Princess Resurrected

Astead Kingdom Trilogy Book One

Reese Jett

Copyright © 2021 by Reese Jett

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

To the readers and dreamers. Keep going forward, your dreams can and will be reached. All you can do is keep moving forward. Failure only happens if you give up, not because something didn’t work.

To my amazing editor, Kate for putting with me and how I have the inability to stop writing. I wouldn’t be where I am without you and you know it.

To Lara. Thank you for introducing me this genre. I have a new found love I just had to share and it’s completely thanks to you.

If you’re my family and on this page, I urge you to stop before you dive deep. Once you’re in, you’ll never leave, and I’ll never be able to show my face again.

I’ll jump states. I swear I will.

You’ve been warned.

Contents

1. Gracie

2. Gracie

3. Gracie

4. Gracie

5. Owen

6. Gracie

7. Gracie

8. Gracie

9. Devon

10. Gracie

11. Gracie

12. Colton

13. Gracie

14. Gracie

15. Devon

16. Devon

17. Gracie

18. Gracie

19. Colton

20. Colton

21. Gracie

22. Devon

23. Owen

24. Owen

25. Devon

26. Gracie

27. Colton

28. Devon

29. Owen

30. Gracie

31. Devon

32. Gracie

33. Owen

34. Owen

35. Gracie

36. Gracie

37. Colton

38. Owen

39. Gracie

40. Owen

41. Devon

42. Gracie

43. Devon

44. Gracie

45. Gracie

46. Owen

Afterword

Book 2

About the Author

Gracie

The nudge against me made my hand lift into the air reluctantly. I wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of sharing, but I knew it was vital. I had already gone the last three meetings without uttering a single word. It might’ve helped that my sponsor hadn’t been able to attend them, therefore making it easy for me to hide. She was back, though, and urging me to stand in front of the whole room and spill my guts.

What fucking bullshit.

The meetings helped, sure, but it was a drag to put my heart on my sleeve in front of a room full of almost strangers. I was only glad that neither Owen nor Devon had substance dependencies that would make them part of this whole ordeal. Sometimes they joined as support, and when they did, I shared only the tip of what was on top of my mind. They didn’t need to know everything, did they?

Pulling myself to my feet at the acknowledgment of being noticed, I took one more longing look at my sister, who gave me an encouraging smile. I pushed myself to the front of the room to stand behind the podium and face the judgmental asshats that made up the AA meeting's sobriety. For a bunch of people who were sitting in wooden chairs, listening to the jabbering of others with the intention of eating flaky doughnuts and scorched coffee after, we all sure knew how to judge. I swear, we were worse than a classroom packed full of PTA moms.

“Hello, I’m Gracie.” I cleared my throat. “And I’m a drug addict.”

“Hello, Gracie,” they greeted in unison, a few chairs squeaking as people moved in them.

I mentally cringed, my fingers tightening around the edges of the podium. I hated it the most when I was greeted. Something about the way my name was said in unison always rubbed me the wrong way. Complaining about it vocally, however, would do me absolutely no good. I knew better. I would only get scathing looks and eye rolls.

“Today,” my voice cracked, words scraping against my throat as I dropped my eyes to the podium before reaching in and tugged out the bronze coin, flipping it between my fingers and lifting it up into view so the group could see it.

“Six months today.” I paused while clapping ensued. “It’s my first six months sober. I’ve never gotten this far before. Last time it was three months, the first time a few weeks. Not even two months.” I grazed my thumb over the large number six imprinted on it and focused on the triangle.

I stood for a moment, listening to the breathing of those waiting for me to speak again. Somebody coughed. Whether it was a dry cough or one trying to make me feel pressured to continue onward, I decided to just ignore it.

“Six months. I started drugs when I was thirteen. I thought I was being cool; you know, be part of the in-crowd and all. They were okay. They didn’t have a desire to just keep going. They didn’t have the aching desire to keep doing drugs like their lives depended on it. I don’t really remember those years—just bits and pieces. I know I screwed over people I love. I even hurt my mom really badly at one point.” I shook my head, and with my free hand, I pinched the bridge of my nose, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment. “I don’t know where I’m going with any of this. It feels weird to be sober, but in a good way. My family actually wants me around, and I don’t have my sisters or even my mom trying to hide valuables or their purses to make sure I wouldn’t steal from them.” I opened my eyes and lifted my head to look at their somber faces, each one watching me curiously. “That’s what I hated the most, you know. The fact that they couldn’t even trust me. I wasn’t even allowed around my nieces or nephews alone.” I swallowed. “I borrowed about two thousand from my niece almost a year and a half ago and kind of screwed her over in the process. That was for her college, and I messed it up for her. I wasn’t thinking straight, I just cared about getting my goods, and that was it.”

I stopped, feeling the anxiety of my words trickle through me, icy cold and urging me to stop. Talking, jabbering on and on wasn’t like me. But that was the point of this. I had to talk, I had to get it out, or I would drown in my own feelings and thoughts, and the results would be disastrous. I didn’t want to return to the life I had led before.

“I left a toxic relationship,” I spat out, my voice shaking.

Not even my sister, my sponsor, knew any of this. Secrets couldn’t be kept any longer, though.

“About eight months ago, I left a guy I thought I really did like, and I thought he liked me. We both were into drugs and alcohol, so I didn’t really care how he treated me. As long as I was drunk or high, he could do whatever. Then one day, I threw up. I didn’t feel good, and after a few days, I still didn’t feel good, so I went to the doctor. I was still drinking and doing drugs and not caring.” My voice cracked, hot tears burning the corners of my eyes. “I was pregnant and –” I drew in a slow breath, my words quivering as I continued. “I told him. I begged him to get sober with me for the baby. So – So, he hit me and kept hitting me. He’d done that before so many times. Always said he was sorry, gave me flowers or gifts, whatever I wanted, to apologize. Then he did it again. But that time, he kept going. Until I could barely breathe, and I couldn’t move.” My fingers twitched as I let out a wretched sob. “I lost the baby.”

There was dead silence this time. It was always the worst stories that kept everybody sober—a sordid reminder of why we each chose to walk away from the things that blocked reality but took away our lives.

“I was due today,” I continued, my voice crackling as I forced it to stay in audible hearing range for the ones in the back. “I was supposed to have my baby today.” I squeezed my eyes closed and pushed the tears down my cheeks. “I was due today.”

I couldn’t speak anymore as the sobs escaped, and I quickly wiped at the tears, sniveling before pushing myself off the podium and stood back, opening my eyes as I wiped at them quickly once more. “I got sober for her or him. Because I didn’t want that to happen again, I couldn’t. I left the guy too. It’s hard to talk about it, but I really am glad I chose this path. I know I did the right thing.”

With that, I stepped around the podium and returned to my seat, clasping my hands together. A nudge to my side told me that my sister wanted my attention, but I only shook my head. Nudging me again, more persistent this time, I shrugged her off and snapped my head up. She gave me a tight smile and jerked her head towards the back. I twisted, and my heart plummeted into my stomach as my eyes landed on who she wanted me to look at.

Two wide pairs of eyes stared back at me, lips slightly parted. Surprise twisted their faces, their eyebrows drew together. They hadn’t been there before, but I had closed my eyes a few times while talking. For all I knew, they could’ve snuck in at one of those moments. Jerking around, I faced forward as another drunk or drug addict or whatever took my place in front of us. Their words became a garbled mess in my ears, my stomach clenching. I suddenly felt sick. I wanted to hurl. Acid gurgled up my throat, scorching it, and I swallowed it down.

Two others followed suit before the meeting was released, time clicking away. It felt like an eternity. I could feel their eyes burning into the back of my skull the entire time, accusatory glares. I felt confined, my chest aching with the desire to breathe in full gulps of air. It was almost as if I were in a small cave, and it had begun to close in on me. At the words, however, I lurched from my seat and spun, fully intending to escape the room. Fingers curling around my wrist, however, pulled me to a stop. He whipped me around, forcing me to face him, but the grip didn’t hurt. It was more of a warning to not run, but I wouldn’t be stopped if I tried.

“Gracie,” he started, but his words came to a halt as my sister stepped up next to me.

“Not now, Devon,” she warned and put a hand on my shoulder, gripping it.

“Not now what?” he questioned, eyebrows pulling together in genuine confusion. “I heard what she said, but I wasn’t going to say anything about that. I was just going to ask her to go for coffee with Owen and me. You too, P.”

“Coffee sounds good,” she exclaimed happily and released her hold on my shoulder. “I think that’s a good idea.”

The taller of the two stepped up next to him, jangling his keys towards me. “You wanna drive?” he half teased.

I scrunched my nose and stuck out my tongue. I didn’t bother denying him. He knew I couldn’t drive; I’d had my license taken away two years previously from driving under the influence multiple times. Sober now and a good girl, I didn’t drive without a license. I knew I had to get that taken care of eventually, but I had to be punished somehow for the time being; a reminder to stay sober and not let the dark thoughts control me and take me in a place I didn’t want to be.

“I actually have to go,” my sister announced, and as I turned, I saw her looking at her phone, absorbed by whatever was on the screen. “You three go ahead and have fun.” She waved and rushed out the door before any of us could say another word to try and keep her.

“Either of you think that was just a lie to get away from us?” Owen surmised, shaking his head in amusement. “Come on, the girls are waiting.”

A chill ran down my spine. “Girls?” I asked, dragging my feet behind them as they fell into step.

“Donna and Kate,” Devon replied, glancing over his shoulder momentarily with a one-shoulder shrug. “They’re meeting us for coffee.”

Always with them. Those two never went anywhere without their women. So, they had no right to be upset about my confession. I was no longer with either of them, or they’d also have moved forward. Still, something about what I had said had rubbed at them. The surprise in their eyes hadn’t been fake. I’d gotten to them, even if I hadn’t wanted them to hear it. Still, at least there wouldn’t be a whole lot to hide from them. That bit of information spoken in front of an entire room of almost strangers was just the tip of the iceberg of grisly truths I had lying beneath me. As I shoved my hands into my pockets and ran my thumb over the rigid coin’s edges, I knew that the rest had to come out. I had to climb down the iceberg. It was, in every sense of the word literally, my only chance to survive.

Gracie

The lift of the high is the best feeling. Even if it does only last for mere minutes. It tumbles through your body, hitting every bit and piece inside of you, and lights you on fire. It makes you go, desperate to keep moving, to keep it going. There are times where you can’t breathe, where it just the thrumming of your heart in your ears. That makes it even more exhilarating to chase that feeling.

Until it goes away. You’re left with a hollow emptiness, like an abyss, and only confusion can be felt. In between the times when I would get high, I would feel those moments that held nothing in them, and I hated myself more than I knew I could ever feel anything. Knowing that I was left in the void, reaching into the dark for who knows what was about one of the world's worst feelings. I hated it so much and just wanted it gone.

The only way to do that was to find a new source to refill that energy, to get me going again. So many times, I didn’t think of the possibilities of what could or couldn’t happen. So many times, where I just wanted to get my hands on the next fix, that it was all I could focus my mind on. Hypervigilance was a must, especially when trying to hide it from family or even board members of your school. They weren’t allowed to know your precious secret, or they could take it from you. That was the golden secret: to never trust an outsider. You had to earn your way in, and once you did, you were stuck like glue was plastering you to a wall.

I still remember the first time I had ever taken anything. My family had a lot of problems. My biological older sister was anorexic and had dealt with that issue for far longer than I was even alive. My adopted sister inherited alcoholism from her messed-up biological family and struggled with that daily. No one, however, had any issues with drugs. My brother had once told me in confidence that he’d tried some when he’d been in high school to see what the big deal was. Nothing happened. He got high, had a panic attack from the paranoia, and never had the urge to try it again. He had a friend who got addicted for a while, went to rehab, and came back a new man.

Drug addiction is nowhere in my family line. I checked so many times. Go figure it landed in my lap—the baby of the family. I had grown up watching my sisters struggle with their issues. My nieces and nephews would come around a few times a week when my brothers-in-law had to work, and my dear sisters went to their meetings to be better people. I had seen how hard it was on them, their families, and even ours. I had vowed when I was a small child, I would never put my parents or my own children through that.

I was twelve when I tasted blood. I was thirteen when I got addicted. I was fifteen, thirteen days away from being sixteen when I overdosed the first time and finally alerted my parents to the activities I had been hiding from them for nearly two years. I’d never heard my mother scream the way she had the day she found me lying on the floor, foaming at the mouth, feeling like my insides were beginning to boil. I had just really wanted to die then.

I can still remember her voice being frantic. Her hands shook me, and she screamed for my dad to call an ambulance, for them to hurry. I don’t remember what she looked like, though. I don’t remember if she cried, but I assume she did. When I woke in the hospital, I know it was the two of them, one on each side of my bed, and all other visitors were prohibited. That was a territory mark of having a decently large family. Visitation came in spurts when one of us was bedridden in the hospital. In my case, only my parents were allowed so no one else could upset me and send me spiraling back to what I’d been before.

I can still remember the tears in my father’s eyes and the way he looked at me. He was so sad, so torn up, I almost thought his heart was going to fall out of his chest. I realized then that what I had been doing was going to tear them to pieces. But even as I laid in that bed, hooked to IVs to pump whatever it was into my system, I had known I wasn’t willing to stop anytime soon.

So, I had lied. I promised with my fingers crossed behind my back that I would never do it again, I would never scare them again. In reality, I knew that I would just have to get smarter with hiding it. When you’re high, you have nothing to lose. When you’re high, nothing matters, and the world feels absolutely perfect. Not a care in the world can penetrate the thick mind of high fog, something that made me desperate to find my next fix. Those solid moments of silence are what I crave the most.

Once upon a time, I could’ve lived without it. I could’ve walked away and pretended it had never existed in the first place. That was a long time ago, though. Once you step over the threshold of the world where its grip is so tight around you that you can’t breathe without knowing its existence, you can never turn back. Like that movie Labyrinth, where each turn is different and takes you deeper but not quite to the middle – not just yet.

I don’t think I have ever reached the middle. I’ve reached the end several times but always find my way back in. That’s the thing about the world full of drugs, booze, and late nights. You can find your way out, but the abyss always beckons you back. Those who can avoid falling back in are lucky—those who can’t are doomed. Even when you think you’ve gotten out, it calls your name in the darkest hours, pleading for your return. Sometimes you slip and stumble over that threshold. Sometimes, you scream and beg for it to shut up, to stop calling to you, but it's always there. It never stops.

Its hold on me has been so tight for so long, I’ve forgotten how to breathe without it. The voice has become part of me now. It begs for me to return and reaches out with its claws, ready to drag me under.

I wanted so badly to just feel that again. Not forget everything and anything else. I hated feeling empty and void, and yet, all of it at once. I wanted so badly to feel nothing again, to just lie down and let it all wash over me while everybody else did whatever it was they were doing.

Devon had asked me to marry him once. On my eighteenth birthday, on Christmas Eve. Everyone had been watching, eager to know my response. I was high even then, but I could feel every eyeball on me. I could hear every breath caught in their throats, waiting for the verdict to be announced. I had known what they all wanted me to say long before the question had been popped. My parents had never exactly hidden their approval of Devon. The way they’d always welcomed him with open arms from day one said it all.

So, I lied as I always had. I said yes when I shouldn't have. I'd made a lot of mistakes up to that point and so many more even afterward. That one, though, was the biggest of them all.

I've never seen disappointment like I did when Devon found me in the bathroom, late one night and sometime after our engagement party. I don't remember much of the timeline between the two days, but I do know that I'd had just a little too much to drink despite being underage. What did the age matter at my own party? I had been confused, desperate to forget everything, and the way Owen kept watching me hadn't helped a damn bit. I didn't know who I was then, what I wanted, and I was more than just a little confused. It was a tsunami inside of me that needed to quiet down, and there was only one way to do it.

Needle in the arm, or crushed white powder sucked up the nostrils. It was always best to do the arm at home alone, hiding evidence from anybody lurking around. What I hadn't counted on was the fact he'd come home and find me in the middle of the bathroom, completely wiped out and on the verge of losing it all. I was almost nineteen when I overdosed the second time on my own fiancé’s bathroom floor. Well, ours since I'd moved in, wanting to make him happy. Because despite all my problems, I had just wanted to make him happy, to see that smile whether I was out of my mind or not.

I don't even want to imagine what kind of response was on the other end when he'd called my parents from the hospital. There it was again; their little girl had hidden an addiction so well until her body decided to collapse. The disappointment was one thing, but the horror of being called and told your child was on the verge of death was probably about the worst thing a parent could imagine. If I ever did have kids, I certainly didn't want to go through whatever the hell I had put mine through. How they even still loved me was beyond me. I guess I was lucky that way, wasn't I?

I'd only ever once found one person dead from an overdose. It should've scared me straight, but the image of a corpse lying in view haunted me to the point I needed to make it go away. So, in a sense, doing so only made it worse. Maybe it didn't help that I hadn't been allowed to tell anybody because doing so would only make my world come crashing down. When you're partying with all the wrong people, one little mess up, especially a death, cannot be told. It's a secret you die with or go to jail for telling. Because drugs were illegal and, as a minor, many people would get in trouble for even having them around.

So, it was best to just keep my mouth shut. I should've realized what it was doing to me, but it doesn't matter when you're an addict. You want that high, that fix—desperation claws at you and screams in your ear. No matter how badly you want to get and stay sober, it isn't a choice to just walk away. The cold sweats, the sickness, and tears that all come with trying to keep away instead of making yourself feel better are terrible. It could last days or up to a week or two, depending on how bad your body craves it. Addiction was never a choice. Only that first hit was. I was screwed after that and didn't realize it until much later. I didn't want to feel that way. I didn't want to be so dependent on something that could kill me. I was, though, and that was the worst of it all. The fact I literally couldn't stop myself was even worse than the possibility of killing myself with the prick of a needle or snort of white powder or anything else I tried.

Because when you're addicted, despite having your preferences, you'll do just about anything to get that next fix. Even if it means hurting the people you love the most. I'll never get that ring back; it's long gone now. Devon and his father have forgiven me for selling it, but I will never let myself live it down. I will never stop seeing the pain in his eyes, even when he smiles at me. Because I took the last thing that his mother had left him and didn't give a rat's ass, and I will never stop paying for it to the day.

Gracie

There are three bedrooms in the apartment, each one filled with an occupant. The one on the far left is home to the man I lost my virginity to. The one on the far right is home to the man whose virginity I took. Then, there’s me, right smack in the middle. I’m the delicious part of this sandwich, the luscious meat within that puts it all together. Because without me, there would be no sandwich.

Okay, so there’s no actual sandwich here. You need the bread to make it, and I don’t have that, neither side. I’m a lonely piece of meat, lying in the bottom of a fridge in wait to be noticed. Alright, so they do notice me. They both have for so long. How else was I supposed to have had sex with either one of them? They’re just off-limits right now. Their rule, not mine. It’s their guidelines for living together; no touching. I don’t even know how it happened, but the two became such great buds sometime in the past year and a half that they decided to live together meant no fighting over a girl.

How. Fucking. Lame. Men could be such dicks, which was unsurprising as they only tend to think with them as it is. Those luscious, plump dicks that made my thighs tingle and back arch…

Woah, back up Gracie, back up.

I knew what they both looked like beneath their clothes. I knew every little touch that made each of them melt. I knew their favorite foods and what each mood meant, even if it was an eye roll and nothing to follow suit. But the bastards long ago decided that bro code was far more important than sticking their dicks in me. Even though I knew that both loved me.

“Earth to Gracie,” the exasperated voice pulled my head out of dick-swinging fantasies and back to reality.

March stared at me with an arched eyebrow and pursed lips of impatience. I blinked and felt heat flushing up my cheeks at having been caught in the middle of my daydreams. If I had been a guy, I would have ended with a seriously raging boner as evidence of my impure thoughts. Maybe it was a good thing I didn’t have that slab of meat dangling between my thighs.

“Did you hear a word I said at all?” she questioned, eyes narrowing at me in suspicion, daring me to try and wiggle my way out of this one.

I shrugged, huffing out a breath of air, and tilted my head back to stare at the cream-colored ceiling. No cracks, no stains that would around any questions at all. There was nothing. It was all practically brand new, built just under a decade ago, and kept in as close to pristine condition as possible. It was one of the best apartment complexes there was in the city. Daddy had made sure of that. There had been no way he would’ve let me live in something crappy if I was far from home. Safety for me was his number one concern with me living so far away from him. Even if it did put him in a pint for paying for the place. He’d told me plenty of times, though, that it was worth it, as long as I kept up my schooling.

Except for the loneliness tied into living alone, or at least it had been that way in the beginning. I had gotten lucky when I’d found out the guys were completing their dreams in the city as well, or I would’ve been left entirely by myself. Something I just couldn’t handle and everybody who knew me knew that. Marcy had found a school three states away that she absolutely adored and wasn’t going to do any changing anytime soon, and Anna – well, I wasn’t exactly sure what she was up to. She had done two years of community college and decided to opt-out for a year. Which had been almost two years ago at this point. Nobody knew when she was returning, and trying to figure out what she was up to these days was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The girl just wouldn’t talk.

“I said,” March continued, annoyance decorating her tone. “How’re you dealing with Owen’s girlfriend?”

The redhead wasn’t new, and this wasn’t a topic that was rarely spoken about. I grimaced, visibly, so both girls knew what those particular words meant: a slap to the face. I despised that redhead that pranced around my man with doe-like eyes, pretending to be helpless. I knew her type well enough – I used to be her type. She feigned innocence just enough to keep Owen wrapped around her tiny little finger. I hated her so much, but if I even dared to voice my feelings to Owen, I would be accused of rampant jealousy. Maybe I was a little jealous, but I still knew there was something wrong with her. Something was just off about that woman. She and Owen didn’t belong together. Just like Kate and Devon didn’t belong together.

They weren’t happy with these chicks. I knew that for a fact. It wasn’t exactly hard to see when I saw it all the time. One took my virginity, and I took the other’s. We were bonded that way, or at least, I was fairly sure of that. So, it gave me the right to say I knew both of them well enough.

“You really don’t like her, do you?” Anna questioned, straightening out her legs, the beans inside the bean bag chair crunching as she laid back.

I glared at her and pursed my lips. There really wasn’t anything else I could say on the given topic. I hated both their girlfriends, and we all knew that. There just wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

“You’re just going to have to get over it, Gracie. Find a new guy or go lesbian but stop mourning what’s been gone a long time. Remember,” Marcy grunted as she rose to her feet and stretched her arms over her head, “you gave them both up, not the other way around.”

She didn’t wait for a response as she stepped over our looted candy pile and left my room. I stuck my tongue out at her back and fell onto my pillows, once again staring up at the cream-colored ceiling. Marcy was right, not that I was ever going to admit that, of course. Not to her face or to anyone at all. Devon had asked me to marry him at one point. I had turned him down. The stupidest mistake I had ever made. And Owen had almost been mine again, but I had stolen all his money from his wallet and left a pathetic apology note in its place before running off. No wonder they didn’t want me.

Maybe I wasn’t allowed to be pissed with the fact they had basically sworn me off to my face. A small part of me knew that it was partly my fault. Or maybe entirely. No, nope, not a damn chance. They had to be at fault to some extent too. Not just me. But, and no surprise, I was the one being blamed for it all. Even in my own heart, damn wretched thing betraying me. The plop of a body dropping onto the pile of pillows on the ground turned my head, and my eyes dropped to the reappearance of Marcy.

“So,” she drawled, seeming to bide her time and popping a bite-sized Twizzler into her mouth. “I had sex.”

I squinted my eyes at her, unimpressed by the news. I wasn’t the only one of the groups who lost her v-card before hitting eighteen.

“So?” Anna piped, speaking my thoughts for me. Bless her heart. “We’ve all had sex, Marc. It isn’t that big of a deal anymore. We aren’t teenagers, you know. Sex is part of life.”

Marcy’s face turned beet red, and she ducked her head, feigning interest in the threads hanging from the pillow she sat upon. “It’s not that I did it, not really. More like with who.”

Well, this just got interesting. I sat up on my bed, propping my head on my hand, and arched an eyebrow, urging her to keep spilling the beans. Even Anna was intrigued and waiting for the gossip while leaning towards her in anticipation. The air seemed to sizzle as we waited for her to speak. Neither one of us wanted to break this moment and have Marcy lose confidence before telling us.

“It – it was Landon,” she rushed out, her face snapping up towards me, an apology twisting it.

My eyebrows shot up at her, and this time, I pulled myself up to a full position, crossing my legs beneath me on the bed. I was more than surprised at her words, but more so that she had even bothered to tell me anything. It wasn’t a surprise about their fling. Landon had already spilled the news weeks ago when the two first got together. He’d been worried I would end up hating Marcy for going out with him or hate him for going out with her. Plus, Landon wasn’t the best at keeping secrets. I also knew about the two from when they’d had a small thing in high school – again, all Landon’s fault. It had bothered me then, but I was mature now – a grown-up. Besides, I wasn’t in charge of whoever Marcy wanted to be with. Even if it was with my lame-o nephew.

“So, are you two a thing then?” I asked, trying to sound indifferent about it, gnawing at the inside of my cheek.

Marcy shrugged with a shake of her head and dropped her gaze to her hands, picking at her nails. “I don’t know. Maybe? I’m really confused about it all. Are you mad, Gracie?”

Her question took me by surprise, and I leaned forward, only enough to not fall face forward off my bed. “Why would I be mad?” I pretended to be clueless, but we both knew I knew what she was talking about.

All three of us knew what she was talking about.

“Because – because I – He – He’s – your nephew,” she spluttered out, the words tripping off her tongue.

I blinked, clamping at the inside of my cheek again, and breathed out through my nose. It definitely was weird that the two were slowly figuring out one another, but it wasn’t my place to play boss here. I wanted Marcy to be happy, and if it ended with my nephew, who was only a year younger than we were, I would just have to suck it up and deal with it.

“And your point is what? Do you like him, or was it just a one-time thing?”

I didn’t need her to tell me the answer, but I wanted her to say it anyway. Marcy let out a strangled breath of air, and even where I sat, I heard the rattle of anguish seeping through. She was a bundle of nerves. “I’ve – I’ve been tutoring him because of his football scholarship and all. He – he needed help, so he wouldn’t fall behind and lose his scholarship, you know? So, we’ve been just hanging out, studying, and we kissed a couple times. He even took me on a date. A really nice dinner and roller skating.” She paused, a small smile dancing upon her lips as her eyes drifted to another time. “The sex part just… sort of happened. A few times.”

What a romantic little shit. Of course, he was romantic. He was his father’s son, after all, and growing up, the man I had always imagined putting a ring on my finger was as good as my brother-in-law was to my sister and my nephew to my best friend. So, why the fuck did I turn down Devon’s proposal again? Oh right, because of drugs I hadn’t wanted him to find out about at the time. That was why. Because of something stupid.

“I haven’t talked to him since we both got home for break, though. So, I don’t really know his thoughts at all on anything.”

I rolled my eyes. “Marcy, Landon’s a family man. He’s soaking up all the time he can with his family. I’m sure he’s thinking about you but just keeps forgetting to text. Just show up. If he’s happy to see you, everything is good. If not…” I shrugged my shoulders, deliberately letting the words fall off my tongue.

Knowing what I was going to say, Marcy let out a groan of exasperation. “I don’t want to seem weird just showing up.”

I stared at her, unfazed by her words. “So, don’t. You two spend the night and go to the family BBQ tomorrow with the guys and me. Mom and daddy will be happy to see you two, and Landon will be there. So, there you go.”

Gracie

I was, in every sense of the word, alone. Both Devon and Owen had invited their girlfriends. Marcy was a nervous wreck about seeing Landon, and Anna would be meeting her newest fling upon arrival. I wasn’t meeting anyone, and I had no one to accompany me or be by my side. I was more annoyed by being scrunched in the back between the girls who had taken my men than I was about arriving without being on someone’s arm. Well, alright, so it wasn’t exactly that they took them. It was just the fact that they had them, and I didn’t. That was the main issue.

Devon and Owen were mine. My first everything had been with one or the other, and now here they were, acting like nothing special had ever happened between any of us. I was just a roommate to them. Of course, I was. One of the guys. I fucking hated it.

Owen had been my first kiss. I had given my virginity to Devon, and still, I was a nobody. Guess the saying was true; guys really do think with their dicks.

“You didn’t tell Landon I’m coming, did you?” Marcy questioned, the nervousness making her voice tremble.

My stomach curled in on itself, but I shook the feeling off the best I could. No, I wasn’t thrilled by the mere idea of my best friend and nephew being together, but I wasn’t going to get in the middle of them.

“No, Marcy, I didn’t. I only called my dad to tell him we were on our way so he could expect us. That was it, nothing else said.”

She was quiet again, losing herself in her own thoughts as she turned her head to stare out the window as I shifted between the two women I despised, uncomfortable with how little space there was between us.

“Will you quit moving around?” Donna snapped, strands of red hair slapping my face as she jerked her head around to face me. “It isn’t our fault you have such a fat ass, Gracie. So, quit moving.”

I huffed through my nostrils, gripping the fabric of my leggings. Devon and Owen were automatic invites, being as much of a part of the family as Marcy and Anna were. No matter the relationship between me and either of the men, they were always welcomed at my parents’ home. If I dared to deny either of their women access, though, because it was my family home, trouble would be stirred. They were the guy’s guests, no matter how much I disliked them. I had to treat them the way I had been raised to treat guests. As long as they were on my parent’s property that was. Rules fucking sucked.

As my eyes flickered upward, a pair of brown ones staring in the rearview mirror in my direction captured my gaze. But it was only for a moment then Owen turned his head without a word spoken to me. He wasn’t going to stick up for me. No surprise there, honestly. I knew if he dared to speak out that Donna would have one of her infamous fits and, like always, toy with his emotions. I had seen enough from her to know what a manipulator she was. But I had to keep my mouth zipped shut because Owen would have a fit if I didn't. Mostly because she was his girlfriend, and he was on the denial train.

My parents’ home, my childhood home, welcomed us as it loomed overhead when he finally pulled up to it and parked behind my brother-in-law’s car. I had grown up being watched by my older siblings enough to know which car belonged to who. As I staggered out, my legs feeling like jelly from the cramped position I had been in, I shook myself free. What was normally a two-hour drive had stretched into what felt like ten, and I was the one who’d been blamed for the suffocating backseat throughout the entire ordeal. Stretching my arms over my head, my eyes traced up the two-story home I had grown up in. By the time I had been born, it had only been my folks and me, so the five bedrooms, attic, and basement had all been nearly empty. Such a big house for the remaining child out of four children was a lonesome thing indeed. But my parents had scrimped for so long before being able to straight out buy it that letting it go just because their three oldest were practically out of the house when number four had been born was out of the question.

My heart clenched in my chest at the sight, and nostalgia washed over me in waves, homesickness prickling me like needles upon my skin. Exactly what always happened when I returned home.

The brush of an arm pulled my eyes away from the bedroom window right above the front door and back to Marcy, who had hopped from the car and, without stopping, made a beeline right for the six-foot wooden gate wrapping around the backyard. I picked up my feet, hurrying after her. I wasn’t exactly all for a relationship between the two, but that didn’t mean my curiosity wasn’t going to make me follow her to find out if there was one or not. Besides, there was no way I was going to stay behind with the two women I loathed the most.

“Marcy?” The question exploded from his lips as we entered the gate, surprise lighting his face as he stepped towards us. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

The thing about being the baby of the family was that I got to see my siblings as young adults, but nothing less. The eldest of us four, who was funny enough, Landon’s mother, had been sixteen when I had been born. At least I hadn’t been alone as a kid, though, that was for sure. At the incredibly young age of one, I had become an aunt – though, I was never exactly called by that word. It felt weird with my nieces and nephews so close in on age.

“Yeah, Gracie invited me.” She motioned behind her in my direction. “Though, if you don’t want me—”

“No, it’s okay,” he said hurriedly, his gaze flicking over her shoulder and towards me momentarily before darting back to Marcy. “I’m sorry I haven’t called. I broke my phone and haven’t gotten the replacement yet. I don’t know your number by heart, so I couldn’t really call off any other phone. I’m sorry,” he babbled, his cheeks blistering red as they did when he grew embarrassed.

“It’s okay,” Marcy quipped, her voice falling slightly towards shyness. “I thought you didn’t want to talk to me or something. Especially…” She giggled nervously, dropping her head just slightly as she spoke, her voice trailing off into the abyss. I knew her inability to continue was because of the children flitting around about.

I was the only kid from my parents who had yet to have any kids and the only one with no actual desire to pop any of those monsters out anytime soon. I didn’t think my parents really minded, though. Their oldest grandchild, Landon that was, was twenty-one, and the youngest was barely one year old. They had a plethora of ages to spoil and snuggle with. All of it just meant that there was absolutely no pressure on me to settle, grow up, and push a human out of my body. I got lucky that way. My mother wasn’t craving that desire to still have some motherly instinct beg me to get impregnated.

Score, for being born fourteen years after they thought they were done having children. Oops baby, struck gold.

“Of course, I want to talk to you, Marcy. You’re my girl.” Landon spoke before closing the gap between them and smashing their lips together.

From behind Marcy, I watched as Landon’s hand snaked behind her head and through her hair, fingers curling into the strands as he pushed her closer to him and held her tight into his body. I tugged my gaze away from the sight, not exactly keen on the idea of watching my nephew stick his tongue down my best friend’s throat. That was definitely not something on my bucket list to enjoy.

“Ew, will you guys get a room?” Anna laughed, appearing next to me with her new boy toy. “Knock it off.”

It was as if Anna had a new boyfriend every other week. The girl just couldn’t stick to one guy. For now, anyway. Maybe one day, she’d find the right guy to make her want to have something serious.

Landon pulled back, gasping for breath as his hand slid down from Marcy’s head, and gripped Marcy’s hand, looking straight at me and deliberately ignoring Anna. He had never made it a secret he never liked Anna. “I’m stealing her. I wanna show off my girlfriend.”

Even before I could reply, he pulled her away and made a straight line towards his parents. Right to his parents? Now that was definitely something. Growing up with Landon had taught me that the boy was like his father in every way. He’d had the flings, but they came and went continuously. Only one girl before Marcy had ever been introduced to his parents. She’d been the only one I had ever heard Landon declare his love to and the only real heartbreak I had seen him go through. I could only hope that Marcy wasn’t going to break his heart. Though, I didn’t really think she would.

It also didn’t help that Landon just wasn’t the type to give public displays of affection besides holding hands without being serious. Maybe he was really into Marcy. Huh. Who would’ve thought?

My stomach sank as the couples around me filtered into the backyard and began to greet my family like there was nothing wrong. My eyes scoured the crowd for the only person I really cared about finding at that moment. I couldn’t keep wallowing in my own self-pity after all. When the redheaded man didn’t show, I turned and walked through the glass doors into my favorite place in the world. Voices chattered, their words unintelligible as they drifted from the kitchen.

“Daddy,” I sang, bouncing as I drew up to the kitchen. “Oh, Daddy!”

He turned with a smile plastered on his face, wisps of red hair barely managing to grip to his scalp jostled with his movement. Holding out his arms for my arrival and enticing a squeal of delight to escape from my lips, I hurled myself into his arms and buried my face into his chest, feeling the tight wrap of them around me. If I had to pick one person in the entire world as my favorite, it would be my dad. Even if it did sound childish, I couldn’t help it. The man and I had a bond I couldn’t explain and didn’t want to. He was the one I had called for in the middle of the night when she woke from nightmares as a child and the one I had always looked for in the crowd at concerts. I loved my mother, too, no doubt, but I was a lot closer to my dad than I was with her.

If anyone could make anything better for me, no matter what, it was my daddy. Just like he did without even knowing that loneliness was killing me inside. His hug swatted out those feelings and was replaced with safety that I had almost forgotten even existed. Even though deep down, I knew it wasn’t going to last forever. Once we left, I would be forced to revisit those memories I had no desire to have again.

“Hey sweetie,” my mom greeted, brushing her hand through my hair as she passed from behind me. “I have your chicken ready. I had to protect it from those savages out there, but I succeeded, and I’m still alive to tell the story.”

I giggled at her words and insistence on trying to be funny before pulling back to wrap my arms around her from behind. “Thank you, mama.”

At the young of nine, I had made the proclamation of being a vegetarian. My mother, the sweet woman, had turned switched my food, always making sure I received whatever it was I preferred, no matter what anyone else was eating. Vaguely, I recalled how she had claimed it was just a phase that I would outgrow once I realized the difference between my food and everyone else’s. I would just eventually drop it as if it were no big deal. But that was thirteen years ago, and I was still going strong, refusing to let up on my devotion to not eat meat, poultry, or fish. I absolutely refused to be part of that sick human gene that just loved feasting on leftovers of what had once been alive. Besides, for as long as I could remember, the mere thought of eating any of that crap made me want to vomit.

My mother was a blessing for making sure I didn’t starve daily.

Moving to the only empty counter in front of the window that looked out into the packed backyard, I pulled myself up to sit on it, swinging my legs.

“So, how’re your meetings going, Gracie?” It was dad asking, pressing the most important question first and foremost.

I rolled my head on my shoulders and let out a slow exhalation of breath, as if biding my time in response. “I’m still going to them.”

Both of my parents paused in their actions, exchanged a look I couldn’t see, and turned to look at me with arched eyebrows.

“They’re going good,” I added quickly, holding up my hands in defense, knowing that they’d begin to worry if I didn’t say something about it. “Really. I’m still sober, I promise.”

Owen

The image of my girlfriend and another man now just made me tired. I had erased the message that had been sent yesterday, but it was burned into my memory. It wasn’t the first time I had been sent one like that, though. Four years of a relationship didn’t exactly seem worth saving these days.

I knew how it would go, though. I’d confront her, and she’d spew some crack bullshit about being drunk and taken advantage of. It had been the same story every time for the last three times. I really didn’t want to put up with it this time. I just wanted to be done with it, done with her. But Donna was like double-sided sticky tape, always sticking no matter what you did to pull it off.

There were times I just wished I had listened to people in the beginning, but the infatuation with her had me deaf to their warnings time and time again. At least listening would’ve saved Gracie from the onslaught of name-calling and backlash from Donna and her horrible treatment towards her. Even though Gracie had done some pretty questionable things in the past, she didn’t deserve Donna treating her like dirt, like she was better than her. Everybody made mistakes, and Grace had also made her fair share of them. She was only human, after all. But it didn’t give Donna any right to squish her like a bug and go around calling my girl a – what was it – a “hoe-bag.” Man, girls could so cruel to each other.

When Devon and I had had problems with one another, we fisted it out before even trying to talk it out. It worked. Which made it even harder to understand why girls couldn’t do the same to get it over and done with.

A familiar giggle entering my ears turned my head and dropped my eyes to the redhead who stood with a hip jutted out and a finger twirling strands of hair around it. Her back was to me, but it wasn’t hard to recognize the telltale signs of Donna flirting. Today’s victim was one of Gracie’s nephew and one of Landon’s little brothers. A fucking teenager. Really Donna?

It was easy to look away from her. No longer caring had made that task so much simpler than I had ever known before. With Gracie, even after breaking up, I could never stop myself from making sure she was safe and happy. If I happened to look up in the next five minutes and Donna was just, you know, gone and all, I was sure it wouldn’t make me move from my spot whatsoever. Gracie though? That was a whole different story. I had watched her enter her parents’ house upon our arrival and deliberately sat within view of the backdoor just to see her return. I couldn’t help it. Ever since we had met one another at the age of eight, Gracelynn Walker had always been my number one priority.

Dating. Broken up. At one point, she’d somehow even convinced me to just be fuck buddies. And now we were in a weird spot, living under the same roof but with new territory to examine, to get to know. Touching one another was off-limits. I couldn’t lie. Gracie made that the hardest rule to follow.

I wasn’t the only one who thought that, though. Devon and I were in the exact same boat, and we had both realized a long time ago that neither one of us loved that woman more than the other. We had come to terms and an agreement: that she was completely off-limits while the three of us lived together. We just had yet to tell her. Then again, Gracie already had enough on her plate. She didn’t need us prancing around and making rules about all of this. She had to stay focused to stay on the right path. One thing could go wrong, and she would drop over the edge and step back into square one.

Both Devon and I had also agreed that since we had just gotten her back, we’d do anything to avoid losing her again. Absolutely anything. Which, unfortunately, meant keeping her off touching limits.

I wished I could drink. What I wouldn’t do for a fucking beer, I’d heard they could take the edge off any situation. I didn’t smoke, and while I had tried doing it once, I had found it wasn’t for me. I hated the taste of tobacco and the lingering feeling of smoke inside my lungs, making it difficult for me to breathe. Turning them to tar also wasn’t on the top of my list.

“Hey, kiddo,” a voice greeted me before the spot next to me became occupied by a body with a body. “What are you doing here? Donna is all the way over there, flirting with Anna’s boyfriend now.”

Of course, she was. I clenched my teeth, staring at the back door, pretending to ignore Gracie’s mother and her Donna comment.

“You know, Owen, you don’t have to stay with her if she makes you unhappy. You don’t deserve to feel that way.”

I shrugged, rubbing my forehead with my forefinger and thumb. “Maybe, but I’m not doing anything about it right now.”

She didn’t say anything for what felt like an eternity, but I doubted it was that long. Again, I could only stare at the back door, anxiously awaiting Gracie’s return. I couldn’t explain it, but not knowing where she had always put me on edge. The three years she had been in and out of my life had nearly crippled me. If it weren’t for social media, her nonexistence in my world would’ve killed me.

“She’s with her dad,” Heidi explained, rubbing her shoulder. “You know how much of a daddy’s girl she is. Those two have always been inseparable. You can settle down. She’s safe. I promise.”

Letting out a huff of a breath, I shrugged again. Heidi chuckled and swiped her hand through my hair, fluffing it up like she always had. I’d met the Walker family at age nine when our parents met through the Foster Family Care support group they all attended. Gracie was biologically her parents’, and so were two of her three older siblings. But that one was a blessing on my part. Without her joining The Walker family, I wasn’t even sure if I would’ve ever met Gracie.

“Owen,” the familiar whine drew my head around, and my eyes met a pair of blue ones glaring down at me.

A pair of full lips were in pout mode, and I couldn’t stop staring at them. She was a bitch, a cheater, and most definitely a whiner. She demanded nice things and wanted everything to go her way or no way. But damn, those lips were plump and knew how to do things to my dick that I enjoyed a little too much. Just the thought of what she could do to me made my dick twitch in my boxers. It was one reason I kept her around.

“I’m bored. This is boring.” The grating sound of her voice made my dick go limp. “Can we just leave already?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “This is my family too, Donna.”

“Not by blood,” she snorted, flipping her hair over her shoulders, and I caught the flex of her breasts in the movement.

As long as she was silent, I could deal with her. But Donna was never quiet and scraped at my nerves when she spoke. She was good for a much-needed blow job and a good fuck, but that’s pretty much how far it went anymore. I could barely remember what I’d seen in her the first time we had met. I must’ve been delusional, or she’d had some sort of glamor spell sprinkled over her that had slowly chipped away over the years to reveal her true nature.

“I want to leave,” she demanded with a stomp of her foot. “This BBQ thing is lame anyway. We could be doing other fun things.”

“This is my family too,” I repeated, clenching my teeth. “I’m not leaving Donna.”

She huffed, and again, my eyes strayed to those puffy lips, not caring about anything else. “I want to leave, Owen. This is boring, and I have better things to do.”

I cocked my head, my eyes darting up to hers, and rose to my feet. The spell was officially broken. Standing upright, I was about a good head taller than she was, and when I wasn’t happy, it clearly showed. She shrank back, those blue irises wide and lips parted, ready to say something.

“These people are my family, Donna, and I will not leave because you have better things to do.” I was fed up, and she’d pushed the wrong button. “If you want to leave, then leave. I’m not going.”

“If I leave, we’re through,” she threatened, placing her hands on her hips. “We’ll be done.”

Like that was a dealbreaker. Throwing my hands in the air, I stepped to the side and let her have a path like a queen. She wanted to act like she was one, after all. So, the least I could do was give her some dignity and last-minute treatment as one. Her mouth fell open, a perfect circle that always fit so right. Oh, I was definitely going to miss that. What a small price to pay for getting my heart back, though.

“You’re going to regret this,” she hissed, throwing her hair over her shoulder. “Go on, be with your little whore.”

As she moved forward, my hand shot out, and fingers curled around the bicep of her arm. I knew I was stronger than she was, but still, I deliberately yanked her back to shove my face into hers. Fear shot in her eyes as they snapped to me, her mouth parting to say something but the words wouldn’t come. Anger swelled in my chest.

“Never,” I hissed between clenched teeth, spit flying out from between them. “Never call Gracie that again. Do you understand me?”

She swallowed and nodded, scrambling away as I released her. Spinning on her heel, she moved quicker than I had ever seen her do in heels, or at all, darting for the opening of the fence.

Gracie

I should’ve been upset for Owen. I should’ve moved to go and sit next to him, probably rub his back or something to try and soothe him. I should’ve tried to console him or wanted to feel bad about his obvious breakup. But I didn’t, I couldn’t, feel that way. I also didn’t even bother trying to soothe him because that would be lying as well. I wasn’t sorry for him at all. I’d been slowly lying in wait for them to break up.

So, I kept to my spot, waiting against the wall of the house for some stupid inspiration to come to me. It was hopeless. Especially since Owen sat, looking so forlorn, fiddling with his thumbs. Devon had tried to grab his attention, but he didn’t want his friend or anybody else at that matter. I was fairly sure if I went over, he might have been willing to talk – just a little bit – to me more than anyone else. But even knowing that, I still couldn’t make myself move.

The clinking of glass alerted me to empty beer bottles being thrown away. I could practically taste the booze on my tongue. I could definitely smell it, the stench stagnant in my nostrils. It made my mouth water, a desperate desire to have it curling in the pit of my stomach.

Nine months. Twenty days. Nine months. Twenty days.

It was a crippling slap to the face. And reminded me that this was the first time I’d been around this much alcohol since returning to the real world after I had finally, after the hundredth or so time, successfully completed rehab. I was just determined to make it work this time. Devon liked to drink, and he did at home, but never more than a case in the fridge at a time. Six beers that generally took him over a week to finish, and the scent never lingered exceptionally long. Today, however, it was everywhere. It churned my stomach and made me want to vomit. Or maybe just want to drink.

No. No. No drinking.

The plate I clutched slipped from my fingers and crashed to the ground, shattering upon impact. The food splattered, hitting my legs, and sprayed in every direction. I had to get out, I had to leave, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings in the process. Especially my parents. But staying was only going to cause trouble and make things so much worse for me. Staying would be worse than just having to make up with people.

“Gracie?” His voice was muddled in my ears, but I knew by heart. “Hey, are you alright? Gracie, Gracie, what’s wrong? Talk to me, please talk to me.”

Devon

My heart felt like it could actually drop out of my shoes. Gracie’s labored breathing and obvious discomfort made it seem like she was in some kind of pain and hurt my heart to watch. I should’ve been attending to Kate, but her disinterest in me lounging with the other men to drink a cold beer had me a bit bitter towards her. She wanted to be with the other girls, some older, way older, and some far younger than she was. She just didn’t want to do it all on her own, however. I didn’t care much; I wasn’t exactly keen on that idea anyway. So, what if the guys were eleven to thirteen years older than me? I was legal age, and despite that one difference, they did treat me equally. It felt nice. Drinking alone at home because of an alcoholic gone sober and the other taking medication that couldn’t be mixed or stopped wasn’t exactly fun. But I was damn proud of Gracie for getting sober, so I couldn’t be mad about it. Plus, Owen needed his medication.

The shattering of a plate drew my attention away from the latest topic of child-rearing. That was just about the only topic I couldn’t relate to. Maybe one day, but that day wasn’t today. My eyes fell on the girl to whom I had given my heart and soul a long time ago. Two years with Kate and I still had yet to utter those three words to her. With Gracie, however? I had known almost instantly. Maybe that was why at her labored breathing and budding tears, I drew forward. Even when Owen beat me to her, frantically trying to get her clamped mouth to say something, I hurried. It didn’t matter our stand on keeping our distance sexually because this – today – was entirely different. When she needed us, we were always there. I was no idiot, but Owen wasn’t always good with sharing. So, telling him had taken some time. No one needed to bother telling Gracie though, she had always known exactly what she wanted. It had just been a matter of time before she realized what she’d always known. I couldn’t say anything until they both did.

“Gracie?” I questioned as I drew to the two of them, but it was Owen who looked at me.

“I don’t know what’s wrong. She won’t talk to me,” he huffed, his cheeks flushing bright red in anger.

Owen was adorable when he was upset, flustered, or when anything had turned his face red. There were times when I would deliberately push his buttons just to get him overheated and red-faced. But he wasn’t the one who had grabbed my attention at the moment. Gracie’s frantic breathing turned me back to her. Needles prickled at my heart as I watched the tears streak her face.

“Gracie,” I started, but the snap of her eyes to mine stopped me before anything else could escape.

“That,” she breathed out, her voice catching in her throat, and her gaze flickered to the bottle I still held. “Please, get it away.”

My eyes darted to the bottle, and I took a hefty step back, moving away until I felt the bump of a table. My eyes still on the two, I reached behind me and set the bottle down before holding my hands up in surrender. Her shoulders dropped, and she turned, burying her face into Owen’s chest.

“What’s her problem?” Kate popped, her voice drifting from behind me.

I didn’t bother turning around to her. I liked Kate; I really did. She was good in bed and made a fantastic omelet. She was going to make a great housewife and mother one day, but not for me. I had known for a while now that the woman I was to wed and procreate with was the one Owen was holding to block the scent of booze. The thing about that, though, was that I also knew Gracie wasn’t only mine. But it wasn’t my place to tell Owen he had to share. He had to figure it out on his own, just like I did.

“Devon,” her voice was full of irritation now. “Why are you ignoring me?”

I rubbed my face and finally turned to face her. I didn’t love her. I loved the drug addict, alcoholic, gambler woman that now was behind me, struggling to keep herself pulled together. She was a mess, but she was mine and Owen’s mess. It was our job to fix her, and that clearly showed on my face because Kate’s fell at the sight of it.

“I saw what happened with Donna and Owen. I’m not a bitch, Devon, and I’ve known for a while this was coming.” Her eyes dropped, giving away the sadness that her voice was speaking.

I gave her a small smile, more for pity than anything else, and shoved my hands in my pockets, feeling awkward about this situation at hand. “Kate—”

“I know,” she cut in, raising her eyes to give me a shaky smile that was no doubt hiding tears that wanted to spill out. “I’m not stupid, Devon. I’ve seen the way you look at her. I know you’re still mad at her for everything she did and put your through, but she needs you.” She stepped up to me and lifted up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to my cheek. “You’re a really great guy, and I do wish I could make you mine. But your heart is already claimed. It was a long time before you ever met me.”

My heart should have snapped in half as I watched my two-year-long girlfriend leave the yard. But it didn’t work that way. When Gracie had rejected my proposal, I had thought I was going to die from how much pain I had been in. I cried for days; I hadn’t even known I’d had that many tears in me. That woman made me a nutcase. Even now, she had my head spinning, and I couldn’t help but love her that much more. Sometimes, it just sucked.

The spot Gracie and Owen had occupied moments before was now empty. It was only the remnants of a broken plate and lunch that littered their spot. Pushing my feet forward, I entered the house and waved lamely to Gracie’s parents. They were standing against the wall, eavesdropping and barely even noticing me. Stopping at the door, I, too, peered in and spotted the two who I’d been looking for. Gracie lay in Owen’s lap on the couch, and his fingers swept through her hair, playing with the dark strands. Her hair was a beautiful ebony color, never dyed or colored in any way. That had never been Gracie’s style, though. Her hair was her best feature, as she always said, and it was why she never touched even a smidge of color to it. In my opinion, everything was the best about her.

Ambling into the room, I stopped at the edge of the couch, prodding my finger into the side of Owen’s head. Looking up at me, he pressed a finger to his lips and pointed down. Her eyes were closed, and her chest rose and fell steadily in her sleep. As I stepped around the couch, crouched, and reached forward to brush my fingers down her cheek.

“Donna and I broke up,” he announced, his voice just slightly above a whisper so as not to disturb her.

“Yeah, me and Kate too.” I shrugged, trying to act like it was no big deal. It really wasn’t, I jerked my hand back when the caressing disturbed her.

Gracie let out a sigh, wrinkling her nose, and went still. A smile twitched the corners of my mouth as I admired her. She was always so peaceful when she slept. Otherwise, she just looked stressed and sometimes, like today, on edge.

