But since I already know the truth...
Shit, shit, shit.
The way things have been unfolding, I've a feeling she - the all-powerful Wunderland - is determined to make the prophecy come true, regardless of how I feel about it.
Pre-Wunderland Addie never even had a bloody crush on any bloody guy, and yet here we are, one wrong rabbit hole later, and I've already had two orgasms...with two different men. If that doesn't spell slut or nympho, then it definitely spells taboo and—-
Shit.
I usually take the longer route home because it's safer, but I've been so distracted that I don't even notice I'm going the opposite direction until it's too late. This route is shorter and straightforward enough, sure: just one long walk down the main road...and then a left through a rarely-used tunnel.
Rarely used being the kicker, and it's when I realize there's no one else around...that I also start thinking I'm being followed.
Shit.
I'm imagining things.
Right?
But then goosebumps pop over my skin—-
Shiiiiiit.
I break into a run without looking back, and paranoia once again pays off as I hear pounding footsteps behind me. I glance over my shoulder—-
What the?
It's one of the mean girls, and she's holding a bloody knife.
Has she lost her mind?
We haven't even exchanged a single word since I transferred to Maravilloso High, so why the hell—-
Swipe!
My back suddenly stings, but this only has me willing my legs to work harder and faster. I have a feeling that any moment she'll realize she can just try throwing the knife at me, any moment she'll realize that there's a good chance she'll still be able to stab me that way—-
Please, please, please!
My eyes start to sting, and tears begin to blur my vision.
Rayé! Haine!
I stumble, and I start to fall.
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaase!
A sob escapes me as I crash to my knees, but it's just not in me to give up, and so I quickly turn and skid back—-
And that's when I see.
Another sob crawls out of my throat even as I start to run.
A moment later, and I've thrown myself in the were-tiger's arms.
"Rayé."
"It's alright now, little Alice." His voice is tight, and the way his arms wound around me is just as tight. "It's alright."
I feel someone coming close while the Cheshire Cat murmurs against my hair, and a moment later Rayé's arms are loosening—-
And then I'm being spun around.
Haine's eyes lock with mine, but he doesn't make a single move, almost as if he's making it clear...
It has to be my choice.
My choice.
And in the end, that choice is inevitable.
I throw myself in the were-lion's arms, and as the Hatter yanks me close, I feel Rayé closing in, his lips brushing the top of my head from behind while I rest my cheek against Haine's chest. I'm between the two men who own me. Two men who want to be mine. And somehow, it feels perfectly right.?? A tree house? ??THE WORDS LINGER IN my mind as the Cheshire Cat takes a firm grip of my hand before pulling me up to the highest branch of a massive, ancient-looking tree. It's rather maple-ish in appearance, only with grayish glow-in-the-dark leaves. It's eerily beautiful all in all, but what makes a more extraordinary sight is the tree house itself, with its hanging rope bridges, floating staircases, and hallways that wrap around the thirty-foot-wide bark before snaking onto branches of varying heights.
The sheer loveliness of it makes the horrors from earlier gradually fade, and I even find myself smiling a little as Rayé gives me a tour of the rest of his home.
Every room is magic, and I can feel my shock receding with every second that passes. By the time I take my seat before the roaring fireplace, a cup of hot chocolate between my hands, the last of my tension has completely faded, and I feel safe and cherished as the two men join me on the couch.
Rayé has a shot glass in his hand while Haine takes a sip from a can of beer. The were-tiger glances at me, and one brow arches in question. "You're sure that's enough?"
"I don't like the taste of liquor," I mutter.
The Cheshire Cat nods. "As you wish then."
A minute passes in quiet silence, and now that I'm no longer blinded by fear and panic, I find myself recalling things more objectively. I might have only caught a few seconds' glimpse of my attacker, but I'm still willing to bet it's one of those mean girls from school that was after me. I remember how hard and soulless her eyes looked, and goosebumps pop all over my skin at the memory.
That girl wanted me dead.
Not just hurt or scared, but dead.
And if not for Wunderland and these two men...
Rayé sees me looking at him and Haine, and the rigid set of his jaw briefly softens. "What is it?"