Sandra's heart fluttered when the door opened and Alphose walked in.
She rose from the couch, smiling. The male looks absolutely exquisite, it was all she could do to keep her hands to herself as he moved toward her. He was dressed in a dark-blue, evening robe that wrapped his entire body to his ankles. Even as an evening robe, it looked of high quality and very expensive too.
"Hi," A lame greeting because she was tongue-tied. He is the only man that can manage to turn her brain into mush and make her lack words.
"Kassandra," he leaned closer and kissed her forehead.
Sandra wanted more. She always did.
But, with that feeling came a tightening in her chest because she might never get more. She might not be his to take.
It hurts.
She cleared her throat, "I got the...uhm...the arrows, the bows, the quiver, and the slings. Eline lent hers to me, so..."
"That's very good. Where is Eline?" He asked, looking around.
"She is working night duties in the Tower gates. Did you go to the tower today? You would have seen her."
"No, not today. I was there, yesterday. Today, I had a clan meeting with my Sentinels and Betas. It's about the Cougar Festival coming up soon."
Sandra nodded. Eline had told her about the festival for all cougars that are coming up. A fun festival they do twice every year where all cougars come together to bond, play, and compete together.
"I hope the meeting went well?" She asked.
"It did." he nodded, "Come, let's use the backyard."
He was going to teach her how to shoot an arrow. "We will. Have you eaten? I can make something for you."
His cheeks stretched into that smile that never ceases to sucker-punch her belly. God, she has it bad for him. So bad.
"Arine made enough meal for a feast in the afternoon before she went home. I wasn't able to eat much before the meeting but I ate more than a bit."
"But that's afternoon. This is night and we're talking dinner. Aren't you hungry?"
That smile came again, "You always want to feed me whenever you can, Kassandra. It's... fascinating."
The man had no idea how much she wanted to feed him. She grabbed his arm and began urging him forward, "Let's go to the kitchen, I'll throw something together. We still have time to learn how to shoot arrows before it's time for you to go.
He allowed her to drag him to the kitchen where he lowered himself to the chair beside the door. Sandra began rampaging through the drawers with intent.
Alphose was more than content to just sit there and watch her. The woman is very beautiful to watch, especially whenever she is trying to stuff his belly with food.
She was dressed in a simple green gown that was designed with flowers. But, there was nothing simple about the way the gown was greedily hugging her curves.
She is still off-limits, Alphose. Off-limits.
He'd run those words thousand times, every day, in his head for the past two months that they were beginning to lose meaning. Not to his brain but to his body which wanted this woman with every breath it can take.
It's plain torture. Seeing a woman he wants so damn much but can't have. Being with her, spending time with her.
Not to mention, having to fight the cougar tooth and nail every damn time they were close to her. Every time they scent her sweet, flowery fragrance.
The cougar does not seem to mind that this woman does not carry their scent. In fact, that part of him has turned completely deaf whenever it comes to that subject. His cougar just wants to take this woman-in their bed, on the floor, on the table...anywhere at all.
"We are almost out of groceries." she sighed, regretfully. "What about Bacon and egg ramen?"
Alphose closed his eyes, warding off his incriminating thoughts. "I'm okay with whatever you want to make."
"You will love it," She promised.
I love everything you make for me, Kassandra. He swallowed those words down.
Time passed. He watched her work in silence. Well, he was silent but she was doing most of the talking; telling him about her day which led to her talking about her job in the human world. He listened while his eyes followed her every movement.
Then, she began chopping scallions. Alphose almost had a heart attack at the way she was handling that knife.
Within the blink of an eye, he was out of the chair, pressing closely behind her and with a hand on top of hers, "You will hurt yourself, handling that knife like that."
"I'll be fine. I've been cutting vegetables for as long as I can remember." Craning her neck to look up at his face, she gave him a warm smile.
He doesn't seem to believe that she wouldn't hurt herself, so his hand stayed on hers while she continued cutting the scallions.
Sandra's hand burned where he held her. He was pressing so close to her from behind that she was hyper-tuned to his body. Her breathing becomes strained as she worked.
Control yourself, Sandra. You can control it. Control it.