“Owen,” the voice turned our head to the redheaded man who stood in the doorway of the kitchen, phone clasped in his hand. “We gotta go, kid.”

Owen groaned, but I knew it wasn’t because of his job calling. “I’m not a kid,” he grumbled, affirming my thoughts, and gently lifted Gracie’s head.

But as careful as he was with her, her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up, rubbing those pretty sleepy brown eyes.

“I gotta go, Gracie,” Owen grunted as I stood to give him room and he slid off the couch.

I instantly took his spot and pulled Gracie back down, threading my fingers through her hair just as Owen had done. Looking up at him, I smirked teasingly.

“This is why I’m a therapist. I don’t get random calls.”

He snorted with a roll of his eyes. “Yeah, Dev, whatever you say.” He stuck out his tongue and leaned over, pressing his lips to Gracie’s forehead. “Take care of our girl. I’ll be home soon.”

Alright, so maybe I was wrong. I guess Owen had it figured out too.

Gracie

The water that rained from the skies slapped against gravel, dirt, and sidewalk, sluicing over them in trenches that streamed towards the gutters, waiting to grab the liquid and drag it down. If I weren’t careful, walking by them would make it easy for a hand to slither out and grab my ankles to pull me to my death. The mere thought sent a shiver down my spine and a whisp of cold air to stream out my mouth, clouding in front of me. I tugged my jacket tighter to my torso as tight as possible against the cold with my arms wrapped around myself. My feet slapped in puddles, sending shards of ice up my legs as it splashed against my calves.

I knew better than to walk alone at night, especially after Donna’s attack, but there was no way I was just going to give in and let myself be driven everywhere when my feet were more than capable of carrying me. Devon and Owen didn’t think so. Neither did daddy. Overprotective, the lot of them. Most of the time, I found it cute of the guys and adored my father for it. He was just being a dad. At this moment, however, it was one of the most annoying features the three of them had. I didn’t like it right now. How could I? They each wanted me to stay inside and have one of them with them at all times if I were to go anywhere. The thing that made it even worse for me was that both Owen and daddy were cops. They were even more crazed than they probably should have been due to their jobs showcasing gruesome things each and every day.

On the other hand, Devon just didn’t think it was a good idea for me to walk alone. He didn’t say it, but I was sure his mind was in the same place as Owen and daddy. He had spent enough time around those two for the past nine years to know a thing or two about what went on in the depths of the city, where the darkness swarmed.

I’d been to those parts of the city before. I knew what lay within, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. I knew why they had their fears, but having once been part of the worst of it all, I also learned how to save myself from the worst of it. As long as Donna didn’t show her face again, that was. Still, it didn’t mean I liked the rain. Water pelting from the sky was the worst. It made me regret not taking Devon’s offer to drive me to and from my meeting, but I guessed it was worth it so that I could make a point. A stupid, stupid point. Why did I always have to do these things the hard way?

Being sober sucks. It makes you think about everything.

Water sloshed around me and plastered my hair against my face. My jacket tugged against my skin, chafing in all the wrong places. I’d picked a bad night to wear my leather jacket, but it was so nice, and Owen had saved up to buy it for me as a sixth-month sobriety gift. I couldn’t just not wear it. Especially since I had seen the jealousy in Donna’s eyes that night when he held it out to me. She’d been ticked, and that reaction was far better than the jacket. It was just a sweet reminder of that precious moment when she had realized I was the one he wanted, and she never would be.

Maybe I was conceited just a bit, but almost ten months of sobriety gave me that rite of passage. I was allowed to overthink things. Then again, I didn’t exactly have anything else to do. No drugs or alcohol made a mind dull. At least before, I could drown myself and turn my mind to fog. Oh, freaking well.

A spray of water washing over me turned my head, and I squinted against the onslaught of water. The red of taillights fell off in the distance, the car speeding away despite it being a slow zone. No one ever paid attention to the speed limits. Wiping at my eyes, I shivered, feeling the rest of what was left of my clothes clinging to my body. Not even a smidge was open to allow my clothes to be pulled away from my flesh. Which meant I really needed to pick up speed and get the hell home. The longer I stayed in the clothes, I knew I had a higher chance of catching a cold or pneumonia or whatever sickness I could come up with. My immune system wasn’t great these days. Being sober meant getting sick was difficult. I had to be careful with medication and monitored, too. Those things were like candy, and I used to even use Benadryl so I could get through a night I didn’t want to be part of. Plus, when I didn’t have the good stuff, the counter items were good enough to hold me over until I did. Which meant I wasn’t allowed to take it on my own. I knew that even when I was twenty years down the road of sobriety, I wasn’t going to be allowed to. One slip up, and everything could be ruined.

I hated that thought the most. The fact that I had to from here on out be absolutely careful with whatever I took or spiral back out of control was horrible.

Stop thinking, stop thinking, stop thinking!

“Look what the cat dragged out. Did Owen finally take the trash out?” A familiar voice laced with venom tore at my ears, clear over the pounding rain.

Pulling to a stop, I stared into the darkening street, trying to find the source of her voice, dread curling in the pits of my stomach. I had no desire for another fight, another attack, and I was pretty damn sure that whatever would happen out in the wild was going to be the end of me. It was one thing to be pummeled in my own apartment. A few gashes from glass slicing my back open and a concussion didn’t mean a death knell. A knock to the sidewalk on slippery slopes, however? Well, that was just asking for the kiss of death to greet me. When I didn’t see her or hear her again, I dragged my feet forward and wiped at my face again. Ducking my head, I tried to put her away and tried to believe that I had just heard her voice in my head. Being sober did that to me sometimes. I heard things or saw things. It was just my mind wandering – as I’d been told that was. At least it was comforting to know I wasn’t going crazy. I was just sober, and my mind had nothing to keep it from slipping from thought to thought.

“I listened to you at your meeting tonight.” Her voice was a hiss in the wind, a snake’s slither as it readied itself to attack. Red sparked in the darkness as she materialized in front of me, green eyes electrifying as they glowered at me. I drew to a stop, spraying water in her direction, but the action did nothing to deter her actions. “So sad. You’re nothing but a miserable cow, you know that Gracie?”

“What do you want, Donna?” I asked warily, feeling a sudden sweep of exhaustion sweep through my body. “Seriously, why the hell are your intent on coming after me?”

“You really didn’t get it last time, did you?” She snorted, shaking her head as she stepped forward. “Owen is in love with you. He should be in love with me. I almost had him this time, and you were just there, right in his sight. Why couldn’t you stay away from another year? Why couldn’t the drugs or alcohol just kill you? Better yet, why couldn’t that man kill you the day he beat you? You really should’ve just died and let me have Owen.”

I laughed. “You are so obsessed. It’s actually kind of pathetic. It’s really sad.”

Her hair flashed in the darkness before the wall greeted my back with a sharp slap, and fingers curled around my throat, pressing me against cold brick. I clawed at her fingers, tugging at them to try to pull her off me, but she was stronger than I was. I squirmed, kicking out, but it did no good without any connection made. She leaned her head forward, pressing her forehead against mine, one corner of her lips curled up.

“You could die right here, by my hands, and no one would be the wiser. They’d think it was just some drug addict trying to mug you. Or even think you went back to your old ways and just ended up on the wrong side of a deal. Poor little Gracie, unable to keep her hands off the dirty. Nobody would even think twice about it.”

I choked, trying to speak, but the words just wouldn’t come. Maybe it was the fact that my vocal cords were quite literally being squashed, but even so, I couldn’t think of any words to say. She was right. If I just dropped dead, that would be the number one thought in everybody’s minds. It would be so easy to just pretend I had slipped instead of allowing anything else to be the reasoning as to my death.

As my arms dropped to my side, I felt the swoosh of oxygen enter my lungs, and I drew in a sharp breath, coughing roughly to gain my breath back as my knees locked. As Donna stepped back, I slid to the ground, dropping to the wet ground, and leaned my head back to peer up at her through a slaughter of rain.

“We used to be friends; did you know that? Has that wretched vampire told you that? You and me. We were taught by the same Sorcerer, top of our class. We were the best. But you and I had the wrong views about magic.”

Vampire. Fucking great, she’s with him. As crazy as he is about this whole crap on the fact that he’s undead, and now she’s into magic. What the hell is wrong with people these days?

“Look, I don’t know what kind of crap you two have been into, but—”

“When you remember, you’ll see.” She hissed and reached out, grabbing a fistful of my hair before yanking me forward.

As my body jolted towards the ground, the roots of my hair screamed, enticing one to escape my lips from the pain that ensued. I twisted and let out a cry, hands grappling at the top of my head, desperate for her to let go of my hair, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. My shoulder hit cement before she bent down, still intent on holding me by the hair, and forced my head back, so I had to look up into her eyes.

“You and I could’ve been so great together. We could’ve ruled, you know. Been on top, but you chose to take a whole different path and leave me behind. Then to top it off, you snake my boyfriend out from beneath me. Opened your legs to him, and he was wrapped around your pinky. You’ve been doing that to him for way too long, and it has to end. Now.”

The glint of silver sparked in my eyes before the muzzle drew into view. I drew in a sharp breath at the sight of the gun, my stomach curling back into knots, tighter than before and threatening to make me hurl.

“I can’t kill you with magic here. That just won’t do. Your soul will just be reborn if I do that. No, you have to be killed by the hand of someone who loves you, someone who will do whatever it takes to protect you. I will get that, you know. You’ll see. When they do kill you, you can’t come back. Ever again.” She grinned but pressed the muzzle against my lips. The cold metal shot a sliver of cold down my spine. “I promise Gracie, you will die.”

I blinked, and she was gone. The rain slashed across my face, but I was glued to the ground, fighting the tears that wanted to escape. I couldn’t tell if I was shivering from cold or fear. I was fairly sure it was both, though. Yeah, definitely both.

Gracie

I knew a shift when I felt one. I’d always been weird about this type of situation. I knew when things were about to change or when people were keeping secrets around me, which I hated the most. When I had reentered the world after my third rehab try, determined to actually make it work, people walked on eggshells around me. They acted like I would just bust at the press of a button. So, they were always careful with what they said or did around me, whispering behind their hands when I drew near or just stopping whatever conversation they were having entirely. I had known even then what they’d been up to, trying to act like I was a fragile package and couldn’t be dropped. Just like they were now, with both Devon and Owen intent on avoiding me like the plague. I knew the signs well enough, after all. It had been three days since the BBQ, and neither one of them could even look me in the eye despite the fact both had broken up with their girlfriends. I’d thought that we had made a connection before when they crumbled and took care of me in my hour of need. Apparently, I had been wrong. I was nothing more than invisible to them at this point.

I could hear them whispering at night when I was lying in bed, and they clearly thought I was asleep with my door cracked just slightly open. It usually happened when Owen was just getting in from work, and they had those precious times together. I could never make out their words though, they were smarter than that to just let them slip through. That was the frustrating part. Because despite thinking I was asleep, they no doubt knew me better than I had anticipated. There’d even been one point where I had pressed my ear to that sliver of a crack, pressing my knees into the ground and listening with full intent but had no success at figuring out what they were saying. They did it on purpose, and I damn well knew it. Still, if I dared to confront them about it, it would only make them drift to one of their bedrooms to continue whatever conversations they had in the early morning hours to make it that much more difficult for me to try to listen in on them.

They were jackasses for that, and the only way I was able to let them know – mostly because I couldn’t help myself – without them realizing I was eavesdropping was to slam doors, stomp around, and ignore them several times a day when they tried to ignore me. Neither of them was stupid, so I was fairly sure they easily guessed what my attitude was about, but they weren’t about to comment on it.

“Gracie,” Marcy’s whine grated my ears, but it did the job, tearing my eyes away from the television and my mind out of the gutters.

How long was this chick’s break from school? I loved her to death, but she really needed to go back. It felt like she had been around for an eternity despite the fact she had her parents’ house to stay at. I needed a break, but then when that happened, I would be whining for her back. It happened every time. Besides, why she chose to stay out here, a near-hour drive away from Landon, was beyond me. At least back at her parents’ house, Landon could easily walk to her or vice versa. But it was what it was, and I didn’t want to question it. I did like having Marcy around, I truly did, but I knew she’d be more comfortable at her own home than sleeping on the pull-out couch or the floor of my bedroom. Still, it was comforting having her as my sister. My two sisters and sister-in-law were far older than I was, the youngest with a fourteen-year gap between us. They hadn’t exactly been there to make a relationship with over time, that was for sure. The connection I had needed with a sibling I got from Marcy and Anna, even though I did love my brother and sisters. It was simply different.

“I’m hungry,” she pouted and tilted her head back on the armrest of the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the television, not even bothering to try to move. We were lying on the couch to face one another, legs wrapped over each other. Arching my neck, I dropped my arm over the back of the sofa and pointed as best as I could. “Kitchen’s over there.”

Marcy groaned and dropped her head forward before tossing an arm over her eyes. “That’s so far away. Go make me food, slave.”

I snorted and mimicked her actions, throwing my view into darkness. “I’m no slave, and I’m not getting up. I’m too comfortable.”

“I am too. Why do the guys have to work? They need to stay home and do everything for us.”

I giggled with a shake of my head. “Don’t ever say that to them, though. They like working, especially since they have their dream jobs, as they say.” I wrinkled my nose and threw my arm off my face, squinting at the television. “Maybe we can call for pizza. But that requires someone getting up to answer the door when it gets here.”

“That’s a lot of work for pizza. Let’s just starve until the guys get home. We won’t die before then, so that’s a plus.”

I shrugged, my fingers grazing the carpet as my hand dropped to it. “I’m perfectly content with starving. I really don’t want to get up.”

A rapping on the door turned out heads, but neither of us dared to move. If we were quiet, maybe whoever it was would go away. It was a futile hope that kept us planted to our spots on the couch. The television was on low, and we could only hope that it wouldn’t be heard and alert this visitor to our presence within. It repeated, though. Whoever was on the other end was obviously not about to give up. When they knocked again, I finally tossed my legs over the couch and pulled myself up, pressing a finger to my lips to keep Marcy quiet. The rapping resounded, sounding more insistent, as I stepped around the couch and moved towards the door. It was more than the light knock that it had started as, making the door tremble beneath the pounding.

Before another one could sound, I wrenched open the door and faced our visitor, who refused to leave us alone. But before my mouth could even open to form a word or a coherent sound, a pair of cold hands curled my throat and slammed me to the floor, knocking out the very breath I had been about to exhale. The door flew shut, and my vision pixelated from the oxygen snatched out of me, yellow dots flashing up above me. Raising my hands, I scraped at my captor, nails digging at the flesh of the hands clutched around my throat. A piercing scream tore at my eardrums before the shatter of glass jingled in my ears. I kicked but found it useless with my legs pinned beneath whoever was holding me prisoner. They obviously knew what they were doing, that was for sure. I couldn’t talk, but as my vision cleared with the sudden relaxing of the grip, I saw my attacker for just a moment. My death sentence was about to have the flip switched on.

Laughter churned into ice in my stomach and tore the green eyes looming above me away. “Let her go.” The all-too-familiar voice sent shards of ice down my spine. “Now is not the time for her to die.”

With the release, I gasped for air, sputtering before turning myself over to my stomach. My legs felt like jelly, and my arms didn’t want to hold my weight up. They gave in and sent me face-first to the ground, forehead smacking against the floorboards. I heaved, and my lungs rattled from the effort. Feeling the tip of a foot nudge my side, I turned and plopped on my back. Her red hair was bright above me, but it was her eyes that caught my attention.

Red embers smoldered down upon me, but I felt cold inside. Empty. Didn’t she have blue eyes before?

“You know, I was so close this time. I actually thought I had him, but no. You took him, again, from me.”

I grimaced at the pain that throbbed in the back of my head and slowly rose to a sitting position, the movement searing every joint inside of me. “What’re you talking about, Donna?”

She crouched to meet me at eye level, but nothing about her indicated she was doing it to be kind. She wanted to make sure I listened to her every word.

“I really don’t get what he sees in you. You have always been weak, and yet, he loves you so fucking much. It’s pathetic, really. I almost had him this time.” She withdrew a dagger, but where it had been hidden was beyond me. “And you took him again.”

Owen. She’s talking about Owen.

Her nails dug beneath my chin and the cold of the blade pressed against my cheek, forcing my head up, but I kept my eyes from meeting hers. “I realized something a while ago, though, Gracelynn. He’s always going to die with you, every single time. Apparently, I can’t stop that. What I can stop, however, is him loving you before your death. So, I’m going to do exactly that.” Her wrist twisted, and she dragged the blade down my cheek and neck.

The bite of the blade made my teeth clamp down on the inside of my cheek. I huffed out a breath of air to keep myself from screaming from the pain that followed. I felt the flesh of my face open up, and a trickle of blood seep out.

“He won’t love you disfigured, surely,” she breathed out, her eyes gleaming in excitement. “Pretty little Gracie, all sliced up. No man will be able to ever love again after this. He will be mine, all mine, and your two other playthings won’t ever be able to love you if you look all grotesque and shit.”

Owen and my two other playthings? What the hell did that even mean? There was only Owen and Devon. What the hell was she talking about? Withdrawing her dagger, Donna twirled it between her fingers, the crimson of my blood shining upon the silver surface. In horror, I watched as she lifted it to her mouth and slid her tongue down the streak of red.

I drew up a leg, digging my heel into the ground, and readied myself to kick at her. Before I could, a pain I had never felt in my life ripped through my body. Involuntarily, my body rose, and I dropped to my feet, standing upright. My legs didn’t bend when I instructed them to, and I teetered, swaying as if the wind had caught me with an invisible drift inside, and I was suddenly as weightless as a barbie-doll. I felt like a puppet, but I couldn’t see the strings attached to my limbs. My body jerked back, slamming into the table that sat against the wall between my room and the kitchen. The jiggling of the fake flower vase echoed in my ears before it rocked between shoulder blades and tipped to its side.

“You can’t touch me, Gracelynn. I have been and always will be far more powerful than you. Even without doing a damn thing.” She laughed and snapped her fingers.

The ivory green-eyed man stepped up next to her, tilting his head. I caught a glimpse of an eye in the middle of his forehead, but before I could determine if it were just a tattoo or the real deal, my body snapped to the side and hurled through the air. Glass cut at my back as my arms flew up to shield my face before the worst of the damage could happen. A shriek shattered the air and burned my throat.

Marcy. Where’s Marcy?

When I’d been ambushed at the door, her scream had penetrated the air, but it was the last I’d heard from her. Diverting my body from feeling the pain of the moment, my mind grew foggy and sent a fizzy of fuzziness throughout my body. It made me feel as if I were suddenly high, and I knew what that felt like all too well. Taking advantage of the moment, I turned my head and dropped my gaze to my best friend. She was lying face down, off to the side of the couch, her hair covering her face too much for me to tell if she was even breathing or awake.

Shit. Shit. Landon’s going to fucking kill me.

“It’s a pity, Gracelynn,” her voice drew my eyes up and to her as she lingered over me. “We would’ve made a great team.” She sighed heavily and snapped her fingers once again. “Break her, but don’t kill her.”

“And the other one?” he rasped, his voice crackling but sounded more than just eager.

Donna’s gaze barely flickered towards Marcy, intent on keeping me in her sight. “Kill her for all I care.”

He moved, but I twisted, my fingers swiping at a piece of glass. I hurled it at him. With surprising accuracy, the shard of glass hit that third eye squarely and sent him tumbling backward, a stream of blood racing down his nose. Shock flashed in his eyes before he disappeared, leaving a puff of white smoke in his wake. By sheer dumb luck, I had prevented my best friend’s death. I hadn’t been aiming for any particular place and just merely hoped it would hit him.

“You stupid bitch! You actually unlocked your fucking powers!” Her screech tore at my eardrums and pixelated my vision all over again.

Through the fog, Donna’s mouth opened and let out a cry of despair. Pain flared through my body, and the darkness grappled for me before I could take anything in. Its icy grip pulled me under.

Devon

There had been no answer when I’d called. No texts replied to or even seen at that. Gracie had never been that good at avoiding, but I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d gotten any tips for this time around. Because she was sure as fuck was doing a damn good job at it this time.

Generally, when I returned late and missed dinner with a lack of communication, the door to the apartment would be wide open to welcome me home and taunt me with wonderful scents of that missed dinner. So, upon reaching our floor and being greeted with cold and darkness, I knew that it wouldn’t matter how mad Gracie was at Owen or me; there was no way she would’ve ever left us without dinner. She just wasn’t that way.

Dread trickled into my stomach as I stopped in front of the closed door. My eyes fell to the crack on the ground. It was dark, not even a sliver of light showing through. Finding it unlocked, I turned the knob and pushed open the door, bracing myself to be attacked as some scare tactic of a joke from her. When nobody appeared, and the darkness curled around me, I stepped over the threshold and reached out, fumbling along the wall for the light switch. Glass crackled beneath my feet as I stepped on a pile of it. I flicked the light on and turned, freezing in place at the sight before me.

Pictures lying on the ground, glass and frames shattered. The table we sat at for meals had cracked down the middle and smashed at the ends, listing at an odd angle on the ground. The lamps Gracie had so excitedly picked out to match the curtains were smashed to pieces. Their glass bottoms were strewn all across the floor. The sink sprayed water in every direction, and the refrigerator lay on its side, door hanging wide open to let the food within spoil. There was so much more of a mess to take in, but I ignored it and searched in every direction, my head jerking side to side in my desperation. Marcy was the first I saw, her big hazel eyes watering with tears and a gash split across her forehead. She was crouched in front of the television but faced me, eyes watching me in wait to make sure that I noticed her.

“She won’t wake up,” she croaked, her words wobbling. “She won’t wake up.”

“She won’t—” I started in confusion, but my feet carried me forward, and the words were cut off as I got a view of what was upsetting her. “Gracie!”

Owen

My feet slipped beneath me for about the thousandth time. I wasn’t usually so uncoordinated, but my mind focused on everything but the steps I was taking. My belt hit my hips, the holster where my gun belonged banging the hardest. Before entering the hospital, I had shoved my gun in the glovebox since I was no longer clocked in for my shift. I didn’t want to accidentally scare anybody by having it hanging at my side when I didn’t necessarily need it at the moment.

My eyes slid over the numbers on the doors, my mind focused on the only number we’d been told upon arrival. From the moment I’d been called into the Sheriff’s office, I had felt nothing but cold inside. When given the news, it had turned to ice inside of me. I was supposed to be mad at Gracie. When she’d returned threes ago, and I’d been called to take care of her drunken disputes, I’d tried to convince her to just go home, for her to beg for Devon back and marry him, but she’d always been to headstrong, too stubborn. Especially when she was drunk.

I’d almost left Donna for her then. I’d actually, miraculously, gotten her sober. I had thought she was returning; she’d had me so convinced. Until I’d had to return to work, and she’d stolen my money to run off with it, leaving behind a sappy love and apology note that was still tucked into the crevice of my wallet. I was supposed to be pissed at her for that, to not forgive her for a long while. And while I did try my hardest, the last year had made it more than just difficult to cling to that anger. Every day I woke up to see her trying so hard to cling to her sobriety and make a true-life work. She never asked for money and made sure I knew how sorry she was. I so desperately wanted to be angry with her, just because I knew it wasn’t right to accept her behavior, even though she had been drunk, but I was too damn proud of her to keep holding to it. I wasn’t sure exactly when, but the anger had begun to ebb away a long time ago.

So, it was no surprise I felt fear for her now.

When I’d gotten the call that my father had had a heart attack, I had been terrified, unsure of what to do. I hadn’t wanted to lose the man who’d opened up his home, arms, and heart to me. When my biological mother had dumped me at a diner to drive off and never return, he and his wife had stepped in. I’d been terrified then, but that had been nothing compared to this. I was far more terrified now. I was in a state of panic and fear that I’d only ever felt once before and still didn’t have the proper words to describe it.

Skidding to a stop at our destination, the number pinned to the door, I stood in front of the window. Entering wasn’t exactly in the plan, or maybe I just didn’t want to right away. Looking in on her, at least I could pretend I was watching a television show with her as the star.

“Owen.” Rona Walker drew my attention away from the window. “She’s going to be alright, son. Just like she always is. She hasn’t come this far to just allow herself to give up.”

I swallowed but nodded, turning back to look in at her again. Gracie lay on the bed, still but sleeping peacefully. Tubes of oxygen were propped in her nostrils, and IVs hooked into her hands to keep various liquids pumping through her. Bruises lined the parts of exposed flesh that I could see, along with red cuts that churned my stomach and made me nervous about what lay beneath her clothes. She didn’t look as bad as when she had been shot, though, and that a plus in my mind.

“Come on, son,” he urged, nudging me gently. “Gracie needs you.”

Pulling away from the window, I stepped up to the door and forced myself to step over the threshold behind Gracie’s father. At our entrance, Devon’s head snapped up, and he locked eyes with me.

“She won’t wake up,” he rasped, wiping his hands on his pants. “She’s in a coma. The doctors don’t even know why.”

His eyes were puffy red from crying, and despite his hands curling into fists, I could see the trembling of his body. Ron moved forward, taking his place next to Devon, and set his hand on his shoulder.

“She’ll wake up,” Ron said, trying to sound reassuring. “Gracie is a strong girl. She’ll wake up. She always pulls through.”

I stepped around the bed to stand on the opposite side, my eyes dropping to each machine, and felt my chest tighten with the realization they were barely managing to keep her alive at this point. I slid my fingers over hers, swallowing yet again, but this time it was to push back the tears that wanted to escape. Despite the fact Gracie and I were three years younger than Devon, he was far more sensitive than I was. Or at least, he showed it a lot better than I did. I really despised showing my emotions. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that our careers were entirely different. Yeah, maybe that was it.

Gracie’s chest rose suddenly and fell heavily, fingers twitching beneath mine. My eyes shot to hers, waiting for them to open. When they didn’t, my shoulders dropped in defeat. Falling to my knees, I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against her arm.

“Devon,” I heard Ron’s demanding voice, but it tilted just slightly. “What happened, son?”

“I don’t know,” he sniffled, and I drew my head up to look at him. “Everything was just – broken. She was lying in the middle of the coffee table. It was smashed to pieces. Marcy was—”

“Marcy?” I cut in, straightening up. “Where’s Marcy now?”

“Home, I believe. She wasn’t really in bad shape, so her parents came to get her.” He rubbed his face. “She wouldn’t say anything, though.”

I turned my eyes back to Gracie’s face, grazing over the cut that started on her cheek and ran down her neck. It was stitched up, closed, but the sight of it dropped a large icebag into the pit of my stomach. I reached up and traced my fingers down it, flinching at the raw surface, the cut still fresh.

“I can’t just sit here,” Ron burst out. “I’m going to find Chase so I can get some answers about my baby girl.” The red-haired man who had lost a few tufts of it around his ears huffed and stormed out.

When the door slammed shut, Devon jumped and rubbed his forehead profusely. His shoulders tensed up. Though he only stared at Gracie’s face, I could still see the sadness lingering in his eyes.

“We should’ve told her,” he said softly but still loud enough for me to hear. “We should’ve told her, Owen.”

I cleared my throat. “I don’t think it would’ve made a difference, Dev. I don’t think whatever happened to her would’ve been stopped with us telling her. But we will tell her after we get her home. Safe and sound, alright?”

He nodded, clammed up, and refuse to speak any other words. Devon turned his attention back to her. The only sounds in the room were those of the machines beeping.

“She’s going to be okay; Gracie always is.” The words I spoke sounded a lot more confident than I felt. “Do you remember your first summer home from college? Gracie insisted on picking you up from the airport herself.”

Devon snorted, but his lips twitched in a futile attempt not to smile. “Just barely having gotten her license too. Got lost and I had to wait an extra four hours at the airport. Remember when she asked your mom for the recipe of your favorite meal to cook for your birthday?”

I laughed. “She forgot the enchiladas in the oven and burned them. She felt really bad.”

He chuckled. “She also thought that calling takeout and passing them off as her own would go unnoticed. We didn’t say anything about it for a week. She really should’ve thrown the containers away a lot better.”

We turned to the door as a rapping interrupted our conversation. Gracie’s dad had left it open, letting in whoever wanted to show up. I stood abruptly, fingers fumbling on my holster out of habit. When I came up empty-handed and remembered that I had left it in the car, I shifted myself to block Gracie from possibly being attacked. Worry was painted on his face, but he didn’t move from the threshold, wringing his hands together.

“Is she going to be okay?” he asked, his voice shaky.

My eyebrows knitted together, and I glanced over my shoulder to look at her, taking a moment to watch her chest rise and fall.

“She’s in a coma,” Devon replied, taking his place on the other side in full mode protection. “Who are you, and why do you care?”

His mouth opened then snapped shut, pressing his lips together. His eyes roamed over our shoulders, trying his best to see Gracie. “When she wakes up, she’s going to feel different. Be different. Destiny is finally calling us all home.”

I blinked, and the doorway stood empty, as if he hadn’t been there in the first. I looked back at Devon, the only source of evidence that the foreign man had even existed. He shrugged when turning to me, looking as confused as I felt.

Gracie

“I don’t remember,” I repeated, my lie numbing my lips. Just like with Daddy, I looked anywhere but at them. I could lie easily to anyone else, but when I tried with the two men in front of my father and me, it was nearly impossible. It always was. “If I knew, I’d tell you, I swear.”

I’d said the lie so many times over the past two days that it was actually starting to feel natural. That didn’t mean I could look them in the eyes, didn’t mean the lie didn’t hurt. Because it did, it hurt so damn much to not be able to look them in the eyes and say words. Both of their breakups were still fresh, wounds that were yet to scab over. So, if I even dared to spout an ounce about the truth, about who was behind my attack, Owen especially wasn’t going to be thrilled. If anything, I suspected he would accuse me of jealousy.

Devon’s arm tightened around my waist as we stepped up to the apartment door, and my heart sank. I could only imagine what he had come home to that day. When I’d woken up in that stark white room, I’d found out I’d been in a coma for three weeks. There was no real explanation as to why though. I didn’t have severe enough damage to have caused it, though. I could remember the scream escaping my lips and the cold of the dark dragging me under. Then I blinked.

The white of the room had given me a headache, but the fact that the two guys I loved more than anything in the world were by my bedside made it that much better for me. My parents had been in and out the few days I was up, and, on my request, I didn’t see any of my friends. I couldn’t bring myself to let them see me in such a crappy state, especially Marcy. I wasn’t exactly sure if she had seen Donna like I had, but I suspected she had at least heard her. I had to keep her away from Owen. I didn’t want her to tell him the truth and get me into trouble. I wasn’t even sure what I was supposed to say to her at this point.

The click of a gun turned my head. I saw Owen pulling out his gun and pressing a finger to his lips to hush us. Not that that was a problem or anything. Holding out his hand, he pushed Devon back, who in return pulled me off the path so neither of us would be in the way if he had to open fire. Glancing over his shoulder once to make sure we were far enough back, Owen reached out and pushed open the door.

When only a dark apartment greeted us, Owen edged forward to peer in and motioned for us to join. I was reluctant and dragged my feet, shoulders tensed in anticipation that the redhead was going to hurl her dagger at me from the darkest corners of the apartment. As if sensing my hesitance, Devon pulled me tighter to his side and locked me in place, pressing his lips to the top of my head to assure me that things were going to be alright.

I am like a puppet, but with no strings attached. My breath hitched, and my heart picked up speed, making my mouth go dry.

“She’s gone,” a voice spoke, sadness leaking through their words. “For now.”

A hand grabbed my wrist, yanking me behind Owen and out of Devon’s grasp as they both wheeled around to face the visitor, gun pointed forward. I guess I wasn’t the only one on edge.

“Woah, buddy,” he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in surrender. “I didn’t mean to startle anybody. I’m not here for trouble, I promise.”

“You were at the hospital,” Devon pointed out, but his tone was full of suspicion. “What do you want?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the doorframe. “I just want to talk. To apologize, really.”

“Apologize for what?” Owen demanded, unrelenting with his gun. “What exactly have you got to apologize for?”

“For not being here in time, to save her,” his gaze flicked to me, “to save you. I’m really sorry, Gracelynn.”

“How do you know her name?” Owen was speaking again, his finger twitching towards the trigger as he edged towards the man. “And what the hell was all that talk about destiny at the hospital?”

His tongue flicked over his lips, wetting them as if he were nervous. He fidgeted in his spot, eyes scouring the apartment before landing on us again. “It’s complicated, but I can explain everything in due time.” His gaze shot to Devon. “May I come in?”

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Owen started, but my hand on his arm stopped the next bout of words from escaping.

Donna and her three-eyed minion frightened me. If anything, this man was intriguing, and something inside of me told me he didn’t belong lingering in the hallway, waiting for an invitation that might or might not come. “Let him stay. I’d like to hear what he has to say.”

“What’s your name?” Devon questioned, stepping just an inch ahead of Owen.

Owen was the protector, but Devon was the leader. I was sure I was just the glue because without me, there wouldn’t even be a group. No us, at that.

“Colton,” he finally responded, taking a step over the threshold, and stopped, reaching out to grab at the edge of the door. “Colton Modrell.”

What felt like a bolt of lightning shot through me and instantly sent me crashing to my hands and knees, gasping for breath. My vision blurred, and I dug my nails into the carpet, trying not to tip over on my face.

“You shouldn’t touch her,” Colton’s voice was sharp against the screaming inside of my mind. “You’ll make it worse.”

I felt the brush of fingers on my back despite those words. A surge of warmth shot through me, and I gasped, my lungs suddenly constricted. I felt fingers curl around my throat, cutting off what little oxygen I’d had left. The ground hit my back. I reached up, grappling to remove the source of constriction. Muffled screams entered my ears, but I couldn’t tell who was speaking, shouting, or whatever it was they were doing.

It stopped as quickly as it had started, and I shot to a sitting position, gasping desperately for breath, heaving out dry coughs. Hands cupped my cheeks and drew my face up. Bright blue shimmered down at me in worry. I pushed forward, crawling into Devon’s lap before burying my face in his neck. His arms wrapped around me, holding me tight to his body.

Owen

“What the hell did you do to her?” I shouted, raising my gun to point at him again.

He eyed the muzzle, but even as I stepped forward, he kept calm. I’d never seen a person so calm in the face of a threat like that which I’d just given. Not even big bad men who liked to beat on their wives were calm with a gun to their face. This Colton guy, though? If I didn’t know any better, I would have said he was bored. But that wasn’t possible, was it?

“I didn’t do anything. It’s the bond, it’s been repaired, and since Gracelynn is the center of it, she felt it. That’s why I didn’t enter at the hospital. She needed to rest.”

I turned to look at the two on the ground, catching the gaze of wide brown eyes. She didn’t even look scared. If anything, she looked curious, but I doubted she was going to leave the sanctuary of Devon’s arms anytime soon. I actually preferred it that way. If anything were to happen, at least I would know Gracie was safe.

“What bond?” she questioned, pulling her eyes away from and stopped on Colton. “What does that mean?”

With a flick of his wrist, the door flung shut with a snap. “The bond that the four of us have, that we share. I’m not going to hurt anyone, Owen. You can put that away.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and kept my stance to prove I wasn’t relenting in protecting the two who were counting on me.

One corner of his lips twitched into a crooked smile: amusement written across his face. “I really have missed that stubborn attitude of yours.”

“My – my – what?” I spluttered, taken aback by his words. “I’ve never even met you before. How could you miss my attitude?” My hand tightened around the grip of my gun, finger twitching yet again towards the trigger. I so wanted to just pull it already, but I knew the rules. He had not provoked it, and I wasn’t going to risk losing my career because of him. “Who the fuck are you?”

This time, his face did fall. But the calm was merely replaced with worry. His gaze flickered towards Devon and Gracie, prompting me to step to the side and block his view. His eyes dropped back to the gun and reached up, massaging his forehead.

“Like I said, it's complicated, and you guys just brought Gracelynn home—”

“So, then you stay and tell us in the morning,” Gracie interrupted. “The couch is a pull-out. You can sleep on that. And stop calling me Gracelynn.”

At her words, Colton’s face twisted, and his lips parted, wanting to say something. But then he seemed to decide against it and closed his mouth with a nod. “I can do that,” he choked, his stature momentarily fractured as he gave a tight-lipped smile. “Thank you.”

The muzzle of my gun followed as he walked around the couch and stood in front of it, facing it and us. “I really am sorry, Gracelynn. As soon as I learned she was after you, I came as quickly as I could, but by the time I got here, it was too late.”

My shoulders tensed. “What’re you talking about? You know who attacked Gracie and Marcy?”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise at my words, but Colton shook his head before turning to look down at the pile of pictures upon the replaced coffee table. He reached down and snatched one up, dropped to the couch as he examined it, seeming a little too comfortable for my taste. An arm brushing against mine turned my eyes to watch Gracie advance on him from behind.

“That’s me, Marcy, and Anna. They’re my best friends. We always do everything together, well for the most part when they’re around anyway.”

“I wasn’t told they’d be here too. I mean, I knew they’d resurfaced, but I didn’t expect here with you. We can go home then, all of us together. I was told that it was only meant for us to come home when we were all together again.” His voice cracked, and he turned his head to look up at her. “I’m so tired.”

Gracie’s body language shifted into something more calm right before she stepped to the side and positioned herself in front of my gun. I had no choice but to retract it at this point and strip the ammo. There was no way I would shoot Gracie, no matter what, and she damn well knew it too.

“You should rest. I’ll get you a blanket, okay?” she said softly, gently, and turned on her heel, throwing me a look of warning before scurrying off to the hall to locate the desired item.

Fucking bless that woman’s heart.

Gracie

A pair of hands reached for me, ready to take away my life. Blood splattered everywhere, and pain shot through my entire body, electricity as if I’d been slammed into a barbed wired fence. Three eyes stared at me with one blink in unison. Laughter that sent ice trickling down my spine wrenched away my breath. The muzzle of a gun entered my line of sight, and a pair of obsidian black eyes stared at me from over it. My heart raced, leaping into my throat as I was forced to my knees.

Blood everywhere. Red in my vision in any direction I looked. No one was there to save me; I was completely alone. I was powerless, and I was going to die like that. The muzzle twitched before turning, and my eyes followed to the destination in which it led me too. My gaze fell on their corpses, quite a distance from me but close enough to see with a clear view. Their feet faced me, but I didn’t need to see their faces to know who they were.

I pulled my eyes forward once again and up to those obsidian eyes. Three eyes blinked at me, and the click of the trigger resounded in my ears. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t scream. Did it even matter, though? They were dead. My heart was dead, ripped from my chest. So why was I still so frightened of my own death?

I shot up in bed, gasping for breath, and my fingers scraped at my chest. Sweat glued my shirt to my torso and drenched my hair that clung to my face.

The doorknob to my bedroom jiggled, and my head snapped to the side, eyes zooming in on the newcomer. My sight was clear despite having just woken up. The moonlight streaked through the window, just brushing inches before my bed but left me wrapped in the shadows.

“Gracelynn?” He didn’t even bother trying to whisper as he stepped into view in the moonlight. “I heard you talking. Are you – you look flushed? Did you have a nightmare?”

I cleared my throat but nodded, my eyes following him as he moved forward. Only when he reached arm’s length and bent to try and hold me did I move. Faster than I’d ever done, chalking it up to desperation to not be touched by a stranger, I scrambled to my feet and dropped from the bed.

“Don’t touch me,” I warned, my words a hiss between clenched teeth.

I didn’t know what I was going to do. I didn’t know how to fight or really how to defend myself. I didn’t even have pepper spray around. Daddy had always insisted I at least carry pepper spray. I was now officially regretting not listening to his advice. And why the hell did I invite this man to spend the night again? Oh, right, because it had seemed natural at the time, and his somber eyes had made me a sucker of me.

Maybe I can scream. But before the thought could fester into the actual action and I could suck in a breath of air to alert the sleeping guys in their rooms, Colton reeled backward, hands shooting up in the air to prove he wasn’t going to hurt me.

“You had a nightmare,” he pointed out, eyes looking over me but worry quite visible in them. “I just wanted to help, that’s all.”

I shook my head and stepped around him, my eyes never leaving him to make sure he wasn’t about to jump at me. As I stepped up to my bedroom door, I turned my head to look at him. His body glowed, shimmering in the moonlight, a beautiful sight that I adored. Everything about him was perfectly sculpted as if he had just been carved. Being shirtless allowed me to ogle his abs and trail my eyes to the v-line that dipped beneath his pants. A bulge poked at the front, and I could only imagine the sight beneath. He was eye candy, but this was a total stranger trying to coddle me after a nightmare. Talk about feeling conflicted.

“I’m gonna – I gotta –“ I fumbled for words, tongue-tied. I couldn’t stop staring at him.

Without trying to keep explaining, I stepped around him and left the room quickly, slamming into another body. My arms shot around him, and I felt his embrace return, body tensed and in protection mode.

“What the hell is going on here?” Owen demanded, his fingers pushing into my back, ready to move me if needed.

“Gracelynn had a nightmare, so I came to check on her.”

I turned my head, glaring at the perfectly carved man, but just snarled at him. “Don’t call me that, it's Gracie. Not Gracelynn.”

His eyes flickered to me, and the corners of his lips twitched in amusement before settling back on Owen. “I didn’t mean to startle anyone, I promise.” He repeated the same words as earlier in the day.

Owen pulled me back and away from Colton. “Devon and I can take care of her just fine,” he said briskly, his chest rumbling beneath my ear.

Owen was shirtless as well, only clad in boxers. He was toned, rippled with muscles from his job that he took incredibly seriously. The job that he loved, but I hated. Every time he got called out or just even went in for his shift, I could feel a knot tying in the pits of my stomach, and it wouldn’t let up until he was right back in my sight. Alive. I had thrown a fit once about it and was quickly shot down. The only time Owen had ever deliberately been rash with me was when I had done that. He cared about me, but being a cop was his dream job. I couldn’t stand in his way, and even I knew that.

Devon, on the other hand, was a little rounder in the stomach area. He was a therapist and didn’t need to worry about having abs. He did have muscles, though, and was a hunky nerd when he wore his reading glasses. Devon was taller, a little meatier, and Owen was more on the leaner side, toned with muscles, and slightly shorter.

Apparently, Colton was just a sculpture and reigned in between for size.

If my head wasn’t fuzzy before, it sure as well was now. What was wrong with me? I barely knew the guy, and he was already penetrating my thoughts.

“You can lay with me.” Owen’s voice broke the tirade of thoughts swirling in my mind as he pushed open the door to his room.

I hadn’t even noticed when he’d led me away from my room and Colton. I pulled back just slightly, tugging him to a stop. I was very much awake now but knew that even spooning him wasn’t going to put me to sleep anytime soon.

“I wanna talk, Owen.” I pulled the rest of the way out of his arm and turned around, stopping as the other man leaned against the couch, eyes still watching me.

“You should rest before we talk, Gracelynn. There’s far too much to go over, and besides, everybody needs to be present for it. Devon gets grumpy when he’s woken up, so I really don’t want that.”

I burrowed my eyebrows together. When he spoke their names, they were emphasized and drawn out, as speaking them was taboo upon his lips.

Tilting my head, I squinted my eyes at him. “How do you know that about Dev?”

“The same reason I know that you’re a vegetarian. You became one at a young age, and meat makes you sick. Because I know you, I know Devon, and I know Owen. There’s a lot to tell, and I promise I will explain everything. But you need to rest for now.”

“He’s right,” Owen tugged my arm. “Come to bed, Gracie.”

I couldn’t disobey him. I turned, following Owen into the room before crawling into the bed automatically. It was just second nature. Pulling into the bed next to me, Owen took his place on the pillow and tugged me down on his chest, arms slithering around my waist to hold me.

“I don’t know if I trust him,” he finally said softly, his fingers brushing over the bare of my stomach with my shirt riding up. “I don’t want him hurting you.”

I tucked my head under his chin, my flesh tingling in the wake of his fingers. “I really believe he won’t hurt any of us, Owen.”

He huffed but didn’t argue. Instead, his fingers ran up my stomach and pushed at the hem of my shirt, urging it up beneath my breasts. His fingers trailed back down my stomach before sweeping upwards to repeat their actions. I could feel the exhaustion pinning me to the bed now, but so many questions were tumbling through my mind. I wanted answers. I needed them.

I shifted, turning my head to look up at him, my chin pressing against his chest. Owen was looking down at me, his fingers pausing at my disturbance. “I don’t get it. You and Devon broke up with your girlfriends, and you two…”

“Want you?” he supplied, finishing for me, and let out a heavy sigh and a one-shoulder shrug. “Because we do, Gracie.” He hesitated before continuing. “Before… your hospital stays, we’d even been talking a lot about it. We were actually going to sit you down and talk to you that night.”

“Talk to me?” I pulled out of his grip and sat up, looking down at him. “About what exactly?”

Owen shook his head and pulled himself to a sitting position, reaching up to cup my chin. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow, baby, I promise. But you do need to rest.”

Baby? Had I heard right? I didn’t comment on it, just to make sure that it wasn’t a fluke on his part. I leaned into his hand and turned my head, pressing my lips against his palm. Owen tugged me once again but was successful this time, pulling back to his chest and resumed the stroking of his fingers.

Three weeks of coma sleep, and I was still exhausted. Maybe it was because of the cold that swept through, tumbling over me like ice chips. I shivered, and Owen’s fingers gripped the edge of the blanket before pulling it over us. Or maybe it was the lies wearing me down. I knew that eventually, I would have to tell the truth to everyone. If Donna dared to make a return, I couldn’t be left alone. She would, too. I just knew it. I had a sinking feeling that there just was no escaping her no matter where I tried to go. But I couldn’t tell him, not yet. If a relationship really were coming back, that kind of news would only disrupt it all.

“What I can tell you, Gracie is that we do love you,” he said softly, barely audible, and obviously thinking I’d dozed off. I didn’t say anything to alert him that I hadn’t. “We both love you so much, and we’re not idiots. You’ve never been able to choose just one of us. That was pretty obvious when you kissed me before Devon proposed to you. I promise to you, though, that things are going to change. They will, for the better, Gracie.” His lips pressed to the top of my head. “Things will get better, you’ll see.”

His words made my heart sink and guilt curl through me, but I bit my tongue to keep myself from spouting any words. The lies were making me feel even worse now, but they had to wait. I squeezed my eyes shut and willed myself to sleep, allowing myself fantasies of being with the three men that slumbered in the apartment. It wasn’t like I could control what I dreamt about.

Colton

They were alive. Every single one of them: alive. If I’d had a beating heart, it probably would’ve been hurting in relief to finally find them. I was fairly sure, anyway. It’d been too long since I’d had a beating heart. I could barely remember what it felt like. I knew pain, though. I’d felt it from the moment the three people I loved more than anything closed their eyes. All the way up until I crossed that threshold, the pain had been twisted inside of me.

It had clouded my mind, a reminder to give up. I’d been told a long time ago, though, that even if one of their souls finally just up and died, the bond would be severed entirely, and the pain would no longer exist. So as long as it did exist, I knew I’d stood a chance of finding them. Even if I was nothing more than just a stranger to them right now, at least I’d found them alive. The broken pieces of my soul were about to be fitted back together.

I had imagined this for so long. This almost felt like one of my dreams I’d had on repeat. Except that every time I closed my eyes to imagine this, we all reunited with hugs, kisses, and falling onto the bed in one another’s arms. The reality was that I had proved our past to be truth, but they’d pulled away from me in the meantime. But at least they were alive, and I’d found them again. I just had to keep reminding myself that was all that mattered.

Creaking hinges turned my attention back towards Owen’s room. The sun had risen nearly two hours before, and I’d set to making the coffee that the humans of this age and day seemed to live and thrive upon. The sweet aroma was finally beginning to wake the three sleeping pieces of my heart. I was a little too eager to see them. At her appearance, the Princess took my breath away. She was unchanged, except for the fact she was alive. Even those big doe brown eyes were unchanged. I’d know them anywhere. The very last time I’d seen the woman who had taught me how to love, she had lain in my arms with her last breath before it was wiped out. They’d all died together, and not a day had gone by that I hadn’t wished to be with them.

When the light in her eyes had faded, what I believed to be the gift of saving my life turned into a curse. That was the worst part of this whole immortality crap. For when the bits of your soul died, you couldn’t just join them. I’d been told it was a blessing, so I could bring them home again. Because otherwise, there was no telling if we’d ever return without me being stuck behind. But it didn’t mean the whole thing didn’t suck.

I watched as the Princess was drawn to the coffee and poured herself a cup. Despite how long it had been, seeing her do mundane things herself was going to be a challenge to get used to. Seeing her wearing anything but a frilly dress was also not easy to become accustomed to. But seeing her clad in one of Fabien – Owen’s – long sleeve button-ups that just barely brushed her thighs, my dick twitched. Over the years, I’d had quite a few intimate partners to ease the urges that had built up inside of me, nearly three times stronger than when I’d been mere mortal. But none of them had ever been made into anything serious the way the four of us had once been, and I was desperate to get that back.

As she shifted, an even sweeter scent than coffee drifted through the air. It was like a slap in the face, and I had to grab hold of the back of the couch to keep myself from being sent to my knees or advancing on her from behind and wrapping my arms around her waist.

“Thank you for making coffee,” she said tiredly, curling her fingers around the mug before pulling it to herself. “I don’t do well without coffee.”

“She’s not lying. Gracie’s a bitch without her coffee,” Salvator – Devon – announced as he joined us, his sweatpants swishing as he stepped up behind her.

I really needed to start remembering their names. They were no longer Salvator and Fabien, and those names didn’t exist to them. I had to remember that.

Doing exactly what I wished I could do, Salvator wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. Swallowing back desires that would just have to wait, I pushed away from the couch and rounded it, shoving my unused blanket and pillow out of my way as I sat down. Leaning my head back, I closed my eyes and pretended to have drifted back off to sleep. I wanted to separate their scents to see if I remembered them correctly.

Pine for the Princess. She always loved to be outside. Cinnamon for Salvator. He was always chewing on it. And sea salt with Fabien because he always loved the ocean. Scents from their souls forever stuck with me. I can’t believe I’ve finally got them back.

Devon

I pushed back Gracie’s hair, pressing my lips to her neck, and chuckled when she shivered at it. Flicking my tongue out, I traced it up her flesh and nipped at her earlobe gently with my teeth. Her low groan made had me chuckling again. I knew how to rile Gracie up. It was a perk that had come with giving one another our virginities. We had learned what did and didn’t turn us on. And Gracie being in Owen’s shirt made me crave her in a way I hadn’t allowed myself to feel in a long time. I pressed into her back, deliberately making sure she could feel the bulge in the crotch of my pants. I slid my hand down, brushing my fingers over her thigh, and grazed it over the top of her leg, a smile dancing on my lips at her intake of a breath. I toyed with the bottom of the shirt for a moment, teasing her before slipping my hand beneath it. I grinned as she swallowed, pausing in her actions to feel my next move.

The silkiness of her underwear covered her mound. I grabbed a pinch of the lacy end, my thumb grazing over the stubble of pubes having been shaved and snapped. At her gasp, I growled in her ear, half a warning and half playful. The damn undergarment was in my way, and she knew it. I pushed it aside, running the pad of my finger over the stubble, and stopped on the slit. I watched her fingers tighten around her mug, but she didn’t dare move. I was the one in charge, I always had been, and Gracie had never had a problem submitting to that. I rubbed her slit before dipping downward and nipped her earlobe again. She squirmed a little beneath me, and my eyes roamed to her breasts. From my view above her, I could see down the top of her shirt and noticed that she wasn’t wearing a bra. I slid my free hand up, and the graze of it over her nipples made them harden, poking against the fabric of the shirt she wore. I parted the lips of her cooch with my fingers and slid up her clit before diving down to dig myself in. She let out a gasp of a whisper, clutching her cup so tight her knuckles white.

“You want me?” I breathed into her ear and pumped my finger in before slowly dragging it out.

Her lips parted before letting out an audible groan, unable to help herself. A rush of a thrill swept through me, knowing she could be heard and we could be caught. “Yes,” she breathed out, but her voice quivered.

I shot my finger in once again and grinned as she inhaled sharply. “If you be a good girl today, I’ll give you anything you want tonight,” I spoke low in her ear and pulled my finger out completely.

At the abandonment of my touch, Gracie let out a shaky breath and, with coffee in hand, scuttled to the table to enjoy her life-sustaining liquid. Her cheeks were flushed bright pink, eyes on her coffee. Turning my head, my eyes caught a pair of blue ones staring at me, wide open and a flicker of hunger shooting through them. I smirked and lifted my hand, finger sticky wet from her juices inside, and popped it in my mouth, slowly dragging it out before winking.

