Billionaire Quadruplet Alphas

Monday 5th October, 2020.

Star

About what? Said Zaya, furrowing his brow and locking eyes with me from across the table.

You lied to me, I said.

Oh, did I? He said, raising his eyebrows incredulously.

You said you never got serious with anyone before me, I said.

I didn’t, said Zaya.

Vivianne and Aspen are sitting right here, I hissed, annoyed that he wasn’t owning up to it.

Meaning? Said Zaya.

You hooked up with them, I pointed out.

Before we even met. I would never step out on you, he said, looking hurt.

Yeah, well, you dated in the past, then, I said.

No, I didn’t, he chuckled. I was not a virgin when I met you but I didn’t lie about that. I never dated them. Dating is going to restaurants and movies and yachting to the cove with Bae, he reminded me.

I smiled, remembering the cove.

So, what went on with them? I demanded.

Vivianne and I had a flirtation-ship early last year for a few months. We were intimate but it ended when she wanted more and I told her I didn’t want to be serious. I wasn’t as intense as Eli and his Mate mantra but I wasn’t about to go falling in love and then stumble upon my mate afterwards. I didn’t want to hurt anyone or get hurt when the girl met her own mate. Aspen and I were dancing and doing shots together and getting very drunk at a pack house party late last year. We didn’t actually have s*x but I think she thinks we did. We were in my bed and I was shirtless when she vomited all over me. I went to the shower where I started vomiting. I slept it off in Eli’s room. She woke up in my bed without me. What did they say? If they’re upsetting you, I’ll talk to them. They’re normally cool but if they’re being catty with you, I’ll set them straight, he said.

No, they’re not being catty per say just really candid. They didn’t hold back. They’re okay. They were trying to apologise for Angie’s behaviour, I said, feeling a little better.

Is that why you held my k**s hostage earlier? He asked.

Yeah, I said, feeling guilty.

How would you feel if I got upset about guys you talked to before you met me? He asked.

You wouldn’t have much material but I get your point. I’m just adjusting. I’m sorry, I said with an inward sigh.

I know I took your virginity, said Zaya, smirking, but you really never even kissed anyone or flirted or held hands before me?

Nope, I admitted.

So I was your first k**s too? He asked.

Yeah, I said.

Zaya grinned widely. I could not help but smile at his reaction.

“The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it’s a beautiful day,” announced Zaya.

“It’s raining,” said Ruby, raising a brow.

Zaya sighed. “I meant that metaphorically,” he said.

“What?” Asked Ruby.

“She got fifty one in Wolf Lit,” said Soleil.

That reminded me.

So did you date Soleil before or after Madison Fong? I asked Noah privately.

Noah’s eyes widened. He looked guilty

I did something bad, he admitted.

What? I yelped, worried.

Madison and I had a mutual interest in each other and were about to get together but I cheated on Madison Fong with Soleil then dated Soleil but cheated on her with my sorta-ex Madison when she was on a break from Eli then swore off dating until I met my mate because clearly I wasn’t able to commit meaningfully in the interim. Also, Madison and I never properly defined our relationship so that was how she ended up dating Eli more officially for a while. I think she wanted revenge too because of Soleil, explained Noah.

Noah? A player? What?

“You four are full of surprises,” I said out loud.

“Eli’s talking about his lettuce plants,” muttered Jonah.

“Lettuce can surprise you,” said Eli defensively. “Iceberg, Romaine, Butterhead.”

The bell rang.

“Dieu merci!” Exclaimed Jonah.

“What’s next?” Muttered Zaya.

“We have afternoon classes with Star!” Said Noah excitedly.

I smiled.

“Baby?” Said Zaya putting out his hand.

I linked arms with Zaya and Noah since I had sat between Eli and Jonah. The class was a blur. Zaya kept sliding his hand up my skirt under the table. I bit my l*p and squirmed in my seat. Noah was diligently taking notes and colour-coding them with highlighters.

“You can borrow my notes or we can study the material together,” whispered Noah in my ear. “I can tell you’re a little distracted.”

