Page 62 of Alice and Her Shifters (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 2)

“Did I hit my head?” Allison asked. “I could have sworn you just agreed with Milo twice in one night.”

“I know,” he said, looking up at her. “Would the wonders ever cease?”

Milo shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Ridiculous.”

“Well, regardless, goodnight.” She slowly walked toward the doorway without waiting for a reply.

The second she reached the door I stood up and followed her. Once I caught up to her, I said, “I would like to help you get settled.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Aidan. I would appreciate that.”

Once we arrived at her room, I headed immediately to the bathroom and started the tub, letting the water run until the temperature was just right. Once gentle clouds of steam appeared, I plugged the drain and poured some of the vials of oils and salts.

“You didn’t have to do all of this,” Allison said from the doorway.

I met her gaze. “Running you a bath is the least I can do with what little time is left with you.”

“Hey,” she said soothingly, coming to my side and resting a hand on my shoulder.

I met her gaze and smiled gently.

“This isn’t goodbye forever, remember?” she asked.

I nodded. “I don’t want you to go.”

“I know, and I adore that. I’ll come back soon. I promise.”

I nodded as pain sliced through my heart. The tub was filling quickly at the perfect temperature and blend of salts and oils. I stood from the edge and faced her again. It was hard to stare into her eyes knowing that this was the last time I would see her and still have clarity. I took the chance given and said, “I love you. You accepted me at my worst and helped me to be a better man.”

She smiled as tears filled her eyes. “Please don’t make this harder than it already is.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded before turning away from her.

“Thank you for running my bath,” she said softly.

“You’re welcome,” I said and left the room.

As I walked, the pain in my chest grew. This was all wrong. Everything had gone so wrong. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. The idea of her leaving was killing me. I understood why she felt like she needed to go home, but understanding her reasons didn’t make the pain in my chest any more bearable.

She was supposed to stay. She was supposed to choose the three of us and spend the rest of her life with us. She was supposed to break our curses and rid the world of Camelia’s corruption.

I re-entered the sitting room, finding only Calvin standing in front of the fireplace, holding what looked like a card in his hand.

“Where did everyone go?” I asked.

“King and Jasper had gone to find a room to sleep in, while Milo went off on his own again,” Calvin said through a heavy sigh.

He stared at the card for several more moments before he sighed again. I saw that he was contemplating tossing whatever the object was into the fire. His thoughts also appeared to weigh on him. I was overwhelmed with curiosity about the thing in his hand. What was it about the card that made him want to burn the thing? I was also pulled by a need to help him through whatever was bothering him, but I had a suspicion what ailed him was the same issue I was dealing with.

We were losing the woman we loved.

“What are you holding?” I asked, pointing to the card before taking a seat on the couch near the fire.

“An invitation to a ball at King’s hotel,” he said. “There’s no point in going. Might as well burn the thing.”

“What’s pointless is burning it,” I said.

“What reason do I have to keep it?” Calvin asked, facing me. “I was thinking about bringing Allison along. But she’s going home. We weren’t able to change her mind. The prophecy is just another fairytale.”

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