Ours Later (Forbiddenverse #1)

Prologue

“ N ina, get down from there!” Mom yells shrilly, her blue eyes wide with fear, a scowl firmly in place as she gazes up at me.

I’m not the little girl she always wanted, and this just reminds me of that. I’m not pretty enough, too much of a tomboy, and despise parties.

Sitting on a tree branch with my arms folded over my chest, I shake my head stubbornly. I could fall from the height I’m at right now, and it would probably kill me.

At nine years old, this option is better than facing my mother. Morbid and dramatic, but none-the-less true.

“Go away, Mommy. I don't want to wear that dress, or have you braid my hair. I’m fine right here,” I huff.

Dropping my hands to the tree branch, I swallow hard. I am really high. I climbed and climbed the huge tree in the backyard, when Mom and her friends came to find me, to get dressed for the party.

I didn’t pay attention to the hustle and bustle of what was happening around me, and now I take a moment to breathe it all in, shifting to lean my back on the trunk of the tree.

There’s tables all over the backyard with pretty white tablecloths, and people scurrying to set everything up for this party. It feels like a fairytale I’m not sure I want to be a part of.

Glancing back down to glare at my mom, I watch as her friends come out of the house in a huff, looking up at me in disapproval.

I hate them so much, and it has nothing to do with this stupid party. They pull my hair when they talk to me, Toni smells like mint and cigarettes, and Carlie mutters to herself about how I could be prettier if I was a bit thinner. They’re sucking up to her because my mom is marrying a rich alpha.

I don’t understand what she expects from a nine year old who is already four and a half feet tall. Then there’s how mean they are when they speak to each other.

I don’t know how my mom can be friends with these people. It’s like black worms crawling all over my skin. Maybe bad energy? It makes my stomach roll and I always feel nauseous when I’m around them.

No thanks.

“Nina, please don’t screw this up for me,” Mom pleads. “This is my engagement party, and I need you to look perfect. Please.”

Her pretty baby blue eyes bat at me as she smoothes down her perfect platinum-blonde hair. Mom is trying too hard right now, and it makes me shake my head harder.

I’m wearing jeans and a long-sleeved sky blue T-shirt that says You are the Change . It’s woo-woo noxious positivity, but I wish it were true.

There’s so much I wish I could change about my life, starting with my father not having had a heart attack three years ago.

Wishes don’t make the world go round, money does. This horse and pony show my mother is insisting on is so she can get a piece of Cooper Thornefield’s wealth. I don’t believe she’s actually interested in him. He’s so different from what Daddy was like.

Daddy had a stocky build, got lost in his thoughts the way I do, and always read me a bedtime story no matter how busy he was. I’m too old for stories now Mom tells me, so I read to myself.

Wrinkling my nose as I see Cooper slowly walk through the gate into the backyard, I wonder what he’ll say.

The man is so tall, he dwarfs my mother, but it makes him a little bit scary too. He’s never been mean to me, but I don’t trust his jovial demeanor.

Cooper, or Coop as he insists I call him, has a son a few years older than me as well. I haven’t been around him much outside of an uncomfortable dinner or two, but teenage boys don’t have much in common with kids, so I haven’t tried very hard to find a reason to seek him out.

“How are my favorite girls?” Cooper asks with a grin, his arm snaking around my mom’s waist to pull her close. Mom giggles as she looks up at him. Watching her like this, I can almost admit that she may want him for more than his money.

“I’m a little frazzled,” Mom admits with a shrug. At Cooper’s raised brow, she glances up at her wayward daughter. Yep, that’s what I am at best.

I’m a little too smart for my own good, because my nose is always in a book, if I’m not hiding in the woods in muddy jeans and boots, and I’m not pretty enough for the tea parties Mom’s friends have with their daughters.

Blinking rapidly, I meet Cooper’s gaze when he follows Mom’s eyes up to mine for only a moment before I look away. I will not feel sorry for myself right now. It’s just a stupid party, I don’t need to get emotional about it. I don’t care if Cooper feels the same way as my mom does about me.

“Hey there, Nina,” my soon-to-be step-father calls up to me.

“Yeah?” I ask, staring out at the trees that surround my house. When Mom and Cooper get married, where will we live? Am I going to have to move on top of everything else?

“Why don’t you come down for a bit? I’m not quite as comfortable with heights as you are, and I’m a little worried,” Cooper says. Moving my head to look at him shifts my weight, making me gasp.

My eyes widen in panic, but I manage to hold my position for a little longer. My fingernails are digging into the bark behind me, and I know I’ll be yelled at about ruining them. Oh well. I know I joked about dying, but I don’t think I’m ready to go yet.

“Will you catch me if I fall?” I ask lightly before my fingernails slide off the bark. Screaming as I do just that, I close my eyes as I listen to everyone gasp and cry out.

Strong arms catch me close to their chest, and I can hear the panicked thunder of a heartbeat.

“Look at me,” Cooper growls. Tears run down my face as I do as he says, and his gaze softens. “I will always be here to catch you when you fall, is that understood?”

Nodding as I cry, I briefly feel his lips brush my forehead. “She can wear whatever she wants, if that was what sent her up the tree, Vivi,” Cooper tells Mom, turning to face her. Tears stain her face as she nods, running over to check my body.

“Are you okay?” Mom whispers. “God, you’re going to make me gray before my time, Nina.”

“I’m fine,” I sob. “I moved too fast and fell.”

“My heart is about to beat out of my chest,” she confesses. “Wear whatever you want, Coop is right. It’s not worth all of this fuss. God, you always have been dramatic.”

Mom takes the sting out of her words by brushing my wild, blonde curls out of my face. It’s naturally almost platinum because of how much time I spend outside, and my skin is a touch too tan to be acceptable to her.

“I’m going to bring her inside,” Cooper grunts. Striding past his son, I watch him stare curiously at us both. There’s a bit of jealousy there too, and I wonder why. My future step-dad seems to be a decent father figure to Ethan. I’m not here to steal him away.

“I’m sorry,” I rasp, my body still shaking from terror. “I didn’t mean to ruin anything. I just hate all of this. ”

“Parties? Engagements? You’ll need to be a little more specific, Nina,” he murmurs as he walks into the house.

“Parties, Mom’s friends, and all of the preparations to make me someone I’m not,” I confess.

Cooper slowly sets me down before leaning, so he’s not towering over me. He’s over six-feet-tall, so he has to come a long way down.

“You should never change yourself for anything,” he murmurs.

“I’m happy to stick around for a long while, and I’ll always remind you of that.

Now go have a second to take a breath. I won’t tell anyone you might spoil your supper if you grab something sweet from the kitchen too.

Nina, you were really fucking high up and scared the shit out of me. ”

Cooper winces at his curse, but I just giggle. No one ever thinks twice about using those words around me, I just make sure I don’t repeat them.

Walking away, I grab a brownie on the way upstairs, and only the reminder that my future step-father will be at the party keeps me from hiding away for the entire thing. Everyone else may suck, but I can get through it if he’s there watching out for me.