Chapter Fourteen

Willow’s POV.

After Dimitri gave me the bracelet, my mind had been wandering. Was that some sort of declaration? Was Dimitri trying to tell me something? He looked tense, almost as if this trip was taking a lot from him, and the last thing I wanted was to ask him even more questions. So, I just stewed in my thoughts till we reached the airstrip.

Dimitri helped me out and we were ushered in the plane - or should I say private jet - by a pretty hostess. We got on the flight quietly, neither of us wanting to break the silence. Although my thoughts were heavy, I found that silence with Dimitri was very comfortable. It did not feel like all the other times.

We got in the comfortable seats and I sighed in contentment. Dimitri chuckled a little and I looked at him and laughed. Then I admitted quietly, “This is my second international flight.”

He raised one brow. I was tempted to ask him how he was able to do that but I stopped myself just in time. I knew I was a weirdo but there were limits to everything. And I did not want to cross any of those limits.

“When was the first time?”

“When I was about ten. It was a class trip to Canada. I had to beg my mother to let me go. I bugged her day and night and she finally accepted. Honestly, I think I should have stayed home instead,” I said with a laugh.

“Why?” Dimitri asked seriously.

“Well, it was economy - obviously, because which school can afford to fly kids business class. We were packed like sardines in there. Imagine a bunch of 15 ten year olds, most of them on their first flight. We were terrified and a lot of us spent the entire flight crying.”

“I'm guessing you were part of that demographic?” Dimitri teased and I laughed.

“You can’t blame me,” I said with a small giggle. “I was sitting next to my worst enemy and he kept on pinching and poking me the entire time.”

Dimitri mock winced then the both of us laughed. Before I could say anything else, I could hear the pilot speak. Then the hostess came forward and asked us to fasten our seatbelts, which we did. I looked at the bracelet Dimitri gave me and a small smile spread on my lips. Yeah, even if I was being delusional, it felt nice to dream.

***

The flight was long and I thought we would never reach. It was interesting though. For the most part, Dimitri and I had spoken, and I had discovered a man that I actually liked. He who was usually so quiet had become a little chatty, and I could not say I did not like it. When the jet touched down, Dimitri woke me up gently. Then before I could realize what was happening, he picked me up bridal style and walked out of the jet carefully.

“Go back to sleep,” he whispered. And just like magic, I did.

I only woke up when it was time for me to get out of the car. I opened my eyes sleepily when Dimitri helped me out. He went to pull me into his arms again but I refused. I did not want to get used to this. Just for him to go back to his normal self when we got back to NYC. So, instead, I stared at the house we were supposed to get into.

House was an understatement. It was a fucking castle!

I swallowed and turned towards Dimitri. There was a bittersweet expression on his face. And I curbed all my questions. I just watched him. Before I lost all my courage, I placed my hand on his and squeezed. “Are you alright, Dimitri?”

I guess I was emboldened by our sudden closeness on the plane. To my surprise, Dimitri pulled me into him for a hug. I did not push him away. Instead, I wrapped my arms around him tentatively. How the hell was I going to get used to the other side of him when we got back?

I decided to stop thinking about it. The future would deal with its problems.

“This is my childhood home,” he said.

“Oh,” I let out. For some reason, I had thought we would stay in a hotel.

Dimitri took my hand in his and led me to the big brown door. Holding each other’s hands felt natural. I was not going to overthink anything. I just let him lead me and I followed. He could have taken me to the edge of a cliff at that particular moment and jumped. And I would have jumped along with him.

We walked into the house. It was extremely quiet. Dimitri led me up a flight of stairs and he opened a big room. “This is my room,” he said. It seemed like he wanted to add something but he stopped himself and we walked out of his room to the next one.

“This is yours, you’ll be sleeping here for the time being.”

The expression for the time being felt so heavy. But I did not push. I just nodded. Dimitri hovered around. It felt like he wanted to say something but he was stopping himself. I stared at him until he finally broke the silence.

“Your luggage will be unpacked tomorrow morning. If you’re in need of anything, the closet is full. There are toiletries in the bathroom. Please don’t stress yourself unpacking. It will be done.”

“Okay Dimitri,” I said quietly.

“Good night. I’ll see you when the day breaks,” he said.

“Good night,” I whispered, then he went out of the room.

I let out a deep breath then I sat on the bed. I was so confused.

