BAD INFLUENCE
The moment she stepped into the wrong restroom, everything changed.
Hailey had only been at Hillsworth College for a day, a fresh scholarship student, eager yet nervous.
She had simply been looking for the restroom, but fate had other plans.
The thick scent of smoke filled her lungs the second she pushed the door open. The air was dense, intoxicating. Her breath hitched when she saw him.
A dangerously handsome guy.
He leaned lazily against the sink, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his sharp eyes flickering toward her. Tattoos curled around his arms like inked secrets, and silver rings glinted from his eyebrow and tongue. A dangerous smirk lifted his lips as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Lost, princess?" He asked with a smirk, raking her with his eyes from head to toe.
Hailey 's heart pounded. This was the boys' restroom.
And somehow, she had just collided with trouble.
___
Hailey had learned early on that life was rarely fair.
She barely remembered her parents, their faces were blurry images in an old photo album she had once clung to as a child. After their deaths, she was taken in by her uncle, the only family she had left. At first, life had been tolerable-until he died too.
That was when everything changed.
Her uncle's wife, Cecilia, had never truly cared for her, but after his death, the cold indifference turned to outright cruelty. Hailey became the unwanted burden in their home, forced to endure harsh words and extra chores.
Unlike her cousin, Brielle, who lived in luxury and had everything handed to her, Hailey had to fight for the smallest things. When Cecilia refused to pay for her education, she had thought her dreams were over.
But then the scholarship to Hillsworth College came like a miracle.
She studied tirelessly, poured everything into that exam, and when the results came in, she had been one of the few selected. It was her chance at freedom, her chance to escape.
There was just one problem.
Hillsworth was Brielle's school.
And if there was one thing Hailey knew, it was that her cousin would make her life miserable.
But none of that compared to the storm she was about to walk into.
Wanna know what the encounter with the bad boy leads to? Come with me đź«Ł
Chapters
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Chapter 1
THE BROWN'S RESIDENCE*
A loud bang on the door nearly made Hailey drop the towel she was using to dry her damp hair.
Before she could react, the door flew open.
"Hailey!" Cecilia yelled out the name.
Hailey barely had time to pull her towel tighter around herself before her aunt stormed into the room, her arms crossed, her eyes burning with the usual disdain.
"What on earth have you been doing in here while the whole house is a mess?" Cecilia barked, her gaze raking over Hailey with pure irritation.
Hailey swallowed hard. She had done the chores...all of them.
"I already finished everything" Hailey said softly, keeping her voice calm, knowing that arguing never helped.
"Oh, you think so, do you?" She took a step closer, her presence suffocating.
"Then why is the laundry still outside? And why is the sitting room still covered in dust?"
Hailey's lips parted. She had washed the clothes early in the morning and had been waiting for them to dry before bringing them in. As for the dust, she had cleaned the sitting room thoroughly. but she knew Cecilia would always find something to complain about.
"But I-"
"Don't you dare talk back to me!" Cecilia snapped.
"You think just because you got that scholarship, you can start acting lazy?!"
Hailey lowered her gaze, gripping the towel tighter. She had barely been able to sleep last night, too nervous about starting Hillsworth College today. The scholarship had been her only way out of this miserable house, and now that she had it, she refused to let anything ruin it.
But Cecilia... Cecilia was determined to make her life hell before she even set foot in that school.
"Get dressed, you're not leaving this house until every single chore is done. Do you hear me?"
Hailey's heart sank. She had an entire first day of school ahead of her, and now she was at risk of being late before it even started.
But what choice did she have?
"And another thing, I hope you're not planning to stay in that school's hostel"
Hailey's heart sank again. She had been considering it. Staying on campus would mean freedom...an escape from this house, from her.
"Because who exactly is going to do the chores if you're not here? You think you can just run off and leave everything behind? You better throw that idea out of your head. You're coming home every day after school" she said.
Hailey swallowed hard, her stomach twisting.
She wanted to argue, to say that the scholarship covered accommodations, that staying on campus would help her focus on her studies.
But she already knew the answer.
Cecilia wouldn't allow it.
"Now get dressed and make sure everything is spotless before you leave" Cecilia said before turning on her heel and marching out.
The door slammed shut behind her.
Hailey exhaled, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
'One year. That's all I need. I'll find a job, save up, and finally get out of here'
With that thought pushing her forward, she quickly got dressed and hurried out the door.
She refused to be late on her first day.
•••
HILLSWORTH COLLEGE*
Hailey stepped out of the public bus, gripping the straps of her worn-out backpack.
Hillsworth College was even more intimidating in person. The campus was massive, the buildings tall and elegant. Luxury cars lined the parking lot, and students strolled through the gates, dressed in trendy outfits.
