Leo Willow glances at me, and then at my sister, Jessica, before looking back at me. Fresh tears form in her eyes, but she blinks to hold them back. I break eye contact to stop the guilt that is brewing up within.“Thank you for everything, and I’m so sorry for coming here.” Her voice is shaky and she diverts her attention to Jessica. “Hi, nice to meet you.” She forces a smile before storming out of the room. Jessica opens and closes her mouth without saying a word. Then, a smirk forms on her lips, and I glare at her. “Willow!” I run after her, and she gets in the elevator.She is standing in front and there are a few people with her, but she doesn’t bother to press the button to stop the doors from closing. A guy standing behind her moves quickly forward and presses the button. I run to the elevator and I stand next to her. She rolls her eyes at me, and then she looks away. “Willow...” I whisper. “Don’t!” She says between her teeth without looking at me. I feel the curious sta
Leo “Wwwhat are you doing here?” She knits her eyebrows, her face as pale as a ghost.I hold on to the door frame to find my balance, as my knees feel weak and I feel dizzy. 'Mate! Mate! Mate!' My wolf’s excitement gets me irritated. ‘Moon goddess, I swear, I don’t think I deserve this punishment.’ I say internally. ‘This is my mate? Out of all people on the planet, it had to be her!’ ‘Dude, why didn’t I feel the mate bond when we were at the hospital?’ I ask my wolf. ‘Look at you, learning through your mistakes.’ He replies smugly. I decide to deal with my wolf later, and to find out what my intended mate was doing in Willow’s dorm room. I decide on the bold approach, to act as if I already know she is the suspect. “Why? How could you do this to your own sister?” I glower at her. She holds the doorknob, pushing the door towards me. I place my foot to prevent the door from closing. “I’m not going to let you get away with this!” I push the door with one hand in her direction
Leo I bolt out of the elevator, and I rush to the parking lot to get my car. I drive past a scene of an accident, and I notice a truck. Then there are people and cars surrounding the area, with blue and red lights flashing. I try to trace Jessica’s scent, but I struggle to find her. I make a U-turn and park my car on the side of the road to see what’s going on. ‘Asclepius, I need you to take control. Please help me find my sister.’ I ask my wolf to come forth to so that my senses can be elevated. My wolf takes control, and he smells Jessica’s scent coming from the scene of the accident. He lets out a distressed howl, and I let myself regain control. I take deep breaths to try to remain calm, and I slowly head to where the crowd is gathering. “What happened?” I ask the first person I set my eyes on. “These kids and their motorcycles. Poor thing didn’t see an approaching truck. That was unfortunate.” The lady with the grey hair says as she walks away. A motorcycle, a truck? My
Leo After spending the entire night at my desk and on my laptop, trying to find anyone who will retrieve Willow’s videos, my morning alarm rings. I take a shower, then I make eggs benedict with smoked salmon for Jessica, and as promised, I take her breakfast to ‘her bedroom’. She smiles when she sees her breakfast and tells me how much she loves me. I roll my eyes in response, and I tell her about my plan to go to Professor Malino for help regarding Willow’s videos. “That’s a great idea. Professor Malino always knows what to do.” Her mouth is filled with food. I raise my eyebrows, and she smiles sheepishly. “Don’t look at me like that, you haven’t made me breakfast in a long time.” She says after swallowing. “Send her my regards and tell her I will meet her later before going back to Carkeek Park.” I nod in response, and I leave. I go to the flower shop to buy a bouquet of various flowers for Professor Malino, to bribe her to get the lab's CCTV footages for Willow, and to show h
Willow After a long night of sitting in bed, trying to find anyone who can fix my laptop, a feeling of sadness washes over me when I notice the light through the window. I spent the entire night looking for a solution, but I couldn't find any. My phone rings, and I stare at Chloe’s name before taking the call. “What do you want?” I hiss.“That’s a nice way to speak to your favourite sister.” She says nonchalantly. “What do you want, Chloe? If you don’t tell me, I’m going to hang up.” “Sheeesh! I always thought you were a morning person.” “Chloe!” “Okay. We will be scattering Marcel’s ashes next week.” I sigh, and fresh tears sting my eyes. Marcel was going to come to my presentation and cheer for me from outside the auditorium. “And you are telling me this to brag?” “No, I want you to come.” She responds. “Oh! You want me to face Ella so that she can humiliate me? You know she hates me.” “You calling mom by her name?” She titters. “She is your mother, not mine.” “You are
Leo I leave Liam’s room with an intense pain in my heart. “Why does he get to have everything that I want without lifting a finger?” I mumble when I get to my car. ‘But he met her first, and she is his mate.’ Asclepius interjects. ‘But he doesn’t love her!’ ‘Remember when you said you never want to be with a normal human? Why are you crazy about Willow?’ ‘I have a good mind to go to Carkeek Park, so that I can find an excuse to drink a masking potion.’ ‘Are you threatening me for telling you the truth?’ The amusement in his tone irritates me. ‘I don’t need the truth right now.’ ‘Too bad I’m not an ass kisser.’ He responds. ‘You are a moron.’ I retort. ‘Look, if you are now into human mates, get Chloe, marry her and live happily ever after. At least she is your mate, and the mate bond will strengthen the relationship.’ ‘And there you go, choosing violence.’ I stop the car in the parking lot of the hotel building and I take a trip to Chloe’s room. “What did your damsel in d
