ROSE‘What is it?’ Rum asked, offering his hand. I took it and shrugged. ‘I thought I saw something.’ And Rum halted. ‘What is it? What did you see?’ I described it to him and he turned to the pond and smiled at it. Then, he looked at me again and said, ‘I know a place we can use as our hideout. Come on.’ *****A cave, located out of the sight of the pond, somewhere above the middle of the mountain—a quarter of height from the peak. I thought the cave would be empty, but there were traces of its last occupants—stones arranged in the circle of what appears to be a campfire, long sticks carved like skewers, woollen covers, and thick patches of dried grass. Rum was moving around with ease searching while I stood in one spot absorbing my new environment. The air was as cooling as the air conditioned space inside B.A.D. but it carried the freshness of the snow at the peck of the mountain and the clear water of the pond. Gathering the front seams of the robe around my neck, I ignor
ROSE Warm and moist lips cushioned down on my right shoulder, stirring me from my dreams. Then I felt the soft thudding of a heartbeat against my skin and the warm flesh of a strong chest against my back. I was under the covers and his chest hair was grazing my shoulder blades. The hair along his arms were tickling my waist and his thighs were rubbing against mine. His large warm hands were on my breasts, squeezing them gently, feeling them whole. A shiver shot up my spine. ‘Morning, cub,’ greeted the deep raspy voice and a hand glided up my front, caressing and stroking, before thick fingers reached my jaw and nudged my chin aside. Then, the same lips moulded softly against mine. ‘Mmm….’ I kissed him back and then opened my eyes when he pulled away. His nose buried in the crook of my neck and he took a strong whiff, pouring goosebumps all over me. ‘Keithen…,’ I moaned, the name I had screamed with pleasure just a few hours ago. He kissed my nape. ‘I never knew this pl
ROSE 'This is amazing….' That was the twentieth one I've heard since we entered the streets. 'No one's stopping or gawking,' Rum breathed in awe. He flipped around with a large grin and a gaze of disbelief. 'This really works!' It was the biggest compliment I've received, since I started styling him. And because he kept repeating it, I felt less awkward getting the praise. Almost like it was normal for me to receive one. I smiled at our hands holding each other, my feet kept moving alongside his, following his leisure pace. But unlike him, I kept my face within the large flaps of my hood. 'This feels so different.' He was grinning like a kid who's just discovered the marvels of chocolate, and I couldn't help but smile along. 'You don't take this path often?' I sneaked a peek at a woman piling up some potatoes for her stall. 'Only when it's empty.' Rum was boldly looking around, like he was walking down the runway, soaking in the atmosphere. 'It's weird when they keep st
ROSE I heard this voice earlier. The authoritative one. The one that belonged to—. 'Did the Luna sent you two?' he asked. Did he not recognise Rum? Oh, we weren't facing him directly so he couldn't tell. I glanced at Rum. His eyes were on the floor, struggling. He didn't reply. He couldn't. If there was a hole in the ground right now, he'd jump into it without any hesitation. I kinda understood why. I caught the name too. Earlier. And I knew for sure this was him—Rum's best friend and the husband of his first love—Gamma Hector. 'Speak up!' the voice hissed in a hushed tone, as though he didn't want to be heard by anyone else other than us. I should probably answer him. Rum looked like he wanted to remain anonymous. 'W-We're here to fetch for Alpha Magnus,' I said, mimicking the language here. And Rum's face jerked up, appalled. What the fuck? He mouthed. Glaring back, I flashed my palms in my robes and mouthed, What else then? 'Alpha Magnus?' The werewolf at t
ROSEOh, what a jerk! My feet stomped forward, ignoring the cries behind me. 'Hey! You're going the wrong way, goddamn it!' Rum came after me. 'Rose!' Why can't he tell me? The name of his first love, the one who dumped him to marry his best friend. Just tell me if she was Rola or Roseb, is it that tough?! 'ROSE!' A fierce grip came over my wrist and a strong force twirled me around. Two angry blue sapphires bored into my face. 'Have you forgotten about the rogues? Stay close to me, damn it, what the fuck is wrong with you?' I tried to pry my hand out. 'Nothing's wrong! There! That's what you wanted to hear. Nothing's wrong with me! I'm perfectly fine!' His grip tightened. I could tell from the look on his face, he was trying to fight the agitation. 'I was being honest when I said I don't want to talk about it.' His voice was calm and serious. Which made me feel childish—and hence even more infuriating. 'Because it's all in the past.' I stared at the ground. 'Fuck… that look.
ROSEHe made me rest on top of him, all stretched out from head to toes, so it would feel like I’m lying on a mattress. The giggles couldn’t stop. His arms circled my waist, half-hugging me, half keeping me from rolling off him. ‘Seatbelts,’ he said and I giggled harder. ‘You like that, huh?’ I nuzzled my nose against his shirt and then lay my left cheek on his chest and followed his heart beating softly against my ear. ‘Yeah, you like it.’ His body tensed up and I felt a kiss on the top of my head and it relaxed again. ‘Let’s rest a bit before we find that irresponsible feline.’ I giggled lightly. A long silence washed over us and then, very quietly, he said, ‘I’m with you now. And you said you like me. So don’t go back to the past, eh?’ I opened my eyes and lifted myself to hover my face over his. Those blue sparkles caught the hint of sunlight that managed to sneak through the canopy above us and were dancing to their own music. Suddenly, I saw daddy’s smile when he looked
ROSE I stared at the swell in the throat of the one who had just made love to me in the most passionate way. His calm breathing has become a lullaby necessary to numb my senses and put me to sleep. Since that day on the roof, I couldn’t sleep like normal. Maybe the sudden switch to a normal life—one without bullies, without someone constantly berating me, without the stress and adrenaline grip to keep my body in a perpetual alert and flight or fight mode—is the cause of this. I have so much energy stored at the end of the day that I lay awake throughout the night. Or maybe it was that dream of me turning into a monster that gnaws on my nerves, keeping it awake and alert. I reached out to stroke that angled jaw, rubbing my skin along the stubble, and his breathing skipped a beat. The arms around my waist tightened and I was pushed deeper into his embrace, my breasts flattened against his muscular chest, its black curls tickling me. I felt a smile on my lips and leaned in to k
ROSEI walked up to the handsome guy standing by the river, pondering.Hands listless at his side, his eyes at some place distant where I can’t see, he looked lost…and frightened. I slid my fingers through his and snuggled to his side, and he blinked, awoke from his thoughts, and glanced down at our hands entwined before turning to me. He lifted our hands and kissed the back of mine before pressing it to our chest. ‘You look like shit,’ I muttered, resting my cheek against his shoulder. A chuckle vibrated through his skin to my cheek. ‘I feel like shit.’ I wanted to check his face, out of concern, but I knew that would make him feel worse, so I shrugged and said in the most casual tone I could muster, ‘that makes two of us.’ He laughed a little and fell into another long silence. Then, very quietly, he said, ‘My uncle’s consumed by the dark whims.’ I tensed up but forced myself not to look at him. Instead, I stared at the flowing waters before us, trying to distract myself wit