"I can't," she cried out loud, her head hung in defeat.
"Can't what?" Alphose asked, confused.
She dropped the knife, whirled around, and faced him. "I can't do this anymore,"
His brows narrowed, "Can't do wha-"
Her hand went to the back of his head, pushing it down, and at the same time, she went on tiptoes before she slammed their lips together.
She kissed him with all the feelings inside her. Her lips moved on his hungrily, her body pressing closer to his. For a few moments, he gave no reaction, which made her kiss him more desperately.
Then with a groan of surrender, he was kissing her back as desperately as she kissed him. His hand went to her waist while the other one held the back of her head closer to him. His mouth devoured hers, like a starving male who was offered food.
She opened her mouth and he delved into him, deepening the kiss. His tongue played with her, dueled his with hers. She let out a low, throaty moan that went into his head like liquor.
Time stopped existing and every other thing went away with it. It was just them, kissing each other so long and so deep, into a mindless state of passion.
"By the gods," He broke the kiss at last. Sandra was going to protest, thinking he was about to pull back again. Since she found out about the mating situation between them, he has gone out of his way to make sure he never touched her inappropriately, even when she makes the move.
"Don't stop, please. Not tonight. Not again...!" She pleaded, her eyes clouded with passion.
"I don't think I can stop," He admitted, "I want you so much, Kassandra."
"Then take me. Please just do whatever you like with me, I'm all in.." Pressing closer to him, she plastered kisses all over his neck and his chest.
A growl emitted from his throat before his head lowered and he kissed her neck. His hand went behind her and turned off the gas. Then he joined their lips together again and began walking her out of the kitchen.
Wolfaraine entered his chambers, his eyes automatically following her scent until it landed on the figure standing before the west window.
The curtains were drawn, the windows were open and her eyes were staring out of it. She was in a daze, so lost in thoughts that she wasn't aware of having company in the bedroom.
The wolf growled, sensing her distress.
He walked towards her and pressed against her from behind.
She startled a little, then settled into him. "Wolfe,"
"Are you alright?" He asked, his eyes taking in the view that has held her eyes for long. The sky above was filled with night stars, there was a mountain that can't be seen clearly with human eyes at this time and then, there was the flower garden. It is a beautiful sight.
"I was just thinking about my father. I miss him so much." Her voice cracked.
"Ismena-"
"I'm sorry. I know you hate him after everything he did, but I just can't help it. I know you don't like him. But, he was my father, Wolfe. The man you knew was never the man I know. I only know my father and I miss him so so much."
He raised his hand, used his finger and collected the tear that dropped from her eyes. "I forgave your father, Ismena. Why would I not, after hearing his version of what happened? He saved you from those monsters. He made it possible for me and my people to escape and he saved your life in the hospital."
"You were right when you said the man I knew was different from the man you know, and in the end, I realized that the man I know must have died eighteen years ago. The new man that was left after his death must have been a good husband...a good father."
She nodded vigorously, "He was, he was. I was not his child but he did for me, everything a father could ever do for his child and more."
"Tell me about him," He said, running his hand all over her cheeks in a caress.
She gave a sad smile, "He treated my mother with love and respect. We didn't have too much growing up, but we never felt the burns that came with it because Dad made sure we were always happy. We were always together. You know, there was this time in senior high, when this girl was bullying me. She called me smally-Mena and made the others laugh at me. Dad came to the school that day to give me a message and only to see them kicking me around."
"Do you remember their names? Just their names will be enough help. I can take it from there." He said casually.
Ismena snorted, knowing that there was nothing casual about his intentions. "That was nine or ten years ago, Wolfe. Seventy percent of human adults out there experienced some kind of bullying in high school or college, it's almost a normal thing. Horrible but normal."
He grumbled something she didn't hear under his breath.
She smiled again, this time less sad than the first time. "Anyway, Dad yelled so hard at them that they got really scared and ran away. Dad's a good yeller, you know. Those kinds that make you wanna shit your panties when it's directed at you. They never bullied me again. But Dad wasn't taking any chances. He registered me for self-defense classes so that I can be able to take care of myself."
"He sounds like a great dad."