“Willow.” Leo hurries after me as I rush toward the door. “Aw!” Professor Malino utters a low grunt as I bump into her. “Sorry, professor.” “Are you okay?” “I’m okay. It’s just that, I just saw, I just saw...” "You saw Leo?" I nod. “Come with me to my office, you can come back later.” I realize that she doesn't understand why I screamed, and I decide not to tell her. We leave the lab, and take a 15-minute walk to her office. She asks me about my presentation, and I tell her it’s a surprise. She smiles, and she ends up talking about her family and how supportive his husband and kids are. “Although my babies are not kids anymore.” She beams. I smile back, wishing that she was my mom, but I quickly get rid of the thought. My mom might be a lot, but she raised me. I walk back to the lab and find Leo fully dressed. My heart pounds when I see him, and I close my eyes to try to get rid of the image of him naked, and when I close my eyes, I see the picture of his naked body. “Wha
I groan at the sight of light through the window, I haven’t slept a wink. Every evidence points in the direction I have suspected but dismissed. Leo and Liam might have some connection to werewolves, but how do I even ask about this without sounding crazy? ‘I’m a scientist, I don’t believe in fiction.’ I keep saying in my mind. “You are still awake? ” Liam’s deep voice caresses my ear, and I get startled, almost dropping my phone. “Yeah, research.” I say dismissively. “I’m proud of you, babe.” He kisses my forehead. “Now go take a shower while I prepare you something to eat.” “But the presentation will start three hours from now.” I groan. “That means, you are already late.” I close my eyes, and he gets off bed, and comes to my side. He carries me to the bathroom, and I complain all the way. I decide to get back at him, and I take off my pyjamas, wondering how he would react if I show that I’m seducing him. He chuckles. “Willow, it won’t work,” and leaves instantly. ‘He is no
Leo “No!” I take a deep breath. “I’ve had it with people using Willow to get what they want from me. I won’t allow, I won’t allow...” This damn pain! "Professor Brown," nurse Marie nods as she passes and I nod back. “If you don’t do it, I’m going to make her go insane, slowly.” He stares into my soul, his jaw clenched and his green eyes gleaming with fury. “I’m going to make her lose confidence in herself, and you can’t tell her my plan or I will reveal your little limbicus secret.” He continues. “You petty bustard!” I manage to string up a sentence between breaths. “Let her go! She needs to move on, to find someone better. Don't involve her in our fights.” “Why do I get the feeling that, that someone is you?” He titters. “I wonder how Alpha Hunter would react to this. His son is in love with a human.” “Don’t, don’t mention that monster!” “That monster is a father figure to me, and he is going to make me an alpha.” “I would die before I let that happen!” “Fine by me. At least
Leo As Willow walks out, Chloe gazes at her, then shifts her attention back to me, takes Willow’s seat, and starts eating the crab left on the plate. I raise my eyebrows, “I thought you were going to talk to her.” “No, I’ll see her later,” she says dismissively. “Right now, I need to talk to you,” she sips the mojito mocktail that Willow left behind and she smiles, noticing my confusion. “Talk to me about what? Do you want to order something?” “Maybe a drink later. I want to talk about us, but before that, I want to talk about Willow’s kidnapping.” She says casually. “I have handled it. What about it?” I ask defensively. “You are pretty defensive for someone with scars. They need to pay for what they did to both of you. Do you know why they kidnapped her?” “No,” I shake my head and immediately regret it. Wrong answer. “I think I should hire a PI to find out, and I will find her a bodyguard. They can’t kidnap her without a reason. Unless you are hiding something from me.” She
Willow “No, that’s impossible.” I shake my head. “I’m serious, Leo makes limbicus and sells it to Mike, who sells it to other drug dealers. Why do you think they never found the lab results of the drug used to spike your drink?” I gasp. “Did Leo bribe the hospital staff?” “No, I thought you knew that limbicus is untraceable.” “But Marcel...” “Marcel confessed, remember? And he had the limbicus with him.” “No, not Leo.” I shake my head. “Think.” He looks at me, his green eyes daring me to deny what I already suspected. “Leo kept saying I was going to hate him if he told me the truth.” “See?” He raises his eyebrows. “I’m going to kill him,” I say between my teeth. “No, calm down.” He puts his arm around me. “Don’t tell me to calm down, you are also a traitor. You watched me befriend him and you didn’t say a word.” I remove his arm and I glare at him. “I, I didn’t want you to think I was jealous and bitter.” “No, you should’ve said something.” “I told you not to work with
