- Novel-Eng
- Romance
- CEO & Rich
- Billionaire
- Marriage & Family
- Love
- Sweet Love
- Revenge
- Werewolf
- Family
- Marriage
- Drama
- Alpha
- Action
- Adult
- Adventure
- Comedy
- Drama
- Ecchi
- Fantasy
- Gender Bender
- Harem
- Historical
- Horror
- Josei
- Game
- Martial Arts
- Mature
- Mecha
- Mystery
- Psychological
- Romance
- School Life
- Sci-fi
- Seinen
- Shoujo
- Shounen Ai
- Shounen
- Slice of Life
- Smut
- Sports
- Supernatural
- Tragedy
- Wuxia
- Xianxia
- Xuanhuan
- Yaoi
- Military
- Two-dimensional
- Urban Life
- Yuri
Chapter 40 : I’ll Tell Her Everything
♦Lena*
Tomorrow. He'd come pick me up from my apartment tomorrow.
That was all I could think about as I paced around the small bedroom I'd shared with Heather for the
last three years. Heather was out. where I didn't know, but I found myself alone and on edge.
I'd already unpacked my duffle bag and backpack. I'd taken a shower and ran a load of laundry. I had
nothing else to do for the remainder of the day but wallow in my anxieties and suspicions about what
Xander needed to talk to me about.
It obviously wasn't urgent. He would have pulled me aside during the luncheon or caught up to me
afterward if he had news about Elaine and Henry. It was obvious the students who attended Morhan
were totally in the dark about what had happened in Crimson Creek, which was a good tiling, but still....
I was caught in a massive cover-up. and Xander was the only one who knew the truth.
I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, hugging myself with my amis.
Maybe he wanted to talk about us.
I let out my breath, shaking my head. What could possibly be said at this point? We were done. We
weren't anything to begin with. It wasn't like I'd been his girlfriend.
I sat down hard on the edge of my bed. and my backpack slid off the mattress, falling to the floor. The
envelope George had given me peeked out of the front pocket, the thick cardstock flaked with gold and
reflecting in the dusty sunrays pouring thr ough the windows.
The clouds had opened enough to reveal a beautiful sunset, which sent rays of pink and amber light
cascading into the room. I reached for the envelope and slid my finger tlirough the wax seal binding the
envelope together. There were two things inside. One. I expected, and tossed onto my bed without a
fraction of a glance.
The second item in the envelope was just a piece of scratch paper with an untidy scrawl littering the
page. I held it to the light, reading each and every word before I let it fall to the floor.
A familiar pain radiated through me as I stood and pulled on a hooded sweatshirt. The letter had
brought back an anguish I'd shared with who I considered my best friend and closest confidant. I'd
been there when it happened. I'll never forget the look on his face.
He'd loved her since they were just kids, and the two of them had grown up together, attending the
same schools and running in the same social circles. He'd thought, with every fiber of his being, that
she was Iris mate. They both looked forward to the day she turned twenty-one. only a few days after
his own birthday.
But it wasn't him. They weren't fated. Her mate had been, in fact, his brother.
She'd chosen his brother over him. It shattered his heart beyond repair.
I sighed as I sank down on the bed. looking down at the letter that had fallen onto the floor between my
feet. I read the words over again, lingering on the litre where he'd written that all I needed to do was
call, and we'd be on the next boat through the southern pass. We could skip the wedding neither of us
wanted to attend. He just didn't want to do it alone.
The sun had almost fully set as I left my bedroom and pulled on my coat and a weathered beanie over
my tousled locks. My pale blonde lowlights had grown out, revealing the silvery white hair that grew
stick-straight, not a single curl in sight.
No one had said anything about it. It was probably because striking, platinum-blonde hair was in style
right now. and people paid a king's ransom to accomplish it.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBut no one had my pale silver eyes and moon-kissed eyelashes, nor my silver-white eyebrows and
porcelain, unblemished skin.
I was odd. foreign. But I'd made it work. My years-long lies and excuses wouldn't matter much soon. It
was all coming to an end.
I walked the short distance from my apartment to the pay phone hr front of the laundry' mat around the
comer. Barely anyone outside of the wealthy' and royal had access to phones in then homes, not yet.
