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

ROSE ‘But there was nothing here when we first came. And there’s nothing here now.’ I scanned the familiar vast sea of green grass swaying gently in the fresh mountain breeze. Rum looked around. ‘It’s hidden. That’s why we can’t see it.’ He tugged my hand and moved closer to the pond. ‘It’s here alright. I’m sure of it.’ ‘Rum….’ He looked at me with a warm smile that seemed to remind me of what I had agreed to earlier. I need you to trust me, Rose. I squeezed his hand to tell him I’m fine and shifted closer to him to let him know that I trust him. I guess I was scared to leave Mrs. Hook’s cave because that place felt safe; it was high enough to disappear from plain sight and Mrs. Hook has lived there all her life—well most of it—so with her skills, she’s a strong fighter. As we circled the pond, I observed that strong jaw I’ve held and kissed many times and chided myself for being a scaredy cat. The dark whims are contained within a single werewolf so there’d be none floa

ROSE Rum quickly searched the second scroll he’d picked up earlier while he explained, ‘I remember reading it. The dark whims must’ve struck a deal with my uncle.’ A deal? I arrived beside him, watching his finger scroll across the page. ‘Like a contract?’ ‘Yes!’ Rum unrolled some more and scanned the paragraphs. ‘I remember reading it… it must be here somewhere….’ ‘Kinda like the Ghostrider.’ I still feel surreal about the idea. ‘Or Doctor what’s his name, who made a pact with the devil and sold their souls for something—that kind of deal?’ Rum frowned at me. ‘Goddamn it, the Ghostrider didn’t sell his soul—his father did.’ Irritation narrowed my eyes. ‘Who’s the human here?’ Those blue eyes widened with the recognition of his signature response and rolled skyward. ‘Fine. Five points to Cintilar.’ He returned his focus to the scroll and added, ‘but no–it’s not like that.’ I was grinning from ear to ear when he exclaimed, ‘here it is!’ And I shifted closer to read the p

ROSE The library? I couldn’t stay focused on my thoughts. What did I do? Oh god… my tongue kept twirling around his, sliding and stroking, deliciously addictive. His hands slid up my dress from my waist to my breasts and started fondling them passionately. ‘Mmm…,’ I moaned in approval. I needed to get closer, to feel all his muscles… its strength and power—and my palms pressed against the door to push my body forward. The effort was rewarded with a grunt of delight from him—his brows knitted in frustration, as though we were in a competition and he had lost, and his body slammed against mine, banging my back on the door—-his kisses, fiercer, urging me to keep up. And I did, moaning harder, clutching him tighter, even though his chest was grazing my breasts like a dough, flattening my back against the door. Just when things were becoming hazy, his knee came between my thighs and started rubbing…. Electrifying sensations shot up from my toes, tearing my mouth away to let o

ROSEI jolted upright. Where am I? The wooden table with plates of half eaten lunch… the fireplace stocked up with fresh wood… the closed wooden door… the bright window… the naked superstar Rum sleeping soundly next to me—. Jesus Christ… I hooked my hair around my ear and rubbed my face, letting out a sigh of relief. We are in the werewolf world—not the human world. There’s no Goldie Sparks running after me with a gun, screaming, calling me a whore, the slut who brings the downfall of her beloved, superstar Rum. A light snore snapped me back to the cool air of the stone hut, the soft feathery sheets of the bed and the familiar warmth of the Alpha beside me. All the time up till lunch, he practised summoning that healing light inside him, and it made him so vexed that he immediately grabbed me after lunch, and we had wild, crazy sex until I knocked out due to exhaustion. I guess he slept right after I did—the plates weren’t cleared. I laid down again and snuggled against that b