“Thanks for the coffee.” I flashed him a grin and turned to make my own cup.

The clearing of a throat entered my ears before the click of the closing bathroom door pricked my hearing, and I held back bubbling laughter as I joined Gracie at the table.

“Owen hasn’t woken up?”

Gracie rubbed her eyes and turned to look at his bedroom door, but before she could even try to respond, it opened, and wide-eyed Owen ambled out. There was not an ounce of sleepiness on his face, and I easily guessed what had taken him so long to join us.

“Coffee’s ready,” I announced.

He flashed me a toothy grin and ran his fingers through his hair. “Where’s our guest this morning? I thought he had stuff to tell us.”

“I’m here, and I do,” Colton spoke huskily.

This time, I really caught his shirtless chest and stared at the sculpted front before me. This time, he grinned and shot me a wink, playing coy to my staring.

Owen

“Alright,” I clapped my hands, dragging Devon’s attention away from our visitor, and arched an eyebrow. “Colton, why don’t you sit down, and I’ll get my cup of coffee so we can talk?”

Filling my mug, I took the other side of her and leaned forward, kissing my girl’s cheek.

“Alright, so,” Colton shifted in his seat as we turned to face him, rubbing his palm together nervously. “First off, I’m Colton Modrell. That has always been my name. You two, though,” he paused, his gaze flickering between both Devon and I. “Salvator for you, Devon, and Fabien for you, Owen. You two were part of the royal court. Salvator, I mean Devon, was the royal advisor, and Fabien, sorry Owen, was Captain of the Royal Guard.” He stopped, his eyes dropping to Gracie. “They worked for you, with you, however you want to put it. Because you were Princess. Princess of Gracelynn of Astead.”

“Princess?” Gracie gawked and snorted. “Fuck that shit. Are you crazy or something? I think you are. You have to be. I’m only my daddy’s Princess.”

I reached out, laying my hand on top of hers, and curled my fingers around it. Lifting it, I pressed my lips to the top of her hand, rubbing my thumb in a circle on the surface.

“I know how insane it sounds; I really do. But you three and your two friends – what did you call them again? Margo and Annie?”

Her hand clenched up, but I gripped it tighter, squeezing to assure her that Devon and I were right there for her. “Marcy and Anna.”

“Right, right,” he nodded fervently, his head bobbling on his neck. “They were – not exactly Princesses but may as well have been. You were the true one, the biological one to ascend the throne. They were Princesses by paper, betrothed to ascending Kings of the neighboring kingdoms. Actually, the one with the dark hair, hazel eyes—”

“That’s Marcy.”

“Right. She actually did get married and was crowned Queen just months before her death. What’s sad is that she was with child at the time too.”

Slamming her free hand down on the table made us jump and snap our eyes to Gracie. She was glaring, and her nostrils were flaring, right at Colton. There were times when her anger would make her look cute, and one could easily figure out how to calm her down before she exploded. This wasn’t one of those times, though. It was one of her anger spouts that meant to back off and walk away, to just let her have at it and pretend you hadn’t been around her.

“This is bullshit,” she hissed, kicking her chair out from behind her and ripped out of my grasp. “You’re just some psycho—”

I blinked and lunged out of my seat. Colton’s back was to us now, and he was holding Gracie by the throat, shoved up against the wall. How he’d moved so fast was beyond me, but before I could form any coherent thoughts that made any remote sense at all, both me and Devon had stepped up behind me. He held up his hand, turning his face so he could somewhat see me.

“I’m not choking her. Let me show you three how to believe me.” He released her, and being closest, Devon reached out to grab her arm, yanking her behind him.

Colton turned to face us, his lips parting as he bared a mouth of teeth. Two canine’s sharpers than the rest revealed.

Gracie

The grip had been light to him, and I felt the gentleness of his fingers, but despite those facts staring me right in the face, he was still far too strong. I’d still felt the pressure. He was strong, even without meaning to be, and nearly cut off all my oxygen. Devon’s grip on my arm to keep me back prevented my head from slipping through. Both he and Owen were standing rigid in front of me, ready to take the hit if the fanged man before us suddenly decided he was hungry and not for food. I’d seen them both defensive about me before, protective, even though I’d always been a pain. But this was different. Neither one was relenting, and both were willing to let their own lives be ripped away before mine could be.

“I’m not here to hurt anyone. I would never forgive myself for it,” Colton spoke, his hands up, palms facing us. “Please, you have to believe me. I’ve been searching for you three for far too long. I don’t think I could live another day without any of you.”

Now that would’ve sounded romantic were it a completely different situation.

“We don’t believe you,” Owen spoke tartly, and my eyes rose to him, noticing the set of his jaw. “We can’t believe you. You have to know that. You’re talking in circles.”

“I get that, I do. But you have to understand – it’s been so many years. I’ve been searching for all of you for so long.” His voice cracked. “I swear.”

My heart squeezed, and I had to swallow back a bile of words that I wanted to spew out. There were questions on the tip of my tongue, but I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from asking them. Owen was the most practical of our group. I didn’t need to look at him to know his face was riddled with skepticism. Just because the guy showed his fangs didn’t mean it was real. I knew personally that there were enough realistic fang sets in the world to make one think otherwise. But something I couldn’t explain was tugging inside of me. It was a warning bell to let me know to not knock the impossible just yet.

His face was twisted in desperation, eyes sparkling to beg us to believe him. I wanted to, or at least, a part of me, so wanted to believe him. But even Devon was a hard one to convince. Always logical, a side effect from being a therapist. Sure, his mind was more open than Owen’s, but he was still hesitant about things that were supposed to live inside of books.

“Tell us something,” I started, the silence becoming too deafening for me to bear. “About each of us. You said you know us, so tell us something only you know.”

His eyes flickered to me and then to Devon and Owen, running his tongue over his lips. Stepping forward, his movement caused Devon and Owen to retreat and pushed me back with them. Colton stopped with his hands in the air once again, intent on making sure he showed us he wasn’t about to attack.

“Fine,” he agreed, taking a step back to show his submission. “Gracelynn, your biggest turn-on is when your nipples are licked. You squirm when they’re played with, but it’s licking them that makes you go crazy. Salvator, sorry Devon, you like your earlobes nibbled on, and Fabien, I mean Owen, you go crazy when you’re given a blowjob. That’s each of your biggest turn-ons. You may have been reincarnated, but your souls are the same, and I knew them better than anybody else. Correct me if I’m wrong.”

At his words, I wrapped my arms around my chest, dropping my eyes to the ground. My cheeks burned with the flush that crept over them and down my neck. When I drank, I’d wake up next to some random guy butt naked. Always a one-night stand, but not a single one had ever been privileged enough to know how to touch me the way a man needed to to make me stay instead of sneaking off before he woke. Devon and Owen, on the other hand? They were the only ones I had ever desired to lovingly touch me that way. The secrets they knew about my body, no other man had ever been privy to. They knew how to beg me for more, so I could never leave the bed. Not this man who claimed to be a vampire.

Was this some sort of joke? I just couldn’t wrap my mind around it how he even knew of this private information. Unless-

“Have you been stalking us?”

I closed my eyes, letting out a wisp of a breath. Oh, sweet Owen, your logic is heavenly.

Colton’s face fell, taken aback by the blatant accusation. “I was told you’d be stubborn in believing me. So, I don’t know why I got my hopes up. I guess—” his words faltered, and again, he licked his lips, frustration furrowing his eyebrows. “It’s just been so long. I guess I was just sort of hoping you guys would just know me. Even just a little. I know – I know – it was stupid to hope.”

Cinnamon wafted through my nostrils, reminding me of the coffee going cold, almost forgotten on the table. I really hated being taken away from my coffee, and I despised having to deal with anything at all before my first cup was finished. And this one, I hadn’t even gotten a sip from. Which made it worse.

“Gracelynn.” His voice drew my eyes up as he took a step forward once again. “You don’t know anything?”

My mouth opened, but only the crackling sound of failed words left my throat. His face had fallen so much, and his shoulders were drooped in defeat. He looked so broken, eyes glimmering in desperation for me to say the exact opposite of what would leave my mouth. I knew I could just lie, but the mere thought of getting his hopes up and for only later to be crushed broke my heart. I couldn’t do that to him.

“I’m sorry. I think you have me confused for somebody else. I’m not a Princess. I’m an alcoholic, junkie, and gambler. I’m just trying to get my life together, that’s it.”

He shook his head violently. “I don’t have the wrong people. You felt the connection—”

“I don’t know what I felt,” I snapped, cutting him off and rubbed my eyes heavily. “I think you need help, though. We can get you help—”

“I don’t need help!” he burst, taking a long step towards me. I staggered back as Devon shoved me out of the way. “I’ve been searching for so long for you three.”

I cleared my throat, drawing the attention before he could continue. “I want my coffee, and I don’t wanna listen to any more of this sap shit story until I’ve had it.”

All three men chuckled, but I scowled at their amusement. There was nothing funny whatsoever about needing to function. “All three of you suck. I want my coffee.”

As they laughed, I turned on my heel, bare feet slapping on linoleum. I plopped back into my chair at the table, and curled my hand around the now lukewarm mug, more than just irritated at this point.

Colton

I wanted them to believe me so badly, but I had come into this knowing that it was going to be a long shot. I knew better than to hope, but I still couldn’t help it. The Princess, Gracelynn, had once said I had the kindest heart in the kingdom. Maybe that had just been her speaking, and it most likely wasn’t even true these days, but I still did have the same characteristics as before. At least, I liked to believe that I did.

I watched as she took her seat, desperate for her coffee. I really couldn’t understand why humans were so reliant on that sickly-sweet drink. But as it stood, I didn’t think I had any place with questioning it. I survived off blood, after all.

“I was a peasant, a villager. Worse, I was an orphan. My parents died when I was about five. My sister was seven, and my brother was three. My aunt took my sister, so I barely remember her. My aunt was a spinster. No man meant no child. She wanted a girl to teach right and proper and no rowdy boys. It was just my brother and me until I was around thirteen, and he passed away from the same fever that tried to take my life away. In the orphanage, most kids grew up in the rancid home. I did. It was difficult, but all I knew was that place and the odd jobs to earn a bit here and there. That was until I met you three.” I drew in a slow breath, making sure I didn’t move forward and accidentally make them nervous all over again. “I was seventeen when we met. Gracelynn and Fabien, Owen, were nineteen, and Salvator,” my eyes flickered to him, “twenty-one. You three were just realizing your feelings for each other and we just – connected, I guess you can say.”

“When was this supposed to be exactly?” Owen questioned, narrowing his eyes at me in suspicion. “Why now?”

I swallowed, pressing my lips together. “Here for your human years, it has been nearly five hundred years since you sat upon the throne. In our realm? Time moves at a different speed. Slower. In our realm, you died two hundred and fifty years ago. The villagers have been awaiting your return, though.”

“Why have they been waiting? Why not just crown another?” Gracelynn spoke, the cinnamon scent wafting off her breath.

“Because your return is written in stone.”

Gracelynn rubbed her forehead, and my own shoulders stiffened. I could feel the tension in the room, each one before me reluctant to believe my words.

“When I got word, she was coming for you. I came as quickly as I could.” They were repeated words from the night before, but this time I had her attention. “I’ve been tracking her for a long time. She vowed to eliminate you, and I knew she’d lead me right to you. I’m sorry I was late. I really am.”

Gracelynn stood, but her face was twisted in horror as if I were divulging a secret to the world. Her terror confused me.

“Her? What do you mean, her?” Devon questioned, turning to look at the Princess with burrowed eyebrows. “What does he mean, Gracie?”

She ignored him, glowering at me. “You need to shut up.”

Realization dawned down on me. “You didn’t tell them, did you?”

“Tell us what?” Owen demanded, looking back and forth between the two of us. “What is he talking about, Gracie?”

When she kept silent but continue to glare at me in warning, I cleared my throat, keeping direct eye contact with her as I spoke. “The one who attacked her. Her real name is Morgan, but here you know her as Donna.”

Gracie

I sucked in a breath of air through clenched teeth, my eyes dropping to the light brown liquid that swished around at the bottom of my cup, barely covering it at this point.

“Gracie,” Owen’s strict tone entered my ears, but I stared with intent into my mug, pretending to not hear her. “Gracie, look at me right now.” My eyes snapped up at the command. “Was it Donna?”

I opened my mouth, but there didn’t seem to be any words that would even be remotely correct to say at this point. Lying now was out of the question, and doing so would only land me in more hot water I didn’t want to boiling in. Fucking really, I thought I would have more time to spew in my lies. Instead, I nodded and dropped my head, pursing my lips together and readying myself for the onslaught.

“Are you fucking serious?” Devon blurted, stepping up to face me full on. “So, you lied to us, to our faces? I thought we were finally getting somewhere, Gracie. Why the fuck would you lie to us?”

Glancing back up, I took a peek at Owen and let my hands drop into my lap, folding them together. Devon’s words hit chords I hadn’t expected to be plucked so soon. “I – I – it’s complicated.”

“What is so complicated? There is nothing complicated about telling us the damn truth, Gracie. How the hell is that complicated?” Devon demanded, moving towards me. “I thought we were doing better, Gracie.”

“We – we are,” I stammered, grimacing at the icicles from his words slicing through my stomach. “We are.”

“Really?” It was Owen’s hurt this time, slamming a fist into my gut. “Then why the lie?”

“You – you would’ve called – called me jealous,” I stammered, clambering out of my chair to back away from the table. “You two just broke up, and if I called her out, you would’ve called me jealous.”

Even as I said the words, however, it sounded ridiculous coming from my lips. It was a pathetic excuse for my actions that I was desperately trying to keep myself convinced of.

Pain flickered in Owen’s eyes. “You really think I would stoop that low, Gracie? I know how much you hated her, and I knew you were jealous, but do you really think I would’ve accused you of making that up because of it?”

I nodded, mute now, and watched as Owen let out an exhalation of breath. Without another word, he turned sharply and left the vicinity of the kitchen to retreat to his bedroom, slamming the door shut. I jumped, lifting a hand to chomp down on my thumbnail, eyes cast to the ground to avoid the glare I knew was penetrating from Devon’s eyes. I knew he was disappointed, of course, he would be, but I didn’t want to see it.

“He would’ve believed you in a heartbeat, Gracie. No matter how you feel or felt about her—”

“She had a three-eyed man with her,” I blurted, my eyes flickering up to look at Colton. “He could – he –” I swallowed, the words faltering as I tried to grapple for an explanation that just wouldn’t come.

I didn’t know exactly what I had seen. I’d been attacked, sure, but maybe I’d made up the three-eyed man and whatever I had thought I’d seen or felt.

“Telekinesis,” Colton supplied. “That isn’t surprising. Morgana is powerful, sure, but she can’t do everything herself. His name is Psych. He’s a big shot with Morgana. I’ve dealt with him a few times myself. He’s got some serious power.”

“People can’t do telekinesis. That’s impossible,” Devon interjected. “Gracie, you seriously aren’t believing this load of crap, are you?”

I shook my head vigorously, reaching up to press the tips of my fingers against my temples as if it that would do something to make sense of what was going on around me. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m supposed to believe right now.”

The scraping of a knife drew my eyes over to Devon, falling on the knife he now held. His face was twisted in confusion, but his body faced me. He took a step forward, drawing nearer to me, and his eyes caught sight of me. They were glazed over as if he suddenly wasn’t seeing straight. Or as if a switch had been flipped inside of him, turning off the part of him I knew. I took a step back because I was fairly sure the table between us wouldn’t stop him.

“Devon, put the knife down,” I tried, my voice cracking. “Please put it down.”

“You lied to us. To Fabien and me. You should know better, Gracelynn.”

Fabien? Gracelynn? He didn’t believe that crap Colton had spewed, so why the hell was he spouting names from that story? Before I could even try to make any sense of it, let alone ask any questions at all, he lunged forward. His body crashed to the ground, knife clattering in his fingers on impact.

“Don’t hurt him!” I screamed, staggering around the table. “Owen, Owen, please help!”

In the split second that Colton’s attention snapped up to me, Devon shoved at him with a strength I couldn’t remember him ever having. The man who had a cold grip, whose icy touch I could still feel on my skin, held Devon tightly without even trying and snatched the knife out of his grip before rising to his feet.

“She wants you dead, and I’m here to deliver, Gracelynn. You should have never gotten in the middle.”

I was fifteen when I had fallen in love with Devon Connor and had given him that special part of me. Not the man, but the vessel of him launched at me, eyes stark white. This wasn’t who I had fallen in love with and clung to that for so many years, unrelenting in hopes that one day, I wouldn’t be an ass and decline his proposal again. But for now, I was frozen, glued to the spot like some prank gone wrong. Like dominos falling against one another, everything followed suit at the flick of a finger. For a solid moment, all I could do was stare at the man who had promised to never hurt me. I’d made that same promise, but unlike him, I’d broken it several times over many years. For some strange reason that I couldn’t even begin to understand or put together in my mind, he still wanted me around. Though, I guess it was only a matter of time before I got what was coming to me. I deserved this, whatever was about to happen, for everything I had done wrong to both him and Owen. I deserved death at one of their hands. For every little bit of pain I had ever caused for either man.

As if the world suddenly realized my train of thought and where it had slipped to, everything slammed back into action. Devon’s body fell towards me and crashed back, with Owen pinning the thrashing man to the ground. A flash of a movement and Devon overturned Owen, holding up a hand to the glint of a knife sparking in his fingers. How he’d gotten another one was beyond me, but there wasn’t any time to try and figure that problem out.

“No!” I shrieked, but the word came out breathy, falling off lips that quivered.

Barely three minutes, maybe not even close to that number, had passed. It was like quicksand, rapidly sinking our time in succession to the play that unfolded before my eyes. I felt helpless standing there, watching as they tore at one another and completely ignoring my voice. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, and I felt seriously stupid just standing there, knowing full well that if I, or the fanged man, didn’t step in, whatever state of mind Devon was currently in was going to either turn him into a murderer or get him murdered. Neither of which I wanted. Because he was my sweet and put together, all-around calm man. Depicted as either the monster or fallen hurt more than a hangover after three days of nonstop partying. It was the same with Owen. I didn’t want him on either end, even if he could take care of himself just a little better than Devon was able to. He was strong-headed and extremely stubborn. He wasn’t going to stop until one of them was dead. I knew that for a fact.

As Devon’s head turned, momentarily distracted by me, I saw the gleam in his eyes beneath the cloud that hung in them. He huffed through his nostrils, one corner of his lips curving upwards into a crooked smile and sent chills down my spine. That was not the look of the man I had fallen for and loved more every day. But even knowing that, I took a step forward, trying desperately to keep eye contact with him in hopes that the two paths on my mind could be avoided if Owen could just get him pinned long enough to handcuff him.

“Devon,” my voice cracked as I pleaded, reaching out towards him as I shuffled a bit further to him. “Devon, please, let go of the knife. This isn’t you; I know it isn’t you.”

At my words, he rose to his feet, leaving Owen unattended and advanced on me. I shrank back slightly before digging my feet in the ground, refusing to move any further. He wouldn’t hurt me; I just knew he wouldn’t. My Devon wouldn’t. But the monster just might. I’d never seen him like this before, and it frightened me, churning knots in my stomach.

This isn’t him. This isn’t my Devon. This isn’t him.

I had to believe it wasn’t him.

He darted forward, and the flash of the knife shot in the corner of my eye. Owen’s roar screamed in my ears, but the pieces finally connected that I’d made the grave mistake by not moving a lot sooner. There was no way I would be able to get away from him quick enough, and even if I managed to move somehow, he’d be right on top of me. The thing that was coming at me, it wasn’t my Devon.

As he lunged at me, my hands flew up, covering my face with palms facing upwards. The tingling that vibrated through my body when I was touched the right way swept through me then, but it felt different in so many ways. Warm, curling through every curve of my body and swimming through my bloodstream. Starting from the tips of my fingers, it swept through my hands and up my arms. The warmth turned to a burning sensation similar to fire, but it didn’t hurt. It felt far more than just natural. It was part of me. Then a bolt of silver shot from my palms and curled before snapping out to circle around me in protection.

It was just two silver lines connecting when they met in the middle, the archway being my hands. Hesitant, I slowly lowered my arms, but when it kept in place, unwavering, I dropped my hands entirely, staring at what I’d done, awestruck. Devon smashed into it as if the line were shockingly a barrier, though, with the way it had formed, I wasn’t really all that surprised. He let out an inhuman roar, a sound that I had never heard escape from his throat before, and it deafened me. Throwing his free hand forward, it slammed against the silver line, and he let out a scream, milder this time. Staggering back, Devon’s fingers released the knife and sent it to the ground, clattering in echoes across the linoleum. Red oozed from his palm and tricked down his forearm. As his gaze flickered back to me, confusion drew his eyebrows together before he blinked. Blue eyes stared at me; the grey gone from the irises. His body swayed slightly as if a wind rocked him back and forth, though it would take a pretty strong wind to do that, before he toppled to the ground, collapsed into a heap.

“Devon!” I lurched forward, once with Devon, able to move through the silver line and drop to my knees at his side, shaking him violently. “Devon?”

Looking over my shoulder, I saw the silver line that had protected me had now vanished, and Owen was climbing to his feet, clearly shaken up but royally ticked off. My eyes scoured the room, ignoring the young police officer, and found the man with fangs, scowling at him, nostrils flaring. “What did you do to him?”

“Me?” he asked incredulously, throwing his hands up in surrender as if that would prove anything at all. “I didn’t do anything, Gracelynn. He was possessed, nothing to do with me. You’re the one who knocked Salvator out, though. I had nothing to do with it. That was you and your powers alone.”

The grin that curled on his face reminded me of a little boy on Christmas morning seeing all the presents laid out beneath the Christmas tree just for him. Considering I had seven nephews, I knew well enough what that happiness looked like. But it didn’t mean I was amused. If anything, it only made me mad.

“He’s out cold,” I pointed out, turning back to him as Owen scuttled to his other side but kept standing instead of joining me on the ground.

“Gracie, are you alright?” he asked softly and bent over, reaching out to try and make sure I wasn’t covered in wounds of any sort.

I jerked my head back, my eyes on Devon. “Don’t touch me,” I warned, my voice frosty, but my throat closed around what I was trying to say. “You might end up like him.”

The last thing I needed was for Owen to be in a heap upon the floor as well. I felt cold like ice blocks were slithering through me. That warm feeling from before was gone like it had never existed in the first place. Still, I didn’t dare take a chance in touching Owen. At Colton’s appearance, crouching next to me, instinctively I leaned away, refusing to even give him the time of day. This was his fault, after all.

“He’s just knocked out,” he said gently, reaching out to slide his arms beneath Devon’s body and hoisting him up like he was no heavier than a small child. “You hurt Psych, not Salvator – sorry, Devon.” He grunted, throwing a smirk at me before rising to his feet. “Your powers don’t hurt us, but they do hurt others. You made sure of that a long time ago, Gracelynn. I promise you that.”

Devon

Control just hadn’t existed. The one thing that kept me sane hadn’t been in my grasp. I could see everything happening, but that was it. Nothing else clicked. The wire that controlled my mouth and limbs had been disconnected. Never before had I felt so vulnerable, so helpless. Especially as I watched in horror as my own body tried to kill the woman I was in love with and the man who had become my best friend from the start of a strained relationship. The man with whom I was willing to share my woman. I hadn’t been able to stop myself, but I knew that if Gracie hadn’t done whatever she had, I more than likely would’ve accomplished that feat. Something that would forever be impossible to live with.

I’d have to take my own life if I took hers.

You are reluctant to share, Salvator. I have seen into your heart, and I know your desires. You have always been reluctant to accept anybody else.

The voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper, but all too clear regardless. No, he loves her too.

You’ll remember, and when you do, I’ll be here.

What’s your name?

Psych.

Silence dropped like a phone being hung up. Darkness kissed me, a sweet warmth that I embraced. I wasn’t ready to face them just yet. I wasn’t sure what words would be right to explain what would or wouldn’t happen. I wasn’t the type to just snap. That’s now who I was. But was that what had happened?

Gracie

The luckiest I’d ever been in my entire life was the day I’d been shot. Only because it had been in the hospital and doctors galore floated around and were able to sweep down and save my life. The suckiest part was the fact that it had been on my birthday. But Devon had been right there, waiting for me to wake up. Just like with this most recent hospital stay and when I hadn’t known who else to call after landing myself in jail – several times at that. He and Owen were always there to bail me out. And how did I repay them? By lying and even nearly killing them, that’s how. How they’d even stuck by my side this long, I wasn’t sure I would ever know or understand.

Now Devon wouldn’t wake, and it was all my fault. Less than twenty minutes ago, he’d been sticking his hands into my underwear with sweet promises saturating his lips. I was a little desperate to have my guys inside me again, for it’d been way too long. I wasn’t going to push it though. I knew better.

“He will be alright, Princess. He’ll wake up soon,” Colton repeated, for what felt like the thousandth time.

I pinched the bridge of my nose before lifting my eyes over the back of the couch to look at him, refusing to leave my spot next to Devon’s head. “Stop calling me Princess. Only my daddy can call me that, and I’m definitely not a real Princess.”

“You are, and your one of the greatest Astead has ever been gifted with. When we lost you, our kingdom went into shambles. Especially with—” his voice faltered, and his eyes flickered away from me. “When he wakes up, we’ll talk about it more. But I need to go,” he stepped to the side, towards the door, and froze, turning a sharp glare to me. “You need to call your friends. Those girls, whatever you called them. It’s important they’re here too. They need to be here.”

I felt like being mute was the best answer to the situation at hand, and I was left at a loss of words because of it. So, I nodded for the millionth time, feeling as I’d been doing a lot of that lately. Colton gave a curt nod, and when I blinked, he was gone. Leaving me alone with a slumbering Devon. Owen had left at an emergency call. That man just loved his job a little too much, but the urgency had made me nervous. At least he was able to work with daddy, though. I knew he was safe with him.

I looked down at my palms. They were normal and didn’t give any clues whatsoever about what had happened. I wasn’t even sure what I was even looking for. Soot on my hands, perhaps? It seemed plausible but a little stupid as well. I still couldn’t understand what the hell I had even done.

“Gracie,” the hoarseness of his voice drew my eyes, and I locked gazes with the man I sat next to. He gave a small smile, blinking profusely to clear the sleepiness away.

I moved, grabbing hold of the edge of the couch to haul myself up before leaning forward and pressing my knees into the ground. I stopped a few inches from his face, eyes scouring over him to try and figure out what his thoughts were. But his eyebrows merely pushed together, confusion sparkling in those aqua circles that I loved losing myself in. Pulling his arm up, he gripped my chin and shoved my head up.

“Your eyes,” he breathed, cinnamon-scented breath washing over my face. “What happened to your beautiful eyes? Are you wearing colored contacts or something?”

“What?” I gasped out as he yanked me closer, his face falling. “No, I don’t need contacts—”

“Are you sure? They aren’t brown anymore. I loved them being brown.”

I blinked, unable to shake my head while in his grip. “You don’t make any sense, Dev. I didn’t change my eyes. Maybe you just need to rest some more.”

“Yes, you did,” he argued, ignoring my rest offer, and pushed me back as he rose to a sitting position, throwing his legs off the couch. “Don’t lie to me again, Gracie. I’m tired of your lies.”

I fell back, flinching as my bottom hit the ground hard, and a familiar ache raced up my tailbone, remembering the last fall I’d taken in this very room. “I’m not lying. I really didn’t change my eyes.”

Devon rubbed his head, standing before grabbing my arm and pulled me to my feet, wheeling me around the couch. I tripped as he shoved me into the bathroom and held me by the shoulders in front of the bathroom mirror.

Silver gleamed back at me.

I gasped, silver eyes widening in shock. As he let go, I leaned forward to look a little closer, trying to inspect them. I sucked in a breath, my fingers curling around the edge of the sink. There was no longer even an inkling of the brown I’d looked at every day of my life until this moment: silver, all freaking silver like eating utensils or candle holders or picture frames. Panic thrummed in my chest.

“What the fuck?” I choked, shaking my head violently as I reached up, pulling down the bottom of my eyelid to examine it better.

When my eyes didn’t change back, I pulled my hand back, but before I could slam a fist into the reflective glass. Fingers curled around my wrist. I twisted in his grip, my shoulders drooping when I couldn’t get free. Pulling me back from the sink, Devon turned me around to face him and tugged me to his chest, arms wrapping around me.

“I didn’t do it; I didn’t change them,” I muttered, my words muffled by his chest. “I’m so confused. I didn’t do it.”

“I know, I am too, baby. It’ll be alright. We’ll get this figured out, I promise,” he said softly, his fingers tugging at loops in my hair.

I pulled my head back to look up at him. “I hurt you. I didn’t mean to, I swear.”

“I know,” he said sternly, the way he always did when trying to keep someone calm so they wouldn’t lose their mind. “We’ll figure this out, I promise.”

I pulled back from him, my arms slipping away, and my fingers slid through his, slow with reluctance to let go. “I need to make a couple calls.”

He nodded, watching me as I drew back towards the door and glanced down at himself. “I should take a shower anyway, get cleaned up.”

My eyes flickered over his shoulder to the shower and back to his eyes. I clamped my top teeth on my bottom lip and tugged on the hem of Owen’s shirt I still wore, stepping out of the bathroom, adjusting it, so it wasn’t so crooked on me. Slipping into my room, I located my phone from my bed and turned my head as the water was turned on, the shower bursting to life. Gripping my phone, I looked at the dark screen and stared at my reflection, my newly colored eyes shimmering up at me.

Sinking to my bed and with shaking fingers, I swiped the screen before dialing up my friends’ numbers. Phones rang on the other side, but before they could answer, a bolt of lightning shot through my hand. The pain enticed a scream, and my hand jerked, tossing my phone away from me. Connecting with the wall, it shattered, the fragile body breaking in half.

“Mother fucker,” I blurted, but the after effect of the tingling sensation kept my feet rooted to the ground.

Blowing on my palm, I shook it violently, but doing so didn’t really do much to ease the fizzling pain. Then again, what did I expect after being electrocuted? That was electrocution, wasn’t it? Silence entered my ears, the telltale sign that the shower had been shut off, cut short in Devon’s haste to get out.

“Gracie?” His voice was muffled on the other side of the door as he rapped on it. “I heard a scream. Did you scream? Are you alright?”

I rubbed my hand on my shirt and slowly sat back down on my bed, leaning back to press my head into my pillows. Ignoring his question purposely, I lifted my hand and examined my palm. There was no evidence besides the now fading tingling that could’ve easily be mistaken for my hand falling asleep. Had I done it to myself, or was it all just in my head? The broken phone wasn’t, but whatever else had happened was no doubt in my mind. It had to be. The click of the doorknob turning drew my head to the side, eyes falling on a soaking wet Devon as he stepped through. Water rained down his body and soaked the edge of the towel that he had wrapped around his waist. His light brown hair lay plastered to his forehead, the edges dripping to my bedroom floor. I squirmed slightly, a rush of adrenaline shooting through me, and I rose to a sitting position, clamping my hands between my thighs.

“Are you alright?” he pestered, his chest heaving as if he’d just run a mile.

He always got so worked up, always thinking the worst about a situation. I nodded and reached up, plucking open a button on Owen’s shirt. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing visibly to me, and his eyes landed on the broken phone, a mess I now had to worry about. When his eyes flashed back to me, I popped open another button and stretched out my legs, spreading them open just enough for the edge of the shirt to ride up my thighs and brush against my waist. He let out a hefty exhalation of breath and took another step forward, drawing ever nearer to me. I leaned back on my elbows, cocking my head to the side.

“You don’t think you’re just going to get away with teasing me, do you?” I questioned, deliberately making my words sound silky. “I’ve had my coffee.”

His face sobered, pain flickering through his gaze momentarily before he took a large step backward, shaking his head. “No, Gracie,” he said sternly and turned on his heel, leaving my room quicker than he had barged in.

I sat up, but all I could do was stare at the door in dismay and shock, too shaken by his actions to even bother trying to go after him. What the actual fuck, Devon.

Devon

The bulge of my erection pressed against my towel, throbbing in its effort to be released and shoved into the warmth of Gracie’s folds. That was its ultimate home at this point, and I swore it knew it too. The pain was worse because Gracie had to give a show to me. But I couldn’t give in, not yet. Not when this, Psych-whatever guy, was roaming around in my head. If I became vulnerable for Gracie, there was no telling if he would be able to take over me and wrench me away from her. I couldn’t risk it; I wouldn’t risk Gracie’s safety.

And if it was that I was going completely insane, I didn’t want her as a witness either. If I somehow lost control, again, but while trying to show her my love and devotion, I would never forgive myself for it. She had pissed me off over and over. There had even been an entire month after she’d rejected my ring where I had just wanted to die, to not be alive without her by my side. That part hurt so much, just like it had the first time we’d broken up – funny enough, on her request. In her defense, she’d been convinced she was the reason I had wanted to stay in town and wait for her to graduate high school instead of going after my dreams. Which was the truth, and she was doing the right thing by pushing me away, but it was still a knife to the heart.

Now? Now, I had her back. She could mine again, but I couldn’t even touch her. I shouldn’t have earlier, but in my defense, that had been before I had started questioning my own sanity or hearing a voice inside my head.

“Can I use your phone?” Her sharp tone made me flinch before I turned around to face her.

My heart sank at seeing her in a pair of jeans and a shirt that hugged her top, breasts all too pronounced but clearly stating they were off-limits. Her feet were clad in shoes, knotted tightly to not pull off her feet while walking. Even without the voice, my chances are officially gone.

“Gracie—” I started but stopped when she held up a hand.

“Can I use your phone?” she repeated, thrusting her arm out with her palm held up, jaw set in the way I knew meant that she was holding back tears.

“Yeah,” I nodded and turned around. “Just let me go grab it.”

With my towel wrapped around my waist, I retrieved my phone from my bedside table.

Handing it over, I didn’t miss the way she avoided looking me in the eyes. This close-up, I could see the red rimming them and wondered if it was from a few minutes of tears or sleepless nights catching up to her. For all I knew, it could’ve been both.

“I have an AA meeting tonight. Can you still take me?”

“Yeah, of course,” I agreed, reaching out to give her the phone but barely managing to brush the tips of my fingers over her cheek before she moved back and out of reach. “Gracie, please, let me explain—”

“You don’t need to, Dev. I got your message loud and clear. I’ll bring your phone right back.”

Her departure stung like a backhanded slap, and all I could do was watch as she disappeared into her room. Letting out a heavy breath of air, I stepped back into my room and removed my towel, tossing it to the bed. In the moments of Gracie’s iciness, I had gone limp; desire vanished now. Tugging open a drawer, I retrieved a pair of briefs and slid them on.

“Devon!” The shriek shot me into movement, and I hurtled out of the room, feet slipping beneath me. “Devon!”

She was standing in the middle of the living room, her palms up towards the ceiling, silver threads wrapped around them. Her eyes shot up to me, wide open and glimmering in terror. Even from where I now stood, I could see the trembling of her body, tears glistening on her cheeks. My heart dropped, and it felt as though it were ripping into a million pieces to see her frightened.

“Gracie,” I said gently and took one, careful step towards her. “Look at me. Can you look at me?”

She nodded, gasping out a breath, her lips shaking, and it made her words quiver. “It just started; I don’t know what’s going on.”

“It’s going to be alright—”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m one of your patients!” she shouted, and the silver flared, shooting straight up into the air like a geyser.

I held up my hands, trying to diffuse the situation before it could get any worse. “Alright, alright. Then how would you prefer I talk to you?”

I scurried forward, setting aside everything I’d been taught and believed in. Anyone else and I would’ve just sat them down to calm them. But Gracie’s plea of words didn’t fall on deaf ears. My knees hit the ground as I pulled her into my arms, setting her on my lap.

“What’s wrong with me, Devon?” She croaked, tilting her head to look up at me. “Aren’t I already broken enough? Why do I have to keep breaking?”

“No,” I said quickly, brushing my lips against the top of her head. “You aren’t broken, not at all.”

Maybe I’m the one who’s broken, Gracie, but I can’t tell you that.

You are far from it, Salvator, I can assure you of that.

Stop calling me that. My name is Devon and get the hell out of my head.

Silence. Sweet, sweet silence followed.

I tucked Gracie’s head beneath my chin just as the doorknob turned, opening to visitors. One visitor. Colton strolled in, a knapsack dangling from his fingers by his side. Assessing the scene in front of him, he drew to a stop right on the threshold.

“What happened?” he questioned, eyebrows drawing together in confusion. But he didn’t even look remotely surprised that something had happened.

Gracie pulled back, scrambling to her feet, and pointed an accusatory finger at him. “What did you do to me?”

His eyebrows shot up, surprise twisting his face this time. Without replying, Colton turned and closed the door. It clicked shut with no aggression from Gracie’s accusation. Crossing the living room, he hoisted his bag over the back of the couch and gently lowered it to the cushion as if it were made of glass.

“Did you call your friends like I asked, Gracie?” He questioned, ignoring her question, keeping his back to us.

“Yes, but what did you do to me? I want to know what you did to me,” she demanded, her words were dipping towards what I recognized as exhaustion.

I rose to my feet, stepping up next to her, and wrapped my arm around her waist to protect her. “Did you do something to her, Colton?”

Don’t believe whatever he says. He will lie.

“No, I didn’t. What happened?” he asked, the question repeated from just moments earlier.

“Just like earlier…” her words faded as she looked down, turning her hands over and over to examine them carefully.

“It’s your powers. They’re starting to unlock, and the more they do, the more they will present themselves until they settle. But that’s also why we need to get going. When will the girls and Fabien be here?”

“There’s never any telling when Owen is to return. What is it you want from us? Where are we going?”

She speaks so lovingly about him. Why do you think that is it? She loves him more. That’s what it is. You know she does. She has always loved him more than you.

No. No. Gracie loves us the same.

But she hasn’t hurt him the way she’s hurt you. So how can you be sure about that? She even went to him after having a nightmare, just like always. She never goes to you to be comforted.

I shook my head violently, mentally swatting the areas in my mind that that voice echoed around. As if that would do me any good. Gracie loved us equally, I knew she did. I was convinced of it. Or at least, I was very sure of it. She had never before shown favoritism before. There was no way she was starting now. Her having gone to Owen the night before was mere coincidence. That’s all that it was.

“We’re going home to Astead. Astead needs you, Gracelynn. Ever since your demise, your disappearance, darkness has been growing. I know you feel it. You’ve battled with the darkness your entire life, even if you haven’t truly realized it before. Astead needs you to come home now.”

Gracie snorted, a defense mechanism of hers I’d learned about a long time ago. Things were beginning to crash down around her, so she was going to pretend that the problems just didn’t exist. Not in her mind anyway.

“I’ll give and play your little game. How exactly would you propose we even get to this Astead place? By bus?”

I nudged her gently, trying to get to stoop with the wise cracks for just once in her life before she could dig herself a hole that she wouldn’t be able to get out of. Just once. I loved that part about her, but there were just times she needed to chill out.

She’ll expect you to get her out of it, just like always, and she’ll run right back to Fabien. She always does, Salvator. Every single time. I can see your memories. I know everything.

Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up. Shut up!

“The sphere,” he motioned towards his bag. “But it’s only good the one time you use it. To create another one, you need a full moon and full-fledged witch. Which aren’t easy to get together. Witch’s rituals may take place under full moons, but that doesn’t mean they’re always willing to do something for others without a price. So, we have to all go together today: you, the guys, me, Evangeline, and Anastasia. Whoever we leave behind won’t be able to join us ever. Which would seriously suck and create major damage and be all my fault…”

Colton sucked in a breath, running his fingers through his hair as he shook his head. “Never mind, got a bit off track. Look, we really should get going before Morgana returns. Psych has probably already alerted her to your powers, Gracelynn. We need to move as fast as possible. Morgana’s number one plan is to kill you. That’s all she wants.”

“Morgana?” The name piqued my interest. The threat of her return had my shoulders tensed in the desire to protect Gracie against her. “Donna, right? Why does she want Gracie dead?”

“Because—” he drew in a breath, closing his eyes for a moment before exhaling slowly. “Because if Gracelynn takes her throne back, it will throw out the evil. Or at least, that’s what I was told. It will ultimately be the downfall of Morgana. She reigns next to Octavian. Her powers are what keeps the kingdom under control. Morgana is a Sorceress and one of the most powerful ones there is. That’s why she hates you, Gracelynn. Because your powers rival hers, the neutral source to cancel hers out.”

Now it was my turn to scoff and roll my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose to keep as calm as possible. There was no way I was going to keep letting this crap go on. “Who can we call for you, Colton? Are you off your meds or something?”

He threw a sharp glare at me, jaw ticking from clenched teeth, eyes gleaming. His irises shimmered red, the corners of his lips curved upwards, fangs protruding. Just like earlier, but what was different now was that he launched at me, mouth snapping at my face.

Gracie

Colton fussed. Devon glowered. I sat at the kitchen table, bored out of my mind while we waited for the rest to show up. With my phone entirely destroyed, I had nothing to do to pass the time. Colton lounged on the couch, and with Devon’s grumpiness, mostly directed at the man with fangs, I wasn’t about to dare a mind-numbing show. And besides, Devon was on a kick of not letting me touch him or even be touched. So duh, of course, I was a little mopey over that fact alone.

Ten months. I haven’t had sex in ten fucking months, and he teased me. The damn bastard. Fucking used me, and I know it. I just have to somehow prove it.

My foot tapped erratically, and I squirmed, my bottom going numb from the hard back chair I hadn’t moved from in what seemed like hours. For all I knew, it could’ve been days at this point. I still didn’t know how people could live without phones or the internet, although my parents never had an issue with reminding me about their days roaming the streets because, in their day, screens didn’t exist to distract them.

When the door opened, Colton abruptly sat up. After his second display of fangs galore, he had yet to put them away. Maybe it was just a dominance thing or a way to make sure we didn’t forget what he was and the fact we couldn’t fight against him. Whatever he wanted in that deranged mind of his, he was about to get. Vampires were supposed to be cruel blood suckers that swooped down on you in the dead of night. Though, sparkling vampires and hybrids didn’t exactly give that impression. Neither did Colton.

Colton was a sexy kind of vampire, much more so than Edward Cullen too. What was worse was the fact that part of me wanted to jump his bones. That was bad, though, because I knew Devon and Owen wouldn’t exactly be thrilled about me doing that. I didn’t need to ask to know that they just didn’t like him. Colton had already given the impression that he meant to harm, and my guys could never allow any of that to happen. It was a strange feeling, almost as if I were playing tug-of-war, but inside of me. Colton was intriguing, and I reacted like he was a magnet that I was attracted to. I knew it was wrong to snap towards him, but I could stop the pull either. He was dangerous, and I had to stay away from him. Devon and Owen were my safety net if something were to go wrong, if I did fall, but that didn’t mean I needed to push it.

Still, it was all a little more than complicated, that was for damn sure.

“Who is he?” Colton hissed, the appearance of my nephew stepping over the threshold making him tense. “It was only supposed to be you two.”

“He’s my nephew,” I cut in before Landon could do it and wind his own mouth into trouble. Pushing my chair back, I stood. “And Marcy’s boyfriend.”

Marcy’s cheeks flushed red at my announcement, but their hands clasped together already gave that bit of information away. It was still cute how even mentioning their relationship made her bashful.

“No, no, no, that wasn’t – you have to leave,” Colton snarled, jabbing a finger towards Landon. “You aren’t part of the plan. You have to leave.”

Just like that, I felt my world plunge into icy depths. As if a bucket of water had suddenly been dumped over me or I’d fallen through broken ice on a frozen lake, my body was submerged. I gasped, gurgling for a breath of air as my mind fogged over, a survival mechanism meant to keep me as alert as possible and not panicking. Panicking would only have me drowning at a much faster pace.

I felt my knees hit the ground, my fingers grappling at my chest to try and open it to allow more oxygen, but there just was no way to do it. A pair of hands cupped my cheeks, words so muffled they were indistinguishable, and vaguely reminded me of the parents of Charlie Brown when they spoke – a trombone noise that I wasn’t meant to understand. My entire body numbed, and the hands that had been holding me all but vanished.

Colton

Putting aside the fact that Evangeline had a love interest, which she wasn’t supposed to but would just have to be dealt with later, at Gracelynn’s fall, I snatched up my bag. The silver of her magic was swirling around her body, winding around her like ribbon on a Christmas tree. I knew the signs well enough. I’d been warned, trained, and told so many stories, but I’d never actually seen it happen in person.

Yanking open my bag, I reached in and curled my fingers around the small glass ball within. As I pulled it out for the millionth time, I paused to admire it. Every time I held it in my hand, I couldn’t help but stare at it in wonder. An array of colors swirled inside the glass sphere, each one fitting together inside the small space. I used to spend nights mesmerized by it, twirling it in my palm. I had always been careful, though. One little slip that would send it falling from my fingers and smashing against the ground would mean the end of everything. The assortment of colors had always captured my attention. I’d watch them for so long, letting the dreams of returning home take me away to another life that, without it, hurt to even think about. Until now, that was. Now, it was possible. Now, it was at the tips of my fingers, and all I had to do was make it happen.

Because back home, I didn’t have to hide who I was. Back home, I would have them with me.

Drawing my eyes away from the sphere and back to the chaos at hand, my eyes scoured the group. Before the new guy had even had a chance to speak, Gracelynn’s fall had distracted him and the rest of us. I didn’t want him coming along, but at this point, there was no other option. It was either he did, or I most likely would end up losing Evangeline and maybe even Gracelynn, who knew who else. I wasn’t about to risk it at all. Time was beginning to dwindle; I had to act fast. If I could ever get another sphere, he would get home, but until then, my only problem to solve was getting the others home.

“Wait, where’s Fab – I mean – Owen?” I questioned, looking wildly around as bitterness coated my tongue.

I’d almost forgotten he wasn’t even here.

Seriously though, it was going to take an eternity to get used to calling them by their new names. Even while gone, I had always referred to them as I had known them. What was worse, though, was the fact I didn’t even have an eternity. Three years at the most to get Gracelynn to take her crown and end the curse over Astead or lose the three of them all over again. Three years wasn’t enough time.

Playing hide and seek with their souls wasn’t exactly a fun way to pass the days.

“On the job. It’ll be a few hours before he can even come home. In the meantime, you can explain what the hell is wrong with Gracie.” Devon, such an odd name for him, demanded as he turned to glare at me, pointing directly at our fallen woman.

His fallen woman. She was mine in memory and heart, but not for her. Not right now, in this timeframe. Not yet, but hopefully soon.

My gums throbbed, reminding me that I hadn’t feasted in nearly four days. I could go up to seven if I really needed to, but it didn’t come without a set of complications. Just like now, when the group of five before me had beating hearts and rivers of blood flowing through them. Gracelynn and Salvator, Devon, were the strongest scents, and it made my stomach hurt with desire. I’d tasted each of their blood before, but I had always known better than to get addicted. Still, it didn’t mean I didn’t miss their red washing down my tongue and into my stomach. Oh, how I missed each of their tastes. Especially Salvator’s. I’d been close to changing him, to have him stay with me forever. But it would’ve been a selfish thing for me to do. Salvator had fallen in love with Gracelynn long before they had known I’d even existed, and while the four of us were bonded together and always had been, it was an unspoken agreement that Gracelynn was the centerpiece. So, taking Salvator from her would’ve been a crime. He would’ve been miserable, and I had always known I could never put him through that kind of pain.

I wish I hadn’t been put through that.

It had been a gift to live when I’d been on my death bed, ready to welcome the kiss that would take my life. But a curse when I’d lost the only people I could absolutely love and was forced to relive the memory of Gracelynn dying in my arms, which was forever burned in my mind. Immortality had its perks, but most of the time, it plain sucked.

“Who are you anyway?” The new boy was speaking this time.

He wasn’t even cute. Good thing he isn’t bonded with us. He was muscular, had trimmed hair, and was about my height, maybe a slim of an inch taller, but not really that much of a difference. And he definitely wasn’t straying from Evangeline. It was a sweet sight for sure, but the way she looked at him rubbed me raw. It was seriously going to bite when she found out the truth about who she was, and I could only imagine what his reaction was going to be at learning it. Evangeline was a married woman in another life, her husband desperately awaiting her return, having held out for so long with such high hopes. The entire time, he had been convinced she was alive, unrelenting in it.

Because despite the fact it had been a loveless marriage, arranged from the start, he was a kind man who was loyal and devoted to her. This was for sure going to break his heart. Maybe even make him mean, though I couldn’t see that happening. For all I knew, he wouldn’t be upset and would welcome it, just to see his wife happy. It wasn’t her fault she didn’t know of his existence. Her soul was locked up after all.

At least they were finally going home. That was all that mattered, didn’t it?

My eyes shifted to Anastasia. Always just a pretty face, but never one to ascend the throne. She was always just going to be a Princess biologically, but never a Queen by marriage. The product of an affair, Anastasia wasn’t meant to further her title. Gracelynn had told me long ago that Anastasia hated knowing she was being left behind. But my sweet girl, with a heart of gold, had promised to figure out a way to fix it so the three of them could be Queens together.

A promise that had been forced to be broken.

I feared the truth escaping the confinements of the cage that it was locked within. It was screaming to get out, and I wasn’t looking forward to that at all.

For now, however, I had to keep it restrained. I couldn’t tell any of them everything, no matter how badly I wanted to. No matter how desperate I was to protect the three that held my heart from a secret that had yet to be found out, to warn them of what was to come, before they stepped even one foot into our realm. But I had been warned before entering this realm that I wasn’t allowed to do that. They had to find out on their own, and I was going to just have to sit back and watch as they did. I had to deal with that truth and whatever consequences would come in doing so.

To say that wouldn’t hurt was a downright lie. If I could die, finding myself having to watch them crumble would end up killing me. But rules were rules, and I had to follow them.

I stepped forward, edging towards the girl who held my heart and crouched in front of her, holding out the Sphere. Salvator twisted, ready to force me up and away from her, but stopped when Gracelynn held up a hand. Her eyes had turned silver in my absence and now shimmered up at me. I’d been warned that at the return of their magic, each girl’s eye would change to exhibit her own rise back. And while I had adored the brown of her eyes, seeing the silver irises was a relief.

Red is evil, Mr. Modrell. Never trust the color red.

She reached out, the tips of her fingers brushing over the Sphere. The colors lit up at her touch, hitting in every direction inside the glass ball. It had only ever kept stationary for me. Yanking her hand back, the colors went idle, and Gracelynn wrenched back as she scrambled to her feet. Before she could move or leave the room, the door was flung open once more and Fabien, clad in a blue uniform, strode in.

Once a great Commander, he still held an air of importance. The Royal Guard hadn’t been the same without him. If anything, it was broken into pieces in the uncertainty over what to do about its misguided ways of fighting for its kingdom. Fabien had never been one to bat an eye in either mine or Salvator’s direction. He was one-hundred percent Gracelynn’s. He always had been, and there was no changing that, but he’d also always been caring about the fact that she loved us too.

Now, when he spotted her frazzled stated and rushed towards her, I didn’t even bat an eye in surprise. His heart was all hers, even if he was willing to share her, and that man would do anything to make sure she was safe and happy.

My eyes flickered to the door, watching as Anastasia closed it and then pushed out my arm, opening my fingers wide. The Sphere rolled to the tips of my fingers, paused for a quick moment, and fell.

Glass shattered. The floor tilted. And colors rained down over us. It was now or never.

Gracie

Everything stretched and quite literally, too. My limbs, my bones, even my brain. At least, I was fairly sure my brain was stretching. Everything was expanding and making me feel lightheaded. Paper-thin, I could feel my limbs pulling out, wanting to twist around like a rope. Colors flashed before my eyes, just like those in that crystal ball Colton had held before dropping. I could still feel the electricity tingling in the tips of my fingers. Even now, it was still there. Glass shattering still echoed in my mind, dancing in pitter-patters.

Owen. Devon. Where were they? I couldn’t feel them. If they were speaking, I couldn’t hear them. And there were too many damn colors swirling around me to see them. When I tried to scream. I couldn’t feel my mouth opening, nor was I even sure I was screaming at all. Limbo. That’s what this felt like anyway. I was in some freaking ass… limbo.

