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36. What I Want
Laura - Bucharest’s suburbs
Paul already had a letter of resignation on his desk awaiting my signature. But all the other paperwork had to be made as well. He preferred to keep me in his office and go back and forth between me and HR for all the formalities.
I took it all in and kept silent all day, even in the car as he drove me to the city’s outskirts. Nice suburbs stretch at the borders of Bucharest, with fancy houses mixed with old ones in a combination of colors and styles.
For a second, I want to be able to read his mind as easily as I do with humans. Upon realizing my wishes are pointless, I force myself to focus on the details of my surroundings.
Paul stops his car in front of a one-story home with brown roof tiles. My childhood house was razed many y
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Bloody Full Moon 37. A Dry Gin Kind of Girl
Laura - The house in the suburbs“Why are you making things even harder?”His question hangs in the cool breeze of the spring night. The implications ensue even more questions in the silence that follows. Is it hard for him to go? Or is it difficult to accept being touched by a strigoi? Though his warm hands are still pressed over mine, his thumb gently rubbing my wrist.He sighs again and turns around. The moonlight highlights his chiseled jawline and the fullness of his lips. He glances at me, and his eyes are filled with both agony and desire. Perhaps this is only a figment of my imagination. It is simply impossible for me to tell if this is real or just my wishful thinking.“This house is in the pack’s territory. Many other wolves live nearby. You don’t have to worry.”This is just great! I stare at him. This isn’t what I expected him to say. Now he thinks I’m afraid and I hate playing the damsel in distress. I’m not like that, not anymore. The time when I was afraid and scared of
Bloody Full Moon 38. A Moroi Story
Laura - The house in the suburbsWhen my grandfather died, I was too young to remember him. Everybody says he was tall and handsome. The women in the village swooned at the sight of him. People said he had a girlfriend back in his birth hamlet, but they were both poor.He married my grandmother even though she was already pregnant at the time with my father’s older brother. She had cows, land, and almost everything you can think of for those times, except for a noble title.After his death, people reported sightings of him strolling through the main street out of the village. The more courageous ones tried to approach him, but he wouldn’t look any other way than straight ahead. It was as if he was sleepwalking.They followed him into the next village, his birthplace. Every night he went to the same house, a modest cottage among fields. He cut wood, built a fire in the hearth, kissed the sleeping woman and child in the bedroom, and then returned to the cemetery to slide back into his t
Bloody Full Moon 39. Fatherly Advice
Paul - Piatra Craiului MountainsOften compared to the back of a dinosaur, the imposing ridge of Piatra Craiului has a fairytale appearance, more of a creation taken out from the fog of heights than a shaping of the earth. Considered the pearl of the Romanian Carpathians, these mountains overwhelm through their charm, silence, and mystery, with delicate flowers that color the pastures.I stop the car where the asphalt ends. There’s quite the climbing awaiting me ahead. The track is pretty easy as long as you stay on the tourist trails. But after I reach 1000 meters in altitude, I have to go straight through the forest.The morning sun rays peek over the narrow ridge resembling a saw. I’d forgotten my jacket on the backrest of that chair, so I trudge over the slope through the chilly mountain spring air just in my shirt. My shoes are not made for climbing, rendering my endeavor even harder. They don’t provide any grip on the mixture of ice and snow that covers the ground. Here, the su
Bloody Full Moon 40. Making Friends
Laura - The house in the suburbsThe first rays of the sun find me on the floor, staring at the ceiling. The carpet is fluffy and has the typical scent of old things. I can’t imagine how hard it was for Paul to find all these things for the house. But I guess he simply delegated someone to do it for him.I stand and look around. No, that’s not it. Everything falls into place in a natural, human-like way, not as a designer would envision it. Somehow, I bet he had personally overseen the renovation.My eyes stop over the backrest of the chair in the corner. Paul’s jacket is leisurely draped over it, a reminder that he was here last night. How can a person be both warm and cold at the same time? Do I have the strength to want to find out?The jacket compels me to go at it. At first, I just brush the soft material with my fingertips, not wanting to wrinkle it. But why would I care about a damn jacket that he left behind? I yank it from the chair and crawl onto the couch with it in my arms