***

By the time I woke up the next morning, the time on the clock was 11 am. I felt so mortified. I got out of bed quickly and went to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I came back to the bedroom. I could not see my luggage anywhere so I assumed it had already been unpacked.

I did not know how I felt about unknown people unpacking my clothes but I decided not to make a big deal about it. I picked out the matching robe for the pajamas I had worn, slipped my feet into some house slippers and went downstairs. I tried to follow the noise until I reached a small living room. I stopped in my tracks when I saw Dimitri… and Dimitri?

“Willow,” Dimitri said, then he came towards me. “How was your rest?”

“It was good. Why didn’t you wake me up before this?”

“There was no point. And you were sleeping so peacefully,” he responded and I nodded.

“Luna,” the other Dimitri said, then he came towards me and took my hand and kissed it.

I smiled. “Luna?” I asked, turning to Dimitri in confusion.

“She doesn’t know?” the other Dimitri asked, looking aghast. I frowned. What were they talking about?

“Vladimir,” Dimitri warned and I frowned even harder. What was he hiding from me? What did he not want me to know?

“Dimitri, what’s going on?” I asked with a raised brow.

“I cannot believe you did not tell her anything Dimitri. That is fucked up, let me tell you. You need to tell her the truth right now, else I’m going to do it,” Dimitri’s brother, who apparently was called Vladimir, said. He looked angry and I was curious to know what it was that he wanted me to know.

“It’s not your place, Vladimir,” Dimitri said. He looked mad. I had only ever seen him this mad when I did not wear the fragrance intentionally. I swallowed and watched as Vladimir left the room and slammed the door behind him.

Dimitri had moved away from me. Before I went towards him so I could try to understand what was going on, I looked around the room. I saw a picture that made me stop in my tracks. A picture of the wolf that had attacked me in Dimitri’s house. Was it his pet? Where was it now? Or had he put it down after he realized that it was dangerous?

I shook my head then I walked towards Dimitri and touched him. He shook, almost as if he had forgotten that I was still here. I brushed off the slight feeling of hurt that it brought about in my spirit. Instead, I raised a brow at him and looked expectantly.

“What was your brother talking about?” I asked him.

Dimitri let out a loud sigh, then he sat in one of the couches in the living room. I frowned again. The look on his face was heavy. I did not understand. Had something happened? Dimitri surprised me again when he stood and started walking around the room. Then he stopped in front of me abruptly.

“Have you ever heard about werewolves?” Dimitri asked and I rolled my eyes.

“Of course I have, Dimitri. But what does that have to do with anything? We’re supposed to be having a serious conversation, not talking about mythical creatures.”

Dimitri chuckled and my confusion deepened even more. “Mythical creatures. I wish. You remember the wolf that you saw in my house?”

I nodded then I pointed at the image. “That one?”

“Yes, that one,” was Dimitri’s response. He took a deep breath before he uttered the next part of his sentence. “That was not an ordinary wolf. That was my wolf.”

I thought the precision on the personal pronoun was ridiculous and I let him know that. “I know it’s your wolf. After all, he was in your house.”

“You don’t understand, Willow. I am a werewolf. That wolf was me, that’s my wolf.”

I stared at Dimitri for a while to make sure that I had not just imagined whatever had just come out from his mouth. Then I laughed. “Dimitri, come off it. Whatever you’re saying doesn’t make sense and it’s not funny.”

“I’m serious, Willow. I am a werewolf.” He stopped, then he stared into space and said, “Adrik, I know you cannot stand me right now. But I need you to come out so I can change.”

I frowned. Was my boss a madman? Was this one of those rich people's kinks? Was I going to die after spending less than a day in Russia? Even as I was staring at Dimitri, I could not explain it, but one second Dimitri was there, and the next, it was the wolf in the picture. I screamed and went towards the door.

As I was about to open it, Dimitri appeared and said, “Wait, don’t. It’s me Willow. I promise.”

“What the hell was that?” I asked, my voice shaky.

“Willow, I am so sorry that I took so long to tell you this. I am a werewolf, I have been like this since my birth.”

I was confused. I was fighting the urge to leave the room and hightail out of there. Go back home and quit once and for all. I did not know what to do. I tried to take a deep breath but it seemed my lungs were not working any more.

“Willow? Willow! Breathe, Willow.”

I felt Dimitri’s hands on my shoulders but I could no longer see a thing. The last thing I heard was him calling out my name before the darkness took over.