Chapter 2
2227 Words
~Glinda~
Dad says looking serious.
Circe “WHAT?!”
Circe says jumping up from her seat.
Tabatha “Back here? I would have known if she was back here Dad.”
She looks confused. I look at Gareth who is looking my way.
Melissa “She is at the castle. She arrived today.”
Mom says looking confused and upset. Silence falls over the room as all of us take in the information.
Gareth “Do we know what she wants yet?”
Frank “No, the only information we have is that she arrived today. There is no sign of him yet, but I’m sure if she is back, he will be following soon. I know you girls aren’t happy with your security, but we are going to have to talk about it again.”
Dad says looking pained. This always turns into a huge disagreement with us girls saying we can look after ourselves and our parents just saying that Isobel also thought that. Gareth grabs my hand squeezing it quickly and he lets go.
Glinda “Okay Dad, what are we looking at?”
I start the conversation, receiving stunned looks from every corner.
~Frank~
I am not sure how much more security I can add to our already intrusive team. There is literarily no place the girls can go without having a guard with them. Accept their rooms… and bathroom… of course… duh
If I add more, they will be surrounded by guards at all times and not be able to see where they are going! This is getting ridiculous! When did I become so scared of someone?
The image of Isobel’s pale face flashes across my memory…
“Girls I know you hate this. Believe me, your Mother and I hate it just as much.” I start but Circe interrupts me immediately.
“Dad, seriously, we are wolves… WEREwolves.” She waves her hands in the air. “What exactly can the security do better than we can’t do?”
“Protect you, while your Mother and I aren’t by your side,” I say feeling frustrated myself.
“DAD, you can’t protect us forever!” Glinda stands up from her seat and Gareth pulls her back taking hold of her wrist. “No Gareth! I’m not going to live in fear because of Willow’s mistake!” She pulls her arm free from his grip.
I look at Melissa hoping for some backup, but all she does is shrug.
“Don’t look at me… all of them have your hard-headedness!! They take after you.” She grins for the first time in weeks.
“Dad, you have trained us to the best of your abilities. What happened to Isobel was a tragic accident. You need to trust that we will be okay. You can’t lock us up like porcelain dolls to keep him from capturing us, or keep Willow from hurting us.” Circe says walking around the desk, sliding her arm around my shoulders.
“Yeah, Dad. Willow might know some of our secrets, but she doesn’t know all. Besides, losing Isobel might count in our favor. He is wounded because he is the one that took her life and we have a score to settle.” Glinda says with more wisdom than someone of her age should have.
“Mom helped me block the link between me and Willow and I have a feeling she did the same from her side, so she won’t be able to get any information on our plans through our twin link.” Tabatha nods.
“Okay, okay. You made your point.” I wave my hands in the air. “I just wanted to make sure you all are safe.”
~Glinda~
I look at my Mom sitting on her chair in the corner of Dad’s office. She has been mostly quiet through this meeting and I know this must be so hard on her. Even though she has a close relationship with each of us, her relationship with Willow was different. They shared a bond that none of us would understand.
“Dad, please. We are prepared for whatever comes our way.” Circe says kissing him on top of his head and he sighs.
“Can I go take a shower now?” I ask trying to break the tension in the room.
“I thought I smelled something horrible!!” Tabatha pinches her nose and starts laughing.
I smack her with my towel on the way out.
“Gareth, if you don’t mind. I want to talk to you quickly.” I hear Dad on my way out, wondering what it is about. I want to turn around to find out, but Mom shakes her head at me so I keep going in the direction of the shower.
I guess it’s about pack business then. After my shower I come running down the stairs, dressed in a light cotton summer dress with a soft pink floral pattern all over.
Gareth is hanging around the living room also showered and dressed in casual shorts and a T-shirt.
“What are you doing here?” I feel a bit confused.
We didn’t make an appointment for anything unless he has an appointment with someone else in the house… which I doubt.
“I’m here on the request of your father little miss Glinda.” He says with mischief in his smile.
“To do what?” I put my hands on my hips looking through squinted eyes.
“Keep an eye… on you.” He says laughing.
“Excuse me?!”
“Your Dad asked me to stick around and just keep you safe, that’s all.” He laughs, looking relaxed.
Me on the other hand? I was not happy at all.
“I DON’T need a babysitter!” I say loudly and storm off to my Dad’s office, not knocking on the door, I storm inside.
“Daddy! I don’t need a babysitter!” I shout and he looks up from his notes.
“Gareth is not a babysitter; he is your trainer. Think of it as part of your training. Learning how to observe your surroundings better.” Dad says grinning at me.
“DAD! I thought we discussed this already!” I stomp my foot
“No, you lot discussed it. I have different ideas. Now do you still want to go shopping or not?” he grins at me pointing at the door.
He knows I can’t say no to shopping.
