ROSE ‘But there was nothing here when we first came. And there’s nothing here now.’ I scanned the familiar vast sea of green grass swaying gently in the fresh mountain breeze. Rum looked around. ‘It’s hidden. That’s why we can’t see it.’ He tugged my hand and moved closer to the pond. ‘It’s here alright. I’m sure of it.’ ‘Rum….’ He looked at me with a warm smile that seemed to remind me of what I had agreed to earlier. I need you to trust me, Rose. I squeezed his hand to tell him I’m fine and shifted closer to him to let him know that I trust him. I guess I was scared to leave Mrs. Hook’s cave because that place felt safe; it was high enough to disappear from plain sight and Mrs. Hook has lived there all her life—well most of it—so with her skills, she’s a strong fighter. As we circled the pond, I observed that strong jaw I’ve held and kissed many times and chided myself for being a scaredy cat. The dark whims are contained within a single werewolf so there’d be none floa
ROSE Because Alpha Erick hardly leaves his room, it was safe for Rum and I to move around the halls of the castle—I mean the manor—without announcing our arrival. Erasmo gave us a map to help us navigate around the manor, reminded us for the fifth time not to go anywhere near the main hall, and that our quarters would be outside the manor—his stone hut—and then left us at the library. ‘What if someone sees us?’ I asked in a low whisper when the door closed behind us. ‘Erasmo will take care of it.’ Rum moved into the library and I followed closely. ‘He’s going to tell the others that we’re his VIPs and we’re not to be disturbed.’ ‘And they’ll listen?’ ‘Gosh.’ He halted and turned around with a frown. ‘I really need to do something about those bullies when we go back there.’ Chilling fear gripped my back, straightening it. ‘Are we going back?’ The human world now felt like a nightmare to me. It shouldn’t because Joy’s still there. But it is. And I can’t seem to help it.
ROSE Rum quickly searched the second scroll he’d picked up earlier while he explained, ‘I remember reading it. The dark whims must’ve struck a deal with my uncle.’ A deal? I arrived beside him, watching his finger scroll across the page. ‘Like a contract?’ ‘Yes!’ Rum unrolled some more and scanned the paragraphs. ‘I remember reading it… it must be here somewhere….’ ‘Kinda like the Ghostrider.’ I still feel surreal about the idea. ‘Or Doctor what’s his name, who made a pact with the devil and sold their souls for something—that kind of deal?’ Rum frowned at me. ‘Goddamn it, the Ghostrider didn’t sell his soul—his father did.’ Irritation narrowed my eyes. ‘Who’s the human here?’ Those blue eyes widened with the recognition of his signature response and rolled skyward. ‘Fine. Five points to Cintilar.’ He returned his focus to the scroll and added, ‘but no–it’s not like that.’ I was grinning from ear to ear when he exclaimed, ‘here it is!’ And I shifted closer to read the p
ROSEThe entire scroll reads like an instruction manual in Latin; I could pick out a few words and guess a few symbols, but I’m missing the whole picture. After a few more unrolling, my brain felt like an engine that’s completed a million miles without break. It was then the scroll that I fetched earlier caught my eye. It was lying beside the first scroll that Rum had brought to the table so I stood to get it. Rum was immersed in his reading, which was a good thing, so I decided to continue minding my own business. Let’s see… this is the same scroll that Elena picked out for me back at the White Crown castle—manor—whatever. The scroll unrolled to reveal the same passages that I saw a few days ago and this time, they were being captured properly—earlier, the sentences felt like what I would see in an F1 racing car. It says that the born healer possesses both the abilities earned by the made healer and the ones gifted by the deity’s light; the former guides the essence of the deity
ROSE The library? I couldn’t stay focused on my thoughts. What did I do? Oh god… my tongue kept twirling around his, sliding and stroking, deliciously addictive. His hands slid up my dress from my waist to my breasts and started fondling them passionately. ‘Mmm…,’ I moaned in approval. I needed to get closer, to feel all his muscles… its strength and power—and my palms pressed against the door to push my body forward. The effort was rewarded with a grunt of delight from him—his brows knitted in frustration, as though we were in a competition and he had lost, and his body slammed against mine, banging my back on the door—-his kisses, fiercer, urging me to keep up. And I did, moaning harder, clutching him tighter, even though his chest was grazing my breasts like a dough, flattening my back against the door. Just when things were becoming hazy, his knee came between my thighs and started rubbing…. Electrifying sensations shot up from my toes, tearing my mouth away to let o
ROSEHis eyes widened with renewed revelation, as though he’s never heard those words spoken to him before. He didn’t seem upset. Rather, he looked relieved—he’s finally found someone who could say the words he’s been waiting to hear. ‘How is it….’ He gazed down at me. ‘That you always manage to say what I want to hear?’ I was too mesmerised by the shimmering swirls in his blue eyes to respond, and he added in a lowered voice, ‘I told you not to keep turning me on. But you keep doing it.’ His mouth inched closer. I wanted to kiss him too. But if I did, we won’t be able to stop till morning, and we need to start training now. So I shifted back and whispered, ‘I’ll try my best not to turn you on.’ When those gorgeous blue eyes blinked like a confused child, I stifled a giggle and mustered a serious tone. ‘What do I do to shift?’ Realisation crossed his face when I stepped back and—is that a pout? It was there for a flick of a second and then replaced by a university professor’s s
ROSEI jolted upright. Where am I? The wooden table with plates of half eaten lunch… the fireplace stocked up with fresh wood… the closed wooden door… the bright window… the naked superstar Rum sleeping soundly next to me—. Jesus Christ… I hooked my hair around my ear and rubbed my face, letting out a sigh of relief. We are in the werewolf world—not the human world. There’s no Goldie Sparks running after me with a gun, screaming, calling me a whore, the slut who brings the downfall of her beloved, superstar Rum. A light snore snapped me back to the cool air of the stone hut, the soft feathery sheets of the bed and the familiar warmth of the Alpha beside me. All the time up till lunch, he practised summoning that healing light inside him, and it made him so vexed that he immediately grabbed me after lunch, and we had wild, crazy sex until I knocked out due to exhaustion. I guess he slept right after I did—the plates weren’t cleared. I laid down again and snuggled against that b
ROSEWe left before the sentinels arrived—we had to; we promised Erasmo that we’d stay hidden. Once silence took over the surroundings, we reckoned that we were a good distance away from the market and stopped running. ‘You were right.’ I got off Rum’s back and met his gaze as he straightened and turned to me. ‘I shouldn’t have interfered.’ ‘But you said you had to. You must’ve sensed something.’ He took my hand and pulled me along as he moved up the slope at a more leisurely pace. ‘I did feel that he was on the brink of death.’ The Alpha smiled. ‘There you have it.’ I leaned closer, walking alongside him. ‘But what if they try to find me. And they found you?’ ‘Then we leave.’ He chuckled. ‘Every problem has a solution.’ He looked ahead, gazing at an imaginary distance. ‘The only issue is fear. Fear cripples all solutions.’ This Rum is the one in all the music that I’ve listened to and loved. The Rum who cherishes life and sees the joy in all experiences, good or bad. It’s th