by J. J. Dean
I glide toward the check out desk that's to the left as soon as I move through the door. A man who looks to be in his forties stands behind the desk, dressed in a crisp suit with his hair gelled to perfection. He shivers when I get closer but doesn't react further to my presence.
Behind the man is a large wooden shelf filled with small cubby-holes. Each cubby-hole is numbered, some without key cards, but some with a key card hanging on a hook by a ribbon to whichever room is still available. I move behind the man, having to stand closer than I'd like. He shivers again and looks around. Though I know he won't see me, I stand perfectly still until he shakes his head and focuses on the computer in front of him.
With his focus diverted, I make my hand corporeal and reach out for the key card on the highest number. As soon as it's in my hand, I pull it away from the hook and make my hand incorporeal, taking the card with me. I back away slowly and turn towards the elevator I spied when I walked through the door.
The doors are already open, so I walk into the elevator, turn my hand corporeal, and press the button to the highest floor. The elevator pings, and the man at the desk looks up in time to see the doors close. I catch the confusion on his face before the doors cut off my view, and I'm being taken to the top floor of the building.
The elevator pings again, and the doors slide open, revealing a clean and polished hallway. I stay invisible as I glide down the hall, just in case there are cameras along the hallway that will catch me. I check the numbers on the doors, looking for number one hundred and eight. When I reach the door furthest from the elevator on the right side of the hallway, I see the matching number to my card and make my hand visible.
A soft beep and the click of the lock unlatching is music to my ears. I nudge the door open and walk into the room, turning corporeal as I do so and feeling my energy waning already. The door shuts softly behind me, and I sag against it when the click of the lock latching sounds out in the otherwise quiet room. And what a room it is. It's spacious with a large bed to the right of the room with a bathroom next to it, a couch and armchair to the left, and glass sliding doors that lead to a small balcony. The colour scheme has me afraid to touch anything, whites and light blues scattered around the room. The lighting is soft when I flick the switch, giving the room a welcoming feel to it.
I push away from the door, walking towards the bed. I drop my duffle bag next to the bed and move to the bathroom. Everything is white and grey in here, clean and pristine. I walk to the basin and look in the large mirror that sits above it. I look like I've gone for a swim in the nearest river with all of my clothes on. My hair is an unruly mess atop my head, soaked and tangle-infested. My clothes are suctioned to my body thanks to the rain, and my pale skin looks significantly paler with dark bruise-like colouring under my eyes. In short, I look like a disaster.
Shaking my head at my reflection, I push away from the basin and start stripping out of my sopping wet clothes, discarding them all at the bathroom door. I head to the shower instead of the incredibly inviting clawfoot tub that sits in the corner. Deciding my exhausted body just needs a shower to simply get rid of the rain smell that clings to my skin and to warm up before crashing for the night, I step into the shower and begin the process of washing myself down. I use the fancy little bottles set on the holder inside the shower, shampooing and conditioning my hair before rinsing it all and tilting my head towards the shower stream.
As soon as I'm done, I step out of the shower and wrap myself with the softest towel I've ever felt. Using the complimentary comb, I brush through my hair, pulling out knots and tangles mercilessly.
While I do so, my thoughts turn towards the guys. I'm missing them more and more with every hour. It feels like I've left a piece - or rather pieces - of myself behind, and I don't feel right without them. I know it was for the best, though. I can't have them in danger since it was me causing it. What kind of person would that make me? No. They're better off without me, no matter what my heart is screaming.
With the last run through of the comb, I banish the thoughts of the guys before I begin uncontrollably sobbing. I braid my hair, deciding on two Dutch braids to keep it out of my face, and walk out of the bathroom once I'm done.
I head to my duffle bag and think about getting dressed for all of two seconds before I decide to skip it and jump right into the comfy looking bed. I drop my towel, not bothering to fold it or place it somewhere to dry. I pull back the comforter and climb into the bed, burrowing down into the sheets until I'm covered from head to toe in warmth.
