The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn

~CLARA~

There was a party at the Princes' residence today, and I wanted to dress as sexy as I possibly could.

It was one of those things that made me feel alive.

After getting dressed in a very short black dress, I joined my parents in the car.

"You sure took your time." My father says.

I could tell that they were both tired of waiting for me.

"We were in here for twenty minutes, Clara." My mother scolds me.

"I'm sorry, mom and dad," I apologize. "I wanted to look my best tonight. It's been a while since I felt like this."

After Carter and I ended things, I stopped doing the things that made me happy. Now that things were back to normal, I felt like myself again.

They both sigh as the driver finally pulls out of the driveway. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

It doesn't take us that long to arrive at our destination.

My parents were the first to step inside; I, on the other hand, was waiting for Jenna to arrive.

"Why are you here?" A familiar, sickening voice asks behind me.

I stiffened; I knew immediately that it was Nicole. She was the last person I expected to see.

I turn to look at her, "there's a party. I was invited. Why are you here?"

She rolls her eyes, "I'm Alaric's wife. I don't need an invitation."

"Don't you mean soon-to-be ex-wife?" I ask her.

She narrowed her eyes, and I could feel her anger. I knew that I should just walk away. I didn't need to stand here and speak to her.

She suddenly grabs my hand without any warning, "You can try as hard as you can, but Alaric will never be yours." She snaps. "I know exactly what you're doing, but it won't work. Alaric hasn't looked at a single woman since we've married. Do you think that he's going to have eyes for you? You're hardly pretty, and you're so much younger than him. If you know anything about Alaric, you'll know that he will never go for a woman as young as you are. You're his student. He has more values than that little girl."

I pull my hand out of her grasp, "it baffles me that someone as kind as him was ever with someone like you. I guess love really is blind."

I don't wait for her to say anything else as I storm into the house.

What was she even doing here?

I'm sure that no one would have invited her, especially not Alaric. He seemed ready for the divorce unless I'd misread him. If I had, dressing up to try and catch his attention was a very bad idea. I was only doing these things because I thought that he was finally done with Nicole and was ready to move on.

I kept going against everything I stood for. I knew I should have listened to that voice in my head that said to stop this madness before it became too much for me to handle.

Every time I promised myself to stay away from Alaric, I kept on doing the opposite.

"Clara!" Scarlett greets me as soon as she spots me.

"What's wrong?" She demands the second that she realizes that something is wrong.

"I just saw Nicole outside," I inform her. "She had plenty to say as usual."

"Nicole?" She asks, surprised. "Nicole was outside?"

I nod, "she was."

"I don't understand; none of us invited her." She tells me.

"Are you sure Alaric didn't invite her?" I asked; I desperately needed to know.

I was hoping that it wasn't true; I was hoping that he didn't invite her and she'd just shown up on her own.

"I can't say." She admits. "I'm sure that he

wants to divorce her, but it's also possible that he invited her; he has a soft spot for her at times."

It was not easy hearing her say those words, even though I knew that it was the truth. I knew how much he loved Nicole and wanted their marriage to work right before she ruined everything.

"But look at what you're wearing," she gasps, gesturing to my sparkly dress, "you look divine in that dress. It fits you so beautifully."

I smile, "Thank you, Scarlett. You look beautiful as well. You're practically glowing. Pregnancy agrees with you."

She grins, "I didn't think I could ever be this happy, but Carter has been amazing. I couldn't ask for a better husband."

I nod, "do you ever get scared thinking about the Cage brothers?"

She sighs, "I've had a few nightmares that Wilder would return for me. But I think that's all that they are: nightmares. Now that I rejected him and know that I'm Carter's 'miracle' mate, I'm convinced that no one can try to separate us again."

"There must be a way to make it official," I tell her. "You are aware of the ritual that normal mates have to signal that they accept each other. Can't any of those things be done to seal everything for the both of you?"

"I don't know Clara." She admits. "It's apparently all very new to Carter and his family. They're only just learning about it. There's plenty that they still don't know or understand. Only time will tell."

Was it possible that Nicole was also Alaric's miracle mate?

I already had the answer.

It was a definite no.

She couldn't be. If she were, he wouldn't have needed to be chained every night like his brothers.

It meant that Alaric's 'miracle' mate was still out there somewhere.

My heart sank at that thought.

There truly was never going to be a chance for Alaric and me, was there?

There were still a few days left before the next full moon, and I was worried that something would happen on that day.

The thought of Alaric breaking free and finding a stranger to sleep with made me feel sick to my stomach.

I didn't want to think about it.

A part of me wished that I could offer myself to him so that he didn't have to suffer on every full moon.

I wanted to help him.