The next twenty four hours after Adamaris got rid of the brand were entirely uneventful. I guess that should have been my clue that it was the calm before the storm.
The day actually started out like any normal day. I woke up with Logan bringing me breakfast in bed, then I lay back while he ran his fingers in circles on my baby bump. I looked up at him and he gave me a small smile but his fingers never slowed.
“Are we going to stay here all day?” I asked and he raised a brow.
“Shouldn’t you be happy that you have a day off from all the drama?”
“I am happy,” I admitted, “I was just curious as to why we haven’t moved yet.”
“We don’t have anywhere to go for now,” he explained, “Do you remember the changes you approved for the school music department?” I nodded, “Well they’ve been implemented and today is the grand unveiling.”
“I totally forgot about that.”
“I told them to go ahead with it while you were,” he trailed off, “While you were gone.”
He seemed to close off after that statement and I forced myself into a sitting position. His hand fell off my belly as I sat up and I saw a small frown mar his face.
“You don’t talk about that time,” I began slowly, “Why?”
“I don’t want to upset you Charlotte,” he didn’t look at me while he spoke, “It was harder for you than it was for any of us. I don’t want you to have to remember.”
“Truthfully I haven’t thought about it in a while,” I chuckled dryly, “it’s mainly because of all the drama that has been going on. And I thought you didn’t want to hear about it, considering the fact that you saw it, so I never brought it up.”
“I want to hear anything you want to tell me; seeing it isn’t the same as experiencing it.”
I swallowed deeply and tried to gather my thoughts. I had shoved all the memories into a box at the far corner of my mind and digging through it is a lot harder than I thought.
“You don’t have to,” Logan began but I cut him off.
“I want to do this.”
He nodded and gave my hand a little squeeze in encouragement and it was as if that was all I needed to start speaking.
“When he took me I was so scared, but I also wasn’t because I thought you would just get me immediately. I thought it would be easy to find me, you know?” I began, “it didn’t fully hit that he was there until the first time he whipped me. Before then, the last time I was whipped was when I tried and failed to run away from the wedding.”
I inhaled sharply, “It burned so bad, I thought my entire skin was peeling off. Then he did it again because he wanted me to denounce our bond. In some crazy part of his mind, he thought that I was his.”
Logan let out a warning rumble but didn’t interrupt me. I knew he hated the use of the word ‘his’ in relation to another man, but he didn’t stop my story and only pulled me closer to him while he listened.
“You know what happened the next time I tried to stand up to him. I don’t really want to spell it out because I want to put it behind me.” I kept my voice low and soft, “All I wanted during that time was you and when I found you, I couldn’t believe it was real. I thought it was a dream, I thought I was dreaming of you again and it hurt because- it hurt because I didn’t want to wake up and get thrust back into that horrible reality.”
“I had already made up my mind that if he touched me again then I would have found a way to kill myself.” The admission came from me so quickly and freely that I didn’t realize the implication of my words until they left my mouth.
Logan let out a feral growl and pulled me into his chest while muttering ‘mine’ over and over again under his breath.
“You are not going to die,” he ground out as his hand stroked my curls firmly but softly, “I’m sorry that I failed you.”
“You didn’t fail me,” I whispered, “You saved me, and I am so grateful for that. You saved me twice.”
“I also saved you twice, because you should never have needed to be saved.” I swallowed, “If I had recognized you the first day at your pack, I would have taken you away and all this would have been avoided.”
“There’s no use crying over spilled milk.” I shrugged, “Everything we went through made us who we are right now. It brought us right here and I won’t change it for anything.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in a soft but passionate kiss. He pulled away all too quickly and gave me a small smile.
“Come on, let’s get you ready for the grand opening.”
******************
The first person who greeted me as we made our way was Diana. She was wearing a short white dress that stopped mid thigh with black ballet flats. Greg wasn’t too far behind her with his hand around her waist.
Samantha came next with a glass of punch in her hands but on closer inspection, I smelt a faint hint of vodka in it.
