AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Soulmate.”
At this, I cup his cheeks as well. I cradle his face like he’s cradling mine. Like he’s the most precious thing in the world.
And he is, isn’t he?
For me.
And I’m the most precious thing in the world for him.
“You are,” I whisper. “You’re my soulmate, Alaric. Your soul matches mine. Your heart matches mine. Your story matches mine. We were both unloved, see. We were both alone.”
He holds his silence for a couple of seconds, his eyes roving over my features, before he whispers, “Not anymore though.”
“Not anymore.”
“Because you love me.”
“I love you,” I say, still miffed. “And you love me.”
With solemn eyes, he says, “I love you.”
“So see? All better now.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.” I press my fingers on the crests of his cheekbones. “So are you going to kiss me now?”
His lips stretch up on one side. “Yeah.”
“Good. Because I think we’ve wasted so much time, Alaric,” I tell him, still a little pissed. “We’ve wasted all this time fighting with each other and not understanding our feelings and then denying our feelings. And you’re not gonna believe this but all of my friends, all of them, have been in love with their guys for like, years. Years, Alaric. And here I am —”
“Poe?”
“What?”
He smiles, a brilliant and bright smile, as he whispers, “I love you.”
Oh God.
My heart is going to give out, I swear. He’s so gorgeous. He’s so beautiful and he loves me.
And he’s smiling.
Forgetting my tirade, I bite my lip and whisper back, “I love you too.”
His smile turns tender. “But now I want you to shut the fuck up.”
I gasp but before I can retort, he gives it to me.
The thing I’ve been asking for but like an idiot, wasn’t letting him give it to me.
A kiss.
Which I then sigh into. Which I then smile into as well.
Because I’m glad that the idiot that I’m in love with had enough presence of mind to put me in my place.
To love me.
And God, nothing could be sweeter. Nothing could be better than being loved.
By him.
By the man I love.
My guardian. My soulmate.
My Alaric.
“Okay, just give me one hint,” I say.
“There’s no hint to give,” Jupiter replies.
“Come on,” I plead.
“I swear.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
I narrow my eyes. “So are you saying that what happened was normal? You always do that?”
She widens hers. “Yes. Sometimes I do get overly enthusiastic when I meet people. It’s no big deal.”
“No big deal.”
“Yes.” She nods. “So are you gonna let this go now?”
Why don’t I believe her?
Why do I think there’s more?
There has to be.
I mean, the way she hugged Callie at the Ballad of the Bards the first time they met, and then again, when she got super excited about shaking Conrad’s hand at The Horny Bard. That’s no simple excitement. There’s something there. Something Jupiter won’t tell me. And I’ve asked her so many times now.
I sigh. “Fine. I’m gonna let this go.”
She visibly relaxes. “Okay. Thanks.”
And I would have, I swear.
She is clearly uncomfortable about it. She doesn’t want me to pry and I respect that. I totally do.
But then she had to go and stare.
At one of the Thornes.
Shepard Thorne, to be specific.
Who is standing all the way over by the ice cream truck, while we’re all the way over here, at the fortune teller’s booth.
Oh, we’re at this amazing carnival and by we I mean, me, Jupiter, Echo, Callie, Wyn and Salem. Plus all their guys and the Thorne brothers. The carnival was Salem’s suggestion. And while thinking up ideas about one last thing to do before we all went our separate ways to college and whatnot, this seemed like a fun activity for the group.
And it has been.
We have had such a great time all day. Fun rides, fun food, so many laughs with my girls. Although there was this one little hiccup. We specifically came today to see this motorcycle stunt show — the very reason why Salem suggested to go here — but it turns out it was canceled.
Which is a shame because it was going to be amazing.
Like, really amazing.
I saw pictures of it online and oh my God, the guy could make the bike fly across spaces. I mean, wow.
His name is Zachariah Prince, and as breathtaking as his stunts are, the guy himself is pretty breathtaking too. He is hot, I’m not going to lie. With black hair and black eyes, he looks like a dark prince of some sort. Which actually is his stage name.
Oh, and the most amazing part: Salem knows him. Or rather she knows this guy’s wife, Cleopatra Paige.
I saw her pictures too, and I think I may have a little girl crush on her and her fashion sense.
The girl has the most amazing blue hair — she is crazy about the color blue like I’m crazy about purple; her Insta is full of blue — and she rocks some serious biker boots. Not to mention I love her t-shirt, which I’ve come to find out she wears for all Zach’s shows. It’s a simple white t-shirt with ‘Dark Prince’s Cinderella’ written across the bust.
