To say she was shocked would be an understatement; this was beyond comprehension. Alarms were going wild inside of her while her emotions went all topsy-turvy. "I know you felt a connection with me before, which paves the way for a chance at a future. Things are looking positive." "Wait, wait, wait," she interrupted, gently pushing him away to gain breathing room. "Number one, I'm with someone and I've never mentioned being unhappy with him." "You didn't have to. I've seen a change in you lately, and his lack of acknowledgment in our conversations, points to the obvious," he replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "No because number two, we agreed long ago that friendship was all we had, so for you to swoop in because there are bumps in the road is a d*ck move. And I don't see you in that way. You know this." He chuckled, "Then I'll be an *sshole, makes no difference to me because I already know we're going to be together. Let's continue on our stroll," He roughly linked her arm with hi
An invisible force compressed her chest, shortening her breath and closing in. The lines of his face morphed, distorting into sharp angles and wider shapes–into a monster. Shutting her eyes, she turned away again and willed the sight to vanish. "It made me stronger–different in a way I would've never deemed possible. And if it enhances a normal shifter, then think how enhancing a rogue's blood could have more benefits. We could eradicate the fear of rogues and even their existence! Do you understand how amazing this could be?" he explained, bringing his hands up to cup her face. She could feel her body crumbling within itself as she shook her head in disbelief; he was deranged. She had to get out of here before he made any rash decisions. "I do understand, but this is... it's too much," she began, forcing herself to tear up. "Oh, shh..." he soothed, rubbing the back of her neck. "I knew this was a lot to handle. We'll have more time to talk about this over dinner." A spike in her
They pulled apart and he pecked her lips again with a contented sigh, "Forgive me, I'd been holding myself back the whole day, but temptation won out." "I un–understand. Th–that's ok," she stuttered as real tears waited to emerge. "Until next time. I'm sure you'll make the right choice." "Me too." Outside the car, her nails dug into her palms in a painful pinch, and she waved goodbye–watching until his car rounded the corner before going inside. Putting on the fakest smile she could manage, she approached the counter and greeted Lilla. "Oh, you're back! Did you have a nice time?" "Yeah, it was great hanging out with Matteo. Unfortunately, something I ate did not agree with me, so we left a little earlier." "That sucks. Are you going home now?" "Yes, I'm sorry to spring this on you." "Girl, it is not a problem. Rest up and I'll talk to you tomorrow." Enora gave her a genuine smile this time, "Thanks. You're the best Lilla." With stiff movements, she made her way to Gil's car
With an unreadable expression, he stared at her intently, placing a hand to her forehead as he spoke, "Are you running some kind of fever? Because you can't be serious." "Huh? Why not? Hear me out Vic, please," she begged, hands shyly tugging on his tie. "Fine, why are you thinking about this all of a sudden?" "I wouldn't say it's sudden, we've talked about this before, and I never said I didn't want to–rather, it was a conflicting decision. But now I'm sure because of Bianchi." Anger crossed over his face, puffing up as he answered, "Don't tell me this is for that b*stard because I–" With a quick kiss, she interrupted his heated words and nudged him to sit back, arranging herself onto his lap to wrap the comforter around them both. Habitually, they pressed their foreheads together and she massaged his shoulders. "Qin'ai de, let me finish. This is not for Bianchi, he only made me realize why I should. He sort of has an upper hand here, and although I have the utmost faith in you,
The next day was as Victor had warned: tender and unfamiliar. Moving her body proved to be a mistake, as it was weighed down by soreness and a hyper awareness of the numbing sensation from the mark. Along with other little things, like knowing that Victor was in the bathroom before she had even fully woken up, and seeing everything with a new sharpness, it was throwing her for a loop. "This is super weird," she uttered aloud, placing her hand on her neck. "That's normal to feel for the next few days," Victor said, sitting beside her. "Are you uncomfortable? What can I do?" "It's uh, I'm not sure how to describe it. And I don't need anything right now, thanks. How are you feeling?" The genuine beam of joy he produced fluttered her heart. "The best I've felt in a while. I wiped the floor with everyone in training this morning. After all the teasing, of course." "This morning? What time is it?" "It's two forty-five." "PM?! You should've woken me. What about work?" "I texted Lill
THE NEXT DAY AT LOTUS HEADQUARTERS "You aren't trying to go back on your word, are you?" Enora questioned, hands on her hips. Victor looked away, trying not to pout, "No, but I don't think you're at one hundred percent, so maybe stay the extra day and go over on Sunday." "Victor, we're having a girls' night in. The craziest thing I'll probably do is dance and sing during karaoke, so stop worrying. I'll be back Monday after work." "Why not Sunday?" "Nadine already offered to drive me to work in the morning. We've been over this." He grumbled under his breath as he went into the walk-in closet to get dressed, and she couldn't hold back a snicker at his expense. She counted herself lucky that he wasn't truly upset, or it would have been troublesome to reconvince him to let her leave. Her friends' homes had been scouted multiple times since the whole ordeal began and no suspicious activity had ever been spotted there, so it was safe to say Bianchi hadn't bothered with them. A though
