Chapter 23: Alexis

Chapter 23: Alexis

I was still swept up in Will’s embrace, and the night was just as magical as it was when I entered the room to the surprising sight of roses, chocolates, and teddy bears. I had just nagged him, and he had gone the extra length of delivering everything I had asked for and so much more.

Never in my life would I have imagined that he would propose to me this soon and with this much pomp and show. Could this also be the effect of the potion? Had it changed his personality as well?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Will said. “And don’t you worry. The potion has just enhanced what was already inside me. I am not a changed man, at least not in the ways that matter. I’m still very much the same person that you fell in love with, minus all the toxicity.”

“But what does it say about me that I was drawn to the toxicity too?” It was just a genuine fear that I was sharing with Will. I didn’t mean anything by it. We were engaged, after all. I could say these things to my fiancée.

“You will get used to this cheery new demeanor of mine,” Will said, stroking my hair.

“Where on earth did you get all these chocolates from? And why so many?” I asked, finally breaking the hug and paying attention to the details of the decoration in the room. The flowers weren’t just hanging from the curtains; they were woven into the fabric along with the fairy lights. It created a magical look that I was sure was just as expensive to pull off. The chocolates were all imported from Belgium, France, and Turkey. The kind that would put a dent in anyone’s pocket.

“Seriously, Will, where did you get all this from?” I asked, completely perplexed.

“I only had to pay the matron in advance. She and I went over different decorations till I found one that I liked. She’s the real brains of this operation,” Will said.

“You’re being modest,” I said, rubbing my hand on his cheek.

“I try,” Will smiled at me.

“So what’s the plan now, my dear fiancée?”

“The plan, dear fiancé, is to marry you. A big yet simple ceremony that will have the entire pack as well as some friends from the city. We’ll host it in the commune, on the training grounds. Or we can get creative and go for a theme wedding. Totally your call. And then we’re going on a long honeymoon. We can even go out of the country if that’s what you want.” Then, Will held me by my shoulders and took me to the bed, laying me down on the rose petals.

“It’s just that I have this new lease on life, and I do not want to waste this chance,” he said, taking off my shirt as he lay by my side. Then he unbuckled my bra and slipped it off my breasts. “For the first time in my entire life, I truly feel grateful to be alive. There’s nothing holding me back. No war, no enemies, no poisons in my body, and nothing haunting me in the back of my mind. All that exists right now is love. Does that make sense?”

“It makes sense,” I said, covering my breasts with my hands. “But I fear that I’ve done something terribly wrong when I was making your potion. You’re a little bit too cheery.”

Will threw his head back and laughed freely. Then, almost immediately, he was upon me and kissing me on my lips. Between his kisses, he said, “The potion worked perfectly. There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m trying to tell you that this version of me is the real me, and you’re responsible for restoring me back to my full health.”

That was a good enough explanation, and so I uncovered my breasts and let him play with them. He was in a jolly mood. Me? I was still fathoming the fact that he’d proposed to me and that I had accepted it. Of course, I was happy and content. But Will seemed to be on a level of delight that seemed a little too good to be true. Or perhaps, could it be that I was being defensive? I had to let go of the fears of the past and accept that this man, my mate, was a healed and changed man.

I kissed him back and made him lie down on the bed with me on top. I slowly unbuckled his belt and then took off his pants. His cock sprang out of his underwear. I took it in my hand and stroked it.

In all my life, I had never heard Will moan such as he was moaning right now. Those were carefree moans of sheer pleasure that were coming from his mouth, motivating me to stroke faster, tighter, and harder. His penis grew in my hand as I quickened my strokes, and when it felt like he was about to cum, I stopped.

Then, I took off my panties and sat on his erect dick, taking it in all at once. I slowly rode him, letting him be the vocal one this time around, relishing the sounds coming from his mouth, enjoying him whispering my name over and over again as I rode him. His cock filled me up deep inside, sending forth waves of erotic pleasure surging through my pelvis up to my breasts and onto my neck.

When I was tired and covered in sweat, I let him go on top and then held him by his neck, directing his gaze into my eyes as he made love to me. He was ever so gentle as he thrust and prodded. There was a familiarity to our sex. We both knew what the other wanted, and we gave it to each other without reserve.

He gushed into me, and the sensation of him coming inside me triggered a primal orgasm deep within me, making me moan loudly. I felt the strength give away in my legs and arms as Will lay on top of me, panting and sweating.

