~ Adeline ~
Four days are finally over. I watch Valerie walk down the aisle in her beautiful white dress to my ex mate, Corey. This time, more than heartbreak, I feel something else–coldness. While he happily marks her, I am being taken to the airport, and it isn't before long until I arrive in the country of Love, France. They say this country is full of so much love that everyone feels it, but all I feel as I breathe in the air is the sense of impending suffering. My freedom will be at stake, and my brightness will dim. That's if I even get to see another day with the Blackmoor brothers. The bodyguards don't come to pick me up from the airport like I normally read in books. Instead, a pale looking maid rushes over. “Miss Morris, I've been asked to pick you up,” she states, and I look behind her to see if she was alone, and indeed she was. As expected, I wasn't someone of importance. Not here, and not even back in Seattle. I offer her a polite smile before following her to the black Mitsubishi that has been parked, waiting for us. It looks cheap, and I can't believe people as formidable as the exiled brothers would own something so cheap. But I don't mind though, I get in with my luggage, and soon the city is passing like a blur in my eyes. It didn't take longer before we drove into a huge mansion. It is ten times bigger than the Blackmoor mansion will ever be. I feel my heart drum against my chest, and I try to calm it. When I step out of the car, the maid doesn't offer to carry my luggage inside, so I do it myself. As I take two steps forward, I collide with something hard, making me wince. And when I look up, I freeze. The person in front of me looks familiar. His long nose, thin lips, and piercing blue eyes were just like I remembered. Four days ago, I met him in Seattle. He is the same man who drove me to the hospital, but what is he doing here? I want to ask, but one look from him renders me speechless. Just as I am about to speak, another man rushes over. He looks just like this man in front of me, but the only difference is that he has a grin on his face. “Is she here yet?” His voice rings out, and I can feel a headache coming on. Are these the exiled brothers? My question is answered immediately when the last man wheels himself out. His gaze is cold, and unlike the remaining two men, he looks different. He has jet-black hair instead of blonde, and his eyes are mismatched—One was pitch black like in, and the other was gold. I am instantly captivated. *You can't deny that they look good,* my wolf says in my head. I have almost forgotten that she exists. For the past four days she has not muttered a word until now. “Took you long enough to get here,” The man says, and I flinch before turning rigid. I could now tell them apart from the stories I have heard before. The man who saved me back in Seattle is called Ronan, the brutal enforcer. The second man is Uriel, the strategist, and the man in the wheelchair is Cassian, the silent predator. “You think this was my fate?” I scoff. I know I shouldn't be hot headed right now, but I can't help it. I can't be pitiful in front of them. “My father arranged it, yes. But fate didn’t choose you, I did,” I say, with a boldness I don't understand, yet only myself knew how nervous I was. “I don’t care what the Moon Goddess thinks. I don’t care if I ever find my second-chance mate.” My voice drops into a whisper, and I hear it tremble a bit. “If I’m going to be possessed, it will be because I gave myself willingly.” I say, thinking about every incident that has occurred in the past years as well as the last four days. I look into each of their eyes. I'm a terrible liar. In truth I have no choice but to do what my father wishes or I'll be exiled. I didn't come here willingly at all, and I know they can sense my lie, because Ronan's lips curl up amusingly in the next second. He was mocking me, I knew it. “I’m not your mate by destiny. I’m your mate by choice.” I utter in finale. Ronan grabs me first—rough and firm like he has been starving. The once easy going Uriel curls his arm around my waist as Ronan leans into my ear while Cassian watches in his wheelchair. My breath hitches. “You're ours now, Little mouse. Willingly or Unwillingly”~ Adeline ~ Four days are finally over. I watch Valerie walk down the aisle in her beautiful white dress to my ex mate, Corey. This time, more than heartbreak, I feel something else–coldness. While he happily marks her, I am being taken to the airport, and it isn't before long until I arrive in the country of Love, France. They say this country is full of so much love that everyone feels it, but all I feel as I breathe in the air is the sense of impending suffering. My freedom will be at stake, and my brightness will dim. That's if I even get to see another day with the Blackmoor brothers. The bodyguards don't come to pick me up from the airport like I normally read in books. Instead, a pale looking maid rushes over. “Miss Morris, I've been asked to pick you up,” she states, and I look behind her to see if she was alone, and indeed she was. As expected, I wasn't someone of importance. Not here, and not even back in Seattle. I offer her a polite smile before following her to
