~Rory~ I refused to live in the castle. It was aesthetically beautiful but a constant reminder of what I lost when I stepped inside its vicinity. The council disagreed with my choice, but Elijah was adamant about giving me what I wanted. We compromised on building our home close to the castle. Surrounded by trees in the clearing ten minutes away from the citadel, they turned it into a keep, a fortress, yet I got to design how our house would look like. It was inspired by Elijah’s estate in Salvatore hills. The place where Elijah and I had been the happiest. I am happy to be with him, truly, and I could never ask for more. But life as royalty was not as glamorous as I thought it would be. As the crowned princess, responsibilities weighed upon my shoulder even in my sleep. It’s different from working a nine-to-five job where day-offs and holidays are offered. In fact, rest has become a foreign word in this household. Elijah was always out. He spends more time with his council, meeting
~Rory~For weeks, I’ve been dreaming of a boy with gray eyes, dark brown curls, and a snooty smirk. He was playing on the beach, sitting on the sand. His trousers were wet from the waves hitting his leg on the side, hands and toes were covered in sand... his cheeks too. He kept rubbing the back of his hands on his cheeks, leaving traces of wet sand there.He looked up and met my eyes, smiling brightly. Those gray eyes twinkled as his eyes narrowed to slits. He dropped the shells he was playing with and raised those tiny hands, opening and closing, asking to be picked up. When I didn’t, his lips quivered, eyes widened as a saucer, clouded with tears. His cry was so loud that I woke up from my sleep, discovering I was alone in our bed.Looking on Elijah’s side, a red rose lay on his pillow, weighing down a paper folded in half.The sun hasn’t risen yet, but he told me he’d be out the entire day to check the western border of Sapiro, accompanied by Henry.I reached for the rose, sniffing
~Elijah~Henry sighed. “Can you at least pretend that you’re listening to what I’m saying?”We are on our way back from inspecting the western border of Sapiro. The peace in the kingdom was monotonous, but boring is better than war. Last month, there was a conflict between the Lockwood pack of the west woodland and the Riverstone pack of the northern woodland. Alpha Lockwood believed that the members of the Riverstone packs were crossing the border to hunt for food. And Alpha Riverstone was throwing the same accusation towards the Lockwood pack. They could hunt in each other’s territory, but they had to ask for permission from the other pack.We did an investigation, and it turned out that Alpha Lockwood’s firstborn son had been sneaking out to meet Alpha Riverstone’s youngest daughter in secret. Both teenage wolves were afraid their parents would disagree with their blooming romance. They recently found out they were mates.Lockwood and Riverstone had a century-long rivalry. And it w
“Jace…” “Sh…” I cooed, kissing her quivering lips. Her cheeks were wet from crying. I wiped it away with my thumb as our lips grew frantic, unwilling to pull apart. Her kiss was different. It wasn’t of love but of sadness, of fear. Fear of what? I do not know. “I love you, Aurora,” I said, cupping her face. “I will come back.” “There must be another way….” She whimpered, pinching her eyes close, setting her hand above mine. “You know there isn’t. Plus, I get to be the hero in this story.” She shook her head. An outcry followed, and she was snatched away from me. “No!” I pushed up from the bed, sweat rolling down my skin. Running my fingers through my drenched hair, I exhaled the emotions brought by that dream. This night was different. Usually, it would end with me telling Aurora I would come back. Now I am boasting about being a hero? What the hell does that even mean? A dream about Aurora was another sleepless night for me. The full moon made me restless. I shouldn’t have taken
“Rory,” Mom’s voice crooned from my room. “I’m in here, Mom,” I answered from the bathroom, stuffing hygiene supplies in my bag. It’s exciting and nauseating to see the empty shelves that once harbored things I own. “Got everything?” Mom leaned on the door frame door, blond hair tied in a messy bun, white shirt under her flannel jacket marked with patches of sweat. She’s a huge help in packing my things. It might take me forever to box all the stuff I own, if not for her. “I think that’s everything,” I said, giving her a wilful smile. As the day moves closer to this moment, the loneliness I pushed aside now looms over us. Her blue eyes locked with mine. And for a moment, a deafening silence embraced the two of us, broken
“Detective Grayson.” A man in his late twenties wearing a Class A uniform approached me as soon as I strolled inside the station the next day. “Yes, officer...” I replied, straightening my posture. “Miller.” He offered his hand while his umber eyes raked my appearance. I know I look a lot younger than my age. Mom told me to tie my hair in a neat ponytail - which I did - to add maturity to my appearance. I don’t think it’s working, though, since Officer Miller is gazing at me with wonder - wondering if I’m old enough to have a driving license. My brows shoot up questioningly when he blatantly glides his eyes over my body, probably pondering if I’m wearing thongs or boy shorts under my dark jeans. I’m used to police officers like him - the kind that drives my patience
After a rough first day at the station, I was finally able to return to my place. The bottle of Sauvignon Blanc on the edge of my bathtub is my company. I shifted to take a sip of my wine. The bubbled water sang as I moved. Lavender and jasmine filled the air with a relaxing fragrance as I closed my eyes. There’s nothing better than a relaxing bath after a crazy day like this. Paul kept his stand firm about the Čuvari Tribe, although it only stayed between the two of us. For the sake of his sanity, I agreed to take his opinion into consideration. I’m still a putty for him, dammit, and it’s affecting my job. He believed his family was a descendant of the Čuvari Tribe, and he studied them for years when he accidentally found his great grandfather’s journal when he was fifteen. Being in law enforcement, we cannot ju
The investigation on Rivera’s death forced me to endure Paul’s presence. I hated how he acts as though nothing has changed between us. I was tempted to request Chief Perez to hand over this case to another detective, save myself a lot of pain at seeing him on an everyday basis, but my pride won’t let me. This is my case, and he’s the one crossing over my jurisdiction. Plus, he was the one who cheated on me, not the other way around. He should feel uncomfortable and not me.While waiting for the coroner and crime lab’s report, Paul and I are interviewing the people who saw the body first, all five of them. A group of young campers coming down from the mountains were first insight. They called it in the moment they saw the body and everyone had their alibis checked out.Corina, a twenty-three-year-old hairstylist, was the last on our