Willow “Did you kill someone?” I ask him. He remains quiet for a few seconds, and I wait impatiently. “No,” he finally says. “Then it can probably get fixed.” “ I wish...” He exhales. Then he looks at me, his face filled with sadness. “I’m sorry for making your life a mess. I’m the one who went to the club, and I’m the one who went to the apartment when you told me to stay away.” I say to him. “It’s not your fault, this is all me.” The waiter comes back to take his food and drinks order, and I also order a drink. "Don't worry, I'm going to pay for our meal," I say to her. "No, you can order anything, you are not allowed to pay.""How much did my friend give you?" I eye her suspiciously, worried that she might be left with little money. She chuckles, breaking eye contact."Okay." I hold my hands up in defeat. "I'm sorry for being nosy." She laughs before walking away."Mike," he sighs. "He gave her ten thousand dollars, we are probably going to use $1 500 because the restura
Willow Alpha or Mike or whoever his real name is unfastens the blindfold, and after my eyesight has adjusted to the light in the car, I look out of the window of the limousine to realize that we are back in Seattle. “Champagne?” He asks casually. I glare at him, and he chuckles. “Oh! The walls have gone up again. You don’t trust me.” “I have never trusted you,” I mumble. “But you seemed so comfortable in the penthouse, I almost thought we were friends.” I shake my head in disbelief. I felt a little comfortable, but I couldn’t befriend my kidnapper. “You are a lunatic!” He winces. “I’ve been called worse.” “Really? I can’t imagine why.” I roll my eyes. He titters. “Your coldness towards me came out of nowhere.” “It did?” “Yeah, ” He grins. The car stops, he gets out and holds out his hand, but I walk out without taking his hand again, and he chuckles. I look around the parking lot and my jaw drops when I notice that we are at Preston, one of the fanciest restaurants. He hol
WillowI stay in the bathroom for some time, looking around for a way out. I look up at the air vent. If I can find a screwdriver or a pair of scissors to open and climb into this, I can probably move through the ceiling and find myself elsewhere, but what about Leo? What if they hurt him?“I hope you are okay, Leo.” I whisper, and I walk out of the bathroom to face the poker face. I find him sitting on the couch and scrolling through his phone. “You have been in the bathroom for an entire hour.” He says without looking up. “I was fascinated by the walls.” I roll my eyes at him. “There’s no need for that smart mouth. I’m the one in charge.” He slightly tilts his head up to glance at me.“Yeah, you have made that clear,” I retort.He sighs and continues to scroll through his phone.“You have a nice bathroom, by the way, I almost took a bath,” I say to get rid of the uncomfortable silence and to try to distract him from texting people he might be sending over to kill me or ship me of
The 6’2" lean men in suits who look like cloned bodyguards form a wall behind Marcus, standing at attention in front of the cars, and he stands in front of them, wearing a wife beater, facing me and folding his bulked arms like the boss he fancies himself to be. “It’s you, again.” I make an exasperated sigh. He chuckles. “Don’t look so disappointed. You know I run this operation.” He grins arrogantly. “No, Mike runs this operation. You are just an errand boy.” He growls in response. “Just be grateful that you are still under the boss’s protection, or you would be screaming like a girl right now. I know you are going to mess up again, and I can’t wait.” I stare at him when it finally clicks. Marcus hates me because I’m valuable to Mike, and he hates the fact that his boss needs me more than him. I ignore his empty threats. “So, ten men, huh? I didn’t know you were so afraid of me.” “These men are here to keep you in control, because you need to be tamed like the animal that you a
Leo After my call with Mike, I glare at my phone as if he would pop out of it, and then I close the trunk of my car, which is filled with packets of sky-blue powder.I call Chloe, and it takes me straight to voice mail. I decide to deal with Mike and keep Willow safe before trying to find Chloe. If they will trade Willow for the limbicus. ‘What is my name?’ Asclepius interrupts my train of thought. ‘You know your name. Why are you asking me?’ I let out a deep sigh because I know where this conversation is heading. ‘You know how creating and selling this makes me feel. You were born to heal, Leo. Not to harm.''I know,' I respond to my wolf dismissively as I open the door of my car. 'Haven’t you learned anything out of Marcel’s situation? Do you want to take more lives?’ I grimace at his comment before burying my face in my palms. 'No need to make me feel guilty. Luckily, I’m the one who sells limbicus, not you Mr Holy, and I’m Leo, not Asclepius.''But we are one, and you know t
Leo “Why do you live in this cheap apartment? You are filthy rich.” Marcus, who is one of Mike's bodyguards glances at the door. “Your bravery is something else.” I chuckle bitterly, mad at myself for letting them take Willow. “You have the nerve to make a casual conversation?” “I’m just asking. It looks expensive, but don’t they maintain the doors and everything? Did you hear the creaking of the door when we closed it? It was not loud, but good for dramatic effect.” “I have to admit, I felt it too. I can imagine the poor woman’s face when she heard the door slowly closing behind her.” His friend laughs. “Where did they take her?” I growl. “Easy, tiger. You wouldn’t want us to make a call to get her killed.” He grins devilishly. “She is so young, so innocent, with hopes and dreams.” He says with a shaky voice, and the most theatrical facial expression and a hand on his chest. If he did this under different circumstances, I would be laughing my ass off. “Fuck you!” I bellow. “P