He smiled at her.Okay, perhaps only a side of his lips had quirked, but Nine was deciding to be positive, and his hand... It held hers, not tightly, like a slight breeze, as if any slight pressure would hurt her.After the maids had dressed her and done her makeup, she was sure she was going to cry again when she saw her reflection. The woman... Didn't look like her. She looked healthy, wealthy too, like she belonged there. It was too much for her to take in but when she had walked in, and Lior had stared at her, his eyes only on her, she had suddenly forgot about crying.The priest was talking, yet Nine couldn't hear what he was saying. She could feel so many eyes on her, like they expected her to make a mistake. Be clumsy, but she didn't want to. Not today. She didn't want to... embarass Lior.He turned to face her now and she did so as well, now freezing as she heard the Priest say, "Do you swear to take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife? To love and protect? As long as you
"It could have gone worse.""Who invited him?""Still, the whole wedding had carried this whole tension all through, Skye just let it skyrocket and explode."Though everyone was out and walking again, Nine could still hear the whispers of the people around her as Ora stood beside her now. "Just ignore Lior. He'd get over it,"Nine was staring at him now as he stood beside a redhead male that looked like he was trying to calm him down. She had never seen him react that way, not even when she had arrived to the palace. "They're not... Friends?"Ora took a saucer with a slice of cake on it from the buffet table as they walked, saying, "It's more of a rivalry thing, I suppose. They're like completely different people, as you can tell. Skye was born to a Father who no one still has any idea of though we all agree he must be drop dead gorgeous, because look at him, and a Mother that doesn't exactly care about him because she's too busy drinking. While Lior has a King as his Father, and an
"Sophie. W-Why are you always trying to leave me?"The girl below him wasn't Sophie, though at the time he didn't know, couldn't tell the difference. She was smaller, weaker, because every hit of her hands on his chest barely did anything to get him off. It tickled, in a way.Still, his Wolf liked her scent. There was something about it. It smelled... like the woods. Pure clean air and trees... He buried himself in her neck, wanting to stay there as she screamed. "I swear, I'm not Sophie! I'm Nine! My name's—"Lior jerked up.The room he was in was dark, and he could tell it was still night, or perhaps midnight. Still, that dream could have woken anyone up. He always tried his best to not think of it, to ignore it, and yet, somehow he remembered it today.He sighed now, sitting up. Though the night always came in small pieces, he could suddenly remember most of it. How she had screamed and tried to get him off. Of course, she couldn't have. She was human.And from what he could rememb
Nine hadn't expected last night to go the way it went, but she was slowly coming to terms with the fact nothing ever happened the way she wanted it to. As always, she found herself craving at night and went down the stairs, finding someone else there.Skye.He had asked why she was down and she, in her panic, told him what she wanted to eat. His reaction had been him staring at her for the first few seconds before saying, "You're serious,"He mentioned again his surprise on why she was talking to him and asked if she had some other reason for it, and if she did, she was wasting her time but Nine told him she didn't. She doubted Skye believed her.Still, she didn't understand why no one liked him. Yes, he acted a bit too loud, and it was obvious he was strange, in a way, but she felt comfortable talking to him, more than anyone else. Perhaps it was because he didn't look down on her like everyone else.When Lior had joined them though, she hadn't expected the coldness he came with. Nin
Unsurprisingly, everyone did as Lucas wanted, and though they had questions, no one asked. Besides, the Royal family weren't the type to engage in emotional conversations and Lucas acted like everything was perfectly fine.Lior, on the other hand had many questions running through his head. He knew he wasn't supposed to bother himself about it but it had been a week since the breakfast, which afterwards he apologized about the absence of her Mother at their wedding.Nina had stared at him for a whole minute before she seemed to 'remember' and said, "It's alright. I— I understand she's busy, so,"It didn't make any sense. For someone whose Mother seemed to treat her that way seem completely fine with her absence."I honestly have no idea what you want me to say," Kenji said, hands behind his back. He walked beside Lior who had Summer perched atop his head, her tail swinging back and forth through his face causing him to periodically push it away."I want you to agree with me." Lior sta
Nine had accepted things. That was how life had been for her for so long. That she would never get what she wanted. That it was always going to be unfair. She knew that.Yet... Why did she feel like her heart had shattered?She knew, who Sophie was to Lior. How much she meant to him. She knew this, but seeing it... She had never seen him look so hurt. So... Ready to hold Sophie if she couldn't stay on her own.She had only gone to the glasshouse to ask Lior if he could read to her because she had seen him go there, stumbling unto their conversation, and though, she had not heard what they had exchanged, it didn't stop her heart from hurting.She could see, couldn't she?So Nine, in a dazed state, because crying... Well, crying would be too much, and it wasn't exactly surprising found herself walking around, looking for where Ora could possibly be and suddenly, the frustration of not finding her, her stomach craving for her to eat something, and her legs hurting, she was so close to bu
Nine stared at her reflection, her hand on her belly. It was Lucas' birthday, and she had already expected to stay hidden, away from the world and people arriving considering the fact that her belly was growing and Elizabeth wanted it that way, but Lucas brought up the statement he made at the breakfast. About how he wanted everyone together, and the Queen had complied.Ora had arrived that morning to get her into the dress that Elizabeth had sent. It was an impromptu one, but it was beautiful nonetheless. A lilac strapless dress that flowed from her bust in an A-line design. She remembered on her wedding day that Ora had been absent during her dressing and make up, the maids who had seen her scars had stared but dared not saying anything, but now, as Nine stood while Ora pulled up the zipper of her dress, she wondered what she was thinking.Nine, of course, was immune to the marks now, but she still felt uncomfortable when people saw it.When the female was done with the zipper, Nin
She couldn't possibly be that dense, could she?Lior felt his hands clench into a fist again. Skye, the bastard. He was testing him, he knew that. Ever since that night, he hadn't seen the male but he knew he must have gone to do some sort of research.He was probably already suspecting that their marriage held foul play and was ready to push Lior's button to see what his true feelings towards Nine was.After the incident in the hall, he wasn't even sure what he was feeling now. When he had realized she had lied about her name, he had felt angry. He had every right to be, but when she began to hyperventilate and looked up at him with those puppy eyes, his Wolf wanted to swallow her whole.How was he supposed to get upset with someone that acted fragile as glass? That his Wolf seemed to see as prey and at the same time, wanted to protect.For the sanity of his mind, he decided to stay away, even though he couldn't as he had to sit beside her, but now, with Skye acting like that to her,