VERANIA I was appalled. I couldn’t believe this happened—that I kissed Alpha Rasmon the way I did. That this was real life!When I first saw him standing above me, I thought I was still in my dream. That awful man was attacking me and trying to get me to submit to him, and then Alpha Rasmon saved the day. I watched as he stood over my bed, staring down at me. I was so filled with gratitude. In my dreams, our situation was never so complicated. He never bought me in an auction and kept me a prisoner in his home. In my dream, he was simply the man who saved me from something terrible. So, when he kissed me, I kissed him back, letting the gates of insecurity open. It felt real, but I thought it was all part of the dream. I lost myself in his touch and his kiss. His embrace. The feel of his body against mine, his hips slamming against mine so his erection rubbed against the most sensitive part of my body that, as of late, was begging for my attention, most specifically at night, when
RASMON The situation with Franco was more or less resolved, and that was the end of it. The thing about Arius was that he was quick to anger, but that never lasted long. The man was replaced, and he didn’t speak of him again. To Arius, everyone was replaceable, and of course, that was dangerous because I knew the same could easily happen to me. My problem now was whatever was happening at home. Aunt Verona was upset with me for reasons I couldn’t begin to explain, and then there was the issue with Lorena. She told me she went there to see me, but when I saw her speaking to Verania, I lost my temper. Lorena knew a lot about my life that couldn’t be shared with someone like Verania, and the truth was that I didn’t trust Lorena. It was all a big fucking mess.Things were starting to fall apart all around me. The rogues were closing in and I had no way of telling anyone without ruining my plans. Everything that once felt structured was slowly losing its shape. I didn’t know what I wa
VERANIA The woman took the liberty to sit down, and the whole time I watched her, I wondered what her deal was. I didn’t like the way she was looking at me, or how she smiled like she knew something I didn’t. She crossed her legs and watched me with narrowed, curious eyes. The seconds stretched into minutes, and she still hadn’t said a word. “You’re prettier than I thought you’d be,” she finally said. “And I’m not sure how to feel about that.”“Why should you feel anything about how I look?”The woman chuckled before turning her head to the side. The more I was in her presence, the less I liked her. I had this urge to stand up and leave—I didn’t know who she was or what she wanted, but she wasn’t a friend. “Well, someday you’ll find out why. But not today.”I stood up. I wasn’t sure why I was reacting so violently toward her. Technically, she didn’t do or say anything wrong. But I wanted to get far away from her searching, judgmental eyes. “If you’d excuse me, I have to go.”“You
VERANIA When he offered to stroll around the garden with me, I was so shocked that I said yes. Then again, how could I have said no?For the last two minutes, we hadn’t said a word to each other. I walked slowly to match his pace, even though my desire was to walk pretty fast. Whenever I got nervous, my body took over and my pace quickened. I’d always been that way. But this time, I didn’t allow my mind to take control of my body. I wanted to be present and in the moment because everything about this man scared me. I was scared even now. It wasn’t like I felt he would attack or hurt me. It was a different kind of fear. Because ever since I returned from the cabin, something between us had changed. Hell, it changed while I was sick, but I was unconscious most of the time, and I wasn’t in the right state of mind to process any of it. Now that I had…what on earth was going on?After what felt like an eternity, he spoke. “Lucan came into my office and told me something strange. It wa
RASMON I rubbed my forehead in frustration. “Aunt Verona, could you stop?”She wouldn’t stop filling my head with all the things about her runes and what they said, reminding me of the words she uttered weeks ago before Verania stepped foot into this property. “Why? Is hearing the truth making you nervous?”“No, it’s unsettling because we both know it isn’t the truth. I don’t believe in those stones. What you’re seeing is the product of my guilt. She nearly died and it would’ve been my fault. Does that explain it? Will you insist that I’m in love with her?”Her eyes were narrowed and the corners of her lips were tilted up. “Aren’t you?”I searched my aunt’s eyes. The answer was right at the forefront of my mind, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. I didn’t want to accept that it was true—I wasn’t in love. Love was too strong a word. It was guilt, plain and simple. “Stop this.”Verona gave her head a shake. She leaned forward and tapped the ashes of her cigarette into my ashtray.
VERANIAThree days had passed since I last saw Alpha Rasmon, but for some reason, I couldn’t get him out of my mind. So, it felt like I was seeing him every day. All the time. I was recovering steadily, and the good thing was that the fever had gone away. My ankle still needed some time, but I could walk and move around.I was very happy that Lucan and Verona were here—I was unconscious when they showed up, so I was surprised when I opened my eyes one morning and saw her pressing a wet cloth to my forehead. The days were going by slowly, but all in all, I was enjoying them, considering the circumstances. Sometimes I’d dream of those men and all the terrible things that could’ve happened if I hadn’t been saved by Alpha Rasmon, but they were just dreams. I could get over them, and I would at some point. Currently, Verona, Violet, and I were seated outside. The sun basked lazily in the sky and honestly, after spending so much time indoors, I could do with a light tan. Lucan was sever