The pictures of Charlotte's and Luna's homes have been changed. Check it out in chapter three.

Playlist -  Mad Woman by Taylor Swift

Luna

It all came flooding back to me at once, like a nightnare and I found myself  to be dumbstruck, the words froze in my mouth. I closed my eyes, and a tear escaped down my cheek.

Mia. 

The accident. 

Her lies. 

I felt sick and wished I didn’t remember anything at all. There was an unsettling feeling that left me absolutely gutted. I should've known this would happen and when Aunt Lucille confirmed the dreadful news, it all came rushing back to me. 

“It is okay, you don’t need to talk.” Aunt Luce’s tone was kind and loving. “It is a lot to take in, dear. Please don't close your eyes again.” She continued to gently hold my hand. 

The stiffness in my neck made turning it painful, and the dizziness made focusing difficult. Aunt Lucille was talking to someone, he was right in front of me; an older man with a very pleasant encouraging deep voice.

“Miss West, I'm Dr. Olsen. I've been looking after your health for the past couple of days. I'm pleased to see that you've regained consciousness.” 

I lifted my right hand to my throat. It tired me to make the slightest movement. 

“Can someone get her a glass of water?” Aunt Lucille hurried to fetch the liquid and came back with a glass and a straw. She handed it to the doctor, who put the straw to my lips. “Drink slowly, your stomach has been empty for a while.” I began to sip. The water felt cool and refreshing. 

I kept drinking. The doctor talked with Aunt Lucille and I zoned both of them out. I lifted my hand to hold the glass in my palms when something in my left shoulder visibly popped  and shot explosives pain in my sore muscles.

I groaned and bit down on my lower lip to restrain my groa. Pain. It was all I felt.

Divert your attention. Focus on the positives.I chanted the lie in my head and tried to convince myself to believe in the lie. She lied to me.

I want them to forget me. This is the only way I can make them resent my existence and eventually erase myself from their lives. 

I blinked twice. Mia’s words echoed in my head. I don't understand what she meant by it, but slowly, the picture had started to settle in. 

Dr. Olsen checked me over and asked some routine questions. It was a miracle that I didn’t suffer from an unfortunate fate. His words, not mine. 

Because I was pulled out from the car before it had caught fire, I had a few scrapes here and there, a massive bump on the head and my right shoulder was hurt.

Aunt Lucille was relieved to hear the news while I pondered on the events before my accident. She then informed me that the police were waiting outside to ask me questions about the accident and she would send them in if I were ready.

I didn't want to talk to anyone but I knew it was better to just get this over with. They came in and I answered their questions. They left and I tried to marshal my thoughts, but immediately after Aunt Lucille departed to get herself some coffee, the door to my room pushed open and in walked Ares. 

One moment I’m thinking of the nightmare I'm in and the next, Ares’s broad, tall figure captures my attention and thoughts. His green eyes lack it's usual cockiness. They're dark and almost black. 

Harsh. 

Emotionless. 

There’s something about those eyes that pushes me into a high alert mode. I'd never felt anything but safe with Ares, but as I took in his appearance and instantly noticed the bloody, broken skin of his knuckles. He looked as broken as I felt. Was he in a fight?

His broad shoulders and lean waist increased the intimidation of his already dark exterior tenfold. 

His upper lip lifts in a sardonic curl as if he injected all the shadows in it. “I knew you would come back, baby.” A lightning striked.

Suddenly, I wish I’d surrendered to the darkness of unconsciousness. “Hi,” he greeted again in a grim tone when I didn’t answer him. He watched me with hard eyes from his place by the door.

“Hi,” I whispered, and we continue to gaze at each other silently. 

“I figured you would've woken up by now.” He broke the long silence that lingered between us. “You had me worried.” 

He slowly approached by bed and loomed over it. His hand reached out to touch my face and I instinctively leaned into his touch. Pain exploded in my head and my upper shoulder yet it didn't deter me. 

His face inched closer to mine and he released an unexplainable sound. It sounded like tsk to my ears, but I could be wrong. 

“It’s going to be just you and me, Luna.” His voice embeded under my skin. “You’re going to be mine now.” His hand reached for me, and he clutched my chin between his thumb and forefinger. 

It’s a soft touch, so soft it shocked my warm skin. The emotionless look in his dark eyes is replaced by clear determination. A twisted smile lifts the corner of his lips. 

“Why do I feel like you're threatening me?” 

His grip tightens on my jaw until I wince. “Because I'm fucking angry.” 

My heart pounded so loud that the sound seemed to surround my senses, as if the very walls of the hospital room were thrumming with the sound. “What does-”

My words were cut off when he leaned closer until his breath tickled along my skin. Another involuntary shudder slid down my spine, and goosebumps formed along my limbs. This close, he’s even more fatally gorgeous and dangerous. A flicker of connection grips hold of me. 

He ran his cold tongue from under my eye to the corner of my lip. Something violent and out of control took over my body, and more goosebumps erupted.

