ROSE A week went by in a flash. It’s amazing how fast time flies when you’re immersed in work. No wonder they say that the cure for a broken heart is work, work, and work. Work was the same. Whether it was the head of the styling team, a superstar, or an heiress, they all had something in common—they get vile and nasty when their needs are met; they get more vile and nasty when their needs aren’t met. I didn’t think that focusing on myself would be hard. There were plenty of ups like yesterday… ‘Ooh… you’re right—these glittery FLEURs look amazing with grey. Who would’ve thought!’ Goldie turned and twisted her knees to admire the thousand dollar heels strapped around her beautiful pedicured feet. ‘You finally used your brains, Dirty Rosie.’ I couldn’t hide my smile. ‘Rum wouldn’t look away from you, Miss Sparks.’ ‘Indeed….’ Goldie licked her lips. ‘I hope we could do more, you know…I mean, the kissing is good—he’s such a good kisser—but… OOH! Maybe this is all part of a for
ROSE No…. Those deep blue eyes kept staring, imploring me to open the window. To let him in. He could just break the glass and charge in. But he’s waiting. He’s waiting for me to make the choice. For us. Once again, I’m being forced to decide for us, as though he didn’t want to bear the consequences, as though he was afraid of them. I swallowed hard, clenching my hands into reluctant fists to muster the strength to send him away. If you don’t want this, Rum, then I don’t want it. ‘Go away,’ I said and heard my voice in a whisper. But he stayed where he was and since my eyes had adapted to the darkness, I could make out the shape of his wolf through the translucent curtains. Those piercing eyes were glowing in bright blue, begging me to open the window. ‘I said.’ My hands clenched tighter, driving my nails into my palms. ‘GO AWAY.’ A huge ball of emotion swarmed to my chest. I don’t want him to go. I want him in my arms. I want to be in his arms, to be drowned in his scen
AMBROSE‘No, wait!’ Cold fear gripped him, squeezed his eyes—he couldn’t move his limbs; too afraid to breathe. His skin burned with panic; large drops of sweat rolled down his face. His mother smiling back at him flashed across his mind like death welcoming him—the thin strand of chilling thrill sank into his flesh—sharp pain pierced his skull. ‘ALRIGHT!’ He sniffed. ‘I’LL DO IT!’ I’ll MAKE IT HAPPEN! STOP!’ And he could move again. Fresh air gushed into his lungs. Too much. He couldn’t take it. Cough, cough! Cough!His lips moved; the voice in his head snarled low with the chill of death. 'The vessel is going to wake up soon. Her so-called father is getting suspicious. He's going to bring in the light.'His spine squeezed like a leaf. 'ARGH!!!!' His voice screamed in pain from within. 'I'll hurry!'In the thing called mirror, his face was crushed with excruciating pain as his lips moved again, and a voice not his own spilled out from it. 'Why is the vessel moving faster than
RUM What am I doing? I turned away from the fleeting curtains and the silhouette of my curse in the glass pane of her window, and jumped onto the next ledge of the next window… then the next… and the next… and finally the same roof that I had been landing on for the past two weeks. What have I been doing? Ever since I have woken from that strange mull, everything seemed clearer and felt brighter, yet at the same time it was muddy. I made a long jump and landed on the roof of the next building, then sped to the edge and jumped again—. ***** The elevator doors opened and the lights came on. Ambrose was on the couch watching something hilarious on the TV—for some reason the sight of him disgusts me. Was it because of Rose or… the fact that he's Ambrose? 'Where were you?' he asked. Asshole. Acting like he's in charge. My hand reached for the fridge handle and I pulled it open to grab a bottle of Fiji. As I downed the whole bottle, the door slammed shut and—for some reaso