Two drinks in and a third in her hand, Enora prepared herself for the big reveal. Although her friends were wonderful people and definitely had her back, the question of trust had never come up between them. Yes, this secret was kept for safety reasons as well as her own emotional state, but maybe she should have vaguely told them something was going on. It certainly would have lessened the blow at this stage of events. Victor was convinced it would work out, so it had given her some reassurance, but she was naturally a worrier. She ruffled her hair in frustration. Why did it end up like this? "Alright ladies, what are we doing next? A movie? We've played a party game and board game and had late lunch," Caitlyn began. "Yes! A thriller!" Lilla chimed in. "No, something corny!" Nadine countered. "I'm fine with both," Enora chuckled. "Me too, so let's browse and choose that way," Caitlyn suggested. Taking a deep breath, Enora decided on speaking to them now. That way, if they w
SUNDAY EVENING, LOTUS HEADQUARTERS Several wolves circled the alpha in the center of the arena, mapping out their steps and timing their attacks. As others lay on the sidelines in exhaustion, Victor moved about in anticipation of attacks with infinite energy; vigor running high. Signaling for three to come forward, he dodged the first with a sidestep, the next with a bob and weave that left her neck open, and the third with a jump forward. Getting around them, he nipped them each in vital take down points, which tapped them out and sent them to do ten laps around the field. "I continue to reiterate the importance of speed. Your power matters once you know your opponent will and can be taken down," Victor stated to the group. Another three charged at him and he waited until the last moment to drop and roll beneath, tripping the second who remained on the ground, open to a bite at the base of their throat. From behind the other two, Victor jumped onto one's back to smash them into t
Enora panted as she crouched down once more. Pressing her back against the wall, she followed it around to the side where a car on the street would serve as cover. Her legs hurt and her hands shook uncontrollably as she texted Gil and Wilson her whereabouts. "Please one of you pick up. Or please find Victor, please," she whispered to herself. Thankfully during her escape, she hadn't encountered anyone else, and the exit had led her through an alleyway and onto the main streets. Several sirens played on the soundtrack for the night; after the gunshots had finally ceased and the sounds of struggles had subsided. Closing her eyes, she tuned to the background noise, hoping to hear something or someone familiar. Her mind wouldn't stop flashing possible scenarios where Victor didn't walk out of that building and back into her arms, and that scared her. Curling into herself, she rocked back and forth, working to breathe through the severe agony, fury, and sorrow she and Victor were cycl
ONE HOUR AGO Victor's phone buzzed in his pocket, knowing it was Enora before he checked at the screen. As soon as they were within a few minutes of the Quercia base, he'd absorbed her fear to a maximum level. She'd been ok for the majority of the day, so this could only mean true peril was looming over her. Her text informed him that she was inside Bianchi's apartment, about to have dinner with him and she would try to stall for as long as possible. The suspicious feeling was shared between them as he tossed the phone into the bushes and went to get into position with the others. "You two stay alive. I won't forgive you if you dare die on me," Wilson said, hitting Victor and Gil on the back. Gil laughed, "You're the human here. We should be saying that to you." "Ha! You think these untrained losers have anything on me? I'll take them all out in no time." "We'll see about that. You'll still be fighting by the time Gil, Enora, and I come out," Victor said with a smirk. "Ah, fin
There were clothes on the bed when Enora returned to the bedroom; from pajamas to bathing suits, to underwear and dresses, and a shiver ran down her spine at the thought of what Alessandro might be thinking about. "I have another request to ask of you ladies," she began, pretending to enjoy the variety of clothing by holding them up against herself. "Yes, Miss?" they replied in unison. "If you could just wait outside while I rest, that would be great. I was startled before when I woke, and you were standing there. I scare easily, sorry." "Oh! I apologize, I was told to watch and wait, so I suppose I took it quite literally," woman A said, hanging her head in embarrassment. "No, no. Don't be. I probably would have done the same," Enora chuckled. "Thank you. You're too kind Miss. We will be right outside. You need only knock, and we or the guards will open the door." "We can put those away for you first," woman B offered, gesturing to the clothes. "Don't worry yourselves, I've g
