SEVEN"You can't catch me!" Winter squealed after throwing a strawberry into my mouth. She stood up and ran away, holding the hem of her flowery dress.Without thinking, I ditched the bowl of strawberries, got up from the mat, and called out behind her, "I am gonna get you!""I'd like to see you try, Mr. Seven Greywolf!" Winter, whose hair was now flying in the wind, teased as she ran.The speed on my heels was a little lesser than usual. I allowed Winter to run halfway through the garden before picking up speed. "Ha-ha-ha! You missed!" Winter teased, swerving to the left behind a large tree.She took to her heels again. I watched her go for a few moments before running after her. My shirt flapped against the breeze. Winter looked back and stuck her tongue out at me. "I am faster than you, Seven! You are never gonna catch me!""Oh, really?" I called out, picking up my pace. In no time, I grabbed her by the waist and collapsed on my back intentionally. "There, I caught you!"Winter b
SEVEN"What did you just say?" I asked and then laughed. "You are joking, aren't you? Are you a comedian or a doctor? Pick a struggle."The doctor pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I am a doctor, Mr. Seven. Your doctor. And this is no joke. You have to use a wheelchair until further notice."The laugh that was about to roll up my tongue disappeared. My tongue went dry. I looked at the doctor, only to find that he was actually very serious."Doc, how can that be?" Becky asked.I fired. "Are you saying that I am now cripple? That's impossible!"The doctor moved closer. "I know that this might sound ridiculous. But just as your survival was a miracle, your lack of sensitivity on both feet is a mystery. We checked your spinal cord, but there's barely an injury on it. The problem is with your legs. I am afraid you are now a cripple."A high-pitched noise rang out in my ears. It was as if someone just dealt a heavy blow to my head. Were my ears deceiving me? I was no
SEVENThe slippery liquid burned my lips as soon as it made contact. It was as if I had lit a match and brought it to my lips. Quickly, I moved the bottle away and wiped my lips with the back of my hand.My tongue accidentally brushed my lips. The bleach tasted awful. I retched and spat on the floor. The awful taste lingered on the tip of my tongue, but I had another problem.There was a burning sensation in my eyes. Tears swiftly flooded into them, causing my vision to be blurry. I pinched my hospital gown and then wiped my eyes with it.Slowly, the burning stopped. I rested my head against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. My legs were already not working. I couldn't add being blind to that.For some reason, an image of Winter's beautiful face as her hair flew in the wind suddenly appeared. She smiled at me. Her well-shaped teeth glistened.I want to see that smile again!This was the thought that came to my mind out of nowhere. It felt like ages since I last saw Winter. Altho
WINTER"Girl, I thought you were never going to pick up!" Nico voiced as soon as I answered the call.For a long time, I had been avoiding the calls from her and Melanie. I had yet to tell them that I was in town, let alone reveal my pregnancy to them.Since they had texted a few days ago that they were coming back home for winter break, I knew that they would be expecting me to return from New York and spend the holidays with them.I had wanted to invite them over. However, Seven had not only told me not to but also rough-handled me when I picked offense on his choice of words for my friends.Seven rarely ever raised his voice at anyone, let alone called people names. I still couldn't wrap my head around why he called Melanie and Nico bitches. I didn't even have the opportunity to talk things out with him.Ever since the dinner party, Seven had been avoiding me. How did I know?Well, let's just say that he hasn't been doing all the things he did shortly after I moved in with him. He
KAI-VIIYou would think that after I successfully manipulated Winter with all the sweet words in my dictionary, I would have my hands on the Phoenix Orb by now. But I didn't.In fact, it seemed that with every step I took, the orb got farther away from me. I couldn't bring Winter to tell me anything. I also didn't know where Dawn Holland's lab was located.Reading her diaries seemed to be a dead end, but I spent most of my time doing that recently. Trying to interrogate Winter hadn't worked as I had expected. She seemed dull and oblivious to what really went on in Seven's life before I killed him.Her cluelessness was so bad that I had almost slipped up several times in the past few days. It took the fear of incurring Ratio's wrath to not snap her neck any time I saw her around the house.Since Ratio commanded that I interrogate her and keep her close, I was going to be doing just that until I was certain that she was useless."Any luck?" Dr. Longman asked the second I answered his ca
KAI-VIIThere was a dead silence in the whole house as soon as Winter finished speaking. You could literally hear a pin drop. I waited to hear Nico argue with Winter.Surprisingly, she just said, "You are going to regret this, Winter. He's going to break your heart again. And when you finally come crawling, I am gonna say that I told you so!"Stupid ass bitch! I cursed, still leaning against the wall.Winter didn't say anything to Nico. I assumed she was probably lowering her head like a chicken. I heard a shuffling seconds later."Let's go, Mel. Lover girl here wants us out of her happy home."With that sarcastic voice, Nico and Melanie matched out and shut the door with a bang. I resurfaced in the living room soon after. The coast was now clear.Why did I go into hiding, you ask?Well, it seemed Winter's friends were much smarter than her. They may have not been on good terms with Seven, but who was to say that they didn't know him well? I couldn't afford to slip up in front of them
