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Hael’s P.O.V.Bowing with a hand extended, the way I’d been taught at the ripe age of seven, I waited for Violet to stop her trembling and accept my offer to dance.If she didn’t—if she instead rejected my offer as an attempt to embarrass me, I’d likely throw her over my shoulder and cut this entire ridiculous event short. We’d see who was more embarrassed. I, rejected by a single she-wolf in a room full of others who would slit their families’ throats for a speck of my attention, or Violet, dragged from a room of werewolves who would happily watch her kick and scream rather than dare lend a hand?Her hand fit perfectly in mine. It was small and soft where mine were anything but. There was no denying the dark, devastating pleasure that came when she actually fucking listened for a change. Something about her obedience soothed the monster that was my soul.I’d been forced to take dance lessons as a child, but it was obvious the same couldn’t be said for Violet. Despite that fact, she f
Hael’s P.O.V.His lips were locked on another she-wolf’s, feverishly moving along her skin to trail down her neck. The gaudy yellow gown she wore was shoved nearly to her hips, showing her spray tanned legs which were wrapped around his waist.Looks like the drug Blaze tried to slip Violet wasn’t meant to kill her. As good a thing as that was, I couldn’t possibly imagine his reasoning for wanting Violet to be so…compliant. I’d have to have a chat with him, that much was certain.I took in the expression on Violet’s face, the blatant hurt written across her eyes and hidden within the rigid position of her lower lip. She did a good job hiding it. Anyone else would’ve been fooled, but not me. Never me.“Hurts, doesn’t it?” I said low in her ear.She jumped, slapping a hand over her mouth to stifle her yelp. Not realizing how close I stood, she slammed into my chest as she spun around. Instantly, her defenses went up, hiding the pain swimming in her eyes behind a wall of ice and granite.
Violet’s P.O.V.I’d been at Sylvia’s Find-A-Mate event, I was sure of it. One moment I was wading through a sea of colorful gowns, pressing past women who belonged on a runway and not in a ballroom, and the next I was standing amongst a sea of rubble.Peering down at chunks of brick, I lifted my head and looked at where the wall had once been standing. It wasn’t there anymore, though, and once I realized that, the world yet again faded from my fingertips.Four walls of solid cement surrounded me. Their roughness was permanently etched into my memory, scratched into my subconscious as thoroughly as it was my fingertips. These walls held secrets of blood and pain; secrets of the raven-haired boy who sat hunched against them.His head snapped up as it always did when I entered the room. Those eyes of his, the same color as the darkness he rotted in, were always so quick to notice the way my hands shook, and lip quivered. They noticed my fear like it was a tangible presence filling the ro
Violet’s P.O.V.“What did you just say?” I stared at Hael blankly.He blinked, wiping the surprise from his face before I could even think to savor it.“You remember me?”“Hael, what did you just say?” I repeated, harsher this time.His lips thinned and I fought the urge to glance down at them. Instead, I shoved the comforter off my body and swung my legs over the side of the bed. There was a slight ache in my muscles, and my head protested the movement with a weak throb, but I felt loads better than I had prior to the event.“You’ve been feeling like shit, right? Headaches, nightmares, cold sweats, nausea, mood swings…” Hael trailed off, clearly waiting for a reply.I nodded my head slowly. “Yeah…that about sums it up.”“It’s because you’re withdrawing from Wolfsbane.” He said bluntly.“No, that’s not possible. I’ve never used Wolfsbane in my life. It’s probably me withdrawing from the medication I’ve been on for the last eight years.” I said pointedly, making the fact that I blamed
Violet’s P.O.V.After that heavy conversation, I was more than ready to clear my mind with the loud thunder of heavy-metal and rock music.There was something soothing about flitting from customer to customer, memorizing drink orders and mixing them in the correct amounts. It was easy to get lost in the art that was mixing drinks, even if most of the gruff men here wanted nothing more than a bottle of beer.The younger crowd, which was brought in solely because of Erik’s initiative to make this place more like a club than a seedy bar, primarily ordered cocktails and other colorful concoctions. They were the one’s that embraced my creativity and knocked back damn near anything I placed in their hands.Hours flitted by like seconds when I worked at the Violet Lounge. Olive switched between sitting at the bar to keep me company, harassing Erik, and helping the two newly hired cooks in the back kitchen.Somehow, Olive was even more popular than the two lingerie-clad waitresses. I quickly
Hael’s P.O.V.The purr of the engine droned on and on, but the sound no longer swallowed my thoughts the way it used to. Once I started thinking about her—the blue-eyed beauty, the Princess with the soul of a monster—nothing short of a miracle could clear my head.Streetlamps drifted by their spotlights few and far between. I increased my pressure on the accelerator and watched as they blurred, their light a trail of gold in my rearview mirror.A shrill electronic beep filled the car, lasting but a few seconds before Cole’s annoying ass popped up on the screen. Accompanying his name was a picture he’d taken of himself during his last fight. Blood stained his forehead and drizzled from his split lip, but the grin on his face told me he’d never felt more alive than he did in that moment.I jabbed the answer button and waited for him to talk.Instead of hearing his voice, I picked up a fuck ton of background noise. Loud music blasted through my speakers, thundering from the sheer intensi
Violet’s P.O.V.Holy shit.What just happened? What did I do?The answers were right in front of my face, but my stomach wouldn’t let me look. A numbness settled over my body, blurring the images that flooded my head rapid fire. If I tried, I could easily convince myself the puddle of crimson wasn’t blood but strawberry syrup from the last daiquiri I made.This isn’t happening. It can’t be. It just can’t be.I turned away, inching towards the water spigot. My legs moved on their own, not needing instruction. It was as though my body knew my brain was unreachable and was going through the motions that would keep me safe—and sane.Nothing, however, could erase the memory of what I’d done—and of what I agreed to do.Yes.I could hear that word above the roar of icy water that rained down on my hands, washing red, red, red, from the surface of my skin. Porcelain was left behind, but I could still see the stain of where it had been—of where it always would be. Next was my face, which I scr
Violet’s P.O.V.I was flying, gliding through the air as it whisked me up and away. The air caressing my back, my arms, and my legs was soft. Its gentle whisper stroked my nerve endings the way a feather would caress a sensitive patch of skin.It felt incredible. Amazing. Euphoric.There was only one thing that could weigh me down but how could something as unimportant as Blaze matter when everything felt so good. All of those terrible emotions were below, down where the waves crashed against the rocky shore. As for me, I was up, up, up. Resting on a cloud of silk and daydreams, one so soft I found myself wanting to reach out and touch it, to feel it under my fingertips.Where my limbs once felt impossibly heavy, they were now the opposite. They were so light it brought a lazy smile to my face, followed by a string of giggles that morphed into iridescent bubbles as they slid past my lips.I reached out and ran my fingers over the cloud I floated on, marveling at how soft it was.“Fee