Leo
Willow glances at me, and then at my sister, Jessica, before looking back at me. Fresh tears form in her eyes, but she blinks to hold them back. I break eye contact to stop the guilt that is brewing up within.
“Thank you for everything, and I’m so sorry for coming here.” Her voice is shaky and she diverts her attention to Jessica. “Hi, nice to meet you.” She forces a smile before storming out of the room.
Jessica opens and closes her mouth without saying a word. Then, a smirk forms on her lips, and I glare at her.
“Willow!” I run after her, and she gets in the elevator.
She is standing in front and there are a few people with her, but she doesn’t bother to press the button to stop the doors from closing. A guy standing behind her moves quickly forward and presses the button.
I run to the elevator and I stand next to her. She rolls her eyes at me, and then she looks away.
“Willow...” I whisper.
“Don’t!” She says between her teeth without looking at me.
I feel the curious stares of people who are standing behind us, and I decide to wait to get out.
When we get to the ground floor, she bolts out of the elevator, and then hails a cab. She turns to look at me with disdain before getting in. I walk back to my apartment to grab my car keys.
“You rascal! I know you enjoy making others jealous, but this was a wrong time. Couldn’t you see her crying?” I shake my head at Jessica when I get in. I find her sitting in the kitchen, making herself snacks.
Jessica looks at me apologetically and shrugs.
“I was going to tell you to make yourself at home, but you already did. I have to go.”
“I have questions. You know she is in love with you. Right?” She raises her eyebrows.
“Whatever, you nosy rascal.”
I run to the parking lot, and I drive to campus. I see Willow walking as fast as she can to her room, and I follow her while keeping a distance.
She walks in and slams the door, before locking.
“Willow.” I gently knock, while I still feel guilty without knowing what I did wrong. Is she really in love with me? She is Liam’s mate, and mate bonds are complicated. Human or not.
“Just leave Leo. I’m not going to open this door.” A voice on the other side puts my train of thoughts to a stop.
“But you are not okay, and I need to talk to you.”
“I’m fine! Just leave me alone, you cheater!”
“What do you mean?” I ask genuinely confused. Did she think our kisses meant we are in a relationship? But she is still in a complicated situation with Liam.
“You cheated on your beautiful girlfriend. How could you?”
I chuckle at this. “I’m not going anywhere until you open this door.” I sit with my back against the door.
I hear her footsteps getting closer. “Leo, please leave.” Her voice is close to my ear, as if she is also sitting on the other side. I picture us sitting with our backs against the door between us, just feeling each other’s presence. “I’m begging you, Leo, please leave.” She sniffles.
“I’m not going anywhere, and people who are passing are giving me weird looks.”
“You are going to make more people hate me.”
“For goodness’ sake, open the door. I want to ensure you are okay.”
“Leave. Your girl is waiting for you!” She snaps.
“She is my sister.”
“You are lying to me.” She opens the door and peeps through a small crack.
“May I please come in?” I get up and look at her pleadingly.
She leaves the door open without saying I should come in, and I take it as a sign to get in.
“Your room is a mess.” I exclaim, before scrunching up my nose, trying to take in the scent of the third party. This third party smells like sweet pea flowers. Who was in her room? Why is my wolf getting restless at the scent?
No! It can’t be. I can’t go through this again, this time the moon goddess would never forgive me if I reject another mate. I could even die because of this. Worse, this could be the scent of someone who hates Willow.
“I know it’s a mess, but my room doesn’t smell that bad.”
"Your room smells good. It’s just the scent of..." I close my eyes to try to concentrate on other scents. "Tea tree oil, the scent of the oil is strong."
"You have a strong sense of smell." She eyes me suspiciously.
"I know, let’s clean up," I say dismissively, and I immediately move the couch.
I order food for us despite her protests, and we continue to tidy up while we wait for food. We play music while putting everything in its place, and when we are done, we eat.
After eating, I play a slow song and I hold out my hand for hers. Her cheeks turn red, but she complies.
I hold on to her waist and she puts her arms around my neck. I hear her loud and racy heartbeat while we look into each other’s eyes.
I steal glances at her lips, and it takes everything to control my desire to kiss her.
“Who is this?” I motion towards a picture on her study desk. “You look alike.”
“My dad.” She chuckles.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. It was a long time ago.”
“My mom passed away a long time ago, but it still hurts. I’m comforted with the knowledge that I look like her.” I confess.
“I’m sorry,” she gazes at me while we continue to slow dance.
“Thanx.”
“Every time I look in the mirror, I see my dad’s eyes and his smile. But why didn’t I inherit his charisma? The features he left me with don’t even work to my advantage.”
“But you are beautiful, and very charismatic when you want to, trust me.”
“Thank you for trying to comfort me, but don’t worry, I already know the truth. I also make things worse by doing things like going to the forest and stuff.”
“But your bravery is one of the best things about you.” I try to focus on her eyes instead of her lips.
“I don’t think so. Otherwise, Liam’s parents wouldn’t have chosen Lucy for her.”
I roll my eyes at this, but I can’t help feeling sorry for her. If she knew that Liam chose Lucy himself.
“Don’t roll your eyes, it’s true. Lucy is pretty, smart, more feminine...”
“You don't know the real Lucy.” I interject.
“That day, Lucy called you by your name instead of professor. Are you close?”
“We have history.”
“What? Now I wanna know.” A mischievous twinkle forms in her eyes.
I chuckle, but I hesitate, not knowing what to tell her. My phone rings and I sigh with relief.
“Jessica, what do you want?”
“Nothing. I wanted to know if she is okay.” Jessica tries to sound concerned. I smile because I know how nosy she is.
“She is fine. I’m on my way.” I immediately hang up.
“I have to go.” I look at Willow apologetically. "We'll fix the video problem."
“Thank you for everything, and fir distracting me.” She squeezes my hand slightly.
After closing the door, I realize that Willow took my mind off the scent of the sweet pea.
I head to my car, but the scent lingers my nostrils, and I involuntarily follow it. I track it down like a predator until I arrive at a hotel near the Boeing Field, and I take a deep breath before knocking.
My hand shakes a little when I knock. The scent almost smells familiar, and my wolf is impatient to see my mate on the other side.
“Hi, that was quick.” The lady opens the door with a smile plastered on her face, before noticing who I am, and her face instantly turns pale. “Wwwhat are you doing here?” She knits her eyebrows.
My jaw drops when I notice who she is, and I feel dread washing over me. I’m doomed!