WINTERBefore you have my head on a stake, how about you hear me out first?I know. It was stupid of me to have blocked my friends because of a man. There, you caught me. I am not a girl's girl when it comes to Seven.I was deeply in love with him. Obsessed even. I knew that this stemmed from sharing the same trauma with him. However, as much as I tried to detach from him and say that he was bad for me, I couldn't forget all the memories we shared since our first meeting more than three years ago.Seven had indeed changed. He was even stranger since I moved in with him, but I just couldn't pack my things and leave, could I? I already agreed to marry him and drove miles to be with him.Let's not forget the elephant in the room...The baby!I was ready to iron things out with Seven. More than anything, I really wanted our relationship to work for our child. I also needed to tell him about the pregnancy. Keeping it a secret was already killing me.After spending the entire afternoon refl
WINTERThe sight of blood made my adrenaline spike. My mouth opened and my heart leaped in my chest. I glared at the trickles of blood, hoping that would be able to will them away.No, this can't be happening! That's not blood, is it? My eyes are deceiving me. I am not seeing well because my head is woozy. Yes, yes, that's right.I shook my head and opened my eyes again. To my dismay, the blood continued to streak down my leg. I burst into tears immediately."Enough with that stupid cries of yours. I don't want to hear it. Have I made myself clear?"At that shout from Seven, I wailed even louder. So loud that I even scared the birds who usually perched on the tree outside the window. I heard their wings flapping away.All my senses were heightened at the moment. This seemed to worsen the pain in my abdomen. I clutched it, praying that this was all a nightmare."Sev... Seven... Help me..."Seven leaned forward and looked over the desk. "What did you say?"I raised my hand to him and cr
WINTER Seven allowed me to hold a small wake for Eric after his body was sent over to his father. I also intended to visit his grave with flowers once I got news about his funeral. As much as a part of me wanted to hate Eric for all the mental strain he put me through, I just couldn't. Despite being infatuated and impulsive, he was still a good friend of mine. His assurance to rescue me was one of the things that made me persevere during those six torturous years. More so, he had protected me from his sister. I wasn't sure I would have survived getting stabbed after barely surviving a gunshot wound with the aid of the Phoenix Orb. As for Becky, she was whisked away while shouting, "Seven, if I can't have you, no one else can!" Last I heard, she was going to be tried for two counts of attempted murder and murder. It turned out that after investigation, the bomb blast that almost took me and my baby's life was her doing. I had lost count of how many times Seven apologized. For some
WINTERI really died. I died with Seven's voice replaying in my head. Then his voice was replaced with a couple of others. I drifted in and out of consciousness as a bright light shone above me.When I finally woke up, Seven's face was the first thing I saw. He grabbed my hand with both of his and smiled brightly. "You're back!"My throat felt dry as I said, "What happened?""You were in a coma. The doctor took out the bullet and..."He picked up a ziplock bag from the table and held it up to me. I saw a bullet inside it. There was something else."Is that...is that what I think it is?" I muttered, staring at the strange-looking shiny ball.Seven nodded. "Yes, this is the Phoenix Orb.""How did it even get inside me?"He sighed. "On the night we had sex for the first time while we kissed, I put it inside of you. I did it to protect you, but I am sorry for not asking for your consent."I went silent for a while, replaying that night. "So, this thing has been inside my chest for six yea
SEVENEverything froze over as soon as Winter's body fell into my arms. I stared for a long time before my brain processed what just happened. "Aargh!" I roared as soon as I saw the blood on Winter's chest.Clutching her shoulders, I looked at her face which was fast becoming pale. "Winter! Why did you? Why!"She smiled at me. "Because I love you and you would have done the same?"I buried my face in her neck. "You shouldn't have. You shouldn't--""Good riddance!" A snarl interrupted my words all of a sudden.I raised my head only to find Nora still aiming the gun at me. With the swiftness of a thousand wolves, I let go of Winter and lunged at Nora. My claws pierced into her chest. And when I pulled back, her heart came with it.Her eyes bulged from the sockets as she fell to the floor with a thud. Ratio, whose head was still on her lap, growled at this moment.Blinded by immeasurable rage, I squeezed the bloodied heart in my hand. Then dropped it to the floor."You!" Ratio shouted a
