SADIE.I still feel drowsy from the kiss—my mind hazy and my heart racing. I wouldn’t mind a few minutes more, but the sharp sound of my father’s voice cuts through the air like a blade. “Sadie,” he orders, his tone as stern as ever. “Come with me. Now!”“Go,” Emmett says, a smile lurking on his lips as he shifts his gaze to my father, who might be boring holes into the back of my head with his eyes.I don’t care. When we want to talk about being shameless, I am sure he doesn’t have it in any of his dictionaries. That side-piece bih can’t replace my mother.“The announcement dinner is happening soon. The invites are already sent out and since the prime minister’s signature is on each, everyone invited will be present even unplanned,” he says as we begin walking together.My life is really taking another dimension because my father would rather I marry his frenemy than speak up. Did he swear an oath of silence? What’s this high level of secrecy over the set of people that killed his da
SADIE.I hope Aunt Kitra will come. I have not had an opportunity to see her since she handed me over to Emmett to protect me. It’s the first time someone else held my inhaler to my lips and urged me to breathe. It had always been her since Esther was killed.“It is time. The guests have arrived and are awaiting your presence,” one of the prime minister’s staff announces as she walks into the room.“Just the powder, and you are set,” the makeup artist tells me, her brush patting my face as she speaks.Okay.“Do you think getting married to Emmett will restore Esther or bring the murderers to life?”I try to not let his words get to me, but they do. It’s not like I was deaf when he spoke.“All done,” the makeup artist says, grinning from ear to ear, clearly pleased with her retouch as she displays a mirror in front of me.“It’s perfect,” I remark, my eyes locking on mine in the mirror.“It was nice retouching your makeup, you were so calm.” She responds, earning a smile from me as she t
EMMETT.The guest can already tell it is an engagement announcement dinner. They just don’t know whose engagement is to be announced. It’s the reason they are free to gossip about the engagement, even next to the unannounced couple.I see my people among the guests, blended in as usual, conscious of what is to happen, and majorly happy, despite their anger that it’s Dawson’s daughter.“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests, it is my honor to introduce the couple whose union will bring together two powerful families in the country.” I hadn’t noticed the master of the ceremonies take the stage until he spoke. “Let us welcome the prime minister,” he continues, rounds of applause booming around the room repeatedly until the prime minister takes the stage.“Thank you, everyone. It is my utmost delight to have you all leave your meetings, busy schedules, and even homes to be here. It tells me how you all value me, and my works for the country. If I had led the countries to ruin, you all wou
SADIE.Sarah better switch up and just congratulate us. “Congratulations, you two,” she says, her bottom lip quivering, the corners of her lips tugged up in a smile that does not reach her glossy eyes.“Thank you,” I respond, moving closer to her for a hug. “Wipe your tears, and brace yourself. You’re a woman, and a man should not be the reason you cry. He’s all yours. You can still win him over if you can.” I whisper in her ear, a smile plastered on my face.Judging from the fact that I cried some hours ago because of a man, I am such a hypocrite. I hope she gets the point, though. It is not, and will never be, my intention to hurt a woman.“You’re a bitch!” she whispers-yells as I step away from her.The announcements have been made, everyone is back to enjoying the night and making as much connection as they can, but I just want to go home to see what’s in the bag Aunt Kitra handed to me.“Can we talk for a moment, please?” Emmett says as he rests his hand on either side of my wa
EMMETT.“They already love you,” Prime minister remarks, standing next to me as he swirls the drink in his glass.“You seem more excited,” I respond, and drown the rest of the alcohol in my glass, in hopes that it somehow gets to me tonight.“You have no idea how much weight you will be lifting off my shoulders by taking this job. The danger that comes with having to be everyone’s friend when a friend to all is not any—if it’s for that alone, I’m happy to leave this position. It felt good while it lasted,” he replies as his eyes scans over the chatty crowd repeatedly.“You still have a few weeks as the prime minister. I’m not in a hurry, and we are still very good friends.” I drop the empty glass and take another from the passing waiter.“It’s a pity Dawson decided to leave our circle to be a man of his own,” he says, and I follow his line of sight.It’s Dawson, not so excited to be speaking to the woman who seems all smiley as she talks to him, making me interested in hearing what sh
SADIE.What do men think of themselves? I hate how he is able to get a reaction out of me. I meant both of them... maybe especially the one I might still end up killing. I will kill him, then kill myself. I still can’t believe my mood changed because he was pissed. Why do I even care if he’s pissed or not? I don’t care. I can trace my anger to Matt. He was slightly offensive as well. What does he mean by "he knows me well"? No one knows me. If anyone knew me, they’d know this isn’t where I want to be. This isn’t what I want to be doing. I am only doing this because I have to keep doing something. I do it, I complain, but it doesn’t stop me from doing what I want. If at any point a man thinks he can entangle my life with a life-long marriage, that man is deceiving himself. Mate bond or not, I own and control my life. I grew up human, I didn’t ask to not be one. Somehow, according to the books, I won’t be dying young—I hate that already.“You announced your engagement to him successf