She didn't belong here.
At least, that's what it felt like.
Her clothes were simple. Jeans and a plain sweater, nothing compared to the rich students who walked with confidence, their shoes clicking against the pavement like they owned the ground.
But she squared her shoulders. She earned her place here.
The scholarship wasn't handed to her on a silver platter like everything Brielle got. She worked for this, stayed up late studying while doing chores, fought for this chance.
Sometimes she wondered how Cecilia afforded Brielle's exorbitant school fees. That's none of her concern anyway.
She checked the small paper in her hand, where her dorm assignment and class schedule were written. Even though Cecilia refused to let her stay in the hostels, she still had to visit to see her assigned room. She had no idea who her roommate was, but she was curious to find out.
BUMP.
Her shoulder hit someone else's, sending her stumbling back a step.
"Watch where you're going, scholarship girl" a familiar voice said.
Hailey's stomach twisted before she even looked up.
Brielle.
Dressed in a skimpy gown, her long hair falling perfectly over her shoulders. Her usual smirk tugged at her lips.
"Didn't expect to see you here so soon" Brielle continued, folding her arms.
"What, did you beg your way into Hillsworth?"
Hailey clenched her fists.
"I earned my way in" she said simply.
Brielle let out a fake laugh. "Right. Of course, you did"
She leaned in slightly. "You know, just because you got lucky with that scholarship doesn't mean you belong here"
Brielle tilted her head, eyeing her up and down.
"Let's see how long you last" she murmured before flipping her hair and walking off, her friends distance away from them giggled.
Hailey exhaled slowly, pushing down the lump in her throat.
She suddenly felt an uncomfortable pressure built in her stomach.
She needed to find a restroom.
Badly.
Her eyes darted around, searching for a sign, but the school was huge, and she had no idea where to go.
Taking a turn down a quieter hallway, she spotted a door slightly ajar. A restroom.
Relieved, she hurried inside.
The thick scent of smoke filled her lungs the second she pushed the door open. The air was dense, intoxicating. Her breath hitched when she saw him.
A dangerously handsome guy.
He leaned lazily against the sink, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his sharp eyes flickering toward her. Tattoos curled around his arms like inked secrets, and silver rings glinted from his eyebrow and tongue. A dangerous smirk lifted his lips as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Lost, princess?" He asked with a smirk, raking her with his eyes from head to toe.
Hailey 's heart pounded. This was the boys' restroom.
Her entire body stiffened as her wide eyes locked on the guy leaning lazily against the sink. The cigarette dangled between his fingers, its ember glowing dimly as he exhaled another thick cloud of smoke.
She should leave.
Right now.
But for some reason, her legs refused to move.
Xavier smirked, tilting his head as he took in her shocked expression.
"Did you lose your way, princess?" He asked huskily.
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9.7
"How do I tell the world that my first orgasm came from my father's son-my brother, and he doesn't know yet?"
Annabel Green, who had caught her first ever lover, James, in bed with Stephanie, her best friend, went on a mission of revenge.
After she found out that the man who she bumped into at the club that night she caught her ex cheating, is actually Stephanie's fiancé-Daniel stroke.
She planned on using him as a tool just to make James regret cheating on her and drive Stephanie insane.
But she had no idea that Daniel was her father's son. By the time she had gotten her revenge, only then did they realize how late it was, because they had both fallen hopelessly in love.
Now the question is who will let each other go? Will Daniel and Annabel agree to part ways just to see their parents happy. Or will their parents actually get a divorce in order to see their children live a happy life?
9.7
Brenda's world ended the night her father sold her to a monster.
To protect his pack from destruction, her father traded her to Alpha Aaron, the cruel ruler of the Northern wolves - a man who never spent more than one night with any woman... because none of them survived.
But Brenda did.
That became her curse.
For three years, she endured his brutality - his control, his obsession, his endless hunger for power. She prayed for rescue, for her father, for anyone. But no one came.
Until one mistake changed everything.
A blindfold. A wrong room. A night with a stranger who touched her with tenderness instead of pain.
That stranger was Alpha Leon, Aaron's business partner and unknowingly, her destined mate.
When Leon discovered the truth, he struck a dangerous bargain to take her away. But by then, Brenda was no longer the girl she once was. She was a shell, numb, broken, and incapable of love.
Now, Leon must battle not only Aaron's shadow but also the darkness inside Brenda herself.
Can love heal what cruelty destroyed?
Or will her pain consume them both?
9.2
For five years, I hid my identity as a legendary White Wolf, swallowing suppressants that tasted like ash just to protect Alpha Grafton.