I pull a pillow under the comforter with me, hunkering down until I'm comfortable. Exhaustion decides to overtake me, and as soon as my head touches the pillow, I fall asleep.
A noise in my room startles and wakes me. My eyes snap open only to be greeted with the darkness under the comforter. I haven't moved at all since falling asleep. I don't even know how long I slept for. Is the sun even up? It feels like I've had an hour at best.
Another noise has my entire body freezing and my breath stalling in my chest. My heartbeat tries to pummel its way out from underneath my rib cage. The noise creeps closer and closer until I hear the sound of shoes scraping across the floor next to the bed. I'm the epitome of silence when the intruder stops beside the bed. Even when something presses into the bed from the bottom and glides across the comforter until it stops by my face, I don’t move a muscle..
The intruder presses down on the comforter, looking like they’re gathering a fistful of the material in their hand. The panic I've been staving off finally breaks out, and instinct begins to take over.
Just as the comforter is pulled away, I vanish. Using my ability to turn incorporeal and then disappear entirely, I vanish from sight seconds before the comforter is yanked off my naked body.
Fight or flight instincts kick in, and before I see who the intruder is, I'm using whatever scraps of energy I have left to phase from the bed to the couch. I bounce around the room a couple of times, phasing in and out while still holding my invisible form. The next phase in I land next to the door, but my energy is sorely lacking, and I lose my grip on my invisibility for a split second. That second costs me.
Just before I can phase back out in panic, a large arm wraps itself around my waist and yanks. Hard. Panic has me kicking and scratching to break free, but it's pointless because this arm might as well have been created from titanium. I don't quit though. The day I quit fighting will be the day I take my last breath on this planet.
The intruder acts as though I'm not flailing my legs around and doing all I can to free myself. I'm pretty sure I draw blood with my scratching and digging my nails into my attacker’s skin. I still get no reaction. Instead, I'm pulled backward into a body made of steel.
A body I know all too well.
All the fight seeps out of me quickly, causing me to sag into the hold of the man I recognise now that my panic is ebbing as the heat of his body begins to pour into mine.
"That wasn't very nice," Nix growls right next to my ear. His voice sounds deeper, huskier than normal. His nose trails up my neck, and I'm pretty sure I hear him inhaling as he goes. A shiver wracks my body before I can stop it, and Nix's arm tightens around me.
Then he's releasing me, spinning me around to face him and launching me into the air. I land on the bed with a bounce, and it doesn't escape my memory that I'm completely naked. I mean, he's already seen me without a stitch of clothing after rescuing me, but this... this is entirely different.
I scramble for the comforter and only manage to get half of my body covered before I feel the bed dip by my feet. My gaze flicks up to Nix, only to find him watching me with an intensity that has heat stirring in my belly. What has me freezing and unintentionally gasping, however, are the yellow irises where his ocean blues should be.
He crawls onto the bed, and up further still, until he's holding his body above mine. With him as close as he is, I get a better look at the new colour of his eyes. They're a vibrant yellow with hues of orange
and darker yellows throughout. They resemble a wolf's eyes.
"You made me bleed," his gravelly voice tells me, his wolf-like eyes flicking to his arm before coming back to me.
I follow the move, noticing the crescent moon shapes in his arm, and then look back at him. "You scared the shit out of me. What did you expect?"
He doesn't answer. Instead, he growls. A sound that comes from the very pit of his chest, rumbling and deep. "You ran."
My mouth pops open, and I stare at him wide-eyed. "You weren't supposed to chase me."
"Predators don't take too kindly to things running away from them. Especially their mates. What did you expect?" he says, throwing my words back at me with a victorious glint in his new eyes. His voice is doing ridiculous things to me despite just coming down from the scare he gave me. The way he calls me his mate has heat flaring up inside my chest straight down to the apex of my thighs which causes me to shuffle beneath him. Heat flares in his eyes when he catches the movement, and the thudding of my heart quickens. His gaze moves to my comforter-covered chest, no doubt hearing the pounding organ beneath.
