The Gold Wolves Series

LILY

Lots of the students hang out in the common room after the day finishes. It’s a large room filled with computers, sofas, a pool table, and a large television. Everyone is talking to their friends, laughing, and having fun.

I watch from afar, longingly wanting to be part of a group. I miss my old friends a lot, but at the same time, after my breakup with my ex, none of them helped me. They all abandoned me.

Some would argue that they weren’t my friends at all—a part of me agrees. However, I know that they still cared for me. It was all because of him.

I spot Trinity lounging casually on one of the sofas, surrounded by her subjects—I mean friends. She too notices me but doesn’t invite me over. Typical.

My eyes drift over to the same handsome man from earlier, who was rude to me. As if he can sense my eyes on him, he lifts his gaze up to me. As soon as our eyes lock, I forget how to breathe.

Something about this man has my heart thundering in my chest. There’s no denying I’m attracted to the handsome devil. There’s an invisible pull between us, trying to drag me to him.

The man flickers his eyes away to the person sitting next to him. That’s when I realize that his arm is casually placed around some girl’s shoulders as he listens to her babble about something.

A painful lump forms in the back of my throat. I can’t quite place why I feel so rejected and sad about this, but I do. It’s not like I own the man or anything like that.

Yet, I feel anger. So much anger toward him and the girl.

The pretty girl who talks to him like he’s the only guy in the world. The man looks at her with a sparkle in his eyes. A sparkle that is similar to a four-letter word.

Love.

This man who was rude to me, who is still attractive in my eyes, is in love with the girl he’s talking to.

The realization hits me. Hard.

I don’t know this man yet he has such an effect on me.

It’s not like I like him or anything—I can’t. I barely know him.

I spin on my heel and storm out of the room before my feelings get too much for me. I feel completely confused by this sudden whirlwind of emotions.

I have strange yet intense feelings for a man I don’t know. How is that possible? It has to be more than attraction.

Even though the night is still young, I jump into bed and lie there.

Thoughts of the mysteriously handsome man who’s in love with the gorgeous girl circulate my mind. Soon, I’m feeling nothing but pure, raw jealousy.

I keep thinking about everything in my bed until it would be classed as severely unhealthy. By that time, Trinity struts in, ignoring me once again.

Fluttering my eyes shut, I blank out the noise she makes and everything that has happened today. Tomorrow will be a new day. I will unpack my things and will spend more time with Kacey.

With that as my last thought, I drift off to sleep.

The sound of Trinity putting on her makeup while bobbing her head to music wakes me up the next morning. She casts a brief glance at me and says, “Good morning. You have ten minutes until breakfast.”

What?

“Are you serious?” I exclaim, leaping out of bed. “Why didn’t you wake me earlier?”

Trinity shrugs her frail shoulders and resumes applying her makeup.

Giving her a scowl, I rush into the ensuite and begin getting ready.

Once she’s finished, Trinity watches me scurry around our room, frantically getting ready. I manage to finish just in time, to Trinity’s displeasure.

We both walk down to the dining room together, wordlessly. Before we enter, Trinity lifts her skirt up a few centimeters and tucks her white top into it. Somehow, she’s made the ugly school uniform look fashionable.

When she notices my stare, she arches a perfectly plucked eyebrow. “Yes?” she questions in a bored tone.

“Nothing,” I’m quick to answer.

“Good,” she replies and waltzes into the dining room, with me awkwardly trailing behind her. After getting our meals, we split up. Trinity heads over to her friends, smirking while I head over to Kacey’s table.

Kacey greets me when I arrive with a soft smile. From what I’ve gathered, Kacey doesn’t befriend many people. So. the fact she talks to me is flattering.

As I’m eating my food, my eyes begin to float around the room.

They land on the brown-haired beauty sitting at the same long table as Trinity. I presume he’s with his friends, who are all joking about something.

That girl he was with yesterday is on the table too, wrapped up in some other guy’s arms.

Furrowing my eyebrows, my thoughts begin to wander. I thought she was with the brown-haired beauty? Not the man who looks similar to him.

Kacey, who must have followed my line of sight, startles me when she speaks. “That’s Arden and his ma—girlfriend Talia. They’re the golden couple here.”

So her name is Talia.

“What about the other guy? The one who can’t keep his eyes off them?” I ask her, finally voicing my queries.

Kacey’s eyebrows rise in surprise. “That’s Arlo Gold. You don’t want to go near him.”

My eyes drift back to Arlo Gold, the gorgeous specimen who had gained my attention from the moment I met him. “Why not? Is it because he’s brooding all of the time? Or because there’s a mysterious air around him?”

