The People We Keep Novels & Stories

“Wanna-be?” “All humans who learn about us, fall into three categories, dear. There are the ones like you, who are born into the world. You’re like family,” she said, touching Violet on the arm with a sickly sweet smile. “Then there are the allies, like your mother. People who understand why we hide and try to help us the best they can. And finally, the wanna-be. Humans who want to be us and try their best to be like us.” She brushed her grayed hair from her face with an air of superiority. “Though, they will never be like us.”

It was an all new feeling to me that I just couldn't bring myself to forget the way his tongue grazed my lip. My heart sank in disappointment. A huge fellow stepped out of the truck. He wore big black sunglasses which covered half of his face. The print on his blue shirt said, "Keep Calm and Enjoy My Face". I had no idea what that meant. He turned his head to my direction and one of his brows shot up so high it could have reached his hairline. I looked around me, wondering if anybody else were beside me. There was Manong Yael, but the huge fellow wasn't exactly marching towards him. He was coming towards me! My body straightened and snapped in attention.

I walked inside and one of the Omegas ran to me immediately. "Are you alright, Alpha? Your room is ready at your request," Liz spoke, bowing her head. "Thank you, Liz. You may leave," I said smiling. In my castle, we were known for being kind to the people that it employed which was uncommon within our ranks. We prided ourselves treating our employed wolves gracefully.

We made the mistake of searching for a mastermind. We assumed there had to be one person giving orders. One person benefiting from everything. One person at the center. She paused. The next lines were underlined. There isn't. The room remained silent. There are gatekeepers. There are protectors. There are beneficiaries. Some know more than others. Most know very little. The structure survives because nobody sees all of it. Nina slowly lowered the photograph she had been holding. "That's why everybody's stories feel incomplete." Nobody responded immediately.

The people we love most. are the people we can never imagine losing.

I ended up nodding. The moment I agreed, he sat up, beaming and started typing away on his phone. … Just before we stepped into the private room, I couldn't help but worry. "What if I can't remember any of your friends?" Elijah just smiled. "Then it's up to them to make an impression." "Ta-daa!" The moment the door opened, the room lit up like a talent show stage. A row of people walked across the floor like models on a runway.

Christopher looked at me, unable to stop himself from shouting, "So, you've already been planning to leave from the start! You've thrown away more than a decade of our bond for vanity, Helena Kingsley. Don't you remember what we said in front of Mia?" I couldn't help but laugh, though as I laughed, my eyes filled with tears. Three years ago, I could have left them when they were starting their business. However, I chose to stay and quietly help them build up Lewis Group's business empire. Back then, the three of us each only had a cup of instant noodles on New Year's Eve. Even so, we were happy. When did everything start to change? "I didn't forget. It's you two who forgot first."

“Maybe because you used to. A lot.” I don’t answer. Instead, I bury my face in her hair, trying to drown out my own guilt. But her scent burns my throat. It’s nothing like Nalini’s — no warmth, no calm, just the heavy sweetness of someone trying too hard to be irreplaceable. She pulls away just enough to meet my eyes. “You know,” she says, “people are starting to talk. About us. About when you’ll make it official.” My head snaps up. “Official?”

“And if we don’t?” “Then we leave. We take the book, go somewhere far away where no one knows us, and keep it safe. The truth stays alive, but it stays hidden. Maybe for years, maybe forever. The Covenant keeps doing what they’ve always done, and most people never know any different.”

I said quietly. Elena took my hand. "Our baby is with us. That's all that matters." Around us, people coughed and whispered and waited. A woman with track marks read a Bible; an old man clutched his chest and rocked back and forth; a teenager with a swollen eye sat perfectly still, staring at nothing. These were my people now—not the billionaires and tech executives I'd once called peers, but the forgotten, the desperate, the ones who paid cash because credit was a luxury they couldn't afford.