Mason threw the man he was holding at least twenty feet down the alleyway while the other man watched with his mouth wide open before looking at Mason. Mason ignored him and checked on Xenia, who shared the same expression he had of her earlier. "Stay back," he said to her, and she did just that. Xenia watched the bandit pull out a silver knife and grinned as if he had already won. Mason looked unamused, which made Xenia even more curious about him. She looked towards the street and knew she could quickly escape, but something was keeping her feet planted. The bandit circled Mason, waiting for the right moment to strike. It wasn't until Mason glanced over to Xenia that the bandit lunged at him with quick strikes. Each time trying to cut any part of Mason's flesh, knowing what silver does to werewolves. Mason easily dodged his attacks, impressed that the bandit could move with the amount of ale on his breath. Out of breath, the bandit's strikes were becoming sloppy, and now Mason
Xenia made it home in record time. Her heated moment with Mason set her soul aflame, especially between her legs. Is this the fire my mother was talking about? she wondered. Just thinking about it got her all hot and frustrated. She needed to get these thoughts of him out of her head and think only of Cristobal. Yes, sweet, charming, and human Cristobal. The person she's been waiting to see for the past three months. She loved their relationship and what it provided. No strings and no drama…well, maybe a bit of drama and a couple of strings. The one-bedroom cabin she rented with Lottie was small, but somehow, they managed to make it homey. The open floor plan gave them the perfect amount of room for Lottie to cook and Xenia to bake. The first few months took some getting used to the space, but they finally settled into their own little rhythm. Now it feels empty without her, Xenia thought. After light cleaning, she started on the food her lovely Lottie had already prepared. All s
"Hello, beautiful." The flowers lowered to display a pair of blue eyes, different from the almond browns Xenia half expected. "Cristobal?!" A breath of relief came from her mouth with a slight disappointment, but she smiled anyway. "Expecting someone else," he asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Should I be worried?" "Of course not," she laughed while trying to shake her nerves. "These are orange blossoms?" "Yes, I know I always bring red blossoms because they remind you of home, but once you told me your dad took you to Grovershire, you fell in love with orange blossoms," Cristobal said proudly. "See, I listen." Dammit, Xenia said to herself as she thought about Lottie's question. She forgot all about that trip but felt appreciated that he remembered. "These are beautiful, Cris. How did you even get these," she asked as she sniffed the bouquet before searching for a vase. "I have my ways. Besides, it's nothing but the best for you," Cristobal said while checking out what she wo
Everything moved in slow motion as Xenia tried to focus on the scene before her. One moment she felt pure ecstasy; the next, a giant ass werewolf crashed through her window, lunging straight toward Cristobal. Her first thought was Illipio since he didn't like Cristobal much, but this werewolf was too big, and the fur was pure black with a white patch and red eyes. Those eyes, she thought. They look familiar. She watched as Cristobal quickly evaded the werewolf and rolled out of the way into the hall. Cristobal's eyes went from the werewolf to her. His mouth was moving, but she couldn't register what he said. 'There was a werewolf in my room' was the only thing her mind kept replaying until it fully registered. She couldn't move for a moment until a piece of wood fell from her ceiling, breaking her out of her trance. "There's a werewolf in my room," Xenia yelled. She jumped into action and rolled across her bed away from the werewolf, whose attention was on Cristobal. She watche
Before Xenia could second-guess herself, she grabbed her axe off the floor and bolted out the door. She instantly regretted not wearing shoes the moment her feet touched the ground. There was a chill in the night air, and it became apparent when Xenia realized the only thing covering her was the black teddy. I can't think of that now. It would only be a matter of time before he seeks her out. So she ran through the trees, heading back towards the town. Occasionally, she would look back to see if he was coming. After a few more minutes, she felt like her lungs would burst, cursing herself for not joining Lottie on her morning runs. Xenia started to slow down to a fast walk until she heard a howl. She looked behind, waiting for the big mass of black fur to show up, but it wasn't black. The werewolf running towards her was a medium-sized with brown fur and soft gray eyes. "Illipio!" Xenia didn't think she wanted to see any kind of wolf. Still, she wrapped her arms around Illipio's
This woman was something else. Mason thought as he smiled at her determination to keep going. This was supposed to be a simple grab-and-go, but alas, here they were. She challenged him every step of the way, proving how viable she was to be his vessel. He was beyond impressed, but now he was ready for this night to be over. He watched as she let go of the branch. She fell into his arms, and they both took a sharp breath, feeling the connection taking hold of their bodies. Mason took this moment to pull her closer to his chest while Xenia eyed the axe. Oblivious to her plan, Mason caressed the side of her neck with his nose. Even under the mud, he could still pick up her scent as if it was tattooed on his brain. Xenia was acutely aware of his excitement against her thigh as he allowed her feet to touch the ground. "Mate," he whispered against her skin, causing her body to shiver. Xenia didn't like the effect he had on her. So much so that she gathered all her hate and kicked h
It was all a dream. Right? Xenia was with Cristobal, but they were interrupted by a giant werewolf. She tried to fight, but in the end, she failed. She was killed or captured or… Her body jerked forward as if something stopped. She felt herself slowly coming to. Her eyes felt like they weighed a ton, as everything in her line of sight was blurred. It took seconds for her vision to make out she was in a carriage. She took a few deep breaths to focus more on her surroundings when she heard voices outside the carriage. She slowly sat up to peek out the window and noticed she was far from home. Instead of being surrounded by pine and oak trees, she recognized the kapok trees with red blossoms. Underneath one of the trees, she saw him standing next to another man of a similar build with short blonde hair. They were relieving themselves with their backs facing her. "She's going to be pissed when she finds out who this human is to you," the blonde man laughed. Mason grunted at him. "Sh
Later that night, sitting around the campfire, Xenia listened to the bandits as they laughed and told stories about the things they had done. She didn't want to listen to it, but it took her mind away from her predicament. They provided her with a short cloak to help cover her body as if they didn't have a spare pair of pants. She pulled it tight around her as the air started to chill when the sun went down. Xenia ate bits and pieces from her plate of food, not really feeling very hungry, but she had to eat something. After everything that had happened, she had to keep her strength up to run away in case of more danger. Her mind flashed back to seeing Cristobal's body on the floor. He wasn't moving. Is he dead? He was trying to protect her and died. Then Illipio, her loyal friend, tried protecting her and was gone just the same. She could never forgive herself for that. She could feel her emotions building inside her, wanting to come out of her eyes, but she shook her head. No, I