Between Us

Between Us

samuellaopokunyarko2 · Ongoing · 166.7k Words

924
Hot
2.3k
Views
78
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

I was just the invisible scholarship girl, until the most dangerous guy on campus publicly claimed me—and then dragged me into an empty classroom to prove how thoroughly I belonged to him.

I wasn't supposed to hear it. Standing by the notice board, two guys were mocking me. "Carter's still with that scholarship girl. She's not exactly his level."

Before I could move, Zane's voice cut through the corridor like a blade. "She's exactly my type. And if you ever speak her name again, I'll break your jaw."

He didn't know I was listening. This wasn't part of our fake dating contract. When he found me hiding around the corner, his eyes were black with a possessive rage I'd never seen. He didn't say a word. He just grabbed my wrist, shoved me into the nearest empty classroom, and slammed the door shut.

"Zane—" I started, but his mouth crashed down on mine. It was brutal, wet, and desperate. His tongue invaded my mouth, tasting like mint and pure dominance. He lifted me by my thighs, pinning me against the chalkboard.

"Tell me you belong to me," he growled, ripping my panties down my legs.

"We're... we're just pretending," I sobbed as he unzipped his pants.

"Fuck pretending," he snarled. He gripped my hips and buried his thick, hard cock inside me in one violent thrust. I screamed, my nails tearing into his back. The loud, wet smacks of his flesh hitting mine echoed in the empty room. He pounded into me relentlessly, his hot breath against my neck. "You're mine, Ava. Only mine."

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Wrong Room, Wrong Guy

I had one plan for second semester.

Stay invisible.

No drama, no distractions, no unnecessary conversations with people who thought university was one big social event. I had a scholarship to protect and a GPA that wasn't going to maintain itself. Both of those things required the same ingredient — focus — and focus required the absence of everything that didn't matter. I had learned that early and I had learned it well.

So when my alarm went off at 6:47 that Monday morning, I was already dressed, bag packed, notes color-coded by topic. Not because I was obsessive about it — though Denise would argue otherwise — but because prepared was the only version of myself I trusted completely. Unprepared Ava made mistakes. Prepared Ava did not.

Ava Mitchell. Always prepared.

What I was not prepared for was Room 204 being switched to Room 104 without so much as a group chat notification. No email. No announcement on the board outside the faculty office. Nothing. I found out the hard way — standing in an empty classroom for four full minutes, folder in hand, wondering why none of my coursemates had arrived yet, before a cleaner looked at me from the doorway with an expression that was one step short of pity and pointed me back downstairs.

I hate being late. It physically bothers me in a way I cannot fully explain — a tightness behind my ribs, a specific irritation that starts small and builds the longer it goes unresolved. Being late means something slipped. Something wasn't accounted for. And things that weren't accounted for were, in my experience, always the beginning of a problem.

So I was walking fast, head down, earphones in, mentally rehearsing an apology to a lecturer who didn't know me yet and whose first impression of me was apparently going to be the door opening mid-session — when I walked straight into someone standing in the doorway of Room 104 like he owned the building.

The impact knocked my folder clean out of my hands.

Three weeks of notes. Gone. Scattered across the corridor floor like confetti at an event I had not agreed to attend.

I yanked out one earphone and looked up.

Bad idea.

Zane Carter was leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded, watching me with this lazy half-smile like I was the most entertaining thing that had happened to him all morning. He was tall — annoyingly tall — wearing a hoodie that probably cost more than my entire feeding allowance for the semester. His hair was slightly messy in that deliberate way that took effort to look effortless, and he had the particular ease of someone who had never once in his life been in a hurry and saw no reason to start.

The whole campus had opinions about Zane Carter. Most of them involved words like "dangerous" and "don't bother." I had filed those opinions away in the part of my brain reserved for things that were not my problem and moved on.

I crouched down and started gathering my papers.

"You know," he said, not moving an inch, "most people knock."

"It's a classroom." I didn't look up. "Not your bedroom."

"I sleep here between my 8am and 11am. Have done since first year." A pause, timed too well to be accidental. "You must be new."

"I'm not new." I stood up, clutching my now-crumpled notes to my chest. "The timetable says BIO 215 is in Room 104. So unless you're also registered for Cellular Molecular Biology, you're the one in the wrong place."

Something shifted in his expression. The amusement didn't disappear exactly — it just made room for something else. Something I couldn't quite name and didn't particularly want to spend time trying to.

"BIO 215?" he said.

"Yes."

He was quiet for a second too long. Then he stepped aside and swept his arm toward the room like a very unbothered tour guide who had decided, without consulting anyone, that this was now his job.

"After you."

I walked past him without another word and went straight to the third row. Not the front — that was desperate energy, the kind that announced itself before you'd even opened your notebook. Not the back — that was where focus went to die slowly and without protest. Third row. Central. The seat with the clearest sightline to the board and enough distance from the lecturer to take notes without feeling supervised.

