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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
He hadn’t even raised his voice, yet despite the distance, his words carried like he had just whispered them in my ear. Seductive and bitter. My damnation. “But you made it too easy, Harlot. You almost ruined the fun.” Harlot. It was the first time I had heard him call me that in months. All
But then again, what made me think I knew what strange was for Reigh? Yesterday had taught me that I really didn’t know anything about the brothers I had given my heart to. Caeson pulled away from the small crowd, ever the individualist. Always the grand tormentor. He refused to let me walk
No. It fucking burned. “I’d say I’ll miss you, Charlotte,” he continued, only loud enough for me to hear, “but I never lie.” No, he didn’t. Except when he did. “Go home, Charlotte,” he said with finality, pulling away from me. His words were soft, but his eyes were not. I could see the w
They were there to see me off. To remind me never to show my face on their turf again. But I refused to let myself be bossed around by the same people who had taken it upon themselves to ruin my life. Fuck the Deviltree. Fuck their elite group of preppy rich kids who had only made it this f
PRESENT DAY CHARLOTTE Whoever said a person’s world couldn’t go up in flames in the blink of an eye deserved an award. It was the best lie ever told. I stood alone, even though I was surrounded—by the same people who had set out to destroy me ever since I showed up at this school two years a
I started pacing the room, my mind racing through the words I’d planned to say. I knew I had to be strong, I had to tell her the truth, even if it was going to hurt her. “Madeline,” I said, my voice rough. “Sit down.” Her brows furrowed in confusion, but she did as I asked. She perched on the edge
24 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION REIGH I arrived at the clinic with a weight on my chest, one I hadn’t been able to shake since the night before. The door clicked shut behind me as I stepped inside, and I had to remind myself to breathe. The lobby was empty, save for a flickering TV mo
Vance’s expression didn’t change, but I saw his jaw tighten, just a little. He was listening. I could tell he understood what that meant. He didn’t need me to spell it out. He knew what our father was capable of. Vance’s father, Bernard, had worked for ours for as long as I could remember. And Vanc
48 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION REIGH I slammed the door shut behind me, the sharp thud echoing in the quiet morning air. I didn’t wait to see Caeson drive off. It was like we were all just going through the motions, pretending we weren’t about to destroy the one thing that mattered m