Chapter 47

DID IT HAPPEN?

CASSIE

The look on Eric’s face said it all. I might have not remembered all that happened the previous night, but what I was feeling was no different. My body was sore, and it had marks and patterns, and evidence of someone who had just experienced a fiery night. I swallowed hard as I jumped out of bed beside him.

Eric cocked his head to the side, not understanding why I was like that. Just yesterday I had thrown myself at him helplessly – or so I thought. However, I am still in utter shock as to how one minute, we were talking, and the next we were having sex. I couldn’t get my head around it. I couldn’t remember the details, I couldn’t even remember his face – heck, I might even be imagining all these uncanny scenarios in my head. Then, how did we get to this point? How did I end up naked underneath the bathrobe next to him? Why the heck was I still in his room? Did I spend the night here?

The thought that the full moon happened the previous night sent shivers down my spine, making me wonder what it was that led us to this point. I felt dryness in my throat as I tried to wrap my head around it. I bat my lashes at him, waiting for some sort of response from him. I was waiting for him to say something to disapprove of the thoughts that had started to pile in my mind.

“You don’t remember shit, do you?” For the first time, I heard the hurt in his voice as if he was begging me to remember. I did remember parts of it, but I wish it wasn’t true.

I mean, Eric is a good-looking guy, but never did I think I’d ever spread my legs for him. The thought of it made me shiver. While I could play it off as just sex, I couldn’t help but imagine the bizarre nature of it.

“Nothing happened,” I said. “Nothing happened, yeah?”

He cocked his head to the side, not sure if he was offended by the question or was shocked. This was the moment I wished Eric’s goofy side will show. I didn’t want to repeat the same pattern with him as I did with Matt. At least, I was comfortable with Eric, and at least I had drawn our boundaries clear from the beginning. It will be such a shame to cross that line now.

I swallowed hard, cocking my head to the side as well, mimicking him, and waiting for the response.

“You were a having a fever.” He said, trying to feign ignorance as well. He stood from the bed and cleared his throat. “We were talking, and you passed out.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I kinda fell asleep after tiring out.”

“Tiring out, doing what?” I was alarmed.

He narrowed his eyes, and I couldn’t tell what expression he had on his face. I couldn’t make up my mind if it was a disappointment, annoyance, or disgust. After reading the worried glare in my eyes for about a second and deciding not to be a dick about it, he walked towards me and flicked me on the forehead as if to give me a wake-up call.

“You are such a wild wolf once the red moon is out. You were trying to leap out the window.” The ambiguous story sounded unreal, but if that was the story he was going by, I nodded and tried to disbelieve the words in my mind instead. There was no use trying to make it sound any better because it will only make it worse.

“Then… why am I naked underneath the bathrobe?” I asked without thinking.

“My mom changed you.” He said. I wasn’t sure if it was true or not. I nodded, just going with the story. I looked around the room, and my clothes were strewn over the chair that was in a corner. I looked at the clothes and back at him. He must be thinking desperately for new excuses to come up with.

I suddenly grabbed my head in regret. The more I tried to disbelieve my thoughts, the more glaring it was. The evidence was striking, and I’d only be acting a fool if I tried to ignore them.

“Nothing happened!” Eric said loudly. It was almost as if he was trying to make himself believe it. I nodded again, as I walked towards my clothes.

I felt sore, and as I glanced over my shoulder to where Eric stood, I could swear I saw a smirk in his eyes. I suddenly thought about Matt. I had been mad when I saw him and Armstrong together – I wondered if he’d be upset if he found out I and Eric...

But, Eric said we did not, so I’d just believe it. I glanced at Eric. “Do you mind?” That was his cue to exit his room so I could dress up. He waited for about a second before he went out of the room.

It didn’t take me five minutes. Once I was done, I knocked on the door, and he came back in with a dejected look in his eyes. He assessed me from head to toe before he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back to observe me for a bit more.

“So, you were saying something about your plan…” I was thankful that he was able to divert back to the main conversation.

“Will it work or not?” I arched an eyebrow, trying to ignore the thoughts in my head.

Eric’s sinister smile came back, the one I was used to, came alive. “It is insane, we might get our heads chopped for it, but I think it will work.” He picked up his shirt from the chair and worked it over his head. “We’ll have to talk it out with Jameson and Colton. After all, we are not alone.”

The sound of that made my heart feel warm.

It was only a matter of time before I am seated in the front seat of Eric’s convertible. He liked to run, but this morning, neither of us wanted to. We drove in silence towards the ‘Southern Pack lair’ as he called it.

As we drove, I thought about my home and how we were driven from it. I thought about all the bad things that had happened to us just because of the greed of the people my father called family; the people that were his flesh and blood.

As I leaned against the car's window and gazed outside, the morning birds chirped happily. The sky was clear and the sun was shining. The town was dead and quiet. The wind blew a cool breeze across my face and I was left in awe of this silent heaven.

What could be better than that? Putting an end to the Royal family tyranny.

Tearing my eyes away from the peaceful scene, I turned and face the mirror to see myself and thought that I would give myself a little surprise. With a smile, I ran my hands through my hair and brushed my tongue across my own lips. With a swift motion, I brushed my black hair with the wind. And yes, there I sat, confident and true, glowing with a resolute smile on my face.