OpheliaA cold chill slithered down my spine as Sterling twirled me beneath his arm.“Does this mean you’re finally going to tell me what ghost you saw that supposedly knows me?”Sterling’s eyes settled on something just beyond my shoulder, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the dead were watching us dance, whispering to him even from afar.“Spirits are complicated things,” His voice dropped in volume as we glided past another couple, “They’re often confused after their deaths, reliving it again and again. Sometimes it takes a push for them to remember who they once were. You arriving to the island, discovering your magic, joining our coven, it was all one big push.” He grabbed me by my waist and lifted me, spinning us both in tune with the song, “Your grandparents say hello, by the way.”His words caught me so off guard that I stumbled, tripping over my own two feet. Only his steadying hands kept me upright. Without flinching, he continued to steer me through the movements.“I should
OpheliaHe chose not to answer, and instead decided to scowl at me as though I were the problem. Well, if he wanted to be that way, then there was no way I would leave. I’d stay here all damn night!Eventually the song ended, the instrumentals dwindling into a hushed silence. I was happy to step away from Jude, to suck in a deep breath that wasn’t tainted by his mouthwatering scent.Nova appeared through a gap in the crowd with two champagne glasses in hand. Her eyes widened a bit when she spotted me talking to Jude. Clearly she was just as surprised as I was that he recognized me.“Enjoy the rest of the night, Jude.” I hurled his name like a dagger, “I know I sure will.”He grabbed my wrist before I could move away, yanking me into the heat of his chest. Lips skimmed my ear and coaxed a gasp from me.“Careful who you dance with, little dove, because I’m going to break the hands of every man you let touch you. I think I’ll start with Edward.”I ripped myself out of his grasp, “You wou
Ophelia I made it a few feet into the forest, wet leaves and branches crunching beneath my bare feet, when I heard someone shouting my name. “Ophelia!” Nova burst through the tree line, her chest heaving and eyes glossy. She stood there panting, staring at me for several seconds. Her cheeks were red, and not from the blush she had painstakingly applied before the ball. “Ophelia!” I paused and slowly turned to face her the rest of the way, “Goddess, Ophelia, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what Ryker had planned. If I did—” Cold spread throughout my chest, “You’d what?” She blinked at me, droplets of rain clinging to her lashes. The downpour had slowed as I locked away every ounce of pain within my heart. “I would’ve never suggested we go.” We stared at one another, neither of us speaking. Nova took a step towards me. “Why didn’t you tell me? Ryker and Jude, they’re your mates, the both of them. But you didn’t tell me.” It didn’t matter how much I wanted to tell her the truth. My ch
OpheliaI awoke to a lengthy text message from Lucille threatening me to hell and back for punching Kimberly in her piggish face.As I expected, I was grounded until the end of time, which meant I’d have to sneak out tonight in order to make it for Coop’s ritual. Lucille also felt the need to mention I could no longer see or speak to Nova, and that if she had her way I’d be promptly expelled from Eclipse University.She had also signed me up for a morning shift at the Moonlight Lounge, which meant I couldn’t wallow in bed the way I so desperately wanted to.Eight more days, I told myself.Eight more days until I could set my mother free.I lost myself in the fantasy of what might happen once I had her back. Would she remove the spell on Lunar Isle? Would we leave this place and start over somewhere new?The thought of leaving Ryker and Jude made my heart constrict painfully, but what was there left for me here? Other than Nova and Coop, I had no one.I put on my big girl pants, both m
OpheliaRyker stood, a growl ripping through his chest. “What the fuck is this? Who are you?” His tone left no room for questions.“He’s a dead man walking.” Jude said flatly.It was horrible of me to hope and pray that Alpha Hunter lost his life here tonight, but I did. Goddess, I prayed for it harder than I’d ever prayed for anything.Too bad Alpha Hunter was smarter than that.Alpha Hunter tipped his head to the side, his blonde locks skillfully messy. Even now, several of the girls nearby were sizing him up, coy smiles lighting their faces.“I—” Hunter gazed down at me, genuinely confused. “I thought you were going to tell them about us?” He blinked the unease from his eyes and smiled at Ryker, oozing confidence. “I’m Alpha Hunter. Opal and I dated way back when. We recently rekindled things, so I wanted to surprise her with a visit.”Ryker’s eyes grew bright with murder. The sand around his feet kicked up, “You dared come to my pack without asking permission? Do you truly think t
Ophelia “Hey, Coop. Why don’t you spark up a couple of joints? It’ll help us relax before the ritual.” Coop tugged me outside the sliding glass doors and onto the small patio. Sarah was perched on Arielle’s lap, twirling one of her girlfriends braids around her finger. The two broke into grins as they spotted us. “Fuck, I’m so ready to get this done with.” Arielle huffed, snatching the joint from Coop mere seconds after he lit the thing. She exhaled a puff of smoke into the air, “I’m practically shaking, I’m so nervous.” Sarah planted a kiss on Arielle’s lips, swiping the joint from her fingers. “After this we’ll have our own coven. No one will fuck with us ever again.” With each puff my nerves began to ease. A weightlessness settled over me, making me forget all about dark bonds and unavailable Alpha’s. Once the joint was nothing more than a stub, we headed inside. Denver had moved to another point of the circle, leaving his back facing us. I looked over his shoulder, down at th
