He noticed. “Look at you,” he said, his eyes looking her up and down. “I like what you did to your hair.”
She pulled it back and found a seat near the fireplace on a few cushions that one of the Albrecht ancestors had brought back from India.
“I’ve always had this ridiculous white chunk of hair. I can’t seem to get rid of it.”
“Why should you? It’s beautiful.”
She forced a smiled. “Thank you.” She noted a coffee mug next to him on a side table. “Coffee at this hour?”
He picked up the mug and took a drink. “Yeah. It’s quite good. Would you like some?”
“I would actually.”
He set it back down and stood. “I’ll go get you a mug. Do you take milk and sugar?”
“I do. Thank you.”
Avalon gave her a nod and retreated upstairs to the kitchen.
She stood and glanced at what he was reading. Her face paled at the title on the book.
Dark Spirits and Demons.
She shivered and pulled her kimono even closer to her skin. Where did he even get that book? It looked old with its withered yellow pages and wear on the spine. She took a step backward as a chill entered the room.
She rubbed her arms and looked around. Every sense was on edge as she imagined a ghost or spirit watching her.
She swallowed and sat back down. Why was Avalon reading such a dark subject?
When Avalon returned he handed her a coffee cup on a saucer with a small silver spoon.
“Thank you.” She accepted it, enjoying the warmth of the cup.
Avalon stood there as if waiting for her to try it. He smiled that kind smile he sometimes gave her, the one that made her wonder if he really was just a guy desperate to win her affection. He nodded for her to give it a try.
Evie took a gingerly sip. Surprise filled her eyes. The flavor was incredible.
“Wow.” She took another sip. “You made this?”
He nodded and picked up his cup. Instead of sitting back in his seat he sat next to her. “I have a secret stash from back home. It’s good, right?”
“It’s great actually.” She drank some more and watched the flames in the fireplace. There was no way she could focus on studying with him sitting next to her.
Another loud thunder crack seemed to shake the house with its intensity. She didn’t know how anyone could sleep through that storm. She imagined Parker sitting up in bed, looking out his window, thinking about her.
Perhaps he slept peacefully, having already forgotten her. That image stung. Was it wrong for her to wish that he was still so broken that he couldn’t sleep at all…just like her? That scenario gave her hope that she could win him back.
Evie could only wish that he still even thought about her.
“Does it storm like this often in Woodland Creek?”
“At least once a year.”
“I love storms.”
She looked at him. “Me too.”
“Woodland Creek is nice. I can’t quite say I remember it being this nice, not with a father like mine anyway,” he said, his voice trailing. He shrugged. “I can see the appeal, but Scotland is beautiful.”
“It sounds lovely.”
“You should see it.”
Evie didn’t reply. She wanted to see the world, but with Parker.
As if he’d read her mind, Avalon scooted close to her. He put a hand on hers, making her switch her thoughts to something different.
His hand was gentle and warm.
Strong.
Electric.
She fought the heat that filled her whenever he was so close. Every touch, despite how she abhorred him, made her feel weak. She shouldn’t feel that way. It was a betrayal to Parker.
Evie had to hate him.
He brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.
Avalon made it so hard sometimes.
“Listen, Evie,” he said, looking down at her hand in his. “I know this arrangement isn’t what you had in mind for your life, but in time you will find happiness with me. We can have a good life together; one where you don’t have to worry about anything. I will love and protect you always.”
Love?
The word frightened her when it fell from Avalon’s lips.
Her heart could never be anyone’s but Parker’s.
Evie turned to the flames, taking her hand back and tucking it under her leg. She watched them flicker and rise against the logs of the fireplace.
“Was that some sort of lazy proposal?”
She bit her lip, fighting tears. She never imagined she’d end up in an arranged marriage like the women from the classic novels she read.
“It was,” he said.
Oh God.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. There wasn’t a box. The ring didn’t need it. It was huge. The diamonds captured the light from the fire, shining bright as she gawked at it.
It was stunning.
The ring Parker gave to her was smaller…much smaller.
But better.
Evie tensed. What was she supposed to say?
“Listen, love, you can accept this ring when you are ready.”
“Thank you,” she said, relieved to be let off the hook.
“I want to make you happy. I don’t want to disrupt your world however, so you’ll continue with school. I believe an education is important. But, I really don’t want you working at the book store anymore. It doesn’t look good for my girl to work in such a shabby little place. You don’t have to work.”
“I can’t work?”
He’d already assumed that she’d accepted his proposal. Avalon was insane. She was certain of it. All of his loss had affected him on a level deeper than she could imagine for herself.
This was how he handled his grief.
She understood it, but it didn’t change her mind about her plan.
Avalon gave her hand a squeeze, his eyes hard. “No. You will not work. You will go to school, and come home.”
“I don’t understand why it matters.”
The look on his face made her regret speaking at all. His grip on her hand tightened slightly.
“Any more questions?”
The tone is his voice made her shiver. She shook her head. “No,” she said, her voice wavering. “I was just curious.”
