remained crossed in front of his chest and his eyes felt like they were leaving trails of fire on my skin.

Now that it was late in the evening and all the other shops around us were also closed, the street was only lit up by a few lamp posts and fairy lights that hung above us.

Just like earlier in the locker room with only the two of us, once again the atmosphere we had both ended up in was so intimate. The dim light, the quiet street, the two of us so... so close with one another.

It was almost like it was... perfect for a kiss.

I let myself wander off in my thoughts for a few seconds. Wondering, thinking, what it would be like if I did kiss him, if I let him kiss me. How soft his lips would feel on mine. How good he would taste. How much I would like it. "Suri..." I am pulled away from my thoughts when my name comes out of his lips.

The way he said it - raspy voice, unwavering gaze, the moving of his lips. It felt like it was... reeling me in.

"I need you to stop doing that," Wes said and I tilted my head at him confused.

"Stop doing what? I'm not doing any-" I don't get to finish my sentence because the next thing I know, his hand has found its way to the side of my cheek, his soft touch caressing it and has completely made me forget how to breathe. "Stop giving me that look that makes me want to kiss the hell out of you."

Holy shit.

I could have just stood there. I could have waited for what he was about to do, but a part of me just couldn't. A part of me didn't know what I wanted either, but thinking of kissing Wes seemed both appealing and absurd at the same time. Wes was starting to lean closer to me again, his lips just mere inches away from mine when I accidentally dropped the keys on the floor again, pulling both of us somehow back to the present where kissing when we were both sober was insane. "Sorry! Sorry!" I exclaimed in embarrassment before dropping down to grab it and when I got back up, my face was even more red now and all I wanted was for Wes not to see me like this.

"I-I really have to lock up now and you- you can just wait in the car! I'll be right there!" I told him as I placed my hands on his-very hard-chest and started pushing him away.

"Alright, alright! I'm going! Just hurry up, will you? I told Atlas to leave us some chili con carne back in the house but I don't trust that wanker and I want to get home before he finishes it all."

"Got it, got it, got it." I said repeatedly, not caring about anything but getting him out of there because my embarrassment was off the roof at this point.

As soon as he rounded the corner to the parking lot and I was alone, I felt like I could finally breathe again after I let out the biggest sigh of relief.

"Oh god... that was close..." I muttered to myself.

I really need to get my s**t together. Just because Wes has waved the white flag and has called truce, it doesn't mean I should be making out with him! Who knows what kind of mess that would make? I certainly can't be involved with any more. Just remember, Suri. You're here to study and graduate peacefully.

Once I finally had all my bearings again, I focused on locking the store and it became so much easier when Wes wasn't staring at me like he wanted to eat me. (Not literally.)

"Ah, finally." I exhaled as I lifted my chin up to the sky and breathed deeply.

I began to walk back to the parking lot, but something suddenly felt off, like the air around me had gotten colder and there was somebody... following me.

My suspicions were proven correct when somebody suddenly appeared in front of me. He was wearing dark clothes and was covered from top to bottom. Panic immediately rose inside of me and I was about to scream for help, but he had already gotten a hold of me, his hand on my mouth and the other tightly gripping my body against his.

"Did you miss me, you little b***h? You thought you could run away? Well think again. I told you I would replace you. I would replace you wherever you went and whoever you became." The hoarse voice terrified me to my core, but even with how scared I was, I knew exactly who it was.

It was my mother's ex-boyfriend. The one who kept insisting I had stolen his money, but that was never the case.

s**t. How did he replace me?! Better yet, how the hell do I get out of his hold?!

I'm squirming and writhing from his hold, but the man was much bigger than me and the only self defense technique I knew was to kick them in the balls, but with this position, it was pretty much impossible. What do I do now?!

All of a sudden, somehow his body disappeared from behind me and when I turned around, he was lying on the ground screaming bloody murder.

Somebody had pulled him off of me with so much force that he had hit his head on the curb and likely had gotten a concussion.

My eyes looked up from the different set of shoes above him until finally... there he was...

The way his eyes darkened was dangerous and vicious.

There was no denying that he was angry, furious, and just about ready to rip my mom's ex-boyfriend a new a*****e, but f**k if it wasn't making me feel turned on just seeing him like that.

He looked ready to burn everything down to the ground.

"Close your eyes, Suri. This isn't going to be pretty."