It was exhausting lying to my mates that I was all right and giving an oblivious smile to whoever gave me annoyed glances. This time my reflection did not disappear, appearing at every chance. Biting the insides of my cheek until I could taste blood, I maintained my composure. At least, I tried to. Thankfully, my mates took the moment as a sign to exit the party. As soon as we were in the safety of the vehicle, they bombarded me with questions. “I got distracted for a moment. What was going on? Why did you disappear for so long, Connor?” “Stop answering our questions with another question. What is going on, babe?” “You mentioned something about a witch earlier too.” “It was only a joke, Reed.” “I fucking felt your fear! We felt it so do not fucking cut us off like that.” “I am not cutting you off. I just need space.” “What happened to all of us communicating openly?” “Give me time!” Reed’s eyes flashed with barely contained anger, and his jaw ticked. He looked out the win
Time is fluid. It flowed of its own accord, forgetting it strung me along in the first place. It did not care that I remained stuck in a lone, silent darkness surrounded by shards of glass for hours on end. Another crinkling sound yawned as I shifted and turned on my feet. No matter how many times I turned, I could get numb to the pain that pricked the soles of my bleeding feet. It was maddening, trapped in the gnawing silence and darkness. I fed on my bloodied fingers and tried to drown the pained moans I believed came from my unguarded mind. Being alone left me to my thoughts; many of which I realized were true. It cost me nothing if only I had remained obedient and never pursued my desires. I would have become a leader worthy of Arth, envied and feared by all. Here I was, lying in a pool of regret I created with my own hands. Curse the gods! Curse the ties they spun between their children that they refer to as mating. Curse their deference to my calamity. How could they hear me
I eyed 'my' belongings. Clearly, whatever had taken over my body had a lot of fun personating me. I grabbed every last bit of things that weren't mine and disposed them in the bin. Their obsession with sparkly items distressed me. Running my hands through my hair, I contemplated what to do regarding the matter. It would be hard discussing this with Connor and Reed since they have been preoccupied with pack matters. The only other thing I could do would be to retrace the steps of the one who took over my body.First things first, I needed to meet the others. Perhaps I could a thing or two out of them. I stepped into the busy household and, right away, spot Jess with the two babies. She rocked them as they slept in the double winged cot. When she saw me, she pressed a finger to her lips and smiled. "The cookies are ready," Claire chimed, placing the tray of newly baked chocolate chip cookies on the table. "Hey, Phoebe. It's been while.""Yeah, it has." They looked different, and so
90"Who are you talking to?" Reed looked behind me, searching. "No one." "I thought I heard a male voice...""You are hearing things." He turned his sharp gaze on me, as if wondering to call me out on my lie or ignore it. I did wonder why I had to lie about calling Lucas over when they were already acquainted with one another. Have I really come to this? Keeping secrets from the ones who love me? Or 'loved' me. "Are you okay? Jess called me to check up on you." "I'm fine." The air turned awkward between us as we watched each other, expectant. I wanted him to leave so I would not have to put up with the guilt that I had lied. He raised his hands, resigned, but nodding. "I will be downstairs if you need me or something.""I'm fine," I repeated. "I didn't say otherwise, Phoebe. Gods, you don't need to start another fight.""Can you leave already?" I demanded, raising my voice. Surprised, I pursed my lips and closed my eyes. "Whoa. Fine." "I don't know why you bother when you're
91"Not again. Where am I?" On the bright side, it was literally bright compared to the horror freak show with the darkness. The air smelled like pine and roses. My voice echoed, bouncing off nothing. Was this any better than my former cage? I softly hoped my body was not possessed by another mysterious being. A glint caught my eye, drawing my attention to the ground. Gold lines slowly inscribed themselves in the ground, appearing like footprints and shimmering like dust. I followed after them, hoping it led somewhere. When I looked back, there was nothing but terrifying white. I took a deep breathe and followed after the golden prints that continued on its way. Cool breeze brushed against my cheeks. The growing weakness in my bones energized at the thought of something other than the white. As I continued on the path, the white faded away, becoming waving trees, whistling birds and a field of roses. The sky was bright with clouds despite the absence of the sun. The moon formed an
"Phoebe Woods, quit slacking over there. Come on!" I blinked into the lights and cheers. Taking in the team flags, my dark blue jersey, the audience and the court, I realised I was back in time. Panthers versus Net Rippers. The game that made me lost my bet with Reed Hastings. "Phoebe!" I glanced at Coach and gave her an apologetic smile. Familiarity pumped through my veins as the ball flew my way. I guarded and bounced the ball, looking for who to pass it to. "Zoe!" Zoe nodded at her name and reached out as I passed the ball to her. She bounced the ball across the court towards Lily. My blood ran cold as I remembered the reason why we lost. Lily was going to trip on her feet. I picked up speed, taking the ball from Lily. "Sorry!" I called out. The net was not far away. I could make the shot. I threw the ball without a second thought. With the crowd, I watched, holding my breath. I was going to make the net... A flurry of red flew in my line of sight, knocking the ball away fro
I stretched as I entered the basketball court with the rest of my team for the last training. It was already occupied by Reed and his teammates. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked, suddenly remembering that this was where my bracelet broke. I held on to it tight to protect it. "I should be asking you that question, Phoebe." Reed stepped forward, jogging a ball in his hand. "Care to share?" I asked. Reed cocked his head, as if he expected me to protest. Which is exactly what I would have done if I didn't know what would happen afterwards. "Sure." He eyed me with suspicion, heading back to his teammates. Reed stopped in his steps and turned. "How about a match, Phoebe?"My heart thumped in my chest. If I play, I would get hit in the face with the ball which would lead to the bracelet breaking. Wait, that does not make sense. What exactly caused the bracelet to break? I looked down at my arm, trying to remember what little detail I missed. "No, thanks.""I didn't know you were
As promised, Uncle Al let me go to the party by keeping my father preoccupied. I slipped on a short black skirt and big grey hoodie over my black crop top. Wearing my ankle boots, I listened to Zoe chatter over the phone. "I'm pulling up at yours in a minute. Don't make me wait out long," she warned. "Calm down, woman. I'll be down in a second." I ran out of the house before my father could stop me and jumped into Zoe's car which pulled up in time. She sped off as my dad stepped out the front door, yelling my name. I threw my head back, laughing hard. "He's going to kill you when you get back.""Uncle Al said I'm allowed to stay as late as two.""I love your uncle. Do you think he will ever marry?" "He's too busy being my mother, Zoe. Eyes off my uncle.""You have to admit that he is hot. Where does he work out?" "Stop sexualizing my uncle. Gross!" Noticing my clothes for the first time, she asked, "Phoebe, why are you wearing that hoodie? What happened to the clothes we picked