ROSE My phone was buzzing like crazy but I didn't care. I stared at the ceiling of my bedroom and let the tears fall. The buzzing stopped and my sobs took over. The breeze didn't help this time. I couldn't stop thinking of him. And the buzzing came on again. Argh! I grabbed the phone and raised it high, aiming at the wall—and then I halted. I sniffed hard, wiped my face with the back of my hand and tapped the green button. 'WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?' The sweet voice screamed, blasting my eardrums. 'You better have a good reason for missing work—.' 'I think I'm down with something,' I croaked. 'W-What?' Panic was in her voice. 'Is it contagious?' she whispered, fearful for her own life. 'I think so. That's why I quickly left,' I lied. 'Jesus Christ! I better tell Dan. Everyone needs to do a thorough check—. This better not be COVID!' 'As a matter of fact, I just finished my consultation with the doctor. And it's not COVID.' Wouldn't want the entire B.A.D to be inconve
AMBROSE As soon as he was well far away from the Alpha, Ambrose collapsed to the ground on all fours and spat out the ache that was clogging up in his chest. Splashes of black, gooey substance hit the ground and evaporated instantly with sizzles of steam. The blood of the darkness flowing through him. They haven’t gotten into his bloodstream like they did with the Beta—if they had, he would’ve been consumed. Lucky for him, he thought, he was just a minor character with little abilities to do much. If he’d been consumed, Goddess knows what’ll happen to his family. It was only a moment of consciousness for him before the voice took over once more. ‘Rockus!’ The low voice cursed as he stood and faced the mood hanging high above. ‘You’ll never be up there for long, my sweetness. I’ll pull you down from there if it’s the last thing I do! Made me a formless, scent-less thing, did you?’ A low chuckle of pure evil rumbled from Ambrose’s chest. ‘I’ll be the most hideous thing you’l
ROSE TAP! Tap, tap, tap…! Hmmm? It’s raining. I need to wake up and close the windows… my designs will catch the rain. My eyelids were forced open and bright daylight welcomed my return. My back felt stiff. My cheek felt numb. I tried my voice and my dried throat croaked. TAP, TAP, TAP! ‘Hurry!’ A silky, deep voice pierced through. Instantly, I jolted upright—I was still in my chair at my desk. I must’ve fallen asleep while working on the designs for my portfolio. It was a deep sleep because I couldn’t remember anything from it—I couldn’t even remember falling asl—. ‘JESUS CHRIST, OPEN THE DAMN WINDOW!’ Rum? My face jerked to my right and there he was—a giant black wolf—in broad daylight. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT?! I rushed over and tipped the latch. The glass pane yanked open with a loud bang and the wolf head jutted in. ‘Get on me now,’ it growled. ‘No.’ I backed away—but it sank its sharp teeth into my sleeves and tugged me forward. ‘Stop it, Rum!’ I hissed, afraid tha
RUM ‘Nice one, Rum!’ CLICK! FLASH! I promised to be back in thirty minutes and I was, much to everyone’s relief. Goldie Sparks wasn’t anywhere in sight so it was a relief; apparently, she left in an unwilling urgency to meet her father. I would need to come up with something plausible to appease her later, when she’s back. ‘Yes… that’s nice.’ CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK—FLASH! I couldn’t say it. The word that was in my mind. The subject of all my songs. The feeling that I thought I had lost ever since I left the werewolf world. I was afraid that if I said it out loud and clear, I’d lose everything. I’m a coward. Rose has been wrong about me. I’m no hero. I’m just a fucking coward. A selfish jerk. ‘Gaze of passion, Rum. Gaze of passion,’ instructed the photographer. I narrowed my eyes at the black circle perched on the camera. I meant to say ‘love’. But I turned it into ‘hate’. My chest chuckled dryly. I guessed I do hate her, since she was sent by the fucking deity. Ye
ROSECarefully, I picked up my iPad and the impatient phone and turned towards the exit of the office. I thought to answer the call once I’m outside, but it stopped buzzing. So I moved cautiously towards the elevator, when it arrived just as I halted to push the button for it. The doors opened and my handsome Alpha King appeared, worried as hell. ‘Why didn’t you answer my call?’ he demanded.I rolled my eyes. ‘Because I’m getting through a door with this.’ I pointed at my huge belly. He was about to carry me like a bride when I slapped his hands away. ‘Stop it!’ I hissed. ‘You want everyone to know?!’ ‘Wheelchair. If you ever missed my call again.’ He stepped aside for me to enter the metal carrier. ‘Alright, alright…’ I chuckled. ‘So how was it?’ He asked, glancing at my iPad. ‘Did she approve it?’ ‘No.’ I sighed. ‘It’s too extravagant. The actress specifically asked for more grounded styles. She wants people to relate more to acting than her beauty.’ And Keithen scoffed. ‘Goo
