Because this was a makeup dinner of sorts, I decided to dress up for Andrew. I wore a scarlet strapless dress that stopped just above my knees, black stilettos, and my signature golden hoop earrings. My blonde locks fell in loose curls down my back. Sparkling gold eyeshadow accented my blue eyes,
The Newton’s cradle on Andrew’s desk ticked back and forth. Its metallic clang echoed throughout his home office. Yet not even this hypnotic rhythm could calm Andrew’s buzzing mind as he waited for Mr. Smith to appear. Before Andrew lay the note from dinner the previous night, its red envelope d
A few days after my private dinner with Andrew, I spent an entire day at the wedding of a distant cousin of one of the Council members. My presence had specifically been requested, so I could not delegate the work to anyone else. It was good, honest work, and I enjoyed spending time with Terri and s
A week passed without anything happening. I put everything back to the way it was, and I only found that one scarf to be missing. It was almost as if nothing had happened. The more time that went by, the more that Jeffrey insisted that I should talk to the police or to Andrew. I knew that he wan
I dug my heels into the ground. Chevalier nicked my throat with his knife, causing me to hiss as the silver burned my sensitive flesh, but I did not lift my feet. I refused to be entirely helpless again. “Stop resisting,” Chevalier ordered as he tightened his grip on me. “It will be much less pain
The steady beeping of a heart monitor woke my senses first. Then came the blinding brightness of fluorescent lights bouncing off of pure white walls and the stingingly sterile smell of floor cleaner. Finally, as my vision focused, I saw Andrew sitting back in a chair next to my bed, Jeffrey forever
Andrew’s second house was drastically different from the Alpha King mansion, though still luxurious. A midcentury modern, the house was angular with a plethora of windows and sliding glass doors to open up the space. From a security perspective, I guessed it was a nightmare, but from an architectura
Chevalier chuckled. “How chivalric.” In a flash, he pointed his gun at Jeffrey’s leg and shot him with a silver bullet. I screamed as Jeffrey fell to the ground, clutching the wound and groaning loudly. I dropped to the ground beside him, a bullet whizzing by my head as I did so. “Jeffrey—”
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