JudeOne Hour Ago…I landed in the empty lot outside my place, feathers cascading down around me like wisps of shadow.Rage boiled in my veins, clogging my lungs until I could no longer breathe. I wanted to scream. I wanted to unleash every fucking ounce of my power until the sky cracked in two.I could still hear her sweet little voice in my ears, and I hated it. I hated what it did to me. What she did to me.My mate.My. Fucking. Mate.The girl I dreamed about as a little boy long before my mother and her sick friends destroyed every loving bone in my body.Please, she had said, begging me not to kill the sack of flesh she claimed to be dating.I stormed up to the front of my place and slammed my fist into the metal siding. It did nothing to quell the desire to storm back there and kill that shitstain of an Alpha right in front of her.Feeling like this was completely out of my wheelhouse. I didn’t feel shit! I landed another punch and felt my knuckles split this time, coating the m
Jude Her chapped lower lip quivered. “You’re a monster.” “You have no idea.” I started with Jameson, strapping him to the table and slicing the jumpsuit from off his body. He screamed pitifully as I cut his pinky off, but not as loudly as Chloe did when I tossed the bloody digit at her head. As much as I wanted to rage and tear Jameson to shreds, my work was methodic. In between the cuts and burns I asked questions about Alpha Hunter, none of which he answered. In fact, none of the coven members confessed the truth. Jameson spoke in between sobs, “I-I told you, man. Alpha H-Hunter wanted to come here for some c-chick. That redheaded girl in your coven, O—” I held the scalpel between his legs, “Say her name and the next body part I remove is your cock.” “He came here to see her. He didn’t want Alpha Ryker knowing.” I looked over at my brother, waiting for his decision. He tucked his phone into the pocket of his suit jacket and frowned at the six of them. Without so much as flin
NovaKaelith stepped back. I hadn’t noticed, but during our conversation the shadows had stretched behind him, forming a backdrop of darkness that reached out almost lovingly towards him. They coiled around his wrists, his ankles, his throat, like hungry serpents.His last look lingered on me like a bruise.And then he took another step into the darkness, melting into it like he’d never been there at all.The memory shattered like glass before my eyes.I blinked, my lungs dragging in air that tasted of chemicals and bitter loneliness. I was back outside Coop’s room, the linoleum floor spotless beneath my sandals. The corridor was quiet, but that was to be expected. The asylum had to be minutes away from closing, but that’s what I got for visiting so late in the day.Pressing my fingers to my lips, I held them against Coop’s door, silently scoffing at my own stupidity for this silly ritual of mine.I pushed away from the wall, my mind torn between thoughts of my brother and thoughts of
NovaSometimes the only way to draw a monster—although a beautiful monster—out of hiding was to pretend like you weren’t scared of it.That was the logic, anyway.Ophelia and I figured if we acted normally, went about our lives like nothing had changed, Kaelith would emerge on his own. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t want him to.That, in itself, was a problem. A massive, soul-staining problem.Because the demon haunting me wasn’t some wrinkled, gnarled horror crawling out from a crypt. Instead it wore shadows like skin, had lips that made me forget how to breathe, and eyes like polished rubies dipped in sin.So, we played the game.Each afternoon, once my classes let out, we went to the beach, burying our toes in the hot sand, our hair sticky with salt and dry from the sun. I brought homework I never worked on. Ophelia brought books she never opened. We talked about stupid things—pack gossip, Sterling’s weird fixation on this witch that had just moved to the island a month pr
OpheliaSucking his lower lip into his mouth, Jude set me on my feet and tangled his hand in my hair, drawing my lips to his while his other hand worked on my pants. I tried to swat his hands away, but his magic came out, yanking them both behind my back. I could have broken his hold, but my pussy was throbbing, begging for a taste of the mate who had fucked us first.Jude spun me around and kicked my pants to the side. Cold air licked up my pussy and I shuddered as his voice cracked with command.“Hands on the wall and spread your legs wide. I want to see my pretty cunt.” Not a second later I heard him drop to his knees and cried out as he buried his face in my pussy, his lips sucking and tongue tasting. His groan was a broken thing, low and deep and so very desperate it had me bending forward to give him access to all of me. “Nnnmm, you said I could eat your pussy, baby. I’m just being a good mate and doing what I’m told.”Fuck, he was right. I did say that.My restraint was a fickl