Zaya tried to slip his hand in my underwear. I squeaked and grabbed his hand. My cheeks were burning. I gave Zaya a pointed look. Zaya looked at his hand, he slapped it with his other hand.

“Bad,” he chastised his own hand. “Behave!”

I rolled my eyes.

“Hannah Star, are Fae and faeries the same? You should know as the Winter Fae Queen’s great-granddaughter,” said the teacher pointedly.

I was put on the spot. Everyone looked at me. Zaya glared at the teacher. He opened his mouth to complain but I grabbed his hand to tell him it was fine. Holly and my Mom had talked about this once at dinner.

“Technically yes they’re synonyms I guess but human-sized creatures are more likely to use the word Fae. Winter Fae. Autumn Fae,” I explained, looking around at all the faces glued to me. “And faeries is a word associated with minuscule creatures like Spring faeries and Summer faeries who are tiny,” I said, indicating about an inch of space between my index finger and thumb.

The class literally clapped. It had not been that good of an answer but I appreciated the enthusiasm. At least I knew many at Viper Moon High was looking forward to me being their Luna.

“It’s deeper than that but I’ll accept that as a surface answer,” said the teacher.

Her name was Britney Aguilera and she was very sensitive about that. We were not allowed to point out the human pop stars her name called to mind. She was blond and rather young for an Immortal Creatures History teacher.

“Don’t get mad at me again but Brit is being a b***h because we hooked up one time over summer and she got obsessed with me,” muttered Zaya under his breath. “She left me eighty two missed calls one time.”

“Isn’t she married?” I hissed.

“Divorced,” said Zaya. “She kept her ex husband’s name so she chose that name, she can’t complain and I can see why he divorced her. She put a tracker on my phone after one hook-up.”

“Care to share that with the rest of the class, Mr Quinn?” Snapped Mrs Aguilera, turning around.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

She was not as endearing as the people she was named after.

“Actually, I do,” said Zaya with a smug smile.

“No, he doesn’t,” I said quickly.

“Don’t waste my time, Zaya and Hannah,” sighed Mrs Aguilera.

“That’s Alpha and Luna to you, Britney,” snapped Zaya.

Britney inhaled sharply. Her eyes practically bugged out of her head. She was so pissed but she dared not say anything after Zaya flaunted his Alpha status. Wolves did not take kindly to people disrespecting their Alpha no matter the circumstances. Even teachers had to tread lightly once the Alpha had turned eighteen.

“Let’s end class early today,” said Britney, almost snapping her pointing stick in half.

She did not bother saying “good afternoon class” or assigning homework. She just got her briefcase and left. The class burst into laughter and jeers when she was out of earshot. A few guys high-fived Zaya. One of the guys put his arm around Zaya. There was a girl waiting on him.

“Baby, this is your future Gamma and his girl,” said Zaya.

“Sai Singh,” said a movie-star handsome guy with light brown skin and hazel eyes, holding out his hand for me to shake.

“Preeti Jha,” said a drop-dead gorgeous girl with brown skin and lustrous black hair.

“She’s lying,” said Sai, annoyed.

“Excuse you,” said Preeti.

“Her last name is Singh,” he said, smiling, showing his dimples.

Preeti rolled her eyes. “Not yet,” she said.

“Soon,” he said.

“Your mother hates me,” said Preeti, folding her arms.

“Mother-in-laws hate everyone. It’s in the job description,” said Sai.

Preeti sighed exasperatedly.

“You’re my mate. You’re a Singh now. Accept it,” said Sai, pulling Preeti closer to him.

“Nice to meet both of you,” I said, laughing at their squabble.

“I have never seen you around before today! How weird is that?” Asked Preeti.

“Preeti means you didn’t come to her debates and pep rallies,” said Sai.

“She’s class president,” said Noah. “And leader of the debate team and a great chess player.”

“He’s better,” said Preeti, nodding towards Noah. “He beat me for Chess Club President and for History Club President. Thank goodness, he wasn’t eligible for Class President as the future Alpha.”

“You and Noah and Madison Fong can out-nerd each other later,” said Zaya, rolling his eyes.