Bloody Full Moon 41. Keeping Distance
Laura - The meeting groundsTo my surprise, at this gathering, I feel more at ease than at the one before when Paul announced our bond. This time, their gazes aren’t focused on me, though, of course, some are still gawking and whispering.I'm delighted that Maria informed me about the gathering. I wasn't expecting her to bring me along, but it's lovely of her.Dan and Maria never leave me alone, assisting me in fitting in with small groups and making small talk. They take turns presenting me to other wolves and making me feel accepted. People even ask me stuff about my life, and I respond with a small smile as I scour the crowd for one particular tall wolf.“So, Laura, have you ever –”Someone starts a question, but I can’t hear the last part. Dark gray eyes find me through the crowd. All the sounds fade away, and nothing seems to move except him. My heart flutters. I want to jump into his arms and kiss him. Instead, I stand, frozen in place, staring at him.Paul walks up closer, rais
Bloody Full Moon 42. Waiting for the Impossible
Laura - The meeting groundsI'm still hiding behind the bushes, unwilling to move because I don't want to be seen.I was scared that I wouldn't be able to tell which one was Paul since the coats of all the wolves are mostly the same. But no one else has such a gleaming silver mane that glistens beneath the full moon.Alin's fur is darker, nearly blending in with the darkness. I could have missed his initial strike if it hadn't been for my heightened night vision. He lunges for Paul, his teeth gnashing in the air, saliva streaming from the sharp canine as he bites the emptiness.Startled, I almost jump to my feet. But when I see that Paul is holding his own, I calm down. He has avoided that first blow; he moves faster than I thought possible. Now he’s waiting for Alin’s next move.Two pairs of gleaming golden eyes battle in a war of staring. No one moves to intervene. If someone makes a challenge, the fight needs to be fair. And Paul will never ask for help, as that would be beneath hi
Bloody Full Moon 43. Bedtime Stories
Laura - The house in the suburbsIf I were a normal girl, I would probably have gotten blisters on my way home. Sure, I mean, there are perks to my immortality. Some may seem like gifts to anyone. Would you call someone crazy for being sad about not getting blisters? Then I’m crazy, alright.I’m even crazier for spending the next two days and nights cooped up in my new house, waiting for a sign from him. Have I gotten mad? In my eighty years of existence, I’ve never felt this way. Apparently, there are still things I haven’t got to explore, yet I’m too tired to search for them.Maybe I should attempt to get Paul to accompany me to the gypsy witch and see what she has to say now. If he isn't the answer to my immortality dilemma, I'd best move on before he becomes the root of a new problem in my doomed existence.I attempted to relax in an effort to block out the ideas that were wreaking havoc in my head. I slept restlessly, tossing and turning the entire night. As the nightmares resemb
Bloody Full Moon 44. Devouring Dragon
Paul - The house in the suburbsThe sun is high in the sky as I open my eyes. For a moment, I don’t recognize the room, maybe because I’ve never slept here before. But the furniture is way too familiar to not realize where I am in just a few seconds. My eyes fall on the clock, and I frown. It's ten o'clock. What the hell? Why did I sleep so late?Laura’s story remained inside my mind, making me dream of princesses and dragons. I would laugh and say that a grown-up man like me shouldn’t dream of fairy tales, but this wasn’t a fairytale at all. How can a dragon rescue a princess who is willing to die? There's no villain in sight to confront, no wicked minions to punish with fire. How can one rescue someone who refuses to be saved?As if sensing I’ve woken up, Laura enters the room with coffee. The steamy, strong scent combines with the lilac one that permanently follows her around. I should find out what the meaning of that is.“Good morning!” Laura places the coffee cup on the nights
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- Bloody Full Moon 85. Epilogue
- Bloody Full Moon 84. True Love's Bite
- Bloody Full Moon 83. Reading the Future
- Bloody Full Moon 82. Ticking Clock
- Bloody Full Moon 81. Never Let Him Go
- Bloody Full Moon 80. Love and Fear
- Bloody Full Moon 79. Serendipity
- Bloody Full Moon 78. Lilac Scent
- Bloody Full Moon 77. Before the Beep
