"I didn't do this. It still looks inflamed. How did this happen?" His fingers wouldn't leave the scar alone, tracing its outline, poking in the centre. Vanessa was more aware of his skin against hers, and had to focus on his mouth to discern his words. Which was all the more, a bad idea. His eyes found it offensive. "It's a blister. Happened few months ago." Why was he asking her this? Care aside, he didn't seem all that interested in knowing the origins of it. Just that it interrupted his slow measure of her exposed skin. She felt the blood rush to the surface when she acknowledged this little fact. Vanessa was blushing. Again. And looking anywhere but at him. He stopped when what he really wanted was to trace a small vein, visibly blue under the moonlight stretched along the column of her neck. Pulling the jacket up and over, he ushered her to walk ahead. The wolf was lurking in the recesses of human restraint, and his stance, walking around her at this time of night was one of pr
"Wait!", she cried, desperate now that they were going to be among others, under the scrutiny of white lights, nothing like the moonlight. He whirled. It was hard to say, looking at him, whatever his thoughts were. "What did you mean I did a good job of tying myself up?" She had to know. Her pleading had no ounce of effect on him. He looked every bit the Alpha he claimed to be. Looking down upon her."Exactly what you understood, Ms.Flynn."She was horrified. He could see that. And his wolf lept to do some damage control. "I reckon you have a problem with sleepwalking. So you bolt the doors, windows, anything that grants access out of the house, and tie your hands so you can't open them even if your unconscious state wants to. It's not rocket science." His words came out, strangled. Like someone was forcing him to explain himself. All Vanessa felt was air passageways carrying the oxygen as they ought to. He was right, only in the action of things. He didn't know sleepwalking was
Mikhail paced inside the office at Right Vices. The club downstairs boomed and quaked, vibrating the floor. His last lead didn't pan out, his current ambush so carefully crafted broke apart at the last minute. When Tourke had been poisoned here, it might have looked like a prank to everyone, because really the man was fine. The idea of pulling this on someone from a different pack, especially if there were disputes between two clans, wasn't newly invented. Quite the opposite. Mikhail had hated his mother's brother, the Beta of Erais Clan. And got into all sorts of trouble for annoying his father and his uncle. Never had he crossed the limits. Noah had figured out something was wrong the moment Tourke had insisted on meeting outside the clan territory. One of the unspoken protocols among them was, wolves were better protected in territories. Why would then Tembrook choose to meet here on that day when he had been officially sent on a visit by his Alpha Rudiger? Alpha Rudiger of Lunar
Wind whistled, swirling inside the chimney, knocking against the bricks. Vanessa paid eeri attention to it. Anytime now, she'd drift off to sleep. Whatever had happened, she had not invited it. She used that sentence to remind herself that things happened. She wasn't always a train wreck. She wasn't always a problem-magnet. She had her good moments, maybe the unkindly events outshone them sometimes. But she still had good moments. Her faith tested her right after a session in self-efficacy. Someone pounded at her door. Not loud, definitely urgent. She focused her ability to smell on the stranger. Mikhail. Peony fields and gentle mint. That was him. She first had to wrangle her hands out of the tie, all the while he kept knocking."A minute Mikhail!" If he was in trouble. She didn't know what help she could be. She sensed another presence, but she could only smell his blood. Lot of it. First right, then left. She looked down at her feet to feel they were moving still. On autopilot, sh
She breathed in a deep lungful of cold air, back in the room, the three men had left her scarce of it. In order to avoid menial troubles, like money and debt, she planted herself into a big one. Joke’s on her. Literally. Other people had bullies growing up, some external force throwing their normal life into chaos. With her? She did it to herself. If her mum could see her right now, she’d be hanging a ‘I-told-you-so’ on her forehead, and Vanessa would be none the wiser for it. Mikhail sewed his brother’s skin with thin white absorbable suture, Evan grunted every time alcohol was poured to disinfect his skin. The sutures were the worst part. He shoved a couch pillow and bit it in half. After destroying three such cushions, his head lolled to the side. Noah kept an eye out on Vanessa. Her sudden disappearance made him irrationally angry. For some unbidden reason, he wanted her to see this. See, and realize, how ugly things get. How sheltered she and the rest of the pack members are, ev
Noah noticed the hide and seek of her tongue. It peeked out, like a tease. He was certain it wasn’t intentional but he could care less. He wanted to taste her. Cupping the back of her head, he tipped her chin, barely touching their noses together. Their lips skimmed. The barest hint of touch had her flexing her toes. She gripped the lapels of his coat for support. It only brought him closer. Their foreheads touched, because Noah had bent his head to keep staring into her eyes. What started out as gentle ministration of lips, hesitant in their approach turned to a full-fledged clash of want and passion. His hand fisted in her hair, while the other encased her neck. The threat was there, his hand covered her neck wholly and she waited with bated breath to feel a light squeeze. Given how his tongue molded to hers, moving the way hers moved, never leaving enough space to seek a moment’s reprieve. Noah outlined the blue vein pulsing in her neck, he knew she expected him to control her mo
The sun shone bright and early, and the traffic on the highway, rare for a city dwelling person, caused an undeniable headache to a restless wolf with sharpened senses and affinity to the quiet of the forest. Evan Ryder mumbled in his sleep, complaining mostly. The couch carried his weight under lengthy duress, but at least it was comfortable. Unlike his leg, which felt like it had endured laser burns and the treatment had been to peel off the skin. His stomach growled in hunger and he was thirsty. His memory said 'serves you right'. Maybe it did, he wanted to go guns blazing as a one-man show. No, one werewolf show, and this happened. Now he was grumpy and hungry. He noticed how his brother and Noah were still asleep. He had to raid the small fridge because he couldn't cook even if his life depended on it. Vanessa quickly showered and grabbed a white shirt reaching her mid-thighs. She didn't bother with decent clothes because she had mostly packed them up. She thought about making
Eerie silence of the villa haunted the gates when Noah and Mikhail arrived. The small animals littering the garden reclused their usual senseless chatter and preferred a hole or a leaf to lie in. Amair was waiting for them on the doorsteps. Noah need not ask him anything. He was talking before they stepped in. “This happened around one last night. I had gone to feed the horses. The rest of the staff was down in basement, collecting files, paperwork as you had requested. I think the silence would’ve given away intruders, but it didn’t. So their trick didn’t involve breaking and entering.” Noah preened at the plural implication. So there were a group of highly skilled creatures, whoever they were. And they were organzied. Their previous shenanigans that werewolves had not taken seriously were coming full circle.He shared a look with Mikhail. Mikhail nodded. He affirmed how right Noah was. He had caught on early, how this weren’t just other rogue creatures causing menace by poisonin