I opened my notebook. Clicked my pen. Stared at the blank page and took one quiet breath.

And then — because God apparently thought my morning needed more character development — Zane Carter dropped into the empty seat right next to me. He leaned back, stretched his legs out in front of him, and stared at the ceiling like he had absolutely nowhere else to be and zero problems in the world. Like scattered notes and late arrivals and the general chaos of a Monday morning simply did not apply to him.

I said nothing.

He turned his head slightly.

"I never caught your name."

"I never threw it."

A slow smile crossed his face. Not the performative one from earlier — something smaller, more genuine. Like I'd genuinely surprised him and he was deciding what to do with that.

He faced forward again.

"I'm Zane."

"I know who you are."

"Most people do." No arrogance in it. Just the flat acknowledgment of a fact he hadn't chosen and didn't particularly seem to enjoy. "You have me at a disadvantage."

I kept my eyes on the board.

"Good."

He laughed — quiet, almost to himself, like it had come out before he could manage it — and didn't say anything after that.

The lecturer walked in two minutes later. I wrote down every word.

And I told myself, very firmly, that this was going to be a completely uneventful semester.

I was already wrong and I didn't even know it yet.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

From Substitute To Queen

From Substitute To Queen

1.5m Views · Completed · Hannah Moore
For three years, Sable loved Alpha Darrell with everything she had, spending her salary to support their household while being called an orphan and gold-digger. But just as Darrell was about to mark her as his Luna, his ex-girlfriend returned, texting: "I'm not wearing underwear. My plane lands soon—pick me up and fuck me immediately."

Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.

Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.

In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?

From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice

The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice

74.6k Views · Completed · Cherie Frost
"Tell me to stop, and I will," he murmured against my ear. "But if you don't..."
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I didn't tell him to stop.
Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate.
I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish.
"You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you."
My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation.
"James..." I whispered, more plea than protest.
His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please."
The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have.


Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way.
When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom.
This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.
Taming Her Playboy Bully

Taming Her Playboy Bully

5k Views · Ongoing · Jane Lexington
Benjamin Halesten has a huge problem. His father has threatened to cut him off from his lavish lifestyle unless he agrees to see the mysterious Mrs. Black at an elite life coach agency. At the consultation, Mrs. Black lays out the plan. It’s simple: abide by the rules, or Benjamin loses everything. The plan, one of Mrs. Black’s ‘Gem girls’, is to pose as his girlfriend while straightening up his life and public appearance. Benjamin reluctantly agrees, but he is floored when he meets his life coach. Meet the brilliant Dr. Lainey Forest, who has killer curves, a kind soul, and a mesmerizing personality. Benjamin falls for her instantly, not recognizing her as someone from his past. With every minute, every public display of affection, Benjamin is losing himself in Lainey. Lainey, on the other hand, battles with the pure hatred she has towards Benjamin and the slow-growing love that is building in her heart for him. Can Lainey put the past aside to find true love, or are they bound to both end up with broken hearts?
The Game of Claiming

The Game of Claiming

12.7k Views · Completed · Billie Patsy
When Lila Moreno stepped into the Romano mansion, she didn’t expect to be caught in the middle of a silent war. The four infamous Romano brothers rule the city’s underworld with blood and money—yet the moment they see her, their power turns personal.
A drunken bet becomes their private game: win the maid.
The rules?
Don’t let the others know you’re falling for her.
And never, ever let her leave.
But each brother plays differently—
The eldest buys her obedience.
The second steals her breath.
The third corners her in the dark.
The youngest ruins anyone who touches her.
Lila isn’t sure if she’s a player in their game… or the prize they’ll destroy each other to claim
The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)

The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)

2k Views · Ongoing · Emma Mountford
Saints and Sinners- She was the light to my dark.
The saint to my sinner. with her innocent eyes and devilish curves.
A Madonna that was meant to be admired but never touched.
Until someone took that innocence from her.
She left.
The darkness in my heart was finally complete.
I avenged her, I killed for her, but she never came back.
Until I saw her again. An angel dancing around a pole for money.
She didn’t know I owned that club. She didn’t know I was watching.
This time I won’t let her escape.
I will make her back into the girl I knew.
Whether she likes it or not.
2/ Judge and Jury- I can’t stop watching her.

I’m not even sure I want to.

Taylor Lawson, blonde, beautiful, and totally oblivious to how much dangers she’s in.

She’s also the one juror in my upcoming murder trial that hasn’t been bought.

The one who can put me behind bars for a very long time.

I know I should execute her.
After all that’s what I do.

I am the Judge.
I eliminate threats to The Family.
And Taylor is a threat.
But I don’t want to kill her.
Possessing her, making her love me seems like a much better plan for this particular Juror.

