the lone wolf

Fandom: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (V.E. Schwab)

Pairing: Addie x Luc.

Rating: E (Explicit sexual content).

My take of what happens after the events of the book! I finished it yesterday and well… I’m obsessed. I also realized there are barely any fics so if you know any or have written one let me know! <3

July 29, 2024

Addie wakes to the brush of fingers running up and down her back, exploring and drawing shapes and making her body stir to life, an artist tracing the first streaks on a blank sheet. She holds back a groan, and her breath catches as the hand moves lower, the feathery strokes on her ass and thigh sending a rush of want between her legs. She knows he notices, the sound of his low chuckle making her shiver. His light touches turn rougher as he grabs her hip, his lips finding the sensitive skin of her neck, kissing and biting and teasing.

“Happy anniversary, my Adeline.”

Cal x Mare

Warnings: none just fluff :) in Cal’s POV

A/N: what’s up my peeps! It’s been a minute since I’ve written something. This ones been in the works for a while but I finally got the motivation to finish it. Please send in more MareCal ideas because I just love writing for them so much!! Enjoy!

not my gif

Friday, two days away and I still didn’t have a gift for Mare for our first anniversary. One year we have been together. One year since the war broke loose and was won. Since Mavey had been put to an end. One year that we have loved each other through thick and thin. This means that it had to be extra special. I knew Mare didn’t want to anything outrageous for it, but I couldn’t help but get her something. The only problem was, I had procrastinated and was seeking the only help I knew reliable: Kilorn and Gisa.

“Well, well, well. Your highness forgot to get his queen an anniversary gift. What do you think, G?” Kilorn smirked

“Punishable by death,” she said as she sat down.

“Very funny guys, but this serious,” I gave them both a look. “It’s our one year anniversary and we’ve both been through a lot; her more than me, and I want to get her something extra special. Any ideas?”

Kilorn scratched his chin in thought. “You get her a new sweater. Hers is all torn from wear.” Gisa slapped the back of his head. “No you idiot,” she turned towards me. “Get her something sentimental. Even if it’s a small detail that she only mentioned once or twice, she’ll appreciate it,” she smiled.

“Okay but what if she thinks that it’s weird that I paid that much attention to it?”

“Trust me. She’ll love it no matter what.”

“Buddy,” Kilorn patted my shoulder. “Mare is so head over heels for you that you could get her a rock and she’ll love it.”

“Unless she hates it and uses said rock to throw at my head.”

“Dude! You have to stop worrying. Go with your gut.”

But I couldn’t stop worrying. I loved her so much and I didn’t want to mess it up with a stupid gift. She was the best thing that had ever happened to me.

“Okay. Thanks guys,” I said as I closed the door.

The market was busier than usual. People crowding every nook and cranny to get to work. You would think people would move for a prince, but no one paid attention to me as they passed. I never wanted to play this prince card, but this was urgent! I walked around looking for anything that Mare would like. I was about call it a quits when something caught my eye: a pair of dangling, sparkling fire red earrings. I knew that was the perfect gift and went to pay.

“37 paper bills,” the merchant said.

I gave the man the money and thanked him and stuck the earrings into my pocket.

—-

“Hey baby!” I was struck with a force strong I almost fell over. Mare may have been small, but she was capable of knocking me down; which she has before.

“Hey sweetheart.”

“Are you excited for Friday?” She asked hopefully. I knew what Friday was. But I wanted to play dumb that way the surprise was extra good.

“What’s Friday?”

“Oh. Nothing. I just got my days mixed up then.” She sat down on the couch and started flipping through her book. She looked mad or disappointed. I felt bad, but I knew that it was going to be worth it.

“I’m going to go change and then we can cuddle, okay?”

“Okay,” she smiled. I walked to our shared bedroom and took out the earrings and started looking for a hiding place. The jewelry box? No she’ll notice new pieces in there. Beside table? Maybe. She doesn’t look in there often. Perfect. I changed into a pair of sweatpants and comfortable shirt. I walked in to see her almost done with her book. I sat down next to her and kissed her head.

“Almost done?”

“Yeah,” she put it on the table. “It’s getting pretty boring now.”

“Good. Now you can pay attention to me.”

