CHARLOTTEWhen I got the school the next day, the first thing I noticed was that all the pictures of me had been taken down.My eyes skimmed the halls, but I couldn't see anything.It was spotless like the incident didn't occur at all. It was curious. And I stood there, puzzled, wondering if the sch
CHARLOTTEHis fangs sank into my neck before I could blink, and a burning sensation swept through my veins.My mouth parted, but not a single sound came though, as I felt my head go blank in shock. A forceful wave of uncontrollable pleasure coursed through me, making me gasp out.My nipples tightene
Taide marked me.He fucking marked me.I bit my nails, pacing, my breathing sounding raspy.This wasn't happening, I told myself, placing my hand on my neck, but the shiver that zapped through my brain woke me up.Panic flooded in at once.He has unlimited access to my very being, and the worst part
CHARLOTTEMy hand rushed to the mark, in a pitiful attempt to cover it up.Shit!I should have locked the door!"Mads, why didn't you knock?" I asked, hoping I could divert her attention, but Madeline watched my actions, with worry written all over her face."Madeline," I berated, pulling my wet hai
"I asked if it was Reigh who marked you.""Oh," I blinked, "No.""Then was it Caeson?"This time my response came slower. "No."None of those two.I watched Madeline hesitate to ask for the last triplet. She didn't want to ask if it was Taide, because she knew what the answer would be.Over the year
CHARLOTTENot a sound could be heard, and only tense silence filled the kitchen air."Madeline," I called hurriedly to explain, but she only looked at me with hurt. She turned to glance at Taide, then at me, before slowly backing away."Madeline, I can explain." My voice sounded pained, "Please just
CHARLOTTE We were back at the dorms, sitting on the bed, and facing each other. We needed the privacy. "Alright, Char," Mads said, folding her hands across her chest. "Talk." It wouldn't be easy to say. None of this would, but I needed to do this. I closed my eyes, sighing, and opening them. "W
The girl on the right was taller than the rainbow dressed girl. The taller one pushed the shorter one down, knocking over the food trays. "Ouch, that's gotta hurt." Madeline winced, touching her back, and I had to admit feeling a little hurt for her. We were still looking over at the table, when a
CHARLOTTE I pulled my curls into a bun as I walked down the stairs, my feet moving slowly against the wooden steps. The house was quiet, too quiet, but that was normal these days. My thoughts were scattered until a flicker of movement caught my eye. A flash of black streaked across the foyer. I st
CHARLOTTE Taide was growing out his hair. I sat on the edge of my bed, watching him lean over the mirror on my dresser. His hands combed through his dark hair, smoothing it back and letting it fall forward again. It was longer than I’d ever seen it, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it yet. S
A childish part of me felt like defending that Emma had started it, but why did it matter? It shouldn’t matter and I tried to make myself believe that. Taide’s attention shifted away from the menu to me, and I cleared my throat before turning my gaze from Caeson and down to the menu like I had
CHARLOTTE After a short drive, Taide pulled up in the parking lot of the small restaurant that was a hotspot amongst students in the area. The main area was rowdy and full of students eating and talking loudly, but Taide led me past there and into a quieter, more ambient area. It was still c
CHARLOTTE Taide held the door open and shot me a knowing look. But I didn’t move, I remained in one spot, crossed my arms and pouted. “But Taide—” “I don’t want to hear it,” he cut me off, his expression deep and serious. My lips snapped shut, I sensed that there was no point in arguing. So, wi
I pulled them both back into the house and then to the kitchen. With a small exhale, I let go of their hands, immediately missing the comfort and warmth their touches gave me. “I need to find Madeline,” I told them. “Do you know if she’s back?” Just like Taide, she’d been gone almost all day. Rei
CHARLOTTE Caeson walked further outside, his hands buried deep in his pockets as he eyed the three of us with distaste. He drew closer and said with a slight bite to his tone, “Don’t let my interruption stop you,” then lowered himself onto the bench and met my eyes. “But then, you didn’t seem to
CHARLOTTE I thought about how a whole day had passed since the big sibling swap, and I still hadn’t fully processed it. As I sat in the living room, lost in thought when I heard a noise coming from the backyard. Curious to see if it was who I’d been waiting for all day, I got up and walked thro
CHARLOTTE My life… might have been in danger. It echoed in my head, but like a muted siren. Maybe it was because I’d been overloaded with more information than I knew what to do with. Maybe I was just having the world’s slowest reaction to the scariest possible news a person could ever hear.