Dare {Book 2}

Chapter fourteen

Isabella
----
I guess I've grown so used to sleeping next to Tate, that it's instinct to reach across the bed for him. It's instinct to think he'll reach for me at the same time. It's instinct to think he's actually there.

But he's not.

At first, I freaked out. I've grown so used to having his warm arm draped protectively around my waist in the morning, to have him place butterfly kisses across my face to wake me up. But once I remembered, I calmed down.

Tate isn't the right mate.

And although those words whisper through my head like leaves in the wind, I didn't want to believe them. Even if Xavier explained it, and even if it did seem true, I didn't want it to be. It all seemed so perfect. The mate, the kisses, the adorable little sister. It was too good to be true. And that's how I knew it wasn't.

Of course the Moon Goddess had to screw me over. "Here," she whispered. "This girl already has a miserable life. Let's make it worse"

And that's what pisses me off the most. That's what has my wolf growling and my fingers tingling. I imagine her standing in front of a globe or a mirror, seeing me on the other side. The poor, innocent, abused girl, down on her luck. Why bother wasting a perfectly good humans life? Why not just finish me off instead? It would make her job a hell of a lot easier.

I sit up and stretch. I haven't had a decent sleep in days. This bed seems to curve around my every need. I actually feel awake, well rested.

A pair of black, fluffy slippers sit on top of the fuzzy carpet. I slip them on, then drape the house coat over my shoulders. I shuffle over to the two buttons on the wall, right below the small, circular, silver speaker. Under the black button, is Ace's named scrolled in beautiful silver writing. Under the silver button, is Xavier's name printed in the same font, but black. I gently press the black button. Not a minute later, Ace's voice comes through the speaker.

"Good morning sleeping beauty. Have a nice rest?" He sounds like he's been up for hours.

I hold down the button and speak into the speaker. "Yes" I murmur.

"On today's schedule, we have breakfast with a handsome Ace, training with Xavier and a handsome Ace, lunch with a handsome Ace, a walk through the village with a handsome Ace, free time with a handsome Ace and dinner with Xavier and a handsome Ace" I roll my eyes.

"And will the handsome Ace be making me breakfast?"

"I can," he pauses. "If you want burnt toast a la mode" I giggle.

"At this point, I'll eat anything" I reply.

"Chef Ace will be up with your breakfast in a half hour" he says. I can hear the smile he has on his face. I let go of the black button and back away from the speaker, looking at the painting of the tree and moon on the wall. It's beautiful and looks like an exact replica of Tate's tattoo. How they know what it looked like is beyond me.

I turn back to my bed and fix it so it looks like it was never touched. I enter the closet, hanging my house coat on the hangar. I run my fingers over the material of each piece of clothing until I find the training clothes. None of the clothing in the closet is light, it's all dark colors. I like it.

I change into a pair of black tights with a silver lining and a black crop top with sleeves. I look in the mirror, seeing creamy skin with no blemishes.

I brush my hair with a silver hairbrush that I found in the bathroom. I put my hair in a high ponytail, smiling when I see a streak of silver. It doesn't go away. I brush my teeth with the black toothbrush and then put on some mascara and lip gloss.