[~❤️CORAL❤️~]–Few Hours Earlier–My eyes slowly flutter open and meet darkness. For a second, my mind twirls as I try to blink the fuzziness out of my mind. It takes a moment before my eyes start to adjust to the darkness.I stir, sitting up slowly. Where the hell am I?It was dark, foggy, and quiet. Too quiet.The kind of quiet that creeps in slowly, heavy with dread—and the weight of something dangerous—into your mind the longer you sit in its lingering presence.I turn slowly, taking in my surroundings—tall trees that stretch too high and large roots that bulge from the earth. The forest looks ordinary, but something in my gut says it isn’t.I don’t recognize where I am. Not because it’s dark and foggy but the feel of it—I can’t connect with it; with the nature around me. I can't sense any familiarity. It's as though I’m in a completely different world.I feel nothing from the nature around me.What I do feel though is the darkness. The chilliness of being trapped here. Alone and
[~♣️RAEGAN♣️~]There’s been a gnawing ache in my chest for the past few hours.I’m not sure when or why it started but all I know is that it's been getting harder to ignore since the sky started to grow darker.It also doesn't help that my mate isn't back yet since she left with her best friend this morning.My mind drifts back to the morning. It was perfect—unexpectedly, impossibly perfect. We were building something. Slowly, quietly, but it was real.The tranquility I’d felt lingered quietly in my chest, even through the chaos of my day—until a few hours ago.My gaze meets the darkening sky again. The blue fades as the sun retreats below the horizon, splashing a vibrant mix of orange and yellow hues, like a canvas of bright colours. I watch the guards patrol the surroundings.But when the sun completely fades below the horizon, dragging up the faint silhouette of the crescent moon and I don't hear her usual bubbly voice, the ache oddly intensifies, shifting from a pang of subtle wor
[~❤️CORAL❤️~]“What's the matter?” I ask.Something was off. I can feel it yet I couldn't quite place what it is.Kiara’s gaze catches mine and a sudden chill washes over me—the feeling of wrongness. The look in her eyes has changed. There’s no longer warmth in her bright hazel eyes. It's gone. Stormy and quiet, like the calm before chaos—leaving behind a dark glint that's settled over them.My instinct calls to me. I flinch and slowly step back. A cold wave of anxiety rolls through me when she doesn't respond.“Are you… okay?” I swallow, my voice shaking with dread and something gutting that I can't quite place.Kiara smiles and the low gnawing in my stomach twists with cruelty at her smile. I didn't need to be told. I knew…Something was wrong. Because it all felt wrong. Her smile. Her stance. The wicked look in her hazel eyes that was glinting so darkly it made my heart stomp in my chest.“Of course,” Kiara hisses and even her voice sounds wrong. Vile. “I’m perfect.”She starts to
[~❤️CORAL❤️~] Breakfast was finally done and I could breathe again. To say it was overwhelming is an understatement of the century but it was also the most perfect breakfast I've ever had in a long while and not because it was prepared by me. But because they loved what I made, and they never failed to bring up how much they did every few moments, eating it with so much delight on their faces—every single bite of it—that not even crumbs were left. It was… satisfying to see. It was the first time I had made something on my own, with complete independence and control over everything. There's usually someone watching and helping. But today I decided to take that control and do something new. Something unexpected. It was a feeling I had the moment I opened my eyes this morning and I was glad I followed my instinct to do so. I never thought I’d feel this way about a simple breakfast but they’d made it seem like they were eating food served off the plate of a celestial god. And i
[~❤️CORAL❤️~] “Goddess, you taste divine. I don't think I’d ever get enough of you.” Damian’s voice is rough and full of heat. I flush, hard. And immediately turn my gaze away. “Don’t… say things like that, Damian.” “Why not?” He murmurs, his breath warm against my skin. A shiver rolls through me. “It’s true—” “It’s embarrassing.” I rasp. He chortles, the sound low. “Hmm, is it though?” “Yes.” I hiss “Really?” He muses, his voice dipping, teasing. I turn back to him with a glare that’s more flustered than furious and slap the back of my hand against his chest. “Damian!” He laughs, catching my wrist before I could pull away. “Okay, I’m sorry,” he says, smiling. He releases my wrist. “You’re just too irresistible not to tease.” Then he leans in and places a soft kiss on my temple. The simple gesture melts my insides and I sigh, a pout puckering my lips as I stare at himand that smug smile im his face. I don’t know how long we stay like that, but then the sound of s
[~❤️CORAL❤️~]My body feels hot as Raegan slowly devours my mouth. A soft moan escapes me at every soulful kiss.And it burns, with passion and hunger—for me—and it feels like I’m floating on a cloud of endless bliss. My body’s not my own and it’s growing with need with every drawn-out kiss.Is this what being kissed by one’s mate feels like? And it isn't as though this was the first time but it still feels like it, every moment our lips collide.But the sound of someone clearing their throat in the background brings me back to the real world. Jerking at the sound, I pull away from Raegan but there’s not much space to break away from him when he’s still holding me securely in his arms and I hear Raegan’s growl before he pulls up a bit and shoots a glare towards the kitchen’s entrance.My face, however, erupts like a hot pot when I see Damian and Rune standing by the doorway of the kitchen.A smug smile on their faces.“Well, that was a sight.” Damian comments.He leans casually agains