I rolled onto my side and pulled the pillow over my head, but the walls were too thin to muffle the moans. Lucky for me the sounds on the right were echoed on the left."Oh, Cheney! Fuck me, please baby."I heard Cheney's voice, low and rumbling with want, followed by another plea for him to fuck her. It was echoed on the other side.I wanted to close my ears against it, to block out the sound of them together, but all I could do was lay there and feel a deep ache in my heart. Why was it even bothering me?“Oh, god—that feels amazing!” one of them shouted.My heart raced as I felt every thrust, every moan and sigh reverberating off the walls like a ghostly orchestra playing a symphony of sorrow and regret. An intimate duet sung in the dark, one I had no part in.One I wanted no part in.The green glow of the digital clock on my bedside table illuminated the bedroom—it was almost midnight. Hadn't they said the rule was no sound after eight?My knuckles turned white as I gripped the cool
The next morning, I was groggy and tired, having not gotten much sleep. I had tossed and turned, thinking about my future. How was I going to manage living with three men who despised me, and obviously had not respect or interest in me aside from taking away my innocence?I was wallowing in doubt and self-pity when I entered to dining room to have breakfast with Armand. “Good morning, Beryl. Did you sleep well?” he asked, not looking up from his plate.“Fine.” I lied to him, knowing he would smell it on me, but not caring. I couldn't believe that he lived with his sons and didn’t knows how awful they were. He paused, watching me for a moment. I sat down, and began eating. Bacon, eggs, and fresh fruit. Normally, I would be delighted to have such a delicious breakfast, but today, I couldn’t imagine anything changing my mood. Armand cleared his throat. ” I have something for you.” He watched my face. “I know you’ve had a lot taken away recently, and things have been hard on you.” He p
After the wreck, I had called Armand, who had told me not to bother calling the police. He said he would take care of the car when he had a chance to. I explained to him that it hadn’t been my fault, but he didn’t seem interested, and rushed me off the phone. I was late to class, but didn’t care. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. The mood I had started the day with was back, and desolation had taken over again. All throughout the day I heard the murmurs and felt the people in class and hallways watching me, talking behind my back. Bitch, slut, whore, look at her clothes, her hair is weird, she doesn’t belong here… All around me, the insults swirled. I even caught the teachers talking about me at one point, “Yeah, that’s Beryl. I heard Anna say that she had slept with the entire football team at her old school.”I heard it all, but I tried my best to not listen. I kept my head down and thought about my old home, the human world, and my mom and dad. I missed them more than ever tod
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
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