ROSEI rolled myself onto him, loving the way my skin rubbed against his, feeling his warmth and heartbeat against mine, as well as the vibrations of his chuckle. He swept the sticky damp strands off my face, hooking some around my ears, then combed the rest to the back of my head with his fingers, and all the time, I had my eyes closed, savouring the moment. And he chuckled some more. ‘You want another round?’ he whispered. My eyes burst open, and his arms squeezed my bare waist as he laughed. ‘I’m hurt, cub. You look like a car was about to hit you.’ I shifted closer to his face—my breasts scraping his hard chest, and he grunted a little—and kissed him on the mouth hard, delivering all my passion, all my apologies. Immediately, his mouth opened and he shifted to push me forward, so that his tongue could dive in a little more, consuming me breathless. Just as the familiar desires stirred inside me, I pulled back, tore my lips from his and captured his face with both hands, tryi
ROSEI’m a werewolf, aren’t I? Okay, not entirely. Just half wolf, half human. But that still counts, right? There’s still some wolf inside me to make this work! This has to work! Concentrate. Focus, Rose. Think of the gate. I could be at the beach, or the back alley. Does it relocate to the same place twice? Or does it choose a new place each time? ‘Rose, are you having a headache?’ asked Joy. I opened my eyes and evaluated my best friend for a while. Then, I made up my mind. ‘Joy.’ I grabbed her shoulders. ‘I’m about to tell you something that nothing in Science can ever explain.’ ‘O…kay?’ I could see the wheels of her mind churning to come up with the plausible reason for my sudden strange behaviour. ‘Is it Harry Potter kinda something?’ I nodded firmly. And she mouthed ‘O’, with a knowing gaze. But behind that gaze, I still caught her disbelief. ‘It’s alright to not believe me. Just promise me that you won’t tell a living soul.’ I was staring at her so hard, I could almost
RICHARDA video showing Richard in his midnight blue shirt with his arm stretched across the desk. The files shifted and a sketch of a female figurine in a puffed up flowy gown with petals in her hair and on her lashes and lips. Richard was flabbergasted. He turned back to the CEO, his mind churning furiously to come up with the best excuse to save his ass. ‘When Rose brought me that design, I thought to myself: this is something that ambitious Annie would use. It’s extravagant and flamboyant. Wouldn’t it be nice to distract her with this, so my precious gem can focus on levelling up her skills? She can’t be stuck in the B.A.D. crap all the time.’ Richard felt deflated. His world was crashing down into dust. ‘Y-You set me up.’ The CEO laughed heartily. ‘You flatter yourself too much, Richard. Set ups are for my equals. This is just a test. But you scored full marks.’ The young rising star slammed his palms on the desk and glared at the CEO—the woman who had previously doted on hi
ROSE‘... the winner of this styling face off is—.’ The emcee’s eyes rolled left to right repeatedly as he read the card. His brows knitted as a mutter of disbelief spilled from his mouth, ‘Annie from B.A.D.’ My insides sank to the deepest parts of my spirit. ‘YES!’ Annie shrieked out victoriously. With a smugful grin, she cast a look of condemnation in my way. ‘I told you she’s a fake! She can’t style at all! Extraordinary—ha!’ That was… … unexpected. I thought I had a good chance. I really did read Miss Jewel’s comments wrongly. ‘Oh! The main judge has something to say!’ The emcee shoved Annie aside to make way for the retired supermodel, Jinda Avengelistford, who gracefully took the centrestage at an astounding height of six feet. ‘Based on the styling standards, Miss Annie has met every single one.’ She turned to the head of B.A.D.’s styling team and flashed a warm smile. ‘It was exciting—your unexpected. There is still a difference between professional and personal styling.
