Kneeling for four hours was nothing. I’d been forced to kneel for longer. My knees will probably never be the same. After being there, glaring at Nerissa’s pictures. I was finally able to leave when a servant came to inform me that my four hours were up. Of course, Matthias had told them. I went straight to my room, showered, and changed my clothes into something nicer. Something I considered cute, because I needed a way to cheer myself up. And after rubbing some ointment on my knees, I needed to get out of here. Go to my appointment, eat something. And talk to Cassiel. I looked at myself in the mirror. If you ignore the sadness in my eyes, you’d think I was beautiful. I'm wearing a soft, dreamy outfit that feels like something out of a romantic countryside fairytale. My top is a delicate, off-white knit camisole with thin straps and a subtle floral embroidery in the center—it's fitted and feminine, hugging my shape without being too tight. It has a slightly vintage, handmade charm
I decided to take nerissa away from the house so she could see my office and how well I’m handling things. She was still the beacon of joy I’ve always known and loved. I can’t believe she came back. I can’t believe she’s alive. I’ve missed her. I’ve missed her every day for three years. I wanted to take her on dates, have a true luna ceremony for her. I want to do so many things. And yet as i drive us to my office building, my thoughts kept falling back to the things aurielle said. Should i have asked more questions? Because she’s right. Nerissa vanished for three years without telling me by herself that she needed space. I would have let her have all the space she needed.Did she find herself? Why come back now? When I’m weeks away from divorcing her sister?Did she date while she was away?Fuck, i despise aurielle and the seeds of doubt she has put in my mind. Nerissa wouldn’t lie to me. I trust her entirely. I was the one who fucked up. I should have fought my parents harder when
I don’t know how to feel. My sister had just accused me of attacking her... without saying a single word. Matthias believed her, which isn’t weird, it’s actually kind of normal for him to take the side of the devil. But I’m just baffled. Was that like thirty seconds? A minute at most. The moment Nerissa left like the snake she is, Matthias dropped his fake smile.“What did you do?” he whispered, yelled. Like she was going to hear him. Actually, she might. I get the feeling she didn’t leave at all. She’s probably glued to the door wanting to hear him berate me. Well, I have a doctor’s appointment, and I will not be insulted today. “What did I do? What is wrong with you? Your ex pops up after three years, feeds you some story, and you immediately believe it? You believe she hasn’t been dating or seeing someone else. You think she was actually finding herself? You believe everything she tells you, even without proof? You are the definition of a fool.” I don’t know why I spilled my in
“Hey, sister.” A soft voice filled the air suddenly. I felt a pinch on my face, and I tossed in my bed. “Wake up, you little maggot.”I opened my eyes to see Nerissa staring at me. Her eyes slitted like a snake, she brought up something sharp, and I screamed. Sitting straight up to smack her off me, but instead I found no one. My chest hurts, and I feel like I can’t breathe. My neck itches, and... and.... I got up and immediately ran to the bathroom to wash my face. I can’t believe she’s back. And she’s already haunting me. After everything I’ve been through, she’s back. Spreading lies immediately on the first night. I got out of the bathroom and made myself leave my room so I could drink some water. The second my door came open, she was there. A bright smile on her wicked face.“Hello, sister.” She pushed me back into the room with one finger and kicked my door closed with her foot. “We haven’t gotten to chat since you locked yourself away. I figured you would at least miss me.”I
The devil comes in pink, you’ve heard it from me.Nerissa stood in front of the gate, her hair blonde as ever. Curly, flowing over her shoulders. A strapless black dress and heels that matched. With an overnight bag and a huge smile. If Matthias wasn’t standing so closely behind me, I’d have slammed the gate and stormed into the house. Unfortunately, I can’t pull that off. Suddenly, I feel like vomiting. Suddenly, my freedom is much farther away than I was ready to accept.The only thing I could say was- “I told you she wasn’t dead.”I shoved him out of the way and walked the path towards the house. Heels hitting the ground could be heard following me, and someone grabbed my elbow. Forcing me around. Nerissa hugged me tightly. Likely for show.“Oh, I’ve missed you so much, Aurielle. It’s been so long. Too long.” She pulled back. Matthias was stunned. “You’re alive.” He whispered. She turned to face him. “Of course I’m alive. Didn’t Aurielle tell you? When we went on that break, I
I spent my entire day picturing having a child in this place. I mean.... wow. Look at the space of the living room, there are two living rooms. One small and upstairs, and the main one is downstairs with a fireplace. There’s a pool in the backyard, four bedrooms, and five bathrooms. Who needs this much?There’s a study/library. It’s empty. No basement, which isn’t a problem. There’s a laundry room, this place has everything, and Cassiel pointed out that I could change one into a baby room. The other rooms can be for other things. He got me thinking about what I wanted to do for a job. What career path did I want to take? And by the end of the day, I was handed a bunch of papers with jobs in the community, and jobs at his pack. And several others. I was also handed the key to the house, but I rejected it. In the car, Cassiel asked why.“I haven’t paid the rent yet, and i can’t move in at the moment. I don’t want to keep the key. I’m in love with the house.”That was the partial tru
There are times when I realize being me is a tragic story. The first time was my kidnapping, the second was when I was saved, only to realize my parents had replaced me, the third... I could go on. The list is longer than the list of things I’ve ever owned. But today was a different type of tragic. Matthias left early, I’m not sure if he was trying to beat me out of the house or not, and somehow my parents found out, so they showed up just as I was getting ready to step out and call Alpha Cassiel.I had to change our plans because it seemed ridiculous for him to drive from his pack to mine just to pick me up. But now I’d be late meeting him because of these people. My father looked like a man staring down a vicious criminal, and my mother hid herself behind him. Coward. What a coward. They really should check who they allow to become parents. These two aren’t cut out to raise their own beta child. I held my bag, leaning against the closed gate. Refusing to let them in. If they wa
I never sleep in, I’ve got too much work to actually allow myself more than ofur hours of sleep. It’s not enough but once a year i treat myselg with a week off where i do nothing but catch up on sleep and pray that my pack doesn’t catch fire while I’m away. So today was a rarety for me. It wasn’t my choice to be very honest. But when i told my new friend aurielle that i was going to be busy, she pointed out that if i crashed one day from over working my pack would fall into the hands of someone who would likely ruin my hard work. That haunted me.I love my half brother but he’s a party boy. He takes being my beta seriously but nothing else. He spent our youth drinking and partying, and getting into so many fights. It’s a miracle he’s alive. The thought or dying one day and having him run my pack since i have no children was a nightmare to me. So i made myself clock off my duties early- eleven pm, that was the best i could do- and i went home to sleep.Now I’m up at seven am and i f
I might not be the smartest beta in the world, but I’m definitely smart enough to know when something is about to go down with Matthias. I mean, I know him. He might not know a thing about me, but I know enough about him to fully steal his identity. As creepy as that sounds.I only know what I know because I loved him the entirety of our marriage. But I knew the second I saw Matthias’s friend that I was in a bit of trouble. Eric is his name. Himbo to the core. Thick in the vein, empty in the head. He’s amongst the elite forces that Matthias created to protect the pack. You don’t need brains for that. I could tell he was going to report back to Matthias. Not because he thought I was cheating, but because Alpha Aldric is kind of a celeb. His reputation is gold. No, worth more than gold. I sighed and sat on my bed as Matthias shut the door behind him. I took my shoes off one at a time, waiting for him to start this already tense conversation.“When did you two become friends?”Do I t