Page 63 of Alice and Her Shifters (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 2)

I nodded. “I’m going to miss her too.”

“I can’t stand the idea of her leaving,” Calvin said as he took a seat on the couch and buried his face into his hands.

“Nor can I,” I said. Then a thought occurred to me. “Maybe... we could probably follow her.”

Calvin peered at me with his eyebrows drawn together. “You think she wants to spend another minute with us? Especially after what Milo did? I mean, sure he ended up doing the right thing for once. But we were all too late.”

I shrugged. “Maybe. But I disagree with you. She still has time to make a choice.”

“The prophecy was wrong,” Calvin said, voice low and even.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Regardless, her choice hasn’t been made yet.” I stared at him with hope burning through me.

He shook his head and let out a deep breath. “Say that you’re right... what then?”

“We go to the ball!” I said and laughed.

“Okay. Fine,” Calvin said and pinched the bridge of his nose. After several seconds and deep breaths, he faced me. “If we manage to get through this, and with her at our sides, then we’ll go. The three of us.”

“Feels amazing to hope again,” I said and leaned against the back of the seat.

“Yes, it does, my friend,” Calvin said. “That it does.”

Hope burned deep within me, exciting me, filling me with warmth and wonder. Allison still had the choice to make. She still had time to make the prophecy come true. It wasn’t too late. I had faith that it wasn’t over yet.

I still had a chance at being with her.

25

ALLISON

The bath was exactly what I needed. After I got clean, I decided to soak in the water for a little while. I had no idea what Aidan had put into the water, but it helped to relax my muscles and ease the ache of the fight. The warm water rejuvenated my skin, giving it a soft glow. I smiled and closed my eyes, leaning my head against the back of the tub, absorbing the wonderful sensations. I listened to the silence around me, the peacefulness of the moment, and fell even deeper into my relaxation.

Tomorrow, I would have to thank Aidan again for how amazingly well he did on drawing my bath.

I was just about to fall asleep when the sound of footsteps hit my ears. The sound grew louder as the steps drew closer. Part of me worried that Milo had been right, and Camelia had escaped her cell somehow and came to finish the job. But the steps were too heavy.

Then the sound of footsteps approached. I opened my eyes, finding Milo standing in the doorway of the bathroom. The way he stared at me was… different. There was a light within his eyes that I hadn’t noticed before. So much emotion filled them. It both startled and disarmed me.

I started to question everything I thought I knew about the man. Then I remembered he betrayed me.

“What do you want?” I asked, not bothering to hide my contempt for him in my voice.

“Please, hear me out,” he said, and the sheer amount of pleading in his voice led me to believe what he was doing wasn’t an act. It was real. His voice almost sounded strained. Like he was choking on the words.

I blinked as my mind emptied of all thought and my resolve faded away. As much as I hated to admit it, I was curious to hear what he had to say. But that didn’t mean I was going to take it easy on him. “Fine. Make it quick. I’m trying to relax.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry. And I know that you deserve much more than a simple apology for the things Camelia had made me do. It’s no excuse, but if you would allow me, I will spend every day of the rest of my life, making up for the hurt I caused you.”

I let out a huff of air. This was certainly an unexpected turn of events. His words were convincing. Everything about him appeared genuine. He was good at putting on a show though, especially when it came to getting what he wanted. I wasn’t willing to buy into his flowery words just yet. Because he was good at twisting them and using them to trick me.

“Why?” I asked.

He smirked. “Is it not obvious?”

“With you, nothing is ever obvious,” I said.

He nodded. “Fair enough.”

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