Miss Poppy and the Beast

17. Despicable Man

Ever so slowly, Poppy peeled her eyes open, blinking several times to adjust with the bright rays of the sun seeping through the gap of sheer golden and white curtains covering the windows. The first thing which came into her vision was the very familiar ivory ceiling, filled with beautiful and delicate carvings.

She pushed her body groggily and tightly held her throbbing head with her hands. "Agghhh", she groaned, wincing in pain. It felt like someone was hammering her brain and it would come out of her skull in no time. Yesterday's hangover was way too much for her.

The last time she consumed alcohol was a glass of wine on her 21st birthday, only because Eva forced her to have a taste of it and it was so bitter for her liking that she threw up her whole dinner in Eva's lap. From that day onwards, Eva took an oath to not let her drink ever again, at least not in her presence.

But last night's cocktails were something else. They were too delicious to miss them out. They didn't taste bitter at all. And here was the result of her recklessly chugging those forbidden drinks like a glutton, when she knew her body was not immune to liquor.

"Oh God", she winced again in her hoarse voice and hung down her head supporting her hands. A few minutes later, she jerked up from her sleepy haze when yesterday's event flashed back in the back of her mind. It felt like she was watching one of those super cliched paranormal movies. The only difference was, it was all happening live in front of her eyes. Had she drunk so much that she was hallucinating or had she hit her head after tripping somewhere?

Her body shuddered in fear when a familiar deep voice reached her ears. "Rise and shine, Miss Summers".

A chilling shiver ran down through her spine. She turned her head towards the source of voice and her eyes went wide when she saw the same man who was responsible for her almost heart attack just yesterday. He was sitting leisurely on a couch a little distant from the bed, sprawled legs and leaning on the backrest as if he owned the place.

'Ofcourse he owned this place, damned', the thought came to her head. But, what was all that she saw with her own eyes? What kind of creature was he? Was it all a dream or reality? Her confusion can only be solved if she asks him directly. But who's gonna ask this shithole of a man?

Clearing her throat, she broke the silence, "Why did you bring me here?".

He ditched his relaxed posture and stood up which made Poppy's heartbeat run wild. Every step he was taking towards her, she scooted back towards the headboard. Her throat got drier and drier in anxiety and fear, with each step he was coming closer to her.

Tucking his hands inside pant pockets, he stood in front of the bed, lookin at her with a void of any expression. "I thought the first thing you would be asking me is like, ' What kind of creature are you?', or something like that. But you are straight to the point and it's quite impressive that you didn't bore me with stupid questions."

' Impressive? my foot. I know this jerk is mocking me.', she cursed him in her mind. But can she say it out loud? No.
"Just tell me why I am here?", she asked again. Only she knows how fast her heartbeat was. But she has to be strong in front of that jerk. Yes, she was shit scared of what she saw last night, yet, she was way too curious to know what he was. He sure looked like a wolf, but wolves are not so giant. But, she didn't want to let him boost his ego by letting him know that she was actually extremely frightened and if she gets a change she will run for the hills.