Ophelia I made it a few feet into the forest, wet leaves and branches crunching beneath my bare feet, when I heard someone shouting my name. “Ophelia!” Nova burst through the tree line, her chest heaving and eyes glossy. She stood there panting, staring at me for several seconds. Her cheeks were red, and not from the blush she had painstakingly applied before the ball. “Ophelia!” I paused and slowly turned to face her the rest of the way, “Goddess, Ophelia, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what Ryker had planned. If I did—” Cold spread throughout my chest, “You’d what?” She blinked at me, droplets of rain clinging to her lashes. The downpour had slowed as I locked away every ounce of pain within my heart. “I would’ve never suggested we go.” We stared at one another, neither of us speaking. Nova took a step towards me. “Why didn’t you tell me? Ryker and Jude, they’re your mates, the both of them. But you didn’t tell me.” It didn’t matter how much I wanted to tell her the truth. My ch
OpheliaI awoke to a lengthy text message from Lucille threatening me to hell and back for punching Kimberly in her piggish face.As I expected, I was grounded until the end of time, which meant I’d have to sneak out tonight in order to make it for Coop’s ritual. Lucille also felt the need to mention I could no longer see or speak to Nova, and that if she had her way I’d be promptly expelled from Eclipse University.She had also signed me up for a morning shift at the Moonlight Lounge, which meant I couldn’t wallow in bed the way I so desperately wanted to.Eight more days, I told myself.Eight more days until I could set my mother free.I lost myself in the fantasy of what might happen once I had her back. Would she remove the spell on Lunar Isle? Would we leave this place and start over somewhere new?The thought of leaving Ryker and Jude made my heart constrict painfully, but what was there left for me here? Other than Nova and Coop, I had no one.I put on my big girl pants, both m
OpheliaRyker stood, a growl ripping through his chest. “What the fuck is this? Who are you?” His tone left no room for questions.“He’s a dead man walking.” Jude said flatly.It was horrible of me to hope and pray that Alpha Hunter lost his life here tonight, but I did. Goddess, I prayed for it harder than I’d ever prayed for anything.Too bad Alpha Hunter was smarter than that.Alpha Hunter tipped his head to the side, his blonde locks skillfully messy. Even now, several of the girls nearby were sizing him up, coy smiles lighting their faces.“I—” Hunter gazed down at me, genuinely confused. “I thought you were going to tell them about us?” He blinked the unease from his eyes and smiled at Ryker, oozing confidence. “I’m Alpha Hunter. Opal and I dated way back when. We recently rekindled things, so I wanted to surprise her with a visit.”Ryker’s eyes grew bright with murder. The sand around his feet kicked up, “You dared come to my pack without asking permission? Do you truly think t
Ophelia “Hey, Coop. Why don’t you spark up a couple of joints? It’ll help us relax before the ritual.” Coop tugged me outside the sliding glass doors and onto the small patio. Sarah was perched on Arielle’s lap, twirling one of her girlfriends braids around her finger. The two broke into grins as they spotted us. “Fuck, I’m so ready to get this done with.” Arielle huffed, snatching the joint from Coop mere seconds after he lit the thing. She exhaled a puff of smoke into the air, “I’m practically shaking, I’m so nervous.” Sarah planted a kiss on Arielle’s lips, swiping the joint from her fingers. “After this we’ll have our own coven. No one will fuck with us ever again.” With each puff my nerves began to ease. A weightlessness settled over me, making me forget all about dark bonds and unavailable Alpha’s. Once the joint was nothing more than a stub, we headed inside. Denver had moved to another point of the circle, leaving his back facing us. I looked over his shoulder, down at th
JudeOne Hour Ago…I landed in the empty lot outside my place, feathers cascading down around me like wisps of shadow.Rage boiled in my veins, clogging my lungs until I could no longer breathe. I wanted to scream. I wanted to unleash every fucking ounce of my power until the sky cracked in two.I could still hear her sweet little voice in my ears, and I hated it. I hated what it did to me. What she did to me.My mate.My. Fucking. Mate.The girl I dreamed about as a little boy long before my mother and her sick friends destroyed every loving bone in my body.Please, she had said, begging me not to kill the sack of flesh she claimed to be dating.I stormed up to the front of my place and slammed my fist into the metal siding. It did nothing to quell the desire to storm back there and kill that shitstain of an Alpha right in front of her.Feeling like this was completely out of my wheelhouse. I didn’t feel shit! I landed another punch and felt my knuckles split this time, coating the m
Jude Her chapped lower lip quivered. “You’re a monster.” “You have no idea.” I started with Jameson, strapping him to the table and slicing the jumpsuit from off his body. He screamed pitifully as I cut his pinky off, but not as loudly as Chloe did when I tossed the bloody digit at her head. As much as I wanted to rage and tear Jameson to shreds, my work was methodic. In between the cuts and burns I asked questions about Alpha Hunter, none of which he answered. In fact, none of the coven members confessed the truth. Jameson spoke in between sobs, “I-I told you, man. Alpha H-Hunter wanted to come here for some c-chick. That redheaded girl in your coven, O—” I held the scalpel between his legs, “Say her name and the next body part I remove is your cock.” “He came here to see her. He didn’t want Alpha Ryker knowing.” I looked over at my brother, waiting for his decision. He tucked his phone into the pocket of his suit jacket and frowned at the six of them. Without so much as flin
OpheliaEven as Jude’s scent wrapped around me, mixing with the warmth of his body to slowly coax me into awareness, there was a part of me that didn’t want to wake up.I wished I could forget. I wished I could write it all off as one big nightmare, but the moment my eyes fluttered open I knew that would never be the case.Arielle, Sarah, Denver…they had been torn apart. And Coop, kind-hearted, goofy Coop was possessed. It was a fate worse than death.Trauma was a cage forcing you to relieve the darkest moments of your life, and that’s exactly what happened as I sat up in bed, pulling myself out of Jude’s hold. My stomach twisted until I keeled over, dry heaving until my eyes watered.It wasn’t until I felt Jude’s hand on my back, rubbing it in soft, awkward circles that I finally snapped back into the present and remembered he was here.We locked eyes, and I hated what I saw there.Jude, the psychopath, the enforcer who killed mercilessly, was looking at me with pity.I scooted furth
OpheliaThat day, after Jude and Ryker reluctantly left, I set about making the first of many changes.Neither one of my mates wanted to go, but I couldn’t get things done with them hovering over my shoulder, constantly waiting for me to break. Little did they know I was already broken.This was me piecing myself back together, and it was something I needed to do on my own. Letting them do it for me would’ve been easier, but it would’ve resulted in me being even more attached to them than I already was.If Ryker could bottle all his emotions up, and Jude could funnel his into rage, then I could do the same.First thing first, I tossed out every crumb of Dark Matter I owned. Every speck hidden in the back of the top drawer of my bedside table was thrown into the trash, consumed by the smoldering embers of what had once been my favorite sundress and jacket.The mere scent of the herb brought me back to last night, causing me to run to the toilet before I could vomit on the floor.I skip