A waitress.It sounded way too easy to be true. Following my gut feeling, I unzipped the garment bag. My knuckles felt something sturdy hidden under the collared shirt so I undid a few buttons for inspection.I found myself staring at a leather vest with an abnormal number of straps to fasten it. I rapped my knuckles against it and true enough, there was a thin sheet of metal tucked in between the two layers of leather. The metal, however, was molded in a way that would definitely outline my body shape, most likely to make it look as less rigid as possible. Merely looking at it was enough to force the fear that I felt earlier to come crawling back up my throat, making it difficult to breathe."Enzo…" I croaked out, unable to peel my gaze off the vest. "W-What's gonna happen at the party?""That vest is obviously for safety measures," he replied. Once again, he had avoided answering my question. Then, he stood up to take the vest from its hanger, ho
"Just make sure to come at the venue as soon as possible," Dylan spoke into his phone while pacing across the hotel room. After an exasperated sigh, he dropped the phone and threw it on the bed.He then let out one more audible sigh while combing his fingers through his hair, which he shouldn't have done. It hasn't even been five minutes yet since their hired stylist fixed it. Realizing this, he plopped onto his seat in front of the mirror. Amelia was sitting beside him, a number of stylists surrounding her, fixing her makeup and hair simultaneously.His fiancée looked at him through his reflection on the mirror. "What happened?""The cake's going to be late," he replied flatly. "The bakery ran into heavy traffic.""I see you worked hard."Dylan did work hard on arranging the party. If it would show that he only halfheartedly prepared for it, suspicion would arise—from his pack, the Crawfords, and the press. After sacrificing
"This is an aphrodisiac," Enzo said, holding up a small plastic bag containing a single white pill. "I'm sure you're familiar with what it does."I exhaled as I struggled to stand as straight as I could. The metal vest was heavy, but it wasn't heavy enough for me to have trouble lugging it around. The rigidness of the vest was forcing me to straighten up my back at all times which for me, given my bad posture, was even harder to do consistently in long periods.The party hasn't even started yet but here I am, striving to just stand up properly without breaking my back. When the head server stood up on a chair to grab the staff's attention, the kitchen went silent and everybody's heads turned to him. I felt a tap on my shoulder and craned my neck to find James smiling at me.Leaning down to whisper in my ear, he said in hushed tones, "You okay?""Yeah," I nodded. I opened my mouth to say more but the head server started shouting some last-minute i
I tightened my hold on the blanket I wrapped around myself while I stared at the cup of hot chocolate I abandoned on the table. The old-fashioned TV was on, broadcasting the news of Emerald Bay Hotel's bombing. As expected, the police had linked the incident to the rebels. I wasn't aware until now that they had made it a signature to use nitroglycerin. From the corner of my eye, I could tell that Enzo was staring at the screen with pride written all over his face.The thought of me having caused such a great number of deaths terrified me. It didn't matter even if none of the casualties were humans, I simply believed that my hands are legitimately soiled at this point. My body shivered.A few minutes later, I heard another car pull up at the courtyard. It was probably the third van that arrived in the last hour. The door of the office swung open shortly after. I didn't bother finding out who just arrived."Bennet!"I jumped in surprise upon hearing his voi
Dylan discarded my shirt onto the floor and held me by the waist as he trailed kisses down my neck. He unclasped my bra impressively with one hand, and though slightly embarrassed, I let him stare at my nakedness for a few moments before he continued to plant kisses on my shoulders and collarbones. With my hands grasping his hair, I arched my back instinctively."You're beautiful," I heard him whisper into my skin. He then lowered himself to suck on my nipple as his other hand slid up my body to pinch the other one, making sure that neither felt left out.I gasped in pleasure. The crevice between my thighs tingled so I tightened my legs around his waist. The erection underneath his suit pants rubbed onto my hips. The contact, although indirect, made him bite on my chest.With a soft chuckle, he looked up at me to say, "You just can't wait, huh?"I couldn't find the strength to respond and ended up pleading him for more with my eyes. I moved my hips agains
Enzo was right. The next morning was chaotic, indeed. "Different manufacturing factories, businesses, and companies all over the nation have ceased their operations temporarily following the deaths of many pack alphas," the news anchor stated flatly while her background displayed a compiled aerial shots of the country's numerous commercial hubs that lacked any kinds of activity. It was a strange and rare sight. "In line with this, the presidential spokesperson has released a statement earlier this morning regarding a monetary award to anyone who can offer intel about the culprits behind last night's bombing of Emerald Ba—" Enzo pointed the remote at the screen and switched the channel. The next one was also airing the same news. "Just in," the announcer said, his pupils moved as he read a script behind the camera. "Many civilians are flocking and breaking into deserted commercial establishments to take advantage of the c
"Are you up to the task?" Enzo paced across the room while playing with his ponytail. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Dylan's discomfort. The latter was shifting in his seat and staring at the floor. "I don't want to admit it, but you have a gift of leadership that sadly, even I do not have."The latter remained silent. His thoughts drifted to his memories of his parents training him to be a leader since the moment he could walk until their unfortunate death at the peak of his teenage years, and realized that Enzo was wrong—he wasn't born a leader at all. Being prepared to lead was something that he sacrificed his childhood for.Looking up, Dylan met his stare. "You've been spearheading this movement for god knows how long and yet you're telling me that you're no leader?""Hayes," he chuckled. "I'm a chemist, a strategist…I can be a doctor if I put my mind into it. My intelligence is what these humans respect.""I see no difference, t
Dylan caressed my growing abdomen as I munched onto my sandwich. Once again, the smell of meat was making me nauseous lately so James thankfully made sure to not put any on it. I leaned against his chest as the base of my spine ached. "You okay?" he leaned in and whispered in my ear. Then, snuggling the tip of his nose into my hair, he planted a soft kiss on my mark. "You seem to be restless." "I'm fine," I swallowed and purred at the sensation of his pheromones. I chucked the last of my sandwich into my mouth and placed my hands on top of his, which were resting on my stomach. "You're getting bigger now." With a chuckle, I said, "Yeah. My back is starting to hurt from the weight." For the past month or so, there had been zero—absolutely zero—advances by the rebels. After Enzo's bold announcement, one would expect an equally bold move from our side, but no, the werewolf had better ideas. He decided to take a step back and let the common public