Willow POV
By the time the sun rises the next day, I am already dragging ass. My night spent in the tree was an uncomfortable one. The Rogue Alpha's men searched for me until the wee hours of the morning. I barely had enough time to get home and changed to head to my day job.
Checking the watch on my wrist, I have five minutes to get up to the top floor of the building. The elevator takes at least three minutes if I am alone. Bursting through the front doors of the central building in the center of Lycan City, I see a crowd of people waiting for the elevator.
"Fuck," I mumble under my breath. I am going to be late. Uncle Faris is going to have a fit.
The she-wolf at the front desk looks at me with amusement in her eyes. "I don't think you are going to make it in time, Lo," she laughs.
"Fuck you, Amy," I hiss back at her, and she clutches her chest and feigns heartbreak.
Looking from the stairs to the crowd in front of the elevator, I kick off my shoes and run for the stairs. "You are never going to make it," Amy yells after me.
Throwing up my middle finger, I wave it in her direction before I push open the door open to the stairs and begin to run up them. It is only ten flights, how long could it possibly take me?
As I reach the fifth floor, I realize what a mistake I have made. I am already a minute late, and I know Uncle Faris isn't going to hear any of my excuses. It won't matter that I was propped up in a tree all night long because of a job that turned out to be a trap. Once again, I will look like the irresponsible niece of the Lycan King.
Finally, I burst through the door to the tenth floor. I rest my hands on my knees and breathe in heavily. Catching my reflection in the glass of Uncle Faris's office, I cringe. My hair has fallen out of its usually neat ponytail, my face is flushed, and my pencil skirt is crumpled.
Running to the bathroom as fast as I can, I try to salvage what I can of my outfit. Taking off my gloves, I quickly wet down my hair and throw it into a messy bun. It will have to do for the day. Twisting from side to side in the mirror, I check myself over before reaching for my gloves.
Just as I am about to slide them back onto my hands, the bathroom door swings open, and Lauren walks in. "Well, well, well," she sneers at me. "What do we have here? The germaphobe actually took off her gloves?"
"Screw you, Lauren," I say as I roll my eyes at her, but she takes the opportunity to rip one of my gloves out of my hands.
"Such language for the daughter of the Princess," Lauren laughs as she runs my glove through her fingers.
"Lauren," I say with my sweetest voice. "Can you please return my glove? I need to get back to work."
"You know what?" Lauren laughs. "I don't think I will. It will be good for you to get your hands dirty for the day."
Reaching for the glove, my bare hand brushes up against Lauren's. My vision goes black, and I am suddenly transported to a different time and location.
I am in a darkened room that is filled with the sounds of moaning and skin slapping against each other. Quickly, I close my eyes, not wanting to see what is unfolding in front of me, but it is too late. The King's Beta, Chad, has Lauren bent over his bed.
Quickly I jerk my hand back from Lauren, and the executive bathroom comes back into focus. Black spots continue to fill my vision, and I become lightheaded. Swaying on my feet, I try to reach for my glove, but I stumble forward.
Lauren rushes from the bathroom, presumably to not get caught with my body when I finally lose consciousness. Grasping onto the walls, I try to fight through the intruding darkness in my vision. I finally find the door and pull it open. I am only able to take one step out of the bathroom before I fall to the ground, and the darkness overtakes me.
"Where is her other fucking glove?" I hear Uncle Faris scream as my vision comes back.
Resting my bare hand against my head, I sit up from the ground and try to look around. Uncle Faris is sitting behind me, with my head resting on his lap. He is careful to avoid contact with my hands as he brushes my hair out of my face.
"You look like shit," he muses as he helps me to my feet.
"Thank you for your concern," I mutter under my breath.
"Where is your other glove?" Uncle Faris asks me seriously.
I look around the office at the number of people that are staring at me. Among them is Lauren, and she has a guilty look spread across her face. But knowing that she has the Beta in her back pocket, I decide not to stir up any more trouble than necessary.
"I must have forgotten it at home," I mumble, and Faris gives me an odd look. He knows better than to think that I have forgotten it at home. My gloves are a part of my wardrobe that I never forget. The price is too high if I were to accidentally touch someone. It is a price that only a few people know about, Uncle Faris being one of them.