SEVENEveryone froze on the spot. I looked upstairs just in time for a pair of heels to appear out of nowhere. Tracing the plump legs up, I was shocked to find the face staring down at me."Mother?"My stepmother, Nora, eyed me as she descended the stairs. The gun in her hand scrapped the banister in the process. Once she got to the end of the stairs, she barred her teeth. "I am not your mother! Don't ever call me that!"Another jolt of shock coursed through my body. I stammered, "What...what's happening? What...what are you doing here?""What does it look like I am doing here!" she barked.At this moment, Ratio growled. I saw him reach out his hand to Nora. "Come, my love."What the...My jaw dropped to the floor as I watched Nora walk over to where Ratio was lying. She placed his head on her lap and touched his face. She cried, "What have they done to you, darling? Oh, my God!""Nora!" I shouted. "What do you think you are doing? You know this guy?"At my question, Ratio flashed his
SEVENIt wasn't just any white wolf. It was a she-wolf. She landed on her thin long legs with stealth and barred her equally white teeth at Ratio who was down on his knees.Suddenly, the wolf’s head turned in my direction. My heart had just taken a great leap when I locked eyes with the she-wolf. I instantly felt a sense of connection and smelled that familiar scent.“Winter?” I called out, still skeptical.The she-wolf glanced beside me. She ran behind the coffin-like box. Seconds passed before she showed up again. This time, in her human form and fully dressed in a flannel dress.“Why did you come here? It's too dangerous. Go!” I shouted worriedly.Winter shook her head hard. “I am not leaving you. I only just got you back.”“He’s going to kill you,” I said, glancing at Ratio who was still down and groaning. “Listen to me, please! Leave!”Winter walked over to the cage. She reached out her index finger and touched it slightly. Her skin instantly sizzled. Seeing this, I got even more
SEVEN I stood still, trying to figure out where exactly the voice was coming from. "It's you. Ratio?""Yes, that's me," Came the proud voice. "But you don't get to call me that, Seven. It's Uncle Darren to you."I couldn't help chuckling. "Uncle, my foot! Considering all the atrocities you have committed, you don't even deserve a name, let alone to be called uncle by me.""Ha-ha-ha!" The laugh reverberated on the walls again. "I must say I am quite surprised, nephew. You are not like your father. Unlike him, you have got a very big mouth! Luka must be turning in his grave.""Keep my father's name out of your fucking mouth!" I roared.Ratio chuckled. "And if I don't?"My breathing was getting heavier at this time. I clenched my fists despite the burns on my palms.That voice came again. "It's not like you can do anything to me. You fell right into my trap, so I can say whatever name I like. Luka...Luka! Luka! Luka, that stupid cousin of mine.""Shut the fuck up!"Ratio didn't listen.
SEVENNo one could tell me nothing. The sex Winter and I just had blew my mind. I had gone over this moment several times, but it never occurred to me that it would be this good. I couldn't have enough of her body. Fortunately, she felt the same way.When I finally came, we were both breathing heavily. I collapsed beside her and pulled her into my arms. It didn't take long before we both dozed off. It was already dark outside when I was awoken by the ringing of my phone. I looked at the pile of my clothes that lay on the floor and saw a light coming from the pocket of my pants."Shit! Who could that be?" I cursed as quietly as possible.Winter stirred in my arms. She turned away, her bare butt rubbing against my groin. I held my breath and groaned. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before my little man began to think for me.Quickly and gently, I pulled my arm from underneath Winter's head. I got out of bed and took out my phone. I pressed the volume button before even looking a
WINTERThe moistness of Seven's lips threw me off guard. I wanted to pull away, but I found myself frozen. When he bit my lower lip hard, my whole world tilted.Sparks erupted in my closed eyes. Reels upon reels of pictures filled my head. There were images of Dawn in a princess gown. Then, there was an eruption. After that came the Seven's face. He was roaring at me. No, that's not him. That's...that's...I know him. But that's not Seven. That's... Oh, God! Why can't I reach that name?I was still struggling to remember that name when Seven parted my lips with his tongue and it found its way into my mouth. It sent a shiver through my gooey body. Images continued to pour into my head. No, they were more like motion pictures...videos. Seven's face appeared again. This time, he was smiling at me. He said something. When I read his lips, he seemed to say those magic three words. "I love you!"His voice sounded in my head at this time. "I love you, Winter, and I want you to be my Luna.""
SEVENWinter let go of her head. When she looked up at me, I realized that she had lost so much weight. She wasn't this thin when I saw her at Dawn's birthday party. More so, it seemed she had been crying a lot.What happened to her?I was just about to say something when Winter pulled away from me and ran over to Alaric. She squatted beside him as the soldiers pressed him to the floor. "Honey, please tell me that guy is saying nonsense?""He is!" Alaric declared without skipping a beat. "He's a bad man. In fact, he was the one who caused your car crash.""What!" Winter and I exclaimed at the same time.I saw her look at me. Rage sparked in her eyes. I sensed her blood boiling at the same time. Suddenly, she pointed at me and cried, "So, it was you! You almost killed me. You caused the accident that took my precious daughter away from me!"For a second, I was speechless. What crash were they talking about? Winter's only bad encounter with a car recently was from the abduction which ha