Trembling, I could feel their eyes on me. Watching me, waiting, judging and secretly laughing at me. I clenched my fists, willing myself not to cry. I would not cry in front of these people. I would never be able to live that down, they would never let me. I was already an outsider, showing them my emotions, that they had gotten to me, would only make that worse. Still in shock and completely embarrassed, I just wanted to just run away and hide, but knew they were waiting for my reaction to Nicholas’ taunt. I had to show them I wasn’t what they thought I was, that I wasn’t afraid of them. I had to prove to them that they couldn’t get under my skin that easily. Even through my frustration and humiliation, I could feel Wynter leaning in towards Nicholas, wanting to be closer to him, and began to lean towards him myself without realizing it. You’re ok Beryl, be brave. Just be brave. I repeated it
“Cheney, what are you doing?” The scantily dressed girl who had been hanging onto Cheney just moments before, stomped her foot, her hands on her hips. “You are not ditching me for this skank!”“Shut the hell up, and get out.” Cheney said over his shoulder, not looking at her. He stalked up to Nicholas, who still held me. Nicholas’ grip tightened on me, but he said nothing.“Your room or mine?” Cheney spoke to Nicholas, but his eyes roamed my body, a slight snarl touching his face when he took in Nicholas’ arms on me. Are they going to share me?My desire, and the wolf whispering inside me, were taking the place of any tiny bit of sanity I had in that moment. Yes, please, yes. Wynter was ready for whatever the brothers had in mind.“Mine.” Nicholas said through clenched teeth. I could feel the tension between them. They don’t want the other one to have me, so why aren’t they arguing over it? I thought this, and Wynter answered my question.They are both con
At the sight of Nicholas, Brian jumped up and moved away from me, knocking my drink over in the process.Why did he move away from me so quickly? I was baffled by Brian’s reaction. Does he not want Nicholas to see how he feel?“Get out.” Brian’s gruff tone shocked me and it took me a minute to realize he was talking to me. “W-what?” I asked, confused. “Get the fuck out.” He said louder, not looking at me.What is happening? Why is he doing this? I asked Wynter, trying to figure out what was going on, but she was just as confused as I was. He wants us, I can feel it. I’m not sure what is happening either.I stood, my knees shaking. I could feel the milk from the spilled glass running down my pajama pants. It was cold, but not as cold as I was feeling on the inside.The change in Brian had my head spinning, and I was hurting more than I expected. I walked towards to door, but Nicholas blocked my way.He grinned at us, menacingly, “Aw, does Brian have a cr
I frowned to myself, perplexed by the constant negative attention I received from the triplets. It was a mystery why they always seemed to be out to get me. I tried my hardest to keep out of there way, but they always seemed to end up where I was anyway.Every day seemed like a never ending onslaught of abuse and hatred, all stemming from the brothers. Anna and her group were happy to join in on the attacks, but they all originated from either Nicholas or Cheney.Determined to shake off their pursuit, I decided to ignore them and took Lily's hand, intending to lead her away from the situation. I turned her towards the front of the gymnasium, hoping to escape into the lobby for a few minutes.However, my plans were interrupted when the group of girls traveling with the brothers pushed Lily from behind. Giggles and taunts rang out around us.“Aw poor things, did you trip on something?” Anna laughed, taking pride in her torturous behavior. “You should take better care
I found myself pondering Nicholas’ puzzling behavior. There had been a few moments when I caught a glimpse of his true emotions, like when he thought he was alone, and a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.It was a rare sight, since he suffered from facial paralysis, making his expressions limited, but I had seen them. I’d even heard him chuckle to himself a few times.According to Wynter, who had been communicating with each of the brother’s wolves, Nicholas was vehemently arguing with his wolf who reminded him daily of his feelings for me. The smiles and laughter seemed to indicate that he was softening to the idea.Winter had also told me that his wolf, who was the embodiment of his true self, seemed surprised that Nicholas could actually laugh.He thinks of you and his heart is full, but he won’t admit it outwardly. It was a small revelation, a crack in his stoic facade. One that only I knew about. She was as confused as I was.Bu
This world that I had been forced into was still beyond my understanding, but I was making an effort every day to learn a little bit more about it. I paid attention to other, while also keeping my head down and ignoring the whispers around me.I found myself trapped in a web of misunderstandings, my intentions twisted and distorted in the eyes of the triplets. Their perception of me as an ambitious woman, vying for the affection of their father to become their stepmother, only fueled their growing animosity towards me.The rumors intensified, and they turned more malicious, beginning to include my assumed associations with other older men. I knew that those rumors had to have come from the brothers.One Friday afternoon though, I learned the real reason behind Armand’s feelings about me. I had returned home from school before the brothers, a rare occurrence. “Good day, Beryl?” Armand was home early from work as well.“Hi, I didn’t expect you to be here so early. Sp