The radio towers that had been constructed two decades ago made it possible for communication
between the continents outside of letters, but it was a slow progression.
I barely ever called home. I liked to write and receive letters. But there wasn't much time for that now.
I put a few coins into the payphone and held the receiver to my ear. listening to the static for a moment
before I was connected with the operator.
“How can I connect you?" she said, her voice quick and busmesslike.
“Avondale," I replied, and a clicking sound filled my ears as the operator connected me to the next hub.
“How can I connect you?" came a new. male voice.
I sighed before closing my hand around the receiver and whispering into it. “The Palace of Poldesse.
please."
A soft chuckle flickered tlirough the static.
“Good luck even reaching security-"
"Not security." I whispered as a man passed behind me on the sidewalk. “I have a code for a direct
line,"
“What is it?"
I took a shallow breath and closed my eyes.
“1701... S."
"One moment."
The clicking resumed, then ringing filled my' ears as I was transferred. A few moments passed and I
almost hung up. but then a deep, friendly, and familiar voice filled my ears.
"Lena?"
"I'm sony to call so late." I began, closing my eyes. I felt tear s beginning to well in the comers of my
eyes as his soft laugh fluttered through the receiver. I heard a feminine voice somewhere behind him.
raised in question as she neared.
“It's Lena." he said to his companion, and a shocked exclamation mingled with whatever reassurance
he uttered in reply. “Is everything alright? You never call!"
“I'm fine, really. I-"
“Give me the phone!" came the female voice, and there was a bit of skirmish on the other line. I smiled
broadly, my' heart squeezing in my chest as my uncle fought off my aunt's attempts to secure the
phone for herself.
“Uncle Troy?" I said after a moment.
He panted in response, chuckling as though he was holding my' aunt at arm's length as he lifted the
receiver to his mouth once again.
“What's up. kid?"
"I'm looking for Oliver." I breathed. “Is he home?"
♦Xander*
Adrian was sitting on the couch in our shabby apartment, his legs crossed and his arms stretched over
the back of the sofa. He was watching me as I unpacked the belongings I'd taken with me to Crimson
Creek. I glanced up at him as I turned my duffle bag upside down and shook the remaining contents
onto the carpet.
"What?" I murmured, reaching for a pair of socks that had rolled beneath the coffee table.
"Well, what now? Are we going back?"
“I don't know." I replied, sighing as I started to organize the small items that I'd just dislodged from the
depths of my duffle bag.
“Well, she didn't seem all that enthused about you at the luncheon." Adrian said, giving me a tight
lipped smile.
I glared at him. then rose from the caipet and walked into the tight kitchen that opened up to our living
room.
Adrian. I'd known him since I was a kid. He was arrogant and sarcastic, but loyal, the kind of guy who
didn't shy away from a fight. This fight, however, was starting to wear on the both of us. It'd been a year
at least since we'd been home. He was just as ready to return as I was.
He'd made himself at home here during the month I was in Crimson Creek. He had his positive
qualities, but cleanliness was not one of them. I swiped a few beer cans off the counter and into the
trash can. scowling at him over my shoulder as he smirked, tapping his foot as he waited for me to
make some remark about what he'd been up to.
"So. are you planning on taking that girl home, or is she just a fling?" I asked as I pulled a bag of
cheap, pre-ground coffee from the cabinet.
Adrian sighed, miming Iris fingers through Iris ham "I haven't broached the subject." He shrugged,
tilting his head as he watched me start the coffee maker. "That wasn't really the plan, after all. You're
the one who's supposed to be bringing home a wife."
I closed my eyes, thankfill my back was to linn so he couldn't see the pained expression creeping over
my face.
I'd returned to our apartment in the early morning, before the sun had even begun to rise over the tall
brick buildings in downtown Morhan. Adrian had been asleep, the door to Iris bedroom wide open, and
a young, dark haired woman was sleeping with her aim resting on his chest. I'd woken her up as I
entered the house, and she was shocked, and deeply embarrassed, that I had even glanced into his
room as I made my way to my own.
