The Scarlett Legacy (Woodland Creek) (15 page)

OLIVIA WOULD NEVER
let Wes go again. Being home was like a dream. After all that she had suffered at the hands of Avalon, she wanted to stay home in bed, her arms wrapped around Wes as he held her.

She ran her hands through his hair, watching as the black strands fell perfectly back into place.

His face had cleared of all traces of the curse. Her handsome man was back to normal. Her wounds would heal.

Life would return to the way it once was before the war with the Prince family.

Who am I kidding?

Evie had taken her place as Avalon’s prisoner.

How long before he hurts her?

“We should get ready for dinner with your mother,” Olivia said.

“I know. We have so much to discuss now that you’re home and feeling well.”

He got out of bed and headed to their wardrobe. Olivia sat up. Her neck was sore. She touched the soft flesh, tracing where the rope had been wrapped around her throat.

Her eyes squeezed shut as she tried making the memories fade.

“I wish we could just stay in bed together and let the pressures of the world fade away.”

“Do you want to rest awhile longer? My mother will understand if you do.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, leaving the warmth of their large king bed.

She stretched her sore arms and pulled her T-shirt over her head. She snatched a blue shift dress from the wardrobe and stepped into it.

“I don’t feel like doing anything to my hair,” she said as she looked at her pale reflection in the mirror hanging on the inside of the wardrobe door. She reached for a pearl necklace that hung from her jewelry rack attached to the other wardrobe door and clasped it around her neck.

“I promise we won’t judge you for going to dinner casual tonight, baby.”

Olivia snorted. “I can hear Adelaide complaining already. I’d rather not hear her mouth tonight.”

“Come now. She understands that you risked your life for Evie and me.”

“Look at the good that did. I didn’t help the situation in any way. All I did was send Evie right into our enemy’s arms. I’m sure she hates me now,” Olivia said bitterly.

The way Evie had looked at her when she was allowed to leave was heartbreaking.

The girl really did love her like a sister. There had been true worry in Evie’s eyes when she saw Olivia leave. She wished that she could have stayed behind and made sure Evie was well taken care of.

“Tomorrow I’m going to see if Evie is okay.”

Olivia shook her head, fear flashing in her eyes. Memories of being left hanging upside down in a glass cage shattered her composure.

She screamed. “No!”

Wes caught her in his arms.

“Baby,” he breathed, holding her tight. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay! You have to stay away from him. If you go over there…he won’t let you leave alive. He told us what would happen if we didn’t stay away.”

Wes smoothed her hair. “I know,” he said, sighing. “How is he so strong? I need to learn his weakness.”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to test him again.”

“I can’t leave my sister with him.”

Olivia wiped her eyes. “I saw how he looks at her. There is genuine feeling there. He doesn’t want her just to upset you. He really cares for her.”

Wes frowned. “I still don’t like it.”

Olivia held onto him. “I don’t either. Men care for the women they abuse all of the time. It doesn’t make them any less dangerous.”

The six o’clock bell rang and they knew it was time to head down to the secondary dining room for dinner.

Olivia stepped into her black heels. Wes watched as she smoothed her dress, and silently went to the bathroom. She picked up her brass-handled brush and ran it through her hair until the snags were gone.

“I’m ready.”

“I HAVE A
plan,” Adelaide said after the first course of split pea soup.

Wes looked up from his bowl, having only taken a few sips of the green broth. He didn’t have an appetite.

How could he eat when his sister was forced to live with that monster?

Memories of what he had done to Avalon’s older brothers haunted him.

But I’m the real monster. I am the reason Avalon took her away.

A sharp pain shot into his stomach. He winced. It wasn’t the curse.

It was guilt.

Olivia sat up in her seat, her eyes full of determined hope. It was clear that she was broken by what Avalon had done to her, but not so much so that she had given up on Evie.

Wes watched as she clasped her napkin, squeezing it in her fist. “What do you have in mind?”

“We all leave Woodland Creek behind. Sell Scarlett Hall. Sell everything.”

“What?” Wes raised a brow, wondering if his mother had lost her mind. There was no way they could give up their ancestral home.

Adelaide nodded; her red lips a stark contrast to her white skin.

He dropped his spoon into the bowl, and pushed it away, spilling soup onto the gold-encrusted place setting.

“You leave if you want,” he said, biting back his urge to shout. “I’m not going anywhere without my sister. It’s out of the question.”

Olivia nodded. “I’m not leaving her here either.”

Adelaide sat back in her chair, her eyes seemingly fixed on something in the distance. Her voice took an off tone as if she was no longer speaking to them.

“That’s not the entire plan, loves,” she said softly. She pushed her chair out from under the table and stood.

“You think I’d leave my only daughter behind?”