EMMETT.The poisons?Sadie cannot possibly be one. As much as I want to defend the impossibilities, I cannot. I have not known her long enough to defend her, even if I care about her and somehow, she found her way to me from the very first time I noticed her eyes gawking at my stark upper body while I prepared a meal.Could it be that what Dawson has been trying to protect her from is so she doesn’t become prey? I hate to be baffled, but Cullen might be right. The only stronger substance that can kill a wolf faster than wolfsbane, silver, or decapitation is the blood of the killer wolf.A wolf whose blood mutated in the womb. Could it be that Esmeralda died because she was pregnant with a child that fought with her immune system? Could that be the reason Dawson doesn’t fancy her and treats her like business?I wish I could stop overthinking, but I cannot. Why should I be fixed in a position where I have to choose between my pack and my wife if I test Cullen’s allegations about her? Th
SADIE.Dear Sadie,Hey, I know it will be a mess writing that I hope this letter finds you well because you think without me, there is nothing absolutely well with you, but I assure you dear sister that it is indeed well without me even though you are not seeing it now. By the time you’re reading this letter, I believe you are more than old enough to comprehend everything here. I am hoping by the end of this letter you are not shaking your head in disagreement to the content of this letter. I hope that as you read this letter you do as I say because like you used to say, ‘anything Esther says is right.’ I hope that hasn’t changed about you and you still believe in my words. After all, I am mom’s guardian angel for you. I made this decision but know that our father and aunt Kitra had the most difficult time accepting it. In fact, it took our dad almost two weeks to finally accept it. He thought he could come up with solutions, but it happened that he could not co
SADIE.Dear Sadie,Hey, I know it will be a mess writing that I hope this letter finds you well because you think without me, there is nothing absolutely well with you, but I assure you dear sister that it is indeed well without me even though you are not seeing it now. By the time you’re reading this letter, I believe you are more than old enough to comprehend everything here. I am hoping by the end of this letter you are not shaking your head in disagreement to the content of this letter. I hope that as you read this letter you do as I say because like you used to say, ‘anything Esther says is right.’ I hope that hasn’t changed about you and you still believe in my words. After all, I am mom’s guardian angel for you. I made this decision but know that our father and aunt Kitra had the most difficult time accepting it. In fact, it took our dad almost two weeks to finally accept it. He thought he could come up with solutions, but it happened that he could not co
EMMETT.The poisons?Sadie cannot possibly be one. As much as I want to defend the impossibilities, I cannot. I have not known her long enough to defend her, even if I care about her and somehow, she found her way to me from the very first time I noticed her eyes gawking at my stark upper body while I prepared a meal.Could it be that what Dawson has been trying to protect her from is so she doesn’t become prey? I hate to be baffled, but Cullen might be right. The only stronger substance that can kill a wolf faster than wolfsbane, silver, or decapitation is the blood of the killer wolf.A wolf whose blood mutated in the womb. Could it be that Esmeralda died because she was pregnant with a child that fought with her immune system? Could that be the reason Dawson doesn’t fancy her and treats her like business?I wish I could stop overthinking, but I cannot. Why should I be fixed in a position where I have to choose between my pack and my wife if I test Cullen’s allegations about her? Th
SADIE.What do men think of themselves? I hate how he is able to get a reaction out of me. I meant both of them... maybe especially the one I might still end up killing. I will kill him, then kill myself. I still can’t believe my mood changed because he was pissed. Why do I even care if he’s pissed or not? I don’t care. I can trace my anger to Matt. He was slightly offensive as well. What does he mean by "he knows me well"? No one knows me. If anyone knew me, they’d know this isn’t where I want to be. This isn’t what I want to be doing. I am only doing this because I have to keep doing something. I do it, I complain, but it doesn’t stop me from doing what I want. If at any point a man thinks he can entangle my life with a life-long marriage, that man is deceiving himself. Mate bond or not, I own and control my life. I grew up human, I didn’t ask to not be one. Somehow, according to the books, I won’t be dying young—I hate that already.“You announced your engagement to him successf