OpheliaPaintball. Of course it had to be paintball.I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was Jude, after all. This wasn’t the wildest thing he’d done by any means. However, it wasn’t the location that got me. It was the guest list.“You invited Ryker, Sterling, and Nova?” I stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “Since when do you voluntarily share me on our dates?”Jude just grinned, one sharp canine pressing down into his lip. He leaned lazily against the back of the Jeep, black hair tousled from the wind, scar catching in the light. The sun highlighted the swatches of ink along his arms. I itched to peel his shirt back and see the newest addition to his collection—the dove tattooed right over his heart. My dove.“Coven bonding,” he replied.I supposed it was better to shoot at one another over the alternative: wait for my father’s summon. My anxiety was growing with each passing day, and as if that weren’t bad enough, Edward hadn’t been seen all week. Apparently his father wa
JudePsychopath. Sociopath. That’s what they called me. They weren’t wrong wither. I’d gotten the fancy diagnosis years ago. Funny thing about labels, everyone used them like they were some kind of weakness. A vulnerability to exploit.The only vulnerabilities I’d ever known were currently gathered around Ryker’s obnoxiously large dining room table.Nova was mated to a fucking demon.The air felt thick, charged with tension as Nova quietly recounted exactly how she’d ended up entangled with that creature. Sterling watched silently, sitting rigid in his chair, hands clasped under his chin and eyes unreadable. He was protective over Nova. Often the very thing that kept me from wringing her skinny neck. Ours was a tolerate-hate relationship. Meanwhile, Ryker glared at a spot on the wall as if he planned on burning a hole through it.My gaze, as always, lingered shamelessly on Ophelia. My beautiful, perfect Ophelia. She leaned forward slightly, her pouty lips parting just a sliver. Her ha
NovaMy fingers itched to touch my hair. Kaelith’s eyes flicked up to my hands as if he saw the temptation.I managed a hoarse whisper. “He lost it. Trashed the house. Didn’t speak for m-m-months. My fault. It was my fault.”“No.” That one word was spoken with such absolution that my tears dried up, and my sobs quieted. I couldn’t look away, not while his eyes burned crimson, his tattoos dark against smooth skin. “You were a child whose innocence had not been beaten from them. Your actions did not warrant his response. It was not your fault.”I choked back the slew of responses that bubbled up. You need to learn how to think before you react, Nova, my old therapist had said. The world isn’t responsible for your emotional instability. Kaelith’s gaze searched mine, and I felt utterly naked—no, worse than naked—I felt fucking flayed beneath him. Quiet frustration simmered beneath his angelic face as he saw my denial.His expression darkened further, understanding shifting into something
NovaIf the Goddess hadn’t punished me enough by taking away my family, she had apparently decided to double down by giving me a suicidal demon for a mate.I stared at the incubus sprawled shamelessly across the foot of my bed, an inky stain against the lace and floral perfection. A smirk was etched onto his face as if he owned the entire world—as if he weren’t magically trapped to my bedroom. Then again, he could be smirking at what went down between Jude and Edward.Talking to Kaelith … it surprisingly wasn’t terrible. He was witty and sharp tongued, but his emotions were entirely unpredictable.“Are all demons allergic to boundaries, or is it just you?” I asked dryly, hoping my voice didn’t betray how my body responded to his presence.His crimson eyes danced with amusement. “Boundaries are a human invention. In my realm, we take what we desire.”“Yeah, well, we’re not in your realm,” I said lightly, adjusting the lace hem of my skirt. The way his gaze followed my fingers made my s
OpheliaI think I made a sound, something involuntary and small, because Jude went rigid. Slowly, he rose to stand his head tilting slightly as he turned to face us. His eyes found me, clear and bright, and so very blank. There was a knife in his hand. It dripped blood onto the floor in a steady rhythm.This was the real him, I told myself. The part he kept tucked beneath the charming smiles and clever words. It was the truth laid bare. Cold, hollow, and beautiful in the way a tsunami was before it devastated an entire island.Bile stung the back of my throat as I looked down at Edward, who lay curled into a ball at Jude’s feet. Thorned vines, thick and thin, were wrapped around his body so tightly that they cut into him in some areas. His right eye was nothing more than a fleshy cavern. Blood trickled from the wound, running down his nose and mouth. If that wasn’t bad enough, there was a gouge running across his forehead that nearly made me flinch.Goddess, I thought to myself, was h
OpheliaThe first thing we did was mind link the others to let them know we were alive, and to promise them we’d explain what happened to Ryker. After that we decided to spend the night—or at least, the next few hours—recuperating in this nice family’s home.We recuperated in the marble, clawfoot bathtub, and in the recliners in the lounge while some old action movie played in the background. Currently, we were recuperating in the master bedroom, which had a lovely view of the forest.Ryker’s hand slid around to grasp my throat. His hand, large enough to cradle half my face, pulled my head back until I was forced to look into his eyes. They were hooded, dark with lust, as they had been for hours now.“Enjoying the view?” He asked, his other hand traveling down, to toy with my clit. “Lo so, lo sono, amore.”He snapped his hips, driving the thick length of his cock deeper. I held onto the vanity, glancing at my own red-cheeked reflection in the mirror. Ryker’s eyes were dark as he watch