Moana
As I held Olivia’s business card in my shaking hand, I wondered if I should call her. I needed to know if she, too, had experienced these sort of strange occurrences. Although I couldn’t imagine why Edrick would ever want to give me something that would make my wolf sick, if someone really was intentionally poisoning me, then I needed to get out and get my baby to safety. However, I still had no way of knowing for sure, and I was afraid to ask Edrick or Selina about my wolf’s symptoms in case either of them were in on it and got suspicious of me. But I still couldn’t be sure. Not only was I unsure of the situation with my wolf, but I was also still unsure of Olivia. I still couldn’t help but wonder if she really was an actress hired by Michael or someone else to get between Edrick and I, and so with a sigh I slipped the business card back into my purse and decided not to call her yet. After all, Edrick had never reallyMoanaA little while later, after walking a few blocks through the city, I arrived at the coffee shop where Olivia and I planned to meet. It was a small, nondescript coffee shop that didn’t appear to be well known, which would be helpful in keeping our meeting secret.When I stepped into the little coffee shop, I looked around and didn’t see Olivia yet.“Can I get you anything?” the barista behind the counter, a bored-looking teenage girl, asked.“U-Um, just an iced latte,” I replied, fishing through my purse for my wallet. The barista lazily made my drink and handed it to me, and I gave her the money before sitting down. I made sure to sit away from the window, just in case anyone would see me with Olivia.A few minutes passed, and finally the bell on the door rang as someone came in. It was Olivia. She shot me a stiff smile and ordered her own coffee before sitting down across from me. Although we had planned to act
Moana“That’s not all,” Olivia said, looking at me with a sickening combination of sadness and concern on her face that only filled me with dread.I had already just read that a woman — who was likely Ethan’s mother, judging from the information in the newspaper article — had died under mysterious circumstances around the Morgan family. Not only that, but I had discovered that it was very likely that Edrick had taken my wolf tooth and a lock of my hair to a witch, and he was now putting some sort of potion in my morning coffee. I couldn’t fathom why he would want to do that, but now that I had read the newspaper article about Ethan’s mother, I was beginning to wonder if that poor woman had met a fate that I was bound to meet if I continued being poisoned.And now, before I could even process all of this, Olivia was saying that she had something else to reveal to me, as though there was even possibly anything else that could add another layer to
MoanaOnce I saw Olivia leave through the coffee shop window, I waited five minutes before leaving myself and walking in the opposite direction. We had planned to leave separately like this just in case anyone was waiting for me outside; at the very least, I could make up a convincing story that Olivia and I didn’t recognize each other at all, and it was likely that no one would ask too many questions.As I walked, I couldn’t stop thinking about everything she had just told me. It felt as though the entire world that I had come to know over the past few months had been completely turned upside down, and I didn’t know what to do. If it was true that I was the Golden Wolf, then that meant that I was already in enough danger of being hunted as it was. Not only that, but if Edrick already knew that I was the Golden Wolf, then he was deliberately keeping it from me. And, judging from everything that I had learned recently, I knew why he was keeping it from me.
EdrickWhen Moana told me that she was going out to have coffee with a friend, I was happy for her. In fact, so long as she stayed safe, I encouraged it. I knew how much stress she had been under over the past few months, so it would have been good for her to see a friend for a couple of hours.However, when my driver called me and asked what was taking Moana so long to come down, I started to feel confused.“What do you mean?” I asked. “She left half an hour ago.”“I haven’t seen her,” the driver replied. “I’ve been sitting right out front the whole time.”I furrowed my brow and stood. Before I jumped to any conclusions, I decided to check both bedrooms to see if she wasn’t feeling well and decided not to leave, and maybe I just didn’t notice her coming back in. However, she wasn’t there.By then, I was pretty certain that I knew what she had done. She had gone without the driver.Cursing und
MoanaI went to work the next morning with my meeting with Olivia still plaguing my mind. Between all of the evidence I had gathered so far, what Olivia said, and how Edrick reacted when he discovered that I hadn’t taken the driver, I was seriously beginning to doubt my own safety at home.That morning, I sneakily dumped my morning coffee again. By the time I got to work, my wolf’s energy was back to normal and she was able to offer me some insight on the situation.“I am almost entirely certain that Edrick is indeed our mate,” Mina said during my lunch break, while I paced back and forth in my empty classroom and chewed nervously on my fingernails.“But that doesn’t mean that his intentions are entirely pure, does it?” I asked.Mina was silent for a few moments before responding. “No. It doesn’t.”I cursed under my breath, thinking hard. I didn’t know much about the inner world of werewolves, but I
MoanaAfter I saw the video of Edrick putting something in my coffee, I knew that I needed to get out.It both broke my heart and made me sick to think about leaving. I had been falling deeply in love with Edrick, and yet this entire time it turned out that he was secretly plotting something against me; I didn’t know what it was exactly that he was planning, but whatever it was certainly wasn’t good. I needed to get myself and my baby out of there, and I planned on returning Ella to her rightful mother, too. Even though I knew that taking Ella and returning her to her mother could land me in prison, I was willing to take that risk for the sake of getting little Ella out of a household with a father who was dangerous and up to no good.That afternoon, during my lunch break, I made my escape plan. I called Olivia as soon as I could and explained everything.“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath after I had told her all about the vid
MoanaElla took my outstretched hand. As I helped her get up, she rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked up at me with more confusion written across her face.“You’re taking me to meet my real mommy?” she murmured. “What do you mean? My mommy is dead.”“Ella…” I crouched down to her level and held her by both shoulders, looking at her intensely. “I’ll explain later, okay? For now, I just need you to trust me. Do you trust me?”Ella stared at me for a few moments, looking skeptical, before she finally nodded and didn’t ask any more questions. I helped her get dressed quickly, then put her shoes on and grabbed both of our bags. Opening the door just a crack, I checked once more to make sure that the apartment was still quiet. It seemed as though everyone was asleep. Of course, there was still a chance that Edrick was awake, so we would have to move quickly. I took Ella’s hand and quickly led her across the living room and over to the fo
Moana“Don’t worry, you two,” Kelly said as she turned around in her seat to look at us. There was a sick, twisted grin on her gaunt face. She looked even more skeletal than before, as though she hadn’t eaten or slept in days, maybe even weeks. “I’m going to take you far, far away. And I’ll make sure that Edrick never finds you.”“K-Kelly?” I whimpered. I tried the car door again, but it was still locked. And it was too late now; the light turned green and Kelly hit the gas, speeding down the mostly empty street.“Didn’t expect to see me, huh?” she said, laughing almost maniacally as she gripped the steering wheel tightly. Even in the dim light of the car, I could see that her knuckles were as white as a sheet.Ella, who had caught onto the danger by now, was beginning to panic. I felt her little arms slip around my waist, and when I looked down, she was looking up at me with terror in her eyes. I pulled her close, holding her tigh