Chapter 35

"I'm sorry, Mom. But I hope you've a great start next week. I'll really miss you," I said, on the phone while my head was pressed to the side of the stone stairs that led out from the court. "And I'll try my best to be back soon."

"It's alright, Viv. Don't worry about me." She reassured for the second time on the call.

I had to inform her that I wouldn't be able to come back any time soon. With everything going, Alexandria's threats, the mating ball and the timeline I had to find the other two, I wouldn't be able to leave from here until the years end. It was heart wrenching, but I didn't have an option.

I couldn't run.

After ending the call with Mom, I sat on the cold stairs, staring at the garden ahead. From a distance, I could hear the hoots of owls and howls of wolves along with insects lingering in the air. Just a few miles away was the castle where the mating ball was going to be hosted two nights later.

I had no other option but to go. Callan was very persistent. He desired to rip the dress he'd get for me off my body and have me during the night.

It was good. I needed to feel his hands on my body and his heat burying inside me. A change of mind. I smiled to my self and shook my head slightly.

My eyes narrowed as I heard footsteps from behind. There were many men and women who went down the stairs and left the court in the past twenty minutes I had been sitting here. I didn't want to go into my room as I feared for the nightmares to return and I didn't want to linger in court and come in front of Claudia or Eileen, or any other women who thought of me as a weak whore passing time here.

I didn't even know who I was anymore.

A fraud? A liar?

If the truth came out, not even Callan would like it.

—

As I slipped into the evening gown Callan had gotten for me, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement wash over me. The fabric was a shimmering shade of blue fading to silver. The bodice was fitted, with delicate lace straps that sat daintily on my shoulders. The bottom folded out into a full circle, cascading down to the floor in a riot of gleaming fabric.

It was simply beautiful.

My hair sat over my shoulders, slightly wavy with a few strands pinned back, behind my ears. I managed to cover the scars on my face with heavy concealer before applying a bit of gloss over my lips.

The mating ball was a dazzling display of extravagance and elegance. It was far better than the first masquerade ball Alexandria had thrown at the beginning of the month. The grand ballroom of the castle on her estate was transformed into a fairy tale wonderland, with sparkling chandeliers casting a soft glow over the room. Colorful floral arrangements adorned every surface, filling the air with the sweet scent of roses and jasmine.

Everyone was tailored in perfect fabrics just as the last time, but this time, their faces were uncovered.

The live orchestra played a lively tune, and the guests moved with effortless grace across the gleaming marble floor. I stood on the sidelines, watching as the couples twirled and danced, their feet gliding across the floor as if they were floating on air.

I wondered where Callan was. After all, he was the one who wanted me here. I didn't suspect him to be entertaining another woman, but rather late.

My eyes scurried around, searching for Callan but stopped as an unknown man approached me. He offered me a smile, his eyes gleaming with warmth before he gave me a card. A card? What for? I took the card from his hand and smiled back at him. He went on his way after.

Turning the card around, I found a name, probably his name.

Matthew Smith.

My brows furrowed. I didn't think much and shoved the card into the small bag in my hands before continuing to search for Callan. There were plenty of men and women on the dance floor, dancing with each other and then shifting. Some were talking on the sidelines, giggling and laughing while there was a group of older women, their mothers, gossiping and judging.

My eyes fell over the Queen. We shared a stern glance before I was interrupted with another man who gave me his card. And then another one.

My heart nearly jumped out of my throat when a cold, rough hand wrapped around my wrist and turned me away from the watching the dances. Callan appeared out of nowhere and terrified me.

"I thought you were someone else." My hand went straight to my chest where my heart beat fast and hard.

He grinned. "Who did you think?"

I shook my head. "No one." I shoved all the terrible thoughts at bay. Not now.

His hand parted away from mine and he stepped back before taking a better look at me. Blood rushed up to my cheeks and my eyes narrowed.

"I knew you'd look beautiful."

"Thank you for the dress," I huffed out a laugh while his arm went around my waist. Just as we turned to watch the couples on the dance floor, I remembered the cards. "Oh, yeah, I got these cards from all these men. What are they for?" I asked, pulling some of them out.

Callan grabbed a few of them, reading their names before tossing them over the ground without a thought.

His brow cocked at one certain name. "Drake Nevl. He's already married. What a fucking bastard." His head went left and right in disappointment before he threw that card on the floor.

"What is it, though?" I asked, stepping forward to take my bag back from him after he had emptied it.

My eyes met with his. He looked handsome as always, with his light blond hair slicked back and a confident smile on his face. "It's nothing, little witch. Just some desperate men thinking they can dance with you." He looped his arm over my waist again and took me away from the sidelines of the ballroom.

"Oh, so that's what those cards are for? So I can approach and dance with them when I feel like?" It was wilder than I thought it would be.

"Yes," His hold tightened on me. "But none of them are even close to what you need."

"And you are?"

His face lit up, and his eyes sparkled with mischief and joy as his lips curved upward, forming a perfect contagious smile. "Do you have any doubt?"

I didn't respond, just to push him further. Instead of taking me toward the dance floor, he turned and took me away from the ball room. We stepped out, passing a few people before he pulled me into an empty dark room where I could see nothing until my eyes adjusted to the moonlight slipping in from the small windows.

"It seems like you've a doubt," He pressed me back against the wall while his hands wandered over my body, racing down my curves until it reached the hem of my dress. "Let me clear it for you. I know exactly what you, and your precious body wants, little witch."

My head went back against the wall while he lowered to his knees before slipping my dress up and exposing half of my leg. My legs parted and my underwear slid down. Before I knew it, his mouth was against my clit, his warm tongue stroking me in ways I didn't imagine and gasps fleeing from my throat, filling up the silence.

My hands went to the wall, fingers spreading as I let out a soft moan.

"Callan," I whispered, thrusting my hips forward, letting him have more of me. "Oh, fuck." I hissed as his tongue slid into my entrance and his mouth closed around my drenched folds.

He sucked gently while lapping his tongue inside me. My thighs quivered, inside boiled in pleasure before I grabbed his hair. My legs splayed wider and face turned hot red. His hands went behind, roughly holding my ass as I grind against his mouth.

"Someone's going to catch us." I choked out, slipping out of the trance for a moment.

He ran his tongue across my folds, not stopping until I was sobbing out his name. My nerve endings tightened as he licked me in a quick motion. Insides pulsed at his every stroke, pushing me over the edge before a hot orgasm flooded out of me only in a span of several seconds.

I came hard, dripping. He placed a kiss over my thigh as I gasped for breath.

"Do you have any doubt, little witch?" He asked again, still remaining between my legs.

My head narrowed while my hand parted from his hair. "No."

His contagious smile returned before he rose up from the ground. "Don't clean yourself up. I want everyone to know you're taken care of." He said, his jaw tight and a little possession in his eyes.

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