~ Adeline ~ My heart is being ripped apart but by bit as I struggle to hold onto my last bit of sanity. My hands and feet are cold, and my teeth have started to chatter. Not just from the cold of the morning but the heartbreak drilling through my soul. Not only had Corey taken away the small life I had growing inside me, but had also stripped me of the opportunity to have that feeling again in the future. I can hear my wolf hissing in the back of my head. We had endured emotional blackmail in the hands of Corey. Sure, he has never punched me before now, but I have always suffered whenever he gaslights me. And the worst part, he doesn't care how I feel. Punching me is something he probably has been looking forward to doing. *What now?* My wolf asks, and I am speechless. I can't answer her question, so I don't. Instead, I take a cab back home to the Morris family mansion. But as soon as I step in, I notice the loud chatter, and I see my sister sitting on a couch with a man wrapped ar
~ Adeline ~ I stagger out of Corey's apartment an hour after fainting, feeling as though my heart is being ripped out of my chest. He didn't bother to take me to a hospital, instead, he moved to the bedroom to continue his business with the woman he brought back. The air is stale, cold. It is early in the morning and the sky is still a bit dark. The neighborhood is quiet and my phone is dead. I did not have time to charge it as I was preparing a birthday surprise for Corey. But the neon lights I set up in the bedroom ended up adding spice to his little bedroom play. My tears have dried up and I feel nothing. I'm completely numb. Even the cold biting into my skin feels like nothing–I don't shiver. I just walk, not even knowing where I was going. The hospital is far from this neighborhood, and I can only walk until the first rays of sunlight shine before I can finally catch an Uber. I have been walking for 20 minutes until a light shines in my direction, almost blinding me.
~ Adeline ~ One week ago… I clutch the paper in my hand tightly as though it will vanish in the next minute. Something churns in my stomach–something I couldn't quite fathom. The doctor’s words earlier had completely knocked the spirits out of me. My eyes hold emotions I cannot explain as I stare at the test result. Positive. I am pregnant. I am only twenty years old at the moment. I couldn't tell if this news would please Corey or my father. Pulling out my phone, I stare at the empty call log. He didn't call me. Not even a text or anything–nothing. I fold the paper and quickly stuff it into my purse before leaving. I suddenly remembered today was his birthday. I have been planning for this day for a while. I got a cake, and a lot of preparation. I even invited his friends. Perhaps one more present will not hurt. A smile plasters across my lips as I plan everything. Once it was evening, I picked up the cake before heading to Corey's apartment. I call his friends ,
~ Adeline ~ I wasn’t expecting him. Not tonight. Not in my room. Or perhaps I should say my new room. But there he stands—broad shoulders, hands gripping the wheels of his sleek black wheelchair like he owns the world and everything in it, including me. “You look at me like you’re scared,” he says, voice low, dark, and velvety. “Good. You should be.” My breath hitch. Not just because I fear him but also because he looks at me like I am made to be devoured. “I didn’t agree to any of this in the first place,” I whisper, clutching the thin fabric of my nightdress to my chest. I don't want any of this. But I have no choice. He rolls forward, slow and deliberate, until his knees brush mine on the bed. “Your father sold you, princess. And I paid. That makes you mine.” His fingers catch the hem of my dress and I freeze. “You can fight,” he murmurs, voice like smoke against my neck, making my heart drum against my chest. This man was scary. “Or you can surrender. Bu