The Four Sides of Desire

Eleonore’s POV“I hope I won’t have to explain how you should hold yourself as an Everwood. You are my daughter and you have my name. Don’t embarrass me.”My heart thudded in my chest. It was the first time my father had spoken to me in hours and what came out was a warning. I knitted my fingers together in my lap and nodded compliantly. Any other answer would’ve been the wrong one.“And—” he added, his tone getting a bit darker. My breath grew shallow as I recognized this warning was tinging on the edge of a threat. I held myself still, not daring to look him in the eye. “I hope I don’t have to tell you to stay away from anything supernatural. Wouldn’t want you causing trouble, would we? You’re smarter than that, aren’t you?”“…Yes, Father.”“Of course, you’re my daughter. You know better than that.” He nodded, and that was that, much to my relief, small as it was. At least this time he didn’t slap me. Last car ride we shared was when he was bringing me home from a

Eleonore’s POV My alarm went off at eight in the morning. I’d miss the breakfast hours in the caf getting up this late, but the morning called for a coffee and pastry which I could easily get from one of the nearby coffee shops. It was the first day of classes and I couldn’t have been more excited for them. I’d have my preceptorial course first thing in the morning, followed by a mandatory math class I wasn’t looking forward to, and then my elective course, the whole reason I was here.Introductions to Architecture and Design. The same course my mother took decades ago when she first attended Oakwood University.I quickly got ready, going through my morning routine. After getting dressed and brushing my hair, I picked up an orange pill bottle and popped out two pills, the required dose, before swallowing them dry.Another stipulation for attending. If I attended then I had to remember to take my medicine every morning and if I forgot, there would be hell to pay. I knew

Eleonore’s POVOnce? Happenstance. I could live with that. Survived worse, was paranoid from less. Twice? Time to PANIC.The moment the werewolf in front of me faltered and got distracted, I booked it out of there like killing me in the library was his modus operandi.Not that he would’ve, looking back on it, seeing as a murder like that would’ve been as easy to figure out as a game of Clue, but still. The panic was in charge after that.Not one werewolf but two seemed interested in me, from an accident. It felt so unfair that a moment of distraction could wreck my campus life but here we were.I wondered if I would have to look over my shoulder now, looking out for gold eyes and anything else that was supernatural that I wasn’t supposed to be involved in.That was the RULE. The lines I had to stay in to have what I wanted, and they were severely messing up the scant few opportunities I DID have under my father’s rule.I had managed to get back to my dorm after escapin

Eleonore’s POV“How do you eat that first thing in the morning?” I asked, staring at Gael as he went to town on not one, or two, but four chocolate chip banana waffles.There was a little waffle machine near the toasters with waffle batter. So not only did you have to make them yourself, but you had to go one by one since there were only two machines and you couldn’t just take both of them, especially during the breakfast rush. It was a sugar bomb, paired with milk, orange juice, fruit, bacon, sausage, and a side of oatmeal. Gael was trying to have Sunday brunch all by himself on a Wednesday at 7:45 AM—and this wasn’t the first time he had stacked his plates sky high.“Gotta make sure I have the energy to make it to lunch. What about you?”“What about me?” I asked, looking at my plate. “My breakfast is normal, thank you.”“It’s a cup of black coffee and a muffin. I have a right to judge you,” Gael protested, and I rolled my eyes. I didn’t usually eat breakfast, bac

Eleonore’s POV“I’m not sure…”“Come on, it’s already been a month and you haven’t been to a single party on campus! I’m not saying that you, like, have to go, but I think you should have the experience while you’re here. You need to go to at least one and see what it’s like.”“Still…” I bit my lip.The first month of university had passed with little fanfare. No werewolves or supernatural beyond the books Professor Cross had recommended to me. Just homework and friends and it was wonderful.It made sense that Charlie was worried. Normally people joined clubs or sports or whatnot to fill their day with something to do and while a few clubs were interesting to me I hadn’t really joined or participated in any meetings.Maybe I was a bit scared, maybe I was a bit wary about interacting with more people, but I’d been going at my own pace! The book club on campus was more than understanding and even gave me a copy of the book they were currently reading in case I ever wanted