Once she'd eaten her fill, she was unsure of how to get anyone's attention. It felt gross to ring the bell to summon people, so she went to the living room door instead, startled when the two women magically appeared in her path. "Miss, have you finished?" woman B asked. "Yes, thank you. Would you both mind if I explored the apartment? A–Alessandro said it was alright with him," she said, hating that she had to speak his name. "You do not need to ask us, you may simply command us to do what you would like," woman A added. "Oh, um. I can't actually. That also makes me uncomfortable. I'd prefer we be friendly," Enora answered sheepishly. The two looked from one another to Enora with questionable expressions. Has no one ever been nice to them? Or had she said something wrong? "Whatever you say Miss. Would you like to see the kitchen?" "Maybe later, I don't want to be in the way as the staff goes back and forth." "Ok, follow us then and we'll start with the living room. As you can
AT QUERCIA HEADQUARTERS The lengthy walk to the dining room was nerve-wracking; she was not ready nor willing to face Alessandro again. Another woman had joined Enora in the room when she'd exited the bathroom in one of the outfits that had been provided. It wasn't bad per say, but it was less modest than she was used to. They'd told her she looked great however, and announced breakfast was ready. Guards were outside of her room, unsurprisingly, and at every doorway of the apartment it seemed. As if she were stupid enough to attempt an escape. This place was completely unfamiliar to her, and it was the enemy base; even if she managed to reach the rest of the building, where would she hide? "You may have a seat here, Mr. Bianchi shall be in shortly," woman A said, breaking her out of her thoughts. Both women had refused to give her their names, explaining it was not in Bianchi's orders and they weren't important enough to be addressed that way. So, woman A and woman B would have to
Sunlight coming in through the window woke Enora, her eyes squinted and fought to open against its harshness. Turning away from it instead, she jumped from fright at the sight of a woman staring at her from across the room. "Ah, Miss, you're awake. Good morning," she greeted. "Um, hello. Where am I?" Enora asked politely, though she had a feeling that she already knew the answer. "At Quercia headquarters of course. The Boss is delighted to have you here as his guest." "I'm sure that psycho is beyond delighted," she said under her breath. "I'm sorry, what was that?" the woman asked. "I said, I'm happy to be here. So, what am I to do now?" "We shall prepare a bath for you and show you the clothes the Boss has chosen for you, so that you may join him for breakfast. Wait here for a minute." Hm, clothes? Looking down at herself, she found ripped and dirty clothing; it looked like she'd been trying to escape them for days, as opposed to twenty minutes. Oh. "Sure." The woman stepped
A struggle could be heard after a second shot went off, and Enora's sleeve was pulled on from behind. "Miss, we have to go. Come on!" They ran towards the end of the street where she said another SUV would pull up at any moment. From the side, a man jumped out at them, grabbing onto Enora while she struggled against him, and the guard stepped in with a right hook to his jaw. "The car is there, run!" The car came to a screeching halt and two out of the four people ran towards her, only to be cut off by more of Bianchi's men. "Oh, come on! How many of these clowns are there?!" she yelled out, looking around for some sort of weapon. A broken umbrella stuck out of one the dumpsters she passed, and she figured it would have to suffice. Swinging it around wildly, she managed to get one on the side of the head and hit his eye. With a scream, he stumbled and gave an opening for a Lotus to get him to the ground and knock him unconscious. They helped her get to the car while dodging swin
Davide slouched against the elevator wall, blowing the bangs out of his eyes and hanging his head. He could admit that Alessandro had been acting a bit out of sorts, and he was quick to shut down others' questions, but this was different. Who would've thought the day would come when he would question his Alpha's sanity? By an odd coincidence, the men he was on his way to retrieve for testing, were waiting when he stepped off the elevator. "Anderson, Marino, and Rojas, perfect, you're up for a promotion in rank. Need you to run the trials first, let's go." "Sure, we can do that, but we were wondering if we could have a word with you first," Rojas said. Davide sighed, "As long as we walk and talk, fine. What's this about?" "The boss," Anderson replied. "We haven't seen him in days, which is odd." "And this isn't the first time either. Too many of us have noticed something is going on and it isn't good," Marino continued. "What are you trying to say here? Questioning our leader?
SUNDAY EVENING, LOTUS HEADQUARTERS Several wolves circled the alpha in the center of the arena, mapping out their steps and timing their attacks. As others lay on the sidelines in exhaustion, Victor moved about in anticipation of attacks with infinite energy; vigor running high. Signaling for three to come forward, he dodged the first with a sidestep, the next with a bob and weave that left her neck open, and the third with a jump forward. Getting around them, he nipped them each in vital take down points, which tapped them out and sent them to do ten laps around the field. "I continue to reiterate the importance of speed. Your power matters once you know your opponent will and can be taken down," Victor stated to the group. Another three charged at him and he waited until the last moment to drop and roll beneath, tripping the second who remained on the ground, open to a bite at the base of their throat. From behind the other two, Victor jumped onto one's back to smash them into t