Willow
“No, that’s impossible.” I shake my head.
“I’m serious, Leo makes limbicus and sells it to Mike, who sells it to other drug dealers. Why do you think they never found the lab results of the drug used to spike your drink?”
I gasp. “Did Leo bribe the hospital staff?”
“No, I thought you knew that limbicus is untraceable.”
“But Marcel...”
“Marcel confessed, remember? And he had the limbicus with him.”
“No, not Leo.” I shake my head.
“Think.” He looks at me, his green eyes daring me to deny what I already suspected.
“Leo kept saying I was going to hate him if he told me the truth.”
“See?” He raises his eyebrows.
“I’m going to kill him,” I say between my teeth.
“No, calm down.” He puts his arm around me.
“Don’t tell me to calm down, you are also a traitor. You watched me befriend him and you didn’t say a word.” I remove his arm and I glare at him.
“I, I didn’t want you to think I was jealous and bitter.”
“No, you should’ve said something.”
“I told you not to work with him,” he shrugs.
“You didn’t tell me why.” I glower at him.
“I wanted to, but you lost your brother because of him, I wanted to protect you.”
“From the truth?” I sink into the couch and he sits next to me.
“Because I care about you.”
“If you did, you should’ve prevented this by telling me earlier. I feel like you have changed so much.”
“I know things haven’t been the same, but I want to make everything better.”
“We can start with the truth.” I look into his eyes.
He nods. “What do you want to know?”
“About your relationship with Leo. How do you know each other?”
“As you know, I’m from East Renton, and so is Leo. He is a little older than me. So, I looked up to him. When he came to the University of Washington, I couldn’t wait to follow in his footsteps. Everyone at East Renton spoke highly of him.”
I nod, urging him to continue.
“Our dads are best friends and they do some business together. I always followed Leo around and he was like a brother to me. Then, I discovered he was mixing with the wrong crowd, and he made limbicus for money and popularity. Mike is living a flashy lifestyle, and they were best friends.”
I sigh, feeling ridiculous for trusting Leo.
“I told him to stop, but he never listened to me, he wanted more money. He ended up investing in pharmaceuticals and getting more money from Mike to expand his legal businesses and his legal science experiments.”
My jaw drops. “So, he used money made from illegal drugs to make legal drugs?”
“Yep,” he nods. “He wanted to convince me to join him, but I refused, I couldn’t stand to see limbicus addicts and take part in something so horrible. That’s when I decided it was best to stay away from him. His dad found out and disowned him. Leo became so jealous of me because his dad started to let me take care of his business deals. Then, he told me that he would come for everything dear to my heart. That’s why he went after you.”
“How did he know I was at Carkeek Park that night and that you were not happy to see me?” I ask him.
“I told Lucy that you saw us, and told her I wanted you instead of her, so she complained to him.”
“I knew it! When I first saw him, I asked if Lucy sent him. He said you wanted to kill me in the forest, why?”
He laughs until his eyes get filled with tears. “I told you, Lucy complained to him, and he was just trying to make you doubt me.”
“Why were you and Lucy in the forest? And all those people?”
“Well...”
“Are you werewolves?” I raise my eyebrows.
He shakes his head. “I thought you were a level-headed scientist. You know it’s not biologically possible.”
“Yeah, I know.” I sigh. “I’m just being crazy, but why were you getting married at Carkeek Park?”
“You found me in the forest when we first met. Remember? Our families have always loved Carkeek Park and you know it’s not cursed.”
“So, that means you know all about the rest of the wolves? How do you guys get to enjoy your time there without meeting them?”
He exhales. “Why are you interrogating me? I thought we were talking about Leo.”
“Yes, and something is going on with the three of you. I want to know, and as my boyfriend, I should know all about your life.”
He nods. “You told me about the other wolves, but I haven’t seen them.”
“Did you ever go to the forest after my incident with the other wolves?”
He shakes his head.
“Okay. So, how did you understand each other? You and Asclepius.”
He sighs.
I smile when I see how hard he is trying to be patient with me. “Don’t you dare even think about lying to me. I’m confused, and tired of feeling like I'm crazy.”
“Like I told you, The Cursed Forest has always been our secret place, and Asclepius was the only wolf. I think he found a pack and then he and the other wolves fought for dominance. I don’t know, that’s what I think.” He shrugs. “As for Asclepius, he has been alone in the forest for a while, and he has been our friend since we were young, we trained him to understand us.”
“Thank you for opening up to me. I have just realized that there is so much I don’t know about you, and I hope one day you’ll tell me more.”
He nods solemnly. “I will tell you everything, I promise. We have so much time together.”
I rest my head on his shoulder. “I feel like I betrayed Marcel, and I’m sorry I didn’t listen when you told me to stay away from Leo.”
“I’m used to your stubbornness,” he envelopes me in his arms.
“I’m going to confront him.”
“No, babe. Don’t...”
“I don’t know what to do.” I exhale.
“I have a plan.”
“What’s the plan?”
“I know how to get him arrested, but I’m going to need your help.”