“Good.” Avalon smiled. “Curiosity is okay.” He patted her hand. “But in moderation.”
Evie nodded. “Yes. Okay.”
“Good,” he said. “Now where were we? Oh, right. I will take you to Scotland over winter break. How does that sound?”
Evie raised her brows. He really did mean to make a life with her.
“You’ll take me to Scotland?”
“That’s right.”
If I’m good? God, help me.
She forced another smile. “That would be great.”
Avalon’s eyes narrowed. “Something’s holding you back. What is it?”
She looked up at the ceiling, forcing Parker’s name from her mind. She didn’t want Avalon going after him.
“Mother would never let me go.”
His grin faded a little. “I don’t think you understand, Evie. What your mother wants is no longer a concern. What Wesley wants is of no concern. You should only worry about what I want.”
Evie clenched her jaw.
She was more of a hostage than a guest. She focused on keeping her mind free of any thoughts of escape or retaliation lest he read her thoughts. Doing so was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. Such concentration took discipline that she’d never had to master.
He grinned. “Why are you trying to keep me out, Evie? Don’t you know I can read you like a book? But still, something is missing.”
Her cheeks reddened. He knew exactly what she was doing.
“What are you hiding?”
She ripped her hand from his and stood. Flustered, she looked down at him, hoping her sudden action didn’t anger him.
&nbs
p; Avalon’s face was unreadable.
That frightened her.
“Nothing,” Evie blurted. “I’m not hiding anything. I’m going back to bed.”
Before he could reply she hurried away. First, she walked quickly. Her walk turned into a run for her room, as she imagined that he was chased her.
She didn’t even look back until she was in her room and had the door shut.
Shaking, Evie stood at the door. She listened for any noises outside the door in the hallway. She covered her mouth with both hands when she heard footsteps stop just outside.
Stepping backward, she didn’t stop until her legs touched the edge of her new bed. She sat down with nowhere else to go.
“Go away,” she whispered, knowing he couldn’t hear her.
Evie sat there praying until the footsteps walked away.
Evie covered her heart and tried to calm herself. Her pulse was too fast. Her breaths were quickened as well.
She couldn’t live like this.
OLIVIA WOULD NEVER let Wes go again. Being home was like a dream. After all that she had suffered at the hands of Avalon, she wanted to stay home in bed, her arms wrapped around Wes as he held her.
She ran her hands through his hair, watching as the black strands fell perfectly back into place.
His face had cleared of all traces of the curse. Her handsome man was back to normal. Her wounds would heal.
Life would return to the way it once was before the war with the Prince family.
Who am I kidding?
Evie had taken her place as Avalon’s prisoner.
How long before he hurts her?
“We should get ready for dinner with your mother,” Olivia said.
“I know. We have so much to discuss now that you’re home and feeling well.”
He got out of bed and headed to their wardrobe. Olivia sat up. Her neck was sore. She touched the soft flesh, tracing where the rope had been wrapped around her throat.
Her eyes squeezed shut as she tried making the memories fade.
“I wish we could just stay in bed together and let the pressures of the world fade away.”
“Do you want to rest awhile longer? My mother will understand if you do.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said, leaving the warmth of their large king bed.
She stretched her sore arms and pulled her T-shirt over her head. She snatched a blue shift dress from the wardrobe and stepped into it.
“I don’t feel like doing anything to my hair,” she said as she looked at her pale reflection in the mirror hanging on the inside of the wardrobe door. She reached for a pearl necklace that hung from her jewelry rack attached to the other wardrobe door and clasped it around her neck.
“I promise we won’t judge you for going to dinner casual tonight, baby.”
Olivia snorted. “I can hear Adelaide complaining already. I’d rather not hear her mouth tonight.”
“Come now. She understands that you risked your life for Evie and me.”
“Look at the good that did. I didn’t help the situation in any way. All I did was send Evie right into our enemy’s arms. I’m sure she hates me now,” Olivia said bitterly.
The way Evie had looked at her when she was allowed to leave was heartbreaking.
The girl really did love her like a sister. There had been true worry in Evie’s eyes when she saw Olivia leave. She wished that she could have stayed behind and made sure Evie was well taken care of.
“Tomorrow I’m going to see if Evie is okay.”
Olivia shook her head, fear flashing in her eyes. Memories of being left hanging upside down in a glass cage shattered her composure.
She screamed. “No!”
Wes caught her in his arms.
“Baby,” he breathed, holding her tight. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay! You have to stay away from him. If you go over there…he won’t let you leave alive. He told us what would happen if we didn’t stay away.”
Wes smoothed her hair. “I know,” he said, sighing. “How is he so strong? I need to learn his weakness.”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to test him again.”
“I can’t leave my sister with him.”
Olivia wiped her eyes. “I saw how he looks at her. There is genuine feeling there. He doesn’t want her just to upset you. He really cares for her.”
Wes frowned. “I still don’t like it.”
