RUM‘The chosen one?’ I scoffed. ‘Don’t you think it’s too grand a name? For a puppet.' The invisible claws digging into my uncle’s chest had finally found what it was looking for and was starting to pull it out of the old werewolf—. His body arched like a broken doll; his mouth wide opened—.Rola was shaking in one corner, her hands desperately clasped to her ears, as though what she was hearing felt deafening and fucking scary. Another laughter and then, the voice continued bluntly: Not grand enough for the finest puppet I’ll ever get… you don’t know the lengths I’ve gone to get you. Son of a bitch. I snorted derisively. ‘Am I supposed to be impressed?’ Not impressed. Honoured—you should be honoured… so many have sacrificed themselves for you….Deity's arse, he's gonna recite his killing list now—and I'm supposed to listen to all this shit. That nosy healer—I wanted to wait in the garden for your arrival but she wouldn’t let me… threatened to reduce me back to dots… I had to
ROSE Three months later…. ‘It has personality,’ remarked the professor as she shut her laptop, smiling to the students streaming out of the lecture hall. Then, she turned to me with a hawkish gaze through her glasses, evaluating me via my face, and muttered, ‘You said you were trained at the B.A.D. under Annie.’ She didn't exactly train me, but there’s no point in explaining anyway. ‘Yes.’ I nodded firmly. ‘I was only an intern.’ She leaned closer and whispered in a low, warning tone. ‘You better not lie to me, young lady. My reputation is on the line here.’ Huh? Puzzlement gathered my brows. ‘It's just an assignment. Everyone else has gotten back theirs, graded. But not me. So I’m only asking it back, professor.’ Not taking her eyes off me, she slipped her laptop into her bag and flipped the sling on her shoulder, her brows not losing that sternness. ‘You won't get it back because I’ve submitted it for a styling competition, Cintilar.’ What. the. Hell? ‘Now, I know th
RUM Rose. She was laughing heartily with someone on the same couch as her. Who? And the ground slammed on my face—wind punched out of my lungs—and I gasped for air once again, gasping and panting. The one living inside me was in laboured breathing as well. And my mind smiled: I managed to hurt him a little. He isn’t invincible afterall. He may not feel pain and is untouchable, literally, but there are ways to make him feel both—to tame him. I have to put a leash around him, or he’d get out of control. ‘To the South.’ I drew in deep, longer breaths to catch up with my frightened heart and continued, ‘there are eighteen packs. East, thirty. North, six.’ I swallowed and sat up finally, feeling better. ‘You want fast then send more warriors out there. The sooner our army grows to thrice the size of White Crown’s, the sooner we can call ourselves ready.’ Fine. We’ll do that. But I still want a piece of the Howling Five. I’ve waited long enough… NO MORE. I sighed and muttered, ‘
ROSE Screams of terror struck the stale air of the back alley. ‘I-Is that a—?’ whispered Jessie, her eyes wide with disbelief. ‘W-Wolf?’ Wolf?! New fear gripped me. Shit! Is it behind me? I couldn’t move, kept my gaze on the trio, begging for them to give me something. A cue, a hint, anything! I don’t want to be eaten! ‘It’s staring at us!’ hissed deer number two, patting the third girl’s shoulder anxiously. ‘I think it ran away from the zoo and was taking a nap here. And we’ve disturbed it!’ The third girl whispered, ‘Damn it, we didn’t disturbed it—Cintilar did. She fell on it.’ Oh hell! That sharp thing was the wolf’s teeth?! But it felt like metal—like a broken part of something. ‘On three.’ Jessie, who’d been standing behind, advised calmly. Wait, what? Run? On the count of three? ‘Wait!’ hissed deer two. ‘What about Cintilar?’ Huh? Me? What about me? ‘Shut up, Gina!’ snapped the third girl, her voice wavering with fear. ‘Do you see her anywhere? She’s pro
ROSE A few hours later…. ‘The lady with light pink hair?’ Joy put away the eggs in the fridge. ‘It’s heavenly pink,’ I repeated, slightly annoyed. Ignoring me, Joy continued, ‘Yes, I’ve seen her. She moved in a month ago. Next door.’ My spine straightened in surprise. ‘So she’s the new neighbour?’ Joy nodded along as she folded up the shopping bag. Then, she whipped out her phone. ‘Let’s get Chinese.’ ‘Alright.’ An idea jolted me. ‘Can we invite Krissy over for dinner? I want to thank her for helping me.’ Joy glanced up from her phone screen with a wide, agreeable gaze. ‘Great idea. We can get to know her too. I’m kinda curious—I hardly saw her come out from her apartment ever since she moved in.’ ****** 'Oh, you're a… traveller,' repeated Joy, her voice trailing off into awkwardness. I felt embarrassed too. What exactly does a traveller do? Travel? But how does that make money? And Joy's eyes lit up in realisation. 'Oh, you make travel content, am I right?' Kris
ROSE 'See you on Tuesday!' smiled the sweet receptionist, who's twice my age with loads of experience working with the Director of the agency, Miss Jewel Virtus. I returned her a cheerful wave before pushing at the heavy glass door and stepped outside onto the concrete pavement, my insides couldn’t stop smiling. I like it here. Compared to B.A.D, the vibes here are definitely more positive and encouraging. One year with my supervisor—one of the full-time stylists here—was more enriching and fulfilling than three years with Annie. '... but it's the most hated song by all who love Rum! Here—listen!' Two models strolled past me, one of them giggling at her phone while the other wore a repulsive look as the music and a silky voice hit the air. ‘...I… Want to…love you but I can’t…Kiss your heart but I can’t….’ And then a bullet pierced through my brain—no—a sharp piercing sound. It silenced my surroundings—forcing me into a bubble of deafness—and then the same images burst throug
ROSEAnd everything fell neatly into place. It was like I had finally caught up with time, mentally and emotionally. And I could feel Rum's presence as though he was standing next to me. Keithen Hook. Rum. The black wolf, the faceless sexy hunk in my dreams, making love to me—they were all him—every piece of him, vital or insignificant, calling out to me ever since my memories were suppressed. Rum. Keithen. I need to get to him. Fast. THAT'S WHY I NEED TO—.'Get through this stupid portal—argh!!!' I pushed against the forcefield that was pushing me back, preventing me from going through—just as Krissy said. And then I was hurled back in a huge crescent wave, landing harshly on my butt, and the grainy shore. 'Ow!' The gentle night waves swooshed rhythmically in the background. 'Told you it won't work.' Krissy helped me up. 'Keithen put it up especially for you.''And why in Goddess' name would he do that?!' I panted. This is infuriating. 'To protect you,' snapped the impatient
ROSE A strong green megawatt spotlight of Rum’s concert burst through, illuminating the wound like it was a solo artist on the stage. And the strangest thing happened: red yarns spurted out from the flesh of each end and joined hands, working together, pulling and sucking, to seal up and form a scar. My face shot up, eyes widened with shock at the two shouting ladies, but they couldn't seem to see what was happening. Not even Ellis, who was now screaming like a burning victim. I looked down at the wound: everything that should happen biologically in wound healing with humans is now happening at super speed; it was like watching a video fast forward. And then, it was over. The green light retracted, having done its deed, and Ellis had stopped tossing about screaming, fainted, fallen into a healing slumber. Both women, and myself, stared at the reattached arm in utter disbelief: it looked exactly as it was before. With shaking fingers, and more tears gushing down her face