SEVENWhen Stuart called yesterday to tell me that the next day was Dawn's birthday, I was super grateful to him for the information. I was also elated to learn that there was going to be a party.Never did it cross my mind that the party would end in a disaster. I had just got out of the tunnel and was scanning the premises when the blast went off.A tingling sound rang in my ears for a long time. I peeled back into the tunnel and stayed there, thinking someone had just sighted me and fired a shot at me.But when the second blast came, I realized that this was no gunshot. It sounded like a bomb. I had looked out of the tunnel again, only to find that there was smoke everywhere.The guards were running helter-skelter. Most of the balloons that decorated the garden had burst. Even the bouncing castle I saw moments ago had deflated.Dawn! Winter!In a trice, I jumped out of the tunnel and walked through the thick and massive cloud of black smoke. My nose and mouth were covered with a ma
KAI-VIIWhen I left this morning, I had given my men clear instructions to make sure nothing went out of control concerning Dawn's birthday. I told them to keep an eye specifically on Winter in case she decided to use this party as a means of escape.Tell me why I came home to find a smoke coming from the garden and most of the decorations I had seen earlier were no longer in their place. The number of guards at the gate had also reduced."What the hell happened here?" I roared, heading for the garden.Two guards rushed to me as soon as they spotted me coming. They were both shaking like leaves and had their heads lowered more than usual."What happened here?" I asked again.One of the guards' eyes met mine for a brief moment. "A bomb went off during the party.""A bomb?" I repeated. "Are you fucking kidding me?"The men shook their heads at the same time. "We don't know how it happened, but a bomb really went off and then a fire broke out. We just put it out."Listening to them, I wa
KAI-VIIThis resolution only got blurry when I looked to see this person's face. I zoomed out, hoping it would help. But it didn't. It was as if something was blocking the face.Zooming in and out over and over again, I assessed this figure's bone structure. He was thin, but looked jacked up. His back was hunched a little, and there was a limp to his walk.Once he went away from the cloud of smoke with Winter in his arms, I didn't see him again. The video soon ended. Instead of giving me answers, I was left with even more questions.I slammed the laptop shut. "What the fuck is going on?"My head was full. I couldn't think straight, nor could I shake off the feeling that something was terribly wrong, and if I didn't get to the root, I would pay a dire price.What was I missing?Unintentionally, my fingers tapped the desk for a good minute. I pinched my chin hard as I was lost in thought.Where did that man come from? He sure wasn't one of my men. The beanie on his head had given that a
WINTERI couldn't care less why Kai was here. However, when he asked that question, my heart stopped beating for a split second. It wasn't the fact that his question reminded me of that freak incident.It was the fact that I thought the whole saving episode was a dream. When I fell to the ground and couldn't move, I really thought I was seconds away from breathing my last. But a figure came and carried me and Dawn away.Since I regained consciousness, I thought maybe it was the grim reaper who had come to take our souls but had been turned back for some reason. Several times, I tried to think hard just to see the man's face. But everything remained blurry. All I knew was that he was muscular, tall, and was wearing a big-ass shoe.The moment had been so surreal that I also thought I had hallucinated things. But here was the kicker... I couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity when my head rested against his chest. When I woke up and asked the doctor who brought me to my bedroom,
ERICComing to this house again was one that I dreaded, but had to do. I had to make sure Winter was all right until I was able to break her out. If it necessitated me doing business with my enemy, then I didn't really mind.I had been summoned a few days ago. Although I was in the country, I couldn't rush down on the same day since I made my "business partner" believe I was working hard outside the country to make that special machine.One of the maids answered the door when I knocked. She smiled and bowed, "Alpha Seven is expecting you. But please, wait a minute."She turned to the left and snapped her fingers at something. No, someone because I soon saw a bodyguard walk out with a handheld scanner."Is this really necess--" I began to ask, but the bodyguard already pressed the scanner all over my body.When he was done, he nodded at the maid and then walked away instead of going back inside. "Please come in."The maid ushered me into the living room and told me to make myself comf
BECKY My eyes have got to be deceiving me. Are you seeing what I am seeing? It couldn't be. I must be hallucinating. Maybe my eyes were affected when I fell in the bathroom this morning. Maybe the sun was messing with my vision."Alaric? Ric? Is that really you?" I asked despite my rude question earlier.The man strode to me at the same time the cab I came in drove away. I walked over to him too, my eyes squinted. "It's really you!" I screamed. "Why the fuck are you here?""I should be asking you the same question!" My brother, Alaric, fired back.I looked at the mansion behind him. "You know the people that live inside this house? How?""You know the people that live inside this house? How?" he asked back, his voice nasal with mimicry.It made my nose twitch with anger. I slapped his arm. "Stop messing with me! Did you really come out of there? Why?"Before I knew it, Alaric grabbed my wrist, pulled me around the car beside us, and then shoved me into the passenger seat. He walked
BECKY A strange glint flashed in Eric's eyes. Before I could make out what exactly it was, he looked away and gripped the steering wheel. His jaw throbbed as he said, "Why does it matter?"Rolling my eyes, I sucked my teeth. "It's matters. Your name is Alaric Williamson. Not Mr. Blake. Why did he call you that?"Alaric sharply turned to me again. "Didn't you say you would start speaking? Since you don't want to, hand me my phone. I need to call Dad.""Stop threatening me, will you! I am your little sister."He chuckled and nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah. My little sister who is up to no good."I kicked in frustration. "Since when did you start keeping secrets from me, Alaric? Have you forgotten that we used to tell each other everything? Why are you acting strange now?""We are not kids anymore, Becky. Grow up!"Despite his hostility, I didn't back down. "Grown or not. You are still my brother and family. Family don't keep secrets. Tell me what's up. Why are you shutting me out?"Alari
BECKYIn the blink of an eye, Alaric growled, "Don't you dare call her that!"My heart almost jumped out of my chest. I leaned back fearfully, looking at my brother's eyes which were shooting lasers at me.Although a part of me badly wanted to retort, I bit my tongue hard. Alaric looked extremely angry now. Who knows, that bitch might have bewitched him so bad that he would raise his hand on me for the first time.I didn't want any more marks on my beautiful face. The one I incurred from the blast was just enough.Raising my hand, I drawled, "Sorry. It just slipped out. I am sorry.""You better be!" Alaric grunted, leaning back.A few cars sped past us. I saw as he kept his eyes on the lonely road. After studying his expression for a long time, I said carefully, "Why are you in love with Winter?"Alaric sighed deeply. "For real, do you need a reason to love someone?"He was right.I, for one, didn't know why I was obsessed with Seven. Sure, he was fine as hell. But many men were just