Say You Won't Let Go (Part I)

Say You Won't Let Go (Part I)
Two Days Before Coronation

Essence woke to find that Kano was no longer by her side. Jolting upwards, she saw he was getting dressed. He walked over, sat on the bed, and leaned down to kiss her gently.

“I have a meeting and some things to take care of. I’ll be back later,” he said.

“Oh, wait! I’ll go with you. Just give me a second, or I can meet you there if you’re in a rush.”

He shook his head. “I really need to focus. I promise I’ll be back later and we can spend time together.”

Her face fell, but she quickly tried to recover.

Since their night on the balcony, he’d been acting distant. He still checked on her health, and slept beside her, but they didn’t have sex, and he started to have meetings she couldn’t attend. Outside of that, Kanon and he appeared to have more secrets between one another. Things that they would talk about, but quickly stopped when she entered the room. It hurt, and she knew she had no right to feel that way, seeing as though he was getting to bond with his daughter that he’d just met. Still, it was like a secret club she wasn’t invited to, and she couldn’t help but think about the thing she’d feared most.

“Adam?” she said hesitantly. “Are we okay?”

He smiled. “Of course,” he said, and then kissed her forehead. Standing, he looked at her. “I love you. Oh, and by the way, Kanon is with Gregory. He really wanted to spend time with her.”

“Oh… okay.” She bit the side of her cheek, slightly upset that no one had woken her to say hello. “Well, have a good meeting, and I love you, too.”

After Kano left the room, Essence got up to take a shower. As the water beat down on her, she felt tears fall. She couldn’t help it. She missed him, and her wolf let out a small whimper.

“Did we do something wrong?” it asked her.

“I don’t know.” Getting out of the shower, she quickly got dressed. After exiting the room, she saw Anastasia rushing down the hall. “Hey, Ani!” she called out to her.

Anastasia turned around. “Hey! Sorry, can’t stop, we’re totally late,” she said as Cayden emerged and grabbed her in his arms. She let out a laugh when he kissed her.

“Hey, Essence! Sorry, talk later. We’re late for an ultrasound,” he said.

As the two raced away, she looked at them, holding hands. “Good luck, you two,” she called out sadly.

Walking into the dining room, Essence overheard Savina and Tremaine deep in conversation.

“Savi, I don’t think your gloves are here. Why don’t you just let me buy you new ones?” he asked.

“They mean a lot to me. They’re the first ones you ever purchased for me,” Savina replied, pouting.

“Savina, I think I saw a pair of gloves under the counter of the kitchen,” Essence said, making her presence known.

Savina smiled and walked over and gave her a big hug. “Thank you. Even after all these years, I still find that I’ve left things here.”

As she walked into the kitchen, Tremaine gave Essence a hug. “Hey, E! You’ll never guess what happened,” he said.

She arched her brow. “What?”

“Well, a few days ago, Chuckie and Little Ricky found their mates.”

“What?!” she shouted, jumping up and down. “That’s awesome!”

He laughed. “I know! Big Bobby met his too, and guess who it was... Marsha, otherwise known as the woman whose ass you kicked.”

Essence’s eyes widened. “Oh shit… her.” She didn’t want to say what she was thinking, so she folded her lips.

Tremaine chuckled. “He felt the same way. Apparently at the square, he started following her scent, and when he found her and approached her, he heard her talking about another woman who had a mastectomy.” He twisted his lips. “Something is truly wrong with her, E. Like, I’ve met disgusting people, but she really takes the cake.” Essence’s eyes blued in anger, and he shook his hands feverishly. “Don’t worry. Apparently, she sensed Big Bobby behind her and she turned around—looking at him all in love—and his wolf flat out told him ‘I think the fuck not’, and rejected her.”

“Woah,” Essence said, stunned. “I still feel bad for him, though. He really deserves love, too.”

“That’s the crazy part! He was really sad, but he caught another whiff of someone and before he knew it, he looked down and saw a woman punch the hell out of Marsha. So, he’s trying to understand the situation, right? And as the woman starts to scream at her, he realizes they were twins! It was her who Marsha had been talking shit about!”

Knowing where this was going, Essence crashed into the chair. “Big Bobby has twin mates.”