Olivia held onto him. “I don’t either. Men care for the women they abuse all of the time. It doesn’t make them any less dangerous.”
The six o’clock bell rang and they knew it was time to head down to the secondary dining room for dinner.
Olivia stepped into her black heels. Wes watched as she smoothed her dress, and silently went to the bathroom. She picked up her brass-handled brush and ran it through her hair until the snags were gone.
“I’m ready.”
“I HAVE A plan,” Adelaide said after the first course of split pea soup.
Wes looked up from his bowl, having only taken a few sips of the green broth. He didn’t have an appetite.
How could he eat when his sister was forced to live with that monster?
Memories of what he had done to Avalon’s older brothers haunted him.
But I’m the real monster. I am the reason Avalon took her away.
A sharp pain shot into his stomach. He winced. It wasn’t the curse.
It was guilt.
Olivia sat up in her seat, her eyes full of determined hope. It was clear that she was broken by what Avalon had done to her, but not so much so that she had given up on Evie.
Wes watched as she clasped her napkin, squeezing it in her fist. “What do you have in mind?”
“We all leave Woodland Creek behind. Sell Scarlett Hall. Sell everything.”
“What?” Wes raised a brow, wondering if his mother had lost her mind. There was no way they could give up their ancestral home.
Adelaide nodded; her red lips a stark contrast to her white skin.
He dropped his spoon into the bowl, and pushed it away, spilling soup onto the gold-encrusted place setting.
“You leave if you want,” he said, biting back his urge to shout. “I’m not going anywhere without my sister. It’s out of the question.”
Olivia nodded. “I’m not leaving her here either.”
Adelaide sat back in her chair, her eyes seemingly fixed on something in the distance. Her voice took an off tone as if she was no longer speaking to them.
“That’s not the entire plan, loves,” she said softly. She pushed her chair out from under the table and stood.
“You think I’d leave my only daughter behind?”
Wes noted the malice in his mother’s voice. He’d never heard her sound so sinister. Watching her lips curl into a snarl sent shivers up his arms and neck.
Even Olivia kept silent, her scowl fading to a look of bewilderment.
Adelaide took off her shawl, letting it fall onto the chair behind her. Then, she stepped out of her shoes.
Wes wanted to ask her what she was doing, but he knew better to speak at that moment.
Adelaide looked up at the ceiling letting her head fall back.
Had his mother lost it?
When she looked back at them, her eyes had gone from blue to completely black.
Wes’ eyes widened at his mother’s hair floating around her head by some unseen force.
What wizardry was this?
She snarled then, looking from Olivia to Wes.
“I’m done with Scarlett Hall and all of its secrets and lies. We deserve a fresh start, but not before freeing Evie, and sending that red-headed bastard to hell.”
Wes opened his mouth to ask how, but shut it when he saw something unexpected…something truly bewildering.
He watched as his mother threw up her arms.
And shifted.
EVIE’S WHITE GOWN seemed to glow in the sunlight. A smile was plastered to her face, and yet her soul
was screaming, begging to be heard. Every step took all of her strength. Beneath her bouquet of purple flowers her hands shook.
Everyone stared at her. Could they see the pain in her eyes or how broken her heart was? She doubted it. All they saw was a beautiful girl about to marry a handsome man with a lot of money, property, and a charming smile. They knew nothing about the truth.
At the altar was not Parker…not the love of her life.
Avalon stood there, that charming smile on his lips, and evil in his eyes.
This is a dream.
Evie woke up in tears. She couldn’t let that dream turn into a reality.
“Parker,” she called into the darkness, her eyes adjusting the pitch black the instant her eyes opened.
“I’m sorry.”
Depression had set in so quickly. A week had gone by, and all she wanted to do was sleep. All it did was make her live out her worst fears.
She sat up in her bed and looked at her clock on the wall on the far end by the antique writing desk.
Time to get ready for the party
It was time to end this.
EVIE WAS SURPRISED when Avalon allowed her to visit Quinn. While what looked like hundreds of people worked to ready the mansion for the Halloween party, Avalon watched her leave in her own car, a trusting smile on his face.
Apparently, he approved of her best friend.
Quinn wasn’t a threat.
Lucky me, Evie thought bitterly as she tried on her costume for the party.
White feathers covered her dresses glittering lace and satin. It was fitting. It reminded her of her shifter form, but no one else would ever know.
Perfect.
“You look amazing.”
“Thank you,” Evie said.
Quinn sat at her desk in her Hello Kitty pajamas, and watching her while finishing the pizza they had shared.
“I wish I knew what you were thinking,” Quinn said.
“What do you mean?”
Quinn stood, fixing her hair. Her brows were scrunched up as she looked at Evie in the full length mirror hung on the back of her closet door. She reached for her glasses on Quinn’s table and put them back on.
“I get that Avalon is hot and all, but what about Parker? I thought you loved him.”
Evie tensed. “I did. Avalon is the better pick for my future.”