Blacken

  She blushed, looking out the side window, “I always figured, he told me recently that he doesn’t believe in fate, but he believes something greater must have brought us together. I couldn’t agree more. I love that man with all of my heart.”

  The two of them pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. Exhaling through her nose, she had to think about what to do with the information let out in the courtroom and how people will search for something in the woods. They may dismiss it as a wild rambling tale, but she knew there would be at least a few curious patrons as word spread that would make their way through and find Rhulle’s manor.

  “He better know how good he’s got it with you, never seen someone with a heart as big as yours, sugar bear.”

  “Thanks, Sandy. And thank you for the lift, I’ll come to bug you at J&K’s soon!”

  Avie entered her small residence, flicking on the light and looked over her home. It was cozy, and it was hers, but it missed the warmth that Rhulle possessed with him. She would have to return to him and talk over what to do with individuals coming to look for him now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag.

  She collapsed onto the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. The redhead thought of the future, in a few months’ time, the snow would melt, and make way for lush greenery and fauna nurturing in their natural habitats. Avie loved the winter, but it halted her plans, and all she could think about was the need to start and to start now.

  Would people be able to stumble upon the manor so easily, or was she over thinking things? It wasn’t a well-known place in Blacken, some only finding it in the past as shelter or for more unfortunate circumstances. The police department located it with no qualms because they knew all of Blacken and its surroundings. The general public didn’t care enough to figure out why people were drawn into town to begin with.

  She felt the itch of Rhulle’s need to feed wash over her; the feeling she lacked since the first time he tasted her blood. It was agreed upon that she would go to him when the need arose, but in this moment, Avie wanted to keep a low profile, she didn’t want to be seen sneaking into the forest. Was she being too paranoid too soon?

  With a quick change of wardrobe and layering the winter wear, she left to seek him out as the vibrating rattled more intensely as the minutes ticked by.

  The woman was able to pick her speed back up to almost normal as she trudged through the snow-laden woods, having her wounds heal to a purple scar that faded every day. Avie was thankful that she had mobility in the first place, some were not so lucky in less severe circumstances. Her stride was slower in comparison and had a slight limp with her unable to take bigger steps, not to mention the lack of ability to run or walk for long distances; it still was nothing short of a miracle in her opinion.

  Rhulle came out of the manor, seemingly watching for her arrival as he glided over, scooping her up in his arms.

  “Darling! I have missed you; do you feel it again?”

  “I’ve missed you too, my love! You need to feed, I felt it just a moment ago.”

  He leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers while he carried her back to the warmth of the manor, “I had it start this morning, it was only a matter of time. I did not want it to interfere with your business. How did it go today, dear Avie?”

  They entered the living room, temperature warming the pink frost touched skin as she was set down on the couch, Rhulle joining beside as he awaited her report.

  “It happened, what I hoped for… Owen will be going away to get proper help from professionals, also serving time for what he did afterwards. They made the verdict today.”

  “That is wonderful news, he may not recognize it now, but you have taken the steps to give himself back!”

  “That’s my wish for the future, but it may be that he won’t forgive me entirely instead. I don’t really know what could happen, but I don’t think I will ever see Owen again.”

  Avie held out her hand, palm facing up for Rhulle to take, “Darling, I have seen stranger things happen, he seems to be one of the few that fall into the category of his own shortcomings are projected onto others. No matter how he is, he will want to shape a false story to weave you as the one in the wrong, even in knowing the truth. And once he is much, much older, he may finally admit it.”

  Using the sharp end of his talon, Rhulle punctured the pad resting under her thumb where a vein could be visible as he spoke.

  She winced, watching a few droplets float away from the puncture as Rhulle brought her palm to his face, mouth latching onto the cavity he had just created. The small burn of pain eased away, the intimacy of the action causing a stirring sensation instead.

  “Ah!”

  Avie couldn’t help it, a small moan slipping from her lips causing Rhulle’s eyes to peak open, catching hers. He smirked on her palm, still connected there.

  He broke away, getting his fill, lapping at the few remaining strands that fell from the vein, “You have talked so much about the trial, now that it is over, should we discuss other matters?”

  The redhead’s mind cleared, his need for blood fading from her body. All the stress and anxieties she had over the past few days would no longer have to take their hold on her, Avie could finally put that chapter to rest. And as much as she wanted to continue chasing the feeling Rhulle gave her, she still wanted to express her worries over townsfolk attempting to locate him.

  “Rhulle, I—actually I’m worried about people trying to find you here, Owen had mentioned—”

  With the hand he still held in his, the feathered truxen pulled her forward to him, locking his lips with her own before she could finish, tasting the copper of her blood still lingering on his mouth.

  “I have told you,” he said as he broke away, placing a single finger over her lips, “I am not concerned, if the worst came to worst, I can still manage inside of the forest and not just in this dwelling.”

  Grabbing the offending hand, she laced it with her own, “I just want you to be safe, how am I supposed to sneak off to see you when others are looking for you?”

  He laughed at her facetious question, moving to allow her to stop the blood beading at the surface of her skin, “Have you ever hosted a creature of the night?”

