ROSE “So what happened in the room?” I looked up from my plate of untouched sandwich at Ambrose, who was eyeing me with the concern of an old friend. After fixing a concoction of healing juice for Rum, Ellis and Elena left for home. Elena wanted to stay, but Ellis felt that they had to move fast and warn the others back home. Elena then argued that she would stay here alone—to which Ellis insisted, for the first time looking like the angry possessive husband, that ‘a Luna never leaves her Alpha’s side for another werewolf’—even when that werewolf is, in their eyes, ‘a cub’. And, of course, Elena, with love in her eyes, shrunk to a meek lamb and left quietly with her ‘Alpha’. “Rose?” The calm and concerned voice jarred me back to the worried face. I blinked and looked down at the hand covering mine, squeezing it gently, and felt a weak smile on my lips. I looked up again and said, “Ellis asked me what happened. And I told him. He found it strange that I could contain the silv

ROSE I decided to stay. What choice do I have? I called Jill to apologise, only to hear her say, "You ungrateful girl! I gave you a job, thinking that you needed one. And you hang me out to dry?! My hair salon is not some fucking pitstop!" No matter how hard I tried to apologise, she wouldn't hear any of it. I couldn't possibly tell her that I was trying to save a werewolf from becoming a government property and a rat lab. Why would she believe me? What has that got to do with her hair salon? So I hastily disconnected after the tenth apology. The next person to contact me was, of course, Joy. "So you left in the middle of work for Rum?" She sounded frustrated. "I'm really sorry, Joy—." "It's always him, isn't it? Even though you said it's over with him, you weren't exactly over him." That pinched me. "He's been nothing but horrible to you, and all it takes is just a voice in your head telling you that he'll be in danger, and you start running to him!" "He really got

ROSE He grabbed a few Kleenex and wiped the insides of my thighs. And a giggle slipped from me. I chuckled at his curiously knitted brows and whispered, “It tickles.” His left brow raised in surprise. Without looking away, he tried again and I giggled some more, trying to push his hand away, which made him repeat the stroking motion again and again, until I was chuckling and panting hard at the same time. “Stop it… Rum! Ha, ha, ha….” But he was having too much fun teasing me. And then my foot reacted and kicked him in the jaw. “Oomph!” I jolted upright to check on him. “Oh my God, are you alright? I didn’t mean to—.” “Kick me?” whined the superstar grouchily, rubbing the sore spot. “You call that an accident? It’s right where it hurts the most! Did you join the martial arts camp or something?” “Aww… I’m sorry.” I reached out to stroke where he was rubbing and smiled sweetly. “What can I do to make it better? Blow on it?” And those electrifying blue eyes deepened anot

ROSE “No reason? What about the contract? Our agreement?” His body pressed down on me, and I felt the butterflies fluttering madly again. “I just told you I wasn’t thinking.” “Then, I’ll give you something to think about the next time this happens, you ungrateful cub—.” I frowned. “Why do you keep calling me ‘cub’? I’m not a kid—.” “Shut up, Rose.” Rum grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head as his face came dangerously close to mine. “The next time you plan on leaving me like that, you better make sure that I can’t find you. Because when I do… I’ll make you regret even worse for doing it twice to me.” I didn’t dare to breathe. I couldn’t look away from those fierce blue eyes. And then, very slowly, I felt it—large, strong and pulsating like a violent heartbeat—entering me, pushing at my walls, stretching my insides nicely to its shape. A glorious sensation blew me over. My lips parted with a moan of surprise and delight escaping into the dimness around us. “Ah….”

ROSE A cold chuckle followed by a—WHACK! My butt hit the soil with a thud—which would be louder if it was B.A.D.’s toilet floor—and then the side of my body slammed against something blunt—a tiny bump in the ground. “Ooph!” I winced, the sheer pain instantly shut down my reflexes. “Hold her,” the deep voice growled. And I was grabbed and flipped around harshly, then pinned to the ground. Fuck. Different place, same thing. Why can’t these people just be nice? Scarface knelt down, his smirk clear as the blue sky behind him, and then glided his fingers down the curve of my cheek. “I asked you a question, pup. And it’s rude to not answer it.” And Wacko burst into another series of high pitched cackling. “After you, me.” “Goddess bluff…,” groaned the female voice. “Must I be here?” “Can you speak?” Long, thick fingers slid around my neck, tightening. I pressed my lips together even tighter. And the fingers tightened some more. “Answer me.” Those dark green eyes came cl