Chapter 5 V

CADE

For the very first time in my life, I felt what it was like to literally have the ground pulled out from under my feet. It was a feeling both surprising and unnerving, a feeling that left me breathless.

It started the moment the girl ran into the classroom where I and my brothers were. Or was it the moment she turned those big, frightened, but pretty brown eyes to us?

And her scent... her scent had been the most exquisite I had ever smelled. It had filed my nostrils to the exclusion of everything else. The urge to run my fingers through her long, wavy dark hair had been so overwhelming that it actually felt like I had done it. My wolf had screamed 'MATE'. My brothers- though I hadn't been looking at them- had responded to her in the exact same way I did. I had felt it. At the moment I realized that something truly bizzare- the three of us being mated to the same girl had happened- the door had been pushed open, a guy had barged in and tried to take the girl away.

Said guy was currently all up in my face. His lips thinned when I told him to lay off Hannah.

"Listen to me and listen good," he said. "Maybe you don't know how things are done around here, but I'll educate you. Hannah is my maid. I can to whatever I want with her and no one can interfere."

Behind me, I felt one of my brothers, Jace, stir.

"I got this," I said without turning. I looked the twerp over when I realized who he was. The air of authority that hung around him could only mean he was one person. "You are the Alpha's son."

I could swear the asshole's chest literally puffed up with pride. I would have laughed if I didn't still have Hannah on the brain.

"That's me," he said proudly. "I'm Asher, and just so you know, you messed with the wrong person."

My brothers barked out humourless laughter. Asher's eyes narrowed as he looked over my shoulder at them.

"No," I said, bringing his attention back to me. "I would say I messed with the right person. I have heard all about you, about how you mistreat people because you feel that being the only Alpha's son in the school automatically makes you a god. That ends now."

Asher scoffed. "You must be the Wallace triplets."

"We must be," Jace said mockingly.

I moved half a step closer to him. "I am glad you have heard of us as well and whatever... reputation we might have. Now keep your distance so we don't have to rip you apart limb from fucking limb." I waved a hand dismissively. "Now beat it."

Asher didn't budge. "You are in my business. Hannah is my mate."

Two identical growls came from behind me. I felt like growling myself, or changing and ripping this fucker's throat out. How could someone so vile be Hannah's mate?

"I see," I murmured in a carefully controlled tone. "A mate and a maid... How convenient."

"I won't tell you this again. Mind your damned business."

With that, he turned and stormed out.

"What a douchebag," Jay said. "He hurts her and he gets off on it."

I turned to face my brothers.

"Where is she?" Jace said. "She's gone."

For the first time since Asher entered the room, we all looked around. Hannah was nowhere to be found.

"She must have slipped out immediately he came in," said Ace.

I sighed deeply, shook my head. It was funny how life could sometimes take people on a whole different tangent. My brothers and I had no intentions of finding a mate when we transferred to this school. Ironic that on our very first day, we had found a girl who was not only our mate, but Asher's.

I looked at my brothers and knew we were thinking exactly the same thing.

We were going to find her.

"After school or during our lunch break," Chase suggested.

Jace and I needed no further explanations as to what he was talking about.

"No." Jace frowned as a thought occured to him. "We can't afford to wait that long. We have to find her immediately else we'll risk Asher finding her first and hurting her."

"But she could be anywhere," I said, torn between finding her immediately and waiting for a more reasonable time.

"Lunch break is a good time," Chase insisted.

After a little more deliberation, we finally decided on waiting until lunch break to find Hannah.

Hannah. There was almost no space for anything in my head apart from her name. It reverberated in my mind.

"Hannah," I muttered, loving the way her name rolled off my tongue. "Pretty fucking name."

**********************************************

My decision to wait until lunch break was tested several endless hours later. I could barely focus on anything, not the books I was supposed to be reading, not the lectures I was supposed to be paying attention to. My brothers felt exactly the same way. I didn't have to see the faraway looks in their eyes to know that.

I didn't know the story between Hannah and Asher, or why he got a kick out of hurting her, but I was as sure of one thing as I was of my own name. I would protect Hannah from him with all I had. With two formidable brothers, what I had was quite a lot.

Jace any Chase seemed to have been watching the hands of the clock too because the moment it was lunch time, we all got up at the exact same time.

"Let's go," Chase said, leading the way.

Though my thoughts were entirely of Hannah, it was hard, impossible even, not to notice the flirtatious looks every girl gave us as we passed. I ignored them all and walked on. We searched virtually everywhere but could not find Hannah.

"Screw it," I muttered under my breath and made for a group of girls in the hallway who like the others watched our every move.

One of them, a blonde, batted her lashes and tipped me a wink. I completely ignored her come-hither manoeuvres.

"Excuse me," I said.

The girls nudged themselves and giggled. One or two quailed under Chase's steely stare, but the rest of them were undeterred.

"Do any of you know Hannah?" I said.

"There are many Hannah's in the school," said one of them who had somewhat overcome her fit of giggling. "You have to be more specific."

"The one we are looking for is Asher's maid."

"That Hannah?" another girl said in a tone of great surprise. "What could you possibly want with that freak?"

"Sorry, but it's none of your business. Do you know where she is?"

The girl frowned and said, "She should be at the cafeteria or the back of the cafeteria with Asher and his friends."

"Thanks."

My brothers were already moving towards the cafeteria. The girls gave a collective sigh of disappointment as we all moved away. We found Hannah, her arms laden with heavy books, at the back of the cafeteria, standing with her head hung like a penitent before Asher and his friends as they pelted her with toothpicks. Anger rose in us at the sight. I started towards him.

"BACK OFF!" Asher bellowed, rising to his feet the moment he set eyes on us. "You all are in my territory. Leave. Now!"

"We have no interest to be in your... territory as you call it. None of us can stand the sight of you, so we'll leave. But not without Hannah."

Asher's nostrils flared in anger.

"That will never happen," he bit off.

"Oh. We'll see about that."

"Hannah!" Jace called.

Her head snapped up immediately, swivelled towards us. Terror lurked in her eyes.

"Drop those books and come with us," I ordered.

She started to lower her hands when Asher said, "Don't you dare move an inch."

She went very still. Asher's friends guffawed.

"Drop the books, Hannah."

Chase's voice was quiet but laced with authority.

"Don't even think about it or I'll rip your fucking arms off," said Asher. "Stay where you are."

I saw something cross Hannah's face. She bit down on her full bottom lip and absurd as it was in this situation, I found myself imagining taking it between my own, nibbling gently on it.

She dropped the books. Onto the floor no less. The girl was frightened out of her wits but she certainly had guts. My kind of girl!

Jace laughed. I grinned and pushed her away from Asher who looked apoplectic with rage. I made her stay behind me, out of Asher's line of attack.

"You!" Asher said a split second before he lunged at me at my throat.

Before I could react, he was knocked off his feet by my brothers who wrestled him to the ground.