登入CELIAThe storm started right after we got back from the clinic, the sky went black at 5pm, the wind started hitting the windows so hard the whole mansion shook, and by 7pm the power was out, the whole place went dark, and I was in my room with Nicholas, in my black dress, trying to keep him calm with a lantern, but he was scared, he hated thunder, he always had, and every time it cracked he pressed his face into my chest."Mama, it's loud," he whispered, his little hands clutching my dress, his flower crown falling off, "make it stop.""I know, baby," I said, I held him tighter, I tried to be strong, but my room was cold, the heater was out with the power, and I only had one thin blanket, and I was trying not to cry because I was cold and scared too, but I had to be mama first.That was when I heard footsteps outside my door, soft, not Alpha heavy, just soft, and then a knock, soft, the same soft knock from the fever night, "Celia," Ronan's voice, low, careful, "can I leave something
RONANMagnus called me at 7am and he didn’t sound like he was asking, he sounded like he was telling and his voice sounded almost commanding as though I wasn’t the Alpha."You and Celia run the clinic today, together, the humans trust her, they will trust you if they see you with her," and I wanted to say no because I knew she would hate it, I knew she would be angry the whole day, but my lips replied a yes because if she was going to be in that clinic all day, I wanted to be there too, even if she hated me for it.She was already there when I got there, she was in her plain black dress, not the pink one, not the white one, black, clean, strong, her hair tied back, her sleeves rolled up, and she was moving boxes like she had built the place with her own hands, which she had, and she looked up when I walked in and her face went cold instantly, that cold she does now, that angry cold she keeps for me."What are you doing here," she said, her voice flat, she didn’t stop moving boxes."Ma
KIERANShe was trying to leave early again, she always tries to leave early when her eyes are tired, but I kept her back after class, I said it was about tournament forms, it was partly true, but mostly I just wanted five minutes with her where she wasn't being a mother or a rogue queen or someone's ex, just Celia, my Celia from the tutor table."Stay," I said, I closed the door to the Defense Arts wing, "please, just five minutes” I begged, watching her pale skin relax for a minute “I promise it's about school."She sighed, she dropped her bag, she was in her plain black training set, hair tied back, boots too tight, she looked exhausted from the fever night, I could tell she didn't sleep, "Kieran, I have to get back to Nicholas, Ronan is watching him but I don't trust him alone for long.""I know," I said, I pulled out the old box from under my desk, the one I kept for four years, "but look at this first."Inside were photos, old, creased, of her at this same table, tutoring me, she
CELIAIt was 2am when I heard it, that little rattle in his chest that I hate more than anything, I had been half asleep with my hand on his forehead and his skin went from warm to burning in ten minutes, his breathing was too fast, his little fists were clutching his lantern, the one he made for me, and he was whimpering in his sleep like he was trying not to wake me."Nicholas," I whispered, I was already up, I was already pulling the blanket off him, "baby, hey, mama's here, look at me."He opened his eyes, gold eyes like mine but glassy, "Mama, my chest hurts," he said, his voice so small it broke me and my breath hitched in my throat.Lara was out, she had gone to Oak Town for clinic things and I was alone, my hands were shaking too hard to open the medicine bottle, I dropped it.The pills went everywhere on the floor, and I just sat there on the floor crying because I couldn't even do this one thing right, first my powers wouldn’t work on him and now, I was spilling the medicine
RONANCelia was mine and she's always gonna remain mine, there was no way I was about to let Kieran take her away from me, I know that for a while, I had been absent, with the exile then my assumption of her death and now her return, it only pointed in one direction, we were both meant to be together and I wasn't gonna let anyone stop us.I kept telling myself that in my office, with Magnus ledger in front of me, but the red mark on my cheek from last night was still there, faint now, but I could still feel it every time I swallowed, she hit me and she meant it, and I deserved it, but it didn't make me want her less, it made me want to fix it.I heard her before I saw her, bare feet on marble, her black dress swishing, Nicholas little boots behind her, she was coming down for his morning dose and she didn't even look at my office door, she walked past like I was furniture."Celia," I said, my voice low, I didn't mean to sound like an Alpha because even though it had been three years s
CELIAI didn't sleep after the slap.Every time I closed my eyes I felt his mouth on mine in that corner, his hand on my waist, Nicholas between us. And then I felt my own hand hitting him. My palm still stung, I wasn’t even sure if I meant to hit him that hard.In the morning, Nicholas woke up and touched my face."Mama, why are you crying?" he whispered."I'm not, baby," I said, wiping my face fast. "Mama just didn't sleep." I lied, forcing a smile on my lips. “Come on now..let’s get you ready”I got him dressed, gave him his medicine, and Lara took him to make lanterns with the other kids so I could go to the academy.I needed to go. If I stayed in that mansion one more hour with Ronan's handprint on his face downstairs, I was going to scream.The academy was loud like always. But this time, I didn't hear the whispers about "exiled" and "rogue queen". I just walked fast to the Defense Arts wing.Kieran was already there, wrapping his hands by the window. He looked up and saw my fac







