Bride (Bride, #1)

by Ali Hazelwood

“You,” he says, voice deep, almost too low to hear. “How the fuck do you smell like this?”

HELLO????

“Anything you’d like to say?” Moreland asks, this time to the Were child. The boy blinks several times before looking at the ground with a pout. “Sorry,” he mumbles, the r’s rounded into w’s. He looks on the verge of crying, but then dissolves into laughter when Moreland ruffles his hair and picks him up, effortlessly wedging him under his arm like a football.

Oh god.... He's good with kids. Someone shoot me

Lowe Moreland’s palm is wrapped around the blade, less than an inch from my neck. Green blood trickles down his forearm, its rich scent crashing into me like a wave. There is no sign of pain in his eyes as they hold mine. He just saved my life.

OH?

“For the next year, let’s make sure to stay out of each other’s way. Understood?” I try to swallow. Fail the first time, do a great job the second. “And they say romance is dead,” I say, pleased not to sound as dry throated as I feel. He hesitates for a moment, and I could swear he inhales again, deep, storing up…something. His hand tightens on my back for a second before finally letting go.

Ok ngl I'm enjoying the fuck outta this so far

I can live without hanging out with someone whose skull hasn’t even properly closed yet.

SMDMSKDKSJDJSJ

“That’s a very honorable sentiment. But it might reassure you to know that I lived among the Humans for nearly two decades, and murdered…” I pretend to check a note on my palm. “A whole zero. Wow.”

Oh i like herrrrr

It’s giving me flashbacks to our wedding, and this time I’m not even wearing heels, which means that he gets to loom over me in a way almost no one ever does.

TALL FMC FINALLYYYY

The birth control shot I was given before coming here was a joke, not just because Lowe and I are as likely to have sex as we are to start a podcast together, but also because he’s a Were and I a Vampyre, and we couldn’t reproduce even if we wanted to.

A PODCAST PLEASEEEJDNDNSNXNSND

I turn back to him. “Can my cat—” I stop, because Lowe’s eyes are closed. He’s inhaling deeply, as though gathering every possible air molecule within the room inside his lungs. And he looks… Tormented. In pure, absolute agony. He straightens his expression when he notices that I’m looking, but it’s too late.

DELICIOUSSSSSS

“Yes. We steal cars and talk with the beautiful ladies. But Alex says that Juno isn’t supposed to know.” “You play Grand Theft Auto with Alex?”

skdnsdjsndjss

My husband, I discover, wears size fourteen shoes.

Y'all know what that means....

A heavy silence stretches, broken only by Lowe coming to stand in front of me. I’m ready to say my final words, but all he does is take off his zip-up hoodie, wrap it around my shuddery shoulders, then admire the result for a beat too long.

Bro is whipped

Something wet lands on the front of my tank top. Because Max spit on me. “Ew.” I gasp, disgusted, but before I can—I don’t know, spit back?—Lowe’s hand presses against Max’s chest and pins him to the couch. “What the fuck did you just do?” he grunts. “She’s a Vampyre!” “She’s my—” Lowe’s hand jerks up to clutch Max’s jaw. “Apologize to my wife.”

MY!!!!! WIFE!!!!!!!!!

“And I’m very much not an IT person, but that”—he points at my code, which is still crunching along—“does not look like Yahoo.” “Yahoo? Lowe, you’re really dating yourself here.”

SHE'S A MENACE LMAO

“Why did you go to my room? Why did you look through my closet and my drawers?” He leans forward. His voice drops to a half whisper, meant only for my ears. There’s something tortured to it, like he’s in physical pain. “Why did my bed smell like you slept in it?”

PHYSICAL PAIN OH GOD THIS MAN WANTS HER SO BAD

“Liliana Esther Moreland! Come here at once, it’s an order!”

WAIT.... L.E. Moreland??????

“I don’t think it will,” I agree. “And it makes sense for us to collaborate. As Ana’s brother and Serena’s sister.” His eyes meet mine, serious and unsettling. “Not as husband and wife?”

OOP-

“Nah, it’s just more burns.” I lift my shirt and let it pool right under my bra, angling slightly to show him. “My tank top was askew, and the sun managed to get…” All of a sudden, his pupils are as large as the irises. Lowe abruptly turns his head in the opposite direction. The tendons of his neck stretch, and his Adam’s apple bobs. “You should leave,” he says. Gruff. Cutting.

SCREAMING

The last thing I hear is a phlegmy, “Okay, but did you cut the crusts off?” and a deep, hushed response that sounds a lot like, “Of course, love.”

HE WAS MAKING THE SANDWICH FOR ANA OH MY GODDDDDDD

Some nights, when he’s walking past her door, he has to whisper to himself: “Keep going.”

HOOOO BITCH

“Can I braid your hair?” “Absolutely fucking no.” A couple of hours later, half a dozen braids pull at my scalp, and Ana is snoring softly with her head in my lap.

SO SWEET :')

Lowe’s hand closes around mine. Our wedding bands clink together as he lifts it from the table and sets it in my lap, his grip lingering for a second. I feel hot. I shiver. Lowe clicks his tongue. “Stop playing with your food, wife,” he murmurs,

Oh my god oh my god OH MY GODDDDD

He tries to avoid thinking about what he’d do to her father if only it wouldn’t cause the worst diplomatic incident of the current century.

TEAR HIM APART LOWE

“Honey,” I ask, lowering my sunglasses to the tip of my nose, “are we rich?” His glance is only mildly blistering. “We’re just banned from most Human-owned airlines, darling

Obsessed w them fr

Lowe watches me do it, every second of it, lips parting. He takes a small, involuntary step toward me, then retreats again, appalled at his lack of control.

