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,
ROSE I hate to admit this, but Rum is right: I am stupid. What do werewolves eat? Meat, of course! They are carnivores! But Rum loves beef the most. And since Blake and Tana isn't picky with the choice of meat (surprisingly), I ordered roast beef and ribs from a restaurant a few blocks away. Then, I was chastised for comparing werewolves to pigeons (which I didn't) and ordered some beef steaks from another restaurant a few more blocks away. While waiting for the food to arrive, Rum settled on the couch that I sleep in, again, taking the spot closest to the other couch and keeping me away from the couple, and motioned for Blake, Alpha of the Dark Moon pack, to begin the talk, which he had promised to do. And Blake began. "So we went on a trip—.” Rum exhaled. “Yeah. To disperse the dark whims.” Blake stared at the floor while Tana looked at him with worry and sympathy. “It was a rushed trip,” the low bass voice continued. “Ellis detected its energy increasing in folds,
RUM With Rose temporarily removed, I returned to the living room to address the issue of my apology. “Keithen,” Tana began. “You heard what we said to Miss Rose .” “I’ll do it,” I said. I crossed my arms and stared fiercely. “You want me to write a note to that cub?” Blake looked as though a boulder was lifted from his chest. “We couldn’t ask for more.” I jabbed a finger at him. “You owe me one.” The Alpha observed me with a thought in his mind and then muttered, “I owe this life—and the years with my son—to your father so I owe you more than one.” I was already seated at the low table, writing the note (I, Keithen Hook, Alpha of the Silver Ring pack, formally apologise to Alpha Blake of the Dark Moon pack…) when Blake dropped to his knees before me. And then his mate did the same. “When the time comes, cub,” Blake lifted a firm look at me. “I will fight for you.” “But you’re already in the Howling Five. We’ve sworn allegiance to each other, haven’t we?” I mustered a
ROSE "W-What about me?" I suddenly felt uneasy. As though I was naked before him. I tried to stand to clear the plates, but he grabbed my wrist and kept me seated on the carpeted floor. "Stop running away." He stared at me. "I'm not r-running away—. Wait. Why do you think I'm running away? I'm not running away from anything." I was puzzled—and flustered, because Rum was scrutinizing my face for flaws, and I felt like I had many because I had no time for a meticulous skincare routine. "Contact lens." Rum concluded in the tone of a doctor giving his diagnosis. I blinked furiously. Contact… lens? "You need to ditch those fugly glasses—." "No!" I pushed at him and stood. He swiftly followed suit and grabbed my wrists to stop me from going anywhere. "Did your parents get you those glasses?" "No," I replied almost instantly. "Excellent! They've got no sentimental value. You can lose them—." He tried to take them off me. But I swayed my face back, away from his hands. "No,