LOGINDouble chapter update :)
The next day, there was knocking on the door around lunch time.I’d already dressed and was waiting, expecting Emma to arrive around this time. Except... when I opened the door, it wasn’t the familiar blonde girl who stood there, but an older man. At least in his sixties, maybe older.“Um... Hello?” I greeted, confused.Peering past the doorframe, I looked down the hallway towards where I knew a guard was stationed....He was still there. Guarding. Acting like this was completely normal. Hmm.So I guess that meant this man was meant to be here? Did Alistair send him?“Miss Natalie,” he said, bowing his head very slightly. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Frederick. I’m an Elder of the Aeredale council.”Oh, boy, I’d forgotten about the council. The first time I’d encountered one of them, it was back when I was working at the tavern. He’d yelled and poked a finger into my chest, accusing me of brushing crumbs onto his lap. Alistair had nearly snapped his hand off for it.
“If this is going to work, then we need some ground rules,” I said a little while later.He’d been holding me in his arms, continuing to kiss and touch me affectionately for some time. But I, on the other hand, couldn’t help but start to stress over everything I’d just agreed to. The ramifications of that promise and what it entailed.He found the abrupt topic change funny. “You want to talk about that now?” “I’m just continuing what you started.”“Okay, then... what are your terms?”“For starters, I want full transparency,” I said. “No leaving me in the dark. I don’t want to find out from complete strangers again.”“That’s fair.”He tried to kiss me and move on, but I stopped him. He didn’t seem to understand the severity of what I was asking. “I’m serious. I know it’s your nature to try to deal with everything by yourself, but if you truly see me as a partner, then you need to start trusting me.”He’d done it countless times now — always taking control to deal with problems by himse
The kiss was urgent and hungry. As we grabbed at each other greedily, every ounce of prior anger immediately evaporated. It didn’t matter anymore. None of it did. I just wanted him.He was maddening. Mulish. An attitude about him which screamed he was rarely ever told ‘no’ growing up... and yet he was only arguing with me because he wanted me. Because he didn’t want to lose me....And I didn’t want to lose him either.Even without feeling the matebond, I was still obsessed with him in every way.My impatience kicked in, desperately wanting to feel his scorching skin against me. I started tugging at his clothes fervently. He obliged, helping me to remove his jacket... his waistcoat, kissing my skin between each item. My shoulder... my neck... I shuddered every time.When he was finally down to his button-down shirt, I grabbed the top with both hands and ripped at it with all my strength... then tried again... well, apparently that’s a lot more difficult to do in real life than I realis
The next week passed by quickly.Alistair insisted on me staying in bed to recover, which I had no complaints about. After all, the room possessed everything I could ever need and more. Honestly, there was enough space that I could have started subletting parts of it to people.The first few days I mostly read books from the bookshelf, learning more about the world and its history. All of it was non-fiction and nothing too exciting. On the fourth day, I woke up and found that Alistair had gifted me some art equipment. Several canvases, an easel, paints... plus my sketchbook — retrieved now for the third time — and more pencils than I’d ever need in one lifetime. I felt incredibly spoilt.Every morning, he was usually gone before I woke up, then I wouldn’t see him until around dinner time. His work kept him busy, which I understood. But I couldn’t help but feel it was slightly reminiscent of our time together in the cabin. Like there were only certain hours we could be together... and t
My eyes flew open at the sound of large doors abruptly opening.“It’s me! I’m awake!” I yelled, my heart racing.Where was I? What was going on?I frantically looked around the room, and it all slowly came back to me.I was in the palace, back in my original body. There wasn’t any danger. It was only Alistair who entered, returning just as he said he would. He was in the process of taking off his jacket but had stopped midway to stare at my outburst.All those weeks living with Scarlett in my head had taken a toll on me mentally. Like I was terrified I was going to wake up and find myself in a new location, potentially seconds away from someone trying to kill us.I brushed the hair away from my face and tried to control my breathing. It was going to take time to get used to being alone again.“I’m sorry. Did I startle you?” he asked, continuing to move again.“No... no, I’m fine.” I took a deep breath in to calm myself, then laid back down. “...What time is it? How long was I asleep?”
I was dead... — Scarlett was dead.But if she was there... then who the hell was I?I lifted my arms up in front of me, immediately recognising the limbs I found there. Ones I’d lived with for twenty-five years, complete with even that tiny scar I’d gotten after falling off the swing as a child. It was all there, exactly as I last remembered it. Every freckle, blemish, and hair.This was my body. My original body.My human body.It was no wonder my vision felt blurry. I was seeing through the eyes of a completely normal person again. No more wolf. No more enhanced healing or senses.No more...—“Get away from her,” a deep voice growled from the dark corner.—...matebond.I flinched and took a step away from Scarlett’s body, his voice triggering a gut instinct inside me to run. I might not be a werewolf anymore, capable of recognising his aura, but I could nevertheless sense just how much danger I was in by being here.Alistair stood up from the chair he’d been silently sitting in and s
“You should be in bed resting,” Liam said, holding my hand tenderly in his.I looked down at where he touched me and felt bile fill my mouth. I knew what those hands had done. I’d seen the results with my own eyes now. It was truly disgusting.“I’m fine, really,” I assured, forcing a smile on my lip
Oh... fuck.What the hell was I meant to do? No wonder the poor girl was terrified of me, some of those bruises on her body were likely my own doing. I’d just finished reading how she killed Scarlett in the future and now I was about to get a front row seat to the live action production.Was I just
“What the f....,” I whispered to myself, dropping slowly to my knees in disbelief.It was surreal to see the doll-like girl mimic my actions. When I lifted my hand, so did she. When my mouth moved, so did hers. Like some sort of messed up trick room.She was nothing like the body I was used to. Wit
“Please...,” Scarlett choked out between sobs. “Please don’t kill me. I’ll leave you alone, I swear. I’ll run away as far as possible and never come back.”But it was too late for apologies. For years, I’d suffered at Scarlett’s hands. I was beaten, starved and abused by that entire pack growing up







