Flora’s P.O.V
“Hey! Looks like I’ll be your babysitter tonight.”
“Yay!” I squealed in delight as I jumped up and down. I had been waiting for this all week! Clay and I would be alone all evening while mom and dad went out to a restaurant and Riley was going on a date of his own once mom and dad left.
“Someone’s excited,” my mom smiled down at me as she ruffled my hair. She was looking so beautiful in her red dress. She never dresses like this; she’s always wearing shirts and pants. She even had her hair down!
“Thank you for looking after Flora.” Mom told Clay before turning to Riley. “And remember what I told you, young man?”
“Treat every woman like your dad treats your mom.” Riley recited the lines like he was in an exam. “I know mom, I’ll behave and have her back at her parent’s before eleven.”
“Goo
Flora’s P.O.VLarge chunks of moonstones were brought out into the open as Ezra stood watch.They were big and heavy, but only us maidens had the permission to carry them out. Daphne and I walked out in a line, followed by Emma. We all held the moonstones in different shades of green and all shaped in perfect rounds, but their size was bigger, like boulders.A faint circle had been drawn on the land behind the Castle and we placed the stones on the line, marking the circle and took our positions in front of the stones. Each stone was placed at least half-a meter apart.At the centre of the circle, there as a large cauldron filled with clear water and the reflection of both the sun and the moon had fallen on it for two nights. This was moon water and it was to cleanse or mind and body and centre our thoughts. We were to drink this water at the end of the ceremony.There were also flowers in different vases around the circle, a
Flora’s P.O.V“Ezra will kill us if she finds out!” Emma warned in a hushed whisper as we made our way to the library.“If she finds out.” Daphne shrugged confidently, making us believe that this wasn’t the first time she had done something like this.“It’s the middle of the night.” I offered. “Wouldn’t it look less suspicious if we came in the morning?”“Do you think I can last till the morning?” Daphne turned to ask me the question. “Will you last till the morning? I’d rather have a good night’s sleep than wait eagerly for morning to come so I can find out about some forbidden ritual.”Well…she did have a point.“Ezra will kill us!” Emma repeated once more.“Oh, hush, pussy cat!” Daphne scolded Emma. “Ezra hasn’t hurt a fly in centuries and she isn’t about to st
Flora’s P.O.V“Flora…Argentine? ReedStone Pack?” Emma looked at the paper then towards me, before turning her attention back to the papers again. “They knew?”I felt my hands and feet go numb from the shock of it all.Yes, Malachi knew, that much he had made clear to me the night I got my memories back. But this room? This section? These all fell under Ezra’s jurisdiction.She knew! She had known all along!My knees gave out and I fell to the floor at an awkward angle and if it weren’t for both Emma and Daphne’s quick response, I would’ve fallen onto the files, crumbling the fine paper.“Flora!” Both women said at the same time, settling me down properly against the back wall so I didn’t risk falling over once more.“They knew…” I whispered to my friends, once I was able to speak past the knot in my throat. It was difficu
Flora’s P.O.VI knocked on Ezra’s door once again.I was very much aware that it was past two in the morning and she must be tired and asleep, especially after the ceremony tonight, but I didn’t…just couldn’t wait till morning to discuss this with Ezra.I raised my hand once more to knock on her ornate mahogany door, but before I could rasp my knuckles on the wood, the door opened to expose a tired looking Ezra in a bath robe and her hair wet. The scent of her lavender shampoo told me she had just gotten out of the shower.“Flora?” Ezra looked at me in confusion. “What brings you here at this hour?”“I need to talk to you…its urgent.” I told her, the weight of the book unusually heavy inside the bag.“Of course.” Ezra moved aside to let me in and I snuck into her room, feeling much more relieved after she had shut the door behind us.
Flora’s P.O.VThe winds howled through the walls of the tower; the sky a dark, dark black with the full moon the only source of illumination.Any other day, I would’ve admired the moon. Would’ve praised how it blanketed the world in silver, spreading its tendrils to every corner of the planet…seeping into the waters of the lake.But now, after what I had learned today…everything seemed to be falling apart. The moon no longer looked beautiful; rather, it felt ominous. In fact, it seemed to swallow all other stars in its vicinity tonight, like a giant black hole ready to suck in anything around it.I rested my hand on one of the pillars in the tower balcony trying to piece together what I knew and what I learned.Blood sacrifices…the true meaning of the Blood Moon Ceremony. And not just any blood…the blood of true lovers.My mind felt like it was about to explode once
Flora’s P.O.VAndre’s arms came around me instantly, holding me to his chest as he deepened the kiss.The wrongness of it all hit me full force and I knew I had made a mistake.This wasn’t how it was supposed to be! This wasn’t the person I was supposed to be with, or kiss or let him touch me. I felt my skin crawl at the thought of going any further and I hit his chest a couple times to let him know I was uncomfortable.A growl left Andre’s throat as he pulled me even closer, to the point where I was plastered against him. And I knew I had to stop him.Gathering all my strength, I pushed him back with my wolf’s force, making him release me and tumble to the floor, but not before I felt one of his claws slice through the exposed skin on my arm. He wasn’t just a werewolf, but a soldier with immense strength and I had a hunch that if I hadn’t taken him by surprise, I wouldn’t have
Flora’s P.O.VClay growled deep in his throat and tore away from me.At first I thought it was because I had Andre’s scent on me, but when he kept looking at my arm, I frowned and looked down to find blood.“What-?”When did I- but then I remembered that when I had pushed Andre off of me, he had accidentally scratched me with his claw. The bleeding had stopped and only a dark red line of dried blood remained that too would heal by morning. But Clay was probably angry I got hurt by him.“It’s alright,” I told him, cautiously taking a step in his direction. “It’ll heal soon. I’ll be fine.”“He hurt you!” Clay said, his voice a growl. “I saw!”My entire being came to a standstill. “You saw?”“Everything.” Clay nodded in confirmation and I felt like the ground had been removed from under my feet.
Flora’s P.O.V“Flora?”I turned back to face Daphne, my hands clenched by my side. Out of all the people who could’ve caught me returning back to my room, Daphne was the worst one.She might have a wild streak in her; she might like doing some things that were considered dangerous and naughty…but I doubted kissing rogue wolves was something she would consider anything but stupid and risky. Not to mention the betrayal I felt the instant I heard her voice and my brain connected the dots.“Yes.” I answered her, my voice coming out shrill and overly-friendly. “You wanted something?”“Yes.” Daphne folded her hands in front of her chest. “I wanted to know what you were doing out in the woods at this time in the morning.”Shit!“Come with me.” I reached out and took her hand before tugging her along with me to my room. I had to keep lo