With a raspy whisper, he says, "You really shouldn't have run."
My skin breaks out with goosebumps, and I shiver. Lowering my voice into a near whisper to match his, I ask, "Why?"
He leans in close, dragging his nose across my neck and down to my collarbone before rising above me again. "Because now you're mine."
He doesn't give me a chance to reply before he slams his lips down, rendering me utterly useless. The moment his lips meet mine, I melt. My entire body relaxes, and all thoughts other than Nix and his body above me fly out the window. His lips are firm, demanding and rough but in the best possible way. His tongue sneaks out and glides over my bottom lip, seeking access I'm all too eager to give him, like it is the most natural thing in the world to do.
When his tongue stokes mine with a fierce intensity, he groans and pushes his body further against me. My hands are trapped between us, so I'm left to accept all he's giving me. His right hand moves away from my head, traveling down waist and resting on my hip, his fingers digging in my skin.
Nix isn't his usual soft self with me right now. Instead, it's almost like he's possessed, acting like the animals I know he has inside of him. Like... his animals have taken over.
Realisation begins to push its way to the forefront of my mind, through the haze of lust Nix has put me in with his kisses alone. The hands that had been trying to draw him closer despite being stuck between us now try to push him away. It's a strong feat given his sheer size, but the moment he feels my attitude change and the pressure I put into pushing his chest, he backs away.
Breathless, I ask, "Is this Phoenix right now? Or have your animals taken over?"
He pushes away until his face hovers above mine, and I watch as his eyes begin to flicker between the dark blue I love to the yellowed wolf colour. It's answer enough for me.
In a blink, I phase from underneath him and appear next to the bed. Naked again, and breathing heavily from the scraps of energy I’m using to phase now, I snatch the towel off the floor and wrap it around my body all while I watch Nix carefully.
Because Nix isn't in control right now.
His animals are.
Chapter 27
Novia
When I turn to face Nix again, his eyes are already on me. The intensity in them has a shiver wracking my body, and I suddenly can't tear my eyes away from his.
With slow movements and fierce eyes, like a predator watching his prey, he climbs off the bed. His gaze never leaves mine just like mine won't leave his. He stands in all of his muscled glory before me, less than a mere ten foot distance between us.
Nix takes a step forward, and, without much thought, I take a step back. Nix's head quirks to the side, but the consuming look he's giving me never falters. His eyes flash with a challenge, and he takes another step forward, only for me to match him, stepping back the moment he moves. His mouth twitches, almost like he's suppressing a smile.
With his next step, his smile breaks free, because when I step back at the same time, the wall meets my back. Nix's smile isn't one of those easygoing, cheeky kind of smiles. No, this one is different. His canines look longer, poking into his lower lip and making his smile darker. Predatory. Lethal.
Knowing I'm stuck, backed against the wall without an escape, he strides towards me with all the stealth of a panther. It's mesmerising watching such a tall, muscled guy walk with so much grace, so much so that I'm startled when he stops right in front of me. My eyes widen, and I flinch back. It's done automatically and not out of fear. I know Nix would never hurt me. But the moment my body flinches away from his, his eyes briefly flicker blue before the yellow returns.
"Phoenix, can you rein it in for a second?" I ask softly, my chest brushing his with every breath I take.
Once again, his eyes flash blue, longer this time, but they're back to yellow not a second later. But it's enough. It tells me that Nix is fighting for control, pushing back against his animals. He just needs a little push.
Removing my hands from where they've been sprawled over the wall behind me, I lift them slowly until I reach Nix. They land just above where his jeans start, so with a bit of subtle jiggling, I slide my hands under his shirt. As soon as my skin meets his, a bolt of heat floods me. Longing fills my veins, and a hot flush warms me from the inside out. The feeling I recognise as the mating bond begins to gnaw at me, tugging me closer to Nix. My pulse quickens, and a fierce need unfurls low in my abdomen.
