My trembling hand Ch 16_Bonds at War: The Untouched is Mine

Chapter 16 Aftersound. 

 Chapter 16 Aftersound

 ARDEN

 s

 “What?” Tessa eximed, shock seen in her eyes. She acted like I had just uttered some unspeakable horror.

 In this day and age, it was downright absurd to think there was a werewolf without a phone. We had fully embraced the human culture, and in this country, we even had to deal with the mischief of Tablet Pups.

 “Well,” I hesitated, choosing my words carefully, “let’s just say my mom is a little controlling?”

 Tessa pursed her lips thoughtfully, then began rummaging through her bag. Momentster, she took out a worn–out phone and tossed it to me casually.

 “It’s my old phone,” she said. “But just a heads–up–it has a mind of its own.”

 I stared at her, my eyes wide with disbelief. “This is way too much, Tessa. Are you sure-

 Without letting me finish, she waved me off dismissively, “You’re actually doing me a favor by taking it,” she insisted. “I’ve wiped all the previous data, so you can start fresh right away. Trust me, this is a good thing. It’s been my phone for so long. and I couldn’t bring myself to just throw it away. Handing it to you makes it feel like it’s not going to waste,” she added softly.

 “Oh, and I’ve even added the application for our school’s page,” she added, brightening the atmosphere a bit.

 A small smile appeared across my lips as I unlocked the phone and navigated straight to the app that required me to register my ID number to create an ount. I found myself pressing the screen multiple times for each letter to appear, but t couldn’t afford toin. My finances had been drained dry for first–semester tuition and the dorm lease, so I definitely couldn’t afford a brand new phone.

 “The ranking is on the homepage.” Tessa pointed out. I nodded, spotting it immediately. There was an overall ranking, then. one designated for men and another for women. 

 With the school year just beginning, I didn’t expect to see any startling statistics, but what I found made my heart sink.

 At the very top of the overall list was Jaxon

 “How is this even possible?” I muttered under my breath.

 I felt the bed dip beside me as Tessa leaned in to scrutinize the screen.

 “How does he have two hundred points already?” I questioned, astonished. It’s only the first day of school.”

 Tess chewed on her lip thoughtfully. “Well, I heard he’s racking up points early by sleeping with different women. It seems he wants to overtake the list pretty quickly.”

 I pursed my lips. Was I blind for the two years I loved him? How did I not notice he was this desperate? And he was with Sienna. 100, but I doubt she was upset about this. 

 The second name on the list somehow made my heart drop, too.

 Cade was close behind with 190 points. I sighed and shook my head. He’s also an Alpha–and I saw firsthand how he made our with that woman before.

 Rowan was third and Elias was fourth. They were already dominating the list.

 I diverted my attention back to the screen, trying to search for my own name. It took quite a bit of scrolling before I finally 

 realized

 “My name isn’t listed here. Yours isn’t either”

 Tessa sighed deeply “That’s because this list only shows the students most likely to rise to the top. Only the top 100 among both freshmen and seniors. Don’t worry. This list is more for pride’s sake. You can check your own ranking at the homepage.”

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 Chapter 16 Aftersound

 I clicked on my name right away and saw the measly ten points I won with Cade during the dodgeball game..

 Arden Stone – Rank 365

 “It’s soplicated.” I groaned. “If only I had known it was like this-

 1 caught myself and swallowed the thought. No, this was my only option. I couldn’t stay with the pack any longer.

 “What were you going to say?” Tessa asked.

 “Nothing.” I muttered, deflecting her question.

 +5 Free Coins

 “It’s going to be a cutthroatpetition.” Tessa continued, leaning back against the bedrest, her voice taking on a serious tone. It’s only going to get more challenging each day. So, the fastest way to climb the rankings is to have sex with the highest–ranking Alphas.”

 I didn’t respond, continuing to navigate through the school page. My eyes suddenlynded on a small ck option at the very top of the homepage, nestled quietly within the navigation bar. Without a second thought, I pressed on it, but immediately regretted my impulsiveness.

 The

 e room

 was filled with moans.

 Ah right there! Jazon, fuck me harder please,”

 “You like that, you little slut?”

 A video yed automatically, and it was of Jaxon and a woman that definitely wasn’t Sienna. It didn’t seem to be an edited. video. It was raw footage, almost as if it was live.

 He trusted into her like an animal in heat. The woman took it without anyints, moaning with every thrust into her body. Her fingers dug into the sheets, her hips bucking wildly as he pounded her over and over-

 Yet as I scrolled further, I found this wasn’t the only video. I tried to turn it off, but Tessa’s phone wasn’t cooperating. So, this was what she meant by the phone having a mind of its own.

 My cheeks flushed crimson as I flung the phone underneath the pillow, prompting Tessa to erupt into a fit of <bughter.

 -I wasn’t doing anything! I just clicked on one of the buttons, and it led me to that. I swear, I didn’t mean to

 Her uproariousughter interrupted my frantic defense. “Oh, Arden. You’re so adorably naive! You’ve only stumbled upon the Aftersound”

 “Aftersound?” I echoed, confusion lining my voice.

 “Exactly If there’s an echo, then there’s an aftersound. That’s where the students of Elite reveal their proof of sexual points. It’d be all too easy to fabricate a story about sleeping with the Alphas or anyone else, which is why this system is in ce to ensure authenticity in iming those points.”

 “And no one think this is even slightly strange?” I eximed incredulously. “Isn’t this beyond weird?”

 turi

 “It can only be essed using a valid student ID number. Everyone here is pretty chill about it. It’s what we signed up for in Elite”

 I hit my lip in frustration.

 Crap

 “What have I gotten myself into?”

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My trembling hand Ch 16