I stared at him with trembling lips. He looked momentarily feral, and I can see with clarity his battle to rein it in. 

“I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't…” He stopped himself from speaking his next words. This close to me, I could inhale his scent. He smelled like cold things do. Like sharp water. “I heard what you did.” 

“Huh?” I didn’t understand where he was coming from. 

“You really went out to vandalize his cars with your little friend, didn't you?” When I met his eyes, it held a knowing glint in them and his tone was almost playful. 

I relaxed. “How do you know?” 

“He told me. And I saw it in the security footage.” He added. “I admit, it was fun to watch my friend fume in unbridled rage. Paintball idea was fun.”

My heart does this weird thing, beating in and out of sync, as if it doesn’t know what to do. I didn't know why it was thumping because of his revelation. I already knew Ares and Chase had the same social circle and his half-sister was promised to that bastard.

Then why did this piece of news feel like betrayal? 

Whimpers left my lips as I tried to tamp down the agony. I bit on my lower lip to keep the sound from escaping. He watched me intently, his face impassive other than a slight twitch in his upper lip.

“He deserved it,” I said, without any trace of emotion in my voice. 

“Well, he replaced everything.”

“I didn't know you were friends with someone like him.” I did my best to sound discreet in my disapproval of his friendship with Chase. 

“Is there a problem, Luna?” He still firmly held my chin in his hand. “I wonder what Chase must've done to you for you to not like him.” 

Rage fired under my skin, and I wanted to go back in time and get my bloody hands on that asshole. “I hate him.” My voice was filled with contempt. “He's the reason why I ended up in that crash in the first place.” 

Ares clutched my wrist, sitting by my side, holding my hand in his. Shock rippled through me at how soft, yet cold his touch felt. 

His attention fell on the door as it is pushed open and he smiled. There’s something curious about that smile. It’s not exactly fake, but it’s…dead. Lifeless, just like his touch. 

“Lucille.” He spoke in a polite, calm way. “I was just talking to your niece.” 

My head felt light and airy, like a balloon tethered to my body. I didn't pay attention to their interaction. Instead I reached up and felt the side of my head carefully. Ares’ fingers brushed mine as we both felt the tender area above my right ear. 

“When did she wake up?” He asked as he rubbed his thumb against the back of my hand. I closed my eyes and dropped my hand, clutching the sheet tightly. 

“Not long,” Aunt Lucille replied, taking a seat next to my hospital bed. “I'm so glad she's finally awake. It's been a rough couple of days and with Mia’s funeral…” 

Mia’s funeral? She was really buried?

I lifted my head to meet her eyes, her own electric blue gaze liquid with anguish. Aunt Lucille smiled at me, half-heartedly. “I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm sorry you had to find it out this way.” Her voice sounded strained. “It’s for the better. You wouldn't have been able-” 

“Did you attend, Ares?” I spoke over her and turned my head to the person sitting next to me. His brows pinched with confusion. “I mean, did you attend Mia’s funeral? She was Chase’ step-sister, afterall and aren't you his friend.” 

Ares tightened his hold on my hand. “I did,” he answered. “My father and Chase’ father went Oxford together. They're bestfriends and  business partners too.” he said, Aunt Lucille nodded. “It would've been rude if I hadn’t been there, at least to support my friend.” 

“Chase was barely holding up,” Aunt Lucille, commented. “That poor boy lost his sister.” I almost snorted at her sentence, but didn't because I could feel Ares’s smoldering gaze burning holes, ready to pounce on me. 

“He was some brother…” I tried to pull my hand from his, but he gripped me harder, disallowing my release. 

“I don't speak ill of the dead, but Mia was no saint,” He whispered, in my ear. His words low and soft that if I weren't aware of his close proximity then it would've gone unheard. He meant it for my ears only. 

“Don’t speak on the things you are not aware of,” I croaked. 

“I could say the same to you,” He said with a sickening smile that doesn’t even come close to reaching his eyes. Why was he behaving like an asshole?

He then engaged Aunt Lucille in conversation, taking off her attention from us and the sore topic that loomed over our heads.

“That reminds me, I have to clear the hospital bill in the office. The doctor had advised to keep her under observation just for tonight and hopefully tomorrow we can go back to our home.” 

With that, we are left alone. 

His sinister eyes met my own and I turn my head away, suddenly wary of his proximity. 

“Why are you shying away from me?” He buried his nose in my hair while his arm curled at my shoulders, toying with my hospital gown. 

My shoulder blades knot together as a strangling fear closes my throat. “You seem different to me.” 

He raises one thick, perfect eyebrow. “Huh?” 

“You’ve changed. Since the moment you stepped inside this room, there's something off about you.” I couldn’t put my finger on it. “You look scary.” 

“I've always been scary, Luna. You're just noticing it.”

How can a person sound both conniving and frightening at the same time. 

