"How are you?" Vance suddenly asked, and I snapped my head up at him."Good, what about you?""Splendid." He chuckled, his dimple popping out. "I figured we'd have dinner first before we do anything.”"Mhmm," I was feeling kinda hungry, so I guess it was a win for me. I rubbed my clammy hands, picki
CHARLOTTEMadeline opened her eyes, staring dazedly at me.She rubbed her eyes, blinking slowly. "Uh? Is that you Char?"I pursed my lips, my heart clenched and my mind spiraled with questions.How long had she been doing this? And I didn't notice it?"Madeline?" I called, and perhaps she was a litt
CHARLOTTE“And if I were to cash in that second date request right now, what do you think your answer would be?”I chewed my bottom lip as Vance’s question bled through the receiver.He was asking me out on a second date already.Goddess.My gaze shifted to Madeline’s corner of the room right then,
"I knew it wouldn't be a good movie but you didn't believe me."He gripped my waist, slowly leading me to a corner, "Watch it Char, or I might bite you." He growled playfully at me, amusement flashing in his eyes."Oh yeah?" I followed, lowering my voice, "I'd like to see you try."My voice was bar
CHARLOTTESitting on the bed, I stared at Madeline’s vacant corner across from me.It had been almost a week, and she wasn't back yet.Picking my phone, I dialed her line, hearing it ring till the machine directed me to her voicemail. I cut the call, huffing in frustration. For days straight, her ca
As I waited, my mind drifted back to the last conversation I had with Caeson. It had been a week ago, and his words still haunted me. He had said something like, ‘You can stay with Vance if you want, or do the opposite if you prefer otherwise.’ It was such a strange, cryptic statement. I had no idea
CHARLOTTE"When writing an essay, you must be very careful not to mix personal feelings with your narration or description unless necessary."The lecturer's voice boomed as she ranted on and on about essays.Sitting in the third row to the back, I twirled the pen in between my fingers, releasing a s
"Would you please stop? I’m trying to listen." I snapped, keeping my voice low while I glared at him from my periphery.He raised a brow at me, his lips stretching in amusement. "Then listen, I’m not stopping you."Suddenly I felt a palm on my lap, my eyes widening as Taide's hands climbed their way
He suddenly frowned at me before asking, “How can you be so stupid, Charlotte?” My head reared. “Excuse me?” “What exactly do you think is going to happen between you and these boys? Or you know what, I’ll do you one better. How could you even let things get this far?” I cut him a stern warning.
CHARLOTTE Shopping wasn’t as fun or eventful as I’d hoped. I spent most of my time between clothes racks, barely fascinated by the colors or cuts of the dresses I picked. Instead, I kept wondering where Taide was and tried to understand what had happened with Caeson. Unaware, my hand lifted to my
I reached up to loosen his grip, my vision growing watery, but he just pressed down harder. “I’ll never let you forget who you are, harlot,” he spat, venom dripping from his tone. The words hit me with such hatred that I was taken back to the moments when I was nothing more than a victim of his and
72 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATIONCHARLOTTEI leaned against the railings of the balcony and stared at my phone, trying to summon the courage to hit the little icon that would dial Caeson’s number.I had been up for a good four hours now—it was 9 a.m.—but the boys weren’t back yet. Neither Taid
CHARLOTTETo say I was bored would be an understatement.Since the boys left that morning for the palace, I’d been all alone in the house with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company.And my thoughts weren’t doing anything to dispel the anxiety I was feeling.I spent most of the afternoon chewing
But then, I wasn’t half as exhausted as I expected to be—or as I probably should have been—given this was only my second time making the change. Maybe it was different for me because now I was older than he was when he started shifting. Maybe my body could adjust more easily because I was more mat
CHARLOTTE Taide, still looking up at my wolf, backed away slowly, lifting his hands as he spoke. “I think we all need to calm down.” His gaze briefly drifted from me to Caeson. “What happened?” Before Caeson could respond, Reigh cut in. “I don’t know what you think this is, but Char’s wolf attacke
I felt my blood go cold when I saw the blue in his eyes fade away. He was giving full control to his wolf to handle mine.Caeson’s wolf was terrifying. Maybe it was the color or the size, but it had this menace that surrounded it.I expected my wolf to do the right thing and back away from the chall
She growled, and Emma’s scream became even shriller as she stared at me in horror.“Charlotte!” Caeson yelled.I wanted to reply. I wanted to yank my wolf back. I attempted to shift back into my human form, but nothing was working. I felt like I was locked in a room in the dark somewhere, just watch