Am I dead? No, please no. I didn’t want to be dead. My life had finally gotten back on track. I’d gotten sober because I was sick and tired of the bullshit, and my family didn’t deserve the path I was headed down. I was trapped, and it wasn’t in a good way. It hadn’t been easy; it’d been the worst thing in the world to conquer. It must’ve been worse for everyone to watch me head down that road. I had to wonder if it were just as bad as watching my eldest sister go through her anorexic phase or my other one slip into alcoholism because of the loss of her baby, though I was quite sure that would screw anyone up mentally.

I also wanted to do something with my life. With the way I had been headed, I was going straight to being found face down in a ditch. Maybe now I could do something good with my life, like a career, marriage, and kids. I could actually settle down, as long as I kept sober, that was. I wasn’t too young for any of that. Every day I wasted, if anything, was a day closer to being too old for any of that.

But whatever the hell was happening now, obviously didn’t care about anything I wanted in life.

I didn’t want to be dead. I hadn’t worked so hard to just die by some colorful glass ball that fit in the palm of one’s hand. I didn’t want to die—anything but that.

When I felt my body snap back into place, the ground rose to meet my back with a crash. Barely a moment had passed after I’d regained my breath before it was snatched out of me yet again. Yellow dots flashed in front of my eyes but weren’t enough to hide the inky black clouds above. Still, only silence greeted me with a kiss.

Owen. Devon. My lips wouldn’t part to call out to them. To let them know I was safe. So I could know that they were safe. No sound would or even could escape. The air was thick, even as I regained oxygen back into my lungs. Smoke-like, it tore at my insides, burning as if smoking coals had been dumped inside of me. I knew that when I would die, I’d be going straight to hell. I was a sinner, in every mean possible, and had known it for an exceptionally long time. But I didn’t think this was hell, and that meant I wasn’t dead. I was sure of it, anyway. Being alone, however, made me second guess it all.

Maybe this was my hell. Maybe those who went to hell had their own personal hell created for them as well. So that meant this was mine. Alone, never to see my beloved guys or my family again. To live an eternity entirely alone.

“Gracie?” His voice sounded so far away, as if calling to me from across a room. “Gracie, come on, don’t leave me. Gracie, come on!”

The pounding on a door thrummed through my body, but the smoldering inside of me simmered, keeping me rooted to the ground. Another pounding, and I heaved in a breath of air before letting it out in a wracking cough. My eyes fluttered open as I wrenched to a sitting position, and the world around me tilted. The sky around still clung with blackness, no twinkling stars or shining moon, but I could breathe. Nothing was constricting my airway this time.

“Devon,” I breathed, pulling slightly back and shook my head, stopping as quickly as I could with how heavy my head felt. “Where—”

“Here,” he grunted, his voice thick through the fog in my head. “What the hell happened?” He questioned, and a wisp of air rustled my hair as he lowered next to me. “Are you alright, Gracie?”

“No, she almost fucking died. Where’s that asshole. What’s his name, Craig? I’m going to fucking kill him!” Owen spat, letting out a huff of air as he released his hold on me and rose to his feet. “I’ll fucking him, I swear. Where the hell are we?”

“We’re in Astead, well on the outskirts anyway. Feel free to try and kill me, Fabien, seriously.” Colton’s annoyance was thick as he stepped into view.

Shining marble in the dark, a scowl turned his lips downwards. His eyes flickered away from us before his body turned. There was something sad about the way he moved, his head slightly hung. There was no doubt he felt the rejection and that one little thought that prickled inside my brain swept through my insides, telling me that this wasn’t right. I couldn’t understand it, I couldn’t even begin to understand why, but I didn’t want him to be rejected.

“We’ll go to the witch’s house first; they’ll know what to do. They always do,” Colton continued, the sadness leaving his words as if it hadn’t even existed in the first place.

“Witches?” Devon scoffed. “You can’t be serious. There’s no such thing. What the hell kind of mind games are you trying to play here?”

Colton spun sharply on his heel, advancing towards us, a snarl curling on his lips into a twist. Owen’s fingers gripped my wrist, tugging me back and out of the way of any danger to come. My feet staggered obediently, but I pulled my arm out of his grip to step forward and towards Colton. He skidded to a stop, lips parted to show off his fangs once again, but his eyes were on me. Letting out a heavy breath, I watched as his chest rose and fell heavily. A flicker of electricity zapped through my mind, a fuzzy image playing behind my eyelids. Pain flashed through my brain, slamming into my forehead, and spread; a migraine beginning.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I let out a huff of a breath through my nostrils. If I let the headache, migraine – whatever – cripple me now, there was no telling what any of the guys would do.

“You’re needed, all of you. This is our home. I know nothing makes sense right now, but it will. It will, I promise.” He said in a husky voice, a lisp slightly escaping with his fangs produced. “I’m sick and tired of being second-guessed here. This is home, our home, and I will not be second-guessed or questioned or anything else.”

I looked over my shoulder, my gaze flicking between both Devon and Owen, their eyes on me but tensed in the event they needed to attack. My heart flipped, threatening to plummet. I absolutely adored how protective they were of me, but I knew – I wasn’t exactly sure how I knew, but I did – that they couldn’t attack Colton. It didn’t matter that he had barged into our lived and disrupted everything we knew. They still couldn’t harm him.

Turning back to face the vampire, I sidestepped, grimacing from the movement, and took a place in front of them. If either of the three were to attack for any reason, they would have to go through me first. I knew that neither Devon nor Owen would dare try if it meant possibly hurting me, and though I barely knew Colton, I had an inkling Colton felt the same. By putting myself in the middle, neither of them was going to jump forward at any of them.

“I gave up our home to find you three because I knew I could. Because I knew your souls were still alive. Because I’ve never stopped loving any of you at all. And you guys are just going to—” he let out a slow breath, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “This is ridiculous. I shouldn’t have to be explaining myself.”

“You’re right,” I agreed, holding out a hand. “You shouldn’t have to keep explaining yourself. We’ll listen to you, okay? We will.”

Colton’s gaze flickered to my extended hand before rising back to meet mine, hesitance sparkling over his face. He didn’t move, though, and I saw his jaw tick as he glared at me. This time, I let myself be pulled back and shoved behind Devon and Owen. I suddenly had no desire to be attacked by some deranged man convinced he was a vampire.

“We should get to the witches before it gets any later,” he finally spoke, his tone sending chills down my spine. “They probably already found Evangeline and Anastasia and that boy. So, we should go too.”

The pain in my head flared once again, but unlike before, this time I couldn’t hide it. My knees locked and sent me crashing into Owen, his body shielding me just to be on the safe side if anything were to happen. He jolted forward at the sudden impact, twisting on his heel to grab at me before I could faceplant. Colors sprayed in front of my eyes just like before, and I violently shook my head, trying to clear my vision, but I didn’t have much luck in doing so. The pain seared, needles pricking the inside of my mind.

Voices whispered in my ears, the words indistinguishable, and not a single of belonging to any of the guys. I slammed my hands over my ears, trying to block the sound, but doing so only seemed to make it worse. In doing so, it isolated the whispering, so only I was able to hear it. As quickly as it started, it stopped. Silence in place of the whispering was bittersweet. My breathing was labored and rattled in my chest.

“We should take her home—”

“We will after we see the witches.” Colton cut him off swiftly. “The witches will get us into the village. Then we go from there.”

He was so adamant about getting to these witches, I almost felt sorry for him. But like Owen had said, we should’ve turned back and gone home. Though, I had that strange feeling yet again that Colton’s definition of home was not our definition of it at all. I kept my mouth closed. Mostly because I could still barely breathe, but also because I had no desire to get into any sort of argument. Colton was already on edge, and I didn’t want to be the reason he was pushed over the edge.

Turning my head, I looked at the guys again. Devon had already drawn forward, stalking towards Colton once sure that I was fine. I felt the distance between us now because even as he drew up to the insane man, he passed him by and kept going. Drifting away, I felt how far away he was growing from me. It wasn’t right, something was wrong, and the ball that curled in my stomach told me so. It wasn’t just the fact he was getting out of my sight that was the issue. It was the fact that I knew something was wrong with him.

Fingers slid into my palm, curled around it, and I squeezed Owen’s hand, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. If I did, I knew I would end up breaking, and I just didn’t want to do that. I couldn’t do that. Not again. I wasn’t going to.

Colton

My hands shook. Well, trembled if I was honest about it. If my heart had been alive, it probably would’ve been in erratic thrumming within. There were times that I swore I could still feel its phantom beating, just like at this moment. It made it way too easy to pretend that it was thumping a million miles an hour inside of me. I felt more on edge than I had ever done before. I needed blood, I need to feed, and I needed to do it soon. The lack of sustenance was starting to make my head hurt and make me feel lightheaded.

I could only hope that the witches would have something for me. They’d always been so good about that, always welcoming me with open arms. They were my home away from home. And I really did want to reunite with them. Gracelynn and the guys were my family by bond and love, a true form of it. But the witches were my family because they’d taken care of me when I’d lost everything. They had never denied me despite the fact I had fangs and no magic.

Gracelynn and the guys were at odds with me. That much was obvious at this point. Because even while Gracelynn seemed more than willing to start accepting me, the guys wanted to fight me. Maybe it was the fact that she was more in tune with the bond than she was giving herself credit for, but it was a relief to at least know one of them was leaning in my direction. Whereas when we first met, it was the complete opposite. They’d been so warm to me, so willing to just accept me, every single one of them—especially Gracelynn, who then had insisted on taking me home. At the time, I had simply assumed it was an act of pity, like I was just a homeless puppy to them that they wanted to groom and find a new home for later on. But as time had gone by, it became clear I was far more than just a lost dog with my tail stuck between my legs to them. Feelings flared, and over time, they each embraced me in their own way.

That’s what made this situation worse than it probably could’ve been. Because back then, they’d accepted me right away. While Gracelynn was teetering towards that, there was still hesitance in every move and word. And the guys were just downright in denial mode, refusing to accept me and, therefore, keeping Gracelynn from doing so. They were stubborn, something I had always loved about them before, but it hurt so much now to have it used against me. I knew that it was just going to take time to get back in their good graces, but I still couldn’t help but wish it wouldn’t take a hell of a lot of time.

“One more step and you will be vaporized,” a slightly familiar voice rang out.

I skidded to a stop, my eyes darting through the darkness in search of the voice. The name to whom it belonged lay on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn’t figure it out.

“Colton?” she gasped, surprise leaking in her voice. “Is that you?”

The owner of the voice stepped forward, drawing into shape in front of me. The puff of pink hair whisked her face, but it was the avid yellow eyes shining at me that caught my attention. There was only one witch I knew who had yellow eyes, and the name was finally at the front of my tongue.

“Dora?” I exclaimed, astonished to see her. “You – you—”

“Mama?” a small voice chirped before the rustle of a dress drew a little girl forward. “There you are,” she said happily, her eyes snapping to me before turning to bury her face into her mother’s shirt.

“You’re a mama,” I breathed, but my eyes never left the little girl. “That is – that’s just – wow.” I stammered, the words curling around my tongue into twists.

Dora gave a soft smile, but I didn’t miss the way she clenched her daughter to her side, seeming nervous or paranoid or maybe just a little protective. I couldn’t tell the difference, but I knew I didn’t remember Dora ever being on edge before. She had always been the fun witch, always ready to break the rules.

“I am. This is Iris. Sweetheart, it’s okay, you can say hi.”

The little girl’s hair was raven black, the same as her mother’s natural color. Her eyes, however, didn’t even resemble the woman who had given her life. Instead, they were a bright hazel, more honey-colored than anything. And they looked so familiar at that, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen them before. Those hazel eyes widened, and the whisper of my beloved’s footsteps approached with caution behind me.

“The one who fights evil has,” Iris spoke, her voice and eyes clouded over. “The darkness is thickening—”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Dora cut in, shaking Iris slightly to stop her. “Your friends arrived a little while ago and went with Mai to get settled.” Her eyes flickered over my shoulder. “Good evening, Your Majesty. We have been awaiting your return. We are all pleased that you Princesses and the Queen have arrived safely.” She gave a slight smile that seemed just slightly strained – or I was just seeing things – and scooped Iris into her arms before turning around to lead us without another word.

Something was off about the witch, something that rubbed me the wrong way. The awkward, slightly paranoid Dora was not the danger-seeking Dora always with a smile I had once known before. Maybe it had something to do with having a kid. I’d always heard that kids tended to change a person.

“Colton, when are we going home?” Gracelynn asked, trying to press the repeated question, her voice low as we followed the mother and daughter duo.

Clenching my teeth, I huffed out a breath of air through my nostrils. Breathing wasn’t exactly essential, but old habits to show anger didn’t die easily. Home. Exactly how long was the barrier to their memories going to last? I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to accept everything even after they remembered, but it was already getting old that she kept asking. My patience was beginning to wear thin.

I need to feed. I need blood.

I was just cranky, that’s all. Once I was able to feed, I wouldn’t be so damn moody.

I proceeded to ignore her, my eyes on the tuft of pink bouncing in front of us. There were no trees in this area, and the field felt as though it were expanding for miles on end. Had the witches moved? I didn’t remember this field either. What the hell was going here?

“Dora,” I spoke loudly but halted when she drew to an abrupt stop at my voice. “Maybe we should—”

“Lenora will be thrilled to see you again. She’s also been excited to see the Princess again. The entire Coven has been in a buzz since you sent confirmation about finally locating them.”

She sounded…bitter. As if relaying a message had to be pushed off her tongue, the words an effort to speak. Lenora. The woman was the mother figure I had wanted in my life for so long. To say I was eager to see her again was an understatement.

Gracie

My head spun, throbbing from the aftermath of the earlier migraine, which I still didn’t understand. I didn’t really understand anything going on. Wherever the hell we were made, it no sense at all. Darkness, vast emptiness, and a pink-haired mother who obviously rattled the insane vampire man, it all seemed impossible.

Devon was just a few feet from us, his eyes on Colton’s back to ensure he kept following the same path. Owen walked between us; my hand slid through his arm so I wouldn’t end up losing him as well. Then again, I doubted Owen was going anywhere even if I wasn’t holding him hostage. I didn’t know what was going with Devon, but I wasn’t angry at his distance. Frustrated, for sure, but not angry. We were falling into this rocky relationship, topped with whatever the hell was going on, and he was acting like my touch was his kryptonite. It was unnerving to see him act this way. Even after I’d rejected his proposal, he hadn’t been like this.

The squeezing of Owen’s hand in reassurance turned my eyes back to him. He gave me a small smile, one that just looked so tired, and my gaze dropped to his belt. His gun still dangled in its holster, his uniform tight against his body. It wasn’t sleepiness that was riddled in his eyes. No. It was – it was sadness.

“You were on your break, weren’t you?” I asked, and though I figured Colton could hear no matter what, I still lowered my voice.

He nodded and, this time, pulled his eyes away from mine. My heart sank. Not returning meant automatic dismissal, and I knew how much Owen loved his job, his career. Ever since we were nine and he’d met my dad, he’d been obsessed with becoming a police officer – no matter what it took. He’d worked so hard and was always excited for a day on the job. If we got to return, it would be on his record, and that would force him to work fast food if he was lucky. Everything he’d worked for would be ripped away from him, and he wouldn’t even be able to give his side of the story.

Fire boiled in the pits of my stomach. I felt sick. This vampire… this man… whatever he was, was taking everything from us. I could handle the fall; I’d been at rock bottom plenty of times before. But my guys? Neither Devon nor Owen had ever been pushed off the edge before, and while they understood death, their lives had never veered this far from their chosen paths. They’d always headed forward and never looked back. That was the main thing I loved about them. They’d always had their dreams to follow and made them happen. But now? Now they were gone, and that just wasn’t fair to either one of them.

“When can we go home?” I pressed, raising my voice to ensure he truly heard me this time.

Again, he ignored me. For someone who claimed the four of us were bonded, the man sure as hell didn’t bother showing even an ounce of empathy towards us. Just because we were “supposedly handed it” didn’t mean we had to be together. An icy fear replaced the fire, dousing it quickly at the realization that I could lose both Owen and Devon all over again. And perhaps, even for the final time.

Doing the only thing I could think of, I pulled my arm out of Owen’s and crossed them over my chest, planting my feet to the ground. After what seemed like= an eternity but couldn’t have been more than moments passing, Owen drew to a stop and turned to face me, the first to notice my absence.

“What’re you doing, Gracie?”

It was odd. Being able to see in the darkness was not exactly something I’d been able to do before. But besides the lack of light and moon or sun, my vision seemed to be no issue. Maybe Colton had spoken the truth. Maybe there were Witches about who cast some sort of spell for us to see in the inky blackness of night.

“I’m staying right here,” I explained defiantly, jutting my chin out. “I don’t wanna go anywhere.”

I blinked and scrambled backward when Colton loomed over me, nostrils flaring as he glared at me. His speed was going to take an extremely long time to get used to.

“We need to go,” he growled.

His skin gleamed against the darkness, the brightest object around, and I had to fight the urge to draw closer to him. I didn’t know what was wrong with me or why I was so desperate to allow him to hold me, but it was a struggle to keep away from him. “No.”

“And why not?” The perfect sculpture raised an eyebrow in question.

This had to be some screwed-up dream I was having. It just had to be. “I want answers,” I clenched my fists at my sides when he scoffed, rolling his eyes heavily. “And I want them now, or I don’t move.”

Colton

Stubborn and strong-willed, that was Gracelynn, Princess of Astead. Those two attitudes of hers were part of the reason I had fallen in love with her a long ago and part of the reason I now wanted to just scoop her into my arms and hold her, to kiss all over her face and let my soul flutter away with her giggling.

“What answers could you possibly want right now, Gracelynn? We really need to get going.”

“I want to know where we are—”

“Astead, our kingdom. Well, the outside of it, that is. I already told you that.” I cut her off, the rest of my patience beginning to fizzle. “Is that enough?”

“I want to go home. Owen has a job he can get in trouble for if he doesn’t—”

“This,” I interjected, waving my arm around in no designated direction, “is your home. There is no going back to the human world.”

She tried to speak, but the words didn’t seem to want to escape as her mouth open and closed, flapping like a fish out of water. I stepped towards her, my eyes darting to Fabien as he moved forward automatically, his defense tensing his body and eyes right on me, daring me to keep going. I ignored him, for I knew I was faster than he was, both with and without his powers in play. I was also far stronger than he was, I could do what I wanted, and there was not a damn thing he could do to stop me. Even his pathetic little bullets in the gun that hung at his side wouldn’t harm me. I smirked at him, leering slightly but staying back enough to show him that I was only being playful. His glare told me he didn’t think that, though.

I drew in a breath of air, taking in his sweet scent, stomach gurgling. I knew better, though. I had made a promise to myself on the day I had woken with a thirst and desire for blood that I would never hurt the people I loved the most. At least, I wouldn’t on purpose.

“We have families,” she spoke again, her voice cracking this time. “You took us from our families, and now you tell us we can’t even go back? You literally kidnapped us!”

“You would’ve turned him down if he’d asked, Your Majesty. He couldn’t take that risk. So, he brought you here, home. As much as it can be at this point, that is. Once you remember, you’ll understand. But we need to go now. Before you put my daughter in harm’s way. I don’t care if you are the fucking Princess. I will kill you if you get my baby hurt at all.”

“Duly noted,” Gracelynn replied, narrowing her eyes at the pink-haired Witch that was behind me. “And exactly where are we going?”

I grimaced at her tone. There was something about the way she spoke. She wasn’t thrilled about how Dora spoke to her either. Not surprising, but in the wake of the moment, it was just a bit annoying. The longer we dilly-dallied in the dark open, the longer it would take for the three of them to start regaining their memories. Call me desperate, but I so wanted them to remember.

“If you don’t mind, we really ought to get going. It's way past curfew, and the grounds will be patrolled soon for stragglers. We need to get to Lenora’s.”

Curfew? There had been no set curfew before. Or if there had been, I sure as hell didn’t remember it. When had that happened? Before I could even begin to question Dora at all, she tugged my hand and turned me around to face the path we were headed down, tugging me into step with her.

“You three can stay and be torn to shreds when the hellhounds come out for all I care, but we’re going.”

Owen

I tugged Devon’s arm, urging him forward. The scowl he threw me rubbed me the wrong way. Devon was usually the cool-headed one of us two, the logical one that kept us both on our feet. I knew very well that I acted on impulse and adrenaline, but it came with the job of protecting (well, that and having grown in the foster system, but that was a different story for another time). With Gracie, I wished I could just call her the hot one of us. Because while it was true with her being a plump thing and knowing how to treat a man well, I knew better than to use that label with her. What she brought to the table was the fact she was the strong-headed one. Stubborn and willful, she always made it a point to never back down. I guess that was why people generally looked at her as the leader, even though between the three of us, that position clearly belonged to Devon. Still, without Gracie, we would simply be logs drifting aimlessly in opposite directions, trying to get back to one another but unable to do so.

So, Devon’s attitude problem was unforeseen, and it didn’t make things easier when I reached for Gracie, and she pulled away, deliberately shaking away from me. I watched as she stormed after Colton and the pink-haired lady whose name I couldn’t even remember. I wasn’t even sure it had been said at all. Maybe it had, but I obviously hadn’t paid attention. So, pushing Devon’s reluctant body forward with one hand, I clasped my gun with the other, curling my fingers around the grip. Hellhounds didn’t exactly sound like a thrill to meet. Even if I didn’t necessarily believe in that kind of crap. Still, I had no desire to let anyone get hurt. My friends and loved ones wouldn’t be harmed under my watch. No one would. That was my job, my motto, my oath. Protecting was what I lived for.

My eyes never strayed from Gracie’s back, watching her dark hair swish across her shoulder blades as she walked, a slight bounce in each step she took. She was, she always had been, my number one priority. Even when we’d been broken up, which included the current time frame, or she had been out of her mind because of drugs and alcohol, or I had been with Donna, I’d still drop everything in a heartbeat if Gracie spoke my name in need. From the moment I had set my eyes on her when we’d been nine, I’d made it a mission to keep her alive and safe. I just didn’t have any control over her decisions. Gracie was her own woman; she was capable of doing and being her own person.

“Gracie,” I started, but the spark of real lights stopped me.

A lone log cabin stood before us, swathed in a light that seemed to glow from every angle, smoking billowing from the chimney. It disappeared into the night sky but sprinkled a sweet aroma over the grounds, over us. My mouth watered, and I flicked my tongue over my lips, running it slowly over them. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve guessed it was scalloped potatoes over pork chops, my favorite. It was too good to be true. It was my mind playing tricks on me. It had to be.

“Owen,” Gracie’s face popped in front of mine, a grin splashed across her face. “Isn’t this place adorable?” she gushed and turned back around, clasping her hands together as she bounced on her heels.

I couldn’t stop the grin that spread across my face at her happiness. Nothing in the world could make me happier than seeing Gracie happy. That was the only reason I knew why it was so easy to share her with Devon because he made her smile, too, and that was all I care about.

“It is—”

“Where have you been?” a craggy voice chastised. “Pandora, do you even know what your daughter did? Ran out on me, just straight into the dark. If it weren’t for being before curfew—oh!” She gasped as she shuffled into the light. “Oh, Your Majesty, I apologize. I didn’t see you there.”

Silver hair that brushed her waist fluttered around her, but there was no breeze to play with the strands of hair. A smile cased her face, laugh lines surrounding it, and a few wrinkles creasing her forehead spoke of older age, though I guessed her number was far higher than what she looked like. I wasn’t going to even try to guess, though.

As her eyes fluttered over us, I didn’t miss the pause upon Devon and the worry that flashed in her eyes. The smile faltered and lips pursed before she dragged her gaze back towards me. No. It was Gracie she was staring at, the yellow in her eyes glinting.

“Why does everybody keep calling me that? I’m not royalty. I’m just Gracie.” Gracie scolded, stomping a foot with a huff of breath exhaling from between her lips. “Just Gracie.”

Devon shifted and stepped forward, his tense shoulders drooping as he reached for Gracie. One glimpse of his face showed exhaustion I couldn’t remember him having before. He wouldn’t look at me, though, so I couldn’t even begin to question him with an accusatory glare. His arm slid around her waist, pulling her to his side, but Gracie snatched my hand quickly to tug me to her other side. I squeezed her hand gently, trying to assure her that everything was going to be alright.

“You should all come inside,” the silver-haired woman explained, stepping aside to allow us access into the little home. “Hurry now, before curfew hits.”

My stomach rumbled as Gracie drew forward and pulled me behind her. The scent of scalloped potatoes and pork chops curled around me like a blanket. Didn’t I just eat? Wait, no, I hadn’t. I hadn’t even had breakfast from rushing out the door. It hadn’t helped that this whole ordeal had taken place the moment I’d walked through the door for lunch. I need food. I couldn’t be too hopeful though, I knew better. I had to keep reminding myself that this might have been just a trick of my mind, just like being able to see in this freak-ass darkness.

Another glance behind us showed a vast blackness that billowed out. Nothing but inky darkness. Where were the stars? The moon? Not even a single light flickered besides this lonely little log cabin, which only went so far out. Where the hell were we?

“I have stew brewing and lemonade in the refrigerator,” the woman explained as we filed in. “Pandora, you need to get that child to bed.”

“But I wanna stay with the Princess,” the girl blurted, pouting as she wriggled in her mother’s arms. “I wanna tell my friends tomorrow about how I got to meet the Long-Lost Princess first! Before anybody else!” Her hazel eyes peeped over her mother’s shoulders, staring avidly at Gracie. “Jazmyne always said that you were dead forever, and there’s no way you’d come back. But you did! You’re here! With me!”

“Iris,” but even the scolding from her mother couldn’t take away the beam of happiness radiating from the little girl.

My heart fluttered, easily imagining those shimmering hazel eyes as brown, staring up at Gracie enthusiastically. I couldn’t stop myself from imagining her with a daughter who was proud of her. I shook my head, pushing aside the thoughts, and inwardly scolded myself for thinking of such things at a time like this.

“It’s alright,” Gracie said gently, her sweetness making my heart soar higher than before and twist in a way I couldn’t explain. “I don’t mind. She’s really sweet.”

I didn’t miss the scathing glare that the pink-haired woman shot my girl. I fidgeted, trying to not step in front of her protectively.

“The Princess will still be here in the morning, Iris. Now, bed, go one,” the silver-haired woman said quickly, shooting a look at the younger one before she turned to face us. “Your friends were taken to Maggie’s for the night and will also be here in the morning. Now come, eat, and then off to bed. You’ll all go. You have an exceptionally long day tomorrow, and I expect tons of questions as well.” She chuckled lightly and threw me a wink.

Or a wink to all of us, but her eyes watching me made it seem like she intended it for me. I cleared my throat and tugged Gracie tightly to my side to lead her in, walking behind the older woman.

Gracie

Silver eyes gleamed at me—my eyes. I reached out, wanting to touch the person with my eyes, to feel them the way I felt myself, Owen, Devon, or even just a family member or friend. I had to make sure they were real, and I wasn’t just imagining things and going out of my mind. That would be no surprise, honestly. Instead of touching them, however, my fingers pressed against the smooth surface of the glass and stopped me in my tracks. Like a camera, my focus zoomed out. The girl stood across me, her hand held out as well, our fingertips touching.

I snatched my hand back, and so did she. Together, we leaned towards one another. I wanted to get to know her, even though I knew that was silly. Because even though she looked like me, I knew she was nothing like me. I had a suspicion though that she also didn’t hold my name. Still, she was me.

The girl who stood across from me pouted her lips and opened her mouth. Instead of words, however, cockroaches spewed from her mouth, dropping to the ground in front of me. Her skin cracked as if the mirror itself was fracturing. Black blood seeped through the cracks, streaming down her face.

The corner of the mirror splintered, and a piece fell to the ground, clattering at my feet. She shrieked, and with hands peeling from bone, she reached for me. I wasn’t ready.

I shot up, gasping for breath as my hands flew to my throat. It burned, was raw as if I’d been screaming nonstop for hours on end. The plop of an arm turned my eyes to the man who had lain it over me to protect me even in his slumber. His fingers grappled at the sheets for a moment, trying to find me, but quickly relaxed into slumber. Owen lay on his stomach, face towards me, but his low snore through parted lips told me that I hadn’t made any sounds to disturb him. Devon lay on my side, also oblivious to the nightmarish dream that had plagued my sleep. Devon’s back was to me, though, as he laid on his side. He, too, snored a low rumble that drifted through the room. The two of them snoring had lulled me to sleep quickly when we had taken our places in the bed. Though, a full belly and a long day of who knew what ahead had probably helped in that department.

Exactly how long had I been asleep? There were no clocks in the room, and with my phone left behind, albeit busted to a pulp, the need to know was like an itch I couldn’t reach. I was desperate to find out the time, how long I had been asleep, and if it was night or day at all.

It came in spurts. Every now and then, I would find myself snatching for the need to know the time. One stay for nearly two weeks in juvenile hall had left that impression burned into me like a brand. It wasn’t as bad as it had once before been, but it was still there, the desire to know gnawing in the back of my mind.

Pulling myself up, I crawled over the guys despite them trying to keep me pinned in between them and shuffled to the edge of the bed before dropping to the floor. As my feet hit the ground, cold shot up like a bolt of electricity and flicked out a gasp of breath that I quickly sucked back in. Glancing over my shoulder, I made sure that two bare-chested men didn’t even stir. I rose to a standing point and crept across the wooden floorboards. The door lay open just a smidge, and a light on the outside slithered through. Luckily enough, it was too far from the bed to disturb anyone at all. I didn’t need them trying to stop me.

Pushing it open just slightly more, I slipped through the door and stepped into the lit hallway. Maybe the light was for the child, a nightlight to keep the monsters away. Or maybe it was something else, maybe just left on in the event someone needed a glass of water in the middle of the night. Whatever the reason, dawdling to figure it out didn’t seem like the best option at the moment. I didn’t want to be caught standing around like an idiot if I wasn’t supposed to be. If I were to be pestered with questions, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to give any proper answer at all.

The cabin looked small on the outside, perhaps a trick of the eyes. Inside, it was two stories high – one staircase leading to the floor with the bedrooms. My fingers slid over the smooth banister of the railing that kept us from falling to the ground below. I stepped up to it, curling my fingers around before leaning forward to peer down. The first floor was swathed in darkness, but I had yet to put the image to memory. This was unfamiliar territory for me in every sense of the word.

“Another bad dream Princess?”

I grimaced before turning to look at the man who had brought us here. My mind was still foggy with trying to take everything in, to believe what he had told us before coming here. It was too difficult, though. My reality didn’t want to let go just yet. It didn’t want to fracture and fall away into pieces as this new world would fit their bits in. Not yet.

“Please don’t call me that.”

Colton arched an eyebrow in question, the edges of his lips as he so obviously kept a smile back. Or laughter. It could’ve even been both. I couldn’t read minds. Could I? Oh, that would have been an amazing power to have. To know what everyone around me was thinking. Or maybe it would be a little too much. Maybe certain things just needed to stay hidden from others. Maybe the reason we weren’t designed to read minds was that we weren’t supposed to know what each other were thinking. Whatever it was, my mind was wandering, and I needed to stop letting it happen.

“But you are the Princess—”

“No.” I cut him off, clenching my teeth, my nails digging into my palms as my hands and curling into fists at my side. “I’m just a regular person, no Princess—”

His hand flashed forward, gripping my chin as he shoved my head back, leering over me. I let out a gasp of a breath, my heart stuttering in surprise. I was never going to get used to his speed, that was for sure.

“You have to remember,” he hissed, his voice cracking just slightly as he spoke. “You have to, Gracelynn.”

“She can only remember when she’s ready, Colton. When her heart allows her to. She went through a lot before, so it could take a while.” Lenora’s voice spoke from behind him. “She will remember when she’s ready.”

“But that’s not fair,” his voice dipped towards a whine. “I want her to remember.”

Lenora gave him a small smile as she stepped up next to Colton and into my view. Reaching forward, she pulled his arm back and freed my face from his grip. My head dropped, and I reached up. I rubbed my suddenly tender jaw, feeling the slight throbbing from where he had held me. I could only hope that it wasn’t going to bruise up. The last thing I needed was for my face to be colored with bruises, especially since Devon had actually perked up during the stew meal. If either he or Owen noticed any bruises at all, they’d both lose their shit, and I didn’t need that now that he was happy again. It was sweet how they were so protective of me, but I didn’t think losing it on a so-called vampire was the smartest idea. And I didn’t think it would go so well at that.

“What are you doing up, dear?” Lenora questioned, her yellow eyes turning to me.

My heart squeezed at the motherly look she gazed at me with. It made me ache in need for my own mother. Colton had said before we couldn’t go home. So, did that mean I would never see my family again? My throat closed at the mere thought of never seeing them again, but I quickly pushed it aside. Now wasn’t the time to turn into a bawling baby.

“I just—” I licked my lips, trying to keep them wet. “I had a weird dream, that’s all.”

Her little smile slipped away as worry creased in her eyebrows, but instead of badgering me, Lenora simply turned back to the sulking Colton.

“I would like to speak with the Princess alone, Colton. Please give us a few minutes alone.”

“But—” Colton started and staggered on his words when she threw a sharp look at him. “Alright, alright,” he grumbled and slunk away, disappearing down the staircase.

I couldn’t help but wonder if the saying about vampires having super hearing was true. If so, was he going to eavesdrop on purpose or by accident because of something he couldn’t help? I could only hope it was the latter of the two as I didn’t want to be listened in on. That kind of privacy breach was unnerving.

“It wasn’t just a bad dream,” Lenora spoke softly, obviously undisturbed by the fact that Colton was most likely listening. “Its memories trying to break free of your past life here.”

“It was a girl who—”

“I know,” she cut in briskly. “And I’m sorry that you had that dream.”

“She wasn’t me—”

“No, she wasn’t. She was somebody else.” Her interrupting me was going to get old and fast. “Yes, I expected that as well. But before you ask, I cannot tell you. That is for you to figure out.”

I let out a huff of a breath, far more than just annoyed at this point. No straight answers were given at all. Why did I even bother expecting them?

“Are you thirsty? I make a lovely Witch’s Brew. It’ll help you go right back to sleep and prevent those nasty little dreams as well.” She winked, the corners of her lips twitching, but she held back a smile.

“Brew?” I asked, my curiosity instantly piqued. “Wait, do you mean – you know – alcohol?”

She blinked. “I do, yes. What else would brew mean?”

I shook my head violently. “I can’t – I don’t –” my words were drowned out by the wail of a siren.

It was low but filled the entire cabin. I staggered, grabbing at the banister to keep from toppling over as the floor beneath me shook violently. As the siren turned to a shriek, I released my hold and covered my ears, my knees locking together in a futile attempt to keep myself from completely crashing to the ground. Every joint inside of me vibrated, and even my teeth rattled. My fingers curled into my hair, trying so hard to muffle the sound, but it only grew louder. Pounding feet thrummed across the floor, but they did nothing to deter the shaking of the ground, and my knees gave in, sending me to the floor.

It hurt so much, and I just wanted it to end. My insides pulled, the pain clawing at me but pinning me to the ground. Hands tugged at my shoulders lamely, but they did no good as they slipped away, unable to keep up with their actions as they, too, were crippled from the siren.

Silence fell, like a brick being dropped. As quickly as it had started, it was just gone.

Slowly, I withdrew my hands. I waited for another onslaught of the siren. When it didn’t start up again, I cautiously pushed myself to my feet, legs shaking like jello where I stood. The creak of hinges echoed before a breeze rattled through pulled my eyes over the railing as a hand grabbed my arm. Two billowing barks resounded before heavy paws clomped over the threshold.

Devon

The cabin was like a shield. As if I’d just stepped over an invisible barrier, the voice vanished from existence. I knew he was still there; I could feel him lurking. He was dormant but still very much there in the silence. Lying in wait for the moment that I moved away from whatever shield this was, ready to make himself known to me once again. I suddenly didn’t want to leave this sanctuary, the safety that was this new place. I didn’t want him back, whispering in my ears and telling me numerous things I couldn’t bear to listen to. Sometimes, what he said made a little too much sense to me. He spoke a truth I hadn’t realized had been boiling inside of me for so long.

That was the part that terrified me the most. I could get over my insecurities of sharing Gracie. I knew that, but everything else plagued my dreams. His voice was still gone, and for the time being, I thrived in the silence. Whatever kept his voice away now, I could only hope it never ended.

The siren came, a deep guttural sound that I, at first, took as a part of the blackness of my dreams, starting from somewhere below. At its persistence, my eyes fluttered open. Darkness greeted me like an old friend, but it was comforting, nonetheless. The siren was deeper in sound, with my eyes and ears really listening now. The bed trembled beneath me, but it was the empty spot I felt next to me that concerned me. Turning my head, I found it empty of the woman whom I’d sworn I had fallen asleep to. Instead, Owen lay on what would’ve been the other side of her. He was still zonked out, a log to the world around him.

How typical. Owen was notorious for sleeping through just about anything. Apparently, life-or-death sirens were on that list.

I turned over on my stomach and reached out, flicking his forehead. When he only grumped and wrinkled his nose, otherwise very much undisturbed, I smacked his forehead with my palm. His head jerked back, and his eyes flew open. One turn of his body and with a yelp, he tumbled to the ground. His landing went underheard over the wailing of the siren, but his hands were quick to grab hold of the sheets and pull himself up. His eyes instantly dropped to where Gracie was supposed to be lying and widened in shock as he scrambled to his feet.

His lips were moving, but the words he was trying to speak were soundless against the backdrop of the siren. I didn’t need to hear him to know what he was saying, though, or at least, to be able to guess what he was trying to tell me. I rolled off the bed and stood up, following him out.

Silence fell when we stepped over the threshold and into the hall. For a moment, there was nothing except our breath filtering from our lips. Then, two billowing barks resounded, sending relentless shivers down my spine. Those barks didn’t seem too kind or seem to belong to anything I’d ever witnessed before.

“Tigger, Pluto, down. Guard the door,” the voice was deep but raspy – as if it had smoked too many cigarettes. “Hello, Lenora. My, oh my, it has been a while, hasn’t it?” There was a brief pause. “Ah, so the rumors do not lie. You’re a sight for sore eyes, Princess.”

My blood ran cold. Enough people during the evening had referred to her as that. The entire place was insistent that she was the Princess of this new and foreign place we’d been thrown into.

Such a pretty thing…

I jerked back, startled by the whisper in my ear. It had a slight echo to it but sounded exactly like whoever had spoken with that smoke-covered voice. Owen was already walking in front of me, more concerned about Gracie than anything else, including the fact he was clad only in boxers. Despite me having pants on, I felt the same. It was an unspoken rule that she was both our first and main priority. It couldn’t be helped. Because although we had fallen in love with her at different times of our lives, there was no question that we loved her exactly the same. It had always been known as just that way. There had never been any competition about who loved her the most.

I’m not a fucking Princess. Next person to call me that is going to get whacked upside the head.

Her voice stuck out like a sore thumb. I’d know it anywhere, but it had that tinge of an echo just like the one before. It was almost as if she were speaking from somewhere else, like a room or house. It didn’t sound anywhere near me, that was for sure.

Her words, though, made the corners of my lips twitch, and I had to avert my gaze momentarily to keep myself from grinning like a damn idiot—typical Gracie.

“What do you want at this hour, Octavian?” Her voice was crystal clear, sharp in my ears, and made me grimace from just how loud she spoke.

“Now, now, Lenora. That is no way to speak to your King—”

“Prince. You are no King, Octavian. No matter what you demand the people of this kingdom call you. You are only a Prince; you hold no real authority over any of us. Especially now since the Princess is back. That is her throne, after all. Not yours.”

As Owen and I stepped up to the railing of the second floor, we peered down at the group that lingered beneath. The dogs we’d heard were nowhere in sight, and I suspected that they’d left to do their duty outside. Perhaps that was for the best. I had no desire to meet them at all. A pair of opal black eyes lifted to us when I spotted him as if their owner had suddenly sensed our presence. His lips curved downwards in displeasure, nostrils flaring. Obvious dislike twisted his face, disgust shimmering in his eyes at the pure sight of us. We were nothing more than rat turds in his eyes.

“Brought your pets with you, did you, Gracelynn?” he inquired, his voice full of silk.

I hate that name. It’s Gracie, you dumb shit. As she turned to face us, head tilting back so her eyes could look right up at us, I couldn’t help but notice the way her mouth didn’t move with the words I had heard. She was right below, though, those silver eyes gleaming up at us but making it all too apparent that the echo shouldn’t have happened.

I blinked when she pulled her eyes away from mine, ending whatever spell she had put over me, and dropped on the man once again. Seeming to ignore the snide comment about us being her pets, she turned on the man. “I know you. How do I know you?”

“Because, my dear,” he stepped forward, his robe swishing as it trailed over the ground. “The kingdom was failing, falling apart before even your first birth took place here. When you were born, you were promised as my bride, and I’ve been waiting a long time for you to fulfill that promise.”

Gracie

My heart skipped a beat at the words and sank into my stomach. An arranged married? What a stupid thing, what a ridiculous idea. I want to be married to Devon and Owen, and that’s that.

“I’m not promised to anyone—” I started, but my words faltered as he stepped forward, drawing closer to me.

His eyes reminded me of that ghostly tale of the Black-Eyed Children. I couldn’t look away, no matter how badly I wanted to. He was tall and lanky, and his face seemed to have a permanent scowl plastered over it. His face was pasty pale as if he’d suffered an illness and never fully recouped. He was nearly as thin as a pin, too, like he just didn’t eat, or if he did, it didn’t stay down. I couldn’t help but wonder how he was even still alive. It was disgusting, if anything. No wonder he had to rely on an arranged marriage.

I shouldn’t be so shallow. Though, I couldn’t help it. He wasn’t who I wanted to be with, not even in the slightest. Besides, it was only human nature to take in his flaws. As he reached out towards me with clawed fingernails and gripped my chin, I shoved my head back. Unlike Colton, though, this man was rough and didn’t seem to care a bit if he hurt me at all.

“You look prettier now than you did before, or maybe it’s just my memory playing tricks on an old fellow like me.”

My stomach curled at his lame joke, and I had to swallow back the bile that was threatening to uprise. In the corner of my eye, I saw the scuffle of others joining us. A handful of bodyguards taking their place to ensure nothing was about to happen to him. I could sense the people behind me, my men ready to attack if it came to it. The mere thought curled my stomach and wound a ball tightly in the pit, making me want to throw up harder than I had moments before. If something were to happen, they’d attack and be attacked. That was just how it was. There was nothing they wouldn’t do for me, and I hated that fact.

If they died because of me, I would never forgive myself. I didn’t want anyone dying for me.

“I know you don’t remember now,” he breathed and leaned closer into me, his wretched breath washing over my face as he spoke. “But you will. You will remember, I promise you.”

His breath was rancid and smelt like tobacco. I hated the stench of tobacco the most. That was something I had always begged to not be done around me, no smoking. Almost anything else I could handle; I just loathed the smell of cigarettes and the lingering scent it left behind inside of someone’s mouth.

“Try to fight me, and I will have them all killed. Do you understand me? Your precious toys up there don’t know their own powers yet and can be killed easily. Your vampire pet is the reason I brought my hounds with me. So, try me, Princess, and they’ll all be ripped apart. Limb by limb while you watch. I promise you that.”

I swallowed, my chest tightening at his words. When I still refused to speak, he released me with a jerk of a motion and grabbed hold of my arm, whisking me around. As my eyes landed on the group before, it wasn’t hard to miss the absence of the pink-haired witch and her daughter.

“The wedding will be a week from tomorrow. Failure of the Princess to show will result in that hybrid you so try to hides death, Lenora. No matter that you are outside the kingdom restrictions, failure to oblige will result in her death.”

His robe brushed against my calves as he released me and turned, leading his burly goons out. A brisk wind swept through at his departure, and the door slammed shut behind him.

“Colton, please go let Dora know our guests are gone.” Lenora waved her hand at him, shoulders drooped in defeat. “Boys, back to bed. I must have a word with Gracelynn. Alone, if you will.”

My eyes slid upward, catching their gazes. Hesitance was written across both their faces as a refusal to move. I nodded in assurance, giving a small smile to try to encourage them. As if that was all they needed from me, the two pulled back and disappeared to our shared bedroom.

“They love you, all three of them, and they will die for you as well,” Lenora said softly, her voice somber as she spoke. “They won’t hesitate. You know that.”

I nodded, even though it wasn’t a question I really needed to answer. It was something I knew about both Devon and Owen. And a small part of me, trying to fight its way up, had told me from the moment we’d met Colton that he was the same. None of them would ever let anything happen to me if they could help it.

“You have to marry him, though.” She choked on her words. “Octavian loves following through with his threats.”

The tears glistening in her eyes spoke the silent plea that her lips weren’t speaking. The sight of her fighting back the sobs broke my heart. Still, I had to ask. I had to get her to tell me to know who it was I had to protect. “Who’s the hybrid?”

She swallowed and dropped her hands in front of her, clutching them tightly together. “Hybrids are forbidden. You have to understand that. It's why we live all the way out here…”

“Who is it?” I pressed, my voice sounding far more confident than I felt inside, desperate for the answer but fearing it at the same time. I wasn’t for sure I really wanted to hear it.

She cleared her throat, watery eyes lifting to mine as she gave a shaky smile that faded quickly. “Iris. It's Iris.”

Owen

Sleeping was not an option. Especially with Gracie yet to rejoin us and more questions than I could count racing through my head. Though, I doubted Gracie would have any answers. Still, it didn’t hurt to ask, to voice them. Doing so would mean we could at least talk it over and come up with a plan. Right? Right, it had to be right.

Since taking our seats on the edge of the bed, neither Devon nor I had spoken a single word. What were we supposed to say anyway? I couldn’t think of anything to say myself, and if Devon had, he sure as hell wasn’t saying anything.

The door falling open perked us up, the arrival of Gracie bringing with it the bubbling up of nerves stewing in the pit of my stomach. She was quiet, her eyes on the two of us as she closed the door behind her back. The motion thrust out her breasts just slightly, pulling her shirt down just a smidge, exposing a small amount of cleavage. I swallowed nervously, unable to take my eyes off her.

“You boys okay?” she asked, her voice slightly husky as her eyelids drooped.

“Better question is, are you okay, Gracie?” Devon questioned, finally breaking the silence between us.

Her tongue flicked out, trailing over her bottom lip. I followed the movement with my eyes, and not for the first time in my life, I couldn’t help but think about her tongue curling around the tip of my dick. She’d done it before, and I could feel the phantom touch of her mouth around it. The thought itself tightened my dick, and I couldn’t stop myself from fidgeting, my fingers curling into the sheets I sat upon to try and contain myself. It was a lame attempt at hiding a boner. Gracie pushed off the wall, slinking towards us. Her eyes shifted to Devon and back to me before clamping her teeth down on her bottom lip. A glaze sparked in those new silver eyes, but I knew Gracie well enough to know what it meant.

She stopped in front of me, and I had to tilt my head back to look up at her. She grinned, biting her bottom lip all over again before lowering to her knees. I watched her, my heart picking up speed, and my hands grew clammy. It had been so long since I’d gotten to really touch her, and I was more than just a little eager to do it. I had wanted to touch her again for so long now, and it was pretty obvious I was about to from the way a shot of adrenaline sparked up through my veins, causing my body to shiver just slightly at the sudden rush.

She tilted her head, eyes widening to look up at me helplessly. Unable and pretty much unwilling to stop, I reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt before tugging it upwards and over her head to toss it to the side. My gaze trailed down the front of her body. This time, my own teeth dragged across my bottom lip. Her bra held up plump breasts, each one showcasing purple stretch marks that curved over them. Her stomach was a little plump as well, and her sides were lined with thin stretch marks. My fingers drew tighter into the sheets, gripping as tightly as possible to keep myself from just launching at her. A twitch inside my briefs alerted me to the boner that didn’t want to go away, not that there was no chance in hell of release anyway.

Damn, this woman knows how to rile me up. Donna was hot in her own way, and the one-night stands I’d had when single was decent enough, but none of them or even the redhead could ever compare to the beauty and the glow that radiated from the woman crouched in front of me. Call it lovestruck, but I’d never been able to find anyone to outmatch Gracie.

As I leaned forward with full intent to capture her lips, Gracie tilted back and pushed to her feet. The little tease moved to the side and slid onto Devon’s lap to straddle him, leaving me awestruck by the movement taking place. My mouth fell open, and I narrowed my eyes, jealousy rising up in my stomach and ready to hurl out. Before I could say anything, however, she turned her head to look at me, sliding her arms around Devon’s neck.

“Come here, Owen,” she commanded, her voice silky, but the mischievous grin that snaked across her face made her eyes sparkle. “Don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not,” I sputtered, robotically rising to my feet in defense.

I was no coward, and I was going to prove it. My eyes flickered to Devon, who only rose in eyebrows in response and shrugged as if to say that this was no big deal. Which, for Devon, wasn’t exactly a surprising answer. He liked guys just the same as he liked girls. Before Kate, he’s even had a boyfriend he’d introduced to me once. Their relationship had only lasted a short amount of time, but it had been long enough for him. Still, I wasn’t like that, and he knew it. Though, it didn’t mean I didn’t want Gracie.

“It’s okay,” Gracie said gently as if trying to soothe my inward nerves that were bouncing in every direction. “It’s only me you’ll have to touch. Unless, you know, you wanna watch instead?”

The question was a tease in every word, and I knew it. She was toying with me, wanting me to move at her beck and call. Just as Devon did. For as if the words she had spoken were a signal, I watched as Devon’s hands slid down and begun to fiddle with her pants buckle. When I didn’t give an immediate response, Gracie shrugged and turned her head, leaning forward to press her lips against his neck, dragging them downwards. I let out an audible groan and pushed myself forward, taking my place behind her. At my presence, her head titled back, and she grinned up at me, biting her bottom lip for a third time. Standing over her, I took notice of her breasts. I knew she was doing this on purpose. She had to be. Gracie was a tease. She always had been and always found enjoyment in making a game of our activities. She also knew that it damn well drove me crazy.

Still, my eyes lingered over the breasts trapped in her bra, pushing against the fabric to be freed. I reached out, my fingers sliding against the clasp of the back of her bra, and flicked it open, allowing the shoulder straps to fall and her bra cascade off her breasts. The nipples grew hard at the sudden rush of air, and I grinned as I moved an inch closer, wrapping my arms around her. Before I could grab at them, however, she giggled and snatched up her bra, covering those yummy bosoms I wanted to hold in my hands.

“Owen!” She gasped, but the playful tone had me chuckling.

“Oh, no,” Devon interjected, making it sound as if he were chastising her. “Now it really has to come off. Gimme that.” He grabbed hold of it, but her loose grip allowed him to remove it from between her fingers and toss it to the side. “Fuck, you’re beautiful.”

His eyes were solely on her, trailing downwards, but even so, I nodded and drew my hands back. I trailed my finger up her spine, grinning when she shivered at the light touch. “Isn’t she, though?”

I didn’t know a thing about three ways, but I did know how to please Gracie. So, on cue, she let out a shaky breath, her body quivering beneath my touch again. I pushed her hair to the side and leaned down, running the tip of my tongue down her neck before nipping at her shoulder. Her back arched at the feeling of my teeth and the movement thrust her breasts out again, pushing Devon into action. His hands curled around her bosoms, sliding to squeeze those pretty pink nipples between his fingers.

Gracie

Just the graze of fingers on my nipples made my breath catch in my throat. When he twisted them, a slight tingling coated my tongue. I watched as he pulled his hand back to stick his finger in his mouth, and excitement fluttered through me, making me squirm a little, knowing what Devon was about to do. Slick with saliva, he grazed his finger over the nub before grabbing hold of the whole nipple and twisting. The tingling spread, sweeping through my entire body and made my underwear grow saturated with my own juices.

Owen’s hands followed suit, but I felt them slithering down my stomach before pressing beneath the waistband of my pants. As his fingers grazed my thigh, I automatically parted my legs. His hands slipped in, fingers flicking at my clit before diving deeper. The entrance of his two fingers in my cave caught my breath in my throat yet again, and my body tensed as I clamped closed on him.

Devon leaned down, flicking my dry nipple with his tongue before taking it in his mouth entirely and sucked, playing with it. I let out a low groan, my hips jerking forward, and shoved Owen’s fingers deeper inside of me. I heard his grunt in my ears before he slowly dragged out his hand back and shoved forward. My hips jerked again, and Devon’s teeth tightened slightly, my fingers tightening, curling into the fabric of Devon’s shirt, arms still wrapped around his neck. The walls clutched around Owen’s fingers tighter, and Owen let out heavy gasps of breath, rustling strands of my hair.

