I sighed once Enzo disappeared through the crumbling doorway, his hand relentlessly waving over his shoulder in a crude farewell. Then, I pushed myself onto my feet to walk towards our baggage that has been chucked into one corner in a hurry earlier to fish out the now-empty vial of pheromone cologne. It was so small that it fits conveniently into my palm which was probably why I never really considered the possibility that it was bugged. I held it up at eye level for a closer inspection. Nothing. Then the thought hit me. I unscrewed the cork stopper and after much struggle, surprisingly managed to take it apart with my hands, revealing a small almost capsule-like device inside that flickered with a red light. "Dammit", I cursed under my breath before throwing the empty bottle, tracking device, and bits of cork out the window both for good measure and out of frustration. It was a mistake that I hadn't been wary of Enzo and those rebels just because they showed me a little kindness.
"So come here," he said with a smile, patting the space in between his legs. "I want to hold you." I stood up but instead of doing as I was told, I loomed over him with my hands on my waist. Tilting my head, I remarked, "Rather than that, don't you want to take a dip in the river?" "Do I smell that bad?" Frowning, he pushed himself to his feet while raising an arm to smell his armpits. I laughed at him before walking over back to our baggage, grabbing some towels, and then walking out of the cottage with my arm linked with his. It was warm and sunny enough for a swim so I thought it would be a good idea. We walked side by side. Excited, I would often gleefully jump over exposed tree roots or kick a bunch of dried leaves on the forest floor, sending them flying over us like confetti. Dylan repeatedly reminded me to be more careful so that I wouldn't slip. I would feel like a child being reprimanded by a parent each time. I didn't think that children would listen so I pretty much pla
"We were only supposed to wash up."I felt Dylan's chest vibrate against my back as he chuckled. His arms tightened around my waist. "We did, though."After drying up and changing into a clean set of clothes, we were relaxing under a tree on the shore of the river. I sat in between his legs and let myself rest against his bare chest, listening to the calming sounds of distant birds chirping, tree leaves rustling in the breeze and the trickling of the water. I then shifted in my seat so that I could face him a little.I eyed his chest, my fingers grazing across the scars in his torso. They were mostly claw marks and scratches, except for the one right at the center—the one he got from the gunshot. I could feel his stare on me as I studied the memoirs of his past injuries. My hand stopped at the one by his stomach. It was the smallest of them all."Where did you get this?" I asked him, tilting my head up to meet his gaze."Oh, that," Dylan looked at his stomach and smiled. I could almos
I watched in amazement as Dylan poured some kind of golden syrup on top of my stack of pancakes. I thought I did a great job in pretending that I enjoyed the coffee that he offered me last time, but apparently not when he ordered a cup of hot chocolate for me instead. I took a sip from the cup as he pushed my plate back towards me with a small smile."Eat up," he said. "Try to finish your meal in a few minutes, it's dangerous to stay here longer than we need to."I nodded in agreement before digging in, slicing up the pancakes before chucking them into my mouth enthusiastically. My tongue was delighted at its flavor. It tasted just as good as it smelled.After a fifteen-minute walk, we managed to find the nearby village with ease. It wasn't as small as I thought it would be but it wasn’t crowded either. We had decided to drop off our dirty clothes at a laundry shop and have a quick breakfast at the diner just a story above while waiting. Fortunately, the building had little to no surv
"Are you okay?"Dylan groaned as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and stretched his neck, turning his head side to side. Then, upon seeing me looming over him with concern, he gave me a small smile before replying, "A little bit stiff, but I'm fine."Apparently, Lance's way to get Dylan through the checkpoints without getting caught was by stuffing him into a secret compartment at the back of his van. It was small—meant as storage for smuggled goods like weapons and chemicals—so it was no doubt uncomfortable for a tall adult man to stay in for the duration of the hour-long ride. I fought the urge to protest, albeit barely.I turned to Lance to give him a stern look but he was already long gone, leaving us two in the parking space just right outside the only access to their camp. Reaching out a
"She died. Some werewolves just thought that it was entertaining to beat up a young human girl when her master wasn’t looking," he shrugged like he wasn't affected by it one bit. His nonchalance made me mad. Then, he pointed a finger at Dylan, "And this man right here saw it happen. He just didn't care enough to help." I turned to look at Dylan who remained quiet. I knew that it was in the past and he was different now, but the fact that something like that happened made me feel uneasy. He avoided my stare and resorted to glaring at Enzo instead. Guilt. Even without admitting to it verbally, I could tell that much from his body language. Mixed emotions that I couldn't quite pinpoint filled me up, making my stomach lurch painfully. I opened my mouth to say something that I probably would regret, but fortunately, Enzo beat me to it.
I swore I only blinked, but when I opened my eyes again, I found myself looking at a shabby ceiling. I felt something cold resting on my forehead so I raised a hand to check it out. A wet towel."Ugh," I groaned as I sat up. I was in the same room that was prepared for me, but this time, I wasn't alone. Dylan sat beside the makeshift bed, dozing off with his head leaning against the wall.I was feeling a lot better after that nap. A slight headache pounded against my temples and I assumed my fever had gone down. My stomach was still churning weirdly a little, but barely. It was both fascinating and embarrassing to fall that sick over a mere three-hour trip.Craning my head, I stared at Dylan's sleeping face. His forehead was a little bit creased as if he was having a bad dream. I instinctively reached out a hand to smooth them out, softly rubbing my thumb across it, but the sudden contact stirred him up. I automatically retracted my hand and froze, hoping that h
Dylan's frown deepened as he clutched the manila envelope tighter. After listening to Enzo's annoying recap of his instructions, he crushed the burner phone with his hand and threw it into the nearest road drainage. He had heard the whole thing over and over again for the past week, but despite his constant assurance that he already memorized it like the back of his hand, the blonde werewolf still insultingly felt the need to remind him.The image of Isabella, his now-pregnant mate, popped up in his head, making him feel even more annoyed than he already was. The last thing he wanted was to leave her alone in such a state, especially if she was with another male werewolf who used to supply her with pheromones when he wasn't around. It took all his might to not transform and throw a tantrum right then and there.After taking a deep breath to gain his composure, he walked towards the Hayes estate. He never imagined that a day like this would come—when he would walk u