by G. Bailey
I can’t make anything out, which makes me a little nervous as I wait for them to finish their conversation.
Alaric turns to me with that same carefree smile of his. “Everything’s in order. The host will show us to our rooms.”
The plural of ‘rooms’ eases my trepidation. Although, a small part of me is a little disappointed. What did I think would happen? That we’d share a room together? I hardly know the wolf, for goodness sake.
The host guides us through the back of the temple-styled onsen. Alaric is taken to his room first; he removes his shoes before entering. Next door to him, I take mine off and step over the threshold. Inside the warm, cosy room is a large double futon draped over the beige Tatami matts. There’s also a dresser, coffee table, and a luxurious en suite towards the back. The sliding walls and doors are covered in thin, white paper. Everything is minimalistic but clearly very expensive. I sure hope Alaric doesn’t ask me to pay the bill, I think with a wry grin. I don’t have a penny to my name.
I place my backpack on the foot of the bed, beside a white robe and slippers, and sit next to it. The sheer curtains flutter softly in the light breeze coming in through the balcony. I can see the forest from here, and the tips of more temples peeking out amongst the snow-capped trees.
It’s beautiful.
Tranquil.
Confusing.
Why did Alaric really bring me here?
I fall back onto the bed and stare at the canopy. Images of his hands roaming my body play through my mind. Warm, big, possessive hands, touching, caressing, making me all hot and bothered. My pulse spikes, and I frown at my train of thought. Why the hell am I thinking about Alaric? I remember the last time he touched me and how he’d tended so gently to my wound. How warm his hands had felt against my skin…
I absently reach for where he healed me on the chest. There’s not a trace of the injury behind, all thanks to Alaric, the wolf who knows my secret but I don’t know his.
A knock on the door startles me.
“It’s Alaric.”
Speak of the devil.
I push off the bed, cross the room, and open the door.
“Your first appointment is in fifteen minutes.” He skims my body slowly and arches a brow. “You need to be wearing your robe for this. Slippers are optional.”
“I see you’re dressed for the occasion,” I counter, walking back over to the bed.
Alaric shuts the door behind him and follows me, his own robe tied tightly around his waist. Even underneath a thick robe, his muscles bulge against the material. I peel my gaze from his body down to the slippers. Picking them up, along with the robe, I hurry into the bathroom to change. A few minutes later, I come back, dressed properly, only to find Alaric sprawled over my bed. He perks up upon seeing me.
“You scrub up real good, love.”
That makes me laugh. “And you. Shall we get going?”
It takes everything not to look at his muscular thigh peeking out from his robe. My cheeks heat a little as I realise he’s naked underneath it. Of course he would be. He’s so comfortable in everything I can hardly be surprised to find him comfortable in his body.
“Aye, let’s. I’ve got a feeling you’ll like this.”
He opens the door before I reach it, despite that he was across the room.
“Ever the gentleman,” I say, sliding past him and into the hallway.
The door closes softly, and Alaric leads me around the corner. Several doors line the walls at either side. He stops outside the one at the bottom left, then nods to the one across the hall.
“I’ll be in there. See you in thirty.”
“Alaric, wait—”
But he’s sliding into his room. Given the attire and his comment about TLC, I can only assume it’s some kind of massage I’m walking into. I’m in desperate need of one, and a facial, that’s for damn sure. Running for my life is really beginning to take its toll on me.
Slowly, I turn the door handle and enter the dimly lit room. Forest music plays softly in the background. Candles flicker around a massage bed covered in a white blanket, and right by the front of it there’s a sign that reads in Japanese, then English: Please remove all clothing and lie under the blanket. Ring the bell once you are ready for your masseuse.
I do as instructed and remove my robe and slippers. Once I’ve draped the robe over a wooden chair, I ring the bell and quickly lie facedown on the bed underneath the soft blanket. I wait for the masseuse, it occurs to me that for the past hour or so, I haven’t thought about the demon market or my parents or anything that’s weighed me down lately. It’s as if from the moment Alaric dragged me from my apartment, I could see the sun again, feel its warmth on my skin.
