CHAPTER 11 - RICHARD
The repeated knock on the door snaps me out of my deep slumber. My eyes flutter in a rush and my gaze hits the exquisite light from the chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
I sit up, squinting my eyes from the sun rays that infiltrated the window. It takes a moment to get a grip and try analyzing where the hell I am.
The room looks nothing like the room in the castle I share with Lucy. This room is a whole lot bigger and the design is top-notch. It emits a strong sophistication that I've never seen.
The bedsheet is made of the finest silk I've ever seen. The room is ten times bigger than the usual rooms in werewolf packs. The bed is thrice the size of my usual bed and the decor of the room is quite a sight. Nothing like what I'm used to.
My gaze travels through the walls and there are a couple of my portraits placed side by side. I looked…different, almost unrecognizable. Where the hell am I?
I feel something in my hand and I look down to see what it is I'm holding.
"The collar…" I mutter, lifting it and taking a closer look at it. Then it finally hits me.
The Mage succeeded in teleporting me to the parallel universe. I'm in a different world. But where is Jane? I thought we'd arrive at the same place. Where did she fall to?
I look at the collar again, fiddling with it. The Mage, Flair, had said whoever has the collar controls Jane's world. So if I'm with it, then she has to be in this world. But where?
It feels too soon to worry about where to find her, but I can't wait. I need to find her immediately.
The knock on the door comes again and I turn my head to the huge, mahogany door. I wish whoever it is will just go away until I've gotten my thoughts together. But the knock becomes rather incessant that I'm left with no choice but to go see who it is.
I walk past a full-length mirror and I catch sight of my reflection.
Hold the fuck on!
I return to the mirror and stand in front of it, taking a closer look at myself. This is crazy. I look the same but so different too.
My sandy blonde hair has been replaced with a brown, fringe haircut. My grills are gone and my dentition has to be the most perfect there has ever been. I have no piercings and no chains hanging over my neck. I'm wearing a complete pajama set. It's unbelievable because I've always preferred going to bed naked or just in my briefs. But here I am, covered like I'm a package about to be delivered. I have no tattoos. I check my shaft for my frenulum piercing but it's gone too.
Crazy but I was staring at a complete gentleman, something I'd never been in my life. What the hell?
"Richard?!" A voice yells from outside, followed by another impatient knocking.
I move my feet away from the mirror and head for the door. Turning the doorknob, I stand behind the door, ready to shoo away whoever it is.
"What the fuck, man? I've been knocking for hours," Ray snorted, pushing the door wider and walking in.
"Ray?" I'm beyond shocked to see him. Flair didn't mention that Ray is in this universe. I thought it was just gonna be Jane and I.
"Were you expecting someone else?" He asks with an arched brow.
For a second, I'm speechless. Two different thoughts flood my mind and rid me of my words.
Firstly, Ray and I are not close buddies anymore, so seeing him here is striking up a wave of spite in me. I feel like strangling him for betraying me and siding with Jane's swindler mate.
Now the second thought is how different he looks too. Leather jacket. Tight pants. Both ears are pierced and have diamond earrings. A cross-chain around his neck, with the cross lying on his chest. His hair is a ruffled mess of black, shoulder-length, wavy hair. He's chewing bubble gum. A gruesome beast tattoo runs through his arm. He gives off a dark aura, but in a way that females find both enticing and alluring.
He looks classic but in a very laid-back and casual way. True, Flair had warned that this is a different and more sophisticated world. But she never mentioned there will be a character switch.
Because Ray has never been one to dress up so casually or have tattoos or look like a reckless Casanova. That has always been my look. And this gentleman look I'm having right now has always been Ray's look. Why the hell does it look like we just had a fucking switch?!
"Something wrong?" He asks me, with his hands on his waist. And fuck me, he is wearing grills! I'm the devil who's supposed to have grills. What the hell did Flair do?!
"No – nothing," I quickly reply, taking my eyes off him. I'll just act weirder if I keep staring at the revamped Ray standing in front of me.
I walk back to the bed and sit on the edge of it. What confusion have I caused?
"You didn't get enough sleep last night, did you? You've got bags underneath your eyes." Ray says, coming to sit next to me.
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess I didn't." I try recalling yesterday but all I remember are my memories of the other world. I can't recall whatever I've been doing in this world. Nice one, Flair!
"Thought as much." He mutters, smacking his bubble gum. "You still haven't figured it out?"
"Figured out what?"
"The project. Isn't that what you stayed up all night working on?" He glances at me with hooded eyes.
I have no idea what he's talking about. Still, I try not to show just how confused I am.
"Ye – yeah. That's right," I mumbled, looking away from him. I wonder why he is talking so freely with me. What are we in this world?
"I'm sure you're gonna work it out soon,"
"Right. Uh, perhaps, are we best friends?" The question leaves my mouth before I realize just how odd it is.
"What?" He blinks confusedly like I just said something crazy.
I let out an awkward laugh. "Forget it, dude. I'm just messing with you."
"You almost had me." He chuckled. "For a second there, I thought your stress made you forget that we're both office buddies and real-life buddies. And also your most loyal Beta."
"Nah, how can I forget?" I say with another awkward laugh. But this shit just started completely weird. Flair did say I'm an Alpha CEO in this world but she didn't mention that Ray is my work buddy or my fucking Beta.
I asked for a world to rewrite my love story with Jane. But why does it seem like Flair gave me more than I asked for? And where the fuck is Jane?!