KEITHEN ’CUT!’ The director’s frown was as clear as the blue sky outside. I could tell that he’s been trying to hold it in. But the shit’s about to explode. ‘Rum.’ He forced a smile. ‘Are you sure you’re not unwell?’ I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said this: ‘I’m fine.’ ‘Then what’s the problem?!’ The older guy grabbed his hair, about to go crazy. I stared at the line of the script that was shoved into my view. Instantly, the clog in my throat grew real. As real as the reality I’m about to face in an hour’s time. ‘Maybe Rum’s upset that this is all going to end for him soon.’ I looked up and a pair of kind eyes smiled back at me. Sherry patted my shoulder as that sweet smile turned into a sympathetic one. ‘I bet he misses all this. Don’t you, boss?’ I chuckled dryly and looked down again. ‘I’m not your boss, Sher. I’ve said it many times.’ That’s it. No matter how hard you try. You can’t fight reality. You just can’t. You can stay hidden around her. It won’t ma
RICHARDA day before the styling competition… ‘Go right in. She’s wrapping up the conference call,’ said the lovely PA of Miss Jewel. The young man in his stylist’s midnight blue shirt and grey bubble pants grinned sweetly and nodded. ‘Thank you, Celia. You look lovely today.’ And the PA gave her usual polite smile. Richard entered the glasshouse of an office and settled himself in the same chair he’d always been in whenever he’s here. A minute turned to three… and then it felt like ten. Richard’s fingers began to tap with impatience. He thought of checking his phone for an update from the private investigator he’d sent to tail Rose. The thought of Rose brought a grin to his glossed lips. Miss Jewel must have called him in to talk about Rose’s resignation, and he was prepared to sacrifice his precious time and help the agency convince Rose to retract it. There is no way the CEO wouldn’t agree to his one and only condition: that Rose stays as his stylist for as long as he’s wi
ROSEBANG, BANG, BANG!I stared at the door, unable to breathe. Unable to stop the tears. Unable to shut him out. ‘OPEN THE DAMN DOOR, ROSE!’ thundered the Alpha King. ‘YOU BETTER GIVE ME AN EXPLANATION RIGHT NOW!’ Hands clamped my ears. My head kept shaking in disagreement. My chest screaming: go away! Please, go away! ‘I know you’re in there! Open the fucking door!’ The banging continued. The same hands now clamped my mouth. To stop me from telling him to stop. Stop the noise, or someone will report him to the police. You’re a fucking celebrity! Stop it, Keithen!‘I’m counting to three. No open door, and I’ll fucking shift right here! Hear that, Rose? Footsteps! People are coming out. They’ll see me—.’ The hands were back on my ears. Shutting out his voice. My feet shuffled back, away from that enraged door. Hide. Go and hide, my mind told me. And I did. I scampered back to my room and slammed the door shut. Locked it. Then backed away, towards my bed. The second my calves bum
RICHARD‘I told you it’s not going to happen!’ the young man hissed into his phone. The female voice at the other end of the line screamed curses. ‘Everyone’s been talking about your peach silver outfit—more than mine! What happened to the black jacket! You said you’d wear it.’ Richard Black rolled his eyes at his reflection in his bedroom mirror. ‘She wanted to change it. What else can I do? Say no? Has your precious Rum ever said no to you regarding his outfit?’ ‘I can’t let her win that competition,’ chanted Annie. ‘Dan’ll have my head!’ ‘I’ll get you a chopping board then.’ ‘You lying son of a bitch! You didn’t keep your end of the deal—have you any idea the sacrifice I made for that article?’‘Sleeping with a reporter instead of some big shot? You call that a sacrifice?’ Richard scoffed. ‘You’re a whore, Annie. Everyone who knows you knows that. The models—they talk. A hell lot.’‘And you think your Rose is a virgin?’ ‘SHUT UP!’ Richard shouted back, and the ugly chuckle r