MAXINEHe had short curly blond hair and blue eyes. His skin was a beautiful tan orange and his jaw was chiseled. When he smiled, I was so distracted by his dazzling teeth and pretty lips. They looked like kissable lips…I didn't realize that I had been staring until he chuckled and said, "I'm Conrad." He said. "What's your name?"I cleared my throat. "Annalise." I replied and shook my head quickly, "But you can call me Anna.""Annalise," he tested my name on his lips. Why did it sound so good? Why did I want him to keep saying it that way? "I like that. I'll see you later, Annalise."He walked past me and I turned to watch him go. I didn't realize when a dreamy sigh escaped my lips. Was he real? He looked like he was carefully sculpted by a Greek god."I saw how you looked at him!" Zel teased bumping shoulders with me. "He looks like a cute guy."I acted like I didn't care as I began to fold laundry. "Yeah, I guess.""You guess?" Zel asked. "Are you still hung over hot Alpha who chea
MAXINEWe turned to look at Mr. Grayson, standing by the door. His grip on the handle was white. I swallowed deeply. I hadn't even heard him."Well?" he asked, taking yet another step closer. "What do you think you're doing?"His hands were clenched into fists and his eyes burned with anger. The air in the office seemed to shift with the implication of what we had done.Zel stood frozen, literally caught red-handed. There was a file opened in her hands. I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice."You can't speak?" Mr. Grayson asked, lifting one of his brows."We...we were just looking for some cleaning supplies. We wanted to take out a stain in a carpet and…" I stammered. The excuse sounded so flimsy and weak.Mr. Grayson scoffed. He looked at Zel and then at me. "Cleaning supplies? In my office? Do you take me for a fool?"Zel stepped forward, a defiant look on her face. Her chin was held high. "We're not fools, Mr. Grayson." She began. "We know that something is wrong here. We heard
MAXINEWe turned slowly and saw the dark figure by our door. We quickly rushed backward, putting space between us. There was a pair of glowing eyes and a growl escaped its mouth."Who are you?!" I demanded, finding my voice. I held onto Zel protectively.I growled, my bones shifting and claws extending out. I felt the fur grow on the side of my face, my legs, and my arm. I didn't fully shift.This was a dangerous situation and I needed to act fast if this thing tried to attack us."What do you girls think you're doing?" the figure growled, sending shivers running down my spine. "Snooping around about the lodge like that."Now that we knew why this strange enemy was here, I was somewhat relaxed. It meant that there was something sinister about the lodge and it had finally manifested itself to us."So, you're the spirit tormenting the Gray Lodge," I said matter-of-factly.The thing seemed to chuckle. "And what if I am? What are you going to do about it?" It asked.Zel stepped forward. "
MAXINEWe let the shock of what he said settle between us for a moment. The silence reigns. The only thing we heard was the sound of the tires against the road."What happened to him?" I asked. He looked through the rearview mirror at me in the backseat."He disappeared. It was a little while after my wife’s death. I’ve been searching for him ever since, hoping to bring him back. I think maybe the curse has a hand in this I just hope he's still alive."We didn't ask him any more questions and were stuck in silence until we reached the lodge. Mr. Grayson pulled over and helped us bring our things out of the trunk."You girls move back into your room. We'll talk some more tomorrow." He said."Does this mean we have our job back?" I asked, optimistic.Mr. Grayson nodded with a small smile. "Yes."Zel and I exchanged a smile. "Thank you," I said.He wished us goodnight and we walked back into the lodge. Zel and I carried our bags before we knocked on our room door and walked back inside.
MAXINEHe held my chin gently and brought his lips to mine. They were warm and they tasted like chocolate. The kiss was slow and patient but it caused my heart to race.He pulled away and looked into my eyes. I chuckled, feeling my cheek warm up. He chuckled as well and we faced the sunset again."That kiss… That was, that was something," he said, at a lack of words, just like me.We stayed for a while until the sun set and the weather became cold. Conrad and I walked back to the lodge, our hands linked. This was a new thing for me.I had never held hands before and I didn't know what to do. I just kept them, not moving my fingers as we went. When we got close enough to the lodge, I felt shy and let go of his hand, pretending to arrange my hair."Thanks for today, Conrad. I enjoyed watching the sunset with you." I said with a smile."I enjoyed talking with you, Annalise. You make everything look better." He smiled. I didn't know what he meant but I took the compliment."Goodnight, Con
MAXINEAfter the meeting, Zel spent most of her afternoon translating the book while we worked. Sometimes, Regina and I would peek over her shoulders to get a glimpse of what was written inside.She was done in about two days and she returned it to Mr. Grayson. He gathered us together and told us our first plan."The first piece of the puzzle is not too far. It's an old and abandoned monastery. How to get there is written in the book. Are you all ready for this? You don't have to come if you don't want to. I'm sorry for placing this burden on you." Mr. Grayson said.I shook my head. "I said we were going to do this, didn't I?" I asked. "Then we would.""Let's see how getting this first piece is," Regina spoke up. "If it's easy, we can just split up into teams and retrieve the others. It's going to be faster then."We nodded to her suggestion, agreeing."Well then, let's prepare to leave."Zel and I, along with Regina, returned to our room to change out of our uniform. Regina changed a
MAXINEWe burst out of the monastery and into the sun right when the snake snapped its jaw. It hissed, recoiling back into the monastery. It was agitated, not staying in one place. But, it didn't chase after us any further.It snapped its jaw at us some more, hissing but it seemed like it was unable to leave the monastery."Come on," Mr. Grayson said. "Let's leave this place."We hurried back to the car, not speaking. That was a horror that we would never forget. And it wasn't even something we could tell people and they would believe.Mr. Grayson drove for hours. Zel and I ended up nodding off to sleep at intervals, a bit tired from using our abilities. Finally, he pulled over in front of a cabin, hidden by the woods.He got out of the car and we followed him curiously. "Why are we here?" I asked."It's a safe place," he said. "Taking this object back to the lodge is going to attract the curse's attention so, we're going to keep it safely guarded here."He reached up at the top of th
MAXINE"You know about the curse?" Mr. Grayson asked.Peter nodded. He walked back and closed the door behind him. "I was trying to understand why I couldn't fully come back. I tried going to the lodge numerous times. It wasn't until I understood what was happening that I started searching for answers."We all took seats, gathered in the living room talking and listening to Peter. When he was done explaining what had happened to him, I couldn't help but think how crazy it all was."Two weeks ago…" Mr. Grayson hummed. "That's around the same time Zel and Anna showed up to work."Peter looked at the two of us and smiled. It was almost like he was noticing us for the first time. "Anna and Zel…" he tried our names. "I'm so sorry. I just get so distracted and I don't take notice of people until it's important."I didn't know what to say. I wanted to blame it on the fact that he had been roaming around for years and it messed up with his head. So, I decided to say nothing."What did you fin