3/ Rags and Ritches-
Cursed Beauty and her Three Alpha Mates

Cursed Beauty and her Three Alpha Mates

4.9k Views · Ongoing · Author Aimen
“I am Maya Blackthorn, the first daughter of Alpha Darius of the Ashbourne Pack, and I am damned… damned by the Moon Goddess. And destined to bring kingdoms to their knees.”
Cast out by her pack for being wolfless and plagued by uncontrollable heat, Maya has spent her life surviving humiliation in silence.
Fate drags her into the path of Kael Draven, the ruthless Lycan King who claims her… only to reject her.
But Kael is not the only Alpha bound to her.
Finn, her childhood best friend and the rising Alpha, loves her with a devotion so fierce, he spends four years locked away in the most ruthless dungeon only to keep her safe.
Xander, a rogue wolf who can make even Alphas bow to his will, has waited centuries for her to be reborn, and he has no intention of losing her again.
Three Alphas.
Three claims.
One cursed destiny.
They called her wolfless. They thought she was weak. But she is done hiding, and this time, she's rewriting the rules.
Let Them Kneel

Let Them Kneel

232.8k Views · Ongoing · My Fantasy Stories
Kaelani spent her life believing she was wolfless.
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.

But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.

Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.

When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.

For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.

Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.

But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.

And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.

Especially him.

She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.

Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Bride

The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Bride

48.5k Views · Ongoing · Riley Above Story
As a wolfless orphan, Joanne had been abused by Alpha Anthony ever since she was a child. She devoted her entire life to surviving in his pack—until one day, she returned home to find an injured vampire lying in her house, his whole existence luring her in. Taking the risk of bringing him in, Joanne never expected Alpha Anthony to discover it the very next day and finally seize the chance to kill her. Just as Joanne was about to be executed, the vampire she had saved arrived, with his army. And Joanne realized that he was the Prince Alexander, heir to the vampire throne…..
A Queen Among Tides (Book 5 in the Gods' Saga)

A Queen Among Tides (Book 5 in the Gods' Saga)

4k Views · Ongoing · ADB_Stories
One mistake centuries ago left Lemuel cursed by the Goddess Merlos and forced to wander the earth granting the wishes of those who touch him. Lemuel was looking at an eternity of loneliness until his unexpected soulmate plucked him right out of the sea.

Shocked to find he's been bound in more ways than one to Sebastian, the future King to the Kingdom of Atlesper, Lemuel resists Sebastian's advances at every turn, believing this may be one pairing Goddess Zarseti got wrong.

Lemuel will have to face his past in hopes of starting a new future, but an overly flirtatious King is the least of his worries when he learns Sebastian's parents are convinced that a conniving usurper disguised as a curvy blonde, is the future king's true soulmate.

A Queen Among Tides is the 5th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.

Books in the series order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Gen Coming Soon)
A pack of their own

A pack of their own

2m Views · Completed · dragonsbain22
Being the middle Child ignored and neglected, rejected by family and injured, She receives her wolf early and realizes she is a new type of hybrid but doesn't know how to control her power, she leaves her pack with her best friend and grandmother to go to her grandfather's clan to learn what she is and how to handle her power and then with her fated mate, her best friend and her fated mate little brother and grandmother start their own pack.
Alpha Of Glass And Gold

Alpha Of Glass And Gold

1.5k Views · Ongoing · ruby martyr
He left Aurora Anderson with a ring that meant nothing and a promise that broke everything.
Four years later, Levi Kingston, the ruthless Alpha who traded his pack for power and built an empire in glass and gold, returns with a proposition that reopens every wound she buried.
A ninety-day marriage contract.
His terms: protect her twins from the enemies his rise created.
Her condition: never fall for him again.
She’s human, or at least that’s what she tells the world. He’s the heir to the city’s hidden packs, a man forged in dominance and secrets. Between them lies a history of rejection, desire, and a bond that refused to die even when they did.
In a world where loyalty is currency and love is leverage, Aurora must decide whether to guard her heart or the truth that could bring Levi Kingston’s entire empire to its knees. proposition that reopens every wound she buried.
Alpha, Billionaire, Strong FL, Fated Mates, Rejected Mates, Secret babies, Twins, A Marriage of Convenience,
The Heir of Flame and Fang

The Heir of Flame and Fang

4.7k Views · Completed · Sophie Smith
Elara, the daughter of Nikolas and Saphira, has been sheltered and protected throughout her life from dangers that came for her, but she doesn’t see it that way. Elara remembers feeling isolated and controlled, and now that she has turned 20 and is expected to begin training to succeed her parents, she feels more controlled than ever. Things worsen when she is told she will be taking a mate through the Matchmaker, who will be the face of the pack while she helps in the background. Feeling like she has no other choice, Elara decides to run away, where she meets Kaelan, the Alpha Werewolf from the forgotten pack. A bond begins to form, but Elara has not been truthful about who she is, and now she faces a difficult choice. Should she reveal her true identity and risk everything, or return home and figure out what happened to the parents she grew up hearing about?

Please note: this story contains strong language and mature scenes.

This is the second book in the series, but it can be read as a stand alone.
The first book is The Matchmaker.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy.