Chapter 216: Tempting Her Mate
Evaline:
It was already my third night at the Thorne mansion. A full three days had passed since I stepped back into this place that once felt like a gilded cage. And now... it was beginning to feel like something else entirely. Warm, welcoming, and strangely, a place where I was able to fall asleep peacefully.
Time was moving quicker than I thought it would. The dread I had anticipated on my first day never arrived, instead, it was replaced by a slow, gentle rhythm of routine and moments that made me smile.
I had expected to feel awkward here, guarded. But I wasn’t. And most of the credit went to my mates... and to Kieran and Lily.
Oscar and Draven had mastered the art of sneaking around like lovesick teenagers - brushing their fingers against mine in the hallway when no one was watching, catching my hand just before I disappeared behind a door, leaning in for a quick, forbidden kiss in the privacy of my room when they dropped by "without Kieran" right before I went to sleep.
Each kiss was different. Oscar’s were slow and lingering, like he wanted to memorize every second. Draven’s? Fast, heated, leaving my heart racing long after he pulled away. It was thrilling. Fun. New.
And then there was Lily.
Sweet, thoughtful Lily, with her messy curls and that infectious giggle. Earlier in the evening, she spent nearly two hours with me. She had been waiting for me the moment I returned from the Council headquarters an hour early.
As soon as I stepped inside the mansion, she came barreling toward me like a little whirlwind and dragged me to the couches. We shared snacks and warm chocolate milk, and I helped her with her homework - mostly a colorful mess of crayon and glitter.
And then the board game began.
We played four rounds. And I lost all four.
The little devil celebrated every win like it was a national holiday. I was laughing so much my cheeks started hurting. I didn’t realize how much I missed this kind of joy... how much I missed living.