CHARLOTTE Betrayal stung. I would know. But I didn’t want to jump to that conclusion. Not with Mads. At Taide’s words, I spun around on my heel, turning to fix her with a look. She was in on this? Her gaze shifted from Taide’s accusing glare aimed at her, wide, shaky eyes then turning to me
CHARLOTTE Charlotte. Breathe. “Charlotte, you need to believe that I wasn’t just trying to favor Caeson. I wouldn’t do that to you. I didn’t try to keep you away from Taide for malicious reasons.” I pulled my hands out of hers before turning away and pressing a hand to my forehead. “Char, let
CHARLOTTEI guessed it was enough, because finally, her grip around my wrist loosened.It took everything in me not to meet anyone’s eyes as I followed after Reigh, studying the tense lines of his broad back as he led me to wherever it was he was taking me.I wondered what exactly I was about to hea
CHARLOTTE I sat up a little straighter, now wondering how deep this story ran. “Why would you be betraying Caeson’s trust?” “Because I know things that he doesn’t want me to. Things he wouldn’t tell you if he were the one sitting here right now.” I shook my head, not getting it. “Madeline s
Reigh turned to look at me, giving me all his attention. His eyes softened under the moonlight, his eyebrows pulling together as he said, “I can’t do that to him, Char.” My lips parted. Couldn’t do what? Was he dying? Did he… murder someone? I thought of a different route, fishing for mor
“First of all, we weren’t as close as the two of them. And also, we did realize it was Madeline’s fault. People fool around, you know, we’re not going to fault her for having sex. But you see, she didn’t even tell Sean. She took matters into her own hands. And I get it, I do. She was young and stupi
CHARLOTTE A strangled gasp tore its way through my chest. I pressed my hands against my mouth, desperate to control my reaction. It was the absolute last thing I expected to make its way out of his mouth. No part of me could have ever imagined one man to truly be so despicable. A heavy weight s
CHARLOTTE The human realm was a terrible place for wolves. They knew about us. Wanted to study us… tear us apart and figure out what went on inside our bodies. Put us on display and treat us like a caricature. I’d never been. I’d never known anyone who had been there either, who made their way
GRADUATION DAY CHARLOTTE I didn’t get much sleep last night. Or any sleep. I looked around my room, taking in the space again. It didn’t look as bad as it was a couple of days ago. All the glass had been swept away, and all the damage left was broken doors and a non-functional shower. Not the 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