  Cherry eyebrows raised, “My love… I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. It’s still in town and surrounded by others.”

  “A perfect hideaway. They would never expect it. And I would feel better about being able to see you, if those do decide to drive me into hiding for a while.”

  “If you’re sure, I can accommodate as best as I can,” she spoke, running digits through coiffed plumage at the back of his head, excited to hear that he could be beside her. Somewhere that could be, for all intents and purposes, safe. Where she didn’t have to worry for him.

  “It would be a new experience,” he chuckled, “and I could use some more knowledge on human culture through immersion.”

  “Thank you,” she expressed genuine gratitude, Avie knew it was something he struggled with, yet he would do it to place her at ease.

  “The weather will turn and I will build you your very own house soon,” Rhulle leaned in, kissing while pushing her back into a lying position, smiling as he spoke close to her lips, “far away from everyone, no one could bother you, bother me, bother us. We could live without worry, yes, very soon, dear Avie.”

  He hovered over top of her, a tongue tracing over her lips before playing with her own. Rhulle’s words dripped out like honey, seducing her with only his tone of voice, it caused a shiver to course through her body. It had been far too long since they had been intimate.

  A dark hand snaked up, skilfully unclasping buttons and peeling away layers while a gentle purr radiated from the body above her. She panted as they separated, only for a moment, to completely strip the fabric from her upper body. His mouth moved down, licking and nipping the flesh of her neck with hot breath ghosting over the motions.

  “Going to have you every day. Just like this, all
to myself. My vovii, all mine.” Rhulle’s words rolled out in Truxen, the woman finally able to translate his language after weeks of learning it alongside him.

  He kissed down her scars, shifting back on the couch until the lips met her pants. Rhulle’s eyes flicked up to hers, the red outlines of them giving off a predatory look, matching perfectly with the desire igniting within them.

  “All yours. I am all yours, Rhulle.”

  His bottom lip was caught in his teeth briefly before it was released with a shaky breath and coy grin. She had given him permission, her desire matching his to be together as he grasped at her jeans, slipping them off along with the panties underneath.

  Rhulle stared down at her as she lay exposed, looking to be considering all types of thoughts racing behind those eyes. They locked once again with hers, keeping direct contact as his face lowered, and lowered. Avie’s heart rate picked up.

  He’s not going to…?!

  The dark tongue poked out, lapping at her most sensitive spot, drawing out an audible gasp as her head arched back. The muscle swirled, mapping out the new area, tracing delicate patters as it danced across aching arousal.

  “Oh! Keep doing that, oh please do not stop!”

  Rhulle’s pace picked up with vigor, applying more pressure, the appendage dipping into her and earning a choked gasp, her hands weaving into the feathers at the back of his head while letting out embarrassing noises she couldn’t hold back.

  “Yes, ohh, Rhulle,” she moaned, words drawing out, he was getting her close, the rush of such an intimate act carried out for the first time pushing her forward.

  Green eyes locked with rust ones, watching him observe her face while he carried out the performance with a blush heavy on his skin. She panted, huffing out short groans as the coil grew tighter inside of her, pulling her core deeper in heat until the control snapped. Fingers gripped tight as she came, squeaking out high pitched with eyes clenching at the sheer pleasure while legs shook around him. It lasted seconds, as her hands detangled themselves, allowing Rhulle to come up, plunging his tongue into her mouth once more in desperation.

  She felt his erection warm against her as they kissed, hot and heavy and damp, the connection full of needy wandering hands and desperate hot grinding. Avie felt flush, the naughtiness of tasting herself on his mouth made her lust for more.

  “I need you, let me remind you of my love. Let me take you, mark you, let me have all of you,” he sounded frantic, almost as if he wouldn’t get another chance. This whole time, Rhulle must have been keeping the urges suppressed, having all of the blocked feelings come loose in this moment.

  “I need you too, I need to be yours, I need you to be mine.”

  He crooned, turning into a groan halfway as his teeth caught his bottom lip once more in a quick action. Hands on her hips, Rhulle repositioned Avie as he guided himself in, adjusting inch by inch as both puffed in heavy anticipation. Delicate hands wrapped around his back, finding perch under the muscle where wings attached, meeting his thrusts as Rhulle started a rhythm. She turned her face into him, kissing every inch she could reach on the side of his and down his neck.

  “I have wanted you again for so long. I have been thinking about this, about you. The feeling of you around me, your little sounds—drives me wild, Avie. Too long… I waited too long, I—”

  Rhulle rose up, his gaze fixated while he lifted her hips, helping them to meet his as he filled her completely, the new angle causing stars to explode within her, glimmering behind her vision.

  “I cannot help myself.”

  She could have sworn he growled in that sentence, too lost in the throes of pleasure to be completely sure. The words he spoke were enough to be lost in him, the woman clinging on desperately to the couch below her as he had his way, not wanting him to stop. The day turned into a whirlwind of pleasure, overloaded with Rhulle and all of his pent-up need for affection.

