My angel.
Running from demons.
The darkness calls to me, begging to be released to wreak havoc on the poor soul that threatens to hurt her, but Ican’t. That’s not how I will win her heart, she’s said as much.
Iam patient.But I want Luna to be safe, and clearly, she’s not if she’s had to scrub her identity from the face of the earth. I stare at the thousands of names on my screen again, and I grit my teeth, not wanting to admit defeat, but I know I won’t find her this way.
Alex gave me two weeks, so over the next two weeks, I’ll show her I’m worthy enough to bathe in her light, and maybe she’ll tell me on her own, and Alex won’t have to. I stare at her picture on my computer screen. I took it when she was on her way to the gym.
I stare into those soft brown eyes, only one question on my mind.
“Who are you, angel?”
Luna
The notes on my desk and my laptop start to blur together, and I have to blink several times before my vision clears. “I need a break.” I toss my pen down on the desk and close my laptop. I have enough written down to get a clear view of what book three will look like, and I'm confident that my readers will enjoy this one as much as the first.
I pick up my phone from my desk, intending to doomscroll before making myself some food, but when I turn it on, a VidTok notification pops up. The timestamp in the corner reads ‘Just Now’. I click the notification, and it takes me to Wolfy’s profile. “Oh fuck,” I say, my mouth hanging open.
The video starts with a well-dressed man leaning against a motorcycle —the kind all the hot masktokers have. He wears his full-face helmet, which tilts through several angles until he’s looking down at the viewer. “Good girl,” he says, using the voice modulator from the last VidTok.
I’m the first to like the video, and it reminds me I didn’t post the one I made. “Shit.” There’s no caption on this video, but I have been added as a collaborator.
I’m going to have to reshoot that video now. Great. I think quickly and decide to comment on the video, making it sound like I hired him:
“This’ll help get the tea pages off my back.” That hope was dashed the moment I got another notification from Wolfy —this time, a reply to my comment:
I stare at the comment for a few minutes,my brain short-circuiting. There’s no way he’s asking me to meet him, right? I refresh the page, and his comment already has over 100 likes in such a short time. I turn off my screen and set my phone down on my desk.
This can’t be happening.
My phone buzzes loudly against my desk, making me jump. I turn the phone over to see Olivia’s name, and I already know what she’s going to say. “Hell–”
“You have to do it! This would bring so much publicity to your book! You have to meet him, Luna!” Olivia shouts on the other end.
“Olivia, please think rationally here for a second. You wantmeto meet a strangemasked manfrom the internet?”
“Not any, strange masked man, a hot,popularmasked man. It’s Wolfy! He’s different!” Olivia counters.
“I think you’re letting your libido control your mind right now. He’s completely anonymous. Why would he even risk meeting me in the first place?”
“Exactly, Luna! He’s risking his identityandhis reputation to meetyou. He wouldn’t risk exposing himself to his half a million followers after working so hard to keep himself a secret if he didn’t have pure intentions.” I consider what Olivia is saying, and I can’t help but agree. She’s right, he wouldn’t risk exposing himself if he wasn’t serious about the offer. “I wasn’t going to tell you this yet because I don’t have a final count, but, Luna, with the Boston Times announcing you as its best-selling author, and these Wolfy videos, I haven’t been able to keep your special editions on the shelf. I’ve already had to put in another order because I’m down to my last few books. Look, I’m not saying to meet the guy at his place, you could book a studio in the city where they have security on site and cameras.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. I’ll think about it.” I hate when she’s right. My phone buzzes, and the notification says that Wolfy messaged me. “Olivia, he just sent me a message!”
“Read it now!”:
“Fuck that’s so hot,” Olivia says.
I have to hold in my laugh, “Olivia, stop drooling.” She makes a slurping sound, and I can’t help but give in to the giggles. I clear my throat, trying to rein us in. “Okay, we need to be serious.”
“You need to be seriously choking on that diiiiiiiick! Okay, I’m done.” Olivia hums, proud of her joke.
I ignore her. “I am a bit hesitant to meet him, but he seems to really want to keep it professional.”
“I agree. He even encouraged you to bring someone with you. It sucks that it can’t be me, though. Who would you bring with you?”
“I could always hire someone? Like a personal bodyguard for a few hours.”