Since the visions manifested at sixteen, Faris has been using me here and there to get information from those that will not give it freely. Only I cannot control what I see. Sometimes I can get the information that the Lycan King needs. Other times I see the family members of those who are being tortured, especially those that are close to death. I am forced to watch every happy moment they had with their families before my uncle dispatches them. My best guess is that I see what is on their minds at the present moment.
But with every power comes a cost, and mine is to blackout for however long I am in their mind. It is a deserving punishment for meddling in someone's business.
I sway a little on my feet as I make my way over to my desk and pull out one of my many spare pairs of gloves from the locked drawer. I stretch my fingers against the leather of the gloves, and the panic that had risen in my chest subsides.
Grabbing my tablet off of my desk, I quickly make my way into the Lycan King's office. I mumble my apologizes for being late, and my uncle waves for his Beta to leave the office.
Chad leaves the office with a smirk on his lips. He has made how he feels about me working within Lycan City known. Because I am neither a werewolf nor a lycan, Chad doesn't believe that I should be the King's personal assistant. Interestingly enough, he believes that Lauren would be best suited for my position. I cannot help but wonder how Chad's mate would feel about the whole situation.
"You have been reckless as of late," my uncle begins to scold me.
"Reckless?" I widen my eyes in shock.
"First, you set that warehouse on fire last night, and now this," Faris accuses me of two things that I had no control over.
"I didn't set the warehouse on fire," I respond as I cock my head to the side.
"You expect me to believe that they burned their own warehouse?" Uncle Faris raises an eyebrow at me.
"It wasn't me," I try to defend myself. "It wasn't part of the plan. When have I ever deviated from the plan?"
Suddenly Faris straightens behind his desk and places several documents in the top drawer of his desk. "We will discuss this later," Faris tells me. "My nine o'clock appointment is here."
Looking down at my tablet, I scroll through the appointments on the calendar. "You don't have an appointment at nine."
Before my uncle has a chance to respond, his office door swings open, and Chad is leading in a carbon copy of a Greek God, and his eyes are focused directly on me.
Osiris POVA pretty redhead is sitting at the front desk of the main building of Lycan City. She is bobbing her head up and down to the music that is playing in the lobby and pops the gum that is in her mouth. Standing in front of her, I watch her with interest for a moment before I knock my fists gently on the desk in front of me.The redhead looks up and jumps back at the sight of me. She lifts her nose discreetly into the air and sniffs gently. I know she checking to see if I am a werewolf or human. Her nose wrinkles in disgust with the realization that I am a rogue, and she scoots back awkwardly in her seat."Can I help you?" She says, clearly uncomfortable with my presence."I have a nine o'clock meeting with the Lycan King," I say confidently.The redhead turns back to her computer and flips through a couple of screens. "The King doesn't have a nine o'clock appointment."My face falls in disappointment. I thought at least that the King would have the decency to meet with me afte
Willow POVWhen Osiris mentions the burning warehouse, I keep my face neutral and scroll through the apps on my tablet. It is not the first time I have sat in this office and pretended like I don't know what is going on. Osiris and the King stare at one another. Neither one of them is willing to speak first. The tension between the two men is palpable. So much so that when my phone rings in my pocket, I fall off the desk with a yelp. Osiris catches me by the shoulders before I hit the ground in front of him. Even through my shirt, I can feel the electricity between us. Our eyes lock onto one another for a moment, and it is as if the rest of the world dissolves away. My arms go weak for a moment, and the tablet slips from my hands and lands on my foot. The corner of the tablet hits the bridge of my foot, and hiss out in pain. I begin to hop up and down on my foot, holding my other as I try to breathe through the pain. "She is a graceful one," Osiris says jokingly as he lets
Willow POV Standing in front of the elevator, I tap my foot impatiently. The mutterings and whispers of everyone in the office are beginning to get on my nerves. After what happened this morning and my fight with Chad, they have lots to talk about now that my back is turned. Lauren's nasally laugh catches my attention, and I glance at her out of the corner of my eye. She is sitting on a desk chatting with one of the other she-wolves in the office. They are pointing in my direction and laughing loudly. That bitch will get what is coming to her, I think to myself. Just as soon as I finish this last job, I am going to kill her for fun. Looking back toward the elevator, I let out a frustrated sigh. The elevator never takes this long. In the reflection of the elevator, I can see Osiris standing quietly behind me. His eyes are glued firmly to the back of my head, and there is a scowl on his face. I don’t understand why he cares so much about my well-being. Finally, the doors o
