All Chapters of Rough Mercy: Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

EPILOGUEOne Year LaterThe carriage wheels crunched over the familiar uneven road, each turn carrying us closer to the place I had longed for all year. I pressed my forehead against the window, watching the landscape shift from the wild, rugged terrain of Lud's kingdom to the gentler, rolling hills of my homeland.We had visited their kingdoms one after the other, and then the other vampire kingdom that's just far from ours. That was where Fyre's relatives all lived. It was as if the entire vampires related to the royal family decided to leave separately from the others, which was why I never met them while growing up.Lud's kingdom was the last we visited because I wanted to save the best for last, and it didn't disappoint. Their square freaking had fires. I even saw a few walking around in their natural form, something Lud hardly did. Another place that made my heart race was Drake's village. There were freaking dragons flying all the damned time. Then, in Finn's, the cute little f

Leon was waiting outside in the hallway when I ran out of his brother's room. The second he saw my face, he knew. He didn't have to ask; he knew I'd been rejected after confessing my feelings.“Hey,” he murmured as he pulled me into a hug. “It's okay.”The tears I'd been holding at bay since his brother kindly rejected me came streaming down my face. I clutched to his shirt as I let go of my emotions and wept. I didn't even stop to think Gerald would likely hear me since we were standing in front of his room. León patted my back gently while murmuring words of consolation to me as he asked me to just let everything go. He wasn't harsh and didn't shout at me for being such a baby because of a rejection. He just gave me the silent support I badly needed. I cried until there were no more tears to shed before I followed him into his room. “He's not worth it,” he murmured when I sat on his bed. "He's not worth your tears, Chris." I looked up with tear-stained eyes and frowned. “Am I not

CHRISHe frowned at my words. “What do you mean?”I rubbed the back of my neck once more and averted my gaze. “Chris?”I cleared my throat. “I was... I was thinking, what if Gerald rejected me because I'm not experienced?”“Chris —”“Please, just listen.” I lifted my hand to stop him from saying anything. “I'm clumsy, and I sure as hell know nothing about relationships. I haven't even had my first kiss yet.” I chuckled nervously.León frowned, but didn't interrupt my words. He just let me talk to know where I was heading with this. “So, I was thinking... What if you couch me?”He blinked..“I know we're both single, but compared to me, you seem to have more experience.” Even though he hadn't gotten his first kiss, he mostly read romance books and had an inkling of relationship matters. He wasn't like me, who doesn't know my head from my tail when it comes to intimacy. “Chris —”“It's just the basic stuff. I know you're not gay, and you don't like me that way, but I can't think of a

LEÓN “Did something happen between you and Chris recently?” Hart asked, sitting next to me on the bleachers. I shook my head. “Of course not.” Well, aside from the fact that he kissed me on Saturday morning and has been avoiding my calls since then. I even tried picking him up this morning on my way to school, but his mum told me he had already left, which was so unusual as he always followed me to school. I hadn't gotten a chance to speak with him yet. We didn't have the same morning classes.“Why are you asking?” I set my football beside me and focused on him. “Did he tell you anything?”He shook his head. “I just figured something was going on from how defensive he was when I asked why he was moody earlier. I thought you guys quarrelled or something like that.”“We didn't.” He nodded. “I see. I must have read into it because you're the only one who gets to him that easily.”“We're good. He's likely going through a patch.” I drew up from the bleachers and wiped imaginary dust of

He dropped Hart off at his house, which was two streets away from León's and four from mine. “Should we grab an ice cream before going home?” He suggested when he put the car into drive.“That sounds great.”He grinned. “Let's go to the same place we bought the ice cream on Friday night.”I bit my lower lip and the smile on his face disappeared instantly. “I'm sorry,” he apologised. “I... I forgot about —”“No, that's not it. Let's go get that ice cream!” I forced a smile.He misunderstood. I didn't freeze because it reminded me of my unsuccessful confession. It had more to do with what happened the morning after.We got ice cream and went straight home. There was no one around, so we had our ice cream in the dining room before heading upstairs. And that was when the air changed. Even though I'd been stealing glances at him while we were having the ice cream, the air wasn't this charged. At least to me. I couldn't tell if it was the same for him. He walked over to his desk the moment