  He admitted their first date how he never had that experience before, and now he couldn’t get enough of the intimacy since they first joined. Rhulle had been young when he first came to Earth, hardly out of adolescence and early into adulthood, never having the compatibility with anyone he lived with to become vovii. Almost embarrassed, he confessed that he only ever kissed before.

  Now being so closely woven with Avie, having that involvement, it awoke his need to explore and make up for lost time with her. They lay there, sweating and panting from the excursion while lightly caressing the other with gentle touches.

  “I want to fill you with my love. I want you all of the time, I cannot stop thinking about you. I cannot get enough. I want this everyday, Avie,” Rhulle propped himself up onto his elbows, staring down into her face with poignant eyes.

  Even though he expressed how he was in control of himself in the past with his hunger, he now stated he couldn’t control the addiction to Avie, her love, her person, everything she offered to him.

  “It’s a good thing we have forever. I’m absolutely crazy about you, you make me feel so good, Rhulle. I already drown in your love, it surrounds me every minute. I love you with everything I am,” she rose up, bringing her forehead to his, “I only hope I can show you how much you mean to me in return.”

  “You have, the moment you broke down the barrier of our differences and initiated romantic interest. I love all that you are, dear Avie. You mean everything to me.”

  CHAPTER 26

  Avie heard whispers around the town, listening through the grapevine that Owen had left. He was finally gone, out to a completely different territory to receive treatments and counselling, and to serve time for his actions. Avie always imagined she would be there before he left, saying one last goodbye, but it couldn’t always be as perfect as the mind makes it out to be.

  Her previous best friend was gone, with no proper goodbye; perhaps for the better.

  She would never see him again, but her thoughts would more than likely drift over to him, filling out her mind with memories of the time they spent, both the good and bad. And he would always think about her, no doubt about it.

  The woman wondered if he would honestly get better, or if this was all a metamorphosis for who he really was, the events they shared together kick-starting a new chapter in his development. Actions of the past bringing out his nature buried underneath—akin to that of her father. Still, she hoped to everything beyond her that Owen could come back to himself in the future.

  She would have to live with the fact that she probably would never know, it was unfortunate and painful to think about, but it was part of life. There was no way to have all the answers, the only way was to move forward. It’s what she had to remind herself about constantly, caught up too many times in ‘what ifs’ of the past.

  Avie looked to Rhulle, the chestnut plumed truxen perched in her chesterfield as he read through a novel. Pondering, she ran through the striking thought of what could have happened should the initial roles between the two males she grew close with never changed. Rhulle had been cold and intimidating at first meeting, while Owen had been uplifting and warm in contrast.

  What could have happened if the roles never switched?

  Rhulle was an unstoppable force long before she entered Blacken. He would continue to draw in those from outside town lines in order to feed for perhaps decades longer into the future. Would he lose himself completely in his isolation? Could Avie have even survived such an encounter if she was the only one to wander into those woods?

  And Owen… If Rhulle remained as an evil entity in his eyes, would the truxen eventually have been vanquished? Were the strands of fate weaving a future where Owen was supposed to have been the hero, saving Avie from the beast in the woods and subsequently causing her to never know Rhulle as she did now?

  It was weird to think about. She couldn’t imagine her future without Rhulle even before they were unofficial vovii.

  Fate always intended them to be together, there was no other way their lives were supposed to go. Owen made up his own
outcome, making choices that lead him to pilot the ship he sailed in, his relation to her was a mystery, a lesson, rogue in its intentions. Another question the woman would never receive an answer for.

  Rhulle raised his brow, reading over something intriguing as he looked off to the side, catching her staring at him.

  “I see you are thinking too much again,” he stated, a smirk gracing his features with a warm tone.

  “I am, too many silly things are taking over my mind. I guess I have too much free time now.”

  The trial was done, legal proceedings were completed, the mystery of Blacken was solved, even the murmured rumours of the thing in the woods were dying down. She was back to her routine regular life.

  Rhulle stood, closing the book and outstretching his hand for her to take, pulling her to stand with him, “Let us find something new then.”

  She mirrored his smile, his mood always so infectious.

  The truxen had been staying with her for a week, the apartment altered to constantly have the blackout shades drawn, keeping the windows blocked off and a barricade added for the wooden door. Since he did not need to come to her any longer, Avie found a way to keep her bedroom window locked properly in the meantime.

  The pair made their way into the bedroom. Avie received a computer as an early Christmas gift from Sandra, with her stating how she couldn’t wait any longer and needed to give the present early. Ecstatic at the surprise, Avie almost rejected the expensive gift at first sight, but Sandra insisted it was fine. It was a bit of an older model; however, the woman deserved the system nonetheless—Sandy expressing how much her own kids enjoyed playing on theirs.

  She set the unit up, purchasing a few accessories such as speakers, webcam and games to test out, showing off the finished product to a questioning truxen and explaining how it all worked.

  Rhulle sat her down at the desk, “You told me that this can help you find whatever you wanted, why not ask it to find a new interest?”

  Avie hadn’t even touched the world wide web yet, not knowing where to start into the deep dive of information. Still, she was excited to test it out.