Wes noted the malice in his mother’s voice. He’d never heard her sound so sinister. Watching her lips curl into a snarl sent shivers up his arms and neck.

Even Olivia kept silent, her scowl fading to a look of bewilderment.

Adelaide took off her shawl, letting it fall onto the chair behind her. Then, she stepped out of her shoes.

Wes wanted to ask her what she was doing, but he knew better to speak at that moment.

Adelaide looked up at the ceiling letting her head fall back.

Had his mother lost it?

When she looked back at them, her eyes had gone from blue to completely black.

Wes’ eyes widened at his mother’s hair floating around her head by some unseen force.

What wizardry was this?

She snarled then, looking from Olivia to Wes.

“I’m done with Scarlett Hall and all of its secrets and lies. We deserve a fresh start, but not before freeing Evie, and sending that red-headed bastard to hell.”

Wes opened his mouth to ask how, but shut it when he saw something unexpected…something truly bewildering.

He watched as his mother threw up her arms.

And shifted.

EVIE’S WHITE GOWN
seemed to glow in the sunlight. A smile was plastered to her face, and yet her soul was screaming, begging to be heard. Every step took all of her strength. Beneath her bouquet of purple flowers her hands shook.

Everyone stared at her. Could they see the pain in her eyes or how broken her heart was? She doubted it. All they saw was a beautiful girl about to marry a handsome man with a lot of money, property, and a charming smile. They knew nothing about the truth.

At the altar was not Parker…not the love of her life.

Avalon stood there, that charming smile on his lips, and evil in his eyes.

This is a dream.

Evie woke up in tears. She couldn’t let that dream turn into a reality.

“Parker,” she called into the darkness, her eyes adjusting the pitch black the instant her eyes opened.

“I’m sorry.”

Depression had set in so quickly. A week had gone by, and all she wanted to do was sleep. All it did was make her live out her worst fears.

She sat up in her bed and looked at her clock on the wall on the far end by the antique writing desk.

Time to get ready for the party

It was time to end this.

EVIE WAS SURPRISED
when Avalon allowed her to visit Quinn. While what looked like hundreds of people worked to ready the mansion for the Halloween party, Avalon watched her leave in her own car, a trusting smile on his face.

Apparently, he approved of her best friend.

Quinn wasn’t a threat.

Lucky me
, Evie thought bitterly as she tried on her costume for the party.

White feathers covered her dresses glittering lace and satin. It was fitting. It reminded her of her shifter form, but no one else would ever know.

Perfect.

“You look amazing.”

“Thank you,” Evie said.

Quinn sat at her desk in her Hello Kitty pajamas, and watching her while finishing the pizza they had shared.

“I wish I knew what you were thinking,” Quinn said.

“What do you mean?”

Quinn stood, fixing her hair. Her brows were scrunched up as she looked at Evie in the full length mirror hung on the back of her closet door. She reached for her glasses on Quinn’s table and put them back on.

“I get that Avalon is hot and all, but what about Parker? I thought you loved him.”

Evie tensed. “I did. Avalon is the better pick for my future.”

Quinn twisted her mouth. “You’re lying. Why are you lying to me?”

Evie sighed. “Stop asking me questions, Quinn. Aren’t you glad that I’m going to be stuck in Woodland Creek? Aren’t you happy? I’m staying.”

Quinn’s face softened. She took Evie’s hand, surprising her by her gentleness.

“Talk to me. Be real.”

Evie sighed, her eyes leaving her reflection to stare at her sparkling silver heels.

Quinn had helped her paint her toe nails. One night with her best friend worked wonders, even if she knew that soon she would be in more danger than she’d ever experienced.

It was as if Evie was getting ready for prom, and Quinn was all too excited to make her shine like a princess. She loved her like a sister.

Evie couldn’t lie to her. She was tired of lying.

She turned to Quinn, holding her hands within hers.

Face to face, and eye to eye, Evie told the truth.

“I miss Parker more than anything in the world,” she said, her voice cracking.

Quinn pulled her into a tight embrace. “Then why the hell did you leave him, Evie? What’s going on?”

“I had to do it, Quinn. Avalon hates my family. He was going to harm them unless I became his…girlfriend, plaything…I don’t know what I am anymore. He actually asked me to marry him. I’ve known the guy for a week and he’s already ruined my life.”

Evie sniffled against Quinn’s shoulder. She sucked in a breath, composing herself. She couldn’t ruin her makeup.

“My goodness,” Quinn sighed, smoothing her back. “I can’t recall ever seeing you cry. You didn’t even cry at your father’s funeral. Why would you let that stranger do this?”

Evie pulled back and took a deep breath. “It won’t matter soon enough,” she said.

“Why?”

Evie shook her head. “Because I’m not going to let him ruin my life for good. I have to do something before it’s too late.”

“Can I help?” Quinn’s lips curled at the corners.