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
"Hi Marcel, Marcellus, young warrior." I appear on the video, doing an awkward curtsy. "Or whatever your name means. I’m lazy to look for its meaning on the Internet again. Like, why would your parents give you such an old name?" The room gets filled with laughter. "Anyway, here it is, your prediction of my life when I was five years old. The time for me to kill people with experiments has finally arrived." I press every button of the remote, but the video doesn’t pause or stop, and no one makes an attempt to get it to stop. I close my eyes as my humiliating video continues to play. "I’m going to work on my research soon. I hope to find a cure, because I’m jealous, and I don’t ever want you to enjoy the advantages of being a hot 300-year-old mysterious vampire in high school." Laughter fills the auditorium, and I wonder if they are laughing at what I’m saying on the video, or at me for looking so embarrassed. "And, I don’t want to find myself walking with you in the future,
I arrive at the house from the hotel room, bracing myself for insults and screams that are about to emanate from my mom. I press the doorbell and Chloe’s eyes widen when she sees me before replacing her bewildered facial expression with a smirk. “What. The. Hell?” I eye her suspiciously. “You made it,” she exhales. “That’s not how you should greet your sister.” “Yes, because we adore each other so much.” I roll my eyes. "Come on, am I not even going to get a hug?" “Why don’t we keep things the way they have always been?” “Wow!” She shakes her head. “Where’s your mother?” “Please don’t cause a scene.” She looks at me pleadingly. “I’m here for Marcel, and I will be out of your hair.” I walk past her, and she follows behind. I find my mom wearing the most elegant black maxi dress and her face radiant, with her golden hair perfectly framing her face. She is walking around the room, ensuring that everyone is okay and thanking them for coming. She stops dead in her tracks when
Leo “Willow, wait.” I follow her without knowing why. “What do you want, Leo? You have humiliated me in front of my sister.” “Don’t I deserve to do that? How many times have you humiliated me in front of Liam? And I never complained.” “So, this is payback? With my sister?” She purses her lips. “This is not payback. I met Chloe, and I like her.” “When did this happen? Did you go back to the hospital to comfort her and then went with me to the hotel and kissed me?” “There you go. With your jealousy, again.” I let out an exasperated sigh. “Me? Jealous?” She snorts. “I’m just looking out for you.” “Looking out for me? So, didn't you stomp out of my apartment when you saw a girl walk in? And you didn’t even know her. Were you also looking out for me?” “That was, that was...” “That was?” A smile forms on my lips that I try to fight. I have never seen her speechless before. “I was lonely, not jealous.” “So, it’s true. You just reach out when you need something? Or whe
Willow “Like in werewolf books?” I ask in what I hope is a nonchalant manner. “Yeah, you know I never read those, too much fantasy.” She says dismissively. “You watch vampire and werewolf movies, Chloe.” “Yes, to see the hot guys.” I murmur in agreement, and we both end up giggling. “So, he was doing this to imitate what he read in books? He is such a geek.” She rolls her eyes. I let out an uncomfortable chuckle. “What did he say in return?” “He said he accepted my rejection,” she says absent-mindedly. “That was when I felt the intense pain. The pain is gone, but I feel this sadness and emptiness.” “Nnnno! It can’t be,” I mumble. “Can’t be what?” “Nothing.” I shake my head. “It’s just a stupid theory that I have.” “You believe in werewolves?” “Of course not,” I shake my head. “Oh! No, you do,” she says in an accusatory tone. “You are a scientist, Willow. Even a five-year-old probably knows that it’s impossible.” “I assure you, I don’t believe in that,” I say defensively
Willow “Leo, please leave.” I look up at him. My eyes avert to the pencil on the floor. He picks it up and gazes at me. My heart beats faster as his eyes burrow into mine, his face void of emotions. “Leo?” I whisper. His jaw clenches, he exhales, and then opens his mouth as if he is about to say something. Then he walks out. I open my mouth, but I decide against asking if he ate something, or what on Earth is he doing on campus when he is supposed to be recovering? My phone rings as I lock the door to head to my meeting with Jeremy. Jeremy’s name appears as my screen flashes. Jeremy apologetically tells me he has to cancel our plans, informing me he has an emergency meeting with his agent because of his fan meeting. “I’m so sorry, Jeremy. I didn’t mean to get you into trouble.” “You didn’t. I had so much fun. But, why did I risk my career for you?” “You have just said...” “Just in case I’m in trouble,” he interjects. “I know that the cops weren’t happy.” He laughs. “You kno
LeoAfter tossing the entire night, I prepare myself for work in my lab on campus. That’s all I need right now, as much distraction as possible. I feel a growth of my emptiness within. There's Asclepius’ silence, the recently broken mate bond, and Willow’s coldness.It’s a relief that Willow knows what I have done and doesn’t think of me as a saint, but the weight of what I have done still weighs down on my shoulders. Her image of when she was crying and screaming on the floor keeps replaying itself in my mind, causing me to wince.After leaving my car in the parking lot, I head to her dorm room to find her locking up and dressed up in a pretty red dress. She looks up at me, her eyes cold and unwelcoming.“How are you feeling?” I ask her, surprised that my hands are slightly shaking.“I’m okay,” she says dismissively. “What are you doing here?”“You are not okay, you were crying your eyes out yesterday.”“And whose fault is that?” She glowers at me, but gestures for me to get in. “