Preeti swatted Zaya with her fluffy pencil case.

“Star, why don’t you join debate club? It seems like you’re not in any clubs!” Said Preeti.

I would rather be flung around by Georgianna every afternoon than go to debate club meetings.

“That sounds really cool but I’m so behind with everything after you-know all the extra-curricular activities last month. I need to review what I missed,” I said.

I was a scholarship student. Wait. Was I? Even though I could afford this place now, I still wanted to maintain the kind of grades that got me the scholarship.

“I got in here based on merit so I always had to focus on my grades. I was afraid to lose my scholarship so I never joined any clubs or went to parties much,” I explained.

Preeti nodded.

“Well, grades are important to me too but a club like debate will help your academics not hurt it,” said Preeti with a wink.

I hated public speaking.

“Maybe, I could be on the dance committee,” I said.

I liked picking out stuff for the castle events. I could decorate for the dance. We had a Halloween Dance coming up.

“That would be great!” Squealed Preeti. “I’ll put you down. As class president, I get to help assemble the committee.”

“I’ll lose my Gamma position if I let anything happen to the Luna in my presence and you’re boring her to death, Preeti,” grumbled Sai, pulling Preeti away from us.

“Bye, Star!” Called Preeti, waving.

“Bye, Preeti,” I said, waving.

I wasn’t bored just mildly terrified of extra responsibility. The rest of the day was a blur. I practically ran from the last class.

“Where are you going?” Asked Noah, running after me.

All the Quads had rushed after me. They were all looking at me in concern. I realised I had automatically began walking to my old room that I used to share with Jillian. I knew I still had some of my stuff there.

“I have to get the rest of my stuff,” I said.

“We have plenty of shoes for you to wear,” said Jonah.

“And clothes,” said Noah.

“Well, unless I wanna wear sky-high heels with risqué lace numbers everyday, I’m gonna need my plain old clothes,” I said pointedly.

Noah and Jonah looked hurt. I quickly kissed them both and tried to tickle them. They ran and hid in my old room.

“The door was open,” I said, shocked, walking in after them.

“Yeah,” said Jonah, peeking out from behind my curtains.

“Uh huh,” said Noah, peeping out from under my bed. “Probably the housekeeping staff. They have a master key.”

“Jillian and I don’t get housekeeping because we’re on…” I began.

“No, you’re not, Star. When you ran off with Harper, Noah said you were in danger of losing your scholarship according to the rule back after such a long absence so I just tried to pay your tuition along with some hush money,” said Jonah. “But the Principal said Mr Jogie had already payed for you.”

I gasped.

“Marco Jogie? Harper’s adopted Dad?” I confirmed.

“Yeah, that was cool of him, huh,” said Zaya.

“Yeah,” I said, smiling.

He had not even mentioned it.

“Your Dad tried to pay it too and me obviously and Zaya. Zaya and I weren’t speaking as much as usual. It was me and Noah against Zaya and Eli half the time so Zaya had also wired the money to the school. They had to reimburse him because Marco Jogie had already payed. The Principal was laughing his a*s off at all the guys trying to fund your education,” said Jonah, rolling his eyes. “He made this stupid joke. He said two Dads and two Daddies had tried to pay for you.”

“Ugh,” I said.

“Marco wanted to adopt me but my Granny Hella said no. He knew about Harper and me,” I said.

“s**t,” said Eli. “Why would she let you miss out on such a privileged childhood?”

“She had just lost her child. She didn’t want to lose her grandchild,” I reasoned, getting defensive of Granny Hella.

People were always insinuating she hadn’t been a good guardian just because she was poor. It didn’t always work like that.

“It’s funny. Granny Hella didn’t want you to move in with the Jogie family but now she lives with them. She should have just done that before. Offered to be like a nanny for you and Harper in exchange for living there. That would have been awesome for you and Harper,” said Eli, smiling sadly.

It really would have.

“The Jogie family and Granny Hella really did you a disservice by not telling you and Harper about each other. You guys felt a connection and didn’t understand it. Something you’d both regret could have happened,” said Eli, looking mortified.