I was wearing a pair of black leggings with a huge hoodie over it to cover my bump. Not because I’m ashamed to show it, but because I don’t want to take the attention away from the celebration.
The pack hasn’t seen me with my bump yet, neither have they gotten a whiff of my scent yet. I still use the perfume Adamaris left for me.
“Think of the devil, and she shall appear.” Logan whispered in my ear and I shot him a hard look.
“Don’t be mean,” I shot back, “And stay out of my head.”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to my forehead, “I make no promises.”
Adamaris walked up to me in his signature black and purple. This time she chose to don a pair of black skin tight pants with a purple top that fell off her left shoulder and black boots. She had Celeste next to her in blue pyjama pants and a white shirt.
Celeste gave me a small smile, “It’s almost time,”
Her soft tone set me on edge and the hair at the back of my neck stood up.
“What did I say about party manners?” Adamaris chided her daughter as she pulled her away, “Don’t say things that creep people out.”
“Come,” Logan pulled me towards the stage, “You’re starting the ceremony.”
He led me onto the stage and squeezed my hand softly before taking a step back and leaving me in front of the microphone and everyone else.
I cleared my throat before speaking, “It is an honor and a privilege to be here today and see the grand unveiling. I cannot wait to see what has been done and what these amazing children are going to do with it.”
I turned to Logan and he gave me an encouraging smile, “I don’t really know what else to say so let’s just get on with the ceremony.”
I took a step back and the music teacher, I think her name is Claire, walked up to me.
She leaned into my ear and whispered, “The kids are to perform next and they would love it if you could play with them.”
“I haven’t played in a while and I wouldn’t want to mess up the performance.”
“We wouldn’t mind,” she assured me, “They would love to have you.”
“Are you sure?” I asked and she nodded, “No problem then.”
“We have a violin and a harp, whichever you would prefer.”
“A violin please,”
She nodded and rushed off to set up an extra seat just for me. I told Logan about the developments and he told me to go for it. He sat with the crowd while I sat with the children. Their nervous excitement ricocheted over my skin.
The little girl next to me had dirty blond hair and she was wearing a familiar black sweatshirt.
“Hi,” she whispered, “You may not remember me but I’m Jordan and you gave me this.” She touched the sweatshirt with pride, “It’s my new favorite thing.”
“I’m glad you liked it Jordan.”
“Thank you for playing with us,” she said and all the children started to say thank you as well.
“It’s fine, I promise.”
She wanted to respond but Claire returned and cued us in.
It was a different kind of thrill to play because I wanted to and not because it was expected of me. I actually found myself enjoying it and getting lost in the music. When it ended I felt a pang in my chest.
Everyone burst into applause and I snuck away while the kids took a bow. Logan found himself by my side again and held my cheeks in his hands.
“You were absolutely amazing,” he breathed, “I have never seen anything like it.”
“I wasn’t that good Logan, you don’t have to spare my feeling.”
“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
I felt my eyes begin to water and I wiped at my tears with a scoff, “Stupid hormones are making me cry.”
“Charlie,” Diana’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts, “You were amazing.” She pulled me into a hug, “You’re definitely playing at my mating ceremony.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that.”
She kept on talking about how much she missed me and all the things we would do when we got time to catch up when I noticed two people by the snacks table.
“I didn’t know Aubrey and Evan were here,” I said to Logan and he shrugged.
“They asked me if they could be here and I agreed.”
I don’t remember what I was about to ask when Adamaris bumped into me and spilled her drink on me. Seeing the liquid brought a deep urge to pee and I quickly excused myself.
THIRD PERSON P.O.V
Charlotte returned from the toilet and wiped her hands against her jeans. Adamaris was quick to apologize again but Charlotte was quick to brush her off.
Celeste walked up to the duo with a giddy smile on her face after spending time with some kids her age, She took one look at Charlotte and smiled.
“Now, it’s time.” She said
“You’re right little one,” a third voice said unknown to them. She had been watching them for a while, “Now, it is time.”