A Ruin Of Roses Novels & Stories

“Ruchee?” I turned around so fast that I nearly lost my balance. Reign was walking toward me with a bouquet of red roses in his hand, a soft smile resting on his lips, clearly unaware that my world had already shattered in the few minutes he had left me alone. But the moment his eyes landed on the phone clutched in my trembling hand, that smile disappeared. The color drained from his face, and the bouquet slipped from his fingers. The roses fell helplessly onto the grass, red petals scattering beneath the candlelight like drops of blood.

"It’s the red rose again," I whispered, staring at the single blood-red rose lying in the middle of the shattered glass. My pulse pounded in my ears, a chill creeping up my spine. "Adrian… why do we keep seeing red roses these days? Do you think… someone’s trying to send us a message?" Adrian stepped closer, his gaze hardening as he studied the rose. "A message?" I nodded slowly, unable to tear my eyes away from the ominous flower. "Yes. And whoever it is… they’re willing to go to extreme lengths. We need to be careful."

“Rose-“ But before I could even finish my word, I felt a hand wrap around my waist and then I was being lifted up and off of the floor and the world went black. **** “You can open your eyes now.” The first thing I noticed as Damien lowered me to the ground was the intense smell of black roses. Since they were different from normal roses, they had a distinct smell which was richer and stronger than any other rose in the world. It was also the only rose that stayed in bloom for an entirety of two months. As I had expected, when I opened my eyes, I was no longer standing in the Shelter, in the middle of the ocean, but in the inner gardens of Damien’s castle, the place where we first met.

Something so ugly and uncomfortable. “There is a rose in the middle of the chaos,” Sia said, her voice soft but piercing as she looked at the painting again. “Do you know what it symbolizes?” “Beauty?” he ventured cautiously. Sia turned to him with a small, knowing smile. “Close. It is love. The artist created a scenario where love is akin to war—devastating, all-consuming, and yet strangely beautiful. The rose is a symbol of love that stands amidst the destruction, all alone, left to bear the consequences.”

Lana continued to remind her. Before Lana finished speaking, Rose rushed over. This time she really attacked. Luckily, Lana dodged it. Lana leaned to the side and rolled to the ground, although she wasn't hit, the fall wasn't light. Rose also had a similar fate. If she not only didn't do any damage to us but got rolled on the ground a few times, she was lucky because if she only needed to roll another half turn she'd roll into the thorny rose. Looking at the crushed roses, I was a little heartbroken. Alpha King took a lot of care to create such a beautiful flower garden, but it didn't take long for us to destroy it.

Like a wicked vixen whispering malicious chants to his soul, her smile glistened as her lips gave into a chuckle. “I think you may have secured my pity fuck…such a great wingman.” His hand itched to clench her throat the more she spewed her venomous words, but there would be a ball soon, and he would bruise her. There was no way he would touch her without bruising her. "What the fuck are you playing at, Ruby?" "Get rid of the roses for as long as I am here." "What?" "The roses, I want them gone." "Are you out of your mind?"

My eyes were still tightly closed. "stop...no...your breath stinks "I heard myself muttering that consistently. I heard a dark chuckle and the warm thing on my jaw moved slowly, slightly teasing upwards. "Here's the rope you asked for tiger." A female voice interrupted. He stepped away from me. My legs gave way underneath me and I slowly buckled to the floor. My hair was already messy and matted and annoyingly sticking to my face.

It smelled sweeter, but she could not figure out the other part of this rose fragrance. “Lovely isn’t it?” Vastria turned around to where the voice came from. The voice was warm and not startling. Lily Rosenburg stood before her with a few cut roses in her arms, clearly de-thorned. “I have never seen anything like this rose.” Vastria responded turning back to the rose.

It was calm and steady. "Sarah," I choked out. "Can I... can I talk to you for a moment?" She looked at my walker and then back at my face. There was no judgment in her gaze. "Come in. You shouldn't be standing out here. It is hard for you to walk." She stepped aside and let me in. The house smelled like lavender and old books. It was clean but it felt empty. There were no photos of Mark on the walls anymore. Just empty spaces where frames used to hang.

Even the roses couldn't survive what had just happened. As Evelyn watched they browned. Curled. Collapsed inward one by one like something that had been held up by the same energy that had just been destroyed and was discovering simultaneously that it could not stand on its own. The last rose fell. The hill was just a hill. Evelyn exhaled. Long and slow and completely. The kind of exhale that comes at the end of something very long. Relief. Pure and clean and uncomplicated. Just relief. Marcus broke the silence.