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
I looked at him, confused, “Do what?” He shook his head repeatedly. Then his eyes shifted to mine. “Do you want an explanation for what you walked in on?” I drew back, caught off guard by the bluntness of his question. My tongue felt heavy. It was taking everything in me not to stomp my foot and
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 co
“And because of that, whenever we were near each other, I was always reminded that those things you said to me in the auditorium three months ago were all true,” he said. “You weren’t just saying it for dramatic effect, Charlotte. You really hated me.” He gave his head a half shake. “I had to face t
CHARLOTTEI lifted my hand to knock, then dropped it after a second of hesitation. I really shouldn’t have been there. After the conversation we had yesterday, the last thing I should’ve been doing was sneaking over to his room and pacing around, hoping and praying he would let me in. But there I
Curiosity soon gave way, strong enough to make my body move. Slowly, I ground my hips against him, keeping my eyes on his still face. And sure enough, I felt it lengthen along the cotton of my shirt. Hardening too. I had no balance, but I pushed myself against him again, feeling him respond to me d
CHARLOTTEI stifled a gasp at the feel of his hands on me. Trailing down the column of my neck. Reaching down to cup one of my sensitive breasts in his large hands. The calloused digits grazing against my heated flesh. His voice, raspy and deep, as I felt it right by my ear, “Charlotte…” I let
I slowly nodded, drumming up the courage to say what I had to say. I couldn’t beat around the bush anymore. I couldn’t… pretend. So instead of hiding behind a wall, I decided to bite the bullet and speak my truth. I’d been put in worse situations when it came to the person standing in front of m
CHARLOTTE I didn’t want another surprise. I just wanted them to stop acting so weird. “Reigh told me what happened at the palace wasn’t serious when I asked him,” I pointed out as the memory hit. “How could your dad finding out about Madeline not be important?” Taide sighed before parking both h
24 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CHARLOTTE The sound of Reigh’s door closing softly woke me up. I blinked into the darkness, looking for him. He didn’t come into the house with me yesterday. All he did was drop me off. Initially, I didn’t want to be alone with Caeson, knowing Taide w
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 warn
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
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
48 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CHARLOTTE I 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. Neithe
72 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CHARLOTTE To 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 fee
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