I have to grit my teeth against the feeling. No matter how badly I want to give in to it, Nix isn't in the right frame of mind to make the decision. His animals are ruling him, and I'm pretty sure it's my fault. I ran. With Nix containing so many predators within him, and a mate bond between us already, I must have triggered them and brought them forward. But I'll be damned if anything happens between us without him being fully present and aware.
My hands trail up the bumps and ridges of his abs and around his waist until they're sprawled against the firm skin of his back. His skin is so warm, but not overwhelmingly so. It's comforting to me.
I tilt my head back, my gaze meeting a set of lust-filled eyes that have the need deep inside me growing. My legs shift together, hoping to create friction to ease the ache that's appeared at the apex of my thighs. It's a wasted effort and only fuels the fire in Nix's eyes. That look alone has my body flushing all over again, and liquid pools at my centre.
I take a deep inhale before letting it out through my nose slowly. Hoping I'm right about why his animals are in control, I tell Nix, "I promise not to run. I swear I'm not going anywhere."
Nix's eyes narrow a fraction. His head tilts to the side, still watching me closely. I'm about to panic that I had it wrong before the yellow in his eyes slowly begins to seep away, leaving those ocean blue eyes I've fallen for. Nix blinks a couple of times and takes a deep, shuddering breath.
Still pinned to the wall, I whisper with a smile, "Hey."
His blue eyes roam over my face with slow precision, his large hands coming up to frame mine with the softest touch, like I'm a delicate porcelain doll that's easily breakable. With the same rasped whisper as before, he says, "Hey."
And then his lips are slamming onto mine for the second time tonight. Only this kiss is different. There's nothing animal about his lips moving sensually over mine, the way his hand slides into my hair and gently tugs until I'm positioned just as he wants me. This kiss is all Nix, all movements slow enough to savour every second.
He steps closer, his body now firmly pressed up against mine. With one last swipe of his lips, he moves away only enough to talk. "Why the hell did you run, babe?"
His warm breath tickles my mouth when he talks, and my eyes close. I feel him rest his forehead against mine, and his thumb begins to move in soothing motions against the back of my neck.
Keeping my voice no higher than a whisper, I confess, "I found a tracker in my arm. And the
n I heard you all talking. I heard Ezra say something about more Naturals being taken, not just my people. I didn't want to put you four in any more danger if more races of Naturals are being taken, and the tracker in my arm would have led them right to you if I stayed."
My eyes open just in time to see his soften as a look of understanding crosses his features. "You were trying to protect us."
I nod, my head brushing the wall as I do so.
Just as I open my mouth to explain further, a blinding smile breaks out over his face. It's unexpected to say the least. After causing his animals to break through and take the reins, I would have expected a different reaction to the heart-stopping smile he's giving me.
Despite my confusion at the reaction, my lips can't help but twitch like his smile is trying to draw one from me. He drops a quick kiss on my mouth before moving back with the same beaming smile and says, "So I guess this means you kind of like us, then?"
I bite my lip to stop the smile that wants to break free. Warmth trails up my neck, and I feel it settle at my cheeks. Nix's grin turns salacious, and I release my bottom lip to breathe out a response. "Not particularly. I just ran away from my mates because I decided being miserable without them is how I wanted to live my life."
Nix's head falls back with boisterous laughter, and I watch with rapt attention as his Adam's apple bobs up and down. His head moves back down until his eyes meet mine. With a smile that has my heart racing in my chest, he says, "I like that."
"What?" I ask, my voice sounding huskier than before.
He leans in and rubs his nose against mine before moving his head until his lips meet my bare shoulder. He trails butter-soft kisses over my shoulder until he reaches the crook of my neck. When he pulls away a fraction, he quietly says, "You calling us your mates."
