Eloise has been afflicted by survivor's guilt for the longest time now. I'm glad to see she is making some progress. You?
DECLAN I was woken up the following morning by the sound of trumpets. The ones that were only sung when someone of great importance arrived at the pack grounds. I slumped to my left expecting to see Alice but she was nowhere to be found. I immediately jumped to my feet and surveyed my surroundings. The clothes I had tossed around were nowhere to be found, implying that Alice had taken care of them. Had she been expecting someone? I wondered. My curiosity did not have to wait though. Servants came knocking soon after. I opened up my front door for them to enter my bedroom. They began cleaning up in haste. The main objective was looking pretty much like they didn't want anyone to notice that I had just spent the last few hours snoring."What is happening?"They ignored me and proceeded to go through my drawers, I watched carefully as they picked out clothing that had the Gardenia crest. Formal wear. That prompted the first question."Who was the trumpet for?""Your parents." They answ
ALICE"Did your son just threaten our daughter?" My mother scoffed at Declan's father. The mood in the room seemed to shift from what I had wanted it to be. I also seemed to vanish from the room because they all faced themselves, bickering almost immediately. Declan's father assured my parents that Declan wasn't going to do anything rash or stupid because he would soil his good name. In all honesty, that was all my parents wanted to hear. Assurance. But suddenly, it wasn't enough for me. Declan's wings were flourishing and escaping the cage I believed I had constructed for him. It made me wonder how long I could keep him in that cage. Without much of a thought, I excused myself from the room and raced after Declan"What was that?" I yelled at him before I even reached him. I half expected him to ignore me and continue walking but Declan stopped and waited for me to catch up to him."I should be the one asking that question but you know what. Just do what you want to do and leave me the
ELOISEMy decision to still spend a few days with Orla turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I got to see Matthan every passing day. We went on dates and even on walks. It made it seem like a normal relationship. I did notice a difference. Unlike how it had been with John, I didn't feel fake. John had been great and I had loved him. He made life better. He was one of those people that actually made me enjoy life but the whole time we were together, there was just this voice at the back of my head, telling me it was all make-believe. Reminding me that no matter how hard I tried to be normal. I wasn't normal and I would never be. With Matthan, I really didn't have to hide some parts of myself. He knew it all. But that didn't also mean my relationship with Matthan was perfect. There were still cracks here and there. One thing that still bothered me was Matthan's dynamic when it came to relationships. It wasn't just the words Declan had whispered into my ears. I knew how he had been t
ALICE As the days progressed, it became increasingly clear that happiness would be a rarity if I stayed with Declan. If we even survived heat season. The worry took away my sleep and my mother's words started to get to me. I wasn't going to end up with absolutely nothing. I refused to succumb to such a fate. Staying with Declan was only going to give him a title and with the way things were progressing between us, I doubted that was even an advantage to me anymore. So I did as my mom has advised. Whatever it took to secure my happily ever after. Except, I added a twist of my own. I wasn't going to just do everything in my power to end up as some miserable Luna to some gay Alpha. I was going to do everything in my power to get the better man. I made an order while the preparations for the next pack meeting were going on. It was a hectic time for the servants around. If the Gardenia was doing pack meetings in the confines of the Gardenia mansion, it meant something important was going t
ALICE At the arrival of the sun, everyone in the mansion seemed to join in. The quietly calm atmosphere became a frenzy of panic and deadlines as servants scattered around to ensure things were at their best. Guests soon began to pour in from all four corners of the house. From my window, I could tell that it wasn't only Gardenia wolves that would be in attendance. Many of the guests had different crests. One that particularly caught my eye was the Crow crest necklace a dark woman wore. I couldn't miss that insignia even if I wanted to. The Crow pack was here. I was guessing that was the human mate that somehow tamed one of the brutal twins and ended their mad ideas to converge all werewolves into a single entity. It was unimaginable to believe that I could be jealous of someone that didn't even know I existed. My moping was immediately ended by the forceful knocks on my door."Mistress, it's morning and we have your dress, could you open up?" Their overly polite voice asked.I obli
ELOISE I was glad I chose to come. It wasn't easy to admit but it was refreshing to see what life could have been like if I had been born into a different werewolf family. All these people were here probably had a good life. Their clothing proved it. Sure, ugly secrets could be hiding behind those pretty dresses and smiling faces but their demands couldn't lie. Neither could the beating of their hearts."Are you alright?" Matthan asked me, clutching my hand softly and leading me to a relatively empty table."Yes. Overwhelmed maybe but I'll be alright." I assured him with a weak smile. He smiled back before we both took our seats next to a couple. The woman was dark skinned and extremely beautiful. She smelled to high heaven of grace and there was simply something about the way she sat. Royalty. Her man had this broody look and a scar on his throat that was covered by his shirt collar. I returned my gaze to the woman because she was just so beautiful to beyond and the ruckus around me
ALICE I swear I stumbled. If Declan wasn't strong enough, I would have fallen flat and taken him along with me. I quickly composed myself. I tried to. But it was hard. What was she doing here? No. This didn't make sense. My plan. How? How did they get back together? What sort of woman was she? Did she have no atom of self-respect in her being? Matthan had done something unforgivable to her and she still forgave him. Make it make sense. That wasn't the only thing that bothered me too. She was seated with the Alpha and Luna of the Crow pack probably having a swell time because they whispered something now and then. It didn't seat eight with me. But I couldn't let it get to me. I was the center of attention and regardless of her presence, I was going to use the bottle that rested secure in my purse. She was just a rebound. My replacement. Nothing else."Are you alright?" Declan asked, concerned. His face looked it at least. "You looked tense for a moment there." I was about to answer whe
ALICE My breath came in hitched when I jumped back into the auditorium. I tried not to look bothered. It was difficult. Considering there were a few blue plates I could sight. Matthan even had one in front of him. My eyes scattered across the room like an advanced computer. On one hand, I was telling myself that maybe the effects of the Aphrodisiac were slow, but I chose to ignore the swiftly changing atmosphere of the room. How the once before prim and proper guests were now doing stuff. Hands under skirts. Kisses lefts and right. Goddess, it was happening. When I made it to our table. My heart sank. Declan wasn't in his seat and his plate was empty. He wasn't kidding when he said he was hungry."Where is Declan?" I asked my mom."He followed you out. Did you not see him?"Of course, I did not see him. I had been hiding from the entire world under a staircase. The probability that he had passed and I didn't even see him was highly plausible. My hands were shaking as I began thinkin