All Chapters of The Four Sides of Desire: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Eleonore’s POVThomas’s warning had left me paranoid over finals week, doubling my stress but somehow, someway, I managed to pull through. I was a bit worse for wear and run ragged, but the first semester of university was over, and we were allowed to start choosing our courses for the next semester.Professor Sanderson had given me back my final project with a proud smile and told me I had some real talent and that he was hoping to see me for his next class, and I swore that I almost cried.I was really doing it, huh? Learning like my mother did. She never got to build anything, after college she met father and was practically married right away. I wondered if I’d get to build anything or if father was going to drag me back before that could even happen—but no.For now, for now I was happy, and I didn’t have to worry about him. For now I was just focusing on the trouble right in front of me.My pills, seemingly harmless little things with no label beyond ‘take two a day’. No

Gael’s POVCharlie called me, worried. That wasn’t how I wanted to be woken up, but I suppose that was my fault for sleeping in. The topic had me up faster than any alarm ever could though. Eleonore hadn’t met up with her for lunch and wasn’t answering her phone. Normal people wouldn’t have to worry about something like that. It could easily be written off as someone sleeping in or misplacing their phone, but not Ellie.She didn’t forget things like that, she was always early when she was meeting up with someone, and she didn’t blow people off without an explanation.Her phone was attached to her hip too, if only out of habit in case her brother called. She told me once, rather embarrassed, that she had barely any numbers in it but that her brother was always so busy that he had a special ringtone and everything, so she never missed a text or call. Same for all her friends.That meant something had happened and I couldn’t help but worry, so I told Charlie to keep an eye out

Eleonore’s POV“—and that’s why I’m pretty sure that my father’s sold me to Selene Thornwood for some reason, and that my engagement to Valerian Nightshade is nothing more than a legal cover story, which also explains the heavy dose of suppressants. So I don’t EVER find my mate. Any questions? Please be aware I might not be able to answer them.” With that, I waited.Gabriel, Gael, and Missael had been more than ready to finally talk, and talk we did, spilling everything about our pasts to each other, or at least the cliff notes. I’m pretty sure Gael didn’t want to go into detail about how he was almost poisoned by his family member.But everything was out there now, from my suspicions to my father’s treatment of me, along with how dangerous it would probably be to BE with me romantically.However, despite the trouble it would no doubt bring, it didn’t chase them away.“Uh, yeah, I have a lot of questions but they’re more along the lines of how we potentially fight a Vampire l

Gabriel’s POVIf fratricide wasn’t illegal, I might’ve killed Gael for his audacity, even though he apologized furiously and said I could punch him for it.Punching him might’ve made me feel a little better, but it didn’t change the fact that he informed me fifteen minutes before my date with Eleonore that she didn’t like dancing.Where on said date I’d be taking her out dancing.Something he knew but just forgot since he was on cloud nine after his date.There was no way I could just plan an entirely new date in so little time. So all I could do was tell Eleonore and hope that going somewhere else at the last minute would be alright.We’d all been trying to plan fantastic dates because we wanted to treat her to something special. We just wanted to spend more time with her, show that we were going to cherish her and love her, and prove that she had nothing to fear with us.Her father was a powerful man, but so were we.“Gabriel, there you are, I’m sorry, I thought you’d

Eleonore’s POV“Gael. I swear to the Goddess, if you don’t order, I’m going to let you starve.”“And who says you’re paying? What if I’m paying? I can take all the time I want. There’re too many options. You know we never come to steak houses.”“Yeah, there’s a reason for that,” Missael muttered, buttering his bread roll with a tired, put-upon look that said this wasn’t the first time this happened, before moving the butter closer to me, letting me butter my own roll.It was the first time all four of us were going out as a polycule? Quartet? One of those things? It was a date, technically, though hanging out would better describe it. I wasn’t sure how romantic the boys were willing to get around each other just yet or if they were comfortable with such a thing. Maybe later in our relationship.Either way, I was enjoying myself, even if I had a front-row seat to Gael and Gabriel arguing over the menu.The steakhouse we were at was in the city over from our campus and was