HELLOOOOOOOOO OH MY GOD

“Is it better?” His lips press together. As though there is a flavor he wants to hold in his mouth a moment longer. “Better?” “My smell. Do I smell like…?” “Mine.” It’s a rumble in his throat. “You smell like you’re mine, Misery.”

I'M KICKING MY FEET

His mouth twitches. “There you are.” He tugs me toward a black sedan, his hand still holding on to mine.

HE'S SO IN LOVE WITH HER IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY

“Above all, I won’t take her freedom. Not when so many others have already done so.”

AAAAAAA!!!!!

He’s been picturing her during her baths. He’s been having filthy, unspeakable thoughts. He’s too tired to keep them at bay.

EEEEEEEEE!!!!!

“You need to be told the right things.” He shrugs casually, but the movement feels the opposite of casual. “That you’re intelligent, and incredibly skilled at what you do, and brave. That despite your weird belief that you’re heartless, you’re more genuinely caring than anyone I’ve ever met. That you’re so resilient, I can’t quite wrap my head around it. That you’re very…” He pauses. Wets his lips. My heartbeat skips. “Very beautiful to look at. Always so beautiful. And that—”

OH MY GOD I'M MELTING

“They think you’re feeding,” Lowe hisses from above me. If I could devote any brain cells to not panicking, I would roll my eyes. “I know, but since we’re here, and they are basically here—” “Feed. From me.” He looks dead serious.

OH THIS IS SCRUMPTIOUS

“I know,” he murmurs, soothing, commanding. “I know. Be good, I’m going to—”

BE GOOD.... Lord I'm abt to nut

“Are you okay?” I ask. Because I didn’t think to, before. He murmurs, “Come back,” a hand outstretched in my direction. I don’t think he’s okay, but neither am I, so I cross the room. He hugs me, both arms enveloping my shoulders, my head nestled under his chin.

They're giving us EVERYTHING

“I could fuck you very nicely right now,” he says into my ear. He sounds honest, and a bit resigned. “I almost did.”

OKAY WE LOVE A CLEAR COMMUNICATOR

“Misery,” he sighs, and his breath warms the skin of my belly through the fabric of the dress, and I’m still alone, still different, still mostly on my own, but maybe a little less than usual. His fingers close softly around my ankle, the metal of his wedding band hot against skin and bones, and for the first time in more than I can remember, I feel held.

The tenderness.....

“…need to rest.” “No.” “Come on, Lowe. You need to sleep. I’ll watch over her while you—” “No.”

HE'S DOWN HORRENDOUSLY

Because it’s not a pile at all. It’s a wolf. Curled outside my room. Guarding my door. A huge white wolf. A fucking gigantic white wolf.

HE'S FUCKING GUARDING HER DOOR OH I CAN'T DO THIS

The child said, “This is an honor.” He sounded rehearsed, too formal for his years. Not at all like I did when I was nine and begged Father to let me go back to Vampyre territory over, and over, and over again. “I am to be the Collateral, and that is a privilege.” He turned around and left.

Absolutely horrifying

“I was scared.” It comes out like a confession. “You went limp in my arms, and I was so fucking scared.”

GAHHHHHH

The timbre of his voice is rough and low. “You smell like you just came.” I stare back, speechless at his directness. I did just come. “And I need to eat you out.”

NEED..... HE NEEDS TO???? HOLY FUCK

“And whatever is happening between you two, fuck it out of your system before people find out.” He hangs up, and I instantly turn to Lowe. “Will we really?” I ask. His eyes are instantly hooded. His lips move unintelligibly for a few moments. “The things I want to—” “I mean, will we be meeting him in person?” “Ah.” He clears his throat. “As soon as I can arrange it.”

BRO WAS READY TO RISK IT ALL

“Be good,” he says, getting up. And then immediately crouches down again, just to kiss my forehead.

The forehead kiss.... I'm traumatized but also swooning

She makes him want to draw again.

STOP IT RIGHT NOW.

“That search we were working on before you…” He gestures at me. “Almost croaked?” “Yes. I continued it while you were…” “Almost croaking?”

SKDMSNDJSJXJNS

“It goes beyond just sex. Long-term feedings create bonds and tangle lives together. It’s something that is strictly done by people who have deep feelings for each other, or the will to develop them.” Lowe listens intently, eyes never wavering. When he asks, “And you and I don’t?” it’s like a knife skewering my heart.

I'M SQUEALING

“Of all the good things.” He grasps my hips as I roll them into his. “Of all the good things I’ve felt in my fucking life, you are the best.”

Oh my fucking god.

“Be good.” Lowe clicks his tongue. “You’re all right. Aren’t you, Misery?”

AGAIN WITH THE "BE GOOD". ALI I AM IN YOUR WALLS

His mouth against mine chants a string of obscene, pleading things about how much he wanted this, how beautiful I am, how he’ll always think of me when he does this from now on, till the day he dies.

Lowe moreland the man that u are...

how when we’re alone in the car he steals a kiss that has me forgetting how to breathe, his tongue soft across my fangs until I taste a drop of blood, and then he is the one groaning, pressing his hand around my waist, telling me that he cannot wait to be home. Home.

God i love them

“I asked you to fuck it out.” Owen’s voice is flat and annoyed, but no more than usual. “And yet, here you are. Subjecting me to this.”

Owen... Respectfully, get fucked