That’s when he began to pump. Pulling his fingers back to shove forward in quick movements made my body melt and my head tip back, lips parted. Devon twisted my nipple before exchanging position, now turning the really wet one between his fingers to suck and gently tug with his teeth on the other. The feeling made me squirm, which in return made Owen’s fingers push against the sides of the wall and send another jolt of electricity zipping through me. I let out a whine, my shoulders dropping as it turned into a full-blown groan.

Then it was over. Pressure pressed inside of me, making me tremble now that neither man was touching me. I needed to be touched or have something inside of me. I needed to be relieved, or I was going to scream. Owen’s hands on my waist pulled me off Devon and infuriated me. I had a throbbing vagina and an orgasm that wanted to explode, and he was taking me away from the pleasure? How dare he! I couldn’t say anything, though. My lips were still too numb.

Though, I did figure that if I had to finish the job myself, I would at least make them watch. That was a good punishment, wasn’t it?

Devon reached forward, latching onto my waistband before tugging both my pants and underwear down to my ankles. I automatically, and maybe a bit too eagerly, stepped out of them, realizing that this was not yet over. I knew that if I had a dick, it would’ve been springing straight up at the exposure I was suddenly given.

“Your nipples are hard,” Devon mused, playfully twisting one before he stood and walked around me.

I turned with him, eyeing the men who now stood next to one another, both looking at my nude body hungrily. I greedily accepted the looks on their faces. I’d had this dream before, several times in fact. Where I got to have the two of them at once. A dream comes true. Excitement replaced my momentary anger, and I stepped forward, fiddling with Owen’s pants. Shaking limbs made it difficult, and I couldn’t quite get a grasp that was good enough to remove them from his body. He pushed me back by the shoulders after a moment and guided me to sit on the edge of the bed before helping me lie down. His hand slid down between my thighs, but they easily parted at his touch once again. My ears pricked at the sound of two zippers being tugged down and the drop of clothes as they plopped to the floor. I felt myself leak again before trying to hold back the squeeze of my thighs as my walls closed and opened on thin air. The bed dipped just slightly before a shadow dropped over my face and Devon’s smile beamed down on me.

“How bad do you want us, Gracie?” he teased, tracing a finger over my shoulder before grabbing my chin and tilted my head back.

I let out a whimper before his lips met mine, tongue flicking into my mouth before he pulled back and slid out of my view. At the feel of the head of a dick grazing on my thigh, I turned my head and looked to see Owen standing between my legs. I bit my bottom lip for what seemed the hundredth time, riled up all over again at his hairy chest and pelvis. I let out a deep-throated groan. The man knew how much I loved his hairiness.

“Please,” I breathed out, the plea only a gasp though as it left my lips. “Please.”

Owen

The desperation in her eyes was thrilling, to say the least. I brushed the tip of my penis to her thigh and ran it upwards, poking the outside of her shaved but stubbly vagina. I bent slightly over, running my finger down it, and clicked my tongue, glowering down at her.

“I like when there’s more hair,” I chastised with a huff of a breath to enunciate my point.

Gracie stuck out her bottom lip, looking up at me with doe-like eyes, batting her eyes sweetly up at me. I felt my face go lax at her look and gripped her legs, pressing my thumbs into her thighs. She gasped, her head dipping back as her back arched, pointed nipples rising towards the ceiling. I felt weak in the knees at the sight.

The first time I’d ever seen her body naked was purely by accident, but I couldn’t help but admire how beautiful she was. I curled my hands tighter around her legs and yanked her towards me so I could be in a more comfortable position with gaining entrance. Before venturing onwards to my destination, I looked up at Devon. I forced my eyes to stay on his face, feeling awkward about being naked in front of him and seeing him in the same light. Seeming unfazed, no surprise, Devon cocked an eyebrow at me in question. I swallowed roughly and pulled my gaze back to Gracie, pretending that nothing was wrong.

She was propped up on her elbows, boobs dangling down this time, but nipples still hard in desire or cold. I was going to pretend it was desire. Grinning down at her, I shoved forward without even so much as a warning beforehand. Feeling the wet of her juices before her walls enclosed around my dick, I let out a grunt, breathing out heavily through my nostrils. Instantly falling back, Gracie’s legs drew up so she could prop up her feet on the edge of the bed. I thrust forward once again, and her hips jerked up, pushing me further inside of her. Grunting, I fell forward, my hands slamming down on each side of her head to curl my fingers into the bedspread, eye level with her breasts at this point. With a smirk, I lowered my head and flicked my tongue over the nib of her nipple, chuckling when she squirmed slightly.

Oh, fuck yes.

I had been dying for so long to be inside of Gracelynn Walker again.

I swung my hips forward and turned my head just slightly, grabbing hold of the nipple I’d already teased just a little tighter between my teeth and kneaded it gently. My body lit up, fire blazing in every as I began to pump in and out. My ears perked to listen to her ragged breathing. Hands on my back left a sweet touch like lavender did, but when her nails dragged downward, a flipped switched. I shoved forward, harder than I had done even the first time of going into her, my dick growing tighter, straightening like a rod as my back arched just like hers had. Drawing my eyes up, I squinted at her, catching the devilish grin sparkling in her eyes.

Motherfucker, this woman knows how to touch me.

I sped up, changing nipples to tease before trailing my tongue over her flesh. Until her thighs tightened around my hips, blocking me from moving forward, and she let out a disgruntled whine.

“Owen,” she pleaded, breathless, like a memory on repeat I had yet to forget.

I drew back up, quickening my pace, and flickered my gaze back to hers. It was twisted, nails clutching into my back, and hips moving in unison to the beat of mine. Our flesh slapped against one another’s, and I pressed my knees against the bed, lips parting as sweat glued my hair to my forehead. I could feel the pressure building, wanting to explode. It throbbed in my goddamn balls. Instead of letting myself release, however, I pulled back with a yank, my own cry of dismay mingling in with hers, unable to stop myself despite being the result of it.

“What the fuck!” She gasped, her chest heaving and her body visibly trembling. “I was about—” she whimpered, the sound clutching at air as her hands dropped from my body. “Please, Owen, please finish.”

I stepped back and jerked my head, giving a cut nod so Devon could take my place. I could help but admire his stance as he stood with his back to me. Devon would always have more of a special way of knowing Gracie than I possibly could ever have. I had come to terms with that fact a long ass time ago. It wasn’t my fault she had given her virginity to him. That was her choice, not mine. I would never have dared to compete for that special part. Still, even with that in mind, sometimes I did wonder about it.

Seeming to forget about my absence inside of her just as quickly as it happened, Gracie’s attention was tugged to the entrance of Devon, and her groan made my dick quiver upwards just slightly. Her hands reached up, fingers tracing over his biceps before wrapping around them as he leaned forward, hovering just above her, face inches away from her. He was taller than I was and had more of an advantage of being face to face with her. Oh well, I got a full-frontal view of her breasts.

My eyes drifted to his behind, dropped to between his legs. I was already throbbing and needed so badly to release myself, goosebumps flitting up and down, reminding me of my situation. The thing was, however, I didn’t want to do it myself. I wanted it done for me. I was definitely regretting now about pulling out and letting Devon take over. Because I wanted her to have it all. I needed her to have it all, but I wasn’t about to take Devon away from her. That just wouldn’t be fair.

“Owen,” Devon grunted as if somehow hearing the rampage of my thoughts, but he wasn’t even looking at me. “I can help you. Come on.”

I hesitated, still very much uncomfortable with the fact that there another naked dude around me. It was one thing in gym class, but in adulthood, it was a whole different story. My gaze flickered towards Gracie, catching her gaze as she turned her head to look right at me. Any and all reluctance vanished then, safety in those silver eyes. Because regardless of the color, they still belonged to her. My Gracie. There was no need to be at odds about any of this. For years, the three of us had just been playing a cat and mouse game with Gracie always the target in the middle of us. There was no reason to keep it up, not anymore.

I couldn’t really say if I believed in fate entirely, but the fact that I kept getting her back one way or another sure kept me questioning it. Even if we were having some fucked up dream or trip episode or whatever this shit was in this log cabin. I had her back, and just a tiny little part of me had to question fate itself.

Moving forward to take my place next to Devon, I shivered when Gracie’s fingers trailed up my erection and brushed through the mound of hair that lined my pelvis. The girl loved hairy, and I knew that all too well. Tugging gently on my penis, my breath caught in my throat before she released as Devon reached out and pulled me up on the bed, sitting up behind me. Obediently, I moved upwards on my hands and knees and threw my leg over Gracie’s stomach, straddling her upper body. Hands pressed against my side; Devon guided me to slide forward just slightly. Her mouth opened like a good girl, ready in wait for me. Once close enough, her tongue flicked out and caressed the head of my penis. It tightened even more, if that was even possible. At this point, I felt like I was just about to explode all over her face, and a drizzle of precum leaked outwards. Licking it up, she winked at me, sending shivers down my spine.

I felt fingers press into the small of my back, urging me forward yet again, this time just a smidge, though. I now sat above her collarbone, a far better place for her to suck me off, but still careful to not press down. I didn’t want to be the reason she suddenly stopped breathing. Tilting her head just a little forward, Gracie slid her mouth over the head. The bed trembled beneath us as Devon started again, regaining his position, and I felt him grasp my shoulders. With his guidance in place, my hips rocked forward before falling into an easy motion.

Just like before, I rocked back and forth, picking up speed quicker this time. I was already ready to go. I just needed to get it pushed out. Gracie grunted, gurgling when I thrust hard into her mouth. I could hear their hips hitting, and the sound made my head tilt back, eyes closing as I jerked forward and suddenly stopped, the explosion shooting out the tip. I let out a shaky breath as I seized up, shooting more than I had even expected into her mouth. Devon let out a strangle groaned, and I felt Gracie’s body shift upwards, letting out a muffled moan around the bulge blocking her sound. Or maybe it was a cry or whimper. I couldn’t tell the difference, but I didn’t really think it mattered at the same time. As she jerked just slightly, a warning signal, I pulled out of her, my dick hanging just slightly as I gasped in a breath of air.

Grinning up at me, Gracie pursed her lips together, and I saw her swallow. I felt hands tug at me, sliding me backward with them before plopping me to the ground. Unsteady, my eyes never wavered from Gracie as she turned over and pressed her hands into the covers, and pushed herself up. Automatically, my hand flew forward and swatted her ass. With a yelp from the resounding slap of flesh upon flesh, she fell forward, giggling hysterically as she flipped over on her back.

I leaned over and her arms instantly wrapped around my neck as our lips pressed together for a solid moment. “I love you, Gracie,” I whispered, deliberately making sure my lips brushed against hers as I spoke.

She gave me a lopsided smile and drew her hand up, trailing her fingers through my hair. “I love you too, Owen.”

“Hey,” Devon whined, kneeling on the bed next to us. “I want some love.”

Gracie giggled and reached out with her free hand, brushing her thumb over his lips. “Don’t worry, I love you too, Devon.”

He was silent for a minute, staring down at her. I couldn’t see his face clearly, but Gracie’s concentration was avid on his face, curiosity milling in her eyes. So, I could only guess it wasn’t all that bad.

“I know you do, Gracie. You love us both. I know.” With his words, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead.

Devon dropped to his feet and reached his arms above his body, stretching as I turned away shyly. It was one thing during sex to look at him, but it was a different story when the fun was over. I pulled to a standing point, very much aware of my nude body next to the other man’s, and didn’t dare look in his direction. Gracie pulled to a sitting position after and tried but failed miserably to hide a yawn. Turning over again, this time I refrained from slapping her. I watched as she climbed up on all fours to the pillows and plopped face down on the middle one. When a piece of cloth hitting me distracted me from the woman, I snatched at it before it could fall and pulled on the pair of briefs. Devon reclaimed his spot on the far side of the bed, further from the door, opposite my spot. As I took mine, I caught the sound of snores drifted from Gracie and reached out, trailing my fingers through her hair as I leaned against the headboard.

“We wore her out,” I chuckled, with a shake of my head.

The bed jostled slightly as Devon mimicked me. With his face in clearer view now, I saw his frown. His worry. Eyes on the slumbering woman that we both loved.

“We aren’t the only ones. Colton loves her too. So much, just like us.” He sounded almost sad. “She scared. That man, the marriage thing, it terrifies her.”

He went silent this time as if at a loss for words, his eyes never leaving her. I cleared my throat, trailing my fingers down her shoulder and spine.

“We’ve gotta save her,” I said slowly and softly. “From whatever’s going on, we have to save her. She’s ours, Dev. We have to save her.”

“Of course, we will,” he agreed without missing a beat. “She’s ours,” he paused. “We’ll do whatever it takes, won’t we?”

I nodded and slid down the bed, turning to wrap my arm around Gracie’s waist, and kissed her head. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for the woman.

“I know that was strange for you, Owen. But it meant a lot to her because she knows how hard it was for you too.”

I looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

He stared at me for a moment before shrugging. “I guess because it's who she is.”

There was more. I knew he wanted to say more but didn’t seem able to. Or willing to at that. I wasn’t going to force it, however. I knew better than that. So instead, I just nodded in response, locking it away with the fact that I knew he’d tell when he was ready. “You should sleep, Dev. We’ll figure everything out tomorrow.”

Devon

There was melancholy between the three of us as we departed the room in the morning. There were no right words to explain it, but it felt more than right. Tranquility. Maybe that was the right word to use.

“I smell coffee,” Gracie announced, breaking from between us and bounded down the stairs. “Coffee, coffee, coffee.”

I snorted, my lips curling up in a smile. Coffee, coffee, coffee. The echo made me flinch, and my teeth clenched together. There it was again. Words without a mouth moving. Thoughts. I’d figured it out the night before when both Gracie and Owen’s voice had drifted inside my head, but they were too busy being pleased by one another and not actually speaking those words. I’d even felt it. When Gracie had been about to explode, my entire body had gone numb, desperate to be finished. That part, I couldn’t explain. It was already weird enough that I could read minds, however that was possible. I wasn’t about to figure out these new feelings too.

That’s my girl. Owen’s voice echoed, the difference I had figured out between thoughts and talking. Thoughts were slightly distant and echoed, but it was still very confusing. I needed to figure out an off button or just something to block the thoughts out for a little while. It was invasive, and I didn’t like it.

A shrill scream pulled me from my thoughts and jabbed shards of glass into my heart as I lurched forward, tearing down the stairs. A growling sound emitted from the kitchen, and I hurled to a stop on the threshold, red splashed in front of my vision. Shock and fright swept through me, unbalanced, and told me that it wasn’t my feelings. My eyes scoured the room before falling on Gracie. She was staring straight forward, eyes wide and mouth parted. Red trickled down her face, looking as if it had been dumped over her head like paint. With a shaking arm, she lifted it up and pointed forward.

“Oh shit,” Owen breathed at the sight. “I’m going to find Lenora.”

As he left, my eyes followed her hand, and stepped on the little girl. Yesterday, she had been bubbly and chirpy. Now, she cowered in the corner with what looked like various blood bags scattered around her. Red was smeared around her mouth, and her body was visibly shaking. Little sobs escaped her lips, and tears streaked through the red splattered on her cheeks. I stepped forward, halting when her hazel eyes flashed to me, and I threw my hands up.

“It’s okay, I promise. I’m not going to hurt you.”

I didn’t mean to. I really didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.

I crouched down so I could be eye level with her and held out a hand, palm facing upwards. “What happened, sweetie?”

She burst into audible sobs, wrapping her arms around her knees before burying her face in them. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Her voice was so tiny, I almost missed it. I didn’t move, though. Doing so would only frighten her more. Gracie screamed, turning my head sharply just as she fell to the ground, arms covering her head. Glass shattered on the wall above her and rained down over her.

“Iris,” Dora’s voice resounded from behind me before she rushed forward. “Not again. Not again. I’m so sorry!” She apologized profusely and bent down to pick her daughter up as I rose to my feet. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.

“She’s a witch,” Colton’s voice turned me around again, and I almost felt dizzy with the near spinning. “She’s a witch, but this is the mess of a vampire.”

Dora turned around, clutching Iris in her arms, and ducked her head, scurrying from the room. Colton turned sharply, following her quickly, refusing to let her get out of his sight. My eyes fell to Gracie, but both Lenora and Owen were now crouched in front of her. Feeling good enough with knowing she was being taken care of, I moved towards the door and slipped out of it, my attention elsewhere.

Colton

“Pandora,” I stated sharply, and at the use of her full name, which I knew she hated so much stopped her in her tracks.

Hazel eyes peeped over her shoulders, shimmering in tears and fright. I now knew why they had seemed so familiar. I had once upon a time stared at two pairs of the same-colored eyes. As a human, they had stared at me through any and all reflections. The second pair had belonged to my little brother, dead at age ten, and I’d been twelve. The plague had taken his life, the same sickness I had been saved from to live for an eternity.

“She’s my daughter,” it wasn’t a question as the words tumbled off my lips. “You didn’t tell me.”

Dora shook her head and continued back to her room while I lingered on the outside. After a few moments, the door opened, and she stepped to the side to let me in. Iris giggled from a partially open door that I could only assume was the bathroom.

“You were gone when I found out I was pregnant.” She started, sinking into a rocking chair that sat in the corner next to the room's only window.

“You could’ve written—”

“You wouldn’t have come back,” she cut in, bitterness coating her tongue. “You and I are not meant to be together. We both know that. You were searching for them. You wouldn’t have come.”

I glared at her but didn’t dare even try to step towards her just yet. “She’s my daughter. I would’ve come.”

She stared down at her hands, and we went silent, listening to the splashing of Iris taking a bath. My gaze flickered towards that door, staring at it in wonder for just a few moments longer—a child. I have a daughter. I’m a daddy.

“You would’ve had to choose Colton. Losing them for another life span to be with your daughter or search for them. We both know what you would’ve chosen, and it would’ve been the wrong thing.”

I looked back at her and nodded in agreement. We both knew I wouldn’t have hesitated to stay by her side. Even if I could never love her the way, I love Gracelynn and the guys. I would’ve at least been there for Iris, my daughter. Maybe not Dora herself, but I would’ve been there for Iris. She wasn’t wrong, though. I would have ended up missing another life of the three most important people to me, and there were only so many times a soul could reincarnate. Even I knew that.

“She’s still my daughter,” I stated, now just feeling at a total loss. “You could’ve told me last night at least.”

The rocking chair creaked as she leaned forward and rose to her feet, stepping away from the bathroom. She put her finger to her lips and motioned for me to follow her out of the room. Leaving the door open just a crack, she finally turned, the corners of her eyes brimming with tears.

“Hybrids are forbidden on both village and castle grounds. If one is caught, Hellhounds are ordered to rip them to shreds. It's why we live out here. Our own little Coven, but we aren’t whole without the entirety of it,” her voice cracked. “Our powers are waning, and we can’t do anything about it.”

I had to ask. The words needed to be spoken, even if I knew deep down the answer wasn’t going to be pretty. “Why are they forbidden?”

She shook her head with a shrug of her shoulders. “There is speculation it’s because of the Princess and you three. Nobody knows if it’s really true, but it hasn’t exactly been proven. The Prince was notified you went to find them. Knowing he couldn’t stop the return, he banned hybrids. I personally think he has more plans for when he and the Princess are married. But for now, she can get in serious trouble if she reproduces with any of the three of you. We all know he isn’t a nice man, obviously. He’s just out for power.”

Everyone knew the story of Octavian Gunnison. Born fifth of seven boys, he’d had no hope of gaining the throne to either of the two kingdoms his family reigned over. His only chance was to be married to a Princess and rule her kingdom. He’d gotten lucky when Gracelynn had been born, the only child the Queen had been able to birth. The kingdom had been in a dark time then. They’d been desperate to ensure the safety of the kingdom. They didn’t stop to think that their daughter would want to think on her own and follow her heart. Times were simply different then.

But the arranged marriage still stood in place. Octavian would soon reign as King. He wouldn’t help the kingdom; he hadn’t as it was. There were things he couldn’t do without being married, but he still ran the kingdom with an iron grip. He was a terrible leader, an awful ruler, and Gracelyn was being forced to be by his side. The entire thing just made me sick to my stomach, and that was saying a lot.

Gracie

With the sweep of her hand, Lenora swept the glass pieces into the trash can. I couldn’t help but revel in excitement as they floated in the air. Lenora, on the other hand, seemed bored with the action. I looked down at my hands, remembering the silver glow that had shot from them just the day before. Would I be able to do the same as Lenora?

As if sensing my interest and desire, Lenora turned to face me as I slowly and I finally rose to my feet, legs stiff. Owen lingered at my side. It was odd. Since the night before and opening myself up to him and Devon, things had changed. It was the same, Owen was still protective, and Devon was still loving, but I felt different around them now. I couldn’t explain it the right way that I needed to. I wasn’t entirely sure, but it almost felt like I could feel him. Them. What he, they, were feeling. Was that even possible, though?

I had so many questions, but I didn’t even know who I was supposed to start questioning. I wasn’t even sure if I was supposed to ask the guys any questions. Maybe it was Lenora I was meant to talk to. Or Dora, though she didn’t exactly seem thrilled to have me around that much. My head felt boggled with it all, and I couldn’t straighten any of my thoughts out. Nothing was making sense, and I hated it so much.

Lenora pursed her lips, looking at me in pity. “Your memories are yet to return. But they will soon, Princess, I promise you that.”

I shook my head, letting out a huff of air through my nostrils. “I really don’t like being called that, okay? Can I do what you did, though? I did magic yesterday too…”

Understanding flickered in her eyes. “Come sit. Your friends will be here soon, and once everyone has joined us at the table, we can talk. I promise.”

I bounced on my heels, my eyes flicking towards the counter, but felt my face fall just slightly when there was no sign of the sweet-smelling aroma that had wafted into my senses minutes before. “I smelled coffee before…”

She nodded and motioned back towards the counter before turning to leave. I blinked and let out a squelch, clapping my hands excitedly. “Coffee, coffee, coffee!” I sang, bouncing towards the table.

Owen chuckled as I pranced towards the table and plopped down in my seat to wait for my cup to be given to me, my tongue flicking over my lips excitedly.

Gracie

I watched in both fascination and disgust as Colton sipped from a blood bag, eyes closed in ecstasy as he drained the red goop within it. It trailed down his chin and dribbled on the front of his shirt. The fabric lay plastered to his skin and pulled it down slightly. His V-neck gave way to a tuft of hair on his chest, which no doubt only led to more.

I had a problem. I loved my guys hairy, and both Owen and Devon had chests full of hair. Had I not been clinging to them the night before climbing the orgasm mountain, I would’ve torn my fingers through their chest hair.

As his mouth pulled back, his sharp fangs gleamed red momentarily before his mouth snapped shut. Prickles like needles swept up my arms, but I leaned towards him, more than just intrigued at this point.

“Gracie!” Devon’s alarmed voice broke the fuzz inside of my mind. “What are you doing?”

I blinked, my eyes shifting guiltily to him and his eyes wide in terror as he stared at my hands and not my face. A knife that I didn’t even remember picking up lay clasped between my fingers, blade hovering just above my arm, ready to slit it open. I released it instantly and let the knife fall, grimacing as it clattered on the ground.

“Memory never leaves the soul, even when it’s blocked,” Lenora said softly, her eyes smoldering as she leaned across the table to set a second cup of coffee in front of me, which I greedily snatched up. “Colton, why don’t you tell her, sweetie?”

The liquid let up a steamy cloud, grabbing hold of my attention. My eyes slid to the light brown of where it began, and I eagerly curled my fingers around the mug, desperate to get back to functioning right. This entire ordeal just seemed like a blur in my head. I wanted to believe it was true, but it just seemed a little too farfetched to wholeheartedly resign myself to. Were we in some fucked up virtual reality game shit or what? I shook my head, trying to swat out the clouds that tugged the inside of my mind, but they were thick like cobwebs and sticky too. Unrelenting, and maybe that was a good thing. Despite the fact I really did need to figure out the situation with the wiry man of the night before, my mind didn’t want me to slip into those kinds of thoughts, not yet anyway. It was too fucking early to be dealing with anything.

“You used to let me feed from you.” Colton’s voice was loud in the cobwebs, and I pulled my eyes away from the steaming coffee to him. He stared at his hands, though, seeming unwilling or maybe just unable to look at me. “You and Devon, at least. Owen let me once, but it wasn’t either of our thing for one another. Understandable, of course.”

“I knew you four in your previous life,” Lenora interjected, taking a stand behind Owen, who sat across from me, gripping the back of his chair. “You four were so inseparable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen love as I have with the four of you. I don’t even think I’ve ever experienced it myself, in all honesty.”

My gaze flickered to Colton and just as quickly flashed to the puff of hair within view splattered on his chest. I could only imagine the thickness that lay inside of his pants. Fuck, I wanna see inside of his pants. The thought was intrusive and so uncalled for but spoke more truth in my mind than I could allow my lips to do. I felt Devon tense next to me and tore my attention away from the fanged man and to him. He wasn’t looking at me but was glaring at the wall behind Owen instead. I nudged him gently, but when his eyes dropped to me, my mouth opened to question him, halting when he threw me a sharp look and shook his head curtly. I snapped my mouth shut, shoulders dropping, and pursed my lips together as I gave a nod.

“Alright, Iris is at school.” Dora’s voice interrupted the silence as she stepped into the kitchen. “Oh, that coffee smells good. Can I have a cup?”

Lenora nodded and stepped around the table to retrieve a new cup. Taking the last seat available on my left side, Dora hesitantly sat down. It was pretty obvious from the get-go that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. She didn’t like me, and that resulted in her refusal to look at me. What I had done to her, though, was beyond me. I didn’t even know who she was or how the hell I could’ve done a damn thing wrong to her. If I’d really had another life, then I seriously wished I could remember, so I knew how to go about things.

“So, is the wedding a thing then? She’s supposed to marry that asswipe?” Owen suddenly spouted, the question full of tension.

Did he not care that I hadn’t had my second cup of coffee yet? What an asshole. He knew better. As if to prove that I was yet ready to be an adult for the day, I glowered at him. My scathing glare went ignored; his eyes pinned on Lenora. I huffed and slunk into my chair, crossing my arms over my chest as I lowered my gaze to my steaming mug, muttering beneath my breath.

Though I was actually mildly surprised Owen had even brought the current topic up, let alone was the first to speak upon it. He wasn’t one for conflict and tried to find peaceful ways to deal with things, even with his career choice of life. He’d grown up in too many foster homes before the age of nine with fighting galore to be entirely comfortable with it.

Lenora hesitated after giving Dora her cup of hot joe. Holding her hands out, palms up, her eyes swiveled to me and gave me a small smile, almost looking apologetic but also approving. I pulled myself to a full sitting position, and without even thinking about it, I lifted my hands and placed my palms on top of her. With a tug, she helped me rise to my feet, bony fingers curled around mine as she squeezed gently. Warmth shot through them, and our gazes caught, my breath locking in my throat.

“Your memories should be coming back by now, Princess.” Her bushy eyebrows knitted together, confusion riddling within her eyes. “You have a block in you. That isn’t possible. You shouldn’t be blocked.” She let out a heavy sigh, the corners of her eyes drooping slightly, and released my hand. “Stay still.”

Her order was easier to follow than trying to figure out what she was up to. Her hands cupped my cheeks, and the scrape of two chairs had my freed hand raise, stopping the men from advancing on us. I didn’t feel threatened, and I surely didn’t want them feeling like I was. Scuffling feet entering the kitchen warned me of other arrivals, but the whispers that belonged to them stopped whoever it was from talking.

“Close your eyes,” Lenora urged softly.

I did as I was told. Warm air brushed over my face and trickled down my body. My shoulders drooped, and I felt my head loll forward, seeming to no longer be held up by her hands. A muffled voice spoke in the distance, but the words were indistinguishable, and I didn’t even know who it was. I couldn’t be bothered by it, though, not at the moment anyway. My body had fallen onto a bed of cotton and was being wrapped up in its arms. It was easy to allow myself to forget any and everything else.

My eyes fluttered open, blinking rapidly to push away the fuzziness of my vision. A cacophony of voices swarmed around me, and a squishy pillow lay beneath my head. Pushing up, a grunt entered my ears, and I looked up sleepily. Owen grinned down at me; his dimples cascaded on the sides of his mouth. His face was slightly round, some baby fat leftover, making his cheeks look slightly puffy. I rubbed my eyes and sat straight up in the hardback chair. How I’d gotten into it, though, baffled me.

Silence fell around us—the people who had created a swarm of noise were now gone. We sat in the middle of a stark-white room, but no door existed to let us out. Neither was there any windows to see out in the world. I rose to my feet and turned, staggering to a stop as Devon appeared in the chair I had occupied just moments ago. The clearing of a throat turned me around to face Colton, a surprise to me. In shock, I stumbled back, but before I could slip and crash, a pair of hands grabbed at me, holding me upright.

A pair of lips pressed against my cheek, comforting in their intention to soothe me. Devon’s arms slid around my stomach and gently squeezed, pinning me against him as he buried his face into my hair.

“Where are we?” I questioned, flickering towards the chairs.

They were gone. Poof. As if they’d just never existed in the first place. I stared in bafflement at the place they’d been, unsure if I even saw right at all.

“You mean, where are you?” Colton corrected. “This is your place. We’re just here for your comfort and sound of mind.”

“I barely even know you—” I started, but the words faltered as he stepped towards me.

His hazel eyes sparkled down at me, and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. His human form. The voice was small as it whispered in my ear, but it was close enough for me to be able to hear it anyway. As he drew even closer, his hand reached out, and the tips of his fingers brushed over my cheek. Electricity fizzled between our flesh. The room darkened, and I felt air where Devon had clutched me not even moments before. When the lights flicked back on, Colton dropped his arms, eyes falling away from me. I turned to look at our surroundings, and my heart leaped into my throat.

“What is this place?” I croaked, the words burning in my throat.

“My first home, my childhood home if you will. This is the place I had lived with my parents and brother. I showed it to you once and told you my story. You told me that things happen for a reason, for fate itself to be able to intervene. You saved me, you see. Not once, but twice. From the moment I met you, I promised to always protect you and always love you. I vowed to never give up on you or the guys.” He gave me a small smile, but it looked too sad to be an actual one. “I never have, I swear.”

The fireplace had crumbled long ago in the dingy little home. It was nothing more than a pile of bricks and ashes now, but it kept hold of my gaze anyway, its icy embrace clawing at my mind.

“Why are you a human here?” The question sounded dumb even to myself as it left my lips, but I couldn’t hold it back. I knew I had to know. I needed answers, and I needed them now.

“It’s the form your soul knew me as longest. The easiest memory it could conjure up with me involved. I was only a vampire for a short time when you were taken from me. So, your soul shows you what it knows best for your memories to start piecing back together.”

I turned to face him fully this time, tilting my head back just slightly to look up at him. “I don’t remember anything at all. I mean, I don’t even know if I should be trying. I have this feeling that I need to, but I can’t.”

“I know.” He nodded, his eyes sweeping over the ruins within. “It’s alright, though. You’ll remember when you’re supposed to.”

“I need to, though. Lenora kept talking about it, said I have to. I need to. I guess it’s really important that I do.” I jabbered, fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. “There’s some marriage or whatever, and I’m afraid if I don’t remember…”

His face fell at that. “Ah, yes. Unfortunately, there’s no way out of that except death, and you already did that once before.” He turned to me sharply, the corners of his lips curling down in dismay. “Please don’t make me go through that again.”

I took a step back in surprise at his candid tone and nodded without even thinking. My eyes scoured his body, noting how even in human form, Colton was beautiful. Sad, but beautiful. I nodded again, feeling a bobblehead this time. It was a silent promise I had to ensure he understood.

“If – If – if you know that this is all real, I need to remember. How am I supposed to?”

He pressed the tips of his fingers to his lips but said no more. I felt my body stiffen and jerk backward, falling into the rubble of the shabby little home. I tried to scream, but no sound came, and when I tried reaching for him, my fingers only whisked through the air as he disappeared, leaving me in total and utter darkness.

Colton

I stood back, even though the insides of my being ached to rush to Gracelynn’s side to ensure she was alright. I knew Lenora would not harm her, but the urge was still there, roaring inside of me. Tipping over the table, I watched as the two men I loved kneeled at her side, anxiety rolling over them in waves as they waited for her to wake up.

When her sharp intake of breath hit my ears, my body fell back in relief, hitting the back of the chair. Dora stood at the sound and left the room quickly, ignoring me entirely. Guilt curled in the pit of my stomach. I knew for a fact that I would have to make it up to her at some time in the future. She had known in the beginning that I would never be able to love her. I’d been desperate to feel alive again, and at the time, she’d been a wild witch able to make me feel that way again. She’d been a partier, an all-nighter, and everything in between. She’d been the perfect person to make me feel things again. Because drugs and alcohol made by witches could actually impact a vampire, whereas human-made crap did nothing to stint the pain.

“Geroffme,” Gracelynn’s voice suddenly noisy in the air drew my attention away from the door and back to her.

I almost leaped from my seat to see her sitting up and swatting the guys away as they teetered over her. Her head swiveled around, and I leaned forward again, curious to see what she was trying to find.

“Colton,” my name on her lips sent a shiver down my spine.

Out of pure habit, I hadn’t even expected about knowing I still had, my breath drew in sharply. I stood abruptly but stopped with uncertainty despite the desire to make my way towards her. I wasn’t sure I’d heard right because even though I did have super hearing, I knew I misheard things sometimes. I wanted it to be real though, I wanted it to be a reality that she was asking for me, but I knew better than to get my hopes up. The table creaked beneath my weight. For just a moment, I looked away from the silver orbs that were staring at me and flickered my gaze down to the wooden surface, noting the dents that had been left behind. I sometimes forgot how strong I could actually be sometimes.

“Colton,” her demand was stronger this time, more insistent on making sure I replied this time. “Come here.”

When she’d been full-fledged Princess, her commands were always followed, but Gracelynn had never used it to her advantage from what I knew. Not then anyway. Now, though, it sounded so similar that I couldn’t help but step around the table and towards her. She was standing now, legs wobbling and moving away from the men. When they did try to reach out and help her, to touch her, she merely shook them off, scooting away from them. I felt their eyes on me, glaring as I stepped forward, drawing towards her. I wasn’t surprised they were upset at me taking her attention.

At the age of seventeen, I had been cast out of the orphanage. They claimed I was too old to be milling about the place any longer. I had so many years there that I’d forgotten what it was like to have a true family or even have anyone willing to look out for me. Nights had been cold, and it was lucky if I had been able to get any food every few days. Until Gracelynn had paid the village a personal visit, Salvator and Fabien always flanking her. At first, I had thought that it had simply been pity taken on me when she’d offered me a room at the castle. That thought alone had been thrown out pretty quickly before they’d invited me into their room.

So, standing in front of Gracelynn now felt more than just natural. It was almost as if I’d stepped through a waterfall of peace and got drenched in it. If I just pretended, I could actually believe that it was only the four of us again, just like old times. Well, almost, but not just quiet.

My ears pricked at the sound of three beating hearts, the men and Gracie’s, and felt my fingers twitch with the need to just step forward and wrap myself into them again. I ignored Lenora’s, only focused on the woman in front of me now. My insides felt crushed at knowing I couldn’t yet just wrap her into my arms, push her into a wall, and—

“Enough,” Salvator announced, this time successfully grabbing her and tugging her away from me.

My eyes snapped to his. Bright blue and more than just familiar. Before the three of them, I had never even thought I could love a man until I’d met Salvator himself. Devon. Fuck, I really need to remember that. I veered towards him and his shoulders tensed as he placed himself in front of Gracelynn, daring me to try and go after her. He can dare me all he wants. I know what sets him off. Surprise flickered across his face, his stance going momentarily lax. I took the chance, deciding that the other most likely wouldn’t be up for a while again, and smashed my lips against his. Being quick sure did have its advantage. He stumbled, but I grabbed his arms to steady him and slid my fingers up before digging them into his hair.

Salvator – Devon – squirmed slightly before giving in and tugged me to him. His mouth parted obediently, and I slipped my tongue in, pulling back slightly after just a moment. His chest heaved, blinking rapidly as he stared at me in shock, at a loss for words.

“My turn,” Gracelynn interjected, shoulders around Salvator, sounding just a little too eager as she bounced up to me.

The sight of her bouncing amused me. It was almost as if they were fighting over me, but I knew better than to hope so high. Not yet. I was almost a head taller than she was, and because of that, Gracelynn had to ride up on her tiptoes to press her lips against mine. The action jolted her backward, hitting the chair she’d previously been slumped in before toppling over it. I shot a handout, my body tilting forward yet again, and grabbed her before she could plummet face-first into the linoleum. The speed that came with the blood-sucking was second nature by now, pretty much automatic at this point of my eternal life.

She sat up, twisting to face me, and once more, pressed her lips to mine. As Gracelynn scooted to wrap her legs around my waist, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my lap. I cupped her cheeks, deepening the kiss. Her heart picked up speed, thrumming against her ribcage, and her body trembled. Silver gleamed up at me, and her body went tense, freezing. I pulled back, ending the kiss this time, and Gracelynn gasped sharply, struggling to catch her breath. The corners of her mouth twitched, though.

Her mouth curled upwards into a grin, and she reached up with one hand, cupping my cheek so I could lean my head into it, covering her hand with mine. “I don’t remember everything, but I remember you. Or at least, I really know you.”

I turned my head at her words, not even bothering to try and say anything, and pressed my lips into her palm, closing my eyes to take in the scent of pine, the outdoors that she had adored so much. Oh fuck, I’ve missed this smell.

“This reunion is sweet and all, but—” the words vanished. Gracelynn squealed, yanking away from me, the sound making me slam my hands over my ears.

Sensitive hearing had its cons for sure. I was watched as she scrambled to her feet, hurrying around the table, and tackled her friends. Evangeline greeted her happily, but as I stood, my eyes dropped to Anastasia, who was collecting herself just a foot or two away from them after their embrace. As our gazes met, she glowered at me, but it was all too familiar. Anastasia had never been one to be overly thrilled about the fact she’d never mount a throne like her friends. Pulling her attention away from me after a prolonged moment of staring, she pulled out a chair, holding it for someone to take their seat. The man I had inadvertently brought with us greeted Gracelynn happily and pulled my attention back to the three enthusiastic people, excited to see one another again. When he glanced in my direction, jaw ticking (of course he’s upset being pulled from his home, he doesn’t even belong here), I spotted familiar brown eyes swimming. They were exactly as Gracelynn’s had been and posed no actual threat to anyone lingering in the group. Though Evangeline had always been a good judge of character, and I knew whoever she picked was as good as gold in her eyes and nothing to fret about. I didn’t miss a beat when he looked away, eyes dropping to Evangeline, then proceeding to ignore me. Adoration and love shone brightly.

Cold stilled my insides when I spotted Anastasia move out of the corner of my eyes, and I turned to look at her again. This time, our gazes really met, and I took a startled step back, surprise jerking me away from her. Red orbs gleamed at me, but her bottom lip quivered just slightly as if she knew what was going on and didn’t want it. Sucking in a breath, she pulled her gaze away and glanced towards the door. I didn’t miss the way her fingers twitched in desire, most likely to run out the door. I couldn’t blame her. Red is the color of evil. Did she know that? Of course, with it being on her, it couldn’t have been a coincidence, could it? I moved forward an inch, unable to look away from the red-eyed young woman, my insides fizzling with her being right next to Gracelynn. I couldn’t just up and tell her, she wasn’t going to believe me, and I’d just gotten into her good graces. I go spouting about one of her best friends being evil, and I was going to come off like the scum of the earth or worse and lose her all over again.

Go me.

The sound of rapping on the door drew Lenora out of the room and left us guys to deal with the aftermath of giggling from the overexcited women. I turned my attention to the young man so clearly related to Gracelynn before Fabien grabbed a fistful of my shirt and tugged me off to the side. I didn’t fight against him, so it wasn’t difficult for him to do so.

“So, everything you’ve told us has been true,” Salvator spoke as he stepped up behind Fabien, facing directly towards me. “I guess it’s also a good thing Gracie’s starting to remember you. The way you were thinking about her made me want to attack you.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise, his words surging through my brain. That was news. “What do you mean by thinking about?”

Salvator crinkled his nose, bunching up his eyebrows. A tingle swept through me, and nights with the man flooded my mind. His eyes widened, and it clicked, like a light switch being flicked. He can fucking read minds. He also had to realize our connection now. He didn’t have a choice. Did he? I watched as he stepped forward, teetering towards me, but with confusion splashed in his eyes. Still, he reached towards me, fingers stretching towards me. I wanted to touch me, just like I had used to before, and like he had once used to touch me as well. Before that could happen, though, he stopped in his movements, and silence fell over the cottage.

Two additional pairs of footsteps entered, and the rancid scent of death followed suit. A streak of pink flew through the door and positioned herself in front of Gracelynn. No matter how much Dora disliked her, Gracelynn was still the Princess of Astead and needed protecting. The two men who followed were taller than even Salvator, and that was saying something as the man teetered well above Gracelynn’s nephew too. Their heads brushed just barely on the ceiling, only a smidge of an inch shorter to it. Their eyes were nothing but empty, looking right at – at – Fabien. Not Gracelynn, not one of the Princesses, but Fabien. I moved quickly in front of him, reaching back to keep him pinned behind me and away from the sight of their empty eyes. I had no intention of them catching sight of him.

“Gentlemen, backyard.” Lenora broke the silence as she appeared behind them.

The Death Wreaths grunted, never much for words with sewn mouths, and turned to follow the witch. A ragged breath exhaled from Fabien, his heart stuttering as he drew himself together. Behind me, his fingers brushed against my shoulder’s blades, a silent thank you note that I gave a curt nod of acknowledgment to. Words weren’t needed for the exchange. As he stepped around me, attention falling on Gracelynn, my eyes wavered to the man’s neck, tongue flicking over my lips as the sight of the light blue vein that throbbed. A slight tingling shot through my gums as my fangs extended, hungry rolling through my body.

All of their scents mixing together wafted through my nostrils, making my head spin. Again, I licked my lips hungrily, the corners of my lips curling as I forced myself to step back and away from them before I did something I could only regret afterward. Donated blood was one thing, and shoved in the refrigerator to turn ice-cold, it kept me alive. It didn’t always fill me up like the real stuff did, but it did the job it needed to. I’d drank from living bodies before, including theirs, but with them I knew when to stop. With others, in both worlds, I couldn’t always control myself and sometimes ended up draining them. That was the worst part. When they ended up dead because of me.

“Who were they?” Evangeline asked, finally breaking the prolonged silence and distracting me from making a mistake. “What were they?”

“A fucking nightmare, that’s what they were,” Fabien burst with a huff of a breath, his words slightly shaky underneath. “You need to take us home or give up this game or whatever the fuck you’re doing to us.” He wheeled around, jabbing a finger in my direction. “Did you drug us or something? What, put us in some fucking messed up VR simulator that makes us believe this is all real? What the hell did you do to us?”

“Owen, stop,” Gracelynn warned, but there was a touch of hurt lingering at the edge of her words.

He turned towards her sharply this time. “Stop what, Gracie? This is all fucking bullshit, and you damn well know it. I probably have a warrant out for my arrest now, and Devon will probably get his license to be a therapist taken away. We didn’t ask for our lives to be uprooted this way, you know.”

“I’m sure everything will work out—”

“For you maybe, but those were mine and Devon’s dream jobs. We worked our asses off for them while you played hooky and sucked dick. You didn’t have anything before this shit started, and now, we’re in fucking Fairytale land where you’re the Princess. Literally. I want to fucking go home, where things made sense.”

The hurt that had been in words she’d spoken now flashed in her eyes, and Gracelynn’s face fell in front of everyone, twisting slightly to look as if she’d just been stabbed through the heart. “I thought last night made sense,” she croaked and ran out of the kitchen.”

“Why do you have to be an ass, Owen?” Evangeline chastised and snatched Anastasia’s hand before dragging her to follow Gracelynn.

Sadness washed over me, but I let out a breath of relief at the feeling. The longer we were together, the stronger our bond could grow once more. I can feel her. We would each be able to feel her soon enough, and she could do the same. It was natural. This was all natural, and I was about to have it back. So why the fuck did I feel so crummy about it?

“You’re a fucking dick, Owen,” Salvator shot after a few more moments of silence and left through the door to escape to the outside.

So much for a goddamn reunion.

Devon

I should’ve gone after Gracie, and there was a part of me that screamed at myself, telling me to do just that. I knew, though, that the results would only land me a good yelling at. When Gracie didn’t want people around, she made it all too clear. Besides, Anna and Marcy had gone after her. My involvement would only end up making things worse with her. When she was cooled down, then and only then would I try to talk to her. As long as Owen didn’t try to approach and upset her all over, that was. Fuck, I really hope not going after her isn’t the wrong thing. I’ll hear an earful about it later if it is.

It’s about time. The loud voice pulled me to a stop, and I glanced around, head swiveling every direction to find the source.

My eyes fell on the cabin as I wheeled around, now yards behind me. Grey smoke swirled up into the air to dissipate into the clouds. I suddenly missed the quiet that the voice had left behind.

Stop, he hissed and jolted me to lock my feet down in place. The little step I had taken to advance towards the cabin all but forgotten now. Do not go back to that witch’s house. Morgana may want me here, but you are stuck with me.

Morgana. Donna. Anger swelled in me. That woman was a piece of work, and finding out what she’d done to Gracie just made me want to fucking strangle her. Staring at the shape of the cabin and intentionally ignoring the warning I’d been given, I took another step towards it. I jerked backward as a bolt of electricity shot through me. If I hadn’t known any better, I would’ve suspected I had stepped on some wiring that was wet or something. Toppling to the ground, I landed face down in a pile of mushy leaves, still damp from either rain or morning dew. I couldn’t tell which.

The sky was cream-colored as I turned over on my back, and the only reason I could tell that it was actually day. Leaves swished above me, bristling the tips of my hair, and I rose to a sitting position. I spat their dead brethren out of my mouth. Pressing my hands to my ears, as if that were going to do me any good at all, I leaned forward and squeezed my eyes shut tightly. His laugh echoed in my mind, vibrating through my body.

There’s no escape from me, Salvator. When your little girlfriend killed my last body, I was left in limbo. Until I joined you, that is. So, you see, you’re truly and forever stuck with me.

“I don’t want you with me,” I blurted, my voice disturbing the silence that had wrapped around me like a blanket. Not even a bird chirping was around. “Get out, get out now.”

I’m afraid I can’t do that, Salvator. You and I are one now.

“Don’t call me that,” it was my turn to hiss between my teeth. I looked wildly around, but I knew deep down it was pointless to search for something inside of my head. “Get out.”

He sighed heavily. You’ll learn soon enough. They always do. Oh, you’ve been exploring. Reading minds, have we?”

He sounded so amused, as if the realization of me dipping into other people’s privacy was just absolutely fucking hilarious.

That’s always a side effect, I’m afraid. Could end up fun, though, once you get the hang of it, of course. Or drive you completely bonkers. It’s done that too. I’ve seen both ways.

I shook my head violently and pulled myself to my feet, wiping at the leaves that stuck on my ass. There was nothing I could do about my pants being wet.

Mmm, she has a body for sure. The voice – he – whoever or whatever it was mused. I’ll have fun playing with her.

I saw Gracie splayed out on the bed, her beautiful body calling out to me, and my dick throbbed at the sight in my mind. With Kate, I had barely noticed what she looked like beneath her clothes. She had woman parts, and that was all that ever got my dick to stick up. It was all that mattered with her. With Kate, I had always been so adamant about protection, about no kids. Gracie, though, was a whole different story. I noticed everything. Frankly, I didn’t care with Gracie. I didn’t care if she was on birth control and forget about even bothering to request to use a condom. If she got pregnant, then so be it. That included getting pregnant from last night’s activities. Maybe if she was pregnant, then this so-called Prince would leave her alone and let us have her. He wouldn’t want to have someone else’s kids tramping around a castle, would he?

Hybrids are forbidden. My heart stuttered at the thought, and I shook my head, trying to pretend I couldn’t remember what had been said. That man tried to touch Gracie, and I would definitely do something about it. Because no matter what, I’d known since I had met her when I was sixteen that I was meant to be with Gracie forever. Or at least, I knew that now after nine years with the woman.

“Don’t look at her,” I warned, trying to lock away the images of Gracie that I kept secure inside of me. “She’s mine.”

He – It – whatever, chuckled. Ours, you mean. She’s ours. You’ve come to accept sharing her with the others. I can’t deter you from that now. Now, though, you’re going to have to accept sharing her with me.

I stepped forward, eyes on the puff of smoke to keep me on my path. I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t hear the wretched voice when I was inside of the cabin. It was sanctuary, and I needed to get back to it. He screamed, the sound ricocheting in my head, bouncing in every corner. I felt my mouth open and the scream tear at my throat, but I couldn’t hear my own sound. For a second time, I covered my ears like it would do any good and fell to my knees. The ground hit, but I ignored the pain that jabbed through me.

Don’t go in there! He or It (seriously, I fucking gave up) bellowed. My chest tightened, my head spinning in an endless loop. My body trembled, and my muscles grew weak, making it nearly impossible for me to stand. Especially to be able to run out. I needed to get back. I needed to get inside. I need to get to Gracie. Stay out of that fucking Witch’s house. The voice trembled this time, fear rolling through it. It's afraid. But if I could not even move now, how the fuck was I supposed to get back there?

“Colton,” I gasped, the face of the fanged man dancing behind my eyelids.

Shut up, it hissed, sending a flash of anger through me. No. We are together. Don’t do this.

I shook my head violently, trying to push Psych (that’s Its name!) away and out of my mind. If I could just get Colton to hear me, I could get back to safety. Could he hear me? I knew from books and movies that his kind had sensitive hearing. There was no way he couldn’t hear me. Though, I didn’t really know if that was an actual thing. If it weren’t, I was speaking to the air and hoping to the dirt that lay beneath me. I wasn’t really sure why I was calling for him. All I knew was that he was all I had to save me.

Besides, at this point, what did I have to lose?

“Colton,” I bellowed, forcing his name off my lips though it cracked, leaving my mouth. “Colton!”

My body twisted, and I lurched forward, curling my fingers into the ground to try and somehow keep myself rooted in place. I felt the tug, my muscles screaming against the fight, with one part of me wanting to stay in place and the other longing to run into the woods and leave the vicinity to the cabin. I wasn’t allowing it, though; I couldn’t allow it. As my gaze zeroed in on the ground that I so desperately clung to, a moist and plump worm slithered between the opening that my fingers created and wiggled over my thumb. I tugged backward slightly, but it wasn’t me doing it. My muscles shrieked at the war going on inside of me, and I clenched my teeth, grinding them as hard as they allowed me to. I felt like a marionette puppet, the strings either about to snap to let me fall to the stage or win this battle.

Cold fingers gripped my arms and hauled me to my feet, snapping the strings in half for me. My body grew limp, and I let out a gasp of a breath, heaving as I struggling to breathe. Yellow dots flashed in front of my eyes.

“Salvator, are you alright?” His fingers pressed against my cheeks, shoving my head back to look into my eyes, but all I could do was the swirling of green leaves above me. “Salvator?”

“I need inside,” I croaked, my voice just barely a whisper as I felt a new wash of fear and anger sweep through me, tumbling in balls. “Get me inside. Please.”

No. Don’t do this, Salvator. Don’t.

Fuck, I really hated that name.

The wind whisked around me for a solid moment. I felt like the ground had left from beneath my feet. Then it hit, and I staggered forward before his hands tightened and straightened me out. The view in front of me tilted, spinning, just slightly until I finally forced my eyes closed. Doing so only made me feel like I was floating on water, though.

“Are you alright?” he asked again, the worry tinging his words.

I held up a hand to stop him, taking a moment to allow myself to take everything in. My muscles and joints throbbed, but no strings were pulling at me anymore. The voice was gone as well. Silence and I were reunited in bliss. Opening my eyes, I flicked my gaze to him. A trickle ran down my front. He had a strong jaw and broad shoulders and something both familiar and comforting about him.

“I’m good,” I nodded lamely and felt the nip of cold of my wet pants over my ass. “I need to change though before I start fucking chafing.”

At my own words, I suddenly felt grimy. I was in the clothes I had put on the day before, just like Owen and Gracie. I didn’t know about Marcy, Anna, or Landon. I hadn’t exactly paid mind to them, even if they were Gracie’s best friends and nephew. It wasn’t like I was super close to any of them. I only knew about Owen’s because we’d been living together for nearly over a year now. After so long, you just sort of noticed even the most subtle of things like that.