LeoThe door busts open, letting in about a dozen police officers who throw themselves into my apartment. Their shouts fill my house and three German Shepherds frantically search the area. I watch as three other officers follow the dogs as they move to the sink and away in uncertainty. Two police officers walk to me. I slowly get up, glaring at them before they get to me. How are people going to take me seriously when I look this fucking weak?“What the fuck?” I roar in a low tone, keeping my eyes on them. The rest of the officers are not paying attention. Instead, they search the cupboards, yelling at each other to work faster. “Sir, you are under suspicion.” One officer who looks young, and probably fresh out of the academy, says timidly.“For what?”“Drug creation,” the authoritative brunette lady next to him chimes in. “Sir, we are really going to need you to co-operate. These allegations against you are serious.”“There are other cops in your other apartments. It is said that
“Leo, please give me that,” I hold out my hand. “I’m sorry,” he shakes his head. “I will get you bodyguards if I have to, but I’m not staying.” “You are being unreasonable! You are being a coward.” “Willow, what you are trying to do won’t work. I deserve this.” “Every night before I fell asleep, I imagined myself making a person who created limbicus suffer. When Liam told me it was you, I got so mad, I felt betrayed. I wanted to make you pay.” I blink back the tears. “I never thought I would meet the person who created limbicus and say these words to him, but I want you to forgive yourself. You are a good person, I don’t care what you think.” “How did you buy this?” He wrinkles his nose as he gazes at the packet in his hand. I feel a sting after my ignored speech. “Liam did.” “I thought as much.” He clenches his jaw. “If I go to jail, I think he will set you free. You will be of no use to him.” “Use?” I chuckle awkwardly. “Liam and I started dating before I met you, we didn’t
Willow TW: Mild mention of suicide “Whoa! The hottest TA on campus needs my help?” Jeremy’s still cheerful voice says on the other end. “Jeremy, you are such a flirt,” I force a chuckle. “Only with you.” I force another flirty chuckle. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?” He asks. “Jeremy...” I hesitate. “I need your help.” “If I help you with whatever you need. What do I get out of it?” “Anything.” “Hmmm... How about a date?” He asks as if the idea has just popped into his mind. “Fine,” I sigh. “A date is okay. We will never ever be together, just to be clear.” “I just want to spend a day talking to you. What do you need, my queen?” “If you said this under normal circumstances, I would be blushing right now,” my lips slightly curl up. “I need you to organize a fan meeting at the location that I will send to you, and it needs to be held right now. Just do something, do some fan signing and stuff.” “Now?”“Two dates?” I plead. “I don’t want to come as desperate to my fan
Willow I walk into Chloe’s hospital room, half expecting her to be asleep, but I find her sitting up, her eyes focused on her phone. “Chloe!” I throw myself in bed next to her and hold her in a tight hug. “Are you my sister?” She places her palm on my forehead. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine,” I chuckle. “I’m glad,” she grins. “Willow, Leo loves you. He can’t even hide it, everyone can see it. His protectiveness, the way he looks at you, and how his eyes light up when you are around.” “He’s supposed to be your man,” I frown in confusion. “We both know he would do anything for you,” she shrugs. “Because he feels guilty. Please don’t make me change my mind.” “Guilty of what? Change your mind about what?” “Chloe, Leo is not the person we thought he was.” “What did he do? Does he have something to do with your kidnapping?” She asks. “No, it’s something else. We had a fight.”“People have fights all the time, I want you to think about it. I'm not asking you to marry him, I just want
I freeze in the middle of the living area, begging my frozen brain to think of an explanation, while trying to keep my eyes away from the sideboard. The room gets quiet gain, and I exhale when I realize that it was a false alarm. “I’m doing this for Marcel,” I whisper to myself to get rid of my guilt. “You still here,” he sighs when he finds me in the kitchen, dishing up for him. “There’s no need to be rude, I just want to ensure that you eat.” I glance at him, in his black pajamas, his almost dry hair tousled, and my senses get bewitched by his scent, which smells like a mixture of wood, leather, citrus and something sweet. “You smell good,” I blurt out. “It’s not too strong, but it’s...I don’t know how to describe it.” “Thanks?” He smiles weakly. “It’s just a lotion. Willow, I told you to keep your distance. I don’t want to put your life in danger again.” He sits on the barstool, and I hand the plate to him. “Luckily, my life is not in danger. Mike is not all that bad.” “He
Willow “What are you girls doing? Why is Chloe not taking my calls? Am I interrupting your girl time?” My mom’s call wakes me up. “No, Chloe is probably asleep.” I try to ensure that she doesn’t sense my confusion. “Probably? I thought that your dorm had only one bedroom.” “We decided to sleep at a hotel. Didn’t she tell you that?” “No! She just told me that she is out of the hospital and you two decided to spend some time together. I wanted to come.” I chuckle in realization. “She’s okay, mom. I’m glad that the two of you patched things up.” “Me too,” she sighs. “You girls are all I have.” “And you are all we have. I have to go, we’ll call you later.” “Just forget to eat healthy food.” “Forget?” I laugh. “Don’t forget,” she titters, making me laugh more. “I love you,” she says. “We love you too.” I take a quick shower, and I prepare myself for what is probably going to be a long day ahead. I grab a cloth and delicately pick up the 1 kg pack of limbicus from Liam wrapped