by Ovidia Pike
“How are you?” he asked in a soft, smooth voice, same as he always did.
“I’m fine,” I said, keeping my words short, beginning to unwind the bandages from his torso. I hated that I had to get so close to him, and my hands trembled as I carefully peeled the bandage away, trying not to touch his skin with mine.
“Stitches are healing nicely,” I said to him. “How does it feel when you move? How’s your shoulder?”
“I move just fine,” he responded. “No pain. I’m good.”
“Good,” I said to him, glancing up to his face. He dragged his teeth over his bottom lip, his eyes sparkling with interest, amusement and desire. I looked away from him quickly, feeling my skin flush, silently cursing myself for blushing. I felt his finger beneath my chin as he tilted my face to look at him.
“Are you this shade of pink all over?” he asked softly. “All the blushing. You shy, doc?”
I stared at his face, holding his eye for a moment, a heartbeat that thickened the tension in the room considerably. I turned my eyes to the wound on his skull, reaching forward, parting his hair to see the stitches more closely. It had been the one I’d worried about most, the one that had cost him so much blood it had almost killed him. It looked to be healing fine.
“It’s almost time to take the stitches out, I think,” I said to him. “How’s your head? Any headaches? Dizziness?”
“Nope,” he said, gazing at my face, at my lips. “I’m all patched up, thanks to you.”
“I’m glad I could do my job,” I said to him, pulling my hands away. He caught one in his grasp and I looked at him again. Before I knew it, he had taken my mouth in a kiss that I immediately responded to without a moment of hesitation, allowing him to taste my mouth, breathing against his lips as I sucked the bottom one. A powerful lust took over my body, which began to respond, thighs rubbing together involuntarily to put some pressure on my swollen pussy. His hands found my hips and he pulled me against him, growling against my lips as my body rubbed against his.
I ripped myself away and covered my mouth with my hand, feeling mortified, turning my face away.
“Oh, my god,” I said, rubbing my hand over my eyes. “That was—”
“Perfect,” he breathed. I shook my head.
“I’m a professional,” I said. “This can’t happen.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’m sorry, I just—”
“Please go,” I said to him, not daring to look at him, humiliated and filled with shame. He paused for a moment before doing as I asked, leaving me alone in the room. I sat down, putting my face in my hands, my body still affected by the kiss.
Chapter 3: Jackson
I walked with my bag over my shoulder, thinking over and over again about that kiss, the heat of it, the way she had molded against me as if her body was made to do so. I wanted to go back and do it again, then again until she gave herself to me, until I could slip her out of her clothes and grip her full, round hips with my fingers as I fucked her. I played with those thoughts as I made my way across the woods to where the lion shifters lived in the caves at the opposite end of the park. I thought about Alicia and how badly she clearly wanted to be touched, but knew that it wasn’t something I could try again after how uncomfortable and mortified she had acted afterwards. I hated the thought that the kiss would never be repeated, but was glad to be able to at least daydream about her on my journey.
It was starting to get dark by the time I got close to the caves, and I stripped out of my clothes and left them where I’d be able to find them, shifting and trotting closer, staying in the shadows. I could smell smoke, only this time it wasn’t cloying but slightly sweet, as if something was being cooked over an open flame. I crept closer and could see fires lighting up the caves. I could smell something, too—something cold and dead. I sniffed curiously at the ground, following that scent until I arrived at the base of the caves. I saw a pile of bodies there, all in human form, six or seven stacked up as if they were nothing. Next to them sat a pile of wood that I knew would fuel a fire to burn their dead. I moved closer to them after glancing around, looking more closely at the bodies. They were all unmarked, dead as the wolves had been.
I heard the sound of a growl behind me and looked over my shoulder to see a full-grown lioness. I shifted quickly, putting my hands up to show that I meant no harm. The lion crept closer and looked me over suspiciously, then shifted into a tall, thin woman with harsh, jagged features and a look just short of hatred in her eyes.
“Who are you?” she asked. “Why is there a wolf on our land?”
“I came here to speak to the princess Elina,” I said to her. “We’re old friends.”
“You’re a liar,” the woman spat. “The princess would never deign to speak to a dog.”
The words caught me off-guard, surprising me. I opened my mouth to respond but the words stopped in my throat, anger swelling in my chest. I took a deep breath to keep myself calm.
“The princess has never had a problem with me being a wolf,” I said to her. “Ask her yourself. My name is Jackson Lowe. I’ll wait.”
“The princess is sleeping,” the guard said. “We will not wake her.”
“She’s not sleeping,” I said to her. “She doesn’t sleep at night.”
The guard stared at me suspiciously.
“How do you know that?”
“I told you, we’re old friends. I came here to speak to her. There’s no way she’s asleep.”
“Why should I bring you up there?” she asked. “I have no reason to trust you. I’m told to execute wolves on sight.”
“Those bodies,” I said, nodding toward the pile. “We have some, too. Our people are dying with no marks on their bodies, no obvious signs of death. Yours are also, aren’t they?”
She paused, gave me a hesitant look before speaking reluctantly.