I played the role of the spineless "Shadow," enduring his pack's ridicule and his cold indifference, all to fulfill a promise I made to his dead twin brother.
But when I finally exposed my powers to save Grafton from a rigged car crash, shattering my leg with liquid silver in the process, he didn't thank me.
Instead, he stepped over my bleeding body to comfort Cherrelle, a socialite who was faking a wrist injury.
He believed her lies over my sacrifice.
When I tried to warn him about the poison in his drink, he forced me to swallow the Wolfsbane myself.
He watched me convulse on the floor, calling me a "drama queen."
He even threw me into a dog kennel, crushing the only photo I had of his brother—the man I actually loved—under his boot.
He thought I was a stalker obsessed with him.
He didn't know I drank black coffee I hated every morning just to be in sync with him, or that the "jealousy" he saw was actually grief for the ghost of his twin.
Broken and done, I stood on the edge of Blackwood Bridge and sent him one final text.
"I'm going to be with the man I actually love."
Then, I rejected him as my mate, severed the bond that linked our souls, and let the dark river wash away five years of lies.
8.9
I was the lead architect for the Pack's billion-dollar tech company, and I was secretly carrying the Alpha's heir.
I thought the merger would finally make Caleb Mark me.
Instead, I walked into my office to find a mistress sitting in my chair.
Caleb didn't just fire me. When I refused to hand over the encryption keys to the system I built, he locked me in a reinforced closet lined with silver mesh.
For a pregnant wolf, silver is poison.
I pounded on the door until my knuckles bled.
"Caleb! Please! It burns! I'm losing the baby!"
I screamed until my voice broke, feeling the life drain from my womb.
But outside the door, his mistress laughed. "Don't listen to her, Caleb. She's just a weak Omega faking it for attention."
And my Fated Mate believed her.
He left me in that dark box while our son died in a pool of my own blood.
He thought he had broken me. He thought I would die a silent death so he could parade his fake heir around.
He forgot one thing: I wrote the code that runs his entire life.
Three days later, I didn't show up to the hospital morgue.
I rolled my wheelchair onto the stage of his global press conference, flanked by the rival Alpha he feared most.
I held up the remote to the main server.
"You killed my son for a lie, Caleb," I smiled into the microphone as the screens behind him broadcast the footage of his crime. "Now, say goodbye to your empire."
9.2
For three years, I was the one scrubbing the scent of blood from his hands and holding him while he screamed in pain. I was the one who taught Coleton Barron how to walk again after the car bomb nearly took his legs.
But the moment he reclaimed his seat as Don, I became invisible.
At his recovery gala, he draped his arm around Charly—the woman who fled when he was crippled—and laughed as he told his inner circle I was "just the hired help."
It didn't stop at insults. When Charly faked a fall, he shoved me aside with enough force to crack my skull against the pool edge.
When a bomb went off in a gallery, he looked me in the eye, saw me trapped under debris, and turned his back to carry her to safety instead.
He even held a gun to my head because she lied about me poisoning his soup.
His mother threw a check at me, telling me that tools go back in the box when the job is done. They thought I would beg to stay. They thought I was weak.
I took the five million and vanished without a word.
Three years later, I returned to New York. Not as his nurse, but as the fiancée of the only man Coleton fears.
And when he saw the diamond on my finger, the King of New York finally realized he had thrown away his only lifeline.
9.6
"Not guilty."
With those two words, my husband, the Alpha, acquitted his mistress of poisoning my mother.
I had the toxicology reports. I had the receipts. But Garrison didn't care.
He looked me in the eye, his hand resting possessively on Keyla's back, and told me to stop making a scene.
That was just the beginning of my hell.
He moved Keyla into our master suite and forced me into the servant's quarters.
"Since you can't give me strong pups," he sneered, "you can serve those who do."
I became the maid in my own home, washing Keyla's silk lingerie while she wore my Luna robes.
When I tried to fight back, he used the Alpha Command to silence me and locked me in a room filled with silver dust that burned my skin like acid.
He even drugged me and offered me to a rival Alpha just to secure a timber deal.
He thought he had broken me. He thought I was just a weak Omega who would eventually fade away.
But he forgot that my mother taught me everything about poisons.
On the night of the yacht party, I didn't just jump into the dark ocean to escape.
I jumped to be reborn.
I flushed my wedding ring, severed the bond, and let the icy water swallow Janette the victim.
Garrison thought I was dead.
He didn't know that the ocean wouldn't kill me. It would awaken my true bloodline.
And when I came back, I wasn't his wife anymore.
I was a White Wolf, and I was going to burn his pack to the ground.