Novels by Didi Adeyemi

HAYLEY’S P.O.VJake and I had settled in a comforting routine and I had to admit that it was wonderful getting to wake up next to him every morning.He was the perfect partner even though we both had no idea what we were doing. A few night, I had woken up to find him reading a pregnancy book but I never commented on it. He doted on me, making sure I ate and rested all the time. It was cute and I secretly loved it but there was the elephant in the room.We were yet to do an ultrasound.It wasn’t due to lack of time. If it were up to Jake, we would have done it the minute he found out but I just couldn’t. I knew I was pregnant, I knew nothing would change that and yet, I didn’t want it to be real just yet. For the past week, I shut down every discussion surrounding the doctor’s appointment and avoided it as much as possible.It was Friday and I was already dreading the idea of being forced to interact with people I didn’t like and couldn’t stand. I was tired of the team building exercis

HAYLEY’S P.O.VThe moment I woke up, I knew I wasn’t alone.I was always able to tell when someone was watching me, even from a young age. The hair on my neck stood on edge and I just felt this sensation all over me. Dad always told me it was normal but some people found it weird. They said it was some kind of sixth spider sense or some shit like that.To an extent, I agreed, because not only was I able to tell when I was being watched, I was able to tell who was doing the watching. Each person felt different: with Jake, his gaze was always heated, it felt like someone was trying to brand my skin with their eyes. With my father, it was softer, more loving but that didn’t make it any less intense.“Hey dad,” I whispered as I sat up slowly.I looked around the dark room and found him seated in the couch facing the bed and I had never been so grateful for Jake dressing me before now. It would have been very uncomfortable if I was still naked in bed.Dad didn’t respond, he just stared at

JAKE’S P.O.VI blinked once then twice, staring at Hayley in front of me and wondering if I had misheard.“You what?”I wasn’t proud of my response but I was convinced that I had misheard. Hayley was nowhere near ready to have a child, she had all but said so herself, she wanted to live first, she wanted to grow first.She must have mistook my words for something else because her eyes grew dark and she stepped back from me. “You don’t have to be involved.”“Excuse me?”“If you don’t want this baby then I am more than capable of doing it on my own. I have my grandfather and my-”“Stop.”She either didn’t hear me or didn’t care. “I have the money and this will fulfill my grandmother’s inheritance clause. I have more than enough to take care of my child.”“Our,” I corrected and that was what caught her attention.“What?”“Our child,” I repeated stepping closer to her. “If you had let me finish earlier, you would have known that I want this baby.”“But you-”“I was surprised and I didn’t

HAYLEY’S P.O.VI wanted to take the test as soon as possible but I couldn’t.I had to wait until the morning because I needed accurate results.It felt like torture to just wait. I hid the tests in my bag but it was an ever present worry at the back of my mind. I could barely go a minute without thinking about it to the point that even Jake realized that something was bothering me.“Are you alright?” he asked and I nodded slowly. “You don’t look okay.”I just shrugged and turned away from him. He sighed and made his way over to me. He was still in his outfit from work but he had ditched the tie and the jacket. I was slacking off on my work terribly, I knew that for a fact and it was my day to plan the team building exercise tomorrow. I still had no idea what to do.“Hayley,” he crouched down in front of me, both hands on my thighs as he stroked my knee gently. “Talk to me, baby. Did something happen to Kate?”“No, Kate is fine. She’s having fun in school. She’s good, this isn’t about

HAYLEY’S P.O.VShe looked around in a panic, as if to ensure no one was watching outside before shutting the door behind her.“So,” I implored. “Who is he?”“He’s older, like Jake’s age.”I hummed. “Where did you meet him?”“At a club,” that had my brows rising. The club was not the ideal place to meet a guy. She must have seen the look on my face because she quickly added, “he’s not a typical club goer.”“I’m not judging.”“I know,” she ran her hands through her hair. “I know I should stop seeing her and I want to but,” she sighed deeply. “I know it is pathetic.”“There is nothing pathetic about being in love with someone.”“I’m not in love with him. I don’t think I am. He’s fun and nice but I don’t think he wants anything serious.”“Do you?”She went silent and turned away. “Can I get cleaned for a second then I’ll be back out.”I waved her off. I knew that pushing for an answer wouldn’t yield any positive results so I watched her leave instead. I sat cross legged on her couch waiti

HAYLEY’S P.O.VThe smell of breakfast was what woke me but it was the light streaming through the windows that had me sitting up in a flash- I was late.“Relax,” I felt a hand on my shoulders as Jake gently guided me back into the bed. “You don’t have to rush anywhere.”“But I’m late-”“Your dad gave you the day off, rest, Hayley, you’re not a machine, you are not a robot, you need a break once in a while.”I wanted to protest but he just shot me a look that clearly told me he wasn’t taking no for an answer no matter what so I reluctantly found myself resting against the pillows. It was only once I was back in bed that I took the opportunity to look at Jake.He was shirtless showing off his toned chest, he had a tray of food in his hands that he placed in my lap. It smelled delicious and my stomach rumbled, reminding me that I didn’t have a chance to eat last night.I mumbled a thank you under my breath before shoving a forkful into my mouth while Jake excused himself from the room. I