“You can borrow a pair of my clothes,” he offered and turned, pointing towards the side of the stairs that led down a dark hall. “My room’s that way.”

I peered around him and shook my head, hesitant about following him, but I gave in, deciding that at this point, I didn’t have much to lose. “Sure, show me your room. Just don’t kill me. Gracie would be after your ass for that.”

He snorted with a roll of his eyes and beckoned me to follow him, releasing me. My eyes slithered to his tight ass. At least if I had to die in the next few minutes, it would at least be at the hands of someone cute and totally worth death for (besides Gracie, of course). As we entered his room, I watched Colton’s cross to his dresser and rummage within the drawers. I couldn’t help being nosy. It didn’t help that he had everything displayed like a museum. My eyes fell on a photo framed on his bedside table and drew me towards it before I could pluck it up.

“So, you live here?” I asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible while making small talk.

“The witches are amazing people and so caring. After I lost you three, I wasn’t allowed to stay in the castle anymore. The witches offered me a home and a job for it because I wasn’t willing to stay for free.”

I nodded, letting my head bob a few too many times. The photo had the four of us together, but I couldn’t remember ever posing to take it. Gracie’s eyes were that beautiful brown that I adored so much and now missed intensely in the photo.

“Here you go,” he handed me a pair of folded clothes. “You guys will remember soon. I know you will. You have to.”

I ignored the outfit given to me as I set the photo back down on the dresser before facing him. As his lips parted to say something, I stepped forward and pressed mine to them. Taking the clothes, I pulled away but not without one more glance at the photo that depicted a life my heart throbbed to remember.

Owen

I rubbed my cheek, even though I hadn’t been slapped. I might as well have been. I felt like I should’ve been because damn, did I deserve a good whack across the face. At least, it would’ve been ten times better than feeling like the biggest piece of shit in the universe.

“What the fuck, man?” Landon blurted, finally cutting the silence between the two of us.

Lenora had left the room, Dora, on her tail, leaving just the two of us.

Leaning onto the table, I clenched the table’s edge as hard as my fingers would allow without snapping them in half, knuckles turning white. My gaze flickered to the table, taking in the reflection that stared back up at me. “I’m an asshole.”

He snorted as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Yeah, no fucking kidding. Even when Gracie stole your money and ran out on you, you weren’t that cruel. That was seriously uncalled for.”

I clenched my teeth together, refusing to look at him. Gracie was my ultimate best friend, had been since she’d been my first friend when moving to the town and entering the same class. She’d been the only one to take a chance on the new kid. I didn’t know if she knew, but it had meant everything to me. Then and now.

“Owen,” he scolding tone reminded me of our friendship.

Devon was a good friend, and I could call him a best friend, but he wasn’t my first or second one. Gracie had the number one locked in, but she was a girl, and as the opposite sex, there were just some things you didn’t tell girls. I’d needed someone to tell things I couldn’t tell her, and Landon had been there.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered, turning away from him.

“Owen, come on, man.”

I shrugged, clenching my teeth, and refused to look at him. Rubbing my forehead, I let out a shaky breath of air.

“Look, I know it was uncalled for, alright? I’m not stupid. I didn’t mean to, not really.” I let out a huff of breath, my eyes trailing to the coffee gone cold and left forgotten on the table.

Gracie’s second cup. There were less than a handful of reasons why Gracie would ever let her precious coffee go cold. Apparently, I’d made a new bullet point on that list. What the hell is wrong with me?

As I turned to face him, Landon shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, staring at me with a stone-cold look and pursed lips that curled downwards in displeasure. “I don’t know what to tell you then, O. You’re going to have to make up with her sooner or later, though, and I suggest you do it soon. After she’s married…” his voice trailed off, but it was enough to remind me why I had even gotten angry in the first place.

“That’s not… real.” I pressed, shaking my head in utter and complete denial. I refused to believe, or at least, I pushed myself to not believe it. “Nobody can seriously expect her to get married, can they? Whatever this place is… this is all bullshit.” I slammed a fist onto the table, sending the half-filled cups of liquid jostling. One or two spewed over and splashed on the surface of the tabletop. “This has to be some fucked up joke, right?”

He was silent as if hesitating to respond. I knew Landon way too well and could see he was biding time at telling me something I most likely wouldn’t want to hear. “The witch we stayed with, Maggie, showed us the truth. Which is all of this, really. Even,” he puffed out his cheeks and exhaled slowly with a curt shake of his head. “Me. I hadn’t really expected it, but I’m part of all this too. I guess I was part of your guy’s past life,” he snorted when I arched an eyebrow in question. “Yeah, I wasn’t like a big part because I hadn’t gotten a chance to truly meet any of you. Unlike you guys, though, I got to die naturally. Old age and just went in my sleep. My soul just wasn’t ready to give up the story it needed to write, though. That’s what Maggie said anyway.”

I was facing him by the end of his words, unsure what I was supposed to say at this point. I didn’t want to believe what he was saying, but a small part inside of me was twisted into a ball, telling me I didn’t have much of an option but to do so. Another part, larger than that little ball, was screaming at me. Because he was Landon of all people and played along to this fantasy, only writers would ever dare to dream could be true. Had they drugged him or something? It had to be. Because Landon going along with it, the man who scoffed at Harry Potter and Twilight alongside me. Who had gone to the movies to throw popcorn at the screen and boo them from the back? The only logical reason for him playing along was that he was drugged.

I stepped forward and waved a hand in front of his face. He blinked, narrowing his eyes just slightly before he stepped back. “Are you drugged or being blackmailed?” I questioned, leaning towards him to try and see if his eyes were dilated. “You can’t be fucking serious about this.”

He held up his hands in surrender, without another word or another step back to prove himself. I scowled, my insides burning with the betrayal that coursed through my veins. Of all people, Landon was the very last person I would’ve expected to believe any of the bullshit being pulled over our eyes. I hit the table again, making the table wobble dangerously, and this time, a little bit of coffee did splash onto the shiny surface. I pulled back, opened my mouth, and decided against saying anything as I snapped it closed. Turning on my heel, I stormed out of the kitchen and the cabin, sucking in a breath of air as I stepped into the woods. I knew Landon wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, not without Marcy anyway. Besides, where would he be headed?

My eyes darted to the back of the cabin before rising towards the sky. Beyond the forest, a pointed tower poked at the cream-colored sky. The forest itself was thick, and though the cabin sat right smack in a clearing, the trees hid it well enough, even from the castle itself. As I turned away from the sight, I moved forward into the density of the trees, the leaves crunching beneath my feet. A low breeze tugged at my clothes and played with strands of my hair. Tears budded in the corners of my eyes, but before I could stop them, their warm saltiness snaked down my cheeks. Quickly, I wiped them away and drew in a shaky breath as I sniveled.

“Owen, please don’t cry,” the voice whispered, sending ice trickling down my spine. “There’s no reason to cry.”

I knew the voice. I had heard it, listened to it, for every day of my life for the first five years I had been alive. It had turned into only sparing moments over the years, though, when her voice would come from phone calls and a once-a-year supervised visit. After that, her voice had only ever existed within my dreams. Until today. Until now.

Turning to face her, I braced myself to see emptiness just like always. Her voice was one thing, but I had lost memory of her face such a long time ago. Why I’d even let myself hope that I’d be able to see her again for so long was beyond me. To this day, I still wasn’t even sure why I had always been so desperate to see her again or even to just talk to her at that. She had left me, not the other way around. I was supposed to be mad at her, but I still couldn’t help the desperation of my biological mother being in my life. I deserved answers too, I knew I did. For so long, the burning questions had gnawed at my insides and tried to rip me apart, limb by limb.

I was just imagining things now, though, wasn’t I? With everything that had been going on, there was no way this wasn’t part of whatever trick or game or whatever was going on.

“I’m here with you,” she whispered, her voice brushing against my ear. “You can’t see me yet, but you will soon. When the medicine fully wears off, you’ll see me. I promise you that. Soon enough, you’ll see everything.”

Spinning around to try and find the source of the drifting voice, I swiveled my head in every direction. Feeling hopeless, my shoulders slumped when there was nothing to be seen except a few fluttering leaves twirling the ground. I could remember as a kid I’d always told such high tales of seeing people that were supposed to be long dead, or at least, that’s what I’d always been told of them. At other points, those were days that I still couldn’t even remember. Nothing but a black hole inside of my mind whenever I did try to claw my way back to memory. At first, I’d been diagnosed with a multitude of things, mental illnesses that sometimes were meant as so severe, I should’ve been locked up for my own safety, let alone others. I was told it all in my head that I had nothing to worry about if I just took my pills like a good little boy.

Dozens of doctors examined my brain, switched my medication, and made me feel like a fool. It was a big reason I had learned that fantasy never trumped reality. That it was all just fake and nonsense, a game that people tried to live in. I’d been told that it was a coping mechanism and the only way to be a good boy was to just let it go. So, I had and let the pills do their jobs. Doing so also made it easy for me to get adopted as quickly as I had been able to. Foster families weren’t always so keen about raising children with mental issues.

I didn’t take my pills this morning. I couldn’t. I don’t have them. Oh fuck, I don’t have my pills. I’m so dead. Robert’s going to kill me. There had been one time at the age of twelve that I’d run out of pills early. Whether it was just from being shortened on my refill or I’d lost some, I wasn’t sure, but it had really messed me up. I had thought I was going to be okay for just a night. Turned out, I had been entirely wrong and should’ve second-guessed every decision I’d made after finding out that orange bottle was empty.

That was the night of my and Gracie’s first official date. I’d been getting the courage up for months to ask for, and it took days to get ready for it. It was some stupid high schoolers party I had thought would make us look cool to go to—stupid preteen brain. I had realized too late that I probably should’ve just canceled the entire thing. Instead, I had taken her and found my intolerance for alcohol and just how much of a prick I could be when under the influence.

Though, if it hadn’t been for that night, Devon would’ve never entered the picture. I could never figure out if it was a good or bad thing. Maybe a bit of both.

After that, I’d promised myself that I would never do anything like that again. That I would never frighten Gracie like that. Until today. I guess I hadn’t really scared her, but I did hurt her, and that was just as bad, if not worse. Frightening was one thing and could get over and done with. Hurting her, on the other hand? It was probably best if I just walked off into the trees and never show my face to her again. Virtual reality game or whatever the fuck this shit was didn’t matter.

Fuck, I seriously need to remember to thank Devon more for saving us that night.

“Owen,” a new voice whispered in my ear, like the breeze that fluttered the edges of my hair. Soft and only a breath of air spoken.

My heart ached for the memory I would never forget.

I closed my eyes, trying to tune her out, desperate to block her at all costs. If I let myself slip now, there was no coming back. The sob became blocked in my throat. Unlike my mother’s voice, this one brought shame. As clear as day, I could see myself reaching for her little hands, so wanting to grab them. Just as I had, the little fingers slipped away and took her to the ground beneath. There had been no saving her.

“Owen,” she was stronger this time, and the force of her voice threw me forward, crashing to my knees as my hands slammed into the ground, fingers curling into the dirt to keep myself from faceplanting in it.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” she said soothingly, and I felt the rustle of my hair as if fingers were being dragged through it. “You don’t have to be sad anymore.”

I drew in a sharp breath, my chest rattling with the heave of intake. Tears burned the corners of my eyes, blurring my vision, and I quickly blinked away the sobs that threatened to erupt once again.

“I failed you,” I croaked, my shoulders tensing as the truth tumbled from my lips.

Only one other person had ever heard me speak about Bethany before. “I failed you.”

“No.” Her voice echoed as if we were just merely locked in a room, the invisible corners making it bounce around. “This was my fate; it was meant to happen. There was no way around it, and you did what you could. That’s what matters.”

I shook my head vigorously until I felt bile bubble in my stomach at the movement and stopped, gasping in a breath of air. Again, the girl who would never turn six brushed her fingers through my hair. For so long, I’d never been able to figure out why the little mousy brown-haired girl with a snaggle tooth had chosen me as her protector so many years ago, but she had. It’s because you just give the protector vibe off. You always have. It’s what Gracie had told me when I’d first told her about Bethany, and if I really thought about it, it was the reason I had become a police officer. I loved protecting. I loved helping. It was what I did best.

When I wasn’t a goddamn mess, that was.

“I failed you,” the words repeated were hollow before the sobs finally escaped.

Tiny fingers brushed over my cheeks, wiping at the tears, but couldn’t quite catch them. An exhalation of breath ruffled my hair, but it quickly vanished just as it had appeared. Silence washed over me, besides the little sniveling left behind. Goosebumps flitted up and down my flesh from the chill of what was now gone. Letting go of the ground, I push myself over and crashed to the dirt on my back, no longer caring about the state of my clothes at this point. Leaves fluttered above, and a few plucked themselves from the end of their branches and twirled down towards me. A shadow fell over my face, blocking what little of the cream-colored sky could be seen through the canopy up above. Leaves crackled as the owner moved to my side, releasing the blockage and allowing me to view the world up above once again.

“Are you done being an ass?”

I closed my eyes and lifted my hands, pressing the tips of my fingers to my forehead, not wanting to put dirt in my eyes and to give myself an excuse to not look right at her. What I had said to her couldn’t be fixed with one apology or even a dozen, and I wasn’t about to even stutter something half-assed out in the state of mind I was currently in.

“It’s cold, Owen.”

I nodded, but still, I refused to say a word to her. At the touch of her fingers upon my wrists, however, I withdrew my hands and turned my head, allowing my eyes to finally meet hers. Those strange silver orbs gleamed down at me. The ones I was never going to get used to. I really missed them being brown.

“You know, Owen, I really want to be mad at you. I can’t be, though. Because you’re scared of all this, I know you are. I know it’s hard for you to accept any of this right away.” She reached out, tracing her thumb down my jawline. “I know it isn’t easy, but I’m here for you, alright. Please don’t push me away.”

I could only nod, but only this time because I was at a complete loss of words. Gracie got me, she always did, and I couldn’t deny her that. I also couldn’t deny when she asked something of me, this time included. Reaching out, I took her by her shoulders and pulled her to me, pressing my lips against her. Even if for just a little while, I was going to forget everything. As long as I had her, my world was complete, and it didn’t matter where the hell we were at.

Gracie

I could only watch him, desperate to make sure he didn’t leave my eyesight. If I dared even blink, I was afraid he would just up and disappear. That was not something I wanted, nor was it what I needed. My body sagged, ready to just call it a day or night or whatever the hell it was at this point. All I knew was that normally, my coffee could energize me, but today, I felt entirely drained. Not that I said anything. If I did, I would never be allowed to live it down. Owen and Devon were notorious for being overprotective when it came to even saying I had the sniffles and would overdo it like hovering mothers fretting about a sick child. I was the fourth and last child, and while I knew I’d been spoiled, the only time my parents had ever flown into those parents who overreacted was when I’d been pushed out of the treehouse and been shot.

Those two things were perfectly normal to have parents overreact on. I hated when I was fretted over when I didn’t feel good. I just wanted to be left alone, so I could sleep it off. Sleep always seemed to do the trick, and now and again, a good hot shower that washed it all away.

Owen and Devon, however, did not seem to understand that. I couldn’t really blame them, though. Even though Devon was also the youngest of two, the death of his brother when he’d only been sixteen had taken a toll on his parents. Owen, on the other hand, was an only child with his adoptive parents. Blood brothers did live out in the world but were nowhere to be found when it came to him being taken care of. Funny enough, the three of us were so many years behind our older siblings that they’d all been teenagers at our births. Devon’s older brother had been thirteen when he’d been born, and Owen’s second oldest brother had been sixteen. Piper, though my parents had adopted her, was fourteen years older than I was. The same as my brother.

I’d always found it funny that was how things had worked out with us. Now knowing that we were meant to be together made it so much easier to accept the fact that it had been meant to happen. Any earlier for either one of us, there was a possibility that we wouldn’t have been able to get together. Maybe though, just maybe. I didn’t know. Devon was the oldest, so if Owen or I had been a couple years older, we would’ve been in his age range and still together.

My head pounded, which made trying to think that much more complicated than it probably needed to be.

“I think we should be honest with each other,” Owen piped up after what seemed like a damn eternity swathing us in silence.

My eyes snapped to him, having sometime in the minutes I’d lost myself in thought, drifted to the wall across from the bed. When I had taken to just watching that was beyond me. “What?”

Owen plopped down on the bed, making me bounce slightly and laid back, staring up at the ceiling. Pure instinct drew me forward, and I pulled myself to a crawling position, placing my knees on both sides of his head as I sat behind him, my fingers instantly stroking through his hair.

His bright eyes fluttered closed at my touch, lips parting slightly to let out an exhalation of breath, shoulders drooping in content. “We need to be honest with each other, all of us. We’re in this together, aren’t we? So, we need to—”

“I don’t know what we are,” Devon interrupted, and my eyes shot up to see him brooding in the corner, his bottom lip puffed out in a pout and arms crossed over his chest. “How do we even know any of this is real? It could just be some messed up reality game or whatever.”

I cocked an eyebrow. Now he was the one being paranoid about our situation? Tilting my head, I opened my mouth to start to say something, but before the words could dribble out, the door to the room slammed open. A wild pink-haired witch barged in, nostrils flaring as she launched towards me. Shooting up, Owen swung forward and grabbed her by the waist, hauling her off her feet before slamming her against the wall, pinning her against it.

“Why did you have to come back? You could’ve just fucking died, you know. You could’ve lived your life out and never come here! You messed everything up. What’s wrong with you? I hate you!”

I flinched at her words, unsure where they had even come from, but at the moment, I wasn’t sure it was appropriate to be asking her such a question. Instead, I drew back, trying to put distance between us in the event she somehow got free and tried to have another go at me. Though, I knew Owen was good at his job and wouldn’t let her touch me.

“He was mine. I – I know not really, but with you out of the picture, I could at least pretend he was. Now that you’re back, he doesn’t even acknowledge me!”

I huffed out a breath of air, realizing just who she was talking about. “He wants to be in Iris’ life, though.”

“That’s not the same,” she hissed, shoving at Owen, but gave in after a moment of him refusing to budge. Her eyes darted to him, widening in surprise. “How the fuck are you this strong?”

Owen shrugged, but keeping his hold, he looked at me. I drew my legs up and wrapped my arms around my knees, putting my chin on them. “So, Dora, right? Who’s going to teach me how to use my powers?”

The witch went lax, her head falling against the as she stared at me through half-open lids, a corner of her lips curling upwards in a smirk. “Oh, you really don’t know, do you?”

I shook my head, intent on keeping the conversation on this current topic if it meant keeping her from trying to attack me again.

She laughed, a short bark of a one that meant she was still on edge with me but did find whatever it was funny that we were talking about. “There’s only one Sorceress left in this kingdom. The Prince didn’t want anyone to be able to overthrow him, so he wiped the Sorcerer’s and Sorceress’ out. You know, your kind. The only one left besides you is Morgana. There are others in the other kingdoms where your friends reside, but with Prince Octavian in charge, they don’t dare venture across the waters to here. Not like your friends did. They will learn, though, trust me. Especially once the Hellhounds get a whiff of them having been here.”

I swallowed roughly, raising my head just slightly as I curled my fingers into the jeans that I had been given to borrow for the time being. They were slightly on me, but they had to do for the time being. If she were, Marcy, Anna, and Landon could be in danger just by coming around. Even if it was outside the kingdom lines. I didn’t want them to risk their lives just to see me.

“Can I go see them?”

Her face fell, and surprise flickered in her eyes, lips pressing together as she shook her head. “You wouldn’t even get to a boat before the Prince heard about it. He’s playing a game, you know. He’s letting you have them come around, but that’s it. Soon, he’ll revoke entrance to the kingdom just so you’re locked here, and you don’t get them.” Her eyes flashed to Owen and then Devon, both of whom were staring at her, their eyebrow scrunches telling me they were trying to figure out if she was telling the truth or trying to stir up trouble with some crackpot of a story. “He’ll get you as well. The three of you. He doesn’t like it when obstacles are in his way to his prize and you,” she snapped her eyes back to me. “Are his prize. He wants you and will do whatever it is to get you. Just like last time. The only difference now is I’m sure he’ll take precautions to make sure you don’t off yourself again.”

I met Devon’s eyes, his face pale from what we’d been told. I couldn’t tell if he believed it now or what, but I knew him well enough to know that regardless of how he or Owen felt about this place, he was scared shitless of what could happen.

I locked my jaw but didn’t say anything else as my gaze dropped to the grey bedspread. Clenching the jeans tighter, my knuckles turned white, and I felt a bile of anger bubble up in my throat that threatened to spew out, but I kept pushed down. There was no way in hell I was going to up and just let it happen. They were protective of me, yes, but it didn’t happen just one way. Owen and Devon were mine, and I would be damned if I let anything happen to either one of them. Strangely enough, I also knew, however little it was, that I would step in the way to try and protect Colton as well. It wasn’t as strong as it with Devon and Owen, but the truth was the fact that I knew deep down, he was mine too. I’d come to realize that when we had kissed. It had been familiar, a de ja vous kind of kiss that wanted to happen again and again. One that made me want to keep him in eyesight. I knew better than to say anything, though. I had to figure out what it meant exactly. Jumping to conclusions was the wrong way to go about things.

“Where is Colton?” Devon asked, his eyes avoiding mine as I glanced up, the question feeling oddly like he’d just read my mind.

“I don’t know. Out back, with Lenora. Beats me. Can you get off me?” She snapped, hissing at Owen as she pushed against him once more. “I need to go pick up Iris from school now if you don’t mind.”

Owen hesitated but finally drew back, releasing. The pink-hair slapped as she turned her head, eyes staring at me, glistening in unshed tears. “It isn’t fair, you know. I knew him long before you ever did. But it was you he fell in love with. I hate you so much.”

With that, she pulled away from the wall and left the room, slamming the door behind her. I flinched but released my hold upon myself, stretching my legs out in front of me. Reaching forward, I bent over and tried to touch my toes. The strain pulled at my shoulders, searing slightly from the effort it took before the tips of my fingers could curl around my toes, and I bent my head down, looking into my lap.

“What the hell are you doing, Gracie?” Devon asked, slight amusement trickling in his words.

I grunted, shaking my head. “Stretching,” I huffed, sucking in a breath of air.

“You’re so weird,” Devon muttered, but I could hear the slight laughter in his voice.

I smiled to myself and leaned as far down as possible before my back started screaming at me and pressed my head into my knees.

The bed dipped next to me before a pair of hands pressed onto my shoulders and pulled me back, laying me down on the pillows. Pushing me over, he pulled a pillow under my head and straddled me from behind, lifting my shirt before pressing his fingers into my back. Devon’s fingers touched every sore point there was and reminded me that he always knew when I was stressed. I felt Owen sit next to me, his fingers brushing through my hair this time.

“So, back to what I was saying…” he started.

“I can read minds.” Devon blurted, cutting Owen off.

I snapped my head up, but unable to look at him, I just sat in place. Silence ensued at his confession.

Devon

“What the hell are you talking about, Devon?” Gracie demanded, but her voice was slightly muffled beneath me.

Pulling myself off her, I plopped to sit next to her and watched as she shimmied up, dropping to my side, head tilted just slightly to look up at me. Her silver eyes gleamed and made my heart ache with the memory of the once chocolate brown hues that had once looked up at me. Now I only had bittersweet moments of looking at pictures and imagining what they’d once looked like. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get used to these new ones.

“I mean,” I said slowly, biting back the urge to just stop myself and play it off as some messed up joke. I was trying to con over on them. I didn’t play jokes that way, and if anyone knew that, it was the two staring at me with intensity. “I read minds.”

The words were more difficult to spit out than I had originally imagined them to be. I wasn’t sure what either of their responses would be, which put me on edge. I did my job well. I was a good therapist. I did decently well and I loved it. I wasn’t the absolute best, but I could only get better. Nobody was the absolute best at any job or career they had, and if they claimed to be, they obviously weren’t willing to learn to do more with it and grow. I was always willing to learn and grow.

Still, even that didn’t mean I could outright know the reactions that would come from either of them.

“What do you mean by that?” Gracie questioned, the hesitation in her words clear as crystal.

She scrutinized me as if one wrong would mean I was losing my mind. I glowered down at her, a pang slashing across my heart as she sank back, but my annoyance was far greater at the moment. “Seriously? You’re going to treat me like I’m seeing a two-headed talking dragon when you literally have powers shooting out your hands. I’m not crazy.”

Her eyebrows arched in surprise at my words. “I never said you were crazy, Devon. Nor I was thinking that.”

I crossed my arms over my chest with a shake of my head. “I didn’t say you were, but the way you’re looking at me—”

“I’m not looking at you like anything. Dev, if you think anyone thinks you’re crazy, then that’s your perception.”

I slumped down on the bed, glaring at the grey bedspread, wanting to just entirely ignore her. I didn’t know what I was supposed to say to her words this time. If anything at all, that was. I knew she was right. Maybe, anyway. If I believed she was looking at me like I was crazy and she wasn’t, then it was pretty obvious I was looking at myself that way.

“This place is making us all going a little crazy. That’s all this is—” Owen started, but his words fell off his tongue before the sentence could be finished.

I raised my eyes to his disgruntled look, his eyebrows knitted together, and lips pressed in the way that always happened when he grew flustered. The tip of my dick twitched at the sight, but I mentally patted it, knowing better than to act when it came to Owen. It was hard to keep my hands off the younger man, but I had to keep reminding myself that he just wasn’t into me. No matter how much that pained me to admit.

“What?” he snapped, nostrils flaring in sudden anger. “There’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“Owen, are you alright?” Gracie asked, but my ears twitched at the hesitance that riddled her words.

I bit my tongue, not wanting to say anything wrong at the moment. Owen had displayed a loss of control earlier, and that meant he was on the verge of entirely breaking. While I had only witnessed it once, I knew well enough that it couldn’t be easy dealing with the sudden withdrawal of his medication. I’d witnessed patients drop their meds before, and some even have psychotic breaks from it, but Owen had always been so careful. So willing to take his meds. Even into adulthood when he could’ve just thrown them away and done whatever the fuck he wanted. His life meant everything to him, especially the dream of finally getting Gracie back in his arms once she was truly better. It was a dream we had both shared. He just hadn’t known that.

He was breaking, and it was pretty damn obvious. Owen was a control freak, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Not over people, but just the rest of his life. Matching outfits, a routine to follow daily, and meds. Now everything was fucked up. It was no surprise he had snapped, but on Gracie it had been. I had once imagined him losing his mind for the same exact reason, but never once had I considered he might lash out at her. Knowing her, Gracie had taken it to heart, forgiven him, but was still nervous around him. She’d been under his hand twice in her life before when he hadn’t been on meds. She knew he was capable of and the older one became, the worst the situation could get.

They were adults now. He was far stronger, whereas she was weaker, due to the booze and drugs, which didn’t damage just your brain. If he tried going after her –

I drew in a sharp breath, shoving that thought out of my brain before it could truly form and make me panic. I was generally collected. I had to be as a therapist. But Gracie was a completely different territory. I was protective, maybe a little too much, but she was the only one I had ever wanted to marry since age seventeen, and with being this damn close, I didn’t want anything to jeopardize that.

“Ahh!” The scream vibrated through my ears before it hit my mind.

The picture around me snapped, and, as if slow motion had suddenly been flicked on, I watched in full-frontal as Gracie collapsed to the ground, holding her stomach. Owen was moving, but it was stiff, and I could barely move. She was screaming, a dull sound in my ears, and the words indistinguishable. A whisk of wind fluttered past me, and the pale skin of Colton shimmered in my eyes, his icy touch brushing the top of my hand as he passed.

When his eyes shot to mine, I could see the pained look dancing within. His lips moved, saying something to me, and then he was gone. I fell to my knees at Gracie’s side, jolted back into reality, my fingers grabbing at her shoulders to pull her up. Her hands found my arms, and her fingers dug in, desperate to keep a hold on me. A trickle of blood dribbled down her chin, and fear met my eyes when our gazes caught.

“What the hell is wrong with her?” Owen demanded, grasping her chin and pulled her face to look at him. “Gracie, what happened?”

She shook her head, her breath ragged as it escaped from between her lips.

“It’s the bond,” a familiar voice explained, sadness washing through the words. We turned to see the silver-haired witch watching us with a sad smile. “It’s connecting a lot faster than I originally thought it would. It’s surprising, really, because your memories have yet to fully return.” The smile wavered before dropping, and her lips pressed together.

“What the fuck does some stupid bond have to do with this? Gracie’s in pain! We need a hospital or something—”

“Doctors of your world won’t be able to fix her. You have to wait it out. That’s all you can do. I can make her something to help her sleep, though, if you wish. She will be in pain tonight.”

I blanched, and I didn’t need to look at him to know that Owen’s expression mirrored mine. The mere thought of anything or anybody hurting Gracie riled up a bile of anger that could easily be mistaken for a tsunami about to hit. Maybe I was wrong. Before, I had been able to contain my protectiveness. Here, however, it had been nothing but on overdrive. Maybe I didn’t have as much control as I originally thought.

I swallowed it down and turned my attention back to Gracie, who now had her head bent, and the front of her shirt splattered red. Her chest rose and fell heavily, each breath sounding as if it were difficult to take in. My heart clenched, and I reached out, running my fingers through her hair, not knowing what else I could do to make her feel better.

“The bond between the five of you. Each of you can feel everything she feels, it will grow stronger over time, but she can feel everything you each feel. Even all at once. Right now, she’s feeling Colton’s hunger, and it's strong. This means the rest will come in waves, and it will hurt her until it's settled. There’s also more to the bond, but—”

“Five?” Owen interjected; his look of bewilderment sharp as he turned to face her. “Alright, Colton, whatever, but that only makes four of us. Not five.”

Sharing with one another had been a mutual agreement. We both had known Gracie long enough. We each knew how to make her smile and beg for more. We had both seen her at her worst and still so wanted her. No matter how hot he was or anything, this new guy and anyone else didn’t know her. Not the way we did. Frustration flared inside of me, but I clenched my teeth and reached out to grip Gracie’s chin, urging her face up so I could look at her again. Exhaustion swam in her eyes, and the beads of sweat that plastered strands of hair to her face worried me. The last time I had seen her look so ill was in detox.

Fear trickled down my spine. “She needs to sleep this off,” I finally stated, jerking my eyes to Owen, who was looking at me like I had sprouted fifty heads. “I’m serious. If she stays up anymore, she’s going to slip.”

Realization dawned in his eyes at my eyes, and he snapped his gaze to the witch. “Can you help her sleep?”

Lenora huffed, and the shuffle of her feet leaving told me she had agreed, but my attention was entirely on Gracie at this point. Pain shot through her eyes.

“It hurts,” she breathed, her hands balling into fists. “Make it stop.”

Her words were thick, as if she were struggling to be able to speak them, and a spout of blood gushed from between her lips. I brushed my thumb over her pale cheek and peeled off a stuck piece of hair.

“It’s going to be okay,” I assured her, sounding far stronger than I felt. I knew I had to keep it together for her. “Everything is going to be okay, I promise.”

She glared at me, and the anger drew me back, startled to see her look at me with such hatred. “Do you not see where we are? I want to go home. That’s where I’ll be okay.” The emotion gave way to a round of choked-out sobs, and tears raced down her cheeks to join the blood that painted her lips. “I want my daddy.”

I felt helpless. All I could do was lean forward and press my lips to her forehead, closing my eyes as I felt her body tremble beneath my touch, choking back my own sobs.

Gracie

"Don't be an idiot," I reprimanded with a roll of my eyes, glaring at Owen as he tried to sneak out of the room. "Where are you going?"

His movement upon the bed had woken me; the rustle of clothing as he changed into something Colton had provided hours previously alerted me him trying to leave the room entirely. Darkness had settled, an inky blackness void of stars and the cream-colored sky that lit the day up. Daring to leave was a suicide mission itself and something I refused to allow him to be part of.

"Out," Owen grunted. His dark shape had his back to me, refusing to even look at me. "I'll be back soon. Go back to sleep Gracie."

Wiggling out from beneath Devon's outstretched arm, careful to not completely disturb him, I crawled off the bed and dropped to the floor with a small thud, padding over to him. Close up, he drew into clearer view, and I pulled him to me, curling my fingers around his.

"Come on, Gracie, don't do this," he warned, but the exhaustion swept into his voice, telling me that an argument was out of the question entirely. He wasn't ready for it.

Which meant if I pushed hard enough, I would get the answers I wanted. "No, Owen. Want me to wake Devon? You know he gets grumpy if he's woken and if he finds out you're trying to go out there with Hellhounds and whatever the hell else-"

"Don't wake him. We don't need to wake him. Leave Devon alone." He grumped, huffing out a breath of air as he crossed his arms, eyes glittering the darkness down at me. "Leave him out of this."

"Then tell me," I demanded with a stomp of my foot. "Tell me right now, or I will wake him up."

Letting out an audible groan, Owen shook his head. "You are a stubborn woman, you know that? Fine, I'm just going out... for a breath of air."

I blinked, the corners of my lips curling downwards, and my eyes narrowed at him. "That's a lie." I accused bluntly. "Tell me the truth, Owen."

He grumbled, muttering incoherent words beneath his breath. "I want to see if I can see my mom."

I blinked but furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, not entirely understanding what he was talking about. "What?"

"My mom. My biological mom. I heard her. So maybe tonight I can see her-"

Realization dawned on me, and my shoulders sagged as I reached forward, placing my palm on his arm. "Owen, you aren't taking your medication. This is just an effect-"

"What if it isn't wrong, Gracie? What if they were wrong and nothing is wrong with my head?" he said quickly, cutting off my words, shaking me off him as he stepped back, taking in a large gulp of air. "How could it be wrong? Look where we are. Look what you can do. What if me seeing things isn't wrong? The other part of our lives was determined to squash any and everything ‘different,’ including me, hearing voices and seeing things. Here, it doesn't exactly seem wrong, does it?"

I hesitated. I didn't want to accidentally encourage whatever was going through his mind, but I also didn't want to diss it and make him feel crazy. Owen wasn't wrong about it being possible, but hearing things that just weren't there couldn't be good. Right?

"Owen, I love you, but-"

"But you don't believe me." It wasn't a question, but I still nodded as if it were. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, Gracie. I thought so at first, too, but it makes perfect sense now. I've thought this all over. I really have. What if - just me out alright - what if I can see and talk to the dead? It sounds totally cliche, but it could be possible and explain why I heard my mom and Tracey."

I blanched, eyes widening. He hadn't spoken that name in so long. I'd been convinced he'd forgotten about her. "Owen, Tracey is-"

"Dead! I know that I'm not stupid, and I'm not crazy either, Gracie. She's dead, has been for a long time. I get that, I know that, but I still heard her. In the woods earlier."

"Lenora told me before that the woods plays tricks on people, Owen. That's probably all it was, just a trick."

"No," he said harshly and took a long step back, pulling out of arm's reach for me. "It wasn't a goddamn trick, and I know that. I'm going back out; I want to see them. I need to see them. The pills have worn off enough for me to do so."

He was crazy and about to head into an even worse situation. My heart flopped in my chest before plummeting towards my stomach. I knew I couldn't stop him. Owen was more stubborn than I was sometimes, and when he made up his mind, there was no changing it. Arguing with him was entirely pointless. So instead of doing that, I chose to follow him. If I couldn't stop him, the least I could do was make sure he stayed safe, right? I needed to make sure he stayed safe.

The stairs creaked as we descended them, alerting anyone who could possibly be awake to our departure, but the man in front of me was too invested in getting out to really care about being quiet about leaving. Slipping along the ground as we landed, I hurried after him with footsteps that zigged and zagged to keep up with his long strides. Reaching the door, he pulled it open and slipped out. He had to know I was out with him at this point, but I had the sinking suspicion that he just didn't care. Or if he did, he wasn't showing it. He was on a mission, after all, and once Owen got it in his head to complete something, there was no stopping him.

"Are you really coming with me?" he reprimanded as I drew up inches behind him, but he still didn't look back at me.

"Yes. I don't want anything to happen to you-"

He spun, finally stopping, and slammed me into his body. Grabbing my shoulders, Owen shoved me back and glared down at me. My heart flopped, and I wanted to shrink back, feeling as if he were towering high above me. My mouth grew dry, and my body grew smaller as my heart picked up speed.

"I can take care of myself, Gracelynn. Do you understand that? I can fucking take care of myself. I don't need you babysitting me every minute of the day!"

"I - I - " I stammered, but the words didn't want to come. My shoulders screamed in pain from his grip, though I didn't dare comment on that. "I didn't say that." I finally squeaked, losing my entire nerve.

He pushed forward and sent me flying back, my feet catching upon the ground, throwing me into the outer wall of the cabin, my head slamming against the wood. Yellow spots flashed in front of my eyes, my chest tightened with breath yanked out of my lungs, and my entire body grew numb. His figure, pixelated in my distorted vision, dropped in front of me. I drew in a sharp breath, pulling myself forward, and waited until the tingling sensation evaporated, silence thick like a cloak wrapped around me. As my eyesight cleared, I looked up at him. His eyes were sad, corners budding with unshed tears and hands shaking as he reached out for me. The tips of Owen's fingers brushed against my cheek, locking fluttering strands of hair behind my hair.

"I just keep hurting you. I'm sorry." He said softly and swept his hand down, brushing his fingers over my lips. "I really am. I think it's just the medication wearing off, and I'm trying to get control of everything again."

I swallowed but nodded anyway. It wasn't his fault, not entirely. I reached up, cupping his hand on my cheek, and looked at him, unsure what I was supposed to say or do. I didn't want to make the wrong move here and upset him all over again. Before his medication, Owen had been unstable. It couldn't be any better being pulled off them like this. If I had to guess, I would assume it was going to be a hell of a lot worse, and we just had to weather the storm. Together.

"Don't tell," he pleaded, his voice cracking around the words. "You can't tell Devon."

My eyebrows shot up in shock. Was he reading minds now too? Great, when the fuck was I going to be able to read minds too? Anger shot like fireworks inside of me, hitting every little point. My mouth felt open, letting out an unsolicited scream, and crumpled, curling my arms around my stomach as another explosion shot inside of me.

Anger. Fear. Pain. I couldn't tell the difference between any of them. Everything was muddled, and nothing felt right whatsoever. Another scream left my lips, and another wave crashed down upon me, pulling me under, drowning me. I sputtered, grasping to air that just didn't want to come. Feet pounded and leaves crackled as someone ran. Owen. My eyes fluttered open, making me realize I hadn't even noticed them having closed in the first place. His form moved away from me, getting as far as possible before the trees enveloped him. I screamed, but this time it wasn't because of the pain or confusion. My fingers grappled at the dirt, and the area in front of me swirled, threatening to send me back under.

A pair of hands pulled me onto my back, and cold fingers pressed against my neck. Muffled voices spoke as the light fell over me. I shifted my gaze and met a pair of blue ones staring down at me, wide in horror. Reminding me of the day he'd found me on the cold tile floor of the bathroom, foaming at the mouth and ready to clock out for good. A fresh round of fear crashed down, and I gasped, reaching up to claw at my neck, desperate to breathe.

I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I kicked out, feeling my feet connect with something, but in my attempts to get my breath back, I didn't care who the hell I had just kicked. Hands grabbed my legs, pinning me down in my spot as another snatched my hands, much warmer than the first pair, and held them away from my throat to prevent me from tearing myself open.

"Let go of her," Lenora's sharp voice intervened. "Get away from her, both of you. You're just making it worse. Go on, get inside, as far as possible from her. Go!"

Their feet scuffed over the grass before the door slammed shut behind them, and everything inside of me went quiet. Gasping for breath, I felt the rush of oxygen hit my lungs, and my body sagged, sweat trickling down the sides of my face.

"Shh, you’re alright, sweetie. I know it's overwhelming, but it'll get easier. I promise."

I let out a sob, and with trembling arms, I reached up to cover my face, turning over to my side as a shaky breath of air left my lips. Her hand stroking my side soothed me enough to take calming breaths of air, but it wasn't enough to stop the shaking that wracked my entire body.

"What - what was that?" I gasped, dropping my arms to wrap around my stomach all over again, feeling like I was about to puke.

"It's the bond, sweetheart. It's growing stronger. You feel everything they do, and the longer you stay here, the closer you all get to regaining your memories, the more you will take in, and it will hurt."

I let out a groan and pulled away from her before pushing my hands to the ground, lifting myself up on my knees before the vomit tumbled out of my mouth.

Owen

My feet pounded against the ground, my heart raced in my chest, and it felt like it would burst. Every gasp of breath stung my lungs, yelling at me, demanding I stop to take a breath of air. To stop and take a break or even just turn back and retreat to the cabin, but I had lost my path feet behind me. I didn't know where the hell I was, and the darkness made it even more difficult to figure it out. Because this was beyond dark. It was solitude, where even the blink of an eye couldn't be noticed.

The thrumming of my heart was all I heard. If someone were to sneak up on me, they'd be able to do a damn good job because I was unable to hear anything else. Maybe that was a good thing, though. If I were to hear anything else, my thoughts could become just a little overpowering, and I would have to think about having left Gracie behind. Her scream of terror and pain had shaken me to the core and pushed my takeoff. I felt like absolute shit for doing that and knew I'd have to face her eventually, but for the time being, I didn't dare even try to head back. I didn't want to see her in that much pain, that much fear, and it had been my fault in the first place.

I didn’t want to face her. I couldn’t face her. And forget about Devon. If what he’d said about reading minds wasn’t some crack bull joke, I was screwed if he pried into mine. I see dead people. How cliché and raunchy of me. I still didn’t want Devon poking around inside my brain, though.

Finally drawing to a stop, I fell to my knees, hitting the dirt ground hard. I gasped in a sharp breath, one that stung my lungs far worse than the running had done. I was fit for a man in his twenties due to my career choice, but that didn’t mean running was the top priority on my daily to-do list. My side tugged, a stitch developing. Bending over, I pressed my palms against the dirt and curled my fingers to dig my nails into the ground. The whisper of a breath drew my head up and I met the eyes. No, not eyes. Eye sockets. They were empty, void of any white eyeballs. Black and empty, but I knew they were looking at me, watching me with whatever sight they did have. I swallowed.

I recognized them from Lenora’s kitchen, but what Colton had called them had gone in one ear and out the other. Slowly, I drew back to my feet, lips slightly parted as my chest was still heaving in large gulps of air, struggling to keep me breathing and my heart not beating erratically. The one directly in front of me tilted its head as if curious about me, almost seeming intrigued.

When it stepped forward, I reeled back, my heart lurching. It stopped like it was startled at my movement and held up a gloved hand. I counted five fingers like a human. When it didn't move again, I drew to a full standing position and stepped forward, reaching out slowly. It was as if It wanted this, for me to accept It, to try and touch It. I wasn't really sure why I was so intrigued, so curious about the whole thing, but I was. As my fingers grazed the tip of theirs, a shot of electricity zapped through me and lifted me in the air, reeling me backward. Slamming into the trunk of a trunk, I dropped like a log, unable to move. While there was no pain, not yet anyway, I couldn't move. Paralyzed was the word for my current state. If I moved even the wrong way without knowing where the pain would hit, I could possibly break something or damage something else beyond repair. That was the last thing I needed. Especially if I had somehow broken my neck. I didn't need it to snap and kill me.

Gloved fingers, white as the moon, shone above me as it reached down. Its footsteps had been so silent, I hadn't noticed its approach to my spot on the ground. My shoulders tensed, waiting for a zap of lightning to speed through me all over again. Only when It touched my forehead and I realized I wasn't about to be electrocuted did I slightly relax. The world in front of me swirled and pulled me forward, lifting me from the ground once again. I didn't like being without solid grounding, and I sure as hell didn't like being without my gun, but when Gracie had caught me sneaking out, all thoughts of making sure I had my weapon presents had disappeared entirely.

Fuck Me. Now I really hated myself for doing the stupidest thing a cop could ever do; forget his fucking weapon. How could I have been so stupid? You don't like it around Gracie. Gracie wasn't suicidal by any means, but I knew by experience she had a knack for getting herself into trouble even without meaning to. It didn't help that from the day she'd been shot to the present, guns had an everlasting bad effect on her. Considering what she had been put through, it wasn't really a surprise. For fuck's sake, the girl had been shot and nearly died because of it! They made her wig out, and I didn't like seeing her upset at the mere mention of one. So why would I let her be around one?

The jolting of my body before it crashed to the ground drew me back to reality to face whatever the hell had just happened. Darkness still stood, cocooning me in its chilly embrace. The trees swayed gently, and a deep sigh brushed through the air, rustling the tips of my hair. The Thing was gone now, and instead, only emptiness reached out in front of me. I dragged my fingers through my hair, frustration seeping through me, annoyance flickering in every little bit of me. Whatever the fuck had just happened was so confusing. What was I supposed to make of it? What the hell was I supposed to do?

"Owen." The voice stopped me in my tracks and halted everything whirring inside of my head. "Owen, is that you?"

The breath I dragged into my lungs hurt. It threw darts at my heart. Ever so slowly, I picked up each foot and forced myself to turn around, not wanting to believe my ears. Lenora said the woods play tricks on you. If Gracie was right and this was all just some big, sick way of a joke, I was so screwed. I wanted to so badly believe that this was real, that I had truly heard who I'd thought had entered my hearing range earlier. That I wasn't crazy and never had been. That I actually had something worthwhile to use.

Logic and reality were easy to conquer, to have a map for it laid out in front of you. All you had to do was pick the path you wanted to walk and just do it. Even if you ended up taking the wrong turn now and again, there was always a way back. The supernatural and whatever crap all this was, was in the brambles that swarmed those paths. If you were to veered off your given path and stepped into an undesignated area, you would get lost. Despite the happiness it could bring, there was fear to drift alongside it. Fear of the unknown. This kind of world didn't make much sense in my head, but I still so wanted to believe in what my mind thought was illogical. I wanted to be a part of it.

I also still wanted my goddamn gun, but that was a completely different thing. Now that I was alone, I also didn't feel the need to protect myself. If Gracie were here... I shook my head violently, pushing out the thoughts. I knew that if Gracie were with me, I would want to make sure I could protect her, but there was a reason I hadn't wanted her around in the first damn place.

"Mom," I greeted, but even the one simple word made my voice crack.

She smiled at me, the sight making my knees going weak and a sob built in my throat. I swallowed it down to hold my head high.

She smiled. The one I could remember only when I wasn't brain-dead from my pills. That was the thing about my medication, it always stippled my memory, and I could only think so far back. That was the point, though, as I'd been told. I wasn't supposed to remember a past that had messed me up so badly. I was told it made me imagine having the dead and absent talk to me. Her hair was chestnut brown and reached just below her shoulders, just as I had remembered it. Her skin was full, lifelike. The way I remembered it before her fall into addiction.

Jeez, Owen, you sure can pick them. I mentally swatted at the voice, gritting my teeth together. I was not attracted to addict chicks because of my damn mother! I had loved Gracie long before either of us had ever understood the drugs or even heard of them. Because despite my biological mother using, I never knew until later on why I had been removed from her custody. It wasn't the drugs. It was far from it and apparently a lot deeper than I had ever considered it to be.

"You're here," I greeted her when she said nothing else, only standing there, her white dress billowing around her like an angel.

She grinned, a full row of teeth shining at me. The afterlife must grant you beauty back. Because living on earth sure as fuck hadn't given her that once she started down the rabbit hole.

"I am. You called for me after all."

I blinked and shook my head. "I didn't..."

"You did. You'll realize what I mean later on." Why did everybody keep saying that to me? "You're doing so well, Owen, and I am so very proud of you."'

The confirmation of words I had been dying to hear for more than half of my life only left a crummy slithering snake twisting in the pits of my stomach. Nothing like the fiery warmth I had once thought it would bring me. Her smile faltered as if sensing my hesitation to accept her words and then entirely fell off her face.

"It's alright. I wasn't there for you; your real mother was."

I cocked an eyebrow, my heart throbbing at the mention of the woman who had truly raised me, and I turned my head, clenching my teeth in refusal to say anything else at the moment.

"She was there for you. I wasn't. It's alright to want her in this confusing time. You aren't the only one wanting their parents, though, honey. Your girlfriend is crying inside without them. She's really dependent on them."

I focused my gaze back on her. "How do I give them to Gracie?"

She shook her hair, sadness shimmering in her eyes. "You have to ask the witch that, not me."

I snapped my eyes around, trying to figure out which part of the forest we were in, but as if I were taking my sweet time (maybe even without conscious thought), it had grown darker, denser. The trees were lined in a tighter knot, almost like a barrier to keep something else from getting in. In that moment of my attention dragged back to what was apparently my reality. Thundering footsteps resounded, and the ground shook beneath me. Stumbling, I tumbled back, tumbling behind a tree. Sprawling out on my stomach, the booming bark drew my head up with a snap, heart leaping into my throat.

Hellhounds.

Owen

“I really thought better of you, Owen. I really thought you were mine,” Donna’s voice penetrated the silence that the darkness brought forth after the thundering footsteps. “Why do you have to ruin it?”

My eyes shifted, trying to catch sight of the redhead I had spent too many nights with. Her hair was fire as she stepped out of the darkness and into my view. Maybe once, I would have considered trying to love her, with the thought of never being with Gracie again, but that was a memory I didn’t wish to have. Much like the memories I was apparently supposed to have but didn’t.

“What do you want, Donna?”

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at me. My eyes flicked to her lips, and the tip of my dick twitched, reminding me of just how much I had always enjoyed her taking it in her mouth.

“I want you, Owen, and I suggest you give me what I want.”

I took a step back, wanting to put as much distance between the two of us as humanly possible. Humanly possible. Was that even possible if she wasn’t human? What if I wasn’t? Then it was some fucked saying, that was for sure.

“I can give you a lot in return, Owen,” she said sweetly, stepping towards me.

“Like what?” My eyes flicked towards her feet, weighing just how far we were separated. When she took another step forward, and I felt the distance penetrate, I drew back another step.

“Like Gracelynn being safe and helping you get your memories back. I can give you everything you want, Owen. I mean, Fabien.”

I grimaced at the name. I was supposed to be in tune with it, or at least, by the way Colton used it, I had come to terms with it. Still, it didn’t mean I was good with being called it.

Though, what she said caught my attention. “What do you mean keeping her safe?”

Her lips drew up in a crooked smile, knowing she had gotten me there. “You don’t know, do you? What, that pathetic excuse of a witch keeping you all in the dark? Octavian doesn’t just want Gracelynn to marry him so he can be King. He wants her powers. There’s a reason her family ruled. They were the most powerful Sorcerer’s known to the Realms. Five families, and hers was one. Mine, another. Evangeline and Anastasia’s as well. Not Octavian’s, though, despite his family being royal. They were third-best if anything. Nothing big. Still, if he marries her, he can and will take her powers. If that happens, she dies.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I cleared it quickly, my shoulders tensing. “So, if this is real, she’ll just be reborn—”

“No. Not if her powers are gone. She’ll just be poof.” She flicked her fingers. “Gone and nothing more. Your bond will be broken, and it will hurt like crazy. You’ll feel like you’re dying, but you won’t. You’ll want to kill yourself and become convinced that you’ll never find love again.”

I blanched, appalled by the way she seemed to experience it. “How do you even know any of this?”

“Because,” she said slowly and took a step towards me, but my feet felt glued to the ground, and I couldn’t move away this time. “It happened to me. I lost everyone. All of them, and it was only when I met you that I realized everything would be okay. Or at least, as okay as it could be. Considering what had happened and all. It sucks, you know.”

“Why are you telling me any of this?”

Why was she telling me any of this? Donna had never been a person I took for being kind. I had known that going into the relationship in the beginning, and I also knew that she loathed Gracie. There was no way she was willingly helping keep her safe.

She cocked her head, pursing her lips, and stared at me, silent for a minute. I couldn’t move even if I weren’t pinned to the ground. “Because even if you don’t want to believe it, Owen, I do care about you. I have always cared about you, and soon, you will remember that. You don’t deserve to go through pain.”

I rolled my eyes, letting out a snort in disbelief. I wanted to believe her words. There was a part of me that ached to be able to do so. But she had lied to my face one too many times for me to be so willingly open to whatever words left her lips.

“I mean it, Owen. You need my help, especially if you don’t want to lose her.”

Leaves bristled, brushing air over my face, and I blinked. She was gone, vanished from my sight. Almost as if she hadn’t been there in the first place. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head, feeling myself sag to the ground. My body felt so limp, so out of control. I hated it so much. I wanted to do something to fix it, to save people, her especially.

