I know there's still a lot of unanswered questions, but the next chapter will be in Ophelia's point of view so expect some answers!
OpheliaI followed my father out of the hospital, still struggling to wrap my head around everything that had happened.Choosing to leave with him was a decision I didn’t take lightly, but what was left for me here? Two mates who had failed me in every way. A best friend whose family I had all but destroyed. An aunt who wanted me dead, and a half-sister who was more than happy to help.As we stepped outside into the warm night, I glanced down at my wrist.I would never get over it. Seeing that smooth expanse of skin, even with the scar, stole my very breath away. It meant that Alpha Hunter was dead. As we walked, my father’s hand wrapped around my own as though I were a little girl, I found myself wondering how it had happened.Had he fallen off a cliff? Stepped in front of a bus? Had Jude finally followed through on his word and killed the bastard?In the end, it didn’t really matter.I forced my thoughts away from my mates, holding my breath until the agony rippling down the bond fa
OpheliaWe were sucked into a vortex of swirling darkness and shimmering stars only to be spat out in a clearing deep within a densely populated forest.The trees were utterly unlike those on Lunar Isle. They were massive, blotting out the night sky until only small glimpses of it remained. I ran my fingers over the nearest one, feeling the rough bark against my flesh as I willed the world to stop spinning.I took a step towards my father—towards Atticus—when I pitched sideways. His hand came down on my shoulder, steadying me before I ate dirt.“Easy, kid.” His eyes crinkled sympathetically, “It’s rough traveling via portal, isn’t it? Takes awhile to get your bearings. Breathe slowly. In through your nose and out through your mouth. The nausea should pass quickly.”I did as he instructed, trying hard not to think about the gaping silence in my mind. Leaving Lunar Isle severed the mind-link and my connection to the people. I was officially a rogue.Swallowing back the knot in my throat
OpheliaIn between bites of steak and chicken I told him everything that had happened since I arrived at Lunar Isle. Everything from Alpha Hunter’s dark bond mark to my suicide attempt.At his request, I included bits of my childhood with Lucille and Kimberly. It was easier talking about the things they’d put me through over recounting my time with Ryker and Jude.He had claimed invading a persons mind took a significant amount of concentration and energy, but I had no way of knowing that for certain, so I took care when it came to what details I gave up. I made sure not to lie, in case he could sense them, but twisted the truth to hide what I needed to hide.Namely, the situation with Coop.I told him about the ritual with Denver, and how it had been a massacre that I still had nightmares about, but I conveniently left out the part where Coop was possessed by the demon.Staying with my father was the best chance I had at finding a cure for him. The hidden library at Eclipse Universit
OpheliaMeanwhile Regina and Matteo snarled at everyone to continue, holding strong in their belief that the demons would soon be under their control. Before anyone could blink a dozen arms began pulling their way through the rift, clawing and scraping their way into the world.“Control them Morningstar!” Lucille spat; her face strained.Sterling’s father, Abraham, shouted. “They’re trying to break free of the circle!”Screaming ensued along with pleas for my father to do something—anything to stop what was unfolding—but my father was gone.“Atticus, do something.” My mother cried, her hair whipping around her shoulders. “Atticus?”Lucille shouted, “He left, you stupid girl! He left us to the slaughter!”My mother’s eyes began to glow, flaring with power that tinted the room in shades of emerald and gold. Rooted in place at her spot along the circle, she spread her hands out, palms facing upwards.“Hold strong,” She shouted, past the hissing. “We can do this. Together we can force the
OpheliaHesitation had him opening his mouth, his lips parting on an exhale. Within half a second he worked through it. Perhaps it was my expression, the need for truth burning within my gaze that caused him to answer. Maybe it was something else entirely.“Our family has always had a talent for dark magic, but there are limits to its capabilities. It can do many things. It can bring life back into a corpse, though that life will be altered, but it cannot create life on its own.” he explained, gauging my every reaction with those unnerving eyes of his. “Your fourth great grandmother needed a child to further the Morningstar line. She had no siblings, leaving the responsibility to her. No matter the spell, no matter the ritual, she could not carry to term.”“What did she do?” I asked, my voice hoarse.The corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly, “She summoned a demon, of course, but it’s sacrifice was too steep. Her pleas reached another though, something more powerful than a demon
Ophelia “Chin up, girl! Oh, and tuck that stomach of yours in. Honestly, try not to look so pathetic, Ophelia. You’re being mated to an Alpha.” Mother muttered quietly, “Goddess only knows how that one happened.” I bit my tongue when she yanked the front of my simple cotton dress down, exposing a fair amount of cleavage. Speaking up would only make things worse. She might not be able to strike my face, but she knew how to punish without leaving marks. “Yes, Lucille.” She didn’t care for when I called her mother. Apparently, it made her feel old. That didn’t stop Astrid and Kimberly from calling her it, but they’d always been her favorites. Mother snared a lock of my strawberry-blonde hair and tugged hard. Her flat, dark eyes scoured my face in search of a flinch or wince. “You should have let me dye this mess for you. Alas, it’s too late. Not that it matters in the slightest.” She said with the wave of her hand, “Soon enough, you’ll be someone else’s problem.” A problem, that’s
OpheliaPain raced up the side of my face as Lucille’s hand made contact with my cheek.“You petulant girl, are you even listening to me?”I wasn’t.“Yes, Lucille.”Two of the movers entered in through the front door, sparing me from hearing her retort. A slimy smile wormed its way across her nude painted lips. She clasped her hands together and cooed at the men tasked with carrying the furniture out to the truck. The dirty look she shot me over her shoulder was a warning that this conversation wouldn’t be forgotten.It was hard to care when the shredded bond in my chest writhed in agony, leaving me in near-constant pain.Astrid flounced down the stairs, turning her slender nose up at me as she passed. The wheels of her designer suitcase whirled softly against the hardwood floor. Inside was all the clothes, shoes, and make-up she’d need for the week it would take the movers to transport all their stuff.With my lonesome duffle bag tucked neatly in the trunk of the Bentley, there was n
Ophelia Sun block, and ocean mist. Those were the scents of my childhood, the ones that clung to the bits and pieces of the half-formed memories rattling around in my skull. I breathed each one in through the tiny bedroom window at the tippy top of Lucille’s modernistic nightmare of a beach villa. She’d stuffed me in the attic like a frail Victorian child she was afraid of the neighbors seeing. Little did she know, she was doing me a favor. Kimberly, my older sister, was moving out of her dorm at Eclipse University and back home to be closer to our darling mother. Why she felt the need to come back when she only lived thirty minutes away, I’d never know. That made the attic my safe haven. “Ophelia!” Or so I’d thought. I rolled out of bed, sneezing when a plume of dust hit my nose. It was like she purposefully kept the attic in shambles. Whatever, at least it would give me a project to focus on. The door creaked as I opened it, “Yes, Lucille?” “Make yourself presentable and