I found myself caught off guard as I looked up into the unexpected face of Nicholas perched in the tree. This was the cruel and aloof Nicholas, who always wore a stern face and exuded an air of coldness. And had a surprising fondness for apples?The two full baskets at his feet showed he’d been picking them for some time. Was he asked to do so, or did he actually enjoy it?The stark contrast between his usual demeanor and this apparent affinity for this simple fruit amused me, and I felt a newfound sense of ease in his presence. I realized that I was no longer as scared of Nicholas as I once had been.As Nicholas gracefully descended from the tree, leaping like a lion and landing without a sound. I plucked a large, round apple from my own fruit basket and offered it to him.“Break time?” I asked him, smiling. Though he had many of his own to choose from, I hoped this offering would put him in a good mood.I saw a glimmer of amusement in his eye
I found myself grappling with a mix of emotions. The regret in Nicholas’ voice after he had tasted the pie was obvious, but their continually awful treatment of me weighed heavily on my mind.I couldn't help but wonder why they didn't show their remorse openly, especially when I knew that Nicholas had retrieved and enjoyed the pie.Even though I’d heard him say it was the best thing he’d ever eaten, he refused to say as such to me. Such contradictions left me feeling perplexed and questioning their true intentions.In the midst of these complexities, my twentieth birthday loomed closer. As the dreaded day approached I longed for a different fate, anything other than one where I wasn't bound to the triplets as their mate.Despite Wynter’s persistence that we were meant to be together, doubts gnawed at my soul. All I longed for was for independence, for a life where I could shape my own destiny, free from the intricate web of emotions and expectatio
The days after the heated confrontation between Nicholas and I were surprisingly calm. The brother’s seemed to be ignoring me, even though their presence around me seemed to be becoming more often.I began to notice them come into the room I was in for no apparent reason, and just linger. One afternoon I was reading in the library and Brian came and sat a few tables away and started sketching.One morning I was eating breakfast and Cheney sat at the other end of the table, drinking coffee and staring out the window. He acted as though I wasn’t even in the room.Many times I would turn a corner in the house only to bump into Nicholas who seemed to have been leaning against the wall outside of the room I had just left.At school, they, and their minions kept the verbal abuse to a minimum as well. It was nice, but seemed to me like the calm before the storm.The triplets were busy planning the
Beryl:The air in the room felt thick with tension as I lay on the examination table, the cold surface sending shivers through my body. Dr. Matthias and Elara stood on either side of me, their expressions a mix of concern and determination.Something was wrong, and we hadn’t figured out what yet. A tremble ran through me. I was both cold and stressed. Elara noticed my shiver, and moved to cover me with an extra blanket. She propped me up on another pillow, trying to help make me as confortable as possible.I let out a soft sigh, trying to ease the discomfort that had become a
While I had been asleep, they had decided to plan an all out attack on the vampires and the dissenting pack. The plan was to hit them soon, before they had a chance to move too far away from their current encampment.The overall consensus was that we were ready to go now, so they had decided to gather our forces and proceed with the attack the very next day. With Amy under heavy guard, and unable to use her magic to bolster their forces, they would be weakened and unready to withstand this kind of assault.My mates were invigorated, ready for the battle, but I was wary and t
The plan to surprise and trap Amy, the vampires, and the dissenting pack was a simple one. We finally had the advantage, and were going to use it to the best of our abilities. Our numbers were larger than they had been in years, and we were finally ready to be done and over this distress in our lives.One group would be with me, my mates, and a large guard, waiting for the vampires and werewolves who would attempt to rescue Amy. I would be ready to use my light magic if Amy tried to use her dark magic.At the same time, one group would travel to where the prisoner had told u
Beryl:After our sweet moment, my mates were able to tell me what was going on with the prisoner, and we headed to the dungeons together. Nicholas and I walked hand in hand, and he kept glancing down at me as if I might fade away into the night.As we approached the dungeon, I could feel the dark magic at work. When I entered the cell that held the prisoner, I could tell that he was connected to the darkness in a much stronger way than Nicholas had been. It would take much more than a touch to release him.