I can’t keep hiding from reality. My parents are dead, my species are being hunted and trafficked illegally, and the Stormfire alpha is after my head. These are three facts I need to, now more than ever, come to terms with.
It’s hard, it’s painful, and I want to avoid it.
But I can’t.
Avoiding means giving up, and I refuse to let Rizer win.
I refuse to be weak.
My mum died protecting me… I can’t let her death be in vain.
The soft click of the door opening drags me from my stupor. I close my eyes and wait patiently, just listening to the exotic birdcalls and leaves rustling in a light breeze. It’s been years since I’ve had a massage and I’m going to savour every moment of it.
Warm, large hands gently squeeze my arm, alerting me of their presence. After several moments of them moving around the room, they tug the blanket down to the space just below my tailbone. I tense when their hands find purchase on my back for the first time, but soon I’m whisked off into a beautiful reverie where time no longer seems to exist.
A moan escapes me, and I lose track of everything, my past, my surroundings, as I fall a slave to the sensation.
“Mmm…”
The hands move down my back again, but this time they slide onto the towel, a little too close for comfort. On instinct, I open my eyes and crane my neck. Who should be there but Alaric? And with not an ounce of shame on his face either.
“You freaking per—!”
“Shh, Autumn, shh. I’ve got magical hands.”
“Is that what you say to all the girls?”—he massages a particular spot in my back again—“Oh, goddess, that feels good.”
“Told you.” I can hear the smirk in his tone. “Just close your eyes and let me do my work. Let me take your mind off things.”
For a moment, I consider leaving the room, but once again he’s right: this wolf has an incredible way with his hands. It’s even better than I imagined in my room.
Only a little uneasy, I settle back on the bed again. “You have permission to continue. That does not mean you have permission to grope my ass, understand?”
His chuckle brings a smile to my lips. “Yes, ma’am.”
But something shifts in the room. Now that I know it’s Alaric touching me, his caresses feel more sensual than they did before. Nothing like the professional touch of a trained masseuse. He is trained in massages, though, I’ll give him that.
Fuck, he’s good at this…
I scarcely hear the moan escape me, too lost in how wonderful he’s making me feel.
“Good lass,” he whispers, his breath tickling my ear.
My body heats underneath him. It’s like I’m in a sauna. He brushes his fingers over the back of my neck and inner thigh, two of my erogenous zones. I grind into the bed and moan again, unable to restrain either sound or movement.
Goddess, he’s doing this deliberately.
And yet I don’t stop him.
I find myself wanting more.
However, just when it’s getting even better, Alaric pulls back and clears his throat. I prop onto my elbows and tilt my head to look at him, but he’s facing the other way.
“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?” I ask softly.
He keeps his back to me
as he walks over to the sink and washes his hand. “We only had thirty minutes.”
“How long have we been in here?”
“Sixty.”
“Oh.” It didn’t feel that long at all. “What now?”
“I’ll leave you to get dressed, then pick you up in ten.”
When he marches past me to the door, I can’t help but notice his erection. It tents the fabric of his robe and explains why he was so insistent on not facing me. I bite my lower lip, tempted to offer my own services in exchange for his, but he leaves before I can utter the words.
It’s probably a good thing.
We have the whole night ahead of us, after all…
Chapter 18
Lilith Thornblood
Hot spring, here I come!
Alaric is already waist-deep in the water, his arms draped along the sides like an alpha claiming their territory. But his sapphire eyes are on me, watching my every movement as I slip out of the complimentary robe. The material falls around my bare feet, and Alaric takes me in slowly, his Adam’s apple jerking. My cheeks flare under his perusal, the lust in his gaze evident, but I approach the side of the pool and slide into the water.
“Thanks for the costume,” I say, submerging deeper until my shoulders touch the surface of the water. “I had no idea wearing my underwear in a Japanese onsen would be such bad etiquette.”
