by Sara Snow
He didn’t say anything after that and neither did I. I hadn’t thought about the pressure wolves must feel trying to be normal, pretending to be something they’re not just to remain safe. My mind took me back to last night and I couldn’t remove the image of the transformed wolves from my mind.
They were scary, but they were beautiful. But I knew not everyone would see that beauty.
He continued to drive quickly but confidently and I sank into my seat, my mind taking me back to the story Natalie had told me. Yes, my heart would be shattered if I fell in love with a wolf only to have him leave me for someone else. My heart would be shattered if a human left me for someone else, but I would never in a million years do what the princess in that story had done.
She could never have really loved that wolf if she played a part in killing him. Her love wasn’t real. The man Xavier had killed had known love. I would probably never know what a mate bond feels like. What I know, however, is that for a bond like that to exist, even if it’s meant to strengthen bloodlines, the unconditional love it creates between two wolves is amazing.
Well, I’ll think more about that later. For now, on to the rest of my questions. “So, you guys don’t need the full moon to transform, do you?”
Xavier shook his head as he turned into a parking lot. I hadn’t even realized we were in the heart of the city. “No we don’t. We can change at will.” He looked over at me and for a second his eyes were completely black, and my heart skipped a beat. "During a full moon, however, we can't transform."
“Wait, really? That's the complete opposite of what books and movies say."
He chuckled. “I know. My ancestors created that lie. During the full moon, we can't transform and that's when our pregnant women give birth. A pup born outside of the three days surrounding a full moon can kill the mother. We’re born in human form under the full moon, but outside of a full moon a pup is born as a real pup, a transformed wolf.”
“Jesus,” I said under my breath as I imagined a woman being ripped open by a baby wolf. “Have you ever seen that happen?”
He turned the car off. “No. I think that’s more myth than fact. A child has never been born outside of a full moon, that I know of anyway.”
We got out of the car and made our way toward a restaurant I’d never seen before. It looked like a tavern you would find in the 1900s and I was instantly intrigued. Its walls were made of wood with a large wooden sign hanging just above the door, The Witches Brew written on it in red paint.
“Wow.” Since I hadn’t even been in town a month yet, there were so many places in the city I had yet to see. Over a week ago the thought of maybe never getting to see the city again would have made me angry, but I’ve fallen in love with the woods. Which I wasn’t going to admit to anyone. However, I missed the sounds of the city too. “I love this. Is this owned by a wolf?”
Xavier stepped ahead of me and pulled the door open. The way he looked down at me with a sly grin had my stomach doing back flips.
Damn, what is happening right now?
“I thought you might, and a witch actually; hence the name,” he answered.
I paused, one foot inside the tavern. “Huh? A real witch?”
He nodded and we stepped inside. As the door closed behind us a bell rang above our heads. I felt like I'd been transported into the past. Just picture an old tavern from any movie you've watched and you'd be spot on. The tables and chairs, the bar and shelves, were all solid handcrafted wood. The tavern was cloaked in semidarkness, with only a single window above the door and a few dim lamps on each table. It was oddly cool inside as well.
There was a surprisingly large number of people inside. Xavier led me to the bar and I hopped onto one of the wooden stools. I spotted a boy with a hoodie over his head in the corner of the room, his fingers dancing quickly over his laptop’s keyboard. “Is there Wi-Fi in here?”
"Of course. We're not barbarians." My head whipped around to find a woman standing behind the counter with a towel thrown over her shoulder. "Well, not anymore."
She swiped at a strand of black hair that had come loose from her high bun. “The usual?” she asked Xavier, and he nodded. “And you lass?”
I arched a brow. Who was she calling lass? Is she the witch who owns this tavern? She looked young, late 20s young, with sun-kissed skin and freckles over her nose.
“Whiskey.”
She gave me a little smirk. “Whiskey at 11 a.m., you’re my kind of woman.” She nodded and turned away.
I watched as she walked away, noticing that her left arm was completely covered in tattoos. They were all some form of writing in a language I did not recognize. “So, is she the witch?”
“Yeah, her name's Willow. She's been running this tavern since it opened in the 1600s."
Wow, I thought to myself. I wasn't too surprised, however. Since I now know werewolves are real, I guess all other supernatural beings are probably real too. I spun slowly around on my stool, my eyes darting over everyone sitting inside the tavern. I couldn’t help wondering if they were humans or supernatural; maybe there was a blend of both.
The boy in the corner looked my way and I stopped breathing. He had red pupils with vertical irises like a cat’s.
“What is he?” I leaned in and whispered to Xavier. He merely glanced at the boy and then looked away.
“He’s a demon. I wouldn’t keep staring if I were you. He’s a dream demon. You don’t want him latching onto you. They plague humans in their dreams, feeding off their fears.”
I looked away instantly, but I could still feel those red eyes on me. “Everyone in here is supernatural?”
Xavier shook his head as Willow appeared with our drinks. “No lass,” she said. There are humans here too, but they are none the wiser about the supernatural beings around them.” She pointed at the boy with the red eyes. “He’s a demon, a young one.” She then pointed to the other end of the room where a girl with green hair was sipping on her drink and tapping at her phone. “That’s a fae.”