Kacey rolls her eyes for the first time ever looking sassy and confident and mutters something incoherent under her breath before speaking to me, “That and more.”

I can’t help but think about her answer. That and more.

Is he some notorious cliché bad boy here who breaks girls’ hearts? Because if he is, then I can handle him. But surely there’s a lot more to it. It’s clear as day Arlo’s head over heels for his brother’s girlfriend.

“Are you talking about the fact he’s in love with Talia?” I throw it out there boldly.

Kacey pales and her eyes rapidly dart between me and her table. Tugging at her collar nervously, she bites her lip and shuffles in her seat.

“Well—uh—that and b-because he’s our b-bet—I mean he’s the deputy head boy.”

My eyes narrow at her slip-up. She was going to say something else but she quickly changed the word, with large eyes.

I hate that I’m having to interrogate my only friend here, but it feels necessary. It feels like Arlo is important to me in some way; I need to know everything about him.

“Does his brother know?” I ask instead, deciding to ask her more about her slip-up later. “Because it seems really obvious to me. I bet most people know about it.”

Kacey’s next words surprise me.

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

“Well…” She sounds exasperated. “Arlo has a reputation of…being with girls. Most people think he’s a playboy with no feelings, when, in fact, he’s trying to forget his feelings.

“Most people believe once he finds his ma—I mean once he finds the right girl, he’ll settle down, forget about Talia, and have a solid relationship with her.”

I mentally note her slip-up again.

“Right, so why do I need to stay away from him?” I ask her, still not sure why she wants me to have nothing to do with him. Is it because she cares about me or is it something else? Something to do with her slip-up?

“He’s just…dangerous. I don’t want my only friend to be hurt, that’s all,” she replies in a sad and worried voice. Something about it makes me suspicious but I ignore it, not wanting to lose my only friend here.

Perhaps once the friendship is in a better place, I will ask her. But for now, I don’t think it would be wise to do so.

“Oh.” I blink, not quite sure how to respond. “Well, thanks I guess.”

Detecting the awkwardness in my voice, she simply nods her head and takes a bite full of her toast.

I glance at Arlo one last time, wishing he would notice me.

He doesn’t.

My lessons fly by quicker than I thought they would.

In the first two new lessons I have, I hope Arlo would be in it, but he never was. The girl, Talia, was in one of my lessons, but she didn’t notice me. Nobody seems to notice me anymore.

I had everyone’s attention when I arrived, but now, I have no one’s attention.

They don’t care about the new girl anymore. They realized I’m not that special.

As I make my way to lunch, with my books in my hand, I collide with a girl. All of my books topple to the ground, shortly followed by me.

The girl drops to the floor, profusely apologizing.

She starts helping me collect my things, which surprises me. Most people just walk away.

When I raise my eyes to her, I nearly gasp in shock. The girl crouching next to me is none other than Talia, Arlo’s crush.

Up close, I can see why he’s in love with her. She is the definition of gorgeous. She looks like a goddess.

“Sorry about that,” she apologizes again once I have everything in my arms.

We both stand up in unison, staring at each other.

“That’s okay.” I wave it off, still shocked by her beauty. She could be a Victoria’s Secret model or something. “It’s my fault really. I was rushing, as usual.”

The girl smiles. “I tend to do that too. I’m always running late for something.”

“Same, I’m so bad with time it’s unreal. I’m Lily, by the way.”

Talia flashes me her pearly white teeth. “I’m Talia. It’s nice to meet you.”

An hour later, Talia and I are in the library, giggling like two thirteen-year-olds. As our conversation develops, we begin to notice how similar we are. Instead of going to lunch, we go to the library and talk.

She tells me about her family and I tell her about mine. We joke, laugh, and have a good time.

Talia is actually an extremely nice and likable person.

I actually feel bad for resenting her—she doesn’t deserve my hate, even if she doesn’t know about it. I really need to get over my weird and spontaneous feelings for Arlo. I have had one encounter with him. Nothing major.

Soon, we’re interrupted by Arden, Talia’s boyfriend.

He gives me a suspicious look for a moment and then focuses his attention on the beauty sitting next to me. Adoration is clear in his brown orbs.

He swoops in and gives her a kiss on her forehead and sits beside her. His eyes barely glance at me when he talks to me.

“Hi, I’m Arden. Are you new?”

I nod my head. “Yeah, I got here yesterday.”

“This is Lily,” Talia jumps in, giving me a friendly smile. “She’s my new friend.”