RUM I held down the dumbass’s head so low that Rose couldn’t see—and hear—him. Then I hissed angrily, “I don’t want her to know my name, goddamn it!” “Oh… now I get it.” “Just call me ‘Rum’.” “What in deity’s name is that?” asked the buffoon. “IT DOESN’T MATTER, FOR GOD’S SAKE!” It was then, the big friendly giant frowned with disapproval. “You’re defying the Goddess, Kee. You don’t even talk about her anymore. ‘For God’s sake’? We only believe in one Goddess and that’s the—.” I stopped him before he said her name. “It’s just a fucking metaphor. Give it up.” I released him. “And don’t come here because of some stupid dream.” “So we’re not whispering anymore?” The giant scratched his head. ***** ROSE “Yeah.” I found myself interrupting again, irritated at being left out. “Are you guys not whispering anymore?” I glared at Rum. And he shot a cautioning finger at me. “I’m still your boss.” I looked away in a defeated scowl as Rum interrogated his peer once more. “S
ROSE The superstar brisk-walked to the kitchen and I was hot on his trail. "Come on, Rum. Tell me, what is 'sling dash'?" He grabbed a glass from the shelf, glanced at me and groaned in surrender, “Urgh! It’s a sport. We played it back home.” The glass was slammed frustratingly on the counter, signalling his unwillingness to continue with the topic. But I was immersed in the thrill of discovering a new world and couldn’t stop. “What’s it like?” A jug of water in his hands, he closed his eyes to mentally count to ten and breathed, “It’s hard to explain.” Then, he opened his eyes and poured water into his glass. Abruptly, he snapped, “And it’s not important for my fucking allergy, so I’m not answering.” I pouted at the counter top. Humph! I’ll find it out on my own then. Erasmo did say that the others are coming for Rum—that means I can meet more werewolves! I looked up and he appeared startled and looked away. Puzzled, I asked, “What’s wrong? Something on my face?” “No,” he
RUM I threw the guitar back on the armchair and rushed to her side. “Let go of him!” Rose was clawing the air. “NO!” “Rose!” I shook her arm. “Hey… wake up.” But she continued tossing and turning, as though she was struggling to get free from someone pinning her down. Worried, I pressed a button on a remote controller and white lights flooded the room. And then I saw her kicking about. Quickly, I shook her arm harder. “Rose, wake up.” Her eyes flew open and she jolted upright. “A-Are you alright?” I asked, genuinely concerned. She turned to me in shock then threw her arms around me. “Rum!” “Y-Yes!” “They were going to take you away! An army of them!” She sobbed, clutching me tightly as she started muttering incoherently. “Erasmo was leading them… there were a thousand… no, a hundred thousand werewolves…,” she hiccuped and continued blabbering, “And they cuffed you up… and locked you in chains….” I unwound her arms and nudged her back. Then, I cradled her soft cheek
ROSE I hit a bed of sand. “Ooph!” Fuck, it hurts! I curled into my usual foetal form to ingest the pain as a mesh of vicious grunting and growling rumbled not far from where I am. Rum! They’re ganging up on him! Worried sick, I pushed myself up, wincing in pain, and searched frantically for the giant, black wolf. Then I saw him fighting off the grey wolf—he jumped from the swings to the see-saw and then swiped his claws at the back of the grey fur animal, who then backed away in pain. The dark brown wolf appeared out of nowhere and jumped onto Rum—. “Rum, look out!” I screamed in worry. And Rum shook her off in one violent swing, then threw his hind legs at the attacker and shoved her hard at the steel pole of the swings, and she grunted in pain. But before Rum recovered, the grey wolf pounced on to him once more. “Look at what we have here?” I turned to the voice and gasped in horror. Niro was moving towards me, his yellow eyes boring through my face as the ugly
ROSE In three strides of his long, athletic legs, the superstar arrived in front of me and glowered like I was his mortal enemy. “And what’s up with you? Why are you letting all these idiots flirt with you?” I returned him an even glare. You’re the idiot! I didn’t ask them to flirt with me. Why don’t you reflect on the standards of beauty of your kind? They seemed to have a strange taste in women—I’m the plainest and the most boring chick in B.A.D.! Bell put her arm around me and pulled me close. I was caught in surprise that I didn’t know how to react when she whined, “That’s so rude of you, Rummy. Sharing is caring, isn’t it?” I giggled carelessly, forgetting all about Bell. Rummy?! That’s hilarious! Oh my god, wait till Joy hears this; she’s gonna start calling him Rummy too! Then, Rum pulled me to his back and barked, “Stop staring at her! Leave!” “Alright, alright, I’m going.” She tilted her body like the second hand of a clock to send me a flying kiss. “It was a love
ROSE The Men’s Room? That self-centred jerk! There's no limit to his superstar craziness! I stared at the text message, feeling conflicted. Should I text or call him back, to see what he wants? Would that upset him? He did ask me to come. In the end, my stubbornness to keep my promise won me over. I arrived outside the male toilet and whispered as loud as I could, without catching any attention, “RUM!” “Jesus Christ, I should've gotten an assistant with longer legs…you move ten times slower than an average human—," he grumbled and then growled, "Just get in here!” “But it’s the male toilet!” “There’s no one here. And no one is coming our way. So come on!” he urged, sounding dead urgent. So I ran in and asked in a lowered voice, “Where are you—?” The door flew open and his hand stuck out to wave at me. I dashed towards it and clamped my mouth to stop a scream of shock: Christy was sitting on the toilet, unconscious. Rum tugged me in and locked the door. “What happen
ROSE Rum whispered back, “This isn't some Power Rangers or X-Men shit… it’s just the way we are. Some people can count twice as fast while others have an eye for details. That sort of thing. It’s a biological difference. We do not have special powers.” “Okay. Let me rephrase: what other abilities do you have?” The sheer curiosity was burning my head. Rum sighed and muttered, “Goddamn it, Rose. We just had a close call. And I’m still feeling traumatised by it. Can we not talk about this right now?” His head was resting on the headrest and his eyes were closed. I pouted. It was his messy relationships with women that nearly exposed his wolf! Why is he the victim? If he had stuck with one woman—Oh! No, no, no… he can’t! He’s an international celebrity; the love of millions and millions of people. Having a girlfriend would mean the end of his career! Then, he would have to go home! I don't want him to go home! I want him to stay! I need him to stay. A few seconds of silence l
ROSE It was then I felt the slight tremble of chill in Rum’s body. I knew what it was… I was trembling the same way as I followed my homeroom teacher to the headmaster’s office for the first time; I was caught in possession of a cigarette stick and a lighter, both of which I was muling for one of my bullies back in high school. Rum was right. A hug was all we needed to get through this. And I would gladly let him have it now. Without thinking, I rubbed his back in the same comforting way as dad did when I was frightened by a ferocious dog that tried to take my snack. “You did well, Rum,” I whispered and felt his arms tighten some more around me, nearly flattening my lungs. ****** “Yes, Rum had a migraine attack. So he rushed out to get some fresh air. We’ll be heading back in—.” I looked up and Rum was holding up five fingers. So I said, “In five. Yes, Peggy. I’ll tell him. Yes, he looks much better now. Alright, see you in a bit.” I ended the call and turned to the su
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