CHARLOTTE The next time my eyes opened, it was morning. And I was alone. I lay still for a moment, trying my best to center myself after suddenly waking up. My eyes were on the ceiling, but after a long minute, I glanced over to the side of the bed Taide was on, only to stiffen a little when I found him there and awake. He was seated at the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, and his gaze fixed on the floor in front of him. I remained silent and still, so as not to alert him that I’d woken up. The moment gave me a chance to study him. His calm face, the sharp lines of his nose and cheekbones, the slight stubble on his jaw. That was when I noticed that his buzz cut had grown out, creating a thicker fuzz of black on his head. I looked down and followed the path of his finger as he idly traced the skin around the small bandage wrapped around his injury. I watched him eventually raise that hand and run it over his head, his gaze fixed on the floor, but from the angle
CHARLOTTE The sound of water running roused me from sleep. I went still at first, taking in the unfamiliar ceiling and sheets, but it didn’t take long for me to remember where I was and why I was there. I instantly relaxed and let out a small yawn. I lifted my hand to rub the sleep from my eyes, only to freeze halfway when I felt a sliver of pressure between my legs. I stiffened, surprised and confused by the sudden sensation, but with each passing second, the pressure increased, until it was replaced by a heavier, more potent feeling—a raw… ache. The sensation ran through me in short bursts, and as much as I tried to figure out what was causing it, I couldn’t. My brows furrowed as another short burst of the sensation rolled through me. “What the…?” My words were cut off by a short gasp as an even more pleasurable wave washed over me. I clamped my thighs together and hunched over, gasping for air, stunned by the force of these alien feelings. I buried my cheek into the pillow a
CHARLOTTE I had a million things to say, but the words stayed stuck in my throat when someone else entered the kitchen. Both Taide and I looked away from each other as Madeline walked in. Her eyes were red and unfocused, and a heavy cloud of sadness hung over her. I could see the distress on her usually cheerful face, and I frowned in concern. The moment she walked through the door, her eyes landed on Taide and me, then drifted to our joined hands. I quickly pulled my hand away, dropping his as if it burned me. My hands flew to my sides, and I found myself somewhere between awkward and embarrassed. “Hey, Mads,” I said, trying to sound light, but her expression didn’t change. “Charlotte,” she said quietly, her lips pressing together like she was debating whether to even have this conversation. “If you’re not busy, can we talk for a second?” I met her swollen eyes and nodded. Madeline started to leave the kitchen, and I moved to follow her, but before we could get far, Tai
CHARLOTTEThe sound of car doors slamming shut made me pause in my descent downstairs. I leaned forward a little, trying to tell from the sounds alone who was approaching, but other than a few slow footsteps, there was nothing. I leaned forward a little further so I could peek through the window. I caught sight of a tall man dressed in a dark suit opening the back door of a tinted SUV. King Auric stepped out, donning sunglasses as he walked the path to the house, his usual domineering aura seemed to hang even heavier around him. I took in his outfit, he was dressed in his usual pressed suit and stiff tie, so that wasn’t what made me pause—it was his hair, trimmed into a neat buzzcut that made me feel like I was staring at an image of Taide, thirty years in the future. I watched him and his men approach the house, then when they got far enough, realization struck, and I turned and climbed up the stairs before they could see me lurking. King Auric’s presence was never a good sign
CHARLOTTE Caeson left for the palace that same night. I tucked my feet under me and reached for the TV remote, as I pondered over everything that happened yesterday. In the few seconds it took for me to turn on the TV, I caught sight of my bitter expression on the reflection of the TV. I hated seeing it, the exact same way I hated the fatigue, nausea and headache that had been following me since I got up from bed this morning. It wouldn’t be a stretch to deem it the worst slumber of my life—and that wasn’t only because of the headache and nausea that followed me afterwards—It was the fact that I’d spent a good chunk of the time tossing and turning, while thinking about Taide, and the painful realisation that he might be upset with me. I’d gone to his room the way I had three nights prior, albeit a little more tentatively than I usually did. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I drew closer to his door, but for some odd reason, I couldn’t bring myself to knock. I did lift my hand
CHARLOTTE I made my way downstairs with my hand on my throat. My emotions were a confusing mess within me and try as I might, I couldn’t pin a single one down. I felt my heart pound, and an uneasiness filled my entire being to the brim. I wasn’t sure how I managed to put one foot in front of the other as I hurried downstairs, but I somehow made it down without tripping and landing on my face, or throwing up all over the tiles. Through the mess of my emotions, I heard noises from the kitchen. I had to breathe, but it suddenly felt like I didn’t know how to. “You’re burning it,” Reigh spoke from the kitchen. “No, I’m not. I just don’t like it runny,” Madeline retorted, there was more clanging and even a laugh, till I finally summoned up enough courage to face a crowd. Reigh and Madeline turned around the moment I walked in, taking in the state I was in. I was probably a sight, I knew my skin was clammy and pale, and it felt like my entire body was being stretche
CHARLOTTEI tried to keep myself occupied the entire day. It was the only way to keep my mind off the situations unfolding around me. The realities I’d been trying so hard to wrap my head around while avoiding them at the same time. But one thing I had to keep reminding myself of was the fact that Taide and I weren’t together. We weren’t a couple… despite recent events. What—or who—he did, was none of my business. He helped me out at a time of need. That was all it was. Probably all it ever would be. We weren’t friends either. That I knew for certain. And yet… Every time the image of the girl on his bed popped into my mind, I felt like clawing it out with silver. Burning it with wildfire so it never dared to come up again. This completed mate bond was turning me into a person I truly didn’t recognize. I wasn’t new to the concept of the triplets and their women. Hell, one of them was already engaged. They flaunted the very fact that girls flocked around them with thin reservat
CHARLOTTTEThe question was loaded as it hung in the air between us. I didn’t let myself breathe because suddenly, I felt suspended mid-air, trying desperately to find my footing. He could brush me off, give me an answer that proved just how way over my head I had gotten. He could do it, and we could put this entire thing behind us. But I was looking at a version of Taide I had never seen before. One I couldn’t predict. One who could respond to the question I had just voiced with the words I had just heard fall from his lips, as he breathed out, “You know why.” “But I don’t,” I found myself saying. “I don’t know what’s going on inside your head when you do the things you do. I don’t know why you built me this bookshelf,” I gestured to my left wall, “I don’t know why you’re here, why you feel you need to be here after… after…” “After I had sex with someone else?” I swallowed down the rest of my sentence, hearing him complete the words I couldn’t speak myself. A wave of unease ro