"He was. The very best. Since then, I was very good at defending myself. My instructor even taught me some little tricks that are very mean and can inflict real pain when I'm faced with bigger bullies. It helped a lot." she shriveled her head to look at him, "You remember that day we met? I was gonna beat up those bastards that followed me into the bathroom. I was just too drunk to do it."
His cheek widened a bit at that memory, "I remember everything about it. I tried to ignore you there but I just couldn't. Then I hated that I couldn't."
"That was almost five months ago. A lot has happened since then." Shaking her head, she whispered "Feels like I've known you forever."
"Feels that way for me too." A lot has indeed happened in the last five months.
"I've been so into myself that I forgot you were meeting Alpha Degar today. I'm so sorry about that. How did it go?"
His eyes darkened, "My haunch was right. That leaf does not belong in Naturiah. Also, Degar had to pull so many strings to get real information about that leaf. Turns out that it can be used to hide smells. That was why we never get the scent of the killer. He used those scentless leaves to conceal his scent."
"Wow," she turned to face him, "This killer must be very skilled and intelligent. Something like that would surely be rare to find. I wonder where he found it..."
"It IS rare to find. According to Degar's source, the easiest way to get a hand on something like that is through the military."
"The military?"
"Yeah. Which wasn't quite helpful because there are at least hundreds of changelings in the human Army."
"Really? Changelings are also in the army?" She asked, taken aback.
He nodded. "Some are very high officials that also act as spies for us to make sure our people are not being hunted, while the others see it as the perfect opportunity to make good money and also feed their animal form. Instead of hunting and killing good people, they can hunt and kill bad humans."
"Wow. That's a very good idea right there."
"It is. I've told Degar to get me the list of all the changelings that are in the army, and he should also narrow it down to those ones that have come home for one reason or another in the last two years. That's the duration the Wild Psychopath has been killing in our land. When he gets the list we will see what we are working with."
"That is good progress, Wolfe. I'm so glad you made progress in this case that has been eating you alive, even though you are good at hiding it."
"I am glad I made progress too, Ena. It's small but it's more than we've had in the last two years of chasing this bastard."
She nodded. Then a comfortable silence descended upon them.
No one tried to break it. Instead, they enjoyed it. Standing there by the window, Wolfaraine held her in his arms while they stared at the sky and beyond.
"Wolfe?"
"Mmm?"
"I wish he was still alive," she whispered, brokenly. "I miss him so much."
"Sorry to hear that, honey." he kissed the top of her head. "I'm sure he misses you too."
"I hope he is watching over us, protecting us...from up there. I hope he is watching over my mom. His death has broken her. She is having a hard time getting over him...just like I am."
An hour later, Wolfaraine walked down the stairs.
A grief-stricken Ismena was finally able to fall asleep and he was all too happy to see her nod off in his arms. Her grief had been so much, that the wolf felt it on a level that made that part of him restless. All through the time she cried, the wolf had prowled like a caged animal inside him.
When she fell asleep, he'd carried her to her bedroom, laid her down on the bed, and pulled the covers over her. She was sleeping soundly when he left.
Degar was waiting in front of the Tower gates for him.
"Let's go to the Little Home. I tried to get hold of Alphose but I could not reach him." He stated, walking ahead. Degar easily fell into steps with him.
It was a thirty-minute walk from the Tower to the Little Home. When they got to the beautiful cabin hidden in the deepest part of The Cranes woods, the sentinels standing guard there bowed their heads to the both of them and stepped out of their way.
Degar fished out his own keys and opened the door. Inside the house, they passed the living room to the bedroom, Degar used the keys to open the door too.
They walked inside. For a full minute, they stared at the figure on the bed with concern on their faces.
"Do you really think our patient will wake up, Alpha King? Do you really think he will make it?"
Wolfaraine took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving the older man, "I don't know, Degar. The process is a stretch but I had to try it. My blood is being used as a drip for him and The Ring stays three hours, every day, on his finger. He is breathing. Barely, but he is."
"It's three weeks today. He is responding to treatment. Slowly but he IS making progress." Degar conceded.
"He is. Ismena's father is a fighter, Degar. He is alive, for now. Let us all hope he becomes more alive...and stays that way too."