ROSE Elena was now trying to break the two men apart like a mother hen. “Stop it you two! Ellis!” “Apologise to her!” Ellis grabbed a fistful of Rum’s hair, about to yank it off his scalp, while Rum was pushing Ellis’s chin up, about to break his jaw. “RUM, PLEASE!” I cried out. “Shut up, Rose!” Rum barked, gritting his teeth. I grabbed the remote controller off the table and plucked out the batteries and raised it high, aiming at the two grunting men. “STOP IT, RUM! OR I’LL THROW THIS MERCURY AT YOU!” Instantly, everyone froze. Then, Elena swiftly pulled Ellis behind her. Rum squinted at the thing in my hand then scoffed. “Batteries? Seriously, Rose—.” “APOLOGISE TO ELENA.” I glared at him. The superstar was briefly baffled and then quickly smirked like a sullen teenager. “Or what? Throw that tiny shit at me? Sure. They look like weapons of destruction.” I observed the batteries with amusement. “They are weapons of destruction to werewolves—just cut them open and
ROSE “S-Sure! How can I—?” His face jerked back and he leaned in. “I want to kiss you.” “What?!” “Just a kiss.” He moved closer. “Like a peck on the lips.” His body was slanted, the upper half leaning over me. It was then I realised that I was shifting away. “B-But why?” His eyes widened with some sort of an embarrassment and then he retreated back to his spot and his head drooped like a wilted flower. “Dan said to give me a day off. In return, I have to give him an award winning song.” He bent his knees to flatten his feet on the ground, grabbed his forehead and groaned in frustration. “Four hours and not a goddamn word… Fuck….” “But how will a kiss help?” My heart was beating nervously. Do I really have to kiss Rum? I mean, I’ve always wanted to feel those fine lips against mine… but… not in this cold, unromantic, meaningless way. His face lifted at me, and his eyes were casting a blaming glare at me. “I need a good fuck to release my stress. But I can’t—cause I’m un
ROSE His new song feels… strange. But real. Why do I feel as though it was about me? As though he was singing to me… a confession of undying love for me. I looked away and shut my eyes to push away the thoughts in my head. Don't be silly, Rose. Didn't Rum specifically ask you not to fall in love with him? I opened my eyes and stared at the carpeted floor. That's right. I can’t fall in love with him. I need to stay in this job. If I could be Rum’s assistant for long enough, I would have more opportunities to build my portfolio and become a stylist at B.A.D. Then, I would be one step closer to fulfilling daddy’s dream. Rum stopped strumming abruptly and asked, "What do you think?" My face jolted up to stare at him. “It’s good!” “Don’t you think it’s a bit… dark?” He looked concerned. “Well, the lyrics are different from your usual style. But I still like them.” He was genuinely surprised. “For real?” I nodded sincerely. “I do relate to them—. I mean, they sound hone
ROSE I was shoved into the last stall. “Do it!” Christy blasted, her beautifully drawn eyes in rage. “We need to be back in ten, Rose,” Tessa smirked from behind her phone. “Hurry up.” I stared at the camera lens pointing at me like the barrel of a gun, the chilling terror of being executed gripped my throat and seized my reactions. Christy was more impatient. “STRIP!” she hissed, her eyeballs almost popping from their sockets. “P-Please… d-don’t do this.” I heard my voice, small and scared, begging. Christy grabbed my ponytail and yanked my head up. “You should’ve thought it through when you lied to me, Dirty Rosey.” “I s-swear I d-didn’t—.” The phone moved away and Tessa’s pretty face, infuriated, showed up. “Sure… like how you didn’t tell Christy that I attacked her in the ladies’ room and backstabbed her before Rum?” “So I’d get back at her, right?” Christy glared at me. “You stinking witch. I knew something was wrong when you asked me all those stupid questions
ROSE The woman was shoved aside and thick fingers shot out to grab my neck. “Blake!” cried the baffled woman. My chin was lifted to the heavens, pushing my eyes together, elongating my neck, and the air grew thin. “You do not speak to her like that, puny human,” the thunder voice threatened. Then, my feet left the ground and I found myself clutching onto the wrist of the hand that was hoisting me by my neck. “BLAKE!” The woman screamed. “Put her down! She’s turning red!” But the fingers around my neck tightened. And I stopped breathing. I also stopped kicking my legs and closed my eyes. Let them… let them do what they want with me. I’m so tired. I’m so done with all this mess…. If this is how it’s going to end, so be it…. Goodbye—. THUD! I landed hard on the floor and started gasping and coughing hard, as fresh air gushed into my lungs like a tsunami wave. Then growls and groans of a fight jabbed my ears and I looked up, just in time to see the giant black wolf sw
ROSE Once we arrived at the roof of my apartment building, I got off the wolf’s back and Rum shifted back to his human form as I stalked off. He caught up with me in one stride, grabbed my wrist and pulled me to face him, wanting to continue the conversation from the warehouse. “You’re not going until you tell me what the fuck happened.” But I’m acutely aware of our surroundings and as adamant as he is. If anyone saw Rum at my apartment building talking to me, imagine what they’d think. Rum would be caught in another compromised situation. I tried to shake his hand off me. “You can’t order me around anymore. You’re no longer my boss.” When it didn’t work, I tried wrenching my wrist out of his grasp. But his grip intensified. “Oh yeah? Says who.” I winced slightly and breathed, “Says me.” I stared into his eyes. “I’ve quitted B.A.D.” He shifted closer, his eyes darkening to a dangerous shade. “Since when?” “Since this afternoon.” “I see.” Holding my eyes, he whipped o
RUM “YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON TO MISS YOUR PHOTOSHOOT! THE ENTIRE FUCKING TEAM WAITED FOR HOURS!” The CEO of B.A.D. screamed, forty years of his anguish towards the entertainment industry flushed out at once. Fuck…. I turned from the astonished looks of the Dark Moon couple and cleared my throat quietly before slapping the device back to my ears. Clipping my nose with my fingers, I croaked, barely letting my voice through, “Dan… I tried to call you….” I coughed as violently as I could. “Jesus Christ, you sound like shit.” The CEO groaned exasperatingly. “Why are you so damn weak these days?” That’s because you fucking rushed me around and my schedule feels like a million orgasms lined up one after another! “I’ll feel better tomorrow—I swear…,” I wheezed and coughed violently. “You better get an FBC,” he demanded, trying hard to disarm himself so as to not worsen my condition. “Will do… and… and I’ll take another… another commercial.” I squeezed my eyes in sheer di
ROSE I stared at the door as it continued knocking. “Open up, Rose!” Rum called out. I shook my head. Rum shouldn’t be here—what if someone sees him? As though he read my mind, he said through the door, “I heard someone coming, Rose. Are you sure you want them to see me standing in front of your apartment?” Of course, not! I unlocked and opened the door—and something flew past me. Then, the door was shut and locked; the curtains were drawn; doors were opened and closed—all in a few blinks of my eyes. And then Rum suddenly appeared before me, glaring at me. “So your resignation letter. Sent?” The smug lift of his mouth brought the heat back to my eyes. My view started to blur once more. I pursed my lips to stop a sniffle and stared at the wooden floor. He took a step forward. And I shuffled backwards. “Of course, I did.” “Liar.” He took one large stride and his feet came to an inch from mine. Then, muscular arms wrapped around me and I crashed against a broad,