“Yes,” she said in a cautious voice. “They are. My sister—”
“We have doctors,” I said to her. “I can bring you doctors.”
“Shifter doctors?”
“They’re familiar with shifters. They can help find out what’s happening.”
“Okay,” she said. “I will take you to the princess. But if you shift in the meantime—”
“I’m not going to provoke a hundred angry lions,” I said to her. “I swear.”
“Good,” she mumbled, turning around to lead me toward the caves at the base of the mountain.
“Can you climb?” she asked.
“I think so,” I said to her, though the small path carved up the side of the rocks was steep and jagged, and I had to use all my strength to climb up stone by stone until I got to the ledge. I caught my breath as I climbed over it, nearly jumping when the guard in lion form leapt easily up beside me. She stayed shifted and guided me around the corner, where I caught full view of the system of caves where the lions had made their home. It was breathtaking in a way that the village simply wasn’t—the natural beauty of the caves was in the way they had been carved carefully out of the stone, though some of them were natural and had begun the system that stretched deep within the mountain.
“Where is the palace?” I asked her. She grunted in response, not shifting back, instead leading me along a narrow path and into one of the caves. It was lit up by torches on the walls, and I could hear the sound of water rushing inside. We emerged into an open area full of people, one that looked like a community center of some sort, with public caves on the bottom floor and smaller caves stacked up in the walls. We continued walking, occasionally taking another rough stone path up to the next level. I looked around as we walked, peering into caves. Most of them had curtains covering the entrance so that I couldn’t see what was inside, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of what looked like small, simple apartments, dimly lit by torches and candles.
We made our way up one last set of steep steps, entering a cave that made me gasp. The walls glittered and shone in the sun, which beamed down through a large opening at the roof of the
cave. In the center of the room stood a vast waterfall, with crystal waters that poured into a pool at the bottom. We circled the large cave around to the back of the waterfall, where there was a raised platform with three thrones, each of them more extravagant than the last, covered in gold and jewels alike. The thrones were empty, and the guard next to me shifted again.
“Stay,” she commanded. I nodded as she disappeared behind the thrones, and a few moments later emerged with Elina, who lit up when she saw me. She was every bit as beautiful as I remembered her being with her long golden hair and vivid yellow eyes, a smile that was warm and sweet but sensual at the same time.
“My wolf boy,” she said in a silky voice, biting her lip. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“I’m told wolves are executed on sight in this part of the forest,” I said to her, and her face twisted into an angry frown. She snapped her eyes toward the guard who was next to me.
“Who told you that?” she asked me, a sharpness in her voice I had never heard before, suddenly fierce and angry.
“She did, but—”
“The royals do not think that way,” Elina said furiously. “None of us do. I’m sorry she told you that horrible lie.”
“But—” the guard began, but Elina cut her off with a piercing stare to rival Gabriel’s. The guard turned and left then without another word, head tilted forward and shoulders slumped as she stared at the ground. Elina cleared her throat and I turned to look at her again, slightly shaken by her sudden change in tone. I was caught off-guard when I saw that she was smiling again, a flirty, teasing look that I had no compulsion to respond to, not with thoughts of the doctor still fresh in my mind. Still, I knew better than to outright reject her flirting. It was obvious that she was terrible to displease, and the last thing I wanted to do was to get on her bad side as the guard had.
“So sorry about that,” she said. “I hope you didn’t believe her. I would never—”
“I know, princess,” I said to her graciously. “I know that neither you nor your mother or Selene think that way. Most of the lions don’t.”
“You’re right. We’ve long accepted the presence of the wolves in the park. You aren’t our enemies. That said, you shouldn’t have snuck onto my land,” she said in a playfully chiding voice.
“I came here to see you,” I said to her. “There was—an attack in the village. One of ours was mauled by one of yours.”
“Impossible,” she said, waving the words away. “My people don’t go over to the village.”
“With all due respect, your highness, I—”
“It’s not possible,” she said again, some of the stoniness returning to her voice. I gave her a disarming smile and a slight bow.
“I must be mistaken. Forgive me.”
“I don’t think I can,” she said with a pretty pout on her lips, back to teasing and playing coy.
“How can I earn your forgiveness?” I asked her, knowing what she would say, hoping she didn’t.
“A promise to bring a doctor back when you leave tomorrow,” she said.
“Tomorrow?” I asked her.
“You want to earn my forgiveness?” she countered.
“Yes, your highness,” I said to her, sensing the danger behind her voice.
“You will spend the night in my chambers,” she said. “Like you used to. I remember you know your way around a girl.”
I paused for a moment, looking her over in her golden gown. I found that it wasn’t even tempting anymore. She stepped toward me and I stepped back apologetically, putting my hands up to stop her.
“I’m sorry, princess,” I said to her. “I have—a natural mate at the village.”
She lifted an eyebrow, her smile turning into a frown.
“Only Alpha wolves have natural mates,” she said. “Gabriel Alarick is the Alpha of your pack, is he not?”
“He is. But—all wolves of old blood have natural mates. My family is one of the original contenders for Alpha of the pack.”
