Page 132 of Violet

This time, when he comes I can feel him. His cock twitching as spurt after spurt hits inside.

He kisses me again, this time tiny kisses, butterfly wings over my lips. When he pulls out, I’m exhausted, happy, and he tucks me into his side and whispers, “Sleep.”

Next time I wake, I’m aching, sticky, and alone. I touch the other side of the bed, but Stephan’s not there and the pillow is cold.

I lie there, the mid-morning sun streaming in throughthe curtains. I know he didn’t knot again last night. The need for it is still there in me.

Was he close?

Frustration swamps me as I drag myself up and shower. The thing is I don’t know. I’m not experienced.

I’m not his first love, or even love at all. I can’t hate a dead girl. I can’t be jealous of her having him before I ever met him.

The heaviness settles on me, in me, and it’s hollow, too. A strange feeling and one I’m not used to, the hollowness.

I miss my sisters.

When I get dressed, there’s a message from Mari on my phone. And my heart leaps.

Mari

There’s some kind of Omega thing today. You’re exempt, like that Jade girl who’s marked and Tamborine. Want to go gloat? You would enjoy that. I’ll draw them for posterity, and then we can go check out all the hot men on the Lower Side. With you as chaperone, of course.

Who’s Tamborine?

It’s Mari so I never expect her to pay attention to people that don’t interest her. It’s either a noisy girl or a musical one or someone with a name that sounds like…tambourine?

I call Iris. “Who’s Tamborine?”

“I know what one is but not anyone with that name, Vi. Shouldn’t you be naked and hanging from the ceiling?—”

“Iris!” I head down to the kitchen, wanting coffee. There’s a glass of juice sitting there, condensation on theglass and cold to the touch, with a little handwritten note statingdrink me.

I don’t know where Stephan is. He’s not here. I can’t smell him, and the place feels empty.

I drink the juice as I set up the coffee machine.

“Sorry,” she says, not sounding sorry in the least. “Who’s tambourine?”

“Mari said there’s some thing for the singles, and we should go and gloat and someone named Tamborine got marked?—”

“Oh! Tamara. She’s one of the quiet Omegas. I’m shocked you aren’t friends.”

I finish my juice. It’s a little too pulpy today, making it slightly gritty. But I don’t want to complain. “You make being quiet sound boring.”

“I don’t know her. She seems nice, which is why…” Iris stops. “Are you okay?”

“I just miss you guys.”

“Well, we’ll collect Quinn and we can all go gloat.”

“Mari wants to then ogle boys.”

“I can do that. Ogle. But beyond that—nope.”

I laugh. “Fine, we’ll meet you there.”

“You. No mated Alphas allowed.”

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