Chapter 144 
Kael POV 
Astrid was in my bedroom and only ten minutes back we had finished our reading. She was an excellent tutor, and I was a naughty student. I stole every opportunity to kiss my teacher, while she growled at me cutely. 
As soon as our lessons were over, I pounced on her and pinned her beneath me to kiss her. I took her savagely, roughly, urgently. There was no way I could be gentle with her because the need to be with her or merge her body with mine was overwhelming. It wasn’t just a momentary thing. It was constant. My wolf was always on the edge around her. 
She responded to me like she was also needing it. When I brought my hand in between us to cup her sex, she moaned. Oh, how much I was waiting for her eighteenth birthday. That day I was going to keep myself inside her for the entire time. 
Suddenly, the bell rang, breaking our reverie. “Fuck it!” I growled, ignoring it and continued kissing her. 
She giggled, burying her face in the brook of my neck. “It could be something important,” she said, tapping my lips. 
I stared at her intensely. “You better stay here in this fucking position while I deal with whoever is outside.” I pushed myself up, seeing how she was still sprawled on my bed. Her red hair streamed like flame over the pillow, her lips were swollen from our kiss and her skin was flushed. The shirt she was wearing had slid up, showing her waist, and her skirt had also slid up to her waist, giving a full view of her panties. My cock shot north, and I stroked it over my jeans to show her how much I craved for her. She bit her lips when her eyes dropped to my cock. 
As I was coming downstairs, I sniffed the air. It was Tracy. What the fuck was she doing here? I had told her I won’t go to her place. She could kiss our friendship goodbye forever. With that in mind, I opened the door. 

“What do you want?” I asked, agitated by her presence. She was trying to hold on to that stupid thread of what we had, which I wanted to snap as soon as possible. Honestly, I was feeling repulsive in her presence. 
She begged me to come and cut the cake for five minutes. 
“I told you I will be busy,” I snapped. 
Tears welled in her eyes as she peeped behind me. “I know you don’t want me to come to you, but what can I do? I’ve been with you for so many years. It’s painful to just—” A tear ran down her cheek. “How can I forget the connection we had? The only reason I’ve called you for the cake cutting is because I also want to break our friendship. Please consider this as my way of going away from you forever.” She lowered her head and sniffled. 
God damn it. I clenched my teeth and stabbed my fingers in my hair. “Okay, wait. I’ll come with you, but I can’t spare more than five minutes.” 
She looked at me with a smile, wiping her tears. “Thanks Kael. You are the best!” 
I shook my head, asking her to wait. I went up to wear a shirt. Astrid was checking her phone in the same position I had left. Goddess. Even five minutes away from her seemed like a lifetime. I crawled over to her and kissed her. “Tracy’s here.” A crease formed between her eyebrows. “She has called me for some stupid cake cutting stuff to end our friendship. Aiden and Toren are already there. I’ll be back in five minutes.” 
She pursed her lips and cupped my cheek with one hand. I leaned in and kissed her palm. “Come soon, okay?” 
Fuck, this girl will be the death of me. “I will.” 
I wore a sweatshirt with a hoodie and ran downstairs. Tracy was waiting for me in her car. I hopped in the car and she started the engine. “I’m so happy that you are coming with me,” she said with a soft smile. 
“Yeah, let’s hurry. I don’t want Astrid to be waiting for me.” 
We sped to her home. Aiden and Toren were already sitting over there, waiting for us impatiently. 
“Dude, you better hurry this up!” Toren said, irritation lacing his voice. 

Tracy nodded excitedly. She went to the kitchen and got a knife for us. “Join me!” she said as soon as she placed the knife on the cake. I rolled my eyes and placed my hand over hers as Toren and Aiden did the same. We cut the cake together. Tracy gave a piece to me and my brothers and demanded we also make her eat. 
She was laughing with excitement when we made her eat the cake. “Thank you so much for making this special for me!” she said to us. “I was always feeling so guilty. But now I am free.” Then she turned towards me and said, “Thanks, Kael, for coming here. I will not bother you at all from now on, and I wish both you and Astrid a lovely life together.” 
I blinked my eyes at her. She sounded so sweet that it was unbelievable. Tracy, I knew, was always rude and snarky. The change in her was astounding. All of us softened a little. 
1/2 
Chapter 144 
“It was nice knowing you, Tracy,” I murmured and came out of the house. Both Toren and Aiden gave her a hug, and they, too, followed me. As we headed towards Aiden’s car, Toren said, “Well, that was weird as fuck!” 
Aiden barked a laugh as I shook my head at my brothers. “Come on, I have to go. Astrid is waiting for me,” I said to them as I hopped in the back 
seat. 
“Wolf, you are whipped!” Toren chuckled. 
I grinned. Yes, I was whipped like an ice cream, but I loved it. 
Aiden started the car, and we drove back home. However, the moment I reached there, my eyes widened in shock. Dread plummeted in my stomach as a full–blown panic hit me. “Astridddd!” I shouted and jumped out of the car towards my house that was now engulfed in flames. 
The flames were like a beast unleashed, consuming everything. They danced inside, licking the walls. I heard a loud crash inside, my heart leaping out in raw fear. Smoke billowed upward in thick clouds. 
Toren and Aiden rushed towards me to stop me, but with a deafening growl, I pushed them both away. Seeing my house burning with the only girl I ever loved more than my life was like watching my heart being ripped off and thrown in the raging inferno. Helplessness stormed inside me like a violent, unrelenting hurricane of despair and fear. I wanted to go to Astrid as soon as possible. Perhaps die with her. But the question that was on the top of my mind was: how did my house burn in such a short time? I was away for like ten minutes. 
“Astridd!” I shouted, reaching the porch. “Astridd!” 
“Come back, Kael!” Toren yelled at me. “It’s not safe!” 
Safe? I wanted Astrid safe. I wanted her so badly that my wolf howled inside me. If I didn’t get her, I would die. I turned to Toren and rasped, “You know I can’t live without her. I have to find her. So either you help me or you stay back.” 
Aiden came to my side, along with Toren. “You think we’ll leave you? Come, let’s find her.” 
Toren hugged me tightly. “I swear, Kael. After we rescue Astrid, I am going to find out how this happened and if I come to know that someone did it on purpose, I’m going to unleash hell on them!” 
“Count me in!” Aiden hissed. 
But I knew I was going to unleash hell before my brother would blink an eye. 
I was on the porch with my brothers in a second. I kicked open the door. It fell down in a bundle of flames. “Astrid!” I shouted as I charged in and rushed towards the stairs. However, the moment I reached the landing, I saw someone emerging from the billowing flames and thick smoke, cradling Astrid protectively in his arms. My eyes widened in surprise as I stared at the man, who was slowly emerging from the flames. 
“Run out!” he shouted. “I am getting her!” 
“Dad?” Goosebumps lined my skin. 
Toren and Aiden were equally surprised. 
“Come out, all of you!” Mom’s voice came from the main door. The three of us literally jumped. 
“What is going on?” Toren muttered, clearly amused. 
Dad came down with Astrid in his arms. She was unconscious. “Do we have a hospital around?” he asked. 
Hi all, if you’re liking this book, you can follow me on FB at MishakWrites and IG at AuthorMishakr. 
2/2