by Idella Breen
“I guess that’s the best I can get from you, but if it starts to become dangerous for either of you, I would recommend you use your vacation time. Just until the blood bond is complete. After that your wolf will be more manageable, though not entirely immune to jealously.”
Cait nodded and stood, carefully picking up Snow in her arms, as if she weighed nothing. The girl frowned until she was securely against Cait’s chest again, to which she quickly buried her nose into the woman’s neck.
“Well, I don’t see anything else we need to talk about or at least nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow. I’m tired and it’s late.”
Gwen hesitated before asking the question she had been dreading asking since she realized they were running out of things to talk about. “Will you be sleeping here?”
Cait paused as if she had suddenly realized the situation. “I…”
“I’m not saying you can’t. Believe me when I say I understand, but if you’re going to stay here then I would like to invite myself over for the night as well. For safety of course. I would also recommend that you sleep on the couch.”
Cait huffed. “For safety?”
“Of course.” Gwen smiled.
“I don’t think I can leave if I’m being honest.”
“Then I can stay?”
“Yeah. I would like that.”
Remus muttered as he and the other werewolves filed out of the apartment. The two other women hugged Gwen before leaving, and the two other men sent her a nod of respect, before following Remus out. The alpha left in a huff and didn’t even say goodbye. Cait didn’t blame him. She had made his wolf submit to her own and she had scared it even if the man was fascinated by the power. Men like Remus could be dangerous if they weren’t managed correctly. He may not be in her clan, but she knew how to manage his type. She had met many like him in her past. Men that wanted to claim the power of a Fallon for their own. She would never submit again.
***
When Snow woke, it was to an empty feeling. It wasn’t the usual kind of empty that let her know she needed to eat breakfast, but the empty feeling that made her feel like something was missing. She yawned and stood from her bed after pushing the covers away. Despite having just woke she still felt exhausted. What had happened yesterday? She wondered as she left her bedroom. The brunette didn’t remember climbing into bed. The empty feeling lessened as she came closer to the living room, and her heart skipped a beat when her brown eyes settled on the woman sleeping on her couch. The woman's mane of red locks was mused into a bird's nest that she was sure her own mirrored, and the werewolf was sleeping in her bra, along with a pair of booty shorts with the word, ‘Pink,' written across the ass. She was sleeping on her stomach and must have gotten hot in the middle of the night as she had kicked the blanket off.
Snow couldn’t help being struck by the beauty the woman on her couch exuded. Every cell in the brunette's body called for her to move forward and touch the redhead as if she as a moth being called to the flame. She found herself moving towards the woman, and before she could stop the curiosity of wanting to see if the tan flesh was as soft as it looked, she ran her fingers lightly along Cait’s spine. The werewolf’s skin erupted in goose bumps, and Snow knew her own ability to turn things into ice, and being able to freeze things, was leaking out of her. Her hands must have become colder as she touched Cait, but the woman was so hot, and she wanted to feel the heat cover her. Surround her. She splayed her hand across the werewolf’s back and trailed it down the woman's spine again, this time getting a real feel of the softness of her skin. The warmth shot straight up her arm and settled comfortingly in her chest. Cait mumbled and made a move to turn over. Promptly falling off the couch.
Snow giggled as she watched the werewolf look around confused as to what had happened. Snow stopped laughing when the red head’s electric blue orbs settled on her and filled with mischief. The girl didn’t have a chance as the woman tackled her to the ground, cushioning their fall, and flipped the brunette over so she straddled her waist.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Cait growled.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Yes you did, and now I’m going to punish you.” Cait grinned as she lifted her hands.
Snow shivered. “How?”
“Like this!” Suddenly, fingers were tickling her down her sides, and Snow laughed uncontrollably as she tried to fend off the onslaught from her attacker.
“Sto- Stop- I- can’t- stop!”
“I can’t hear you. You have to speak louder.” Cait sang as she continued her attack. Cait’s hands wondered until she hit a soft spot down Snow’s side, the girl let out a moan of pleasure. Cait paused and touched the spot again, slowly. It was between the girl's left breast and her first rib. Snow moaned again. Her face flushed, and her eyes closed as her whole body tensed. The red head couldn’t stop herself. The girl beneath her was too irresistible, and she longed to elicit more sounds from her. She bent down and captured Snow’s lips. At first, the girl was unsure, but the warmth from the woman above her lured her in. The brunette found herself responding to the kiss, to the feeling behind it, and to the way it made her feel as if she was irresistible. She slanted her mouth against Cait’s to try and take control, and when the werewolf asked for entrance, Snow denied it. Cait trailed her fingers down to the sensitive spot eliciting a gasp, Cait entered her mouth, claiming it. Their tongues slid against each other and Snow found herself giving into the feelings and the heat. She moaned again and deepened the kiss.