Beryl:I knew that Nicholas didn’t know about my little library escape area, so that’s where I headed. I had to gather myself and think. Was that really my mate? How could he hurt me like that? There were so many thoughts running through my mind.As I settled myself into the comfort of my tiny secret corner of the library, weeks of habit took over and I began to drift off to sleep. It was as though the moon goddess was beckoning me to her.“Beryl, my dear...&rdqu
Beryl:I had gone in search of Nicholas, wanting to finally put to rest whatever it was that had come between us. The baby was going to be here soon, and I didn’t want whatever this was to dampen the happiness of our impending child.As I had wandered the grounds looking for him, I had run into one of the dissenting pack members who had lingered after another discussion with Armand and Solomon. He looked at me, with a smirk and asked if I was alright.“Yes, I’m fine thank you
Armand:The echoes of the past had lingered in my heart for far too long. Amy's betrayal had wounded me deeply, and the scars it left seemed permanent, but Seraphina’s presence had been a balm on the pain I felt.One evening after a long day, she and I found ourselves alone on the moonlit terrace outside my study, the distant stars overhead like watchful sentinels. Seraphina was quiet and her eyes held a gentle understanding as she watched me."Armand," she began softly, "I can see the w
The tensions in our world had reached a breaking point, and it was clear that we needed a united front against the looming threats. The meeting between the packs had reconvened, the weight of our discussions heavy in the air.Solomon stood beside Armand, showing how united the two of our packs had become. The two of them exchanging solemn glances as the other leaders filled in around them.They had just been deep in conversation, discussing the logistics of our alliance and the potential for peace among our kind. They had hopes of finally coming to terms with the other packs today.The dissenting pack was a problem. Their desire to mate Nicholas to one of their females had faded away into the background, or at least I had assumed it had, since I hadn’t heard anything else about it.Armand's voice resonated through the chamber as he addressed the assembled alphas and their representatives. "I understand that this arrangement is new and uncharted territory for all of us. But I believe t
The distance between Nicholas and I grew with every passing day, but I didn’t understand why. I could see the frustration in Nicholas's eyes, and it weighed heavily on my heart, and even though I asked him time and again what I could do, he just pushed me further away.I thought that it was to do with the fact that I was continuing the magic lessons, but one evening, I overheard a conversation between him and his brothers.Cheney and Brian had cornered Nicholas, their voices determined yet gentle. Cheney spoke up, "Nicholas, we can all see that this situation is tearing you apart."Brian added, "But Beryl's never wavered in her love for us. We need to trust her."Nicholas's shoulders slumped, and he let out a heavy sigh. "I know, but it's hard. I feel like I'm losing her."Cheney placed a reassuring hand on Nicholas's shoulder. "You're not losing her, brother. We're just facing a challenge together. We should talk to her, communicate our feelings."It seemed like he had taken their wo