“Ugh, don’t make me lose my lunch,” g*****d Zaya.

“He’s right,” said Noah. “It’s called GSA.”

“Good grief, Noah,” grumbled Jonah.

“It’s a real thing. Genetic s****l Attraction. Look it up!” Said Noah in earnest.

All his brothers g*****d. I was not so sure I wanted to hear this either.

“When long-lost brothers and sisters meet as adults, there’s this unusually high chance that they’ll mistake their supposedly inexplicable connection for romantic interest. It’s farfetched for them to realise they’re long-lost siblings because of all the lies that have probably kept them apart so they confuse their strong rapport with romantic love until the truth comes out,” explained Noah.

“That was a phenomenon I could’ve gone my whole life not knowing,” reminisced Jonah. “Now, I’m going to have to look it up and fall down a rabbit hole of weird research articles and you tube video story times tonight.”

“Eww, I can just picture the titles. Summer Love Or Long-Lost Sister Story-time,” said Zaya, making a face.

“Brother f*ck*r Get Ready With Me Video,” joked Jonah.

Noah tossed a pillow at his face.

I could not even begin to think about that without cringing. I was just grateful all that happened was one suggestive dance and nothing else. I could get how the connection could be misconstrued though. My she-wolf had been Harper-struck which had been weird because she was always aggressive to any threats to my mate-bond. I knew now she had recognised her twin wolf subconsciously. If I had not met my mates already when I had met Harper, I might have been way more confused.

“Granny Hella and Marco and Mia should have said something. That was insane. Keeping twins apart,” I grumbled.

I did not like thinking about it because it actually made me really mad and sad at the same time. I had had a really rough time growing up at home due to the lack of finances and at school due to the loneliness and bullying. I could have used a rich older brother to help out Granny with groceries and protect me and just keep me company. I knew Harper could have made my childhood a million times better.

“It’s ok to be hurt, Star. That’s normal. I don’t know what I’d do if Zaya and I were raised separately and then met as adults. I’d feel so robbed and betrayed. It would be like they stole something from me,” said Eli gently.

“Yeah, and you would totally fall for me the moment you laid eyes on me,” joked Zaya.

“Yuck!” Exclaimed Eli, throwing a pillow at Zaya but he dodged it.

“All my pillows are gonna end up on the floor, you guys,” I complained, ready to change the topic.

I started grabbing up my most comfortable clothes and tossing them in my suitcase. Eli helped me but he only picked up stuff he liked. A lot of sequins and sparkly stuff made it into the suitcase. I remembered he liked shiny stuff on me. Zaya started helping so all the skimpy stuff I had been gifted by Jillian and Toby but never actually worn also made it into the suitcase.

“I’m all set, I think,” I said, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

The Quads carried my stuff to their suite in one trip. They actually had a deluxe suite with five bedrooms and five ensuite bathrooms and a half bathroom for guests. We all tended to gravitate to one bed at nighttime because we wanted to be next to each other but it was nice to be given my own bedroom in their suite with a bathroom and a walk-in closet. It felt real now as I started arranging my stuff in my new space. I remembered how jealous I had been when I had found out Angie had a set of keys for their suite. The Quads had not offered me my own keys and I did not want to ask. I wanted to be asked.

“Star,” called Noah.

I was in my bath robe. I had just gotten out of the tub. My hair was wrapped in a towel. I quickly threw on some underwear and a knee-length blush-coloured dress with a plunging but narrow V-shaped neckline that did not need a bra. I dried my hair with a tee shirt. That was a trick my Mom taught me. She had really wavy and curly hair too. Towel drying caused more frizz but drying with a tee shirt kept the curls more defined. I sped through mascara, blush and l*p stain.

“Star!” Called Noah again.

I was deciding I needed foundation and highlighter after all. I sighed and began dabbing them on lightly.

“Coming,” I replied.

“Twinkle twinkle little Star, come out come out wherever you are,” yelled Zaya.

“You’re a phenomenal poet,” said Jonah sarcastically.

“Princess,” said Eli.

“Oh Baby, Baby. Come and save me. I need you like mashed potatoes need gravy,” recited Zaya.