Wrong. Everything is so freaking wrong. I feel like the air between us has shifted it’s course. It used to be flirtatious and exciting and now I feel as if the threat of damnation hung above my head. 

“Well, it sure did save me from future havoc. I think the fog of my infatuation has finally lifted. Now, I can see you clearly… before it was too late.” I stare directly at his cold gaze. 

He offered me his million-dollar charming dimpled smile. “You’re crazy if you think you can get away from me.” One second, he's seated next to me and the other I find myself in his deathly hold. His right hand firmly held my chin while the other yanked me up so that my chest was flushed with his.

Even as I fight to get out from under his hold, I can’t deny how fatally attractive he is. Is it… lust?

I was still held firmly by him, while his right hand wandered from my face to lightly squeeze my neck and further down to cup my breast as if it was his possession. 

His dominant touch sent delicious chills to my spine and the thrill of not knowing what was going on his head made me moan. 

Oh, shit.

“A-Ares…” He didn’t give me a chance to speak. He muffled my mouth with his hand. 

My nails dug into his arm even with the crippling pain at my shoulder. Instead of letting me go, he watched my struggle with a curious glint in his eyes. He looked almost sadistic. 

He didn't budge. 

“You’re fucking mine.” I suck in sharp breaths, choking on air. “I will decide what happens with us, Luna. Not you. Don't even for a second think you got a chance against me. You knew what you were getting yourself into… from the beginning.” 

Something soulless and dark crept into his eyes, turning them almost malicious. He let me go and I immediately fell back on the bed. My heart raced abnormally. 

“You don’t dictate my life,” I spat the words at him. “I decide for myself and I won’t let you have any control over me.” 

“You think you can fight me?” 

He stroked my hair behind my ear. The gesture is so gentle my breath calms down. The way he flips between softness and cruelty is giving me whiplash. 

“You think anyone can save you from me?” He laughed. The sound hollow and deranged. “You’re mine, baby.” 

“I can see why you're friends with some like Chase.” He got himself off my bed to stand beside it. Still very close. “Obsessive assholes who can't take no for an answer,” I said with malice. “Your precious ego is wounded, isn't it?” 

I open my mouth to speak further, but he shoved his finger against my lips, cutting off my words. “Shut it. Don't play with my patience and stop acting like a bratty thirteen year old.” 

His forefinger rested against my lips, pulsing in synch with a low breaths. My Ares had turned into someone so cold, I almost didn't recognize him. He was strange.

I want to clamp my teeth around his finger and  take a good bite of it. My still functioning, sensible part of my brain adviced me not to get him riled up while I was bedridden.

My body doesn't have the energy to fight back. It's weak. I just need him gone until I’m strong enough to face him. I don’t want him to overpower me in this situation. I could take the route of damsel in distress and gain some control over the situation. 

But a more conniving thought popped in my head. I stared in his eyes, the condescending gleam shining in that beautiful green. 

What would happen if I darted my tongue out and felt his finger just the way I felt his thick length against my mouth not too long ago?

I debated on the idea and the possibility of controlling him by using seduction. I don't go ahead with the original idea in my head, but something more sinister pops up in my head.

There was no denying his surprise when my left palm caressed the inseam of his jeans, moving slowly upwards to stroke his inner thighs.

His perfect brow raised up at my unexpected action. He licked his lip before lowering his lids halfway. People are easier to handle when they’re taken off guard. 

You can try all you want, but I will win whatever game you're playing, Ares Torrance.

His upper lip twitched as if he heard my internal challenge and accepted it.  

My fingers gripped his thickness from the outside of it's jeans material, stroking it's length and my eyes not once leaving his amazon greens.

He dared me to look away and pushed into my hold. I will not back down from a challenge.

I gasped when his bit my lower lip. He tugged on in playfully until I started feeling pain. It was, then when he bit it more forcefully until I could taste copper in my mouth.

He freaking bit me!

I want to make a sound, but his mouth had completely captured my lips within it's grasp. He swallowed my muted grunts.

An audible plop could be heard when he finally let go of my lips. He stood straight ahead of me, his broad shoulders making him appear more like a man than a seventeen year old boy.

"Don't start something you don't intend of finishing," he said, adjusting himself.

I glared up at him. "You didn't let me finish."

“Look who's getting annoyed now.” His voice is controlled, but the look in his eyes tells me otherwise. 

I don’t even know what I was thinking when I decided to play with him, but I feel something seeping out of him and rushing to me. A sense of power. A shift in dynamics. 

“You won't win if I play dirty.” He stepped back. His face returns to the calm facade, the cunning stature.

My breathing comes out harsh and irregular as I try to regain control over my senses. Exhaustion rears on my nerve endings and my lids slowly flutter closed.

“What happened to the easygoing Ares, huh?” I ask. My speech slurred. It must be the pain medication kicking in my veins. 

In the haziness of sleep, I hear him murmur,”He lived in your head.” 

                        ***