My eyes flickered around the dark trees, trying to find the hellhounds, but just like Donna, they were gone. It was as if they’d only appeared with her. Where she and Octavian connected that way? Dread trickled down my spine, and I turned, letting my feet clomp over piles of leaves, twigs, and whatever else littered the forest floor. They crunched beneath every step, but I didn’t care. I also didn’t know how my feet knew where to go, but I didn’t spend much time trying to figure it out either. I didn’t think it mattered as long as I, somehow, magically, got back to the cabin. Though, I wasn’t sure that Gracie was going to be thrilled with me when I returned.

At the smell of stew, I knew I had made a reappearance and reached out, pushing through the barrier of trees. The world tilted, and I staggered forward, hitting the ground hard.

The world lay in front of me, black and grey. It was like I had stepped into a silent movie, one of those crappy ones too. Everything was generic and laid out in such detail that it was too good to be true. My eyes drifted in every direction. Nothing looked the same besides the trees. The cabin was far smaller than I remembered it to be. There was also no smell and no chimney billowing with the scent of stew being cooked.

The door opened, giving view to a brighter shade of grey, which only said that a light was on within. I drew back slightly, hesitant and unsure if I was even allowed to approach. None of this made any sense. I wasn’t sure where I was or what the hell I was even doing here. What I was sure of, though, was that I didn’t think anyone living away from society would want a random stranger popping up on their land, totally unannounced. I had dealt with those types of people before, and owners of the homes generally had some kind of weapon at their disposal. Not all endings were pretty.

When the people within drew into view, my heart leapt into my mouth, and I sucked in a breath. The pack of four, yet younger versions, were laughing. I hadn’t been wrong about the silent movie bit. I couldn’t hear their laughter, though I could imagine it in my mind. I knew Gracie’s and Devon’s by heart. If I focused enough, I could pretend I could hear them at least. Mine was a different story. Though I knew it was deep and sort of annoying, but at least I could pretend on that one as well.

Here, Colton looked far more human. His skin was saggy, eyes less bright. His features weren’t sharp, and when he moved, it was with rigid motions, those of human nature. My eyes were drawn to myself. A sword was sheathed at my side, the belt holding it strapped tightly, and damn did I look good. I wasn’t different, physical wise that was. I was the same: the same dirty blonde hair, striking eyes, and ab-carved front. My physical appearance was something I took seriously, and apparently, I always had. Then again, if it was true what I had been told, staying in shape was vital to protect Gracie. It always had been.

My eyes darted to her, and I sucked in a breath. The Gracie I knew held shame in her walk, her eyes never able to fully meet a person because of what she had done, who she had been. She shied away when spoken to. The one that was now in front of me, however, was the exact opposite. Albeit the same dark hair and liquid brown eyes that reminded me of chocolate milk, this one held her head high. Her shoulders were back, and she walked with such an air of confidence, I knew she would be able to protect herself in an instant. Or at least demand the attention of the world. The crown she wore was magnificent. In the black and grey film, I couldn’t see the colors, but I had a feeling – a weird de ja vous sort of thing – that it was gold with blue rhinestones. It just seemed that it would work that way.

I stepped forward and reached out, trying to get their attention. Like I was nothing more than the Invisible man, they ignored my presence. So, I stepped forward again, determined to get their attention, but it was to no avail. I slammed into an invisible wall and jerked back, my body vibrating with the shock that it had taken. I reached out once more, but this time my fingers brushed against the wall that apparently blocked my path and seemed to keep me from their eyes.

My body jerked back and hit the trunk of a tree before my head slammed into it. Dots splattered over my vision before I sank to the ground and lay in a heap. Gasping for breath, I scrambled to my feet, shaking my head violently to rid myself of the pain that swept through me, and blinked rapidly.

Color splashed over me and drenched me like a waterfall. The cabin slapped back, and the chimney rose, spewing smoke from its top. The scent of stew wafted through my nostrils and warmed my insides. I shivered and crossed my arms over my chest, tightening the hold to keep myself from trembling. The trees whispered behind me and stroked my exposed skin. The chill ran deep, and I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to stop it or if I even could stop it at all.

Moving forward, I made my way back towards the cabin. As I drew up the steps, the door flew open, and I paused. Devon hurled out, anger flaming in his eyes as he launched down to me. Fingers curled around my collar, and before I was slammed into the wall, the breath knocked out of me.

“Don’t ever touch her again,” he snarled. “I don’t want you in there with her either.”

I gasped, my air coming in sharps spurts, and I squirmed beneath him, grappling at his hands. “Let me go, Devon.”

“Fuck you,” he spat, saliva splattering over my face. “I’ve put up with a lot of shit from you, Owen. Especially going after Gracie. It’s funny. Every time you lash out, it’s always to her. Why is that? Because she’s an easy target? Are you trying to drive her back to alcohol and drugs?”

I shook my head, but with my throat blocked, I couldn’t speak.

“You sure as hell act like it.” He tugged me forward and threw me to the ground, stepping over me. Glaring down at me, the tip of his show pressed against my collar bone, pushing down just slightly. “You’re going to leave. Tonight.”

My eyes widened, and I shook my head. “Gracie—” I sputtered out.

He snorted. “I’ll tell her you left, don’t worry. But you’re fucking leaving, and if I see you inside again,” he bent down to lower his voice so I could just barely hear. “I promise you; you won’t leave in one piece.”

As he removed his foot, I swallowed roughly and watched, my eyes moving to watch as he reentered the cabin. I squeezed my eyes closed, drawing in a slow breath to try and calm the sudden tears that wanted to slip out.

Gracie

I plopped down on the comforter, my eyes to the grey ceiling. It was a picture-perfect room with everything matching. The sight made my stomach curl and my skin itch. I wasn’t sure why, but I loathed the idea of everything being matchy-matchy. Who the hell did that besides psychos anyway? The mere thought gave me bad vibes all around. Even though I knew I was being stupid and just needed to be grateful, everything piling on me made me feel like I had been pummeled with a truckful of bricks and frustrated me more than I wanted to admit.

It was all out of my control. A far reach that I couldn’t even stretch towards. There were moments I felt like I was in one of those dreams where you stood at the beginning of a hall, and somehow, you knew that in order to get out, you needed to get to the light at the end. But, every time you stepped forward, it just fell further and further away. Until you were screaming and woke up in a puddle of sweat.

I need something to take the edge off.

I drew in a sharp breath and squeezed my eyes shut, my fingers curling into the covers, digging as hard as I could until I felt even a tinge of my nails nipping at my palms. Days, it had been days since my last meeting. I was meant to go to another one, and there was no damn way that was happening anytime soon, apparently.

You can’t survive without those meetings.

I bolted upright. Yes, yes, I could. I could, couldn’t I? It was one day at a time, one breath in and one breath out. I just had to focus on not letting myself slip. That’s all it was.

You can’t survive without those meetings.

Yes, yes, I could. I just had to breathe and – who are you trying to fool, Gracie? Yourself? Ha! You’re a pathetic loser. If it weren’t for whatever this bond shit is, you wouldn’t even have Owen or Devon as yours. You won by default, not because you deserve them.

My shoulders sagged in defeat, and I squeezed my eyes shut again, feeling the burn of tears in the corners, threatening to overflow. If I let go now, I was surely going to be in trouble if either guy walked in and saw me in a pool of my own pity party, and that was quite literally the last thing I needed. I already had enough shit to deal with. Being watched with concern and distant hesitation as if I were about to crack was not something else that I wanted to add to my plate.

The clicking of a handle turning drew my eyes open, and my attention to the door I had quickly learned was to the bathroom. Owen flashed me a wide grin when he stepped through, drenched with water, but a fuzzy white towel wrapped around his waist and hiding the goodies beneath. I leaned to the side of the bed and propped on my elbows, my chin in my hands as I watched him walk around the room. My eyes slithered down his chest that trickled with water, my tongue flicking over my bottom lip before I dragged my top row of teeth over them. It sorely reminded me of the dentist work I’d had done after ruining my teeth by doing drugs.

He was perfect, in his own way. Sure, he wasn’t as tall as Devon, but he didn’t lack in appearance. Abs that came from his demanding labor riddled job and hair that was at the moment plastered to both chest and downstairs swept a delightful shiver down my body. Fuck, how I loved the hair. I loved grabbing fistfuls of it and tugging on the chest curls, and downstairs, I enjoyed running my fingers through it, the motion making him squirm and his dick harden beneath my gentle pulls.

I rolled off the bed, my eyes on him as I stepped forward, cautious and predator-like. On the other side of the bed, Owen stopped and turned to face me full-on, his eyebrows arched and watching my every movement. He was ready to spring if he needed to, but I knew he wasn’t going to, not unless I tried to tackle him, and that was just out of the question. Owen may have been shorter than Devon, but they were both still taller and meatier than me. I also wasn’t stupid, even if the drugs and booze had fried a few cells in my brain. I was coherent enough to know better than try and take him down. I would be the one ending up underneath, the complete opposite of what I wanted.

“Whatcha doing there, Gracie?”

I tilted my head and stopped at the corner, reaching up to pluck open one button of my borrowed shirt. His eyes instantly dropped to the small cleavage, eager to see it open to more. Giving him what he wanted, I popped open another and one extra, this time giving way to the mounds beneath. His eyes bulged, and he bit his lip, shifting his weight from foot to foot, the movement I knew best for him to try and avert his suddenly hardening dick back and somewhat draw it back into place.

I rounded the bed and his eyes never left me. When I finally stood just inches in front of him but close enough to touch, I reached forward and yanked the towel off. As it fluttered to the floor, I dropped to my knees and scooted to close the few inches of gap between us. His legs parted on instinct and gave way to the enlarged penis, his boner evident. Sliding my fingers down the opening of my shirt, I plucked open another button and grinned when he let out an audible groan, trying to mask it by drawing a breath of air, but doing it very poorly.

Tilting my head back, I looked up at him expectantly. I knew better than to just start with Owen. He hated it when I made the first move. It was only okay if I showed him what I wanted to do, but that was the end of the line for him. If I pushed further, it would piss him off, and I didn’t want him trying to sleep on the couch. He cocked his head, a sly smile curling the corners of his lips upwards. A teasing glint shimmered in his eyes.

“Do you want me, Gracie?”

I nodded eagerly and lifted my hands, pressing the tips of my fingers together in a plea.

He relented and nodded, motioning with a jerk of his hand for me to proceed. Dropping my hands, I leaned forward and dipped my head to touch the tip of my tongue to the head of his dick. I felt him quiver beneath me but otherwise kept still. Running my tongue upwards, I stopped at the top dropped my head again to wrap my lips around the head. He grunted before thrusting forward and pushed deeper into my mouth.

I sucked in a breath, reaching out to grab at his thighs before digging my thumbs into them. His fingers curled in my hair at the movement, shoving me forward. I gagged but kept my hold as it was mostly from surprise as he was shoved deeper into my throat.

Twisting my tongue around, I felt the vibration of his body trembling beneath me. Like a bolt of lightning, a zap of it swept through me. My body grew numb, and had I not been holding onto Owen, I probably would’ve fallen back from the sudden exhilaration of ecstasy coursing through my veins. Everything I’d even been remotely worried about minutes before vanished in the blink of an eye. I so desperately didn’t want to stop feeling this high, and I didn’t even need to light up a pipe to have my body feeling this way.

His fingers drew my head down and up, the bobbing sensation flooding me with elation I wasn’t sure I had ever experienced before. My hands slipped, nails grazing down his legs, but it seemed to only excite him if anything. Owen twitched and shoved himself further in, forcing me to take him even more and curl my tongue around his shaft all over again.

“Gracie,” he breathed, and the sound of my name leaving his lips was like honey.

My legs parted of their own accord, and I felt the rush of excitement, of desire, prickling through me. I was desperate to hear him say it again; I needed him to say it again. But for the life of me, I couldn’t find a path through the sudden fog that was wrapped inside my mind to tell me what else I was supposed to do to please this man. My God. I would do anything to hear or see him happy, to make him feel good. Whatever it took. Him, Devon, and Colton. I blinked, but the thought was quickly wiped from my mind, and I nearly instantly forgot what exactly I was going to ponder over for the moment.

The clearing of a throat jerked my head back, the fingers clenched in knotted strands tugging them so hard, they were almost pulled from my scalp. A hiss left my lips, and the pleasure that rolled through me moments before trickled out slowly, only to be replaced by what felt like annoyance and maybe just a little disappointment at us being interrupted. It wasn’t me, however, radiating with such feelings. My eyes trailed up to his face, and I noticed his tight jaw that clearly spoke volumes of how he was feeling.

His gaze, however, was on the door. I turned to see the reason for his stopping and met Devon’s gaze, whose eyebrows were shot up beneath the brim of his hair, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips. Owen scrambled back as quickly as possible when my head was no longer covering his junk up and snatched up the towel, clumsily wrapping it around his waist, face beet red when I looked back at him. He turned away, seeming to want to pretend he had been doing anything but what we’d been caught in the middle of. My own pleasure was now just a prickle down my thighs, a comforting feeling, and nothing like that of which Owen and I had shared. I suddenly felt empty without knowing, without being able to take in what he was experiencing.

It was like the crash after a high. You were in a cloud the entire time; nothing could beat you down. When it was gone, when it evaporated from your system, you went crashing. The emptiness that was leftover was the worst. It’s what made one desperate to do more or at least part of the reason to keep it filling your system. The need to feel something was far greater than the hatred left over when there was nothing.

That was exactly what it was at this moment. The high was trickling away, and I needed more. I didn’t want to feel empty. But if I dared say something, there was a possibility I was never going to get any to prevent me from becoming addicted. Frustration bubbled inside of me as I rose to my feet, my eyes averted from the three of theirs as I scooted past the man with skin as cold as ice and slipped into the hallway. A sweet scent hit my nostrils and drew my feet forward to descend the steps. My head still felt fuzzy, but this time it was mostly in confusion and yearning. I didn’t know what the fuck I wanted or what I wanted to do either at that. I was just sure that whatever the hell I was smelling, I wanted that – just as I had wanted Owen and how I wanted Devon and, strangely, Colton.

You’re a fucking whore, Gracie.

Gracie

The floorboards creaked beneath my feet as I made my way into the kitchen, my ears pricking for the sound of other footsteps approaching. I was on edge, every nerve inside of me on fire. I couldn’t tell what was wrong, if there was even anything at all. I knew I hadn’t seen or heard from Owen in about two days, though, and maybe that was the issue. I’d been told he’d gone into the kingdom for supplies or food or something. Which made no sense but doubting Devon hadn’t been something I’d ever done before and didn’t think I had a reason to now.

Ever since, however, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that was something wrong. So, did that mean something had just happened, and we were yet to find out?

“You’re up quite late for your standards, aren’t you?” a sickly-sweet voice greeted me when I entered the kitchen, the lights flaring on at her voice.

I grimaced at the sudden brightness, falling back to shroud my eyes from it as they grew adjusted. Yellow dots momentarily flashed in front of my vision, and I shook my head, blinking rapidly to push them aside.

“Shouldn’t you be sucking dick or opening your legs for one of them?”

Rubbing my eyes, I blinked to clear the blurred vision and stared at the pink-haired woman whose plump lips were pursed, anger seething in her eyes as she glared at me. Only a few days of being at the cabin, and I hadn’t missed the way she avoided a one-on-one with me. She’d always been with Lenora or Iris, but considering how she was looking at me, I could only assume it was probably a good thing I hadn’t been left alone with her until this point.

“Wh-what?” I stammered, furrowing my brows in confusion, unsure what her question was even supposed to mean.

Her chipped nails tapped against the glass that sat in front of her spot at the table before she pushed it away. The scent of sap drifted through my nostrils and stung, making my head spin just slightly. It was a different kind of scent, but I knew it well enough—especially the feeling of being lightheaded with the first time around booze. I swallowed roughly and drew a step back. The frown quivered up into a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Instead, it sent a sliver of ice down my spine.

“Oh, that’s right. You don’t drink, do you?” She rose to her feet and clasped the cup by the rim, picking it up to hold it out to me. “Do you?”

I shook my head, but my feet glued themselves to the ground. It was stronger with closer proximity. The tips of my fingers tingled, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was from desire or the intoxicating scent that was wafting in my nostrils and swirling inside of me. It could’ve been both, which was even worse than just one.

“You want a drink, Gracie?” She swung the cup lightly in her hands, and the liquid within sloshed around.

I heard it slap against the walls of it and curled my fingers into my palms, pressing my nails into the flesh. “No.”

She stepped towards me, and no matter how hard I tried, my feet wouldn’t budge. My eyes were on the cup, lips slightly parts, and I could feel each and every breath drawing out in staggered gasps. I shook my head again, but it was weaker this time. I could feel myself staggering, slipping. I shook my head again, but my gaze never left the cup. She drew closer, shortening the space between us.

“Come on, I won’t tell anybody. I promise.”

I felt the pull of my fingers as they withdrew from my palms and flexed. “I don’t-“ I croaked, but the words fell off my tongue, stopping me from the ability to finish what I was going to say. “I – I – can’t.” I breathed out.

She closed the gap and pressed the cup against my chest. As my head bent on instinct, the scent slapped me in the face and tore out any coherency I’d had just moments before. I felt the jerk of my arm as it rose, and my fingers curled around the metal exterior of the cup. Her fingers released it, gaze holding mine sternly.

“It’s okay. I won’t tell a soul,” she whispered with a hiss, her smile dropping. “Go on, take a sip.”

I was weak, and I knew it. She knew it too and was using it to her advantage. My eyes dropped to the content of the cup, watching as the mucky brown liquid frothed, bubbling just slightly before settling down. I could no longer feel my body, and it was as if I were floating on water. I drew the cup closer and lifted it, pressing my lips to the rim.

“He’s mine, you know.” Her whisper sliced through the fog that was clouding my mind. “Colton is mine. He’s the father of my daughter. I have seniority. He’s supposed to be with me, not you. He forgot about you; you are fucking whore. Always willing to open your legs for any guy.”

Her words were a stab to my heart, and I grimaced, but fingers pressed against the top of my mine and pushed the cup upwards, so the cold liquid gushed into my mouth. I swallowed a mouthful, my body growing limp almost instantly in the swirl of intoxication. A pair of hands grabbed at mine and pushed them, forcing the cup to stay at my lips. Pure instinctual habit kicked in, and my fingers grasped it tighter, swallowing the liquid as quickly as possible as it streamed down my throat.

Laughter rang in my ears, but now I couldn’t tell where or who it was coming from. I felt the metal of the rim leaving my lips, and liquid spouted over my lips as I coughed roughly. Something hard pressed against my shoulder blades, and I leaned my head back, blinking profusely. My vision was pixelated, and my lips numb as I tried to say something, anything at all. If I were, I couldn’t tell. Not that I cared anymore. Metal brushed my fingers, and I greedily grabbed at the familiar object, though exactly what it was I couldn’t figure out. Instinct told me I needed it, though, that I needed to take whatever I was given.

Colton

The witch's brew churned my stomach. I had always hated the scent for as long as I could remember. Which was pretty much as long as I had known the witches that presided inside the cabin. I would know it anywhere and cringed, wanting to turn the other way. But something was wrong, and I could feel. My insides were numb, an odd sensation I wasn’t sure I had felt since I’d been human.

It was even difficult to walk, my feet tripping over one another. The only other time I had ever done that was when I drank drug or alcohol-laced blood. It never lasted long, an hour or two tops, but never long. This was different. I wasn’t able to sleep, restless, and completely jittery. My mind was in a whirr, spinning in every direction. I couldn’t make sense of any of it, except the fact I just couldn’t lie in my bed or even sit down to give myself any form of rest. I wasn’t hungry. I fed from the bags in the fridge that had now doubled since our arrival, keeping both Iris and I alive.

My daughter. It was still strange to think of her that way, and I had never even considered the possibility of having children since I’d been Changed. That was a possibility that had died with my human counterpart and never resurfaced until I’d learned of her existence. How it was even possible still baffled me. I had yet to ask Lenora, and I knew that Dora wouldn’t answer me. She was pissy, temperamental, and seemed to hate my guts. Or at least, hated the fact that I couldn’t love her the way I loved Gracie, and that just pissed her off even more to the point I knew it would be hopeless to try and talk with her to get any answers to the questions that rattled inside of my brain.

The whimper reached my ears, staggering for a moment before I connected the dots that something other than whatever the hell was wrong with me was going on. It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was for the undead life of me. Still, it drew me from my room. Interest to know what it had pulled me down the stairs, something tugging me towards it. Something inside of me screamed to follow the sound, demanding that I find it.

My feet led me to the kitchen, and I stopped in the doorway, my eyes finding the pink-haired witch who sat on the counter, dangling her legs. A wide grin was splayed across her face, eyes twinkling merrily, but her eyes weren’t on me. I wasn’t even sure she knew I was standing right there. What she was so gleeful about to had me intrigued and a little concerned at the same time. Her fingers clutched the counter, and she leaned forward, biting her lip as a giggle escaped her lips. I stepped over the threshold and turned my head, my shoulders squaring to brace myself for whatever I was about to see.

My eyes fell on the lump huddled at the base of the wall; hand clutched around a metal cup. The floor around it was drenched with black liquid that bubbled and let the stench of it drift up towards me. I wrinkled my nose, my eyes scouring the lump until I saw the tuft of hair that was splayed over the face.

“Gracie?” I suddenly asked as it drew into shape. “Gracie!”

I twisted around her and fell to my knees, my fingers grasping beneath her chin to lift her face. Her eyes fluttered open, both out of focus. Her cheeks were splotched, and lips parted slightly open, garbled gasps of air leaving her mouth.

I whipped my head around, my gaze zeroing in on Dora. “What the hell did you do to her?”

Dora shrugged and reached out to her side, picking up another metal cup before lifting it to her lips, taking a swig before she set it back down. Her tongue flicked over her lips, and she let out a sigh of contentment, leaning her head back against the cupboards behind her.

“I didn’t do anything to her. Not really. She’s the one who chose to drink. I didn’t make her do anything.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You supplied the damn drink. She can’t drink—”

“Oh, I know. She spouted that for about the first half-hour before she exploded into a fit of giggles, started singing, and then passed out.” She giggled. “It was actually a sight. I didn’t know your little girlfriend was a hoot when drunk.”

I snarled at her, my fangs protruding as the corners of my lips curled backward, and I gently set Gracie’s head back down before rising to my feet. I prowled towards Dora and slammed my hands on each side of her. As her eyes rose to mine, a flicker of fear sparked in in them, and they rounded just slightly. Swallowing, Dora drew herself together, her jaw ticking as she refused to show any weakness to me.

“You’ve crossed the wrong line, Dora. I know you’ve got this obsession or whatever with me, but this is fucked up. I never pegged you as this fucking petty. You’re pathetic, you know that? I’m fated with Gracie and the guys because that’s just how fate fucking works. You are screwing her over is just your petty jealous ass throwing a temper tantrum.” I jerked backward, snapping my teeth at her.

This time, she lost her cool and let out a small yelp, shrinking as far as possible from me.

“I’ll take care of you later, fuck you,” I snarled and turned sharply, hurrying back to Gracie’s side.

Colton

“What the hell is going on here?” Devon’s voice cut the tyrant of thoughts that were tumbling through my mind as I reached for Gracie, fully intent on drawing her up into my arms.

His voice, however, forced me to pause and look up at him. Devon’s eyes caught mine before flicking to her, his face dropping about four shades of color like he’d seen a ghost. Moving quickly, he dropped next to me and instantly reached for, and despite trying to avoid the black goop upon the ground, he still managed to brush his hands through it. Scooping Gracie into his arms, with a grunt, he rose and turned sharply, leaving the kitchen without another word.

“I don’t know what you boys see in her. She’s a mess, you know. Better left in a ditch if you ask me.” Dora’s slurred words made me cringe and turn to face her. “You’re better off without her. She’s a whore.”

I cocked an eyebrow, a corner of my lips curling into a half snarl. “Who would you rather me be with then, Dora? A lowlife witch like yourself? For fuck’s sake, you’re still living with your mother, and you’re one.” I knew it was a low shot the instant the words left my lips, but I just couldn’t stop myself.

All I could see inside my mind was the crumpled mess of Gracie, and it angered me beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I’d been angry for a long time, desperate to find the three of them. That, though, had never been like the hot fiery anger I now felt. My nostrils flared as I stepped towards Dora and her glazed-over eyes snapped towards my feet, watching me approach as she shifted uncomfortably. Her fingers gripped the countertop, and I picked up the erratic speed of her heart suddenly thrumming in her chest. The gum line above my fangs throbbed, reminding me they’d been extracted, and once more, the corners of my lips curled backward to show them. This time though, I had nothing to distract me.

“You are nothing, Dora,” I hissed. “Don’t you realize that? You are nothing but a witch, doomed to live your life out serving your goddess while Gracie climbs back to her throne and reigns over this entire kingdom, and you better fucking pray she won’t strike you down once she learns what she’s really capable of with her powers.”

Fear flickered in her eyes once again, and the snap of her nails grated my ears as she dug them into the countertop even harder than before, a futile attempt to keep herself from running. I closed the gap between us and hooked my fingers beneath her chin, lifting her face to force her to catch my gaze.

“I can never love you, Dora. Don’t you get that? I never did. I never could. I have always loved Gracie and Owen and Devon, but never you. You were nothing more but a toy for me. You helped pass the time, and that’s all you could do for me.”

“We – we have a daughter,” she breathed, her rancid breath washing over me, and I wrinkled my nose, drawing my head back slightly but was determined to not yet let her go. “Doesn’t that matter at all?”

I dropped my hand, and her head fell with a snap, a sob escaping her lips almost instantly. “Of course, it matters, Dora. I love Iris already, she’s my daughter after all, but it doesn’t mean I have to be with you. I will do my part as a dad to be in her life. I don’t have to be with you to do that.”

She sniffled and nodded but didn’t say another word. Up close, the stench was far worse than when I’d been standing in the doorway. It was almost as if she had poured an entire gallon of witch’s brew over her. Though, I suspected she had done something of the same to Gracie.

“Colton!” Devon’s voice bellowed but cracked anyway.

Something’s wrong. I stared at the pathetic excuse of a witch for a long moment before turning on my heel and left the kitchen. Dora had once upon a time been the strongest witch I’d ever known. She had even stood by Gracie’s side at the throne, serving as a warrior of the kingdom. Until Octavian made his way inside the castle and tossed all of what she’d built aside. Even then, though, Dora had never given up. She’d fought and hard. She was only a shell of what she’d once been now.

Was it because of me? I didn’t know, and I wasn’t going to ask either. Why should I even bother? I’d made it clear before we were never going to last, and she had been the one to keep Iris a secret from me for so goddamn long. That part wasn’t my problem. All I could do was move on forward and be in my daughter’s life, no matter how much it sucked that I had missed out on so much already. The only part I regretted was the fact the little girl was a hybrid simply because two idiots had made her. It wasn’t her fault that hybrids were banned within the kingdom.

As I came to a stop in the bedroom doorway, the three of them shared, my eyes fell to the girl who was now bent over the bed. With my attention having been solely on Dora, I hadn’t heard the wrenching vomit that spewed from her mouth. The witch’s brew had come back up, leaving her cheeks bright red and eyes glazed over. A sob escaped her lips, a dribble of mucus running from her nostrils, and as she looked up at my entrance, I saw the sweat that glued her hair to her face.

I trembled, suddenly feeling like utter and complete crap. I swallowed roughly and grabbed hold of the doorframe, grasping it as tightly as my suddenly aching fingers would allow me to.

“What did she drink?” Devon demanded.

On a normal basis, his voice would draw my eyes to his, eager for his attention to be on me. This wasn’t any normal time, though, and my eyes couldn’t leave hers. “Witch’s brew.”

“What the fuck is witch’s brew exactly?”

I swallowed and let out a slow breath of air upon instinct. “Witch’s alcohol.”

“Alcohol?” He choked and sprang to his feet just as Gracie laid her head back, closing her eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me? How the hell did she get alcohol?”

I shook my head, not in the mood to be answering that kind of question at the moment. “Where’s Owen? He should be here too.”

There was a brief pause, hesitance at replying to the question, before Devon continued as if I hadn’t even asked it in the first place. “Who gave it to her? She’s an alcoholic. She isn’t supposed to be drinking.”

“Not like she fought it.” Dora’s voice drifted behind me, and I whipped my head around, glaring at her desire to make everything worse. “She was eager to take it after that first sip. Just kept asking for more.”

I felt his feet move and jerked forward, throwing out an arm to stop his launch at the witch. Dora was already dangerous sober, but get her drunk, and her powers escalated. I looked at Devon as he fell to the ground, holding his stomach from my hand's greeting, and grimaced, giving him a slight smile of apology.

“Your little boyfriends know better, guard boy. You don’t want to mess with me.”

Again, I turned to face Dora and grabbed her by the shoulders before shoving her out of the room and against the wall across from us, pushing my face into her to snap my teeth again. “You don’t scare me, Dora, and you damn well know that. Stay the fuck away from Gracie, do you understand me? I wasn’t kidding. When she remembers everything, you better wish she takes you back.”

I released her and stopped as a movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention and turned my head. Owen stood at the bottom of the staircase, his body visibly trembling as he stared up at me, eyes wild and hair a disheveled mess. His clothes were torn in various places and hung loosely off his body, giving a clear view of the biceps that rippled down his arms and the abs that carved his stomach. My dick twitched at the sight. I’d always found Owen attractive and would’ve done anything to also have been with him, but he was a chick man, and that was that. Never once had he ever found it even desirable to be with a man, not even as an experiment. I hated that fact. I hated how he cringed if we even gave him a kiss on the cheek but only allowed it because then, we had been as one.

These days, I doubted he would even brush that off.

“Where have you—” I started and shook my head, letting the words fall from my tongue before pointing at the door. “She needs you.”

He nodded and climbed the stairs, skipping one or two at a time to climb faster. Clomping down on the landing, he ignored Dora and entered the room with me on his heels.

“You aren’t supposed to be here,” Devon announced, snarling at Owen. “I told you to stay the fuck away.”

“Oh, shut up, Devon,” Owen snapped and crossed the room, wedging himself between the two and dropping to his knees in front of her, cupping her cheek. “Hey there, beautiful.”

Gracie groaned and pulled her head away, lifting a hand to swat at him, but it only flapped in the air before she gave a lazy grin, eyes fluttering to look at him. “You’re cute.”

“I know.” Owen chuckled lightly, but I sensed the tightness around his words, and the tension that held his shoulders up had me suspicious. Plus, Devon’s words about him staying away rang in my mind. “I was told you needed me.”

Gracie drew her shoulders up heavily before dropping them and let her head flop to the other side, glazed eyes landing on me. “I know you. You the vampire boy.” She busted into laughter and turned her head, leaning over to bury her face into Owen’s shoulder.

His arm lifted, fingers brushing through her hair as he turned to look at me questioningly and to Devon with arched eyebrows. Not having been paying close attention, I hadn’t noticed Devon get up and round the bed to stand on the other side, away from all of us. He glowered at Owen, hand clutching the wooden bedrest.

“You aren’t supposed to be here, Owen,” he repeated, intent on making sure that sudden rule of his didn’t go ignored.

“I was told Gracie needed me.” He pushed her back to her pillow and rose to his feet. “So, I came.”

“She doesn’t need you.” Devon snorted. “She has Colton and me.”

“That isn’t how this – this – this bond works, Devon. We’re stuck together through her. You have to understand that. I can’t go extremely far without you guys. Just the edge of the trees, not into the kingdom. I can’t go anywhere. I’ve been in the fucking woods this whole –“

“I don’t fuck care where you’ve been. I said to stay the fuck away from her. What do you not understand about that, huh?” Devon spat, nostrils flaring, and a glow of white light surrounded his hands. “You fucking hurt her! That wasn’t the first goddamn time either, and you know it.”

Black swirled around Owen’s hands as his own anger flashed out, provoked far easier than Devon’s or even my own. “You two,” I started and held up my hands in surrender when their heads snapped in my direction. “Come on, this isn’t the place to be fighting. Don’t do this.”

When I’d first joined the three of them, whatever issues the two had ever had were gone. They’d had their spouts, just like anybody in a relationship did. But never had I seen it get as far as their powers being pulled out of them. Though, it wasn’t that I was concerned about.

My eyes flickered down to the drunken Gracelynn, who was once more passed back out and completely oblivious to what was going on around her. If they acted on their powers, they were going to hurt her without even meaning to.

Before I could say anything, however, Owen drew back his hand and slashed it forward. A scream split my ears and threw me back against the wall.

Owen

The white seeping out of Devon was starting to engulf him, just like the black that twirled around my body. Complete opposites, and we were facing one another. Someone was speaking, which I could only assume was that jackass of a vampire, but I paid no mind to it. I only had eyes for him now. I was still on edge from having to sleep in the woods, and while nothing exciting had happened outwardly, I had felt the shift inside of me. I knew now that none of this was some bullshit game show or whatever else façade. Unfortunately, it was the real goddamn deal, and until I had accepted that, I hadn’t been able to see what I needed to.

They were around. Walking the grounds like any living creature. Each in their own gruesome state of death if they so desired. Some spared me the sight of how they’d died, though telling me about it was a different story. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve convinced myself I had gone crazy. Though, it all was far too real to turn back now and second guess this time.

“Get away from her,” Devon snarled and lifted a hand, his eyes blazing in the white-hot fury that surrounded his body.

“You have no right to tell me what to do,” I growled, the sound ripping from my throat and startling even me.

I’d been pissed before. I had acted upon it as well. This, though was entirely new. I could feel the demon shift inside of me, roaring in delight at being woken up. As a kid, I had been convinced one had been inside of me, whispering sweet promises and luxurious secrets to me. It had grown dormant at the pills that muffled and put it to sleep. It was up now and itching to show itself. I wasn’t about to push it back; I had no desire to.

Devon was keeping Gracie from me. He wanted her all to himself, or at least for him and Colton, and for me to be gone. I wasn’t going to have that. Gracie had been mine first, and I would be damned if anybody tried to take her from me.

“Stop!” Her voice was weak, drenched with a slur of the booze that raced through her body, but it still cut the buzz that had filled my ears. “Stop it, both of you!”

I waved her off, my focus purely on Devon, and with no intent on giving up, I stepped around the bed. His feet matched my movements. The padding of staggered footsteps reached my ears, and a hand grabbed my arm, tugging at it. This time, her voice was nothing but muffled against my ears, tuned out so I could focus on my task at hand.

Apparently, Devon was in the same mindset I was. He always had attention for Gracie, always determined to make sure she smiled and was happy. He wasn’t even blinking in her direction this time. The black felt cold as it wrapped around me as if I had been submerged beneath the icy depths of a frozen waterfront somehow. Despite the fact I could feel how chilly it was, it didn’t faze me. I wasn’t shivering, and if anything, it felt right. Almost as if my body were burning with so much heat that the cold soothed the burning.

A streak of white slashed through the air, and as I raised my hand, it crashed. Everything moved in slow motion as if I had suddenly been thrust into a movie, the action scene slowing down for the viewers to watch with apprehension, bated breath.

The black furled from my palm as I had forced it forward, intent on clashing with the white. What it would do from there was a mystery. Though, there was no time as a sudden scream split the air and tore my eardrums. White evaporated into nothing, and so did the black, as we both threw our hands up and clasped them over our ears. My eyes flicked to the door where Colton was and saw him curled on the floor, remembering that vampires had an even more sensitive hearing than we did. If it hurt us, then it was killing him. Instinct drew my head to force itself to turn and fall on Gracie lying on the ground, face-up, but eyes wide open and lips slightly parted. It had gone quiet, but to make sure it wasn’t about to happen, I slowly lowered my hand and tested the air for the moment.

She wasn’t moving, and my eyes didn’t leave her. “Gracie?” I breathed and took a step towards her, realizing how suddenly shaky I was.

I didn’t think it was from the lack of cold caressing my skin, though. “Gracie?”

“She’s still breathing. Her heart’s still going,” Colton said softly, his voice cracking, and I couldn’t imagine the leftover pain he was in. “I can hear it, but she – she looks dead.”

“Get her off her back!” Devon proclaimed and rushed into my view, falling next to her before shoving her onto her back. “She’s still drunk. She could choke on her own vomit.”

At the movement, Gracie’s body jerked, and she wrenched to a sitting position, gasping for breath, and let out a deep, dry cough. Her hand flew to her mouth, and as her body shuddered with another gut-wrenching cough, her hand was splattered in black – black – what the fuck was that?

“Get Lenora,” Devon hissed and threw me a sharp glare. “Get her!”

I turned and ran from the room, my bare feet slipping on the wooden floorboards. I had lost my shoes somewhere in the woods and honestly could care less. Trying to understand everything happening had made them seem extremely unimportant. Now was a different story, however, and I hated the fact that I didn’t have them. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to splat on my face.

The silver-haired witch was already at the top of the steps when I appeared and merely nodded, rushing past me. My eyes fell to the pink-haired witch who now stood at the bottom of the staircase, looking up at me with a curious stare. Assessing me, deciding something that I could tell. I wasn’t the fucking mind reader after all. Pulling myself away, I turned and hurried back into the room to see the witch crouched at my girl’s side, her head bent towards her and whispering incoherently into her ears.

Gracie’s body shuddered, and she shook her head violently, more black liquid spewing from her lips.

“What the hell is going on?” Devon blurted after a few moments.

Lenora drew out a slow breath and lifted her head, eyes falling on him. “Her bodies rejecting the witch’s brew. Which is expected. She’s a Sorceress after all.”

“Rejecting it?” I spouted, my eyebrows drawing together. “Why is it rejecting it? What’s the difference between a sorceress and a witch? It should be the same damn thing.”

Lenora shook her head sadly. “No, we are two different species. Maybe where you come from, we are depicted as magic wielders, and that is all, but not here. Sorceress’ and sorcerers are completely different from witches and warlocks. They reign higher than we do as well. It's why Gracelynn’s family has ruled the kingdom for thousands of years.” She paused as Gracie lurched forward, another stream of black spewing from her lips. I stepped forward, but a handheld up to stop me drew me to a pause, my fingers twitching in the desire to help her. “You have to let this pass of its own accord.”

“Is she – is she – “ Devon started, but the first time since I’d met him, I heard him lose the ability to speak.

I didn’t need to look at him or be a mind reader to know what he had been about to ask.

“No,” Lenora said gently, obviously seeming to have guessed it as well. “Fortunately, not, but it won’t be easy for her.” Her head snapped up, and she glared at us, yellow eyes suddenly piercing at us in anger. “You two fighting also won’t make it any easier.”

I swallowed and sank back slightly, nodding as I pressed my lips together.

“She needs the three of you,” she said gently and turned her eyes on Gracie. “She needs all of us now. Even her friends, who I will have come back tomorrow. She’s going to need all the support she can get to save this kingdom from that monster.”

“What’s his issue anyway? You said before –“

“He’s just obsessed with power. That’s what happens to those who crave nothing but power. They just grow nasty. He used to be a sweet little boy, handsome too, but he became some greedy that not only did he change inside, but his outward presence also changed. Astead Kingdom sits right in the middle of all kingdoms. It is the biggest there is. To have reign over it means to have control over any and all trades within the kingdoms' realm. It means he has the largest army at his disposal.” She snorted and glanced back up at me with a twinkle in her eyes this time. “Though, our army hasn’t exactly been strong since you left. If we can get Gracelynn back on the throne and you back as Captain, this kingdom will thrive far better than ever before. It’s just a matter of getting there.”

“If it’s her kingdom, can’t she just—”

The shaking of Lenora’s head stopped Devon’s question, but it was Colton who spoke.

“He rules now. There is nothing of the Astead family left while he sits on that throne. He has thrown this place into complete darkness—banned hybrids. If Iris ever steps foot over the kingdom's threshold, she will be ripped to shreds for merely existing. He did that, so in the event that she came back, she couldn’t procreate with either one of you or even me by some miracle. Because if she did, the child would be made to be killed. It’s a powerplay. To keep her away from us. It’s why he put a timeline on her marrying him and my child’s life.”

I looked over my shoulder to see the vampire’s shoulders slumped, his eyes sad. My heart leaped into my mouth, and I had to swallow it back down, letting out a slow breath of air.

“It’s my fault Iris even exists. I was in a lot of pain, confused, and I didn’t know if I would ever get you guys back. So, I used Dora, and now she’s really fucked up in the head because of it. I know what I did was stupid, and I am sorry, Lenora, but my daughter…”

His words trailing off made me grimace. I narrowed my eyes at him as I pursed my lips. “She isn’t going with him,” I stated with a snarl.

Colton shrugged and shook his head, reaching up to rub his eyes. “I wasn’t even fucking thinking that, Fabien.”

“Stop calling me that,” I snapped, the name grating at my nerves.

“It’s your soul’s name,” Lenora explained. “It is what you were first born with, and it is the name that your soul responds to. It’s only natural you be called it.”

I shook my head and flinched when she hurled again. “Isn’t there anything we can do for Gracie?”

Lenora shook her head. “As I said, we have to let her pass it for tonight. I’ll take care of Dora,” she looked at Colton. “I need you to go and get the others to have them here in the morning.”

Colton hesitated. “Her memories aren’t back, though.”

“I know,” Lenora said slowly, and I didn’t miss the way her eyes flickered towards first Devon, then me. “We need to go into the kingdom then. I think it’s the only way to knock them into place.”

Gracie

I had gone through withdrawal enough times to know damn well that this wasn’t it. I was throwing everything up, unable to eat it. But there were no shakes, no fevers, no gasping for breath, and desperate craving that screamed at me to get out of bed and make the sickness go away. I knew better than to pretend I was going through that. I hadn’t missed the conversation between the witch and my men. For whatever reason, my body just didn’t want to take in the booze. Differences between species, as far as I had comprehended, but I still didn’t get that either.

Funny, how now was the goddamn time I couldn’t hold my liquor down even for the life of me. It sucked too. I wanted so badly to just make it stop, but the black liquid kept spilling out. In the cup, it had smelled like syrup, sickly sweet and desirable. Coming out of me, however, was a completely different scent. It reminded me of a fucking swamp. Wretched in every sense and made me gag even just to smell what the hell I vomited up.

My head spun when I wasn’t throwing up, the only sign that I could attribute to withdrawal, even if I knew it wasn’t that. I didn’t understand anything or even why I had gone frozen for a few minutes. I’d felt my body seize up just minutes before that and fall to the ground. I could see and hear but moving was not possible. At least, not until the fire burned in the pits of my stomach and tore me from the ground to let the first batch out. I couldn’t remember how much I had drunk. I just knew that I’d been a little too eager to take hold of it when Dora had offered.

I knew better. I knew I should’ve fought against it, but nothing made sense anymore. I was still clinging to the thin wisps of hope that I would go home soon and get my life back on track. It had taken me so long to get it back onto a path going forward, and all that was now gone. All my heart work seemed to have been for absolutely nothing. Being thrust into a world that I knew nothing about made my heart ache, and confusion cloud over me. So, yeah, taking the edge off with a little drink hadn’t exactly seemed like a bad idea. Though, I knew it was. However small that realization was, I could hear the voice scolding me.

I could hear my mother’s voice, the disappointment as she turned away from me, disgusted in me. I could see my father’s face, the frustration painted in a clear picture, and pain dancing in his eyes. I so desperately wanted them back. I so needed them back. I missed them more than anything I could truly admit. I knew better than to anyway. I was stuck here, and it had been made pretty damn obvious I wasn’t going back anytime soon.

It was all I could think about as the wretched witch’s brew was expelled from my system. I loathed it. I hated it. I despised the fact I wasn’t allowed to forget reality for even just a couple of hours. So, I wouldn’t have to be confused or feel alone. I wanted to be intoxicated, and that said a lot because I was determined to never let that thought seep into my mind ever again for the last year.

Who cared now?

It wasn’t like I could fight this king guy. I was going to be stuck in the cabin that smelled like stew for the rest of my life, however long that was going to be. I couldn’t fight. Whatever little powers had presented themselves were no longer showing up. Either that or I just wasn’t allowed to control them. If I couldn’t control them, how could I fight anyone?

Morgana…

In the fleeting minutes when I wasn’t releasing anything from my body, her name drifted through my mind. Every time it did, I could only glance at Devon. He was preoccupied with trying to clean the floor and make sure I was secure and not reading my mind. Either that or it was hidden from his hearing range, however far that was with his mind. I knew what it meant, though.

She’d said it before how we were the same that way. Sorceress. I suspected it was one reason she hated me, though a small one compared to how much she loathed me because I had Owen.

I knew, though, she was probably my only hope at figuring anything at all out. Lenora or even Dora couldn’t do that. They were witches, and as Lenora had already pointed out, we were different. Which meant our magic was different too, did it not? That meant I needed somebody else to do the leg work of mentoring me, and the only one I could think of was the redhead who would rather me be dead. Though, I couldn’t blame her. I had wanted her dead for a long time, too. Every time I caught her and Owen in each other’s arms. That had nearly killed me, and I would have much rather have it had been her.

She was the only one who could teach me, though, and I wasn’t blind to that fact. But as I stared at the three of them huddled around me, oblivious to the fact I was somewhat awake, I knew none of them would understand. If I even brought her up, they’d grow furious with me for even thinking of it. Which meant I couldn’t tell them, and I was going to have to somehow make sure I didn’t think about it around Devon. I had to keep it, especially from him, which wouldn’t be easy because I needed to figure out how to even get in contact with her in the first damn place.

Devon

I wasn’t going to be the one to apologize for attacking. I hadn’t even done it first, but apparently, Owen seemed to think the same thing that I was. He was too stubborn, though. It was something I had always adored about him, but right now, it was irritating. He was deliberately doing it too. I just knew it, but then again, so was I. A small part of me, the part my mother had once said was too kind, wanted to apologize. It was the part my father had often joked I need to harden up so I wouldn’t let myself to be fucked over. I could only ever guess what he meant by that until the first time Gracie had broken up with me.

As I turned my head, drawing my eyes away from the infuriating man, I caught the tired gaze of Gracie watching us. She had yet to speak anything, and I’d almost forgotten she was even awake in the absence of any vomiting happening. It was a relief to see that because having her so distraught hurt my heart. She smiled crookedly at me, her skin pulling against her bones on her cheeks, and I flinched at the sight. As she leaned her head back, I realized that only silence enveloped me from her end. Colton and Owen’s minds were a buzz inside my brain, and as exhausting as they were, I at least knew they were there. Gracie, however, was a dead end. There was nothing to sift through, like her inside voice was just completely gone.

I furrowed my eyebrows together in confusion as I stared at her. I didn’t say anything, though, or even try to vocally question her. If she was doing it, I didn’t want her to know I knew. If she were deliberately blocking her thoughts so I couldn’t hear them, it only meant something was being hidden. Gracie had a history of keeping secrets, and while I knew she’d never intentionally done it just to be a bitch, I knew better than to take it lightly. She used to be adamant about keeping us at arm’s reach while in her drug-riddled states and intoxicated days. This was different, though. She wasn’t drinking on purpose, and there was no way she had gotten hold of any drugs without Lenora knowing at the very least.

This made me realize that something else was going on, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t going to be good. I knew she was going through a lot. For fuck’s sake, we all were. But did that really mean she had to keep secrets from us? There should have been no reasoning for her to decide against telling us something.

As we stared at each other, her smile slipped, and she tore her gaze away from me. It was the telltale sign that she was ashamed of something, whatever it was she was keeping from me and didn’t want to be forced to slip it off her tongue. I moved towards her and stopped just inches in front of her. Tilting her head back, Gracie looked up at me innocently, inquisitively. Her silver eyes shone brightly at me, and a dull ache thudded in my chest at the now mere memory of her brown eyes that I would only ever see in pictures anymore. I missed them so much and wanted so badly for them to be back, but I had to hold my tongue. I knew she couldn’t control a change like that, and bringing it would only upset her.

“What’re you doing, Gracie?”

Her eyebrows shot up, surprise flicking over her face and cleared almost as quickly as it had appeared. The corners of her lips curled up into a playful little smile, and she batted her eyelashes at me, the way she always had when trying to divert the topic of conversation.

“Gracie?” I arched an eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest.

She blinked, staring up at me, but still said nothing at all.

I shook my head and turned, rubbing my forehead in frustration. “I need a fucking drink or something,” I mumbled to myself.

“You and I both,” Owen huffed, and I heard the tightness in his words at trying to keep his voice low enough so Gracie couldn’t hear. Or at least, he probably hoped she wouldn’t hear.

I glanced over my shoulder at her and noticed her face turned away, eyes staring at the wall opposite her and completely out of focus. She hadn’t just not heard Owen; she wasn’t paying any attention whatsoever. I turned to face her full-on once again and leaned over the bed, waving my hand in front of her face. Her head jerked, eyes flashing towards me, and her nose wrinkled before falling over the side of the bed. Her body wrenched before she vomited, and I saw her fingers curl into her blankets to keep her from tumbling headfirst off the bed.

I moved quickly and swept her hair back, twisting it between my palms to keep it off her face. Owen appeared on the other side of the bed, crawling up behind her, and slid his hand beneath her head, cradling it gently when she laid it back down. Her cheeks were flushed bright pink, lips pale, and her body was trembling. With his free hand, he reached over and stroked her back. His eyes flickered up to me and caught mine. I didn’t need to hear his thoughts to know what he was trying to say. I nodded in response and watched as Gracie laid her head in Owen’s lap, her eyes fluttering closed.

“She isn’t going to sleep easy tonight,” I said softly as her hair slipped out of my hands.

Owen shrugged with a shake of his head, her fingers trailing up to stroke through her hair. “Neither are we.”

“I’m here, you know,” Colton spoke behind us. “I can stay up all night with her. It’s what I do. Really.” I looked over my shoulder at him, giving him a small smile. “Let me prove myself.”

My eyebrows bunched together in slight confusion at his words until I glanced at Owen to see his reaction, but the man was glaring at Colton, lips pursed. Realization dawned on me. Both he and Gracie had issues with him, though Gracie was more open to the idea of Colton being around. Owen, on the other hand, didn’t seem to want to even try.

“Alright, Colton. Just wake us up if anything bad happens. Right?”

Owen turned his sharp glare to me, and I shrugged, eyebrows shooting up. “Right?”

Owen huffed and gave a curt nod. “Alright.”

Owen

Leaves crunched beneath my feet as I made my way through the trees the next morning before anyone else had awakened, eyes searching the area in front of me. I couldn’t see the cabin, and I definitely didn’t remember how I’d even gotten out this far. Twigs scraped against my bare feet, yet again reminding me that I had no shoes on and made me wonder, all over again, what the hell I was doing out in the trees barefooted and even in nightwear. Dora had reluctantly handed over clothes she no longer wore, including an unfashionable nightdress that hid every part of my body. It was about the most unappealing piece of fabric I could have in my possession, but thanks to Colton, I’d had to suck it up and pretend to be grateful. That man, vampire, whatever, hadn’t allowed us time to pack, and I was still angry about that. I wanted my clothes back, I wanted my bed back, and I wanted everything to make sense.

My head was killing me. Everything was just a swirl of confusion that went in one ear and out the other. I just wanted to be somewhere that made sense. Not this crazy crap going on that was about to make me lose my mind and force me back to a world that took reality away from me. Because at this point, I was about to take up Lenora’s offer and just drink myself into oblivion. Even if I knew that was the wrong thing to do.

“There you are,” a cold, familiar voice spoke, echoing through the trees around me.

I skidded to a stop, my head jerking around, trying to find the source of her voice. That wasn’t possible. She couldn’t possibly be within the area of the cabin. Lenora had even told us that the barricades only allowed the Prince to cross when he had business, but never on personal matters. Then, it disappeared from view. Which meant, if I couldn’t see the cabin – my heart stammered, flipping before plummeting into the recesses of my stomach. Not possible. I couldn’t have gone that far.

Then again, I hadn’t exactly been paying attention to where I had been headed to. I had just… walked. So much for walking being good for you.

“Donna?” I questioned, hesitant at speaking her name. “Morgana?”

Laughter sent icy water down my spine. “Oh, Gracelynn.” She sighed, the sound making trees flutter above me and rustle my messy hair.

There had been no point in trying to brush the mess that flew around my head. I had nowhere to go, no one to see. Besides, I saw absolutely no point in trying to make myself look even remotely decent in a world that could possibly just be made up in my mind. I wanted to believe that I was still in a coma, that Donna’s attack had put me in a hospital bed for who knew how long, and my brain was just playing tricks on me. That was easier to believe than any of this. Far easier than to accept that I wasn’t allowed to be with my family anymore.

