Yet again, Claire's temper gets the best of her. But can ya blame her? The Council just keeps tossing her aside. Thankfully, Mal knows her family will always be there. And he will too. Thanks for reading along!
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!“Shut that damn thing off!!” A pillow smacked Claire right in her face, bounced off, and knocked the lamp off the nightstand, completely missing the alarm clock. The crash made the girls shoot up from their places all over the room. Marian was loosely hanging on the small sofa, her legs over the back and her head somehow propped up as well. Steph scrambled up from somewhere at the foot of her bed, which Claire had no memory of climbing into. Steph slammed a hand on the alarm, crushing it to pieces. Claire shot up from under the blankets.“Jeez, Steph!! What did it ever do to you?” she joked. Her fingers shot up to her temples, trying to massage the thumping of her heartbeat pounding in her head. “Ugh... What was in those drinks last night?” At least it’s just a headache and not nausea, she told herself. She didn’t think she consumed that many last night, but the pounding in her head said otherwise.Steph crawled into the bed and o
She swiftly turned her head to stare at Sean, a stupid, infuriating grin on his face. “We’re staying in an actual castle! HOLY SHIT! No wonder The Council wanted to have the wedding here.” She couldn’t contain her excitement. This wedding was going to look like it was ripped from a page from a fairytale.“Welcome to Opal Moon, Cupcake.” Sean couldn’t contain his amusement at the stunned expression on Claire’s face. Her mouth gaped and her eyes were wide with wonder and awe. She rolled down her window, sticking her head out while Sean slowed the vehicle so she wouldn’t fall. She was speechless. The white stoned walls stood out from the orange, crimson, and brown leaves of the surrounding trees.The “castle”, tucked away next to the side of a mountain, almost as if it was built into it. The closer they drove, Claire noticed a few much smaller houses spread throughout the range. They finally arrived in front of the massive packhouse when two pillars caught Claire’s eye. Atop both pillar
The six-hour drive with Sean wasn’t exactly what Claire expected. Sean spoke with Quinn, and it didn’t go well. They had barely spoken. Neither looked at one another as they let the music fill the void between them. The interstate seemed never ending. She couldn’t even enjoy the flashes of light oranges and deep red hues of the autumn leaves.“You know you’re going to have to talk to me eventually. I know I shouldn’t have pushed you to tell Quinn the truth. I’m sorry, Sean.” Claire’s eyes pleaded with him as he kept his jaw clenched, his narrowed eyes never leaving the road. The anger sweeping across his features seemed to harden them more.He quickly closed his eyes, then turned the steering wheel, pulling his car to the side of the road. His hands gripped the steering wheel before he let out a deep sigh.“I’m not mad at you, Cupcake. You were right. Quinn deserves to know what I am. Who I am. You are just looking out for your best friend and I’m fucking that up.” He turned to fac
She closed her eyes, begging the pounding to end. Her phone vibrated in her leggings pocket. Not even thinking, she reached in and hit the green answer button.“Hello?”“Hello, Little One.” That deep, smooth baritone voice instantly soothed her headache. Claire gripped the phone tighter, afraid this wasn’t happening. She quickly turned the camera on. She needed to see him.“What is going on, Mal? You just left last night. I’ve been worried and no one here is giving me any info. Hold on a sec.” She took off down the hall, ignoring the stares from the living room. Once inside the comfort of her room, she grabbed her laptop, turned on some music, cranking up the volume. She knew the others were trying to eavesdrop, so she would make it difficult for them, at least.“Ok. Care to explain?” She couldn’t hide the pain and anger in her voice. She made herself sit at her desk, looking out her window down at the street.“I needed to make sure everything was all right…”“Bullshit. Try again..” H
Claire rolled around, waking up to find herself in her bed. The comforter and top sheet twisted all around her, cocooning her. Wrestling out of her confines to glance at her alarm clock, Claire couldn’t believe she slept for over twelve hours. Quickly standing, Claire looked around her room, searching for her phone, mumbling, “Please. Please…” Once she found it, the screen came to life. Nothing. No phone calls. No text messages. Nothing.Her heart dropped.Claire flew to the doorway, throwing open her door, and barreled into the hard planes of a rock-hard chest. Sean.“Whoa there! Calm down, cupcake. Where’s the fire?” He grasped her upper arms to keep her from falling backwards. She sighed in defeat.“You know what happened or else you wouldn’t be here, asshat.” Pushing past him, she walked as calmly as she could back to the kitchen. She needed coffee to think straight. There was a pounding in her head. She knew she didn’t drink last night except for the few glasses of wine with Mal
The screeching tires, blaring horns, and voices of pedestrians on the streets below faded away. The small rooftop terrace suddenly wasn’t open enough. She needed the space to keep her courage and her thoughts straight.She stood from his embrace, pacing. Her hands rubbing the back of her neck, trying to relieve the tension that suddenly throbbed. Gathering her courage, she turned to face a now standing Malachy. “I may have taken a page from your book…”“What do you mean, ‘a page from my book’? What is going on, Claire?” He took a step towards her, which she answered with a step back. His outstretched hand fell to his side in defeat.With her arms wrapped around herself, the cool lake air whipped her hair around her face, which she quickly tucked behind her ears. “Do you remember that day in the mountains when Marian made us go on that ridiculous shopping trip in town and I left the last store before everyone else?”Hesitantly, she glanced up to see Mal standing as still as concrete, wi