FAZER LOGINI'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
Violet"Take off those rose-tinted glasses, girl," Alaric said, looking down at me with something that might have been pity if it wasn't so laced with contempt. "Look at what you're begging for. This man you think is worth saving? He's not. He's never been worth the love you're so eager to give him.""There’s no need to go there," Elijah’s voice was on the edge."He killed his own brother," Alaric said, and the words dropped into the room like stones into still water.I felt the breath leave my lungs."I didn’t mean to…" Elijah started, but Alaric cut him off."He died because you were careless, because you thought you knew better than everyone else. He lost his life because you were too arrogant to follow simple safety protocols, follow your alpha’s orders." Alaric's voice was shaking now, with rage or grief or both. "My six year old boy is no more because of you. You continue to breathe and live while my boy has been long buried."The silence that followed was suffocating.I looked
VioletThat made me fume in anger again.When he spoke next, his voice was rougher. “You want to know the real reason? I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to see me through Nicole knowing very well how much you hate her.”That stopped me cold.“What is that even supposed to mean?” I asked.“
VioletAfter sitting through the most torturous dinner of my life that nearly lasted way past midnight, I was relieved when Lady Aurelia announced that she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore and wished to sleep.I couldn’t be happier.I got up from my seat and cleared my throat.“I want to thank yo
VioletFor a moment, I thought my eyes were lying to me.I blinked quite a few times, but the figures in front of me did not change.They did not blur or dissolve or turn into something reasonable. They remained exactly where they were, standing beneath the golden spill of chandelier light as if th
VioletThe tension in the room was palpable, and I felt like an intruder once again. Was this yet again going to be a déjà vu where Elijah and his siblings fight and I was reduced to a helpless spectator?The night Cassie and Elijah had a verbal spar had soured their relationship to an extent, and I