“Peek-a-boo,” she announced, stepping out from behind a tree.

The redhead leered over me as I skidded to a stop, staggering backward to keep distance between us. The ground quivered beneath me before the largest dog I had ever seen poked its head beneath a branch and let out a growl, drool dribbling from its snout. Scratch that, Clifford the Big Red Dog was pretty close to what stood before me, behind the redhead, but that was just a cartoon dog. I’d heard of Mastiffs, never seen in person, but I was fairly sure those dogs weren’t even remotely close to the size of what I was staring at.

My head tilted back, and white teeth bared at me, but the giant dog had yet to do anything. Dark as a starless night, it stared at me with bright green eyes larger than emeralds that could be held in one’s hand. Malice sparkled in them, revealing the desire to chomp my head off. It would be easy for the monstrous thing too. My head was smaller than its damn mouth, that was for sure.

A snarl ripped through the air, and the black dog drew back, its floppy ears flattening against the side of its head before it plopped down. The ground shook at its landing rocked me where I stood, my hand flying out to grab hold of a tree trunk next to me, nails digging into it to keep me from falling face-first to the ground covered in moss, leaves, and fallen branches. The jaguar landed with stealth, its paws thumping against the ground before it rose. Growing, it grew slimmer before muscles stretched and turned into the man I’d only once before seen.

“My oh my, you are a hard one to find, aren’t you?” He chuckled with a shake of his head, black eyes glinting as they stared at me.

I felt my eyes widen, his naked body hanging out in front of me on display. No shame was written anywhere on his face, and he didn’t even bother trying to look for any garments to hide himself. I shrunk back. Had it been Devon or Owen, hell, even Colton, I would’ve been all over them in a heartbeat. But this man? Not a chance. Hell was going to have to freeze over first before I would ever even consider him, and most likely not even then. He approached, slinking towards me, and reached bony fingers out towards my face. I was frozen, latched to the ground as if the vines of the forest itself were pinning me in my spot.

Donna shuffled behind him, her eyes roaming over him, and something sparked in those green irises. I couldn’t tell what it was, but I didn’t really have time to focus on the matter as the man drew closer to me and brushed the tips of long nails over my face. My heart picked up speed, thrumming erratically in my chest, and entered my ears as he dragged his nails down my cheek. I couldn’t move, and if there was any panic, it wasn’t showing just yet.

“You are a pretty thing. There are whispers of your return, you know. People are talking about it, but there’s still a lot of hesitance to believe that you’re back. Barely anyone wants to believe you’re back. It happened before. Where someone thought they spotted you, and it was just a fluke. Got hopes up.” He chuckled with a shake of his head, greasy hair flopping on his head. “I can’t wait to make you my wife.”

Donna bounced on her heel, clapping excitedly behind him. “And I get Fabien, don’t I?” She gushed. “You promised if I helped you, Octavian.”

His eyes rolled in their sockets as he shook his head, annoyance flickering in his eyes. “Yes, Morgana. When we marry, you are free to do as you please. Why you want a washed-up Captain is beyond me, but yes.”

“He isn’t washed up. He just doesn’t remember how great he used to be.” She huffed, her shoulders dropping as she slumped against tree bark, glaring at the ground like a child. “But he’s going to be mine.”

“He’ll never love you,” I stated, unable to stop my mouth as it just had a damn mind of its own sometimes. “He loves me, and he always has, Morgana. He will never love you.”

Red streaked through the air before my body slammed against the tree behind me. My head rocking back to connect with it. Yellow dots flashed in front of my eyes, but I still felt her fingers latched around my throat, her usual move to try and kill me beneath her hands. It felt different this time, though. Her grip was light, only strong enough to keep me held against the trunk. Vines curled around me, lapping over one another to secure me beneath them. They curled, racing up my body. Releasing me, Donna stepped back and flicked her wrist, nostrils flaring.

“Let her go.” His voice thundered. “She is mine, Morgana. Not yours. I warned you about trying to kill her. I want her alive.”

Donna, Morgana, whatever her name was, huffed and held up her hands in surrender, taking a step back. The vines fell to the ground in a plop before they could reach my throat or mouth.

“She’s mine. I need her to make me King. Then, you can do whatever it is you please with her,” he promised, giving me a crooked smile. “She’s a bit strong-headed, isn’t she?”

I shook my head, not understanding why he was being so cool with me. If anything, wasn’t he supposed to be a monster? That’s what Lenora and Dora had said. He was a monster that had ravaged the kingdom, taking any and everything away from the people to force them to work for it all back. Even things that were meant to be free. Including just taking a breath of air. Though, I suspected that part was just an exaggeration.

“I came to see you on my own, Gracelynn. You did not disappoint.” His eyes swept down my body, not bothering to hide his actions. “Funny, I didn’t expect you to look nearly the same. Have you been to town?”

I shook my head, finding my voice entirely gone. I couldn’t speak, not that I was sure I even wanted to at this point. One wrong thing said would land me in hot water. He reached forward, tracing his fingers along the base of my neck. His gnarled nails scratched my flesh but not hard enough to release blood from it. Stepping closer, he leered above me and closed off the sun that had fallen through the canopy of trees. Cupping my chin, he lifted my head up and stared down at me. He was taller than even Colton, and that was saying a lot.

“You’ll be mine soon enough,” he purred, his eyes sparkling before releasing me. “Come pet, let her be for now. We will both get what we want soon enough.”

Donna grumbled but scuffled up next to him, curling her arm through his. Her eyes landed on me, and for a moment, she paused before flashing me a grin. Then they were gone. A puff of smoke swirled where they had stood just a moment before and left me staring into emptiness.

“Gracie?” The voice echoed, my name drifting through the air. “Gracie?”

My lips parted, trying to speak words to alert the caller to the place I was still glued to, but only a garbled sound like being strangled left my lips. I drew myself together, shook my head to try and clear up the fog floating inside my mind, and pushed off the trunk of the tree. Stepping around it, I stared into the depths of the forest, feeling far more alone than before. Further away this time, I really wasn’t sure where I had ended up. The voices were gone, my name no longer floating in the air. A fog rolled across the dense ground, swirling around my ankles, and a gentle breeze brushed goosebumps up my arms. Shivering, I wrapped them around myself and stepped forward, my foot sinking as it hit the mush of ground.

Gracelynn. My whispered name made me flinch. I really hated when people called me my full name. Gracelynn.

The fog parted in front of me, but instead of letting me move forward, the girl rose as if pulling out her grave. Instead of a mangled mess of bones, however, she stood straight up. It was so cliché, but it was like she was a ghost floating just feet from me. It was the girl I had witnessed in my dream, staring back at me from the mirror.

A memory.

She lifted out her arm, palm held up, waiting for me to take it. I hesitated, but she nodded, a small smile curving her lips upwards. Cracks lined her face as if she were nothing more than a porcelain doll jostled around a few too many times. I glanced around again, but it was useless. No one was around us; the world lay silent as if we were suddenly the only two people who existed in the world. I stepped forward, reaching out my hand with full intent on taking hers.

Devon

As I turned over and reached out, my fingers found the middle space of the bed was empty. My fingers lingered for a moment, my body fuzzy where I lay and tugging me back towards sleep. I dragged my hand back and turned to tug the blanket back over me. There were times I didn’t mind waking up, but this wasn’t one of those. I didn’t want to wake, not now. I just wanted to curl back under my blanket and let the warmth drift over me and hug me closely –

I shot up, suddenly wide-eyed as my head snapped to the middle of the bed and the empty space. Owen lay on the other side, an arm stretched out across the long pillow the three of us shared, but his face was towards the opposite wall, so I could only see the back of his head.

“Hey, wake your ass up!” I reached over and shook him violently. I was still royally pissed at Owen, and everything about him grated my nerves, but for Gracie’s sake, I forced myself to be around him. “Gracie’s gone.”

Owen stirred and let out a groan, waving sleepily at me but fell back into his pillow. He was shirtless now and washed up. I couldn’t remember him taking a shower the night before, but I had also passed out before he had, so it wasn’t much of a surprise. I shook him again, and annoyed with me, he rose, turning bleary eyes to glare at me.

“What?”

I pointed at the empty spot Gracie usually lay, my teeth clenched.

He blinked and stared at it before rubbing his eyes, trying to ward off the sleep that glassed them over. “So? She’s probably downstairs drinking coffee or whatever.” He dropped his head on the pillow again with a huge yawn and turned back to the wall.

I rolled my eyes and climbed out of bed, stepping towards the door, but stopped as I felt the heaviness poke at the fabric of my briefs. I glanced up at the sleeping man, threw my hands up before crossing the room, and slipped into the bathroom. When it clicked upon shutting, I turned the lock to secure my sanctuary, and so no one I didn’t want would walk in on me.

Shoving down my briefs, I pulled my feet out of them and stepped to the toilet, lifting the lid. As my fingers slid down the shaft, I parted my legs and gripped the top of the toilet to begin the pumping. My head fell back, and I closed my eyes, allowing Gracie to enter my mind to make it easier. As my mental image of the woman ripped its clothes off, I let out a groan, feeling my penis tighten in my palm. She drifted slightly to the side, her pink nipples growing erect and hard. Colton materialized next to her, and he, too, removed his clothes. I licked my lips as my eyes trailed down the sculpted body, stopping at his dick.

“Oh, fuck,” I breathed, my hand pumping harder, and the free one gripped the back of the toilet harder.

Pressure built, and I watched as Gracie and Colton turned to each other before embracing each other. Colton gripped Gracie, his fingers twisting into her hair as he stuck his tongue in her throat. His other hand gripped her waist and pulled her in closer. Their hips touched before he thrust in and turned her, slamming her against a wall. I moaned at the sight, my hand speeding up as Colton’s hips rocked forward. The gasps that left Gracie’s mouth seized at me, and my chest ached, desperate to beg her to say my name despite being with Colton. Apparently, jacking off to my woman being fucked by another man was extremely invigorating. I guess it only mattered if it was either him or Owen. Because with them, I could easily share Gracie and enjoy it too. If any other man tried to touch her, however, would just piss me off.

Colton dipped his head, his teeth latching to her neck. Almost instantly, Gracie’s arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers burying into his hair. Red trickled down her neck as his fangs pierced her flesh. I bit my lip and dragged my teeth across my lip. When he shifted, I caught a view of one of her breasts, the nipple tight, and pointed directly at me. Colton reached up, pinching it between his fingers, and she let out a groan. The exact same that I let out a moan as my abdomen heaved and my dick grew tighter before exploding and released.

I gasped, my shoulders drooping, and I leaned forward, pressing my forehead against the wall. I could feel the sweat beaded on the sides of my face, my chest heaving. Clearing my throat, I grabbed a few squares of toilet paper and cleaned myself up. Flushing away the evidence, I grabbed hold of my briefs and pulled them up, dragging my fingers through my hair before leaving the bathroom.

I crashed to a halt over the threshold as if I’d suddenly hit an invisible wall, my eyes landing on Colton as he sat on the edge of the bed. Owen was snoring again, sprawled out eagle style on the bed. Colton wore only jean shorts now, his bare stomach and hairy chest capturing my attention on sight. His hands were clasped together in his lap as he stared at me, the telltale sign of agitation.

“Is she in there?” he asked, tilting his head to look over my shoulder.

“Who?” I asked and glanced over my shoulder before realizing who he was talking about. I shook my head. “Gracie’s not in there.”

“Then why were you –” his eyes shot to my now limp bulge, and the words fell off his lip’s midway. “Where is she then?”

“Downstairs, I assumed,” I started, and my eyebrows shot up when he shook his head. “She isn’t downstairs?”

“No.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Weren’t you supposed to be watching her last night?”

“She started sleeping for longer than twenty minutes around four this morning. I was… hungry. I had to go out. Fridge blood doesn’t always do enough to fill me.” Guilt twisted over his face, and he dropped his eyes to his lap, fiddling his thumbs.

I crossed the floor and shook the slumbering man, rougher this time. “Get the fuck up, Owen. Gracie isn’t downstairs.”

At my proclamation, he shot up, wild-eyed and hair tousled. He wiped the drool from the side of his face and clambered out of bed, staggering before his feet caught on the rug. Colton shot forward and grabbed him as he tumbled forward, setting him upright. Shaking him off, Owen recoiled from the touch, shooting the vampire a glare, and then turned towards him.

“Where is she?” he demanded. “Where’s Gracie?”

Annoyance flickered across Colton’s face, and he crossed his face. “How the fuck should I know? She wasn’t here—”

“You were supposed to be watching her, asshole. So, where the fuck is she?”

I grimaced. Owen didn’t hate just to hate. He always had his reasons, and if he really did hate this guy, there had to be some underlying reasoning as to why and I didn’t think it was just because the way we had all met Colton was on the creepy end of things. There was another reason that I couldn’t put my finger on, and I itched to find out. If we were all connected by Gracie, we needed to learn how to get along with one another.

“Owen—” I started but stopped when he lunged at the bedside table, yanking open the drawer before pulling out his gun. “Now wait a goddamn minute, Owen!”

The man wasn’t listening to me. His hotheaded stubbornness turned and pointed the muzzle at the man who seemed to be made of stone. Colton merely stared down at it, just like the last time it had been pointed at him. Owen just doesn’t fucking learn, does he?

Let him shoot me, the voice echoed, and I met Colton’s gaze briefly. There’s a lot to explain why he hates me. He needs to get his anger out.

I grimaced and stepped back, but just because Colton was fine with this didn’t mean I was going to let it go easily. “Owen, what the hell is your problem?”

He turned to face me this time, keeping the muzzle of the gun pointed at Colton as if that would do anything. This wasn’t some drug-addled criminal who suddenly had an epiphany and would do whatever he wanted so he wouldn’t die at the hand of a cop.

“My problem? You do see where the fuck we are, right? This man – whatever the fuck he is – dragged us all here against our will, and now Gracie’s gone because of him. Gracie drank last night because of his fucked up little girlfriend. She was doing good until now. It’s his fault she lost her sobriety,” he rattled, and the heat of his words stung my chest so sharply I had to swallow back the tears that threatened to overflow.

I couldn’t deny what he was saying because it was the truth. We’d been brought here against our will and the fact Gracie had lost the one thing that had meant the absolute world to her killed me inside and out. To see the sadness in her eyes when she had drawn into reality enough to know what was going on made me think I was better off dead, so I didn’t have to hear her sobbing.

Still, “There’s a reason we’re here. Gracie is supposed to run this kingdom—”

“How the fuck is she supposed to run a kingdom?” Owen spouted, shaking his head vigorously. “Are you serious, Devon? I love that woman to death, but she’s a wreck. There’s no way she can run it.”

“She can. If you give her the chance to do it. She just needs to get her memories back, just like you guys do as well. Once you all remember and know your worth here, this kingdom can be saved.”

“And until then, what?” Owen questioned, looking at him over his shoulder, but I could hear the teasing in his tone as he entertained the words Colton spoke. “We stay here, wilting away and being driven insane?”

“No. We go into the kingdom.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Lenora doesn’t want to. She won’t even go to.”

“Lenora is scared, and she has every right to, but the longer you all are stuck here, the longer it’s going to take your memories to return.” He stepped towards me, and Owen moved as well, but despite being taller than Gracie, he was still shorter than I was, and apparently, Colton too. Him trying to protect me did no good, but it was cute. “I went inside this morning. I didn’t go far, but I didn’t need to to see the damage Octavian and created. We need to get Gracie inside, especially, so she can remember. She loved the kingdom so much. She and her family were amazing on the throne. They ruled fairly, and Octavian is tearing apart everything they worked so hard for.”

“Say that we believe you,” Owen started, his finger sliding to the trigger. “What about our memories? Would they come back?”

Colton shrugged. “I can only hope so. We need all of your memories to return.”

“It’s only the three of you for now,” a now all-too-familiar voice spoke and drew our eyes to the door. Lenora gave us a sad smile, her eyes twinkling in unshed tears. “Octavian has Gracelynn.”

It hit me I was standing in front of the woman in my briefs, but with her words, I didn’t care at the moment. Even if I did feel slightly exposed and there was a warning sign screaming in the back of my mind, the idea of that monster having Gracie sped my heart up and made everything else seem so meaningless. I’d seen him once, and it was enough to know he would do nothing but harm to our woman.

“I know who we need to help us,” I stated, my voice cracking as I screwed up my face in distaste. “But I have to leave the vicinity of the cabin to get Him.”

Gracie

My eyes snapped open, cold concrete kissing the bare flesh of my arms, legs, and even feet. Turning my head proved nearly impossible, and it was even a struggle to pull myself to a sitting position. I blinked rapidly, my head spinning, and I had to press my fingers to my temples. Outside in fresh air, I had forgotten about the drinking; it had affected me then. Now though, it was a different story. It made my head feel like it was about to explode, and I wanted to crumble. I wanted to drink again to make it all go away. Though, I wasn’t sure that was a good idea either. The churning of my stomach warned me against such a thing. One more thing to enter my system, and I would lose the last months’ worth of food kept me alive.

Blinking as yellow spots flashed in front of my eyes, I drew my eyes up and stopped on the iron bars that sat in front of me. They were thick and pushed together, barely any room to fit a few fingers, let alone the ability to slip through. I scrambled to my feet, staggering as my body swayed, and I had to bend over, gripping my stomach in an effort not to hurl. Sucking in a breath of air, I slowly drew straight, rubbing my face.

“Get in there,” a slightly familiar voice snarled, feet clacking against concrete. “Go on.”

“Let me go!” my own voice screamed, and I grimaced before advancing on the iron bars, fingers wrapping around the cold metal. “You’re going to pay for this. You’re going to pay for everything!”

A group of four appeared from the dark doorway. I was in front, hands behind my back, and held there to keep from escaping. I was being shoved by a man I didn’t recognize, but instant hatred boiled in my chest at the sight of him. He had floppy brown hair that cascaded over his eyes, but I knew instantly I just didn’t like him. Octavian followed suit, the flaming red hair of Donna – Morgana – what the fuck ever her name is – trailed behind. Her eyes were cast down, footsteps slightly sluggish, dragging. Almost as if she didn’t want to be doing this. I scoffed, but despite the sound slightly echoing, nobody turned towards me. Like they didn’t hear me. Relief surged through me at the revelation, but I was still stuck. I was invisible, sure, but I wasn’t a damn ghost and couldn’t slip through the bars.

Gracie, me, damn this is weird, twisted, kicking out. “Morgana, please! What did I do so wrong to you? We’re supposed to be friends, sisters! Why are you doing this to me?”

I sucked in a sharp breath, my eyes widening at the words that slipped out of my own mouth. Her mouth? This was weird. It was from my lips, had once been anyway. Right? That’s what this was, just a memory that had been locked away for far too long. The redhead shook her head, jaw set as she drew her eyes up to me, no, not me. The memory of me. Even from the cell I stood in, I could see the tears glistening in her eyes.

“You don’t get it, do you? Fabien was supposed to be mine, and you took him.”

I shook my head. She shook her head, and where I stood in this form, I pressed into the bars, clutching them so tightly, my knuckles turned white.

“He chose me, Morgana. I told you that I had nothing to do with it! You can’t stop someone’s heart from what it chooses! Why can’t you understand that?”

“Because my heart loves him, that’s why!” She shouted, her nostrils flaring as her fingers curled into her palms. “It is fucking isn’t fair. You get everything! Always have. You even get the fucking throne!”

“I didn’t choose that either—” I rebutted but gasped as Morgana slashed a hand cased in red forward.

I watched as I screamed and fell backward, throwing my arms over my face, silver wrapping around my body to protect me from the onslaught. When it died down, I lifted my head, and from the version I was, I trembled as I stared up at the group of three. My eyes darted to the young man who now stood behind Octavian, who didn’t seem to have changed from the memory to present-day one bit. I wrinkled my nose in disgust at that fact.

“Fabien entrusted you to protect me. He was so proud of you. How could you do this to him?”

The young man turned his head, clenching his teeth, but I could see the tears stream down his cheeks as his shoulders tensed. He drew in a sharp breath of air, refusing to look at the girl on the ground.

“You’re mine, Gracelynn Astead. I hope you do realize that. You don’t have your pathetic little men to protect you anymore. Even that immortal is gone.” He cackled and reached for me, grabbing a fistful of my hair before thrusting me into the air.

Morgana gasped, her hand flying over her mouth as I was shoved against the wall, a blade pressed to my neck.

“Everyone will think you killed yourself, you know. With you out of the picture, I will have free reign to rule this kingdom.” He laughed.

I thrashed beneath his grip, my fingers clawing at his hand, bug-eyed in both fear and losing the ability to breathe. “Mo-Morgana,” I gasped, my eyes flickering towards her.

Octavian laughed, the sound sending a trickle of ice down my throat. “You really think this kingdom will accept a deranged sorceress?” He snarled. “Even your own parents didn’t want her ruling.” He released his grip and tossed me to the ground.

My head slammed to the ground, stopping my movement. Where I stood, I reached up and pressed my fingers to the back of my head but considering who I was watching was a past me and I was the present, there was no lump or blood or anything else. Still, I grimaced. I was watching a memory like a movie play out in front of me, but I still couldn’t see it in my mind.

“Kingston, go get me the heads of the boys.”

The man balked, glued to the ground. When Octavian turned to look at him, Kingston spun around and hurried off down the dark hall. I watched him scamper off, a pang of guilt shooting through my chest before returning to the scene in front of me. It wasn’t myself or Octavian that captured my attention, though. Donna – Morgana – now stood a few feet away from them but closer to me. I sucked in my breath and held it but figured that she couldn’t hear, let alone detect my existence within whatever cell I was in. I was only a fragment in whatever this was. I didn’t exist to them, not yet.

Her head was bent anyway, so it wouldn’t have mattered had I been a true person. She wasn’t paying any mind to where she was. In her palms lay a locket, open, and I could just barely see that there were pictures in it. I couldn’t make them out, but I could only guess that it was the family I’d once had.

“Why did you kill them?” The question rang in the air, and I snapped my gaze back to my past self. “Morgana, why did you kill our parents?”

I gasped, eyes going bug wide at the question. Donna had always been a bitch, and I’d hated her with everything in me, but I’d never once pegged her as a damn murderer!

Morgana looked over her shoulder and stared at the me she knew then. It was then that Octavian slashed forward, his hand thrown through the air before the blade connected with my throat. I screamed with myself, my knees locking before I crashed to the ground. The memory of who I’d been sat for a moment, having gone quiet in shock before reaching up to grapple at her gushing neck. Blood spewed everywhere, and she sputtered, a waterfall of red falling over her lips and chin before crumpling. She heaved out sharp breaths of air before her body went limp, eyes turning glassy to forever stare up at the ceiling.

I didn’t kill myself.

Octavian snorted and wiped the blood on the blade off on his pants before stretching. Without even saying anything to Morgana, he turned and followed the way that Kingston had gone. Still, I kept place. I felt confused why I was even still around. If my memory ended with my life, shouldn’t I have left by now? A sob drew my eyes to the redhead, and realization dawned on me.

This isn’t my memory.

She stepped over the lifeless body of me and stood above me, reaching out before dropping the locket onto my chest.

“I didn’t kill them, Gracelynn. I sent them away, and they can only return when you do. When you take your place on the throne. Only then can they return. They aren’t safe here.”

As she turned, Morgana paused briefly, her eyes flickering in my direction. For a moment, I almost thought she could see me. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she scrutinized the place I stood. It only lasted a moment, however, before she turned her and followed the men. Something wet seeped beneath my feet, and when I looked down, I saw my foot planted in the stream of blood’s path. I swallowed roughly and moved. Ice swept around me and tugged me backward, demanding I return to where I needed to be. Though, I had the inkling feeling that I wasn’t going to wind up where I had started from.

It was going to be where I needed to be.

I blinked, my body jolting before I collapsed to the ground. With a groan, I pushed myself onto my back and stared up at the dark ceiling. The cold cement hadn’t left me, but I didn’t feel a pool of blood trickling beneath me, so I knew I was no longer in a place that was now behind me.

“Of course, you would return here. I had a feeling.” His voice greeted and made my insides clench up. “You can be predictable sometimes, Gracelynn, do you know that?”

I drew up to a sitting position, clutching at my side. “Where’s Kingston?” I questioned, my eyes working to adjust with the much dimmer light this time.

“Funny didn’t think you’d remember him or even care about remembering him. I took care of him a long time ago.” He chuckled and finally stepped into view.

A clawed finger latched beneath my chin as he bent over and tugged up my face, forcing me to look up at him. “You know, I realized far too late that this kingdom wasn’t going to be mine until you returned. Morgana has tried to stop that so many times, but she’s an idiot. That pathetic boyfriend of yours was so desperate. He cried when he found you dead, you know. Quite the sight too. Pity, he could’ve been a great asset for me.” He clucked his tongue at me. “But you can thank him for me for bringing you back.”

I huffed out air through my nostrils. I couldn’t blame Colton, not now. I wasn’t angry with him. He’d just wanted us back, the way I wanted my parents back. The way I had longed for Devon and Owen, to have them back. I couldn’t blame him for chasing his heart. I couldn’t even blame Donna, no matter how much I still loathed her despite knowing a fraction of the truth now. I could, however, blame the man that stood in front of me.

“Welcome home, Princess. It’s about time you were properly crowned, though, isn’t it?”

Devon

I could only stare up at her. She wore a crown made of iron with jewels encrusted in every spike. There was no smile or anything to declare happiness. Her taking the crown was supposed to have welcomed light, or at least, that’s what I’d been told. There was nothing, though. Gracie stared down from the throne with a glassy stare and like she just couldn’t recognize anyone who was standing in front of her. I knew the signs of her being drunk or high or anything else. This wasn’t one of them, though. Something else was wrong, and I felt it. Psych’s voice was even silent. Something just didn’t feel right. I hated his voice, but I dealt with it. He’d been the only reason we’d gotten into the village undetected.

Exactly why we were on alert, I didn’t know. From the moment Gracie had disappeared from the cabin, our names and faces were on everyone’s lips, and their eyes searched every corner. Apparently, there was a great deal of money to our names, and the people of the kingdom would do anything for it. Anything at all. Which included turning us in, and we were supposed to be on their side.

I shifted, feeling the chains tug against my wrist at the movement. I scoured Gracie’s face, but she couldn’t even look me in the eye.

“I learned my lesson the last time I killed you men,” Octavian spoke, his voice a slow drawl as he leaned forward in his own throne.

His eyes sparkled in happiness. The union of the two had been the talk of the kingdom, but no one outside of the castle had been permitted to witness it. Only those who served the – the king and queen had been privy to the marriage. My stomach clenched at the thought of Gracie being married to another man – especially one as horrible as this one. Fury inside of me, and I had to curl my fingers into my palms to keep the white-hot fire from bursting off my fingertips.

“I won’t be killing you, but you also will not be allowed in this kingdom anymore. You will not be allowed to set foot in this kingdom. If you do, you will spend the remainder of your days in the dungeons.” His eyes flickered to Colton. “For you, it would be without blood. Now, doesn’t that sound fun?”

Gracie didn’t move or look at him in surprise. Instead, her eyes had dropped, cast down to avoid having to look at us.

“You’re lucky this is what has been decided of your fates. The Queen was nice enough to convince me to allow you the option of staying away from the kingdom instead of just throwing you to the dungeons instead.”

We were silent, and for the first time in days, I actually wished Psych were making noise inside my head. I could only stare at the crown that sat atop Gracie’s head. It looked almost too heavy for her, but she wasn’t complaining. She wasn’t doing anything. Frustration flared inside of me at her lack of care.

She cares. She just can’t show it. It wasn’t Psych’s voice, but one I would know anywhere. My chest ached with the memory of my mother’s voice, never having truly left me, determined to stick around and second guess whatever decision or two I was about to make, so I kept going the right path.

“Show these men out the gates of the kingdom, and I warn you three now, if you return and are caught, it will be the dungeons.”

I felt hands on my arms tug me backward, but I fought against them. “Gracie! Look at me!” I demanded, my voice loud and echoing off the massive ceiling of the castle. Where it ended, I had no idea.

The place was grey, in and out. Bleak, just like the occupants that scuttled around inside of it. The ground was cracked, ignored for care, and what I assumed had once been grand, the thrones were high backend chairs. They spiked towards the ceilings, as iron as the crown that sat on top of her head and even his. Her eyes flickered up to me, and I sucked in a breath as the silver that had coated them momentarily washed away, brown sparkling at me. But then I blinked, and only silver gleamed back. All emotion was washed from her face, determination to keep everything together, and pulled her gaze away from me.

I was pulled around, taking the sight of her away from me. I hadn’t spoken to her since before she’d gotten drunk. I hadn’t even had a chance to tell her I wasn’t mad at her for it. I couldn’t even say goodbye.

Anger boiled inside of me, and familiar laughter bubbled in my head.

Let’s get one thing straight, Psych. We’re stuck together, which means Gracie is both of ours. You’re going to help us get her back, or I will fucking kill myself with you in me. I swear, I’ll fucking do it.

Relax, Salvator. I will help you. I loathe that man as much as you do, don’t you worry your pretty head. We will get her back.

“Gracie!” Owen shouted, fighting against whoever was holding him, trying to twist and get back to her. “Gracie, please, please don’t do this! We love you, Gracie, please!”

As I was shoved outside, I turned my head and caught just a glimpse of her. She was staring at us again, but this time I could swear I saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. My heart ached, and I knew then, she hadn’t done this on her own. She’d saved us from decaying underneath the floors of the castle, and it was the best she could do. That alone spoke volumes.

As my feet scrabbled to find ground with my captor shoving and pushing me in every direction, I huffed when I was finally released, thrown to the ground.

“This is as far as we go, but you three out to get out of the kingdom as quickly as possible. We heard the king wants to do more sinister things with you than just throwing you in the dungeons. The Queen stopped him with the promise to marry, said that if he harmed you, she’d call everything off. They had their union today. There’s no stopping him from killing you or the queen now.”

I jerked my head in the direction of the man speaking, but his face was hidden by a mask. As I scoured the small group that had led us out, I noticed each of them hid their faces, and I couldn’t help but wonder about that.

“There’s a place you can go, though. The witches set it up. You know them. It’s a sort of… rebellion against the king. People want to overthrow him. Everyone’s just terrified to make a move,” the first speaker continued, and I noticed his grey hair fall over his shoulder. He sounded tired, weak even. Had I done that to him? “They’ll be expecting you three anyway. Lenora can show you the way. You need to go there; you can help them fight back. She didn’t want this, you know. She never wanted any of this.”

“We’ll go,” Owen stated and grabbed my arm. “We’ll save her too. You’ll see.”

His voice was tight. I knew without looking at him that he meant business. When it came to Gracie, we would sacrifice our own lives to make sure she was safe. I looked at Colton, who caught my eye and gave me a grim smile, his shoulders slumped. Still, he nodded in confirmation and drew his gaze away from mine.

“Go. This is the only time you’re allowed in the village without repercussions. To get out. Next time, you may never get to leave.”

Owen tugged me around, and we made our way towards the gate. It was made of stone and surrounded the entire kingdom, blocking the people within from seeing the beauty on the other side. It looked somewhat new, as if it had just been recently erected, and I couldn’t help but feel as if it just hadn’t been there the entire time. A nudging inside the back of my mind told me that it really hadn’t been there when we’d been around.

To entertain the mere idea of once having been around before was starting to become more frequent, and it unnerved me. I could get used to the idea that we belonged here, that we did, in fact, have powers of whatever the fuck it all was. I could accept that Gracie was a goddamn queen now, for fuck’s sake. But reincarnation was something I couldn’t wrap my head around. I wanted to believe, but being told I was supposed to have memories that didn’t seem to exist inside my mind made it so much more difficult to accept – well, of any of it, really.

“We’ll get her back,” Owen stated matter of fact. “We will, I promise.”

I was silent. Owen was a protector; he always had been. It was why he had loved his job as a police officer, but his words felt hollow in my ears and liquified in my heart. Hope was feeling so low lately, and as we finally stepped out of the iron-wrought gates, I turned to stare back up at the massive castle looming over us, throwing the kingdom in shadow.

“Somewhere up there, Gracie is there. She’s watching over us. I can feel it,” Colton said softly.

I shook my head, my eyes darting to and fro between each and every window that dotted the stone walls of the castle. I, too, could feel her eyes watching us. But she felt so far away, out of reach. I could only feel emptiness where I’d once felt her warmth.

“I can’t feel her,” I said, the words falling off my mouth without me even wanting them to.

Only silence followed my words. When I looked at the two, their faces were solemn, and I knew they were in the same boat. While we knew that Gracie was watching us, neither one of us could feel her. She was the main key to our bond, the knot that kept us together. We could each feel her, and she felt us. Inside and out. Now, there was nothing. Like we were trees carved out, leaving us hollow and just – just empty. There was no other word to describe it.

“We’ll get her back,” Owen promised, but I heard the lapse of confidence in his words this time. “We have to. She’s our girl. We have to get her back.”

I nodded, a flicker of faith sparking in my heart. I wasn’t going to fully be alive without her. I’d just gotten her back, too, goddammit. Now some fucked-in-the-head, power-hungry guy was trying to keep her away from me. I clenched my teeth together and turned, my eyes scouring the dirt around us to find the path that would lead back to Lenora’s.

Their feet scuffed the ground with following me. A low growl emitted from Colton’s throat, the only sound to accompany what we were all feeling. Pain suddenly shot through my head, and I gasped, falling to the ground. As my head hit, I heard two other thumps, and before the blackness could take over, I realized I wasn’t the only one suddenly on the ground.

I turned. My eyes were blurry from whatever had impacted me. Multiple pairs of feet appeared around me, but voices molded together into a cacophony of noise I couldn’t make out. I blinked, trying to keep the darkness from enveloping me, but it was too strong, and I couldn’t fight against it. Too weak to keep trying, I let it pull me under. I had no energy, and it felt nice to just let it all go.

Gracie

His fingers were like the balls of ice curled up in the back of the freezer, chipping away every bit of warmth surrounding the areas that his hands gripped. I shivered, my body slinking back, ready to just let it drop. If I could play dead, I was going to do it. Pretend to be a possum, if anything. Play dead so the predator would leave me alone. His bony figure lay defined by the clothes that clung to him. His face was stark white and not the pretty kind either. It was almost as if he were ill and just couldn’t get over it. The way his lips curled crookedly made my stomach churn, but it was the malicious glint in stark black eyes that made a bout fear trickle down my spine.

He shoved, pushing me to the covers of the bed, and rumpled the silk that was smoothed over the mattress. His hands released my shoulders before he stood upright, lifting his bony fingers to unclasp the buttons that held his shirt together. Just the collar and two beneath, leaving the mystery of what lay beneath as just that, a mystery. It was something that I had no desire to figure out.

Scrambling back, I pushed myself up to the headboard, trying desperately hard to get as far as possible away from his touch. I knew it was useless, though. He was going to touch me, no matter how far I pushed myself back. I didn’t want him to touch me or look at me or do anything with me. I wanted Owen, Devon, and Colton. Yes, even Colton would do at this point. I’d only kissed him a few times, but I’d give just about anything to be with him instead of this – this – man. Could he even be called a man? I didn’t think he was. He was nothing more than a child. Or at least, he acted like it. He strutted around like a man but threw tantrums when things didn’t go his way. He didn’t care about anyone but himself. That much was obvious when he’d banished the guys from castle grounds instead of asking what would make me happy.

That was the thing that confused me the most. He claimed to want to make me happy but took away what made me smile the most. He was a huge ass hypocrite, and I hated him. I was married to him now, though. My worst nightmare had come true; married to a man I could not stand. Which just sucked in every way. Both my sisters and brother had gotten the loves of their lives to put rings on their fingers, and I got a shitty-ass man who was so desperate to rise in power that he would do anything to make it happen.

“You seem flustered, Gracelynn.” He commented, rounding to the side of the bed and nearing the head of it, drawing closer to me. “There’s nothing you need to worry about. I’m your husband now. You and I belong to each other.”

I shook my head, gripping the edges of the pillow I sat on top of, forcing myself to not squirm away from him. “No. I don’t belong with you. I belong with the guys—” his hand slapping over my lips stopped me abruptly, silencing me.

“You are mine, Gracelynn. Those three men mean nothing to you any longer, and you will do good to remember that. I am all that matters to you now. Is that understood?”

I swallowed, biting back a bile of sobs that wanted to escape but slowly nodded. I knew fighting was futile at best. If I dared to go against him, there was a possibility he would go after them, my precious guys who didn’t deserve to be in the middle of any of this. I had to comply, so they wouldn’t be hurt in any way. As long as I did what he wanted, then he’d leave them alone. Wouldn’t he?

His lips were chapped and flaky and seen way too close as he drew closer to me. Bags tugged the corners of his eyes down, and his skin stretched over his cheeks, giving them an ill-stricken look as if they were sticking out of his flesh. Again, I couldn’t help but think he was better off lying in a hospital, waiting for his last moments of breath to take his life. I didn’t want to kiss him, not again. It was bad enough once to lock in our marriage but to just do it was even worse. I leaned towards the opposite side, refusing to allow him to grow any closer to my face. I could remember the stench that wafted from between his lips when I had done it at the altar. His breath reeked like a wet dog being sprayed by a skunk. It made me want to hurl.

“Come here,” he demanded.

I shook my head vigorously, scooting to the side to get further away from him.

He stood straight up, glowering down his crooked nose. “I said, come here, Gracelynn. You are my wife, and you will listen to me.”

I glared at him, clenching my teeth tightly together. “I might be your wife, but you don’t control me,” I hissed.

He shot a hand forward, but before I could move, his fingers snaked through the tendrils of my hair and yanked my head back, making me look up at him as he loomed over me. He snarled, displeasure sparkling in his eyes. “You are my wife, which means I own you. You belong to me; do you understand that?”

Unable to stop myself, I spat in his face. Taken by surprise, he wrenched free of me for a moment and jerked backward, wiping my saliva from his face. In that momentary distraction, I twisted and scrambled off the side of the bed, my heels slipping as they hit the ground. Stumbling, I wasn’t quick enough before he took stance next to me again and shoved me against the wall. His free hand gripped my chin, shoving back my head, so I had nowhere to look but up at him.

“You’ll learn to watch yourself,” he spat, spittle flying over my face. “You pathetic girl. I own you and this kingdom. You will bow to me, your king.”

“I bow to no one.” I snarled and shoved at him.

The contact jerked him backward, but he was unrelenting in his grip on me. Tossing me forward, Octavian shoved me on the bed, fingers curling around the back of my neck to press my face down into the covers. Grappling at the covers, my heels scraped at the wooden floor, desperate to get air to my lungs. I felt him brush against me from behind, his free hand grazing across my thigh before pushing at the hem of my dress. I squirmed, fingers clawing at the bed to get away, but I was blocked, pinned down. I let out a scream, but the covers I was still pressed into muffled my attempt. Not that it would have mattered even if I had been able to scream out loud. Nobody would hear me, and those who could probably wouldn’t even care. He had ruled the kingdom for so long, and from what I had witnessed, people were afraid of him. Nobody would retaliate and therefore leaving me alone with him.

Nails scraped against my bottom as the dress was lifted, offering a view of what lay beneath. My shoulders sagged, defeat filling every bit of me. There was no way to be free now. I had to deal with whatever was coming my way, and that was that.

A rapping on the door stopped him in his tracks before he could do any more damage. Pulling away, the release of my head drew my face up and gasping for air, letting out a strangled cough. His warning glare told me all I needed to know, but reluctant to agree, I just merely dropped my head and stared at the sheets. If he could get his way, they would soon be saturated with juices I didn’t want to give willingly. My body wasn’t his. It was for my guys, but now I really didn’t feel like I had any choice whatsoever.

I’d only married him on the premise it was going to save the kingdom. Even the witches had told me that, practically having begged me to do so. I didn’t see it happening, though. Octavian Gunnison wasn’t exactly a nice guy, and I didn’t see him doing anything good for the kingdom anytime soon. Low voices entered my ears, but I knew better than to look up. If I did, I was going to scream, and then all hell would break loose. I didn’t need that on my plate too.

The clasp of the door closing shut drew my head up and my eyes to the silver platter he held. I knew the scent of liquor by heart. My stomach twisted, fear curling inside of me, and I shrank back, unable to help myself. I watched helplessly as he sat it on the other side of the bed before lifting the silver pitcher to pour brown liquid into matching cups. Two of them. One for each of us.

“I – I don’t drink,” I stammered, but even as the words fell from my lips, I knew instantly they were useless.

As predicted, he ignored my claim and rounded towards me, holding the cup out. The corners of his lips curved downwards, urging me to take the cup. As my fingers curled around it, the chill of the liquid within iced the tips and sent a familiar zing of excitement up my arm that quickly returned to fear.

“I don’t drink,” I tried again.

He blinked and sat on the bed, patting the spot next to him. “It will make tonight easier. Sit with me and drink.”

Of course, it would make the activities of what was supposed to be a special night so much easier, but that didn’t mean I wanted to give up my sobriety for it. So again, I denied it, shoving the cup at him. “I don’t drink,” I repeated, trying to sound sterner than before, but my voice quivered just slightly.

He stared at the cup for a moment before rising back to his feet, placing his own cup on the bed carefully, and stepped up to me. With one hand, he grabbed the wrist holding the cup, and snatched up my other with his free, forcing my arm up. As the alcohol reached my lips, I kicked out, trying hard to not open my lips. The sob escaping allowed the sweet liquid to enter and dribble down my throat. I jerked my arms and kicked out my legs, but the wall hit my shoulder blades, and he tipped it back further. The strain made my wrist scream in pain, threatening to snap if it went back even just a smidge further. A whimper escaped my lips, shoulders quivering before the guzzling began. Spattering, I tried to stop it, but the harder I fought, the more that went down. It warmed inside my stomach, and my head quickly grew fuzzy, reminding me just how potent the liquor of this place was.

As it emptied, his release dropped my body to the ground. It was all too quickly before he swiped me up and bent me back over the bed. I had no desire to fight him. Everything felt too numb. Blackness curled inside my head and swam down my body—sweet and blissful darkness. I just wanted to swim in it. Grazing fingers sent goosebumps up my flesh, and I felt the shaking of my head, trying to deny him, but I had no energy to do so. His laughter was low in my ears, muffled by the numbness that buzzed throughout me.

I need more. I want more. No. Yes. No. Yes!

I blinked. Black stared down at me, but brown liquid sloshed in my ears, and my head bobbed accordingly, fingers reaching eagerly towards the sound.

Gracie

My feet slipped against the rocks of the cliff, tearing at the flesh of my heels. Blood trickled down my chin, my cut open lip dribbling down like no other. My head was spinning, and I could feel my tattered dress hanging in threads around my legs. If it tore anymore, I was going to trip on them and faceplant onto the jagged rocks. I could feel the cuts on the bottom of my feet oozing with blood, but there was nothing I could do about it. The roar of rushing water crashing against the cliffside entered my ears, but I didn’t dare look behind me. If I did, I would panic, and I didn’t think that was the right thing to do.

His fingers latched around my throat made it difficult to breathe through the adrenaline that pounded through me. I wasn’t sure if it was fear or the thrumming of my heart, making my body tremble. His black eyes showed me an abyss that I would never get to leave. If he dropped me here, I would thrive in death without having to open my eyes and see him.

“One push, and you’re over the edge. Dead. I don’t need you anymore. Besides, everyone already thinks you’re a drunk. They’ll just think you came out here, drank yourself into oblivion, and fell over the edge. They’d be sad, but they’ll get over it.”

“I’m the Queen,” I gasped, grappling at the fingers, my feet kicking at the ground in another futile attempt to pull away. “You need me to run this country.”

“I don’t, though. Everyone is already under my thumb. It’s my rule. Besides, a King precedes a Queen. You aren’t needed beside my side anymore. You did your job, and that’s that.”

I gasped, gurgling for breath as his grip tightened. “Please, please, I don’t want to die.”

“You did your time. You did enough by being at my side.” He chuckled, but it was nowhere near kind.

A wisp of wind scraped at my face and tugged my hair around my head. He jerked me forward, pulling me away from the edge, and pressed his face up to mine. “You did the job I needed, Gracelynn. You gave me the title of King. That’s all I wanted from you.”

Tears budded in my eyes before burning my cheeks as they streaked down, and I swallowed, a sob escaping from between my lips. Letting out a breath of air, I turned my head and looked out at the black water that stretched in front of us, racing for miles upon miles and with no end in sight. White water rose and slashed against the rocks I stood upon, my body shaking violently. I still couldn’t tell if it was fear or adrenaline, but at this point, I didn’t think the difference really mattered.

His hands shoved at me again, pushing my feet to staggered backward before the ground fell out beneath me. The scream tore from my throat as I hung in the air, head whipping around to look at him again. His eyes lit up, and a corner of his lips curled up into a crooked smile.

“You will never see those men again, Gracelynn.”

Owen

Three days later

I stared down at the body that lay in the wooden box, eyes closed and skin as pale as a ghost. Her hands lay over her chest, the blue dress flowing over her body and enunciated every curve of her. Her hair flowed around her head. They’d told us she had drowned, after jumping from the cliff, drunk out of her mind. I was struggling to accept it, even with her lying right in front of my eyes. If I pretended hard enough, I could easily imagine her just being asleep. I wanted to so badly just believe she was in slumber mode that what I was looking at didn’t exist.

I was sleeping. This was some sort of fucked up nightmare. Yeah, that’s what it was. It had to be. I needed it to be. My throat closed up as I clutched the edge of the coffin, tips of my fingers scraping against the satin layering. A shoulder brushing against mine told me I had been joined, but I refused to look up. Ignoring him, I reached forward, fingers brushing over her pale pink lips.

“Gracie,” I whispered, leaning slightly forward. “Gracie, where are you?”

I was sure that if she were dead, I’d see her, but in the two days since we’d been alerted of the accident, she hadn’t shown her face to me. If anyone were to show themselves to me after death, I knew it would be Gracie for sure. So, where the hell was she?

His hand landing on my shoulder finally turned my head, and Devon gave me a small, shaky smile with a curt shake of his head. His eyes dropped to our beloved woman, staring down at her with the same expression that I felt inside of me.

“This doesn’t feel real,” he said softly. “It’s like – like—”

“A nightmare,” I supplied, but he only nodded in confirmation instead of voicing another word.

The king, whatever his name was, had told the mortician in front of us we were allowed to take as long as pleased. Why he had suddenly turned into someone kind was beyond me. He didn’t care about Gracie. That much was obvious by the way he had left quickly with barely a glance our way. If he had even given a smidge of thought about Gracie, he would’ve been in a puddle of tears on the ground. Because that’s just how Gracie left you. Never wanting to live without her.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to live now. I didn’t want to live without her.

“Where’s her tattoo?” Devon suddenly voiced alarm in his voice.

I blinked, wiping at the tears I hadn’t realized that escaped, and looked at him, eyebrows furrowed together. “What?”

“Her tattoo. On her left breast.” He reached forward, brushing his fingers over the strap of her dress. “Right here. She had a little trail of hearts going down her breast like people do with stars.”

I stared at the empty flesh that was visible to the eye, even without Devon pointing it out. I had been so focused on her face; I hadn’t even bothered to look over her. He was right. The tattoo was gone. I had stared at that thing enough times to know the description Devon pointed out was true. Tattoos didn’t just disappear. It had been there a week ago before we were forced to leave her to be married, and now it wasn’t.

I glanced over my shoulder and jerked my head, motioning for Colton to join us. He had been reluctant to see Gracie dead, not wanting to accept the truth. None of us were exactly willing to be on board with what we’d been told. Dragging his feet, the vampire drew up to us, eyes shot red from the tears that shimmered, unshed for the moment.

“What?” he croaked, his eyes on me, and I knew he was refusing to look at her.

“Distract the coroner.” I nodded to the plump little man who had his head bent, fingers shuffling through a pile of papers, but faced us.

“What?” He blinked. “Why?”

“I need to look at something on Gracie. Distract him.”

He blinked again, confused for a moment, before turning to amble away from us. Not much of a fight, but I guessed it was easier to comply than stick around the coffin and have to see the corpse of the girl you love. Though, if my hunch was right, that wasn’t going to be a thought much longer.

Turning back to her, I pointed at the edge of the dress. “Lift it up. She’s supposed to have a tattoo on her thigh. A little butterfly.”

“I know,” Devon said, slightly offhanded and with cheeks glowing bright red but reached for the dress's hem and pushed it up.

The tights put on her were as pale as her skin, easy to see through. As her thighs were in view, bare skin lay beneath them. His hands curled around the meat of her thigh and turned her leg just slightly, tugging at the tight to make sure it wasn’t hiding that little blue butterfly I loved so much to trace at random times. Nothing, absolutely nothing.

“Her ankle,” I whispered, glancing over my shoulder to spot that Colton had turned the man’s back to us.

“Nothing. The treble sign is gone too.”

I breathed out roughly and turned, reaching forward to yank her dress back down and pulled away, taking Devon with me. I nodded at Colton and jerked my head towards the door, leaving abruptly. I listened as his feet joined behind us, clicking with every step on the linoleum floor. The door snapped shut behind us, and once making sure we weren’t being followed, I turned sharply towards them.

“That’s not Gracie.”

“What’re you talking about, Owen? Of course, it was—” Colton started, but his words faltered as I vigorously shook my head.

“That girl, whoever it is laying in that coffin, isn’t Gracie. The tattoos, Gracie’s tattoos, they’re all gone.”

“So?” Colton scoffed, folding his arms over his chest, and drew in a sharp breath of air, struggling to keep himself together. “Tattoos can be removed, can’t they?”

“Yes, but not that quickly—”

“We haven’t seen her in a near week.” Devon interrupted, his voice soft, eyes to the ground. “He’s right, Owen. They could’ve been removed.”

“Not without a procedure, and Gracie would’ve never—”

“Not if she hadn’t known. This world is full of magic. She doesn’t need a procedure to change here, Owen.”

I glared at the vampire. “You’re the one who didn’t want to believe that she’s dead, Colton. So why the hell do you believe it now?”

“Because I saw her. She’s dead, that’s her—”

“No!” I shouted my voice bouncing in the corners of the massive foyer. “That isn’t Gracie!”

“Just because she doesn’t have tattoos doesn’t mean it isn’t her, Owen. That’s her—”

“No!” I shouted, reaching my hands up to grab handfuls of my hair, and shook my head. “It isn’t her.”

“Why do you believe that?” Devon demanded, standing in front of me, grabbing hold of my shoulders, shaking me lightly. “It isn’t just the tattoos, so what is it?”

“I don’t see her!” I shouted in his face, unable to stop myself. “She isn’t here. If she were dead, she’d show herself to me. You know that too. She would show herself! She hasn’t!”

“He released me almost instantly, lips pursed as he nodded and turned away from me, facing Colton before stepping away from the group. I looked at the oak doors that we had left, feeling the tug in my heart as it lightened up. Knowing for sure that Gracie was still out there made it easier to breathe. I was sure of it; I knew she was alive.

“I feel it,” I stated out loud, the thought tumbling off my lips before I could stop it. “Don’t you?”

Devon paused, staring forward for a long moment before turning to face me, eyebrows furrowed together. “What?”

“You need to feel it, Devon.” I stepped forward. “Just let go of her being dead and feel her alive. She isn’t dead. You have to believe me.”

His head rose slightly, lips parting just a little, but he was silent, taking in my words, and nodded finally. “Alright, alright, I’ll feel it. But Owen, if I can’t feel her alive, you have to stop talking crazy and accept the truth as it is.”

I crossed my arms, pursing my lips in wait. He breathed out an exhalation of breath and closed his eyes, his lips moving soundlessly as he counted under his breath. After a moment, his shoulders dropped, and the tension on his face fell away before his eyes fluttered open, confusion sparking in his eyes.

“I felt her. I always feel her. Why—” he shook his head. “I feel her now. I can still feel her.”

“She’s alive,” Colton said softly, happiness in his voice. “She’s alive. Gracie’s alive.”

Afterword

As a new and upcoming author, I don’t have much to be seen by. It would help if you could leave a review on this book and let me know your thoughts! Please, be constructive and I will fix up what I can if anything is an utter mess to you.

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Book 2

Crooked Crown

Coming Fall 2021

About the Author

Reese Jett is a writer who specializes in Reverse Harem – Paranormal Romance, but is known to write in plenty of other genres. Their writing credits include short stories presented in the anthology, Love Sucks by Tarina Anthologies, and upcoming anthology pieces.

When not writing, you can find them at home with their beloved furbabies. They like to eat baked chips, drink red wine on down time, and read from other reverse-harem authors.