My skin crawled. The very thought of being Bob’s paid lover sent a flurry of emotions through me that I could scarcely control: disgust, anger, repulsion, hatred—towards him for suggesting it and a little towards myself that my life had come to this. I tried to shake the last of these off and remind
After being home for a few days, I heard from Eliza that Nikolas was still in the hospital. I was concerned that, since he had been in the hospital for so long, he was worse off than he was letting us know, so I decided to visit him and see how he was doing for myself. I went on the weekend so that
I knew I should have been grateful for Nikolas interfering on my half, but I knew that he was only saying it as the victim of an abusive son. He must have been in this kind of situation, having to explain a bruise that he didn’t want to explain, so many times before. It was heartbreaking to even thi
I tried to keep my spirits up on the drive home for Noah, but I kept thinking about Andrew and the anger with which he had glared at us. Could he truly have been that mad about seeing me with another male? No, that couldn’t be possible. Andrew could have any female—any person—he wanted. He wouldn’
The wall that we sat next to featured real bricks and wine grape vines growing up the side of it. As Noah pulled my chair out for me, the iron scraped against the hard ground. The authenticity—and Noah’s manners—made me smile. Noah ordered balsamic and rosemary-marinated Florentine steak, while I
Andrew stared blankly at the new werewolf healthcare reform bill sitting on his desk in front of him. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on it, he could not get himself to focus. He groaned and ran his hand over his face. This was the seventh bill or proposal he had failed to focus on that
Lisa had spent all week planning this dance party. It was a bit last-minute, but she wanted to get Lady Charlene Laurent in front of her father as soon as possible. She had no clue how far Crystal had dug her claws into Andrew, but she was certain that someone like the beautiful Lady Charlene would
Immediately, the crowd parted to allow Lisa and her guests to reach Andrew. While Lady Charlene seemed slightly impressed by this feat, Bob merely smirked, accustomed to such preferential treatment even from the highest rung of society by now. When they reached Andrew, they all maintained formalit
That night, long after the last of the guests had left for their rooms, Andrew and I returned to the presidential suite to find that the staff had decorated it in preparation for our stay. All the décor, right down to the bed sheets, had been switched out for matching red and gold pieces. The light
Andrew’s eyes met mine as I approached the altar. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. He looked so handsome in his classic black tuxedo that I could hardly wait for after the reception to be with him. As I took my place across from Andrew, I handed my bouquet to Lily. The priestess bega
One month later, I stood in a suite at a private beachside resort, admiring my wedding dress. It hugged my curves in all the right places while still gently brushing against the ground like a low-hanging cloud. Crystals glistened in the room’s fluorescent lights, and the train flowed behind me effor
“Let’s continue this in the bedroom,” I said, breathless. Andrew nodded his agreement. I pulled Andrew to his feet as he stuck the ring box back in his pocket. Then I dragged him back to the bedroom, leading him by the tie. Not that he needed to be dragged; he would have followed me anywhere by th
Andrew texted me and said his flight was delayed by a few errands he had to run, so I waited. And waited. I waited for an entire day, and even began to worry that Andrew had changed his mind. Then I heard a knock at my door. I leapt off the couch and rushed to answer it. Stopping just short of the
Noah left the next day. I took him to the airport, we exchanged a hug and a brief farewell, and then I watched him walk through the gate. That was the last time I ever saw him. With a heavy heart, I returned to an empty apartment. All our furniture and my belongings—what little I still had—were the
Sensing the urgency in Noah’s voice, I leaned in closer. “What is it?” I asked, trying to suppress the anticipation in my voice. Noah’s grip on my hands tightened. “I’m going to study financial law in the human world.” I froze. My heart thumped hard against my ribs, so hard that I thought th
The nightmares did not stop. In fact, they got worse. By the end of that week, I was having at least one every night, and it was showing in behavior during the day. I could scarcely stay awake. At my new branch of Ever After Weddings, I had to sneak off into the breakroom whenever there were no cu
I dreamt of the Lunar Festival. Noah and I walked hand-in-hand through the stalls, enjoying the sparkling lights and the company of our new pack mates. Yet something was off. I could feel a chill in the air, a foreboding that I could not quite shake off. “We should get out of here,” I said, tryi