I arched a brow as the girl’s eyes darted our way before she sniffed and looked back down at her phone.
“Hmm, rude.” I said under my breath and Willow chuckled.
“Yeah, fae aren’t very friendly.” She tilted her head to look at Xavier and I saw a flash of violet in her brown eyes. “I’m curious to know why a wolf is hanging with a human, Xavier. Things have been boring around here lately. Why don’t you give me the details so I can have a good gossip?”
I watched their interaction silently as Xavier took a sip of his drink before answering. “You’ll find out one way or another. I’m not going to make things easy for your nosy ass.”
She tossed her head back and laughed. “Fine.” She looked my way, her eyes still violet, and I couldn’t help leaning in closer, intrigued by the odd color. “You’re a strange one, though.” She looked me up and down. “A strange one.”
What the hell did she mean by that? I mean, I’ve never been one to blend in with a crowd. I’ve always stood out because of my flaming red hair. But I could feel in my bones that she meant something other than my looks.
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged and turned away. “Holler when you’re ready to pay the bill. I have an appointment in the back with a woman who says her dead husband is still trying to have sex with her.”
◆◆◆
Ruby
Xavier looked up and down the street before crossing and I followed close by his side. After leaving The Witches Brew we hadn’t gotten back into his car. We left the parking lot, turned left, and had now been walking for ten minutes.
We hadn’t really talked to each other during our walk, but it wasn’t an uneasy silence. It felt comfortable. I felt protected. Was it because I knew about the power within him? I hadn’t expected to be getting along with him so well. Why did he offer to do this? Why be nice to me now? Was it all just because of his guilt over what he had said to me?
“So, supernatural creat
ures are all friendly with each other?”
“No, Ruby, they aren’t all friendly with each other. Just like not all humans get along with each other.” He tapped my shoulder for me to follow him and turned left. Ahead of us appeared a large fountain.
“Wow,” I said under my breath. “I only just moved here for school. I didn’t get the time to explore the city.” When we finally stopped at the fountain, I dipped a finger and then my hand into the water. “Why did you do this? Why take me to that tavern and here? Why are you being kind to me now?”
I turned around to face him but was forced to take a step back. I hadn’t realized he was so close to me. I frowned at the warmth that spread throughout my body. He took a step forward and I stepped back, but the back of my leg bumped the edge of the fountain.
I was trapped, but despite the intensity in his eyes, I didn't feel threatened. We were in public anyway, what did I think would happen? He'd wolf out right here in the open?
I crossed my arms over my chest and he just smiled. “Do you mind?” I asked. “I can see your pores with how close you’re standing.”
“Do I make you nervous?”
I kept my face straight but my nails were digging into my arms. “Do I look nervous to you? You’re just invading my space, Blackwood.”
He bent at the waist. “I can smell it,” he whispered. He stood up straight as I started grinding my teeth, an impish smile on his face. “Don’t worry, you smell good.”
He was playing with me. That’s what this had to be about. I watched him closely as he stepped around me to stand at the fountain’s edge as well, the air alive with the splashing water.
"Despite what you might have thought, I don't hate you Ruby." He dipped his hand into the water and scooped some of it up. "My life was calm until I met you." He slapped the water. "Now my life is like this, disrupted."
“If you were trying to say something nice, it’s not going in that direction. I didn’t mean to uproot your life, but my life has changed too.”
He turned to me and stepped closer, forcing me to look up into his eyes. “Is it so bad living at my house?”
Was he being serious?
"Um…" I exhaled and looked away at the clear glistening water, before looking up at a slowly drifting cloud. "No, it's not so bad. But it would be better if I wasn't living there and being kept on a short leash."
His hand brushed against mine and a bolt of electricity shot up my arm, forcing me to step back. When I did, he grabbed my arm. I gasped and looked up at him, but the irritation on his face was only serving to confuse me. What was that feeling when he had touched me?
He reached out and my body went stiff as he reached around me and grabbed my ponytail. I swallowed as he loosened my hair and pocketed my scrunchie. “I told you to let your hair down, didn’t I? You’re not on a short leash Ruby. You can come to the city. You can start going back to your classes. You can live a normal life.”
“I can’t take the constant stares…”
He frowned and his hand fell away from my arm. The spot he had been holding was no longer warm and I wanted to tell him to hold me again.
Okay no, no. Slow down, Sonic the Hedgehog, you’re moving way too fast right now.
I shook my head. “The few wolves I’ve seen look at me like they want to claw my eyes out. A girl flashed her fangs at me.”
“What?” Xavier yelled, catching the eyes of two men walking by. He didn’t spare them a glance, however; his anger was aimed at me and I wasn’t sure why he was so angry. After all, he was one of the people who were mean to me. “Who did that?”
“I don’t know her name,” I replied with irritation. “I do want to know more about you guys, and demons and witches and stuff. I want to know everything, since I’m a part of this world now. However, it’ll take some time to get used to living with people who hate me because I wasn’t born special.”
