BOOK ONE!!
Talia Carrington has always felt trapped-by her family, by the Kook world, and most dangerously, by her toxic love for Rafe Cameron. His passion is overwhelming, but so is the chaos that comes with it. When the pouges offer her a glimpse...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
TALIA WOKE UP early the next morning, the familiar sounds of Figure Eight filtering through her open window. The distant crash of waves and the occasional hum of a fishing boat on the water greeted her like an old friend she hadn't seen in years. She hadn't realised how much she'd missed this—just the quiet, the calm, the feeling of being at the edge of the world.
England had been cold and controlled, like living in a glass cage. Every move watched, every breath measured. Here, at least, there was room to breathe, even if the pressure of her family's expectations still hung over her like a shadow.
Talia stretched and swung her legs over the side of the bed, her bare feet touching the cool wooden floor. It felt strange to be back home, but in a way, it was a relief. She had spent so long in boarding school, trying to be what her parents wanted, that she had almost forgotten who she was. And now, standing in the middle of the place where she'd grown up, she realised she wasn't the same girl who had left.
The house was quiet, her parents likely still asleep or out early for one of their endless social engagements. That was the thing about the Kooks—there was always a meeting, always an event, always something to be seen at. Talia had spent her life surrounded by it, but now, it felt suffocating. She wasn't ready to slip back into that world yet, not when she still felt like a stranger in her own skin.
She wandered out onto the back porch, her eyes scanning the horizon where the sea met the sky. The wind ruffled her hair, and she closed her eyes, letting the moment of peace settle over her. For the first time in a long time, she wasn't thinking about what everyone else wanted from her. She was just... here.
The thought of Rafe still gnawed at the back of her mind. The tension from the night before lingered, but she wasn't ready to deal with it. Not yet. There was too much history, too many unresolved feelings, and right now, she didn't know where to start. They had been through so much together, but it was never something she could define. They had hooked up, gotten tangled in each other's chaos, but it wasn't love. At least, not the kind of love people talked about.
Maybe she needed to keep her distance from him for now, to figure out who she was without him in the equation.
Deciding she needed a break from everything Kook-related, Talia grabbed her backpack and headed out. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she knew she didn't want to be stuck in the pristine, polished world her family had crafted. There had to be something more out there, something that didn't revolve around appearances and endless obligations.
As the afternoon sun hung lazily in the sky, Talia found herself wandering along the docks on the south side of the island. It was quieter here, away from the crowded Kook beaches and the prying eyes that always seemed to follow her. She wasn't sure what she was looking for—maybe a little freedom, maybe a distraction.
She had heard about the Pogues before, of course. Everyone in the Outer Banks knew about them—rebels, troublemakers, the ones who lived by their own rules. They were nothing like the Kooks. They weren't interested in money or status, and Talia found herself strangely drawn to the idea of their world, even if she didn't belong in it.
