Page 14 of Reveal Me (Immortal Vices and Virtues: All Hallows’ Eve #2)

Niamh

M y steps were quick. But they didn’t feel like they were taking me anywhere. I was just trying to outrun the chaos in my head.

Last night… Goddess, it had been everything.

And nothing. Dion’s touch, the way his lips had tasted, the way he made me feel.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it, couldn’t stop replaying every moment of it in my head.

Every touch. Every sigh. The way he kissed me, like I was something he needed—something he couldn’t get enough of.

And yet... he’d slept with someone else.

I gripped the edges of my sleeve, my nails digging into the fabric. He’d slept with another woman. The words twisted inside my chest, leaving a bitter taste. I’d been warned. Told that Dion was a player. That he didn’t stick around. That he used women like a game, a conquest.

The reflection in the mirror was hard to look at. Because she was the other woman. Just as furious as I was at Dion, I was just as furious at her. At me.

I’d set the whole thing in motion. I’d changed myself to see if he would bite. And he had.

But he didn’t know. He didn’t know that it was me. He thought I was someone else. Even though I was still me.

Goddess, now I was confusing myself. I started down the hall to Stella’s rooms. I had to get this face off my face.

I could still taste him on my lips. Still feel the ache he’d left between my thighs after he’d stretched me out. Still felt the bite between my ass cheeks that let me know he would go all the way around to fifth base.

I could still feel the warmth of his body next to mine as we lay side by side in my bed. He hadn’t held me at night. That was why it was so easy to slip away in the morning.

When I saw him again, I was going to reject him. But I was going to do it with my face. Was I going to tell him I knew for a fact that he was a cheater? There was no need, really. I didn’t owe him any explanation. But I did wonder if he’d go looking for this face…?

I pushed open the door to Stella’s room, my pulse racing. My bestie was standing in front of a mirror, the dress designer adjusting the fabric of her wedding dress. I paused in the doorway, taking in the sight of her.

Stella radiated joy. Her face was lit up with a happiness I envied. It made the tight knot in my chest ache even more.

I wanted that. I wanted to feel that kind of happiness, that kind of peace that came with knowing you’d found your person. I wanted to find someone who would look at me the way Oz looked at her. It was clear that the man was completely devoted to her.

The dress designer adjusted the fabric and looked at Stella thoughtfully. “If you’d like, I could add a panel here,” she said, tugging at the side of the gown. “It would slim down your curves a bit. Give it a more streamlined look.”

“I don’t need to hide anything. Oz likes my curves.” Stella’s grin was wide, as though she was thinking about just how much her shifter liked her curves. She sniffed the air then. “Dion, are you peeking? You’ll piss Oz off if you see me before he does.”

“It’s not the king, your highness,” said an attendant. “It’s your fairy friend.”

“Hey, girl. I’m still getting used to this panther nose of mine. I could have sworn I smelled Dion.”

I chewed my lip. Trying not to betray myself. Trying not to let the tremble in my fingers show. Instead, I quietly stepped farther into the room, closing the door behind me. “You look beautiful.”

“I know.” Stella beamed. “You ready to try on your bridesmaid dress?”

“Can you change me back first?”

Stella exhaled, relieved. “Oh good. I wasn’t happy with the changes we made either, honestly. It felt… off. I’d rather you look more like you for the ceremony.”

The attendant and designer helped Stella out of her dress. The designer carefully took the garment and went into another room to work as Stella slipped into a day dress. She came over to me and got to work on my appearance as a new attendant pinned and stitched the bridesmaid's dress on my body.

“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

I blinked at Stella as her magic darkened my hair. “What do you mean?”

“You seem… different.”

“Different how?”

“You seem more mature.”

“Well, I am a grown ass woman.”

“I know, but you seem… settled. You usually have all this energy bubbling under the surface of your skin. But since you got here, you just seem like… I don’t know, grounded. I’ve always thought of you like a potted plant. But now it seems like your roots are ready to go in the ground.”

I bit at my lower lip. My secret was at the tip of my upper lip. I held on to my tongue, trying not to let it out.

In the past, I’d told Stella and Tori everything. About every guy I went to bed with. But this was the first time I felt… embarrassed.

Not because it was Dion. Because he was my fated mate. Because I was playing this stupid game with him.

I knew that if I told Stella, I’d have to come clean. If I came clean with her, I’d need to come clean with Dion. If I came clean with Dion, would he be relieved that it was me? Or would he be pissed?

My feet itched like I wanted to run. No, that wasn’t my feet.

My feet felt like they wanted to stay. Grounded, Stella had called it.

She was right. My feet remained firmly planted on the ground.

It was my ass that felt ready to hightail it out of there.

But I knew, no matter which way I ran, there was no way I’d escape the hot seat.

Dion was going to find out. I was back to wearing my own face. It wasn’t like I could hide any longer. So I might as well tell my bestie and hear the riot act she would read me.

“Stella, you decent?” came Oz’s voice.

“Yeah, I’m out of my dress. The coast is clear.”

“What the fuck is Dion doing in—” Oz came to a halt when he saw me sitting next to Stella.

“He’s not here, but I thought I smelled him, too. Maybe he was with the designer last night.”

But Oz’s gaze stayed fixed on me.