“No fair!” I shout, on my out, of his office, grabbing Gareth’s hand on the way out the front door.
“I have rules. Number one, don’t talk to me. Number two, don’t look at me.” He opens the door of the black SUV for me and I jump in.
Running around to the other side, he climbs in front with the driver, surprising me.
“Yes, princess. I know my place.” He laughs, winking at me.
I huff and keep quiet on the way to the mall. So, caught up in my thoughts I don’t notice the second vehicle following behind us.
“Sit.” Gareth orders, jumping out when we reach the mall.
Who the…? I see him looking around, then I notice the wire next to his ear. When he turns back around to open my door, I hear someone loudly saying in his earpiece. “Safe for Princess to enter.”
That is where it came from!!! My code name is Princess!! I angrily climb out of the car, trying to slam the door behind me, but Gareth still has the handle in his hand and stops me from doing so.
He looks at me curious about my reaction and closes the door. I don’t look back and simply walk ahead into the mall. Princess!!
Glinda “Imagine that Lowella! Calling us princess!!”
Lowella is my wolf and we are the closest of friends. Sometimes I think she is the only one who completely gets me.
Lowella “Just ignore them. At least our code name is something cute. They could have given us something terrible, like a brat!”
She says, making me realize it could have been worse.
~Willow~
I sneak out of bed and back to my room. He might have all day to laze around, but I have a company to keep going. While I get ready for my day, he walks into my room.
His hair wet from a recent shower, dressed in one of his best suits and a silver silk shirt to round off his look.
Radagast “Are you going to take all day?”
Willow “No, I was just on my way.”
I turn away from my full-length mirror where I was making sure everything looked the way I wanted it to, and look at him.
Radagast “It doesn’t look that way.”
He mumbles.
Willow “What are you doing out of bed this early?”
Radagast “I am going into the office with you, why would you ask such a stupid question? I am growing tired of you questioning my every move Willow. It’s becoming tedious.”
Willow “I’m sorry Radagast. I didn’t mean to offend you. I just thought that you would want to take a day or two off before jumping into work.”
Radagast “Well see that is where the problem is. You shouldn’t think!”
He turns around and walks out of my room, stomping off in the direction of the top floor offices. The last month has been hell! At first, he couldn’t get enough of me. Clinging to me as if his life depended on it.
Then he met with the council. Since then he has been drinking all the time and his moods change like the seasons. Only you can experience all four seasons in a matter of hours.
I have to run slightly to catch up to him.
Willow “You have a conference call with Mr. Goldberg. The council needs you to donate to the school as a show of good faith.”
Radagast “Those leeches!! They are extorting every scent they can out of me. If I had known this was how they do business, I would never have agreed to anything! No wonder my father was there all the time. It all makes sense why he would look so pathetic when they called for him!”
His strides widen as his face starts turning red with anger. I find it difficult to keep up, dressed in my signature tight-fitting skirt.
Radagast “You deal with the meeting. Tell him we will donate a quarter of what they need and not a scent more!”
Willow “Radagast!”
I pull his arm to bring him to a standstill.
Willow “If you do that, they will withdraw your protection. If they withdraw, you won’t be able to stay here and capture my other sisters. Is that what you want?”
His unreasonable demands infuriating me! He hesitates for a second.
Radagast “What then?”
Willow “They sometimes need to see you and not me and you need to give in to their full demands.”
Radagast “I’m not that rich! I’m not a millionaire you know!!”
His face turns red again and he starts walking to the offices at a normal pace. I hook into his arm, putting my folder under my other arm.
Willow “No, you are a multi-billionaire. You can afford it. Now stop your sulking before I decide to leave!”
He turns around to look at me, grabbing me by my arms.
Willow “OW! You are hurting me!”
Radagast “You won’t leave me! Tell me you won’t ever leave me!”
A mix of anger and panic flowing across his face.
Willow “Okay, calm down. I won’t leave you.”
He holds on for a second searching my face, as if looking for confirmation, then let’s go of me.
Radagast “I can’t lose you. You have to stay.”
He says, hooking my arm back into his and we carry on walking to the office.
Radagast “I will do as you ask this morning. How are things looking on our other project?”
The reason we returned… the reason that keeps nagging at me, making me think I’m not enough!
Willow “Their security has been updated as we expected. The part they don’t know is that our guys are in place as part of their new security detail. We will soon have the information we need to take all three of my sisters.”
I tell him, pulling my arm from his grasp and walk into my office.
Willow “I left everything I’ve been working on, on your desk. Call me if you need anything else. I will be here… hanging around.”
I say sarcastically, feeling agitated with this entire situation he has put me in. He walks into my office, his hands in his pockets, looking apologetic.
Radagast “Willow, I’m sorry if I’ve neglected you lately. You will always be my girl.”
Moving around my desk he stands in front of me, sliding his arms around my waist.
- Writer