EMMETT.“They already love you,” Prime minister remarks, standing next to me as he swirls the drink in his glass.“You seem more excited,” I respond, and drown the rest of the alcohol in my glass, in hopes that it somehow gets to me tonight.“You have no idea how much weight you will be lifting off my shoulders by taking this job. The danger that comes with having to be everyone’s friend when a friend to all is not any—if it’s for that alone, I’m happy to leave this position. It felt good while it lasted,” he replies as his eyes scans over the chatty crowd repeatedly.“You still have a few weeks as the prime minister. I’m not in a hurry, and we are still very good friends.” I drop the empty glass and take another from the passing waiter.“It’s a pity Dawson decided to leave our circle to be a man of his own,” he says, and I follow his line of sight.It’s Dawson, not so excited to be speaking to the woman who seems all smiley as she talks to him, making me interested in hearing what sh
SADIE.Sarah better switch up and just congratulate us. “Congratulations, you two,” she says, her bottom lip quivering, the corners of her lips tugged up in a smile that does not reach her glossy eyes.“Thank you,” I respond, moving closer to her for a hug. “Wipe your tears, and brace yourself. You’re a woman, and a man should not be the reason you cry. He’s all yours. You can still win him over if you can.” I whisper in her ear, a smile plastered on my face.Judging from the fact that I cried some hours ago because of a man, I am such a hypocrite. I hope she gets the point, though. It is not, and will never be, my intention to hurt a woman.“You’re a bitch!” she whispers-yells as I step away from her.The announcements have been made, everyone is back to enjoying the night and making as much connection as they can, but I just want to go home to see what’s in the bag Aunt Kitra handed to me.“Can we talk for a moment, please?” Emmett says as he rests his hand on either side of my wa
EMMETT.The guest can already tell it is an engagement announcement dinner. They just don’t know whose engagement is to be announced. It’s the reason they are free to gossip about the engagement, even next to the unannounced couple.I see my people among the guests, blended in as usual, conscious of what is to happen, and majorly happy, despite their anger that it’s Dawson’s daughter.“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests, it is my honor to introduce the couple whose union will bring together two powerful families in the country.” I hadn’t noticed the master of the ceremonies take the stage until he spoke. “Let us welcome the prime minister,” he continues, rounds of applause booming around the room repeatedly until the prime minister takes the stage.“Thank you, everyone. It is my utmost delight to have you all leave your meetings, busy schedules, and even homes to be here. It tells me how you all value me, and my works for the country. If I had led the countries to ruin, you all wou
SADIE.I hope Aunt Kitra will come. I have not had an opportunity to see her since she handed me over to Emmett to protect me. It’s the first time someone else held my inhaler to my lips and urged me to breathe. It had always been her since Esther was killed.“It is time. The guests have arrived and are awaiting your presence,” one of the prime minister’s staff announces as she walks into the room.“Just the powder, and you are set,” the makeup artist tells me, her brush patting my face as she speaks.Okay.“Do you think getting married to Emmett will restore Esther or bring the murderers to life?”I try to not let his words get to me, but they do. It’s not like I was deaf when he spoke.“All done,” the makeup artist says, grinning from ear to ear, clearly pleased with her retouch as she displays a mirror in front of me.“It’s perfect,” I remark, my eyes locking on mine in the mirror.“It was nice retouching your makeup, you were so calm.” She responds, earning a smile from me as she t
SADIE.I still feel drowsy from the kiss—my mind hazy and my heart racing. I wouldn’t mind a few minutes more, but the sharp sound of my father’s voice cuts through the air like a blade. “Sadie,” he orders, his tone as stern as ever. “Come with me. Now!”“Go,” Emmett says, a smile lurking on his lips as he shifts his gaze to my father, who might be boring holes into the back of my head with his eyes.I don’t care. When we want to talk about being shameless, I am sure he doesn’t have it in any of his dictionaries. That side-piece bih can’t replace my mother.“The announcement dinner is happening soon. The invites are already sent out and since the prime minister’s signature is on each, everyone invited will be present even unplanned,” he says as we begin walking together.My life is really taking another dimension because my father would rather I marry his frenemy than speak up. Did he swear an oath of silence? What’s this high level of secrecy over the set of people that killed his da
SADIE.“Your mother and I have been best friends since elementary school. Our moms made sure of it,” says the prime minister’s wife, Margo, who has corrected me a few times.“And my father is friends with the prime minister?” I just want to confirm my assumptions.“Same old cliché. My husband and your father were the tough boys of the school and our seniors. I worked my ass off to remain hidden—not as much as your mother worked to remain the most unnoticed, but our efforts gave us the opposite result.” Her feet become still and she turns to me. “Your mother’s father was supposed to be the next head of state, but things got messy, and he was killed. His wife, your grandmother, took it head on and made sure her best friend’s husband get into power, so she stays within it. Women weren’t supported much in politics back then. With the help of your soon-to-be husband, everything became easy. That man owns this city.” She hands the basket of flowers she has gathered to me.Emmett owns this c