“Hmm,” she said. “So you have a natural mate?”
“Yes,” I said to her quickly.
“What’s her name?”
“It’s—Alicia,” I said to her, blurting the name out before I could stop myself. “Alicia Thomas.”
She gave a dramatic, exasperated sigh.
“That’s too bad,” she said.
“Thank you, anyway, for your hospitality,” I said to her. She was genuinely pouting, bottom lip thrust forward.
“Bring back doctors,” she said and rose from her throne, disappearing in the walkway behind it without another word.
Chapter 4: Gabriel
Every night I fell asleep early, eager to get to the dream that kept repeating each night, consuming me entirely. In the dream I was laying in the woods with Sophie and she was kissing me over and over, decorating my body with dandelions, a bright smile on her lips. I had never been happier in my life; my heart soared in my chest, making me feel light, like everything was perfect and always would be. I basked in that feeling as I kissed her again, holding her against me as we grew closer to making love right there under the trees. This time we didn’t make it that far—this time, Sophie pulled away from me gently, staring into my eyes.
“I love you,” she said. “I love you so much, Gabriel.”
I didn’t say anything—couldn’t say anything. All I could do was kiss her, my heart pounding in my chest, feeling more alive than I ever had.
“Do you love me?” she asked, pulling away before our lips could meet. I opened my mouth to tell her that I loved her more than anything in the world, that I didn’t even know love had existed before I saw her for the first time. Instead, another word came out, the worst possible one.
“No,” I said, and tried to take it back, but couldn’t even speak as tears started pouring down her cheeks. She got up and fled from me, and no matter how hard I tried to go after her, I couldn’t move from where I sat.
I jolted awake at the sound of a voice beside me, swinging my fist before I had a chance to think. It collided with someone’s face in the dark and he cursed, stumbling back as I threw the light on to see Jackson holding his jaw.
“Sorry,” he said. “You were...yelling in your sleep. You didn’t wake up when I knocked on the door or when I said your name.”
“Jackson,” I said. “I didn’t mean to hit you. It was just—”
“Instinct,” he said, not looking angry at all. “I get it. But remind me not to get on your bad side.”
“Are you okay?” I asked him.
“I still have all my teeth,” he said. “I’ll count myself lucky.”
“What do you need?” I asked him.
“I spoke to Elina,” he said.
“What did she say about the attack?”
“She insists that it had nothing to do with them. She wouldn’t let me argue, so I told her it was possible that we’d made a mistake. There’s...something going on there. I don’t know if she’s just in denial or if she knows something. Elina is...sly.”
“Indeed,” I said to him. “Do you think she might have something to do with it?”
“I have no idea, but I’m going to try to find out. She wants me to bring a doctor back. I told her I’d come back tomorrow.”
“You can take Alicia, then,” I said to him. He nodded.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, and an uncomfortable look passed over his face.
“What is it?” I asked him.
“Nothing,” he said, brushing off my concern. I stared at him for a moment.
“Tell me,” I commanded. “Do you not want to go with her?”
“The princess believes that Alicia and I are natural mates.”
I looked at him in bewilderment.
“Why?”
“I...told her that we were,” he said sheepishly, running his hand through his long hair. “She commanded me to spend the night with her. I had no other excuse not to.”
“The princess is beautiful,
” I said to him. “Why not?”
“I’m not interested,” he said simply.
“But you’re interested in the doctor,” I said slowly. He gave a stiff nod and I had to force myself not to get sharp with him. The last thing I wanted was another couple gushing in love—Lily and Nathaniel were too much to be around at times, especially when love was making me feel particularly bitter, as it often did the days I didn’t catch a glimpse of Sophie passing by.
“I see,” I said.
“It’s not going to be a problem, sir,” he said to me.
“It better not,” I replied.
“Are you protected while I’m gone?” he asked, brow furrowed in concern.
“I’ll be fine. I’m spending most of my time in the woods looking for the remaining witches.”
“You’ll need back-up,” he said.
“I’m fine, thank you,” I said to him, still slightly uncomfortable about the idea of having a protector in the first place. It seemed strange to me that he was so willing to serve, but I could sense his loyalty and knew he was being earnest.
“He has backup,” came a voice from the doorway, which I realized only then had been left open. Sophie stepped inside, arms crossed over her chest. As usual, I felt a ferocious heat building in the pit of my stomach, a coiling tension that almost made it hard to breathe when I saw her.
“I’m sorry,” I said to her. “But what exactly can you offer as backup?”
She gave me a dry look, pulling her shotgun from the strap across her back and holding it up in front of me.
“I can do a hell of a lot more damage than any wolf can,” she said, putting the gun back behind her. “I’m going with you.”
“Sophie—”
“She’s right, sir,” Jackson said. “You need someone to watch your back.”
“I don’t—”
“Gabriel, get over yourself,” she said. “You’re not some big, tough man who can take care of himself.”
“No?” I asked her, eyes locked on hers, barely noticing that Jackson was still in the room. He seemed to recognize the fact that he was no longer a part of the conversation, that my sole focus was Sophie and the glare on her face.
