LOGINShare
Chapter 18: The First True Distance
publish date:
2026-10-30 06:43:10
Latest chapter
THE FATED HEARTBOUND: Played by Fate, Matched by Grace. Chapter 22: Maria's Quiet Panic
Tilly was back from the village before the breakfast tray was cleared.Asked her the night before, with Mrs. Pell's blessing, to buy thread on the green. Came up the back stairs. Cheeks red from the cold. Paper packet in her good hand. Cole opened the door. She walked past him like a girl who had practiced it."Mr. Hobb's shop is the one with the clock in the window," she said. "The clock is always wrong. I asked about the comb, just like you told me. I said my mistress's mother had a silver one with blue stones and wanted to know if it was being mended.""What did he say?""He laughed." Scrunched up her face to get it right. "He said he hasn't had silver on his bench in a year. Watch springs and wedding rings, that's all he does. If anyone said they left a comb with him, they must have meant the city.""Did he check his book?""He did. Twice. He was very nice about it." Held out the thread, as if it was proof. "It was never there, Miss Sandy."Sat down on the edge of the bed. The com
THE FATED HEARTBOUND: Played by Fate, Matched by Grace. Chapter 21: The Request
Practiced it on Cole first.Early, before breakfast. He stood by the door, hands folded. I sat at the desk with the list in front of me and said the sentence out loud to hear how it sounded."I would like you to help me find a mate. Someone suitable. For stability and independence so that I can leave the Pack cleanly."Cole's face didn't move. "Is that for me?""For Anderson. I wanted to hear it first.""Not supposed to have opinions.""But?"I looked at the ceiling for a moment. "Sounds like something read out at a council. If I were him, I'd think you had it written on a card.""I do. In my head.""Then put the card down." Flat. "Say what you want. Not what you've decided he'll agree to."I looked at the paper. Under Papers, in my own writing, the line about Anderson's mark for the lease. Been thinking about that line for two days. The room over the baker's would need his signature. Job would need his signature. Every door I wanted to walk through had his name on the other side of i
THE FATED HEARTBOUND: Played by Fate, Matched by Grace. Chapter 20: The Decision Forms
The list was still on the desk under the pencil where I left it.Read it by the grey light from the window. Money. Papers. Place. Mrs. Elizabeth. Next to the last one in my own hand for four weeks. Nine days have gone since the night of the open window. Dr. Hale said four weeks from then, maybe more. So about nineteen days left, and I could count them.Wrote that number to feel better. Hadn't worked. Nineteen days was close, and I had no idea what I would do on the twentieth.I put on a plain shirt for my walk. Cole came behind me. Sun only a pale patch in the cloud; grass crunched a little under my shoes. Frost, the first of the year.Went to the gate this time. Not the oak, not the kitchen garden. Main gate at the end of the drive where the iron stood open every day for carts and riders.Had not been this far since the car brought me in.The road ran away north between low stone walls. Empty. A few crows sat on the wall; the wind smelled of smoke and cold earth. I stood with my hand
THE FATED HEARTBOUND: Played by Fate, Matched by Grace. Chapter 19: Wigglesworth's First Crack
Tilly came up before the tea this time. Stood inside the door with a good hand tight around the bandaged one."Sat with Nell at lunch yesterday. Like you told me. Didn't ask anything. After the bread, she cried a little into her soup, then she said one thing.""What did she say?""Mr. Wigglesworth asked her for the key to the clerk's room. The little one off the Alpha's study." Ears went pink. "I wanted it tonight after the house was quiet. Told her not to mention it to Miss Maria."Set down the cup I was holding."Nell said it was the first time he ever asked her for something he didn't want Miss Maria to know. Said she felt sick about it. Didn't know which of them to be more afraid of.""Did she give him the key?""Said she'd think about it." Look at me. "Is that bad?""No. Thank you, Tilly. You did exactly right.""Do I tell her anything?""Tell her she can have lunch with you every day if she wants."Nodded hard and went out. Cole watched her go, then looked at me. Looking back, n
THE FATED HEARTBOUND: Played by Fate, Matched by Grace. Chapter 18: The First True Distance
I found the biscuit in my pocket when I got dressed.Broken into pieces overnight. Crumbs stuck in the lining with a little lint. Shook them into the basin and ran the tap until they were gone.Then stood there with my hands on the cold edge of the basin and made a plan. Small one.For fourteen years, whenever Mrs. Elizabeth forgot something or chose the wrong person, I had been the one who explained it. She was tired. She was ill. She hadn’t meant it. Did that work so quietly I never noticed it was work? Nobody asked me to do it. Just always had.Today I would not. Wasn’t going to be unkind. Wasn’t going to say anything sharp. Just let each thing be what it was and see how it looked without me standing in front of it.One day. That was all.Tilly brought the tea. Bandage clean. Set the tray down and hover.“Miss Sandy, I saw Nell on the back stairs. She was crying. Said it was nothing.”“Did you speak to her?”“Didn’t know if I should.”“Don’t tell her you know anything,” I said. “Sh
THE FATED HEARTBOUND: Played by Fate, Matched by Grace. Chapter 17: Anderson's Unease
Tilly brought the morning tea.Knew her by her arm. Bandage clean, tied neatly, she held the tray with her other hand and her hip. The girl who dropped the iron tray in the kitchen. Couldn't have been more than sixteen."Mrs. Pell said I shouldn't carry anything heavy. But I asked to come up. I wanted to say thank you.""Didn't need to.""Didn't fill with water. Did what you said." Set the tray on the table. The ears are pink. "Mrs. Pell says I'm lucky. Says it would have been scarred.""Still might be a little.""Don't mind." Looked at the bandage like it was something she'd been given. "Nobody ever showed me what to do before. Just tell me to be careful."Poured the tea. Cole stood at the door and watched the hallway. I knew he was listening anyway.Tilly twisted the corner of her apron. Had something else to say. Waited because I knew what that looked like from the inside."Miss Sandy. Can I tell you something? You can say it's not my business.""You can tell me.""About Nell." Dro
You May Also Like
Alpha Reid
C.J. Primer724.7K viewsTHE ALPHA'S VIRGIN SLAVE : SUBMIT ALPHA IAN'S CURSE
Muleba Makukula820.1K viewsMated To Big Brother-in-law
AlisTae944.8K viewsI Am The Luna
Moonlight Muse3.2M viewsToo Late To Beg, Alpha
Golden Blaze186 viewsThe Wolfless Luna
Theghostwriterdee53 viewsTransmigrated To Tame The Tyrant Lycan King
Author H30 viewsThe Rival Alpha Forbidden Luna
Choco .B .160 views