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V Adamaris and the council were able to break the bond between me and Esmeralda before finally executing her and destroying the talisman. We held Samantha’s burial the next day. It felt wrong to hold it until after Esmeralda was dead. It was so difficult for me to stand next to her body and act like it wasn’t my fault she was dead. Logan assured me no one felt that way, but I felt that way. What made it a lot harder was having to explain to Amelia that her mum was going away. She wasn’t even two yet, she didn’t understand the concept of death, and she just stayed in my arms and kept on screaming the word ‘mummy’ over and over again. Logan tried to take her away from me but she refused to let anyone else hold her. Amelia’s things were moved into our house the day after the funeral. She was a frolicky baby with a terrible sleep schedule. I attributed that to the fact that she missed her mum. Considering each time she woke up, she would ask for her mother. A lot of pe

THIRD PERSON’S P.O.VCharlotte was mingling with the guests with a smile on her face. She had the part of being Luna down to a pat, she was sweet, respectful and paid attention to every little detail.Logan stayed behind her to give her space to talk to the people, but also close enough that he always had her in his sight. He was on edge and for good reason too; they hadn’t heard from the witch in a few days and that probably meant she was waiting for a good time to strike.A little girl walked up to Charlotte and softly tugged at the hem of her hoodie. Charlotte turned her attention to the girl with a smile on her face. She crouched down so she was at eye level with her.“Can I help you?” she asked and the girl nodded. “I was wondering how it feels to be pregnant.” Charlotte was taken aback by the question.“I don’t know; I’ll let you know when I am pregnant.”She started to rise but the girl held onto her arm with a grip that seemed too strong for a girl who looked no older

The next twenty four hours after Adamaris got rid of the brand were entirely uneventful. I guess that should have been my clue that it was the calm before the storm.The day actually started out like any normal day. I woke up with Logan bringing me breakfast in bed, then I lay back while he ran his fingers in circles on my baby bump. I looked up at him and he gave me a small smile but his fingers never slowed.“Are we going to stay here all day?” I asked and he raised a brow. “Shouldn’t you be happy that you have a day off from all the drama?”“I am happy,” I admitted, “I was just curious as to why we haven’t moved yet.” “We don’t have anywhere to go for now,” he explained, “Do you remember the changes you approved for the school music department?” I nodded, “Well they’ve been implemented and today is the grand unveiling.”“I totally forgot about that.” “I told them to go ahead with it while you were,” he trailed off, “While you were gone.”He seemed to close off

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.VWe all sat in silence while Greg sketched. Logan made tea for me while we waited. Adamaris muttered something about how chivalry is dead since Logan didn’t make one for her too. This led Logan to mutter about how witches should get their own mates to do things for them.They kept on trading back and forth quips between themselves until Greg muttered something about how he was close to stabbing his ears with his pencil. I giggled and they both shot me looks as if I had betrayed them.A little over half an hour later, Greg was done with the sketch and when I saw it, I was taken aback by how life like it looked. He got every single feature of her perfectly, from the slight crookedness of her nose to the fullness of her lips and even down to the meanness of her smirk.After staring at it for a while, I passed it on to Adamaris. She took one look at it and cursed.“Do you know her?” I asked and she nodded. “She used to be in my coven,” she said slowly as she fold

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.VI woke up to Adamaris sitting on a chair cross legged and looking bored out of her mind. She had cleared up the circle of salt and moved Kaden and Aubrey to a more comfortable lying position.Logan and Evan were still knocked out on the floor in the same position and I stifled a smile. Leave it to Adamaris to let the men suffer. Aubrey and Kaden began to stir; Kaden stirred first and as if she heard him, Aubrey moved too.Aubrey sat up first and cradled her head in her hands for a few seconds. It wasn’t until she heard Kaden’s whimper that her head snapped up and she rushed to him.He buried his face into her chest while she whispered a few words in his ears, too low for even my werewolf hearing to pick up on. Kaden just nodded and gave his mum a smile.Kaden looked up and saw me and he gave me a small smile. “Hey Charlie, I’m sorry I fell asleep.” I felt my lips curl up at the sides. He turned to Adamaris and gave her a confused look, “Hello, who are you?”“That’s n

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.VIt was Logan who snapped out of his reverie and realized that we still needed to find Adamaris a place to sleep. Thankfully, she has her house (I still don’t understand what the hell she means by that). She said that all she needs is a large expanse of land, preferably in the woods.Logan wanted me to stay home but I’m not going to let him go alone, especially since everyone is in this mess because of me. Reluctantly, he handed me one of his big, warm hoodies and I pulled it over my head.I sat in front with Logan while Adamaris and Celeste sat at the back. The drive was tense and quiet; Logan had one hand on my leg to keep me grounded because my thoughts were going haywire.Adamaris was lost in thought, her eyes were kept fixed on the window. Celeste was staring at me, not in a creepy way, but in a way that kept me alert. Occasionally, her eyes would move from my face to Logan’s hand on my thigh and back.I caught her eye through the mirror and she gave me a smile t