“I’ll see you at four o'clock, Mamita!” I bellowed at my grandmother who was clemently watering her garden. Opening the small wicker basket where I carried my supplies, I double-checked the small first-aid kit: the towel, the white linen, the antiseptic, the needle, and a few apples which are all hidden under a neat white cloth."Where have you been going for the past few days?" My grandma asked in a calming voice, but I can sense that suspicion lingered in her tone.“Huh?” I gave her a breathy chuckle. “Just the regular old days, Mamita! For your good health, I shall be gathering some fresh pears and perhaps a bunch of berries too!” While tying a bright crimson scarf around my neck, I caught up on the day's headlines from the newspaper my grandmother left on the patio. A blizzard is on the way. ‘Gosh, I must hurry!’ I told myself. "Adios, Mamita!"“Cassidy! Wait—”I bolted out of the castle through our massive wooden door before my grandmother could physically stop me. When both

God, that was awful. I couldn’t stand lying in front of Mamita. Acting and lying in front of my grandmother is too awkward. She knows me well—too well. She knows me more than I know myself. She smirked because of my hysteria. “There could only be someone you meet in these treacherous woods of ours, Cassidy.” She turned towards me, my eyes yielded in shock, betraying me. “Who is it?”I didn’t answer. My blood suddenly boiled because images of the strange man’s blood-soaked body appeared in my mind. Even though his body needed a few stitches, he still looks smoking hot. Seductive. And I couldn’t bear the idea of me being swept away by his appearance.‘Why am I thirsting over him if I loathed him?!’ I cursed my own mind, even my own thoughts are refusing to obey my emotions. “It sure looks like you did,” my mamita whispered when I still did not answer, giving me a look that says she finally found the last piece of a puzzle. “Tell me what happened, then. I couldn’t stand the dolefulne

“Please, Zarion…” I moaned, my pink lips parting as a soft breath left me before he tempted me once more.A shudder rakes down my spine. Running the tip of my tongue over the opening of my lips, I let out a sigh of relief when the side of my bed pushed down because of his weight. Zarion’s thoughts were lewd, I know. He wanted me so badly just like what I wanted. I’m innocent and young, yes, even a virgin. But this thirst flooding my soul…he’s the only one who can quench it. He needed me so much, wanted me so much. I can feel he never wanted or needed anything or anyone so much in his life the way he needed and wanted me. For him, I was his personal sanctuary—the only one he could go to and feel calm, relaxed. Just being around with me was enough to take him out of his worst moods. Slowly, his hands covered the right side of my neck as the tip of his nose traveled down the nape of my neck. Erratic pulses of my heart beating from my chest resound in my ears. There’s no turning back n

I shifted, my curiosity taking over my body. Why was he injured and wounded in the first place? “Where do you live? Do you even have a family?” “I don’t have a house. And no, I don’t have a family.” That was all he said—that was all his answer to my question. “Please, just stay…” I begged. “If you don’t have a house, then maybe you could live in one of the rooms in our castle. We have a lot of empty rooms that you could use and occupy. I promise I won’t tell my mamita.”“No, thanks.” Zarion’s throat bobbed. “That’s not a good idea.”“Why not?” Before I could say anything, he cut me off. “I’m on a quest.”“A quest…” my brows met. “Like a mystery to solve?”He nodded. “I’m looking for the witch that will give me the information about who’s my mate.” Mate? I don’t understand. A witch? I don’t understand either. I’m pretty sure that only exists in fairy tales and fantastical stories. “Okay, but—” I scratched my head. “You could do that while living in our castle, right?” I hate how my

My heart won over my mind, my emotions took over any rational thoughts swarming within my brain. Nothing can stop me from going out into this castle now. Nothing—not until I find Zarion in the woods.Or in this city. Even if I walk barefoot across the world, I will find him.“Wherever you go, I will go, Zarion,” I whispered, letting the wind carry my words to wherever he is.“One step outside the castle, Cassidy, and you’re gone from our family.” I paused, bones stiffening. It’s as if I felt someone pour a pail of icy cold water amid the harsh winter weather. “If you go out tonight, I will abandon you—leave you. I will forget that I had known a family that goes by the name of Cassidy Salem Blythe.” Bile rose in my throat. Fear, not for myself but for the promise that—for eighteen years—I just broke now. You will take care of your grandmother, Cassidy. My mother once wrote in her journal, directly addressing me. I exhaled, willing the air to enter my lungs again. Pain etched in my ches