LOGINLenox povI don’t trust a single creature with a dick in this room, which is why I’m asking my precious little Optimus what she agreed to just now and judging by the look on her face, I ain’t gonna like shit.“Nothing,” she says way too quickly, eyes wide with surprise at my arrival. It’s a lie. A beautiful lie, really. I can smell that shit from miles away because that one word smells like the treehouse of betrayal.“Try again,” I say, cross my arms and lean against the doorframe. “But speak louder this time and with more details, preferably ones that don’t make me gag.”Alister opens his mouth to speak up for her, but I quickly pull the spoon from the back pocket of my jeans and point it at him, “not you, dude, you already had your share of fun talking, this time Optimus talks.”My little precious angel makes a sound that totally isn’t a sigh because it’s way too big for a simple exhale so I know I’m about to suffer real big time. “Mom said yes to a house,” Optimus mutters under h
Ophelia povAlister and I return home, hold hands and head inside. And yet, we barely make it through the front door before the ambush starts.Hayes is sitting on the living room couch, Tate stands near the window and Cylus paces the carpet, still impossibly calm but very clearly overthinking about something that might become an issue soon. All three of them look at Alister, then at me, then back at Alister.“Welcome home,” Hayes says and looks at me, grinning. “Your father tried to start a fight club.”Alister stops and squeezes my hand a little tighter, “what?”“Council,” Tate corrects with a grin so wide I don’t think I can take him seriously now. “He wanted us to beat up Alister for the treehouse. Group project, his words not mine.”I stare at them, trying to see if any of them will crack up and admit this is nothing but a prank, but none of them starts laughing. My jaw nearly drops to the ground, “you’re joking.”“I wish,” Hayes says and settles on the couch more comfortably, “he
Lenox pov I am a traitor to my own bloodline.I absolutely had to help Alister with the date idea and nudge him toward choosing a place my little Optimus holds dear to heart. I totally said “fairy lights” out loud like a man who knows no consequences and now, my daughter is on date four and I’m losing my fucking mind in the middle of the kitchen. Ragh sits on the counter and watches me pace, he’s a bit smart because he knows better than to talk to me right now. “Director,” he grumbles just as I praise him in my mind so I take those thoughts back. “Why are you walking in a square? Are you performing witchcraft?” “This isn’t witchcraft, I’m just sad and furious at the same time, totally normal,” I snap at him but don’t stop pacing because if I do, my mind will go places I don’t want to visit ever in my life. “But,” Ragh huffs and tilts his head, “you helped the gloomy wolf.” “Goddess almighty, I know, I know! Don’t narrate my crimes back at me,” I turn on my heel and point a finger
Ophelia pov It’s day four, which means it’s the last date from my mates. I kind of wish this would never end, but I also won’t back from my own promise, so I’ll just enjoy everything while it lasts. Alister arrives on time, as usual, knocks once and enters my room before I call out for him to enter. He stands in the doorway and smirks, “close your eyes.”“Why?” I ask and get off the bed. “Because I said please in my head,” he says and holds up a strip of black fabric, smiling like he already knows I’ll complain but still do what he asks anyway. “I want to blindfold you for this one.” My eyes dart between his smug face and the fabric in his hand. I cross my arms and try to glare at him, “you’re seriously in my room with a hostage accessory on you?” “It’s a date accessory, Ophelia,” he corrects and steps closer, “just trust me and turn around. Please?”I huff and do as he asks, turning my back on him and closing my eyes, “if this is some stupid prank, I’m telling dad.”“Not a prank
Ophelia pov I seriously assumed that when Tate said it’s “too stupid” and “lame” when our date was supposed to happen, he did it only because he genuinely thought that the idea was bad. Now, as I stand next to his car, after he has spent ten minutes staring at it, I still don’t understand what he’s thinking. Yesterday it was a bad idea, today we stare at a car? “No, the drive is a bad idea,” Tate mutters and his head snaps up, eyes wide, hands already raised in surrender, “that’s not what I meant, get in, we’re not just driving around aimlessly, I promise, I swear.”“Tate, you make no sense,” I groan, waiting for a good explanation.“Okay, yes, maybe you’re right, but I seriously thought about it. A drive is just sitting and doing nothing, you can do that at home and when it comes to an actual date, you deserve better,” he rambles and opens the passenger door for me, “so, I’m taking you to the movies.”I arch an eyebrow and make no move to get in his car. “Didn’t you mention that y
Ophelia pov My second date is with Cylus because Tate backed out of his last moment, claiming his idea wasn’t as good as he first thought and he needs more time to think about it.And, while in my mind it is totally a date since that’s what I asked for, Cylus insists it isn’t. “Dinner,” he repeats for the fifth time just as we reach the gate of his realm. “If you hate it, we can leave.”Cylus doesn’t wait for an answer, snaps a finger and the gate opens. He holds my hand as we step inside and the first thing that I notice is how dark it is here. There are things moving at the edge of the path with scales and too many eyes, but none of them come too close, which is the only reason why I don’t turn around and run for my life. I freeze up when a serpent the size of a horse lifts its head once we get too close, but the eyes focus on Cylus and the next moment, it settles back down like it’s bored. “Friend of yours?” I ask and force out an awkward laugh, pressing myself a little closer t