“Yep, and he and Shari took one look at each other, and boom! Imprinted.”

“Holy shit! That’s insane!”

“I know! Weird shit is just happening all over this place. I swear, E, from what I know, Blood Moon has never been this”—he scrunched his face—“diverse? Yeah, diverse. I really like it, though.”

“Me too,” she whispered, her thoughts traveling to Kano and her. In her heart, she truly felt that it was all because of them and she felt both admiration and sadness.

Savina returned, and Tremaine pulled her into his arms. “Ready to go, hot mama?”

She blushed and held the gloves up. “Yup! All set.”

“W-where are you guys going?” Essence asked, leaning forward.

Tremaine growled and raised his eyebrows up and down. “I’m about to Patrick Swayze the hell out of my Demi Moore.”

Savina laughed. “We’re going to make new pottery for his store.” Waving goodbye, the two left, and Essence found herself alone again. Not wanting to spoil her mood, she stood and walked out to the courtyard. There, she found Fontaine, Stephan and Brenda shifted, chasing each other around.

“I’m about to hold your fine ass hostage if you don’t stop playing and come here!” Fontaine shouted playfully at Brenda.

“No, sir! I will not bring my fine ass over there! You’re plotting on me, I can tell!” she shouted back, laughing.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Fine, have it your way.” He jumped towards the small golden wolf, and she backed into Stephan, shocked.

She looked up, and he smiled. “Well, well, well, look at what I caught. You know, we really have to stop meeting like this,” he said.

Letting out a yelp, she moved, and they quickly circled her. “Stop that!” she yelled, glaring.

“Why?” Stephan asked, tilting his head. “Those eyes are about as gold as that expensive ass jewelry you wear. Plus, you look good enough to eat, doesn’t she, Fontaine?”

“Yes she does,” Fontaine replied, watching her movements.

Feeling as if she walked in on something private, Essence quietly backed away. Hearing a laugh, she turned and saw Phil give Ericka a daisy.

“You gonna give me a hard time today, Ms. Eri?” he asked, smirking at her.
Ericka placed her arm in his and kissed his cheek. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” Laughing, the two made their way outside.

“Is everyone getting loved on but me?” Essence murmured. Quickly wiping her eyes, she made her way from the castle. Arms around her waist, she walked absentmindedly to the square.

“Big sister!”

She heard someone shout, and she turned to see Caitlyn racing towards her with a boy around her age in tow. No longer little, Caitlyn engulfed Essence in a hug. Essence laughed. “Oh, my goodness! Look at you.”

She pushed up her glasses and did a twirl, causing her blonde hair to sway in the wind. “I look good?” she asked, pursuing her lips.

Essence couldn’t help but note that she looked so different from what she did five years ago. She wore her newfound confidence well, and it made Essence beam with pride.

Essence chuckled and snapped her fingers. “Yes.you.do.”

The two shared a laugh, and Caitlyn’s smile widened. “It’s great to see you, big sister. I definitely want to catch up.” Looking over, her face reddened. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m being rude. This is Jeremy. We go to school together.”

Essence extended her hand to the clearly shy boy. “It’s very nice to meet you, Jeremy,” she said, and he nervously took her hand.

“I-It’s n-nice to meet you too, Luna,” he stammered.

She laughed. “No need for the formalities. You can call me Essence.”

His eyes widened, and he shook his head. “Oh no, Luna. My mom would have my hide if I did.”

She nodded. “Well, I certainly don’t want that. So okay, Luna it is.” She arched her brow. “How about we all go for ice cream or something? Caitlyn, we could catch up and Jeremy, we could get to know one another.

Caitlyn gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry, we can’t. I have to pick up Chip from baseball practice. I’m babysitting tonight and I’m late. We’ll catch up soon, I promise.” Quickly waving, she grabbed Jeremy’s hand and darted away, missing Essence’s face fall again.

Wiping her eyes, Essence sat on a bench and let out a loud sigh. “I miss you… I miss us,” she murmured low, thinking about Kano as her loneliness grew.

“Hey, E! Do you have a moment? If you aren’t busy, I could totally use your help.” Rafael linked to her.

“Sure!” she linked back, her spirits lifting a bit as she made her way to his shop.