Chapter 206: Two Months 1

May’s POV: Two Months

The plans Bernia had for Morvaine were beyond words. It was going to be massive destruction, and fuck, my to-do list had officially turned into a bucket list. Somewhere in the middle of all that planning, I had started living like a woman who knew she might not see the end of it.

Two months. That was how long I had been living like a whore, if I was being brutally honest with myself, and I was.

My pussy had been stretched, and I’d had my fair share of encounters with different people over those two months. Werewolves, of course. Many times, I had to sneak off to Icefang and get myself a wolf playboy to fuck me. It had gotten that serious. Some nights I lay in bed afterward, staring at the ceiling, wondering whether I was chasing pleasure or just running from the silence in my own head.

Either way, I was willing to make it work.

Ten months remained until the plan Tony had made with the president reached maturity, and it was crazy. It was going to be a war that nobody would recover from until it was over. I wished I wasn’t part of it, but yeah, I was one of the key warriors, and wishing never changed shit. The wolves back at the mansion had started to look like humans now. The wolfsbane was strong, and it was working, and every time I watched one of them shiver and shrink into that pale, fragile skin, something cold crawled down my spine. I told myself it was necessary. I almost believed it.

Each time I came back to Bernia, I was questioned.

"Where did you go?" Tony would ask.

"I went to get fresh air and eat street food," I’d say, with a straight face.

In reality, I had gone to have sex. Three guys were already aware of what I’d been up to, though I had only fucked two of them. They gave me the side eye whenever I walked past, and all I could do was look away. I wasn’t ashamed. I just didn’t owe anybody an explanation.

I was only living my life.

Somewhere between the sneaking and the sex, I started looking up fashion: how to change your dress style, how to have better dress sense, how to be better. And ohh, I discovered I had been dressing so wack and stupid. I had to change that shit. It was embarrassing, honestly. I had deliberately put my life on hold for these people, giving up the things I liked, and I liked beautiful clothes. I had always liked them. I just buried that part of me under army green because nobody around me cared, and eventually, neither did I.

So I went to the market and bought dresses for myself.

I didn’t know I would look so good in those sexy outfits. I had been missing out all this while. I had such a nice body shape, and no, it never came out perfectly in those soldier clothes, where only my ass protruded. But my hourglass figure showed beautifully in the new dresses. I didn’t buy them to water anybody’s eyes. I bought them to feel better about myself, and standing in front of the mirror, I did. I loved myself more when I put them on, and that scared me a little, because I couldn’t remember the last time I had.

I picked up a few and went home. I put one on, a body-hugging gown, and I couldn’t wait to see everyone’s reaction at the mansion.

"What is this, May?" Zeno asked, his eyes wide.

"It is what it is, guys," I said, and I stepped into the room like I owned it.

They almost started clapping for me. Valentina was all about the vibes and shit.

"Girl, you look absolutely stunning! Where did you get these dresses?" she asked.

"I bought them. And thank you," I responded, and my smile came out softer than I intended.

"Whatever made you have this change of arc, it’s great. Good change," Ciro said.

And all this because I wore one body-hugging gown. It almost made me laugh. Years of loyalty, years of bleeding for this house, and it took a piece of fabric for them to finally look at me.

Tony walked in, stopped, and blinked.

"Whoa! Who is this? May, what’s going on?" He looked genuinely surprised. I told him not to be.

"I just decided to change my wears, that’s all," I said.

"Crazy enough, I’ve known you for years and you’ve only ever had on army wear. Good one, though," he said.

I nodded and slipped away to my room to put my things in order. I was folding the new dresses carefully, like they were something precious, when I heard footsteps behind me. Zeno had followed me, right to my room.

"Why are you stalking me, Zeno?" I asked without turning around. We weren’t going to have sex again. It was a one-time experience, so there was no need for him to waste his time.

"So this is what it is now, uhh? You going around sharing your body with different people?" he said.

I kept arranging my clothes. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Ohh, you think I don’t know? After sleeping with me, you went and gave Salvatore a taste, and you know we’re friends."

I put down the dress I was folding and finally faced him.

"Whoever told you all this should prove it to you. I don’t have the time to explain myself to anyone. Anything he tells you, believe it," I said, then turned back to the wardrobe.

"No, May, you don’t get to do me like that." His voice cracked on the last word, and I hated that I noticed. "I’ve seen you go far places just to have sex. I didn’t know that’s what you came to me for, a one-night stand. What do you really want?"

He was ranting, and I was beginning to get pissed.

"Okay, what did you think it was going to be, huh? A love story? Romeo and Juliet? A fucking folklore?" I snapped. "I only fucked you because I was horny. I enjoyed myself, and I’m sure you enjoyed yourself too, so let’s dead the matter."

He went quiet. For a second, he looked like I had slapped him. Then he started toward the door.

"You used me," he said, almost whispering. "I didn’t expect it to be one time, yeah? I’m not used to all that shit. I expected it to be more than once, okay? You’re really beautiful, and I was beginning to fall..."

He never finished. He just pulled my door shut and left, and the silence he left behind was louder than his voice.

I stood there for a moment, my fingers tight around the fabric in my hands.

I thought men were tough, but this one had elastic feelings. He couldn’t let a bitch go after one sex encounter? That was disgusting. Where did these guys come from to work for Tony? He had no right to question me or my decisions. He met me here, for heaven’s sake.

Still, a small, quiet part of me flinched at the look on his face, and I shoved that part down hard. I couldn’t afford it. Not with a war coming. Not with ten months left and so many ways to die.

I wasn’t going to let what anybody thought of me limit me any longer.

I was not the same person anymore. Fuck, I had to make that clear, even if only to myself.

Two months wasn’t much time for the person I had become, but it was only the beginning. In the next few months, I was going to become so much more.