The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn

~ALARIC~

Fuck.

Why the hell did everything hurt so much? I couldn't remember the last time I woke up feeling this fucking sore.

Just what did I do last night?

I moved my hands a little, only to realize that I wasn't alone. There was most definitely a naked body pressed up against my side.

My first thought was Clara, but I immediately dismissed that thought. It couldn't be Clara. This scent didn't belong to her, but I knew exactly who it belonged to.

No.

I wouldn't have done something like that even on a full moon. I wouldn't have gone after her; she would be the last person I should be seeking on a night like that.

I was terrified to open my eyes. I didn't want to confirm what my heart already knew.

Fuck Alaric. I thought you were smarter than this. I thought you would never do something this fucking insane.

The second I opened my eyes, I knew that it was over. I knew that I'd done something that I would never be able to forgive myself for. Nicole already hated me during a full moon; she must hate me even more now.

And Clara. I didn't even want to think about her. She would be so disappointed in me. I didn't even want to think about what this news would do. It would hurt too much just to imagine her reaction if she ever found out what I did.

But how long would I be able to hide the truth from her? I didn't want to lie. I didn't want there to be any secrets between us.

Waking up like this makes me wonder if I should have accepted her offer. Maybe it would have been better to have her in that damn basement with me; none of this would have happened.

I'd just messed up my life for good.

Nicole stirs a little, and I brace myself for her outburst.

How did this even happen? I should have been locked up in that basement. I made it in such a way that I shouldn't have been able to get out. I wanted to protect Clara from the beast inside of me. Not once did I ever think that I would wake up with a naked Nicole in my arms.

I'd really done it this time. There was no going back from here. I couldn't reverse the things I'd done last night, and now I had to live with it for the rest of my life.

"Alaric?" She whispers as she looks at me drowsily.

"What's going on?" She asks as she waits for me to say something. She takes one look around the room and gasps.

Did I force her back to my room? What exactly did I do? She was the only one who would be able to tell me all of the details. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

"I thought it was all a dream." She confesses. "Last night, I was convinced that everything that happened between us wasn't real. But now I can see that it did, in fact, happen."

I close my eyes to try and drown out the pain. It didn't help. Not in the least.

"Alaric?" She asks again.

I couldn't bring myself to answer her even though I knew I couldn't keep quiet like this for the rest of my life. I had to find out. I couldn't hide from this. I had to own up to my actions, no matter how hard it was.

"What happened last night?" I ask her. "I won't be able to remember a single detail. What did I do to you? How did you end up in my room like this?"

She blushed, and I felt my stomach twist uncomfortably. It was a look I longed to see in her during the past. Now, I hated that look unless it was on Clara's face. She was the only woman I wanted to look at me like that. But it was too late for that. She would hate me after this. She would finally see me as the monster I always knew that I was.

"I came over here." She informs me. "I knew it was the full moon, and I wanted to be here for you."

That didn't seem like her at all. It was the last thing I would ever expect her to say.

"You've always hated the full moon." I remind her. "You always stayed as far away from me as possible because it made you sick. I made you sick. Why did you suddenly decide to come last night when you know that we are divorced and the dangers it could mean for you?"

She bit her lip and looked away from my piercing gaze.

"I don't know what to say, Alaric." She whispers. "Ever since I signed those papers, I can't stop thinking about you. I hoped that if I came last night, I could prove to you that I have changed. I wanted to show you that I could be better for you, us, and our relationship."

I wince at the mention of our relationship. There was nothing left between us anymore. What I did last night would not change things in our failed marriage. The only thing that would change is Clara's feelings for me, and to me, that was the most important thing in this world.

I had to find a way to fix things. I had to. I couldn't let Clara learn about this from anyone else but me.