My courageous Belle had led us all to the coven without a hitch.
I rose up out of the gorge and watched as wolf after wolf took a leap of faith into the magical unknown.
But then I saw something that made my heart sink. Belle was still standing outside of the portal.
I had told her to enter the coven as soon as possible. She promised that she would. But now, she was letting the other wolves go in ahead of her.
I narrowed my eyes and noticed that she was waving at me frantically from across the meadow.
I got the answer to my question before I had time to ask it, in the form of a slim, white hand curling around my neck.
I saw Belle running toward me.
I waved my paw at her, urging her to turn around.
To my surprise and relief, she actually listened.
But I didn’t have time to see if she jumped through the black door because there was another hand gripping ferociously at my shoulder.
I turned around to find three faceless demons hovering behind me.
They had the numbers, but in that moment, I remembered that I had my own secret weapon:
I pressed down on her love bite and felt a surge of energy course through my body.
I jumped into the air, higher than I had ever been able to before, shifting into my wolf and clawing wildly at the demons.
I didn’t need to use my brain. My body was doing the thinking for me, successfully fending off each demon as they approached me.
When I had created enough space between myself and the floating terrors, I started to sprint toward the portal.
That’s when I spotted my love again, now in human form, waiting for me…one foot in the Wiccan realm and one foot planted firmly in the grass.
“HURRY,” she screamed.
One of the demons must have recovered and started in hot pursuit.
I kicked up dirt and leaves as I ran full speed toward Belle.
But when I was just a few steps away from the black door, I felt that chilling touch again.
A demon tried to grab hold of my neck but instead clamped down on my face, momentarily obscuring my vision.
I needed to wrestle it off of me before I could enter the portal. It would be a disaster if I accidentally led a demon into our chosen safe zone.
Belle started throwing punches, trying to help me fight off the predator, but the demon was getting stronger—he seemed to be feeding off of our hatred—off of our fear.
“I’ll keep distracting him!” Belle cried out. “JUMP!”
I crouched, bracing myself for the leap. Belle threw another perfect punch at the demon’s stomach, sending him reeling backward.
I took the opportunity to catapult myself through the black door.
Tessa was on the other side, ready to seal the portal. But before she got a chance, that haunting hand found its way into the coven.
In a flash, I opened my mouth wide and bit down hard on the demon’s skinny wrist.
I heard the waning screech of the demon as the portal sealed shut. I collapsed onto the floor of the coven, a severed demon hand dangling from my mouth.
I slackened my jaw and let it drop to the floor.
Tessa whispered something softly, and the dark matter was incinerated on the spot.
Everybody had arrived at our asylum with nothing worse than a few cuts and scrapes.
It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest, and I could finally breathe again.
Tessa and Tannon had worked tirelessly all day to create suitable living quarters for the werewolves.
One of the perks of staying in a Wiccan coven is that there is never a shortage of rooms. Another can always be summoned.
When Keith and I found ours, my heart flooded with warmth.
Obviously, Keith and I were not afforded such a luxury as a real honeymoon, but the sentiment brought me renewed hope that our lives would someday return to normal.
As we were about to enter the room, I nodded to Renee, who was unlocking the door to the neighboring one. She smiled back at me.
I had specifically asked Tessa to put her in the adjoining room.
I wanted to be able to keep a watchful eye on the vampire. Keith may have been willing to put all his faith in Xavier’s judgment, but that didn’t mean I was ready to throw caution to the wind.
Just then, Keith pulled me out of my reverie and across the threshold.
He slammed the door shut behind me and started pawing at my clothes. “Get these off. I need you—now.”
“Keith, wait—” I grabbed his roving wrists.
“I don’t want to wait anymore,” he growled. “I’ve been waiting all day.”
It took all my strength—and not just physical—to push him off of me.
I had also been desperately anticipating the sweet release of his touch and wanted nothing more than to let him ravish me on the spot.
I ignored his frustrated sighs and moved toward a set of chairs on the other side of the room. I sat down in one of them and motioned for him to sit in the other.
When Keith sat down opposite me, for a moment, my conviction almost broke.
I quivered at the thought of straddling him in that chair, but—
I maintained my composure. “Keith,” I began. “I don’t want to overload you with my energy. I don’t want to be scared of you again.”
“It’s just—ugh—”
He was struggling to get his words out, and I could see why. It looked like all the blood had rushed away from his brain.
“Your pull on me is so strong,” he said. “When I see you, I need to touch you. When I touch you, I need to fuck you.”
Hearing him talk like that turned me on as much as a finger to my sweetest spot.
“I need you too,” I said. “But we should take it slow and steady while we test our limits. This is a marathon, not a race. We’re in this for life.”
He smiled softly. “You’re right,” he said. “Of course you’re right.”
With that, I rose from my seat and walked over to him. He pulled me delicately onto his knees. Then, with just one single claw, he began to trace the outlines of my features.
My eyes. My nose. My mouth.
“You’re so hot that I sometimes forget how beautiful you are,” he said.
I chuckled and rewarded him with a kiss on his lower lip. And then his upper lip. Then I slipped my tongue between them, interlocking my mouth with his.
My body was ready to let loose, but in my head, I made sure to keep repeating the same mantra:
I ran my fingers through my hair and checked to make sure my shirt was straight.
Her haunted expression was breathtaking. But I imagined that before sadness had gripped her heart, she had once been happy. Even carefree.
And I hoped that if I could give her the attention she needed, I may be able to relieve some of her pain and make room for joy.
I couldn’t even begin to think what her smile would do to me when her frown could already bring me to my knees.
I knocked three times on her door, and after a moment, I heard her soft voice calling out my name. “Xavier?”
“Yes,” I replied. “Can I come in?”
I grabbed the knob and pressed my ear to the door, waiting for a reply. But instead I heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door and felt the cool metal turning in my palm.
Renee appeared in front of me, stripped down to nothing but a bra and underwear.
“Sorry,” she said, her cheeks reddening. “I washed my clothes in the sink.”
I shifted my eyes, trying not to look directly at her, but wanting to desperately.
She was playing coy, but as she slinked over to the bed and sat down, I could tell she knew exactly what she was doing to me.
“How are you settling in?” I asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her.
“Fine,” she said. “I’m lonely, but I’m fine.”
“Do they have blood for you to drink?”
“Yeah. Rat’s blood.” She grimaced.
“What? Rat’s blood isn’t good enough for you?” I teased her.
“Don’t forget, Xavier. I was the King’s daughter. I’m used to getting whatever I want.”
She bit her lip.
“What do you—” I swallowed. “Uh—what do you want now?”
She leaned in closer, until our lips were just a hair apart. I was ready to close the gap, to crash into her juicy mouth, when her eyes suddenly widened.
“Do you—OWW—do you see that light?!”
“What light?”
She squinted and covered her face with her hands.
I looked around the room for any sign of what she could be referring to but came up with nothing.
When I turned back to Renee, I jumped in my seat.
Her eyes, brown a moment before, now burned a deep red. Her fangs were sharp and glistening with saliva.
In a flash, the woman that had been about to kiss seconds before lunged for my throat.