“The triplets seem so happy,” said Jonah ominously. “Maybe we should get rid of one of us.”

“Yeah, you,” snapped Zaya.

“Zaya, Zaya, I will pay yuh to never say a ‘nother rhyme in this lifetime,” said Jonah.

“That was worse than Zaya’s,” said Eli bluntly.

“I’ve got more material. Check this out…” began Zaya.

“Mon ange sauve moi s’il te plait!” Called Jonah.

I walked out of my room and headed to the dining room. I was strangely nervous. The Quads and I had not spent much time together in their suite. When I entered the dining room, my jaw dropped.

The table was set so beautifully with a full array of knives, forks and spoons for a multiple course meal. The cloth napkins were all folded into stars and were made of a silvery material so they glittered under the candlelight. There were dozens of candles around the room and in the centre of the table. There was also a huge bouquet in a vase as the centrepiece. It featured only star-shaped flowers: white and red Hoya flowers, pink bromeliads and yellow star tulips whose petals had white tips. I could smell a mouth-watering aroma coming from all the savoury dishes already plated artfully and sitting on the table. One dish in front of the only empty seat was covered. The Quads were already seated and grinning at me like cats who had gotten the cream. Eli pulled out my chair for me and I sat down.

“This is so romantic,” I said in shock.

“We want you to enjoy living here with us,” said Noah.

“We’re so glad you said yes,” said Jonah.

“We thought you might turn us down,” admitted Eli.

“Especially because of what d**k-wads we’d been,” said Zaya apologetically.

“Thank you,” I said. “I do forgive you and I love you.”

“We love you too, Star,” said Noah, kissing my hand.

He and Eli were closest to me and Jonah and Zaya faced me.

“Bon appetit, ma cherie !” Cooed Jonah.

“Merci beaucoup, mon amour,” I replied.

Jonah grinned. I was curious about the covered platter. I uncovered it to reveal a little black cube-shaped box with a silver bow. I looked at my mates, questioning them with my eyes.

“Open it,” encouraged Zaya.

“Before you freak out, it’s not an engagement ring. We know you need more time,” said Jonah gently.

“But it’s still a token of our commitment to you, Princess,” said Eli.

“If not for the curse, you would have gotten these on your birthday,” sighed Noah.

“No use crying over split milk,” said Zaya with a shrug. “Now, open it! Please!”

I lifted the lid off the box. I grinned. I had just been thinking about this. Keys to their suite. They had made copies for me and put them on a keyring with a star-shaped star-shaped key chain that lit up. I realised the star could open like a locket. Inside was a picture of the Quads and me.

“Thank you for making an effort to ensure that I feel welcomed,” I said, feeling bit emotional.

“You’re our whole world, Star. We’d do anything and everything for you,” said Zaya.

“Did you know the sun is a star?” Asked Noah.

I had heard that somewhere, probably from Noah at the planetarium.

“You’re our sun, Star. We revolve around you. No matter what, we’ll always be there for you,” promised Noah.

“You’re our Princess, Star, and soon enough you’ll be the lady of the house, the Queen, so we want you to think of our possessions as being yours too,” said Eli.

Jonah took one of the flowers from the vase and gave it to me,

“Ma belle, it almost killed me to not be able to give you the recognition and love that you deserved right from the beginning but I’d rather lose your love than have you lose your life. You are my top priority and I’m so happy that now I can do all the things I dreamt of doing for you back when I had to keep my distance,” said Jonah.

I sniffled a little. I was relieved to not be a secret anymore. A part of me had been afraid they were ashamed of me in some way and the curse had just been a convenient excuse.

“I love you, all of you, so much,” I told them, sniffling.

I picked up my new suite keys and attached them to my old house keys. No one lived in that house anymore but I still kept my old bunch of keys. It was a little token of my old life. It had not been all bad and it had made me the person I was now.

Eli popped a bottle of champagne and poured us each a glass. Jonah shared them out.

“Here’s to happy endings and joyful beginnings,” said Eli.

“Cheers,” we said in unison.

I’d drink to that any day. x