Edrick
When I arrived back at the penthouse after work, I half expected Moana to be still laid up in bed and exhausted after her first therapy session. That would have been perfectly fine and reasonable, but I was completely not expecting her to be standing in the foyer when I first stepped out of the elevator. “I want to talk to you,” she said without so much as a greeting. She grabbed my hand and began to tug almost aggressively on my arm, like I was being an inconvenience just for trying to set down my briefcase and hang my suit jacket on the hook. “Woah, woah, woah,” I blurted out with a chuckle as she tried to pull me away. “What’s the big deal? I haven’t even walked in the door yet. Is everything alright?” Moana nodded. There was a bit of a twinkle in her eyes, which made me smile a bit. That twinkle also made me involuntarily let my guard down, which allowed her to succeed in yanking me away to my office. She pushed me insidMoanaEven though I half expected to hate the bodyguard who Edrick supposedly found for me, I actually wound up liking my new bodyguard, Kat, quite a lot. During my interview with her, I found out that she was funny and sweet, and she got along well with Ella and loved kids in general. She really seemed perfect — almost too good to be true. Although I still didn’t like the idea of being followed around by a bodyguard all day, I figured that if I had to choose one, then I would choose Kat.The next morning, I returned to work with Kat and Ella by my side. The headmistress and everyone else were under the impression that Kat was just a medical aide that my doctor wanted me to keep nearby due to pregnancy complications, and I preferred to keep it that way. If news got out that the late bloomer with all of the mysterious absences from work was walking around now with an undercover bodyguard, then it would only create more of a fuss over me. I was already despis
MoanaI decided that I couldn’t let Edrick go on for any longer without telling Ella the truth about her biological mother.“I know that you didn’t tell her everything,” I said as I stood in front of him with my hands on my hips. He was standing in front of the bathroom sink in his bedroom and was brushing his teeth. With a sigh, he slowly spit out his toothpaste and then looked over at me.“What do you mean?” he asked. I could tell that he was trying to play it off like he didn’t know what I was thinking about.A frown came across my face. “Don’t play dumb. I know that you didn’t tell Ella about her mother even though we talked about it. Are you going to tell her the truth, or do I need to? Because the longer she goes without knowing everything, the more she’ll resent you when she eventually does find out.”For a few long moments, the handsome Alpha billionaire stared at me unblinkingly with a somewhat shocked and emb
Moana“Moana, wake up!” my wolf’s voice suddenly said. That wasn’t a dream… It was real. The rain was real. The wind beating down on me, whipping my hair into my face, was all real.I opened my eyes, and shrieked at what I saw.I wasn’t in bed. Iwas standing on the balcony, up on the ledge in my nightgown. I felt my stomach drop as I stumbled backwards and clung to the rail, heaving in my chest as the feeling of fight or flight kicked in. Every fiber in me screamed to get away from the ledge, and I scrambled away and back to my feet, sobbing loudly. Nothing could be heard over the sound of my own racing heartbeat and the sound of the wind and the rain; for all I knew, I was really on that cliff from my dream, and Michael very well could be standing behind me with the knife in his hand.The door behind me stood wide open with the wind blowing the curtains aggressively. I ran inside to safety, and as I did, I ran straight into not Mi
EdrickI was sleeping soundly when I suddenly heard Moana’s screams.By the same I jolted myself out of bed and frantically began to scramble in the direction of the balcony where the screams were coming from, she ran into my arms and nearly knocked me to the floor. She was soaking wet and completely inconsolable, repeating things about my father having a knife and killing her with it. When she finally was able to tell me everything that happened, I felt my soul practically leave my body.I didn’t want to let her know how terrified I was, so I kept my calm until she was safely asleep in bed. Her sleeping pills knocked her out quickly, and as soon as I saw her chest begin to rise and fall in a steady, deep rhythm, I quickly jumped to my feet and began to pace while frantically tugging on my air. I couldn’t hide my terror any longer.I had heard stories about these visions before. It was an uncommon phenomena, but it was known to hap
MoanaI woke up after a night of dreamless sleep to the sound of someone rushing around the room. When I cracked open my eyes, I saw Edrick pacing back and forth. He had a pile of shirts in his hand, and I watched in a state of shock as he walked over to a suitcase and quickly shoved the shirts inside.“What are you doing?” I asked, sitting up.Edrick didn’t even look up at me. “We have to go,” was all he said.My eyes widened. “Go where?”“We’re going back to the mountain estate for real this time.”As Edrick spoke, I felt my heart sink. My limbs still felt too heavy from the sleeping meds to move quickly, and as I threw the covers off and swung my limp legs over the edge of the bed, it felt as though I was moving through a thick mud.“Why?” I asked. “You didn’t mention that we would be leaving before. Was it because of last night?”Edrick didn’t answer. I watched with wide eyes
Edrick“Moana… Just… Go inside.”Moana’s eyes widened. She glared at me for a long moment before she took off like a bolt of lightning into the house.Maybe I was being a little too harsh when she was only trying to at least help me carry the bags inside, but the property wasn’t fully secured yet and I didn’t want her standing out in the open if someone was trying to hunt her down. Maybe tomorrow, when the property was deemed safe, she could go outside with her bodyguard. But for now, she needed to be inside where it was safe.“Should I go after her, Mr. Morgan?” Kat asked.I nodded. “You don’t have to be right next to her if she doesn’t want it. But at the very least, keep an eye on her whereabouts.”Moana’s bodyguard nodded understandingly, then took off after Moana. I sighed as I heard the echoes of Kat calling Moana’s name.Of course I felt bad for suddenly ripping her away and not b
MoanaI went to sleep that night with anger still in my heart for Edrick.When I woke up, however, that anger turned into fear.I found myself no longer in my bed, but I was now at the little desk that was in my room. And it wasn’t just that, either. I had my sketchbook lying on the desk in front of me, and what was drawn on it…Was the knife.I gasped and quickly snapped the sketchbook shut. Why was this happening to me? I stood, knowing that I needed to tell someone, but I couldn’t tell Edrick. If I told him, then he would likely only freak out even more, and I already felt like a prisoner.These drawings had to be prophetic. And the only way that I could get to the bottom of what they really meant was by accessing whatever part of my brain that they were coming from. Maybe then, I could start to use them to my advantage before something really bad happened.It was late, but Dr. Rhodes did m
MoanaI let out a yelp. I jolted, and then everything stopped. The rain, the wind, the grass… All of it turned back into the still, calm air of my bedroom. Michael’s hand no longer gripped my wrist, and the golden glint of the knife in his hand turned into the soft amber glow of the lamp on my bedside table.“Moana?” Dr. Rhodes said, sounding concerned. “Are you there?”I quickly sat up and rubbed my eyes. “Y-Yes,” I replied. “I’m okay. It’s just…”“What is it?”I shook my head. “Nothing,” I lied. “Dr. Rhodes… Will you be available to try again tomorrow?”The therapist paused, then cleared his throat. “Sure. You can call me anytime if you want to try again, or even if you just need to talk. Are you sure you’re okay, though?”“I’m fine,” I lied again, even though my hands were shaking. “Thanks, Dr. Rhodes. I’ll call you tomorrow.”…I didn’t sleep very much at all for