CLAIMED BY MY HOCKEY ALPHAS

CHAPTER 5 - THE BLACKMAIL

AMBER

I didn't get any sleep. How could I?

I spent most of the night contemplating my decision to sign an agreement with the notorious Everdale quadruplets.

They were so dangerously hot. The kind of hot that made you want to melt in their arms and forget your name. The kind of hot that made smart girls do stupid things.

And Gods, I was stupid!

Surely staying with them for too long was going to make me do even idiotic things.

"It's just for a short while," I mumbled as I dragged myself out of bed. "Nothing more."

But no matter how many times I whispered it, Zac’s words kept echoing back:

“Whenever we decide to leave...”

That sentence replayed like a broken record in my head. It crawled beneath my skin like fire, spreading fear and excitement at the same time.

“Focus, Amber!” I snapped internally, shaking the thoughts from my head.

I had school to attend, and the last thing I needed was to show up late, because I was up thinking about the Everdale boys.

I managed a quick shower, threw on a cropped sweater and jeans, and tugged my curls into a messy bun. When I finally slung my bag over my shoulder and left the house, I had managed to bury my anxiety towards those boys.

As I finally got to Greenfield High, the first thing I noticed was the packed parking lot. This was essentially a normal occurrence for Mondays except, it just felt different today. It felt off.

And to make it even worse, there were little groups of students standing at every corner whispering to themselves with confused expressions.

My eyes flew to my wristwatch and I saw that it was almost time for the morning classes to begin. So why were they still outside?

Pushing the thoughts away, I decided to focus on getting to my class. Whatever school gossip that made them gather like that would get to me by recess.

With that I went straight for my locker to pick up some books but just as I reached for the handle, I felt warm fingers curl tightly around my wrist.

I turned sharply only to find my best friend, Stephanie, glaring at me. "Amber! Where are you going?"

“Class obviously,” I shrugged, glaring back at her. “What’s wrong with you?”

Stephanie’s eyes widened as she took in the look on my face. “Wait. You don’t know, do you?”

For some crazy reason my stomach tightened. “What am I supposed to know?”

“They canceled morning classes. Something is happening and the principal is going to be making a major announcement in the hall in a bit.”

“What kind of announcement?” I asked, my stomach knotting even tighter.

She shrugged. “Nobody knows.” She rolled her eyes. “You’d think the goddess herself was visiting the way everyone’s acting...”

She had barely finished explaining when the call came for all students to go to the main hall.

Stephanie tightened her hold on me and together, we made our way there.

And the second I stepped through the wide auditorium doors, my heart nearly stopped at the sight before me.

‘No,’ I screamed in my head as my blood instantly turned cold.

Right on the elevated platform beside the principal, in all their smug, perfect, and overconfident glory... were the Everdale quadruplets.

This couldn’t be happening. Zac, Ethan, Toby and Jamie shouldn’t be here.

They should be in their hotel room or maybe on the way back to their pack. Anywhere but here!

My heart was thundering as a storm began inside of me.

To make matters worse, they weren’t glancing at the crowd, they were looking straight at me.

It was clear they knew exactly what kind of storm they were stirring inside of me.

And then Zac smiled. That same slow, wicked smile that made my knees tremble.

Oh gods!

I stumbled back in shock, grabbing onto Stephanie’s arm for support.

“Oh gods, this can’t be true.” I whispered.

Stephanie tightened her hold on me and smiled. “Don’t worry, you’ll handle them just fine…”

My eyes shot at her and I wanted to scream out every aching, confusing and annoying emotion I felt at her but before I could respond, the principal stepped up to the mic and cleared his throat.

“Good morning, students. I trust you’re all aware that for a while now, we have been honored to host some... distinguished guests.” He turned slightly to gesture at the boys behind him and even smiled.

While I died a little inside.

“Meet Zac, Ethan, Toby, and Jamie Everdale. They are the sons of the Alpha of Everdale Pack, the champions of the recently concluded hockey tournament and our new exchange students. They will be schooling with us for the entire academic year.”

As he said the last sentence, my heart dropped to the floor. A year?

They were going to be here for a whole year?

The principal continued speaking in the background but my ears were ringing with my own internal questions.

They told me that they were leaving soon. They said this was going to be temperary…

They lied to me.

My world started spinning as my stupid actions started flashing around me like an unending tornado.

I signed their contract to be theirs for the duration of their stay; “Oh dear goddess…”

What have I done to myself?

Stephanie gave me a wary glance but I could no longer take it. I had to get the answers I needed from the quadruplets.

There was no way I would sign up for this drama for a whole freaking year!

Thankfully the announcement had ended at that point and the students returned to their classes. I used the rowdiness to slip away from Stephanie and went straight to them.

As if they knew I was coming after them, they slipped out of the auditorium through the isolated back door. They surely hoped I would let them go, but they were wrong!

I went through the door after them, my insides reeling with fury.

The moment I stepped into the small corridor, my boiling anger simmered and goosebumps flickered through me as I took in their positions.

Zac was leaning against the brick wall, with his arms folded. He was watching me like a feral studying its prey, yet enjoying its discomfort.

Ethan stood beside him, tossing an apple up and down like this was all a game.

Toby looked like he was already bored. And Jamie had that infuriating, unreadable expression he always wore.

And just that alone was enough to remind me of the reasons I came here in the first place. I took a breath and pointed a finger at them . “You lied to me.”

Toby raised a brow. “Good morning to you too, Angel.”

“Don’t call me that,” I snapped, heat rising to my cheeks. “You said you were here for a short while. A week. Maybe two. But it was supposed to be short!”

Zac tilted his head, clearly amused. “Technically, we didn’t say anything concrete.”

“You said, whenever, you decide to leave!” I countered.

Ethan smirked. “And we haven’t decided yet. Have we?”

They shared a silent amused look between themselves, like I was just some pawn they could play with.

My heart tightened as pain and anger shot through me.

“I want out!” I said firmly, crossing my arms over my chest. “Whatever this fake dating deal is… I’m done. I want out. And I don’t care what the contract says.”

The air between us instantly shifted. And Zac pushed off the wall and strolled closer to me, his eyes gleaming with dangerous mischief.

“Sure,” he said softly. “You can walk away.”

My heart stiffened.

“But you’ll need to pay us back first,” he added, pulling something from his coat pocket and flipping through it. “Let’s see… the custom diamond necklace; The dress sets; Designer gown… Hair, makeup, accessories, transportation... Shall I go on?”

A bitter bile sat in my throat as I took in his words. “You’re kidding. Right?”

“Nope,” Jamie said calmly. “We don’t do cheap stuff.”

My eyes exploded at this point. “That’s over sixty grand!” I hissed. “You’re blackmailing me!”

Zac leaned down until we were nose to nose. “We’re offering you a choice, Amber.”

“You either pay,” Ethan added, twirling the apple again, “or you keep pretending to be our girlfriend.”

“Which isn’t that bad,” Toby smirked. “Considering all the other things we could make you.”

Jamie stepped forward finally, his voice low and even. “Or we could tell everyone you begged for this arrangement… Yes. We’ll say you wanted to date all four of us.”

“What?” I blurted, my heart already exploding.

“You think your reputation’s bad now?” He shrugged. “Let’s see how it survives that.”