But she'd left behind a tube of lipstick and a few hairpins in our bathroom. And the expensive tea in the
pantry definitely wasn't Adrian's. I turned to look at him. leaning on the kitchen counter as the coffee
began to brew, the sound of the water heating and hissing steam filling the space between us.
Adrian's blue eyes narrowed on mine for a moment before he rolled them.
“She's probably not my mate. Too young to know for sure, you know. What about your, uh. Lena
situation? No go. then?" he asked, clearly trying to change the subject away from his lover.
"I don't know. I'm telling her everything tomorrow." I said curtly, watching him inn his fingers through his
golden blond hair once again.
He looked at me. not even trying to stifle the nervous flush that stained his cheeks. "Are you sure you
want to do that? Why not just stick to the plan-"
"It's complicated now-"
"All." he nodded, the comer of Iris mouth twitching as he adjusted Iris weight on the couch. "You fell for
her. didn't you?"
I didn't answer. My silence was enough. I grabbed a mug from the dishrack and crossed to the
refrigerator, which was empty save for a few beers, some takeout, and a bottle of something called oat
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmmilk. I held the bottle up. then tinned to Adrian, arching my brow.
"Macie likes it. Says it's better for you than milk."
"So she has a name, and her own creamer, in our refrigerator-"
"It's more than what you have with Lena." he bristled, and I set the creamer down on the counter and
shot him a dirty look.
I'd told him every thing when he'd finally woken from the dead and rolled out of bed. nursing a righteous
hangover and covered in glitter and smudges of lipstick. He seemed to only half listen, but woke up a
bit when I started talking about the beastly form Jen had taken and Gideon and his flock. I hadn't talked
to him about Lena though, not in detail. I'd just given him enough information to allude to the fact that I
had failed.
“There's gotta be more of them, right? Soren's family?"
"It's not that simple." I murmured, sniffing the oat milk creamer before shrugging and pouring a hefty
amount of the strange, straw colored liquid into my mug. Why the hell would anyone want to drink milk
made of oats? Oat juice, more like it-
“Xander?"
“What, Adrian?" I breathed.
He shook his head, laying Iris head against the back of the sofa and closing Iris eyes for a moment
before continuing. "What exactly happened between you two? Her friend. Heather, was shooting
daggers at you the entire time we were at the luncheon."
"We slept together a few tunes. It wasn't much more than that. It won't be much more than that."
Because. I thought as a jolt of pain ran down my spine and settled in my stomach. I couldn't take her
away. I couldn't force her will and obedience. Because I loved her. and I'd lied to her in the worst way. I
didn't say as much, but I'm sure it was written all over my face.
"Well, maybe she's pregnant, and she'll have no choice in the matter-"
"She's not." I snapped, the vitriol in my voice burning my throat as I gripped my coffee mug. She's not.
because she can't be. not if what Alma said was anywhere close to the truth. I'd been careful, anyway.
At least most of the time.
“I don't know why you'd even bother telling her the truth at this point. Xander. What do you drink she'll
do? Run into your arms? I think it's time to give up. man. Come on-"
“You forget who you're talking too," I seethed, but then relaxed as I w'atched Adrian's face fall, then go
expressionless. I hadn't recognized my voice. It sounded like someone else, like something I'd
drummed up from a long forgotten memory of a distant past, a different life. “I'm sony-"
“I was out of line." he said, clearing his throat and straightening up a bit. “What now?"
"We graduate."
Adrian smirked, shaking his head. “All. my parents will be so proud. Their son. not only a warrior but a
recipient of a bachelor's degree in dirty fingernails with a minor in pitchforks."
I couldn't stop the soft smile from touching the comers of my mouth as I looked down into the coffee I'd
yet to drink. "I don't even remember what your degree w'as supposed to be in." I chuckled, and he
rolled Iris eyes.
"I don't either. I didn't understand a damn tiling in any of my classes."
A silence fell between us. and I reluctantly sipped the coffee, finding the unnatural additive pleasant
enough, but I would never admit it.
"Lena will know why I'm here by this time tomorrow. I'll leave it up to her. We only have a few more
weeks of this. Adrian. Then we can go back. We can go home."
Adrian drummed his hands on his knees, giving me a knowing glance. “Sure thing, Alpha." he said, a
wry smile touching his lips.