44. You Look Better In The Toilet II

**Denis**

Her action took him by surprise. So much so that he didn’t know how to react. But he caught on quickly enough.

He relishes in the way she licked his bottom lip and deepened the kiss. Denis tried to match her pace. He lifted his arms to hold her but she was a step ahead of him.

Rosé pushed him until his back hit a tree. She pushed herself onto him. Denis can hear her heartbeat and smell her scent. It floods his nose, teasing his miserable wolf that had been upset with him ever since the accident.

His wolf stood up, excited that its mate initiated intimate contact. Denis feels his sexual desire brimming to the surface, which he scolds himself for.

Denis placed his hand on her shoulders but she stopped kissing him to grab his arms and forced them to stay close to his ears. He could easily break free yet he doesn’t. Feeling affection from his bonded partner feels so good.

She goes back to kissing him and he lets her. Denis’ tongue plays with hers until he’s satisfied.

He falls in love with the hot temperature of her mouth. Even with the pieces of clothing between them, he can still feel the full weight of her breasts against his chest.

Denis approached her with the wholehearted intention of begging for Rosé’s forgiveness, not to hook up.

What if Rosé misinterprets him because of this? He should stop her, but can he?

She pauses and breaks free of the kiss. He realizes that he’s trailing after her and stops, embarrassed.

He turned his head away. He felt a hand on his cheek that turned his head and made him face her.

“Denis.” On her face was a sweet smile that took him off guard. “How could I ever stay mad at you?”

He blinks in confusion. Was she being sweet to him?

“But… I failed you…” Denis muttered. Rosé looked down. “I didn’t protect you from Margo when you asked me for help.”

“I was mad at first, yes. After some time, I think I understand where you were coming from. It’s a tough position to be put in.”

He shakes his head. Her calmness and understanding only made him feel more shame. “Not a tough position. I was a coward. Plain and simple.”

Not to mention the things in the past that he has yet to repent for. Denis doesn’t know how long he can do this. If he can’t find anything at Queenie’s father’s place to work around the prophecy, then he will transfer schools himself to stop it from coming true. There must be another way to deal with the problems in the pack.

It’s nothing short of a miracle that she didn’t die because of his foolishness. Seeing her unconscious on the ground is something that he will never forgive himself for. Regardless of whether Rosé forgives him or not.

“But you’re here now.” There is that smile again. That smile that warms his heart. “And I can see how sad you are. Also, I know you came to the hospital. That made me feel better.”

The tension in his body left him all at once. His arms fell to his sides.

“This is how I know for sure I don’t deserve you,” he stated. As Rosé looked into his eyes, she could see that his eyes were glowing amber, exposing his more feral side. However, this side of him seemed to be filled with his rawest emotions. Rosé knew that this was a rare sight of Denis Corper showing vulnerability.

“I’m not saying that I’m not still a little sad. So promise me. Promise me that you won’t cause me trouble at school anymore. You can’t say you want to do better and still do the same things, right?”

She had a point and he knew it. He hurriedly nodded his head. “ I promise you that. In fact, I vow to you that I will make sure no one harms you ever again.”

The other guys are going to kill him. Especially Manny.

“Thank you!” Rosé gave him a hug by wrapping her arms around his waist. “This is me trusting you, Denis. Don’t make me regret it, or you might never get another chance.”

Denis held her in turn, burying his nose into her hair. “I’ll always remember this. Use me as you will.”

Rosé grinned. Just what she needed to hear.

_________

**Rosé**

After kissing him on the nose I left Denis feeling more conflicted than when I went with him. I wiped my lips. My stomach felt queasy. One of my hands was shaking.

I formed it into a fist, channelling all my anger into it.

How. Dare. He?

Did he really think that after all he did, I would trust him again?

I stopped walking immediately. The cold wind hit me from behind and made my hair flow in front of me.

Trust him… I guess I did trust that he would do something before Margo pushed me off the landing. A larger part of me remained completely cynical, but I still held on to that bit of hope that after the time we spent together in his pack, he would start behaving somewhat decent. Decent enough to at least know when something has gone too far.

I guess he will never change.

And even if I already knew this, it was stupid of that small part of me to have any hope.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!

A hot tear rolled down my face and I quickly wiped it off. More tears followed.

Soon I was holding back my sobs. I wiped my face with my fingers over and over again but more tears still came.

All the anger, resentment, sadness and loneliness I felt was brought to the surface.

I hated these people. I hate my life sometimes.

Why can’t my life be normal? Why can’t my Dad go to work and stay sober like a normal person? Why did I have to lose all my friends and keep losing them?

I used my sleeve to get rid of the wetness on my face and took several deep breaths, clearing my thoughts. There are a lot of people here and some are sure to have seen me crying. The last bit of sunlight was barely enough to push away the darkness of the evening sky. The teachers have put up solar lights all around the camp. I needed to keep walking.

So I did. A smile graced my face as I stopped in front of him. “Hi, Joshua!”

He took one look at me and rolled his eyes. “Goodness, why you! Look, just because I’m here alone right now doesn’t mean I’m settling for friends.”

My hands joined behind my back. “That’s not what I’m here for. Thanks for the offer though.”

He folded his arms, looking away from me.

“I’m here because of Manuel. I don’t know why, but he asked me to bring you to him.” I displayed an annoyed expression. “Something about giving you a chance? I don’t know.”

His eyes lit up behind his glasses. One eyebrow shot to his forehead. “You’re… you’re not trying to make fun of me, are you?”

“I'd rather not talk to you at all since I know you don’t like me. Would you hurry up? Manuel should already be at the meeting point.”

Joshua shook his head. He grinned. “Wow okay, yes! I knew he would see how amazing I was at some point. He just needed a little time and-”

I grabbed his arm and pulled him in the direction of where I wanted him to go. Joshua is too awestruck to care.

While leading him past the tents, I noticed something poking out of one of them. A girl poked her head out and picked something off the ground before disappearing inside. She closed the opening by zipping it up. I frowned.

What is Margo doing in Queenie’s tent?