Alaric wets his lips and gestures dismissively with his hand. “It was nothing.”
Hardly.
He purchased this black bathing suit in reception, and I saw the price tag despite that he’d tried to hide it. The material is so featherlight against my skin, hugging every curve perfectly. A thin red strap runs across my collarbones and then splits around my cleavage, leaving little to the imagination. Hell, maybe that’s why he offered to buy me it. Although I haven’t caught him looking at my breasts yet. Mind you, I am chin-deep in the water, my hair floating around me like a cape.
“This feels amazing,” I say, rising. “Almost as good as your massage.”
He smiles at that. “The view is amazing, too.”
I glance at the beautiful trees filling up the view from the window, but Alaric keeps his gaze fixed on me. Something tells me he wasn’t referring to the nature outside.
My heart skips as I lean against the pool and face him. “Yeah, this Lyulf guy sure picked a great spot.”
His smile melts from his face like the snow captured by the sun. “How do you know that name?”
“The notice in reception. It said he was the owner.”
“Oh, yeah.” The tension in his shoulders visibly leaves, and he nods, his posture more relaxed again. “He’s a good guy, Lyulf. A bit misunderstood a lot of the time.”
“You know him?”
“My whole life,” Alaric says, tilting his head back. He stares at the ceiling while steam rises around us. “I know all the staff here. We’re from the same pack.”
“I figured that. Rivermare wolves always smell like when it rains in a forest.”
“Strong and earthy?”
I shake my head. “Refreshing.”
He looks back at me, his expression curious.
“I bet your pack’s surrounded by waterfalls,” I add, stretching my legs out underneath the water.
He rubs a hand over his jaw and smiles. “A little. You’d like it there, I reckon. Up high in the Scottish mountains.”
“I grew up in the Alaskan mountains. Are they really so different?”
“Oh, quite different.” He chuckles.
I tilt my head at him. “How about we go there next time?”
His smile broadens. “It’s a date.”
My pulse spikes at the words, and I stare down at my reflection on the water, recalling how wonderful his hands felt on my body. In all honesty, I’m a little frightened by how much I enjoyed it. I mean, this guy blackmailed me. I should be the one putting my hands on his body—preferably around his throat—not the other way around. But I liked him touching me, way more than I probably should have.
“Why are you so far away?” he whispers, cocking his head.
I glance up from the water. No words sound from my lips; none are needed. In once swift movement, Alaric grabs my hand and drags me through the water towards him. He sits me on his lap, and my breath hitches. The heat from the hot spring is nothing compared to the one searing through my body from Alaric’s caressing of my back.
He runs his fingers languidly up my spine. The moment they reach the top, he grabs my throat and pulls my mouth to his. Hard, demanding lips crush against my own, demanding entry with a firm, unyielding swipe of the tongue. I surrender to him, my mouth parting willingly, and straddle his hips, the water lapping around us from the movement. His erection pushes against me, and I squeeze my legs, a groan rumbling in the back of Alaric’s throat.
A shrill scream echoes outside the room, dragging our attention away from each other. Another scream follows, then another, each one more harrowing than the last. My wolf bristles inside, preparing for an attack.
“What was that?” I whisper, disentangling myself from Alaric’s body.
He follows me out of the pool, and we tug on our robes. I slide past him towards the door, but he stays me with a hand on the shoulder.
“Wait here,” he says in a deep, commanding voice. “I’ll check it out.”
“And let you have all the fun? Yeah, right.”
I shrug his hand off and open the door. I like that he’s looking out for me, but I’m skilled enough to defend myself. I don’t need a man to protect me.
Reluctantly, Alaric walks with me into the hallway. The ceiling lights and the lamps on the floor switch on and off repeatedly. The hairs on the back of my neck rise statically.
There’s a dark, demonic presence in the onsen now.
“Thank the Crescent Mother we came prepared,” I whisper, reaching into my robe for my gun.
