CHAPTER 107
\[Giselle's POV\]
I swiped the lipstick across my lips one last time, pressing them together to spread the color evenly. The red looked bold against my pale skin. Good. I needed to look like I had my life together, even if everything inside me was falling apart.
I dropped the lipstick on the dresser and headed for the door. My old room was calling to me. Maybe I'd left something there that could help me. A phone charger. Some cash. Anything that might give me an edge in this impossible situation.
The hallway stretched out in front of me, all marble floors and expensive paintings. My footsteps echoed in the quiet. It was almost peaceful.
Almost.
I turned the corner and nearly ran straight into her.
Jessica.
Of course. Because my day couldn't get any worse.
She stood there in the middle of the hallway, arms crossed, that smug smile already spreading across her face. Her blonde hair was perfect as always, pulled back in a high ponytail that showed off her sharp features. She looked like she'd been waiting for me.
Probably had been.
I tried to step around her, keeping my eyes straight ahead. Ignore her. Just ignore her and keep walking.
But Jessica moved to block my path.
"Excuse me," I said, my voice flat.
She didn't move.
"Jessica. Move."
Still nothing. Just that smile getting wider.
"I said move." My hands curled into fists at my sides.
She let out a low, evil chuckle that made my skin crawl. Then she took a step closer, invading my space like she had every right to.
Everything in me screamed to step back. To put distance between us. But I refused to give her the satisfaction. I planted my feet and looked her straight in the eye, meeting her challenge head-on.
My right hand twitched. God, I wanted to slap that look off her face. Wanted to feel my palm connect with her cheek, wanted to wipe away that smug expression. My fingers practically burned with the need to do it.
But I kept my hand at my side. Barely.
"So," Jessica purred, her eyes glittering with malice. "Did you seduce your way into my brother's bed yet?"
The question hit me like cold water. My stomach turned.
"As if I would do that," I scoffed, the words coming out sharp and angry.
Something hot and fierce burned through my chest. This witch. This lying, scheming witch who'd poured that masking powder on me. Who'd helped Blake trap me here. Who was carrying Blake's baby and letting Khuraan think it was his.
I closed the space between us until we were almost nose to nose. Close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in her eyes. Close enough to smell her perfume, sickly sweet and cloying.
I pressed my index finger into her chest, right over her heart. Hard.
"Listen to me," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "I have no reason to seduce my way into Blake's bed. And even if he was the last man on earth, even if every other male on the planet dropped dead tomorrow, I'd rather stay single for the rest of my life than touch him."
Jessica's smile faltered. Just for a second, but I saw it.
Good.
I gave her a hard shove, my palm connecting with her shoulder. She stumbled back a step, surprise flashing across her face.
I moved past her, letting out a long hiss of disgust as I went. My heart was pounding, anger and satisfaction mixing in my veins. Small victory, but I'd take it.
One step. Two steps.
Then I heard it. A low growl behind me, animalistic and threatening.
I should have kept walking. Should have ignored her and whatever poison was about to spill from her mouth.
But then she spoke.
"I heard your mates left you."
The words stopped me cold. My feet froze mid-step.
Her voice dripped with mockery, each word designed to cut. "That's a big reason why you can't keep your slutty legs closed, isn't it?"
Something inside me cracked.
My vision went red at the edges. My whole body went rigid, every muscle locking up with pure rage.
She didn't know. She had no idea what she was talking about. Hakkan and Zarkhan hadn't left me. They thought I'd betrayed them. They thought I'd chosen Blake. And why? Because of her. Because of the powder she'd dumped on me that hid my scent, that masked the mate bond that should have been obvious to everyone.
My mates. My mates who I'd been dreaming about every night. Whose touch I could still feel on my skin like a brand. Zarkhan's hands gripping my waist in the gym, strong and possessive. The way he'd kissed me like he wanted to own every part of me. The heat in his eyes that promised so much more if I'd just given in.
And Hakkan. God, Hakkan with his careful touches and heated looks when he thought I wasn't watching. The way he'd sniffed my neck that first day and called me his. The barely controlled hunger in his voice that made my knees weak.
They hadn't left me. I'd saved Zarkhan's life. I'd sacrificed everything for them.
And this bitch was standing here, calling me a slut.
My hands shook with the effort of not turning around and launching myself at her. Of not wrapping my fingers around her throat and squeezing until that smug voice was silenced forever.
The hallway felt too hot suddenly. Too small. The walls pressed in on me from both sides.
I could hear my own breathing, harsh and ragged. Could feel my pulse hammering in my neck, in my wrists, in my temples.
Turn around. The thought whispered through my mind like a dare. Turn around and show her what happens when she messes with you.
But another part of me, the smarter part, screamed to keep walking. To not give her what she wanted. To not let her see how deep those words had cut.
My fingernails dug into my palms, leaving little half-moon marks in my skin. The pain helped clear my head just a little. Just enough to think.
Behind me, Jessica laughed. Low and cruel. She knew she'd gotten to me. Knew she'd landed a hit right where it would hurt most.
"What's wrong?" she taunted. "Hit a nerve?"
Yes. God, yes, she had. And she knew it.
My chest felt tight, like I couldn't get enough air. My throat burned with words I wanted to scream but couldn't. Accusations. Truths. Everything I knew about her and Blake and their twisted plans.
But if I said any of it now, in anger, she'd just twist it. Use it against me. Make me look crazy.
I forced my hands to unclench. Forced my breathing to slow. Forced myself to stand there and take it instead of doing what every cell in my body was begging me to do.
The silence stretched out between us, heavy and charged. I could feel her eyes on my back, watching. Waiting. Hoping I'd crack.
My whole body was rigid with the effort of staying still. Of not turning around. Of not giving her the satisfaction.
But something had shifted inside me. Something dark and angry and determined.
Jessica wanted to play games? Fine. We'd play games.
But she was going to find out real quick that I wasn't the weak little girl she thought I was.