Laura - Paul’s villaMy knees quiver as his hands grab my face and compel me to gaze at him. Suddenly, I feel weaker and more vulnerable than when I feared I would be imprisoned indefinitely by the strigois.“Now tell me. What do you have to say in your defense?” I'm trying to find the words to answer him, but they don't come easily. I can't deny it. An omission is also a lie. And I lied to him.His warm hands soothe me while his gaze and voice send a wave of fear through my body. Do I fear what he can do to me or what he’ll refuse me?I can't take my eyes off him, especially now when he's just an inch away. From his eyebrows to his jawline, all his facial features are perfect. I can stare at thi

Laura - Bellu CemeteryOn my way to the cemetery, I stop to purchase a flower pot and a hat. I bring a flower pot and pay the caretaker to assist with maintaining the flowers every time I visit my parents' grave. What will I do with this flower pot? Every spot is already taken; there is no place for new ones. That's what happens when you come every month for more than two decades.I can conceal my identity quite well with this hat. Those attending the resting place of their loved ones often gaze at each other, and a few even recognize one another. It would be a mistake on my side to seem permanently youthful.I tuck my hair beneath the hat and pull its bill down to obscure my face even more. Angel statues watch over the tombs as I stroll to the location where most of my family is buried. Outside of a book, only this

Laura - On the way to Paul’s villaThe dusk sky brews with thick clouds over the bustling traffic and the tall buildings. Paul is focused on driving and hasn’t said a word since we left Beatrice’s apartment. The weight of his silence presses heavily over my chest. When I glance at him, he doesn't meet my eyes. Instead, he looks straight ahead, though I bet he knows I'm peeking at him. I fiddle with my fingers in my lap for a while. But no more. What’s enough is enough.“You don’t believe me.”"What you've told me about your mind-reading abilities is difficult to swallow. Allow me some time to think about it."His eyes are still on the road, and he doesn’t look at me at all

Paul - His villa(“Into the mouth of the wolf” is a Romanian saying which has the same meaning as “Into the belly of the beast”.)After a long day at the office and countless mind-numbing meetings, I pull up in front of my house's driveway. People have already begun to flow through the gates. I have to suck it up and prepare myself since the worst meeting of all is yet to come.I'm getting a headache as I go through the wolf swarm. Handshakes, hugs, and back pats are all part of the ritual anytime we meet outside of the real world. Although many of them work for my firm, we maintain a professional atmosphere in the downtown office building.Laughter fills my living room and brightens my mood. The large table in the center of the ground-floor ballr

Laura - Wolves Inc Office BuildingSince yesterday night, I haven't seen Paul. When I arrived downstairs in the morning, everything appeared as if no one had been there just a few hours before. Dan was already waiting for me. Paul had apparently already departed for work and assigned Dan to give me a ride and show me around.The tour is quite thorough, leaving nothing unexplained. I follow him through a layout of several long corridors, each lined with glass walls and white marble. As we pass an open space area, people with headphones talk simultaneously in a cacophony of voices. “Here is the call center for customer support. Most of them are wolves with abilities related to empathy and emotions, very suited to this line of work.”I stop as I hear Dan&r