She slapped my chest lightly and smirked. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her into me. I could feel her warmth radiating through her clothes. It was different from my constant heat. Mine was constant reminder of the burdened I carried. The reminder of all the people I’ve hurt and killed. Hers was a reason for me to keep going. To know that I have someone who would be there for me. She was my anchor. And I only hoped to be hers.

—-

It was finally Friday. Everything was in place. Now I only needed her to be there.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” she smiled.

“Let’s go for a walk.” I extended my hand for her to take. Once she did, I took her to the Montfort Gardens. She loved it there. It was spring. The flowers in full bloom, making the scene a burst of colors. The weather was perfect. A cool breeze coming in every once in a while. The sight was breathtaking. But not the garden. Mare.

She sat on a bench that looked straight ahead to the mountains. Her still half purple hair blowing in the wind. I could catch sight of her four earrings. Each one for a brother and a friend. I subconsciously patted the earring box in my pocket.

I sat down beside her. She turned her head to look at me. We didn’t say anything. We didn’t need to. My eyes flickered down to her lips. Hers did the same. I didn’t who leaned in first. Frankly, I didn’t care. All I knew was that her kiss set a flame in heart. Different from the ones I caused.

I pulled away and leaned my forehead on hers. We didn’t open our eyes. I placed her hand in mine.

“Mare. I know we said no gifts but-“

“Cal, you didn’t.”

“I did. Because you deserve everything and anything. And to be honest, I don’t deserve you.” I took out the little box. She gasped. “Before you say anything, it’s not a ring,” I chuckled. “I know how you feel about that. I just wanted to get you something to let you know how much you mean to me.” I opened the box. The red gems sparkled in the light.

“Cal, I-“

“You don’t need to say anything. Just know I love you.”

She looked up at me. Her eyes were glassy. I panicked. The only reassurance I had was a smile plastered on her face. She took the box in her hands and ran her fingertip over the gems.

“They’re beautiful,” she said. “What made you get red?”

“Red for me, red for you.”

(pg.339)

Eva said what 👀

Time for the nitty gritty! I may be a little over eager to find out about the plot of The Ballad of Never After before it is even released but I can’t help myself but think about what may happen. Before the title was revealed, my good friend @amani8907 and I combined our theories and let me tell you it had us SCREAMING BECAUSE THEY WERE SO DAM GOOD!

I will use references to Enchanted (2007), Snow White (1937), and Sleeping Beauty (1959). 😉 And of course, Once Upon a Broken Heart.

First, I want to review the basic qualities of a fairytale. In a fairytale, there’s:

Orphan turned Princess

Prince Charming

Evil Witch/Evil Step-Mother

A Curse

Unfortunate circumstances the protagonist faces ex. stepmother, stepsisters, curses, huntsman, treated poorly

A death-like sleep

True Love’s kiss

Happily Ever After

Now Once Upon A Broken Heart doesn't shy away from these qualities. Evangeline is an orphan, she has a two-faced stepmother and a jealous stepsister, she’s cursed (prophesized key), and she meets Prince Apollo at the ball where they “fall in love.” There’s also a death-like sleep in which Apollo has fallen under. I’ll come back to this! Even Evangeline herself says that she wants a fairytale kind of love, the story she’s in right now.

When Evangeline went to kiss Apollo from this cursed slumber, it sort of reminded me of Prince Charming coming to kiss the Princess awake and then they live happily ever after. It didn’t really cross my mind again until I started talking with @amani8907. I asked her what she had thought about the ending in where we find out that Apollo isn’t exactly dead but isn’t exactly alive either. And what did Jacks want to speak with Evangeline (He sounded nervous in her head and knowing Jacks, he’s seldom nervous or worried)?

@amani8907 had two theories to those two questions. And they were freaking good! Before I delve into them, Stephanie Garber had posted this in her story one day. “There was a fairytale that I really wanted to add murder to.” (UPDATE: I think she means Cinderella the more I'm thinking about it lol). The first fairytale stories that come to mind are Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.

A lot of ideas will come from these two films and then the reveal of the sequel happened, and Stephanie posted emojis that correspond to the sequel’s plot. (Which I’ll speak about, too!)

And look at the bottom, #fairytale is tagged. 👀👍