“We’re on track to beat some sort of sex record, aren’t we?” I asked as he slid off me and lay on the rose petals.

“It’s like I said when in Rome, do as the Romans do,” Will said. “I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely famished. I’m going to go down into the kitchen and see if the chef can’t fix us something to eat right now.”

“It’s past midnight!” I protested. “Why don’t you just lie down and go to sleep? Given how gastronomic this place is, I can assure you that they have a seven-course breakfast laid out for us in the morning.”

“If you insist, dear fiancée,” Will said, and then, almost without any notice, fell asleep.

Shortly thereafter, I fell asleep too, but not for long.

***

It turned out that Will was indeed hiding something from me. I had barely slept for an hour or so when I woke up to the sound of the door opening. It was Will, coming from outside, holding a cup of coffee in his hands.

“You went to the kitchen without me?” I asked as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “What time is it?”

“Go back to sleep, Lexie,” Will said. His mood was completely different from how it had been before we’d fallen asleep. “I’m going to join you soon.”

“Will. What’s wrong? You’re worried. What is it?” I asked. “You have to confide these things in me.”

“Fine,” Will said, only this time, there was no jubilation in his voice. It was a grave voice, a haunting reminder of how his voice used to be before the potion. “There I was, fast asleep, when Maurice visited me in my dream. Well, more precisely, his words. Do you remember what he said? He’d said something about someone being against me for more than seventy years. I had forgotten about that. Fate seems to have reminded me that one of my foes, other than Blair, is still alive and out there, potentially plotting something against me. No matter how much I think about it, I end up drawing a blank. You’re my mate. What do you think it is? Who is out there?”

This version of Will was a much more natural version compared to how he was just a few hours ago. I realized how stupid I had been in thinking that there was something wrong with him. There had been nothing wrong with him. He had only drunk too much wine. That’s why he was being so over the top earlier. Now that he was drinking his coffee, he was sober, and with such sobriety came the realization of sobriety.

“The puppeteer,” I said.

“Why would you say that?” Will asked, frowning.

“There is someone in the shadows, operating from behind curtains of darkness, pulling the strings of the people that we came to know as our foes. Blair, Maurice, Ralph—those were all puppets,” I said.

“It couldn’t be Edward. I killed him with my hands,” Will sighed. “And the only other person who still lives from seventy years ago is Fred. But he is my brother, and look at his state. He’s old, withered, and can’t even move without his walker or his wheelchair. Do you really think that Fred is capable of creating such a fine syndicate of crime and horrors?”

“Fred is senile,” I agreed. “Even when I was a kid, he was senile. He cannot talk properly. Most of the time, he’s not even thinking straight. If you walk past him in the town square, you’ll find him mumbling nonsense. Most pack members just respect him because he’s one of the original Grimms. He cannot be the puppeteer.”

“Is it me?” Will asked.

“What?!” I rose from my bed, utterly perplexed at his question.

“You know, like how in those movies and TV shows that you showed me, the main character develops a split personality disorder where one personality is the hero, and the other is a villain. Like Mr. Robot or Fight Club,” Will said.

“Okay, putting aside the fact that I’m more than impressed that you’ve somehow retained the plots of Mr. Robot and Fight Club, that kind of thing only happens in movies. Besides, you spend countless hours by my side. We’re always in front of each other. Don’t you think if you had a secret split personality, I would be the first to know of it?”

“You’re right. I’m just thinking around in circles and getting nowhere,” Will said, shaking his hand. “Hey, do you want some of this coffee? I don’t want anymore. I’m as sober as one can be.”

“Fine. Give it,” I said, reaching out. He handed me the cup. I drank from it to clear my head, then went to the window and sat by him on the sofa, both of us staring out into the darkness.

“Was Maurice lying?” Will asked. “You know, he might be lying just to fuck with my head so that even in death, he would have the last laugh.”

“Come to think of it, that could be it. Just look at the town yourself. It’s all so calm now that Maurice and Ralph aren’t there anymore. Even Blair has left the city and has holed up god knows where. If there were a true villain plotting things against you for seventy-plus years, wouldn’t they be out there trying to bring you down? Instead, you’re enjoying a nice mini-vacation with your mate out here in Vermont,” I said. “Now come back to bed, and let’s go to sleep. We do have to go back to Fiddler’s Green tomorrow.”

