Charlotte’s POV
Despite the gloom that shrouded what should have been the happiest day of my life yesterday, it was actually a beautiful, sunny afternoon today. The air was perfectly balmy, not too hot or too cold, with a light breeze blowing gently across the fields. The Alpha house in the distance stood tall and proud, and the sun washing across it almost seemed to make the windows shimmer like liquid gold.
I’d decided to take Nora out for longer than usual, wanting to enjoy the nice weather as well as stay away from the house, where the staff kept looking at me and whispering. We’d wandered far and wide, all over the estate grounds. Now, we were walking the perimeter of the forest, although we didn’t enter. It was dark and cold beyond, the only sound that of the occasional bird
