CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FIFTY FIGHT
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CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FIFTY EIGHT
Talia’s POV
I regretted yelling at Della almost as soon as she left the bathroom.
The more I thought about her face when I shouted at her, the harder it became to hold myself together. I continued to sob. Each one made my chest hurt a little more.
I stayed in the bath until the water turned cold. I did not have the strength to get out until I began to shiver from the cold. When I finally stood, I wrapped myself in a towel and moved slowly back to my room.
Goddess, I wish my wolf was back. I really needed someone to talk to. She would reassure me or at least tell me what to do.
I slipped on a large T-shirt. I looked at my reflection again. I looked better, but I was still pale. I groaned in frustration and threw my chair across the room before I started sobbing again.
“Why? Why was this happening to me?” I sobbed.
None of this would have happened if I had my wolf. I couldn’t even be upset with Nolan about it because he saved me. All I could do was blame myself for being foolish. I should have listened to Nolan and Della that made me feel worse.
I got into bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. I wanted the world to disappear for a while. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off to sleep.
Someone knocked on my door about an hour later.
“Talia?” Solon called softly.
“Solon,” I said. “Please….just let me rest.”
“Alright,” he said. “I’ll check on you later.”
I heard his footsteps fade down the hall. I turned onto my side and closed my eyes again.
More time passed. I wasn’t sure how long. I drifted in and out of sleep. Each time I opened my eyes and became aware, I replayed the same thoughts on a loop. I couldn’t cry anymore, and I just sat in my bed thinking of ways I could’ve avoided the situation.
I finally started drifting off to sleep again when there was another knock at my door.
I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. “Solon, please, leave me alone,” I said. “I want to rest,”
The knocking continued.
“Solon, stop,” I said louder, “I said I want to rest.”
The knocking continued, I threw the blanket off and climbed out of bed even though my legs still felt weak. I walked across the room and opened the door angrily.
“Solon, I said I wanted to rest. Why are you…”
I stopped in midsentence, Colin stood in the hallway with a dinner tray in his hands. My previous annoyance vanished at seeing
him.
“Um,” I said awkwardly. “Hi.”
“I thought to check on you to see how you were doing,” Colin said. “And I was right. Talia, you look terrible.”
“Gee thanks,” I muttered.
“You know I don’t mean it like that,” Colin said as he stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, set the tray on my desk, and turned back toward me. “Della asked me to bring this. She’s worried about you.”
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CHAPTES ONE HUNDRED & FIFTY EIGHT
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My eyes filled with tears instantly. I covered my face with one hand and tried to stop myself from crying again, but the tears came too fast.
“I shouldn’t have yelled at her,” I murmured. “I didn’t mean it. Can you tell her I’m sorry?”
Colin stepped closer and brushed the tears from my cheeks with his thumb. “She knows you didn’t mean it. She will forgive you,” he said quietly.
“I don’t know about that,” I said, turning away from him.
“Well, I do. If she hadn’t forgiven you, she wouldn’t have urged me to send food to you,” Colon reasoned.
“I guess you’re right,” I muttered.
Colin nodded. “Eat first. You’ll feel better.”
I nodded and sank onto the edge of the bed. He pulled the small table closer and set the tray in front of me. I picked up the fork with an unsteady hand and took a bite. The food tasted bland, but I forced myself to eat.
Colin sat in the chair beside me. He waited without rushing me. When I finished, he took the tray and set it aside.
“Do you want to talk?” he asked.
I stared at my hands for a long moment before I nodded.
“Tell me what happened,” Colin said.
“Jason almost marked me today,” I said and Colin’s eyes flashed, but he remained quiet as he allowed me to continue. “I thought Jason was harmless. I thought that since he knew I was the Princess, he wouldn’t try again. I was wrong, so very wrong. He drugged me, Colin. He made me go into heat. I tried to push him away, but I couldn’t…”
Colin looked furious but he still didn’t say a word.
“I feel ashamed,” I continued. “I thought Nolan was the one kissing me at first. I thought he was going to mark me. But Jason…” “Talia,” Colin said gently. “None of that is your fault.”
My voice cracked again. “But… I thought it was Nolan. For a brief second, it felt real. It felt… right. And when Solon told me the truth-that it had been Jason-I just… I wanted to disappear.”
Colin studied me, concerned, “Why did you feel ashamed when you knew it wasn’t Nolan?”
I stared at him. “What do you mean?”
“Do you want Nolan? So you’re disappointed it’s Jason?” Colin asked.
“Am L…?” I whispered, and the question hit me so hard my mind went completely blank.