He inhaled deeply and rubbed a hand across his forehead. “Okay, look, when we get back I’ll give you a proper tour of the house and grounds and introduce you to a few people. Everyone just needs to get used to the idea of you being around and trust that you won’t betray us.”
“Do you trust that I won’t betray you, Xavier?”
The world around us seemed to vanish as our eyes locked. Heaviness began to settle on my chest and my palms grew sweaty when he took a step closer to me. I felt faint suddenly, but I was unable to break eye contact. Since the moment we'd met, his eyes had been unreadable. Until now, and what I saw within them was frightening.
Raw, uncensored, desperate need.
He reached out and wrapped a strand of my hair around his finger. “I trust that you won’t, Ruby.”
I hadn’t seen it coming, and I wasn’t sure if he had seen it coming either, but when his lips pressed to mine I felt like a volcano erupted inside me. I leaned into his chest and the heat coming off him was staggering. Why was he so hot?
My fingers curled into his shirt as he pulled my bottom lip into his mouth and I caved into him, literally. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me up and off the ground. Somewhere in my mind a voice was yelling for me to push him away, but I couldn't. I felt drawn to him suddenly, more than I ever had. All thoughts of anything but here and now flew out of my head. Nothing was going to stop me from exploring this kiss. His lips tasted so good, his arms were so strong, and his body was so warm.
I pulled away first, the fog in my mind clearing, and he released me immediately. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice low, but he didn’t sound apologetic.
“It’s okay. Um, why did you do that?”
I wasn’t complaining. Oh no, most definitely not! I’d never been kissed like that in my entire life. But why had it happened, why had it felt so good? Like an acid flashback, I remembered Natalie's story about the tragic end of a werewolf and human relationship and I took a step away from him.
Oh no.
“Um, actually, that just now, it never happened. Okay?” I turned and walked away, my legs like jelly. “We should head back to the house. I want that tour.”
What the fuck did I just let happen?
◆◆◆
The drive back to the house was a quiet one, and this time the radio blasted to cover the awkward silence. Xavier had kissed me, and I had let him. I wasn’t sure how I’d face him after this. I couldn’t even handle turning my head to look in his direction. Why had he done that?
I thought he’s never dated a human, from what Natalie had said that day in the library. I had been convinced he wasn’t even attracted to my kind. So why, out of all the women throwing themselves at him, did he decide to stick his tongue down my throat?
My day had been going so well. He had been on the brink of making me think this could all work out and then he had to ruin it. My life before this hadn’t been perfect. My life has never even been close to perfect. My financial worries had disappeared since being forced to live here, and despite how nerve-wracking this has all been I was slowly falling in love with the woods, but now I’d give it up in a heartbeat with no second thought. Xavier had kissed me. This could end badly!
I’m no longer the human girl being allowed to live but the human girl Xavier kissed. If that’s not a can of worms, I don’t know what is.
I bit down on my lip as the gates leading to the house opened. No, I was lying to myself. Sure, werewolves exist, and so do demons; but I was one of the few, perhaps the only, human in a position to know about this hidden world. Sure, it would take some time to get settled, but I was going to make the best of this. A kiss wouldn’t ruin that.
I groaned inwardly.
An already awkward situation was just made ten times worse.
We pulled up to the entrance of the house and Xavier got out before I did. As I opened my door a loud crash could be heard inside the house. I glanced over at Xavier. With his heightened senses it seemed he could hear what was going on and his face was turning red with rage.
What’s going on?
The fr
ont door flew open and a man’s booming angry voice met my ears. My body tensed when I could finally make out the words he yelled.
“Where the FUCK is she?!”
Faster than my eyes could track, something bolted out of the front door and slammed into Xavier. Within the next second, Natalie appeared by my side, but my eyes were glued to Xavier and the man who attacked him.
The men pulled apart, both rolling in opposite directions before getting to their feet. Xavier’s claws were elongated, his eyes black pits of rage, but when I looked at his attacker my face twisted as a wave of nausea slammed into me. Hazel eyes were piercing into my green ones and my body started to feel hot.
Natalie grabbed my arm as I staggered backward, my hand slowly rising to clutch at my chest. I felt like the world was caving in on me. I groaned and doubled over as the hazel-eyed man growled and his eyes turned black.
He attacked Xavier, the sound of them fighting only making me feel worse. Why was I getting sick right now?
"Stop them!" I yelled as Mathieu appeared on my other side. "What's going on?" The man swiped at Xavier and his claws dug into Xavier's side. "Stop!"
No one was listening to me. No one was even trying to stop the fight as Xavier grabbed the man by the throat and threw him down. More people were appearing around us, no doubt hearing the fight, but no one was doing anything.
The man got to his feet and my skin started to burn as he looked my way. A surge of pain racked my body and Natalie’s hold on my arm grew tighter. I looked down at my open palms as they began to shake violently before looking at the newcomer again, Xavier’s blood dripping from his claws.
My body suddenly felt numb, my legs growing weak.