Doomed

chapter 14

"Jase, do you have a six? Also, can I see you guys in wolf form?"

"Go Fish, bitch," Jase responded to my first question with a grin and was rewarded with an elbow to the ribs by Isaiah for the last part of his answer. As Jase and Isaiah descended into bickering, I reached over Landon to grab a card from the top of the pile, grinning when I saw I had drawn a six. I sent Morgan a wink, and she feigned innocence, as if she hadn't been helping me win the last few rounds. Once I had drawn my card, I settled my eyes on Cassius, patiently awaiting an answer to my second question.

"Maybe after the press conference," he said after thinking for a moment. He set his cards down in front of him, face down so no one could peek, and leant back, seemingly still lost in thought. "As much as I know you'd love to see right now, it's five AM and you're supposed to be ready by eight."

I blushed as I realized how truly absurd it would be to see them in wolf form right now, which exactly what I had been hinting at when I asked. Rather than heading to bed after my minor break down, we'd all gathered in the library, desperate for each other's company, support, and comfort. About three AM, Mik had found a deck of cards and insisted we play something. Since then, we had each been taking turns choosing a card game to play. My knowledge in card games was lacking, so when it came to me, I chose Go Fish, a game that I used to love to play with Carson.

I set my own cards down, running my fingers through the fur of the grey cat that had somehow ended up in my lap. He had wandered in about a half hour previously, and had taken quite the liking to me, plopping down on top of me and purring so loud that everyone else could hear him. I scratched behind his ear emitting purs from him again, my thoughts drifting back to the dreaded press conference.

"We should head back to your room to get ready soon, mon cheri," Morgan spoke up, her voice tinged with regret. I glanced up and saw her blue eyes watching me, darker than their usual sky blue. I huffed out a heavy sigh, leaning against Landon who sat on my left side. He wrapped an arm around me, rubbing my back, while Mik squeezed my knee.

"It won't be that bad..." Mik tried to console me, and I shot him a look. The way he recoiled, retracting his hand so fast that I hadn't even been able to see the movement, I knew I'd made a mistake. The reasonable part of my brain scolded me, urging me to apologize, but the other part, the one that had consumed me, was pulling me into a black hole of nothingness.

"Onyx," the name and voice washed over me, causing me to shiver. There was only one person in the group who could get away with calling me that, and there was no possible way to ignore him. I met his steel and stormy grey eyes, flinching. "I think you should probably go with Paisley and Morgan now to get ready. We'll see you in a few hours."

I shooed the cat off my lap, pulling myself to my feet as the familiar sense of dread and depression formed in the pit of my stomach. I had messed up by upsetting Mik, and I knew it, yet there was no time to dwell or try to make good; Paisley had taken hold of my hand, eagerly dragging me out of the library. I locked eyes with Isaiah, silently pleading, and he shrugged indifferently, his chocolate eyes reflecting the same sadness I had seen in my own eyes several times before.

My heart quivered and I gripped Paisley's chilled hand tighter, relying on her exuberant bubbly personality as a distraction from the whirlwind of thoughts inside my head.

I nodded along to her incessant chattering about the white dress she had picked out for me and why she had chosen it, but internally, I was shutting down. In order to get through the press conference and introduction to the future Coven, I knew I was going to have to cushion myself. Morgan caught my eye and grimaced, causing me to start. It was almost as if she could tell what I was doing and disapproved. I forced myself to look away and concentrate on Paisley instead, flashing her an artificial sugar smile.