Willow POVThe light that is shining above me is too bright. It feels like the light of the sun is shining in my room, only there isn't any warmth to go along with it. Pressing my hand to my forehead, my eyes fly open when I feel the warmth of the palm of my hand. I don't have my gloves on. Sitting up in the hospital bed, I look at my surroundings. The room is crisp and white. The sheets on the bed are paper thin and scratchy. Somehow I made it to the hospital, and I let out a sigh of relief. The doctors and nurses at the edge of Lycan City know not to touch my hands. Wrinkling my nose at the smell of antiseptic. A sharp pain stings through the bridge of my nose, and I gingerly reach up my hand to touch it. By the feel of it, my nose has been reset and bandaged. Leaning back in bed, I sit on my hands to ensure I don't accidentally touch someone and try to recount what happened before I passed out. Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between what is real and what I sa
Osiris POVI watch with amusement as my small mate jumps up from the hospital bed and rushes around the hotel room, clad in only a hospital gown and a pair of latex gloves. Unsuccessfully she tries to hold the back of the gown shut while she searches through the drawers and cabinets, and I catch a glimpse of her tight ass. I can only assume that she is looking for her personal items so she can get out of here. Little does she know I never plan to let her leave here. I also see a strange tattoo that runs the length of her spine. It contains characters and symbols that I have only seen a few times before. They were on the cards in the witch's cottage on the edge of the rogue territory.'Is it possible that she is a witch?' I ask King in my mind.Sniffing the air discreetly, King shakes his head no. 'She doesn't smell like a witch. She smells human.' Sitting down next to my mother, I nudge her with my elbow. "Isn't she beautiful?" I ask my mother, and she shakes her head at me. "Y
Willow POVNo matter what move I used, Osiris was able to get the best of me. That is not something that I am used to. Digging my elbows into his back, I try to free myself, but Osiris only tightens his hold. He walks through the hospital with me hoisted over his shoulder like it is the most normal thing in the world. No matter how much I scream for help, no one steps in to help me, but I see everyone watching from the corners of their eyes. Many of them are muttering and whispering to one another as they watch the scene unfold in front of them."Put me down, you dirty mutt," I scream as we finally exit the hospital. Lifting my arm, I jam it down into the center of his back. I know it hurts because Osiris arches his back awkwardly. "That feels good," Osiris laughs. "Can you hit just a little bit lower next time? There is a knot there that I have been trying to work out for weeks." "This isn't funny," I say through gritted teeth. "Put me down." We stop next to a car, and O
Willow POVA rigid lump forms in my throat as I stand on my parent's front steps. Usually, I walk in, but today, I feel like a stranger. I am going to lie to my parents for the thousandth time. The only difference is that I may not make it home this time.I know that Osiris is stronger and faster than me. He has proven it several times. There is no way that I can beat him. Not without full use of my powers. But these damn runes on my back keep the extent of my abilities at bay, and I fear that it is too late to ask my mother how to remove them.Taking a deep breath, I knock on their door lightly. I almost hope they cannot hear me and I can just run away without having some tearful goodbye."I'm coming," my mother yells as she walks closer to the door.I look back at my car and wonder if I should just run, but it is too late. The door swings open, and my mother stands on the other side with a brilliant smile."Willow," she exclaims happily. "I wasn't expecting you today."Shuffling my
Osiris POV Matthew and I are sitting at my desk running the expense reports for the next month. A deep frown etches across my face as I look at the numbers. The cost of burning down a warehouse was more than I expected it to be. Without the extra product to distribute, it will be a rough month for the rogue community. "I told you not to burn the warehouse down," Matthew says with an annoyed look on his face. "Now, what are we going to do?" "You are freaking out over nothing," I groan as I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. "Send the Chow that we have to the distributors. It should be enough to get us through the month. In the meantime, we can grow more." "This shit takes time to grow and to process," Matthew groans. "Or have you forgotten?" "I haven't forgotten," I growl back at him. "Perhaps we should plan a raid on one of the King's warehouses. We can get what we need to bridge the gap." "You are out of your damn mind," Matthew laughs. "The Lycan King will have his ass