Alaric has already got his gun. “Yeah. Now stay behind me.”
I open my mouth to protest but think better of it.
Covered by Alaric’s shadow, I continue down the hallway under the flickering lights. Both sides of the wall have been slashed with enormous claw marks. I brush my fingers over one of the prints as we pass by. The claws are four times longer than my fingers. They lead all the way to reception where a few bodies litter the floor. Dead bodies. My stomach churns at the sight of them.
“Over there at the desk,” Alaric mutters, jutting his chin.
I follow his gaze to where a shadowy figure hovers over the reception desk. The Rivermare host who’s been so kind to us stands motionless at the other side while his soul is literally sucked from his body.
“It’s a Feeder,” Alaric hisses. “Fuck. We need to move quickly before it kills Yuri.”
A cold chill sweeps over me. From all the late-night studying I’ve been doing, I’ve learned about this particular creature. It’s a level-four demon who feeds on the souls of the living, hence the name.
“How do we take care of it?” I ask quietly, tightening my grip on the gun. “We don’t have anything silver to lock it inside.”
Alaric scans the area along with me.
“The bell!” I point to the call bell on the edge of the reception desk, then look at Alaric. “You distract the Feeder, I’ll grab the bell.”
His mouth curls in a smirk. “All right. Just be careful.”
“Pssht, I always am.”
I press my back to the wall and wait for Alaric to cause a distraction. What I don’t expect to see is him shapeshifting into a ginormous wolf triple the size of my own. Silver streaks glimmer through his dark, midnight-blue fur, and his tail, made of water, swishes and cracks like a bullwhip when he lunges.
The Feeder lets go of Yuri and turns its attention to Alaric.
A loud, deafening shriek emits from its lips, and then it swoops down.
Alaric growls and meets the demon in the air. Their bodies collide; snarls and hisses echo around me. The adrenaline f
rom hunting another demon courses through my body again, and I jump into action.
First, I run to the desk and grab the bell. Only a silver object can trap a level-four demon. My hands tremble as I hold it between my fingers. Think, think, think. The demonology book said it needs to be enchanted with magic. Or rather, cursed. But I don’t have any magic. If in doubt, do what the movies teach.
Or at least that’s the advice I remember my mum telling me once. I rub the lamp a few times and slowly it starts to glow, coming alive. I doubt a genie is popping out here though. I drop the lamp onto the floor as the light from it blasts around the room.
The demon shrieks as it’s sucked into the bell. Trapped until another demon releases it, the creature can no longer suck the souls out from other people’s bodies. Those it did feast upon return to their hosts the instant the demon is captured. All around me there’s gasps of life, as if the bodies on the floor were drowning at sea and now they’ve washed ashore.
A sense of relief fills me at the sight of them breathing again.
“Well done,” Alaric says, transformed back into his male form. He tightens his robe and winks at me. “We make a good team.”
I hold up the bell. “That we do.”
Slippery little thing almost falls from my hand.
Alaric chuckles. “I didn’t plan on us working tonight.”
“But we kicked so much ass!” I lift my free hand for a high five. “Hey, maybe demon hunting in bath robes will be the new thing.”
His palm meets mine, but he takes hold of my fingers and pulls me to him. “I much prefer you in your sexy little swimsuit,” he whispers.
“Pervert,” I mutter, my cheeks burning from his compliment. “But seriously, I want to thank you for today. I never realised how much I needed a break from Hell until you brought me here. Even catching this demon together was a breath of fresh air. Thanks, Alaric.”
A smile softens his rugged features. “It’s me who should be thanking you, lass.”
Ever so gently, he runs a knuckle down my cheek while gazing intently into my eyes. The caress sends a shiver down my spine, and I push onto my tiptoes to kiss him. Alaric’s lips claim mine first, the kiss gentle, a sweet caress of the mouth, but then it turns more demanding. His lips possess my own, battling against me as a low growl vibrates from his chest. I shiver, wanting more until he breaks away from me.