I gasped and looked at it incredulously. Curiously. It was a human’s head dangling between his teeth yet—I do not fear any sense of fear even when he draws closer. And closer.Zarion went to the edge of the cliff, throwing the man’s head in the frozen waterfall. I only waited for the thud to echo to know that it landed. I turned to him, face full of unexplainable emotions.“Oh God, why did you kill him?”“Werewolves have no mercy, Cassidy. We can kill anyone who we think must die.” He emphasized the last word, nose flaring as if to warn me to stay back.I did take a step backward.“Okay then....” I took a deep breath and forced an exasperated smile at him. His eyes squinted because of my reaction. Does he really think I would still back out because of that? “There must be a reason why you killed that man.” He didn’t reply, and it was enough for me to inch closer to know he calmed down. Or so I thought. “I heard a girl’s scream earlier. That man was going to do something… bad… to he
Seeing him in this manner with so much dismay and heartache is utterly devastating. It’s like I’m a part of him; I feel what he feels. I become sad when he’s sad. I suppose if his mate was hearing all he’s saying now, she’d rather have a fractured arm than a broken heart. That phrase triggered Zarion, eyes blazing with fire. I’ve never seen him upset like this. I immediately looked away. “Right, you must have your reasons.” “I love that you could catch up real quick.” In a heartbeat, both of us fell into a staring contest. Basically, Zarion will leave me after helping me with the process of rejection. That’s what the deal is. In the end, it’s all about him giving me a charity case. In the end, we will still part ways. In the end—I will still be left alone. And he will still live mateless regardless if I convince him to stay or not.But I don’t want to be his charity—I want to be part of his life. His mate. Maybe, if I could work it out between u
“Miss Bentley,” he whispered my name like an invocation. I gave him a warm smile, one that does not reach my ears but enough to warm the snow under his boot. He did not reciprocate that smile. Instead, he studied me with a pair of flabbergasted eyes as if he’d seen a floating headless ghost before him. “Yes, Mr. Esborne?” Elliot immediately stood up and pointed a finger at me. Rude, yes. But he looks cute considering his youthful features. I’ll just dismiss it as a younger sibling's tantrums.“Get her out of here!” He was now looking at Zarion, face blushing with raw anger. “Get her out of my place!” My amusement vanished in a heartbeat. “What—why? I don’t understand, Mr. Elliot—” Zarion rested his hands on his shoulder, trying to fill him with a calmness that I don’t even know if he possessed it too. “Elliot, calm down. I haven’t told you about her yet—” “No words are needed, Zarion. I could see it—smell it. She’s going to be a pr
Opening the cabinet as I found myself behind the stool, I saw him pulling out a book. A black leather book, its edges gilded and a silver crescent moon shimmer on its front cover.“I read it here before about a case. Your case, Cassidy, is rare. Extremely rare.” “Yes, it is. I’m obviously aware of that.” Zarion drew a breath and Elliot’s eyes and mine met, a silent nod reflected that he’s very much aware that Zarion was aware of that too. Elliot flipped the pages of the book, written in a language I did not bother to understand. Not even a single try. “What does it say?” I asked, brows furrowing as I rubbed both of my palms to create warmth. The cold had been much cruel today ever since we arrived at the healer’s cabin. I encouraged myself to look at the drawings instead; the art style is pretty much gothic, if not ancient. It wasn’t inked. Hues of black and white were embedded on the golden brown pages of the material. I saw the graphics of a human and a werewolf. They
Elliot welcomed me in his humble abode with warmth. Zarion did too as if he’s also the owner of the cabin. “I only have one spare room,” he smirked after that while opening the door to the said room. Indeed, it has a huge cozy space, and we have no choice left but to stay together in a single room. All alone with the great Alpha Zarion. “I’m going to sleep on the couch. You take the bed, Cassidy.” Zarion’s words are just above a whisper, as usual with a touch of his commanding tone. Without further ado, I gave him a tight nod—agreeing to his request. Requests, to be exact. One, we have to sleep in separate beds. Two, I have to clean the room and Elliot’s whole house. And three, I must not ask any personal questions. Not even asking the ridiculous thought of werewolves wearing underwears...“You think I could follow all those rules?” I asked him, challenged him. “It’s simple. You can just say no and go back to your grumpy old castle,” he replied. A maleficent grim formed on my lips
“Give me your coat, Cassidy.” “Oh, right—here.” I took off my coat abruptly as I strode to the table. I gaped as I traced the scars on Zarion’s back with my finger. He was lying uncomfortably on the table, too uncomfortably. Heavens above, I saw him smirking in the corner of my eye probably because of my reaction. “Oh, Zarion…” I gasped. My hand remained on his back, rubbing his skin and letting him know that I am just here. I’m right here, Zarion. Don’t you worry.“Get a chair and put it in front of me so I can see your full face, Cass.” Like a child, I followed his order and pulled a chair so that I could look at his face properly. Immediately. He’s not in good condition though. “What is this, Zarion?” My voice was full of worry. “I thought you're Zarion the Great—the invincible?” I hate him so much. But why do I still care for him? I didn’t know he was suffering when I knocked on that door earlier. I never heard his screams. Didn’t even feel the wrongness in the air. Now, lookin
“Not in this state, Zarion!” I hissed, my glare as sharp as knives. I pushed his body from mine but I ended up tumbling on the floor. Even in this situation, he was still smirking. “There’s nothing funny here!” He laughed even more but ended up coughing after that, making me more distressed. “Your face is so funny when you’re scared.” “Really? You still have time to joke around while you’re—” I shut my eyes and just let him do whatever he wants. A tear escaped from my right eye, but I abruptly looked away to wipe it. Too late. He had already seen it. “Hey, hey, sorry about that. Werewolf heals faster than humans. This—what happened to me, is just nothing, Cassidy.” “R-Really?” Sniffed, I wiped the tip of my nose. “Must be nice to be a werewolf, huh.” Zarion shut his eyes in a heartbeat. “No, we’re not talking about this again.” “I have already decided, Zarion. I want to be a werewolf. Why are you so against it?!” “Because I don’t want you to regret it!” I heard him breathe
I’m not in my bed. The sound of people cheering and the sharp scent of fire and smoke wholly proves me that.I suddenly drifted into…somewhere else. Somewhere else. A could sense that the raging fire was in front of me. When I slowly cracked my eyes open, I saw everyone gathering around me in circles like some sort of ritual. I only saw this on TV. But right now, it’s happening in front of me. They were not absolutely humans. No one is a normal human being in this vision. Or dream. Perhaps a nightmare. I fucking do not know what this is and how did I reach this place. My chest tightened and my tears betrayed me as it slowly cascaded from my cheeks. I saw vampires, witches, and werewolves in their true form. All of them were looking at me. No, glaring at me as if I had just committed a crime. My heart leaped for a second when someone touched my arms. “Help!” was all I could shout when a human-sized creature with huge ears and eyes that could eat one’s soul gazed at me. He wasn’t wear