4. Willow: Secret is Safe

I thought about it. Yes, I would be going.

Just call me a risk taker, the probability of having that sum of money in my account was very high. I believed Luca, I can't explain why.

My boss let me off very early at work. For some reason, Luca didn't tell George I was going to his house to be a maid for a family dinner, instead, George lectured me on how to be a good waitress at a seven-star hotel.

I should have been scared Luca wasn't open to George about my whereabouts, but I was taking the risk and I was relieved I already left a note by my mum's bedside this time, stating who I went with in case anything happened to me.

I stood in front of my porch by 7:59 pm and exactly one minute later, a Koenigsegg Gemera pulled up in front of me. I'm awestruck at the extravaganza and it took me another minute to confirm if the ride was meant for me. I clutched my bag tighter and held my breath as I walked towards the car, the back door opened itself and I gently went in.

It was dark in here, but I rested my back on the bucket-shaped, hexagon-like pattern of the chair for a minute to catch my breath. He was definitely a billionaire. Who picks a maid up at her house in this car??

"Welcome, Mousey." I heard beside me and I shrieked. I didn't expect to hear Luca's voice in the car too.

"Fuck, you scared me!" I held my chest in relief. He didn't make any comment. The high beams suddenly came on and it brightened the car.

"A little brief of what you're expected to do tonight." He handed a piece of paper to me. I skimmed through it, it contained the dos and don'ts of the night. One of the don'ts caught my eye.

"Don't speak? You mean at all?" I turned to him and asked.

"At all." He responded without looking at me.

"What? Why? I'm new there, they would ask me questions."

"I'll answer all their questions," He said. I kept quiet and continued reading the other rules in the paper.

All he just wanted me to do was to ensure that I served his food and drinks and no one else should, I stayed by his side and watched him eat, I kept quiet and let him speak and I took care of his needs. This work seemed too easy for such a ridiculous amount of money, but here I was about to do it.

The drive was silent, I couldn't believe I was with the same monster that made me pee my pants yesterday. I glanced at him, his eyes were closed this time like he was asleep but he played with his moustache. I kept looking, his details were amazing, and he was drop-dead gorgeous. I've only seen his type on TV, but he was right in front of me in real life.

"Stop staring, Mousey," his deep voice resonated in my ears and I swear my heart skipped. How did he know I was staring? His eyes opened and he looked in my direction. "You have a lot running through your mind"

"Yes..I..just" I stuttered trying to make a meaningful sentence. I can't seem to focus with his eyes fixed on me. I looked away towards the window. "Would you tell George that I saw him yesterday?" I asked.

He was silent.

"George has been there for me. If he finds out I know about ... what he is, he might fire me." I muttered.

"Your secret is safe with me," he said.

"Thank you." I sighed. "Wait..." I turned back to Luca. "This should be the other way round. I am the one keeping your secrets, you all should be scared I know about this!"

"You should be afraid of getting eaten, Mousey. We don't need anyone to keep our secret" he asserted. I frowned and looked out the window again, the sight of their beastly face covering my thoughts.

I had lots of questions. What were they? Why were they like that? I wanna know more about them, about Luca. He was the less scary one, yet others were scared of him. I wanna ask why he saved me and yet was offering me a good job. Why isn't he discussing with his group how to get rid of me? Goosebumps coated my skin at the thoughts.

"Werewolves." He mumbled. I sat up and he opened his eyes and stared at me too. "That's what we are."

I knew this sounded stupid, but Luca definitely read my mind. It's like he could sense my every thought. His presence made me nervous, relaxed, and afraid at the same time. I barely knew this man, but I wanted to know more about him.

"Including my driver," he said

My eyes trailed towards the driver and I caught him staring at me from the mirror. His face changed suddenly and I froze on my seat and rubbed my palms against each other.

It sounded fictional, like some paranormal name for real-life monsters and if I hadn't seen it myself I would not have believed it. Werewolves. Wolves in human skin.

"We're here."The driver said and stopped the car instantly. My breathing seized for some seconds. I was here to do the job I was paid for. I was a personal maid to a werewolf monster.

"Stay in the car," Luca told me and got down from his side of the car, then I watched him turn around to my side of the car and he opened the door for me. I was in shock at his gesture, no human had opened the car door for me, and a monster was doing it. The bars have been raised ladies, get yourself a werewolf monster, cause what?

I walked out of the car and he shut the door. "Walk beside me," he said. I felt butterflies in my tummy. Why was he treating me with so much respect? I was just a one-night maid, a girl he should have killed after finding out his secret. I should be rubbing his feet.

I did exactly as he said and walked beside him to the huge mansion we approached. Getting into the building, Luca held the doorknob of the front door and paused, he turned in my direction and smirked. "My family might be a little scary"

My heart skipped. "How scary? George scary?"

"A little bit more." He opened the door and walked in, I strolled behind him breathing harder than before. Why did he have to tell me that at the last minute?

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