CHARLOTTEWhen I finally had enough energy to open my eyes, I was met with darkness and a violent headache.Bile climbed up my throat quickly, hurried on by the odours that irritated my senses the moment I sucked in a breath.I’d gag, but I felt like I was underwater, my reflexes weren’t mine and I couldn’t feel my limbs.When I tried to see beyond the splotches of darkness in my vision, I failed miserably and only aggravated my headache. I paused and gave my body a few minutes to relax. I still couldn’t feel my limbs and that sent panic rolling down my spine in an instant. My breaths became short, unconsciousness loomed over me, and darkness took over my vision for a moment before I could see again.Breathe… I told myself.And I did. I sucked in a breath and released it, that was when I finally identified the pungent smell that clouded up the entire room, cigarette smoke.I couldn’t move my head, but the way I laid gave me a somewhat okay view of the room around me. I was lying on
CHARLOTTEI was crashing, and I was crashing and I was crashing. I felt myself going under again. “We need a blanket! Someone get me a fucking blanket. A sheet, something, fuck.” And then I was swallowed whole. I didn’t feel myself being lifted up. I couldn’t tell what was happening around me. I willed myself to peel my eyes open, to shake off the ringing in my ears. I blinked slowly, fighting the impossible urge to groan out loud at the harsh sunlight streaming in from the sky. In that split second, that single moment where my eyes fell open, eyes the color of a midnight sky obstructed everything else in my vision. Immediately, my eyes pressed shut again. Was that… Taide? I felt myself being maneuvered again, and then my nose fell into the crook of someone’s neck. Mint and sandalwood aftershave filled my nostrils. A large hand cupped the back of my neck, pressing me harder against them. I heard his heartbeat. I felt his heartbeat thumping against my own. Fresh air fi
CHARLOTTE The car ride back to the mansion is purposefully silent, other than the hum of the air conditioner and my shaky, unsteady breaths.I don’t think, I don’t move, I don’t speak, and I don’t let go of Taide the entire car ride. Not when we get out of the car, and not when he carries me up the stairs to my room.I cling to him like he’s the only thing keeping me tethered to reality. And I tell myself he is because I have a sinking feeling that if I let go, I’ll be tossed back into that room with the cigarette smoke and the hard bed, at the mercy of Anton and his friend’s vile intentions.I don’t realize when we’ve entered my room, but I do notice when Taide slowly starts to lower me onto the bed and pull away.I let out a small sound of protest and keep my fingers buried in the skin of his arms, desperate to maintain any form of physical contact.Taide pauses and stares down at me with an unreadable expression on his face. Even though my mind is still half gone, I realize how aw
CHARLOTTE I felt warm. And soft. My breathing was light, so light that it was sometimes worrying whether or not I was still alive. I was deep asleep, and that’s good. I needed to rest. After what happened to me… The thought trailed off, tunneling into a pool of darkness. A sudden wave of anger surged through me. My body shifted slightly, and just as suddenly as the wave of emotion came…it vanished. Every time I moved, my hair tickled his nose. But he didn’t mind it, because it smelled divine. Wait… what? Those thoughts… weren’t mine. My eyes slowly peeled open and suddenly, I was hit with an intense awareness of my surroundings. The room was dimly lit, and judging by the sounds coming from outside, it was probably still the early hours of the morning. I didn't know how long I'd been asleep, but I felt somewhat rested and terribly stiff. I tried to move my body around to stretch a little, I realized I was pressed up against something solid. My head rested on his chest
CHARLOTTE I pulled down the lever and gave the toilet a minute to flush. Slowly, I moved towards the mirror and lifted my plain white T-shirt to lace up my sweatpants, and in the process, I caught sight of the dainty white line at the side of my stomach. My heart clenched, and a rush of anxiety surged through me as I stared at the faint white scar. I could vividly remember how Anton had used a knife to rip my shirt off. My fingers brushed over the barely healed scar. Half-werewolf or not, my wounds heal rather quickly, and for it to still be so stark against my skin, it meant that the knife had been made of silver. I pulled down my shirt with a frown and pushed the thought away forcefully. If I ruminated on it for one more moment, I’d spiral down a set of thoughts that would be remarkably tiring. I exited the bathroom and returned to my room. Madeline was seated on the bed, focused on her phone. I sat down next to her and watched her. “You’re awfully quiet,” I said jokingly
CHARLOTTE The day finally came to an end, and I was getting ready for bed.After brushing my teeth, I walked into my room just in time to hear a knock on the door.I lifted a brow, curious to know who’d come knocking at this time of night.I opened the door, catching a glimpse of Reigh and Madeline standing in the doorway.“Sleepover again?” Mads hiked her shoulders up as I glanced between them. “You said you liked the balance of being cushioned in, so…”My eyes strayed to Reigh, and he seemed to go still. Madeline looked down at the floor, as if just remembering that the last two days didn’t erase the last two years.But I was touched by the gesture and the effort they were putting in. I let them in without fuss.Madeline made a show of circling my room and doing her nightly routine while Reigh and I watched, amused. After a while, though, we all climbed into bed.I slipped under the covers, and both of them lay on either side of me. But even with the comfort of their presence, it w
CHARLOTTE “Cara,” my father whispered, as he caressed my face. “Damn, Anton, you bagged us a perfect one today.” “And there was blood everywhere, and you were n-naked,” Madeline sobbed. Tap. Tap. Tap. The click of a gun going off. BANG. A scream ripped out of my throat as I sat up. My hand flew to my chest, where my heart pounded roughly against my rib cage. Panic and fear mixed in my stomach, followed by growing nausea as the images of my nightmares continued to play in my head. Taide slowly closed the door behind him and strode into his room. He looked shocked to see me awake, but the shock quickly twisted into worry when he saw the state I was in, clutching my chest as I teetered on the edge of a panic attack. He hurried over to me in the darkness, his path illuminated only by the moon visible through the curtains. I tried to calm myself before he got to me, but I couldn’t get my heart to slow down, nor could I get my limbs to stop trembling. I could hear the clicks,
CHARLOTTE The next time my eyes opened, it was morning. And I was alone. I lay still for a moment, trying my best to center myself after suddenly waking up. My eyes were on the ceiling, but after a long minute, I glanced over to the side of the bed Taide was on, only to stiffen a little when I found him there and awake. He was seated at the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, and his gaze fixed on the floor in front of him. I remained silent and still, so as not to alert him that I’d woken up. The moment gave me a chance to study him. His calm face, the sharp lines of his nose and cheekbones, the slight stubble on his jaw. That was when I noticed that his buzz cut had grown out, creating a thicker fuzz of black on his head. I looked down and followed the path of his finger as he idly traced the skin around the small bandage wrapped around his injury. I watched him eventually raise that hand and run it over his head, his gaze fixed on the floor, but from the angle