I held Will’s hand and beckoned him to come back to bed. He did not struggle.

“Paranoia does not suit you, Will,” I said, holding his head in my arms as I cradled him to sleep.

***

“Oh, my Lord, that is one big fat ring!” Vincent gasped as I held my hand to him. “Tell me all the details. How did he propose? What was that place like?”

“Calm down, now, young Vincent,” Will said, coming from behind me. We had just entered the Grimm Abode after hours of traveling. I was overcome with joy upon seeing Vincent back in the commune and couldn’t wait to show him the ring.

“Will! Buddy, so good to see you!” Vince said and gave Will a deep hug. “Congratulations are in order—an engaged man. Soon you’ll be a married man. God, this calls for celebrations. I’m going to alert the entire commune!”

“Before you do any of that, tell me about yourself,” I said, holding Vincent’s hand and taking him to the side. Will followed us with his hand resting on Vincent’s shoulder.

“I had to go away for a while to clear my head. You know? With dad dying and everything, it changed things for me. Now, I’m the head of my family. Grandpa Fred is there, but he’s not really all there, is he? Every day he grows older and more senile than before. I have to take care of all the land that we own, the resources, and so much bureaucratic stuff that dad had lying around in his mayoral office. But that’s just business. I traveled quite a bit just to compute what had happened and process it all. What I came to realize at the end of my travels was that my father was his own man, just as I am my own man. He was responsible for his choices. I get to make my choices. And that makes all the difference,” Vincent said. “With that said, I’m back, and I’m going to take charge of things, starting with an engagement celebration!”

Will hugged him, and so did I. Vincent was in quite a positive spirit, and it reflected in the spirit of everyone in the commune. People were happy, walking around with smiles on their faces. Vincent kept running from person to person, telling them that Will had proposed to me.

And then it began, the deluge of people coming to me one by one, congratulating me on landing such a fine young man and wishing me the best of luck in my future life. Even though I was tired as hell, I stayed outside and greeted everyone who came to me, bearing congratulations.

Once it was all done, two hours had passed. It had never taken me two hours to interact with my pack members before. This was the first time they had greeted and treated me with such fondness, making me truly feel like a part of the pack instead of just an outsider.

I held Will’s hand and took him to our home, eager to get out of the sight of all the people. We were tired, and we needed to rest. More importantly, we had to get ready for whatever shindig Vincent was going to throw in light of the news of our engagement.

Or we can run away yet again, Will whispered in my mind.

We can’t always run away from our people, Will. Our happiness is their happiness. Never in my life would I have imagined I’d say such a thing. But now, it felt genuine. The pack was not a band of strangers to me anymore. They were family.

“I am glad that you are becoming accepting of the people around you,” Will said.

“Okay. We can rest for a few hours. Knowing Vincent, his whole celebrating thing isn’t going to start until the night,” I said, taking Will inside the house.

We barely had the chance to shower, change our clothes, and drink a cup of tea when Vincent knocked on our door and invited us outside. The sun had gone down, and the lights were up. Bulbs hung from posts, illuminating the commune, and the people were being their mirthful selves, cooking, dancing, singing, and talking to each other.

I went around the commune, meeting them yet again for the second time on the same day. This time, though, I was less overwhelmed, and the pressure to mingle was off my shoulders. The people were already doing that on their own. In the past couple of days, I discovered that alcohol had a way of making people’s inhibitions go down, including mine. Even now, there was a glass of wine in my hands that I clung tightly to. Any time it was nearing emptiness, I filled it up and went around making rounds of the commune, taking part in the celebrations with much more enthusiasm than before.

In all this, Will kept sitting with Vincent in one corner of the commune. The two men were barbequing some tikkas, or so it appeared. From across the commune, I called out to Will and asked him if everything was all right.

I’m just making sure that Vincent’s okay. I have to spend time with him to ascertain that he has truly recovered from his father’s death, Will told me.

It was a commendable thing that Will was doing. I wished I was doing something similar. But there was nothing to do except celebrate, drink, eat, and be merry.

Quietly, I snuck back into our home and pulled the curtains in the bedroom. Then I shut down the lights and pulled the blanket over me. Who knew how long these festivities might go on? I was tired beyond comprehension. Besides, what I had planned for tomorrow required a good night’s sleep.