MasukAidenVincent and Helen already left for Willow’s condo. I show up at the condo a half hour later, looking pissed as shit.Vincent takes one look at me and sighs. “I’m guessing your second talk with miss Thompson didn’t go as planned.”“Yes and no.” I walk around Willow’s living room. Helen is in her bedroom, organizing her suitcase. “As you might have guessed, she’s still pissed. On top of that, she’s hurting. Which is why I’ve decided to make it up to her by finding Rowan and bringing him to her.”“The elusive vampire?” Vincent growls. “To find that bastard, we have to first rule out the prospect of a mole within our ranks. But that’s not for you to worry about. You’ve got your succession drama to worry about. And then, there’s your girlfriend. How about doing what normal boyfriends do? Buy her a gift. Grovel if you have to.”“I already did the grovelling bit.”“Apparently not enough, if she’s still mad.”“I doubt a more enthusiastic grovelling stunt is going to work on her. You sho
WillowI’m trying to put on a brave face for everyone else’s benefit but deep down inside, I wish everyone would just stop talking about this.I’m back home now. I want to go back up to my room and hide underneath my covers. I do not want to have to answer one more question about how I’m feeling. I definitely do not need to keep bearing the weight of Aiden’s eyes resting on my face.He’s so obvious. Where was this attention when I needed it?Where was his devotion when I was waiting by the phone, hoping that he would call me?I don’t know which is more insulting—his surprise about the breakup or the fact that he never imagined that I’d want to end things between us. His fragile ego must be bruised.I tune out of the discussions around the table. One thing I do catch is my family’s unanimous decision to have my things moved back into the manor. Not that I mind. I can’t imagine living in that huge condo. Alone. With no family around.What if I have more nightmares? What if someone manage
Aiden“What did you just say?” Of course I heard her. But surely, she doesn’t mean it. Right? She’s just mad. Only saying the things, she hopes would hurt me the same way that she’d been hurting. “Willow… fuck…Surely, you don’t mean that.”“I mean it.” Those gorgeous eyes are still hardened, like shards of ice. “I’m breaking up with you. I don’t want to be in a relationship anymore.”“Wait, hold on.” This is worse than I imagined. I reach out to grab her but she lets out a whimper and it stops me in my tracks. She’s shaking, almost as if she’s afraid of me.No. This isn’t about me. Not entirely. This has more to do with Horace fucking Smith, specifically what he’d done to my girlfriend, while she was being held prisoner at his stupid mansion.I want to kill him. I want to wolf out on his ass and tear him to shreds. I want to set fire to everything he owns and watch it all burn to the ground.But even then, it wouldn’t be enough for what they’d done.“What did that bastard do to you?”
AidenI’ve been so pre-occupied with Willow’s rescue, I haven’t been able to think about the second phase of the succession. It’s only a couple of days away and yet, I’ve missed so many prep hours with Scott. Mother has been calling non-stop, since the early hours of the morning.Now that Willow is home safe, everything I had put on hold is coming back, full force, to bite me in the ass.“We have to meet up for practice today,” Scott says, once pleasantries are out of the way. “I’m glad that miss Thompson is okay, but it’s time for you to get back on track with what’s important.”What’s important? Funny how he says that, when all that matters to me is right here at the Thompson manor.“Aiden? Are you listening to me?”“I still have some things to take care of at the Thompson manor,” I tell him, leaving no room for argument. “Let’s see how it goes. If everything goes according to plan, I could make time for practice, say around 4pm?”“Your mother is not going to like that,” Scott exha
Willow“Hold her down!” Horace cackles from his chair. He’s smoking a cigarette and watching as Gideon holds me down. I’m on a feather mattress, legs spread wide-eagle. I don’t know how, but there are ropes holding my legs to the best post.Garrett Smith steps in between my legs. He looks as vicious as ever. He’s fisting his cock with one hand and leering at me with those beady, repulsive eyes.He’s naked. Moments from now, he’s going to take me.I open my mouth to scream but no words come out. Sweat breaks out on my face, even as I continue to thrash around on the bed.I hear someone calling my name, but it sounds so far away.“No,” I sob, voice pleading. “Please, don’t hurt me. Let me go. I’m begging you.”But Horace isn’t listening. If anything, his smile grows wider, as he threatens me with the last words I want to hear. “I should bring your dad in to watch.”“No!” I scream. Strong hands grip my shoulders and I feel like I’m about to pass out.“Willow. Wake up.” The other voice gr
VioletWillow is okay. She’s back home.The plan that I had been kept away from, was a success.No one died—not even Cary Thompson, who we all thought was going out on a suicide mission.It’s well past midnight. The witches’ network has just succeeded in lifting essence prints off the tenant document.It’s not even the original physical copy. It’s a soft copy. I don’t know how the witchy network managed it but they’ve been able to lift the previous owners’ prints. They run it through a mental link, the coven working simultaneously to validate the information.The head witch, Lyra does a spell and a wad of light fills the protocol room. We’re not the only ones on site. There are guards stationed around; officials who work closely with Cary Thompson.Everyone has been on high alert, surviving on coffee and cold sandwiches.The wad of light bursts into the air. The particles rearrangement themselves, assuming the features of two young men.My breath hitches as I come face to face with hi
WILLOWThe hockey game between me and Tessa is about to start. Because it’s a basic, watered down version of an actual hockey game, we are only expected to wear helmets on our heads, protective gloves for our hands and hockey skates. Because we’re girls, someone had to rush to the locker room to fi
WILLOWViolet is the first one to shop up. I haven’t seen her in forever and it’s quite dramatic, our reunion. We squeal like a pair of banshees and then, we fall on each other, hugging and saying ‘I miss yous.’“You look prettier,” Violet declares. “I don’t know what it is but there’s a glow about
CHAPTER 40WILLOWAunt Helen is exactly as I expect her to be. Upbeat. Eccentric. With no idea of personal boundaries.She starts hugging me before I’m even out of the car. Her arms wrap around my neck, crushing me with the weight of her embrace. She smells heavily of perfume and body oils. “Willo
WILLOWThe bullet was ladled with wolfsbane. Who sent this message to me? I check the caller ID for the umpteenth time but it’s set to anonymous.It’s been hours since I woke up and my dad is yet to come back to visit me. The last time we spoke, it had been more of a fight. As much as I refuted hi







