LOGINVioletShe left before I could respond, the door closing softly behind her.I stood in the middle of my room, surrounded by the trappings of wealth and comfort, and felt more alone than I'd ever felt in my life.I looked down at my hands, still stained with Elijah's blood despite my attempts to wash them last night. I moved to the bathroom like a zombie, and turned the shower on.The shower water ran hot, almost scalding, as I scrubbed at my skin. The blood came off in rusty swirls, and I tried to scrub away the pain and hurt to no avail.I shampooed my hair mechanically wondering if he'd woken up yet and if he hated me for being the cause of this.Maybe I should really let go of him and not be the reason he gets hurt.When I finally emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel, I found that the maids had laid out my maid of honor dress on the bed. I looked at the dark lavender silk dress with complete detachment. The hair and makeup team arrived shortly and chatted excitedly among
I'd completely forgotten about it. Everything that had happened last night, especially seeing Elijah covered in blood had driven all thoughts of the actual wedding from my mind."I need to stay with him," I said, moving closer to the bed. "Until he wakes up. I need to make sure he's okay.""No," Lady Aurelia said firmly, not looking up from her examination of Elijah's wounds. "You need to go get ready. Hair and makeup start in two hours. The ceremony is at four o'clock. As a maid of honor, your presence is required.""But…""I will stay with him," Lady Aurelia interrupted. "I'll make sure the healer treats him properly. You have other obligations to fulfill."The way she said it made it clear this wasn't a suggestion but an order. I thought about our conversation last night while she'd looked at him with such tenderness while telling me love wasn't enough in this place."You'll take care of him?" I asked, hating how small my voice sounded.Lady Aurelia finally looked up at me, and he
Violet“They are going to kill me! Help!”I heard that voice of the woman clearly in my head.“No, go away. I know your tricks.”I shouted back in the void, not knowing where exactly was she or I. All I could see was pitch black around me.There was no light, no life, nothing except that voice hounding me like a hammer hitting a nail, driving it into my skull.“You have to come to me. You are mine.”“No, I am not your puppet. I know how many people you killed. Leave me alone!”Instead of begging me to help, that voice started laughing cruelly.“You will still come to me. You will still help me, bleed for me!!!”I squeezed my eyes shut, placing both hands on my ears to drown out that noise.But I could still hear her pouding heavily, the sound echoing in my skull.Afraid that she would really come get me, I pushed myself back and felt something poking in my back.Absentmindedly I reached behind and felt a strong wooden leg.And then the sound returned, but not of fierce pounding. I gr
VioletShe began applying it to Elijah's back, her touch gentle in a way that seemed at odds with her usual cold demeanor. Her fingers traced the damaged tattoos, the ruined skin, with something that looked almost like tenderness.I couldn't help but stare at her. This woman who'd threatened me, who'd ordered me to break her son's heart, who'd stood by while her husband beat Elijah bloody…she was shaking while treating his wounds. Her perfectly composed mask had cracks in it, revealing something underneath that looked like an actual feeling.She caught me staring and her jaw tightened. "I know what you saw," she said quietly. "In the hallway with Alaric and that woman."I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing."All Alphas are like that," Aurelia continued, her voice taking on a bitter edge. "Especially the men in this pack. Ever since the witch..." She paused, her hands stilling on Elijah's back. "Ever since the war with the witches, something changed. The men became harder and c
VioletThe answer popped in my head the next instant.Lady Aurelia!I didn't let myself think about what I was doing, didn't let myself consider the consequences. All I knew was that Elijah needed help and his mother was the only person who might be able to provide it.I ran as fast as I could, found Aurelia's door and pounded on it, too frantic to care about manners."Luna Aurelia!" I called out, my voice cracking. "Please! I need your help!"The door opened almost immediately. Aurelia stood there in an elegant dressing gown, her hair down for once, falling in dark waves around her shoulders. Her expression shifted from surprise to something harder when she saw me."Violet? What are you.." Her eyes landed on my hands, on the blood staining them, and her face went pale. "Is that..""It's Elijah," I said, the words tumbling out. "Please, you have to help him. The wounds won't stop bleeding and I don't know what to do and Kelly said your husband won't let the doctor see him and I'm not
VioletMy hands were shaking as I moved to the adjoining bathroom, looking for anything that might help. It broke my heart to see him like this, bloodied and beaten just because of me.Alpha Alaric’s words still rang in my head of how Elijah had killed his brother. Could he have really odne that?He loved Cassie a lot and protected her more than his own self. How could he have taken the life of another sibling?But then Elijah had often called himself a monster and that he had done some irredeemable things.But right now as I stared at his mangled back, I could not bring myself to think of anything else.I had no doubts Kelly was telling the truth about Elijah’s father not wanting a doctor to tend to his wounds.I had to clean the wounds to the best of my ability.Thankfully, I found a first aid kit tucked under the sink not long after. It was a forgotten old box but consisted of basic supplies such as bandages, and some antiseptic. Nothing seemed adequate for the severity of his inju
VioletNate began to foam around his mouth, his knuckles white as he gripped the phone."Simple questions?" he repeated, his voice climbing. "Of course I can answer simple questions. These are my projections, my analysis after all.""Great," Dane's voice came through, calm and unbothered. "Let's st
VioletThree hours later, we were seated in the large living hall, while Nicole still continued to talk about the wedding arrangements. I was still unsure about the dress that Nicole had just gifted me, staring at it like a beautiful, suspicious trap."Oh, how wonderful!" Aunt Thelma's voice carried
VioletThe morning sun filtered through the crystal windows of Ironcrest's breakfast room, casting prismatic patterns across the elaborate spread.I'd barely slept, my mind still churning over last night's conversation with Dane and the evidence I'd sent him about Nate. But sitting here at this tab
VioletI stood there long after Nate walked away, the paper’s weight still burning against my palm even though it was no longer there, as if the words had imprinted themselves directly into my skin. The street felt too open suddenly, too exposed, my thoughts dancing all around my brain.I was stil







