Novels by A.R. Roxie

Celeste’s POVThe next morning, Elyse walked into my room and threw a set of clothes at me.“W-what are these?” I asked raspily, my voice rough from the damp night. A sneeze tore out of me, leaving my chest aching.“You look like a mess,” she said bluntly, hands on her hips. “Better take a nap and save your strength. I’m pretty sure you know the owner will throw you out if you collapse during work tonight.”I nodded, clutching the bundle of fabric to my chest, biting back the tears that pressed behind my eyes. Crying solved nothing. I had learned that the hard way.My world had collapsed yesterday—the graves, the laughter, the papers, the door slammed in my face and now here I was, in a bar storeroom that smelled of beer and rats, clutching borrowed clothes like they were lifelines. The contrast was dizzying.I unfolded the outfit. A black blouse with lace at the sleeves, a skirt that seemed too short, and stockings rolled tightly at the corners. Not my style. Not my world. But this w

Celeste’s POVFive hours later.Everyone had left. The wolves, Thorne, and Lila were the first to leave, while I knelt in the rain, staring at their graves as though staring too much would bring them back to life.But eventually, my body gave up. I dragged myself back into the house, soaked to the bone, mud filling the walls. The walls smelled like home and strangers at the same time.And then I heard her.“I didn’t think you’d leave their graves,” Lila’s voice floated across the room, sugar-slick and venomous. She was leaning against the kitchen doorway, twirling a strand of hair like this was just another afternoon. “Thought you wanted to go down and be buried alongside them.”“Oh no,” Thorne’s voice joined hers, easy, mocking. “You want her to curse your parents in their graves if she were to go down with them?”They burst into laughter. Not nervous laughter. Not grief. Actual laughter. My fingers dug into my damp dress. I could taste bile creeping up my throat.Before I could even

“Lila…” My voice cracked, breaking like glass, watching as Thorne pulled himself out of her with a wet, mocking pop that made bile rise in my throat.“You both” My chest heaved. “What the fucking hell is this!” I shrieked, stepping closer, fists trembling at my sides.Thorne’s mouth curled into something sharp, cruel. Lila didn’t even flinch.“Do you even realize what’s happening outside?” My words rasped, torn from me with sobs. “O-our parents are dead, Lila! Dead! And you’re here, spreading your legs for my boyfriend?”My voice broke, and the room swam with tears.Thorne swung his legs off the chaise, standing with no shame, tugging his trousers up lazily, as if I wasn’t even worth the effort of a guilty glance.“I know very well what’s going on out there, Celeste,” he spat, his eyes glinting with something I couldn’t name resentment, maybe, or disgust. “You killed them.”My breath hitched. “What?”“You killed your parents,” he barked, stepping closer, his finger stabbing the air to

“Celeste, your parents are dead.”I stilled, slowly turning my head, tilting it sideways as if I hadn’t heard him right, as if my ears had betrayed me or it was just one of these expensive jokes."Today's my birthday, uncle, that's too much even if you want to surprise me," I said, turning towards him."It's not a joke Celeste, they were attacked," he said again.“That’s not possible,” I whispered, a shaky laugh breaking from my lips. “No. They went to the neighboring pack. It’s just… it’s just a trip, they’ll be back. You’re wrong.”But his face his expression didn’t move. No twitch of humor, no hint of teasing,that made my smile falter and vanish altogether.“Please,” my voice cracked, my throat suddenly too dry to breathe. “Please tell me you’re joking.”“I’m not, Celeste.” Adrian’s tone was smooth, carefully even, but there was no warmth. “Their bodies are outside and”I didn’t wait, my chest seized, my legs moved on their own. I pushed past him, the hallway spinning as I ran down