ROSE‘Where’ve you been?’ Richard stopped me. Hands on my shoulders, he bent slightly to squint at me . ‘And why’s your face so red?’ ‘I hate Rum.’ The whisper slipped out before I could stop it. And I watch a huge grin of a face levelled with mine. ‘Now you’re talking!’ He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tightly. ‘I know you’ll come through! You like me more, do you? I knew it!’ How the hell did he come to that conclusion? Ah, whatever. I nudged at him and he released me. ‘Where are you going?’ I asked, still feeling like a grape and a charcoal at the same time. ‘To watch someone get slapped,’ he whispered, not hiding his eager tone, as his finger laced through mine. ‘Let’s go!’ ‘Who?’ I muttered, not in the mood for anything except slapping that stupid, womanising Alpha. There’s no other reason why he was with Sherry. And the van had rocked a little. I swear. ‘Apparently, it’s three slaps. Can’t wait to see a swollen, red face.’ ‘SILENCE ON SET!’ Instantly, the v
My gaze lifted and immediately found his blue electric eyes. Something clogged my throat as my mouth opened. And then those same blue eyes almost frowned, puzzled. What's wrong, they seemed to ask. I swallowed hard and inhaled deep, and recited, ‘What is it now?’--Gosh, I sound like a robot. Keithen straightened—he was Ricky. There was no need for a camera. ‘Quit the attitude,’ his low voice breathed. ‘You know you need to hear this.’Christ—Ricky is truly a prick. I looked down and continued reciting, ‘Turn and leave—oh.’ I glanced up and blue eyes were grinning with amusement. I threw a glare of defiance and turned from him—as instructed—and his grip came around my wrist. ‘Where are you going? Didn't you hear what I said?’I finished reading and looked at him. ‘Yes, I did. And I'm leaving.’His grip tightened and repeated the line that I heard earlier. I tried to shake him off and cried in a reading voice, ‘You’re gonna spit on him so I don’t wanna hear it. You may be the ki
ROSE His kisses were long, gentle and strong, like he wanted the moment to last. As soon as one ended, the next one started. He couldn’t stop. He held my face perfectly to keep going—and it was my hands slipping under his shirt, sliding up and down his back, feeling all the warm flesh and grooves like I was reading Braille. We were leading each other on differently but with the same passion. And then I was placed on something hard, my chest brushing his, which annoyed me—I want to rub my breasts against his hard chest. I want to make my nipples hard with his warmth and cover myself with him, graze my skin against his, to feel his heat, its comfort, to wrap them around me and hug it close. To make it mine. I nudged him to stop and his lips tore away with a loud reluctant smack, and he stared at me as my fingers hastily unbuttoned my blouse. His were already undone. When, I can’t be sure. Did he do it, or was it me, I can’t remember. All I could think of now was to get naked and
KEITHENWait—did I….? I looked around myself, pondering. Fuck. I didn’t release it, did I? That blasted energy. No, it can’t be it. They told me it wouldn’t come out unless it’s a matter of life or death—my life and my death. But I felt extreme anger just now. Could that be the trigger? I searched and found Rose—and she was rushing towards the sea lion who had already gotten off the stage. A first aid kit in her hand. Her brows knitted with worry. And my insides clenched. Distaste covered my tongue. ‘The edge is clean—someone must’ve cut it.’ I spun around to the voice and the props guy was showing the guitar and its broken string to the director who immediately grabbed his forehead in distress—the AP was beside him, squinting with concern. ‘Who could it be?’ asked the director. ‘Anyone saw the last person to hold it before Richard?’ Silence filled the hall when the AP’s face met mine and said, ‘R-Rum.’ My name was like a gunshot in the stillness. I might as well have shot th
ROSEAnnie. It’s got to be her. There’s no one else. Richard’s voice came out of the muffle. ‘... Rose?’ ‘Hmm?’ I flipped up to meet his eyes—those black eyes were full of concern. There was nothing in there that said that he wanted to switch me out. The kind-hearted kid has already put it all behind him. ‘I asked if you knew about this. Shit. You look like hell.’ He took my hands and squeezed them to give them warmth. ‘Your hands are cold!’ ‘I-I’m fine.’ Who am I kidding? I’m not. If Richard wasn’t going to switch me, Ms Jewel would. No hesitation. Didn’t she say so? Richard is her gem. Nothing can go wrong with this project. As long as the wrong isn’t Richard, she won’t hesitate to yank it out. All weeds must go for her garden to grow. ‘Richard. We need to go. The Director—,’ repeated the assistant for the millionth time. ‘Walk with me. Stay close.’ He clamped me to his side, his hand on his chest, his arm hugging my arm. My mind was too occupied to resist. So I followed li
KEITHEN‘You’re going up against Annie?!’ The friend replied, her voice feathered with shock. ‘Yes! Yes, it’s going to be a competition!’ Rose shrieked, and the floor thudded with her excitement. ‘Can you believe it?!’ ‘No—no, I can’t. This… this new boss of yours. She’s gonna be my new favourite person—EEEEE!’ The cheap wooden floor thudded some more. Cheering with the screams of immense joy and relief—. ‘Congratulations, girl! Now you can finally tell the world that you’re not the thief—SHE IS!’ More screams of happiness pierced my eardrums. I winced away. ‘Something wrong, Kee?’ asked Erasmos. I looked down and he was looking up with curiosity—his head still clamped in my elbow. ‘How does that help with anything?’ grumbled Magnus. ‘Any mutt given his size would pull out of that easily.’ I rolled my eyes and glared at my feet. ‘You’re missing the main point. I’ve already locked his feet down—.’ ‘So?’ Shrugged the Crystal Pack Alpha. ‘So I can just—.’ And my left hand grab
ROSE‘She didn’t like it?’ asked Richard, chewing slowly. I put down the cup of coke and observed my burger. ‘She just asked me to think if Annie would be capable of something like this.’ ‘Which is a nice way of telling you: she didn’t like it.’ Richard put down his burger and opened his palm. ‘Let me see it. I’ll give you a point or two.’ I blinked in confusion. ‘I can’t, Richard. I told you—.’ And he slapped his forehead at his own blunder. ‘Right. Miss Jewel’s orders. No one sees it except she and you.’ I giggled and took a bite. ‘But it has ruffles.’ Richard observed his burger carefully. At my horrified expression, he laughed with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. ‘Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.’ When did I reveal that? Did I slip up somewhere? ‘I won’t tell anyone!’ Richard patted my shoulder. ‘What do I have to gain from it? We’re in this together, aren’t we?’ He smiled warmly. The photos we posted yesterday on the Gram worked beautifully. His fans were all
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
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