21 New Dawn

LUCAS

Lucas felt tense as he headed towards the two storey building that stood at the end of the long gravelled driveway. The driveway was surrounded by well manicured lawns and there was a marble fountain at the threshold of the building. It was Imani's house.

She'd emailed him last night, apologising about the rumours that were circulating about them and for leaving him in Milos' parking lot in that manner. She'd also asked him the reason for which he seemed to specifically want her to help him and not anyone else. Lucas had been quite surprised that she had e-mailed him since she had never replied to his e-mails but he replied her immediately.

In his reply, he explained that most of the scientists he'd employed had tried and failed while those that were still trying didn't think they'll get useful results. He also told her that the virus was similar to the Sirizan virus. Her reply to that showed that she was quite alarmed and she said they should meet. She didn't want to meet in somewhere public because of the press and her twisted ankle so after a little while of debating on where to meet, they eventually decided on her place.

He took in a deep breath and was about to raise his hand to ring the doorbell when the door swung open.

"Well hello there, Lucas," said a girl wearing a tank top and denim trousers, who Lucas recognized to be Lola Sutton. "It's so very nice to finally meet Imani's boyfriend."

He wore a puzzled expression as she gave him a huge smile and an exaggerated wink. He wasn't sure if she actually thought he and Imani were dating or if she was just messing with him. She seemed to be really friendly and nothing like her father.

She gave him another exaggerated wink and he realized she was just messing with him.

"It's nice to meet you too," he stated and gave her a charming smile.

"Damn, you're hot," Lucas heard her mutter under her breath before she cleared her throat and stepped out of the way, gesturing for him to come in. "Come in. Make yourself at home."

Lucas stepped into the foyer and took in his surroundings as Lola shut the door behind him. Everything in the house, from the lights to the furniture, screamed expensive. His eyes landed on a large painting of a man and a woman hanging on a wall just as Lola stepped in front of him.

"You're quite early. Your girlfriend thought you'd come over by noon," she stated as she directed him to the living room. "I'll go wake her up but first, would you like anything to drink. Water or..."

"No, thank you," he replied as her sat on a couch.

"Okay, I'll go wake your babe now," she said before she winked at him and quickly made her way out of the living room.

Lucas' eyes darted from the pile of gifts that were in corner of the living room, which he guessed were from fans, to the sheepskin rug on the floor to the Scandinavian furniture that decorated the living room.

He began to tap his foot on the ground with his hands clasped in front of his stomach as he cracked his knuckles. He felt the need to move almost without end; if his limbs were moving the anxiety was gone, or at least he could ignore it for a while. He was nervous about the meeting that was about to take place.

'What if Imani decides not to help?' was the only thing on his mind and the dead silence wasn't helping.

"Who is it?" Imani's groggy voice drifted to his ears and he immediately sat upright, thinking she was already in the living room but she wasn't.

"Someone you know, Manny. Get up," came Lola's voice and Lucas realized that he had unconsciously tapped into his wolf hearing.

"Is it a reporter?"

"...Why would I let a reporter into the house? I'll drag you out of the bed if you don't get up now. They're waiting."

"Tell them to go away," Imani said and Lucas' eyebrows shot up before he heard a thud. "What the hell, Lola?!"

"Good, you're awake. Now take off those clothes and –"

Lucas immediately stopped listening to their conversation and cleared his throat. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and began to scroll through different articles on Fodel's website to pass time and to take his mind off things.

After a couple of minutes, the mouth-watering scent of lavender, lemon and tangerine filled his nose and he looked up to see a wide-eyed Imani standing in the living room's doorway before he stood up from the couch. She was wearing an off the shoulder body hug top and denim shorts while her curly hair was let loose.

He slowly perused every inch of her body and when his eyes got back to her face, he swallowed.

"I, uh... Good morning, um." She closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts before she opened them back. "Mr. Harri-"

"Lucas."

"Yes, sorry. Lucas."

The corner of his mouth quirked up. He liked the way she said his name.

She took a couple of steps into the living room, stopping next to a couch. "It's uh... early. I expected you to come around noon or - Please, sit."

He sat back on the couch but Imani remained standing as she stared at him before she turned around.

"Where are you going?!" she suddenly called out as she looked at the living room's doorway and Lucas followed her line of sight to see Lola standing there.

Lola had already changed her clothes to a long sleeved top, a floral skirt that stopped below her knees, wedge heels, floral scarf and a Kron handbag.

"Where do you think?" Lola asked as she patted the scarf on her head and gave Imani a sweet smile. "It's Sunday. I'm going to church."

"What the heck?" Imani furrowed her brows at her friend. "Since when do you go to church?"

"Since today... Anyways, I'll be taking my leave now. You guys should have fun while I'm gone." She emphasized the word 'fun'.

Lola winked at Lucas as she pulled out gold rimmed sunglasses from her handbag and wore it before she disappeared from the living room's doorway with a flourish of her hand.