A loud clanging sound rang out cutting through the daze the couple had found themselves in. Cait growled as she jerked away from Snow to meet the perceived threat only to stop when her gaze met Gwen’s. The blond woman was smiling while holding a pot and the spatula she had been banging against it to make the sound. Snow groaned and hid her face in embarrassment behind her hands.
“Time to get ready for school!” Gwen sang, and she banged the pot a few more times for added effect.
Cait sighed, climbed off of Snow, and stood helping the embarrassed girl to her feet. “We better get ready. We don’t want to be late to class.” She admitted begrudgingly.
The brunette could only nod and watch as Cait went to her duffel bag, pulling out some clothes from it, before heading to the bathroom. How the woman knew her way around her apartment she wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t find it in herself to mind.
“Come on Snow. You need to get ready as well. Cait said the bus comes at seven thirty and it’s already seven. You still need to eat breakfast and brush your teeth.” Gwen chirped as she ushered the girl back towards her bedroom. Snow couldn’t help her cheeks flushing in embarrassment. Her skin was so pale it was impossible to hide.
“Make sure you change your underwear!” Gwen sang out as she retreated down the hallway and Snow erupted in a full body flush. Why couldn’t a hole just open up in the ground and swallow her whole? She wondered as she pulled open her panty drawer.
Chapter 4
To say homeroom was awkward was an understatement. Snow could feel Cait’s presence as if it was part of her no matter where she went. It didn’t help that people kept giving her strange looks as she walked down the hallway. She didn’t understand it. She knew that Cait was back in homeroom as she walked to her next morning class. The brunette could feel exactly where the woman was at all time, but at the same time, she also felt like the werewolf was with her, as if part of the werewolf had become part of her own being.
I’ll have to ask Gwen about it later, she thought. Snow also couldn’t help feeling like a cold glare was following her throughout the day as well. It felt like it was boring holes through her wherever she went, but every time she glanced around, no one was paying attention to her. Well, besides the puzzled looks she kept getting from the more animalistic monsters, like the kitsune and the dog demons. She sniffed her clothing a few times but she smelt like she always did, though there was a softer smell of rainwater that she knew to be Cait’s, that clung to h
er as well.
By the time lunch had rolled around she was beginning to get really annoyed of the stares and whispers. She snapped at a dog demon as he sniffed while walking past her to the lunch line.
“Do I smell or something?”
The boy looked startled but paused to study her for a moment. “Not really.”
“Then why do people keep sniffing me and staring at me?”
His face scrunched up. “You kind of smell funny.”
“What? Like what?”
He thought for a minute before answering. “You smell dangerous.”
Snow frowned. “What?”
“Yeah, you smell like power. An old power. It’s hard to explain, but my instincts are telling me to be careful around you.”
“Oh.”
The boy frowned then proceeded to cut her in the lunch line. Snow frowned but decided to let him. She didn’t want to start a fight. It would turn out bad for whoever she fought because she was sure Cait would step in whether she was close by, or whether she had to run from the teacher’s lounge to help her. Snow frowned. This was all so crazy, and it was happening so fast. Like lightening fast. She barely had time to think it all through.
She never imagined that a rebellious act of transferring schools, so she could experience the high school life that her parents had, would lead to her being pursued by a werewolf. The thing that scared her the most was that she didn’t mind that Cait was pursuing her. Actually, it made her feel really good. It was like having a loyal friend alway close by. Someone she could count on or turn to no matter what, someone that would love her unconditionally. The brunette had never felt such a strong connection to someone.
Snow never admitted it to her parents, but she had never really fit in at her old school. The other monsters had given her a wide berth. She always had just thought it was because of who her grandmother was, but after yesterday when that harpy attacked her, leaving a gash on her head as she called her a half-blood, she was beginning to wonder if they had made her an outcast due to something else. The girl didn’t know what a half-blood was exactly. She hated to admit it, but she had been homeschooled most of her life as her parents were extremely protective of her. The brunette reached up to touch the gash; that would probably leave a scar, only to feel smooth skin where it had been. Confused, she ran her hand along the other side of her face. Nothing.
Snow ran out of the lunchroom, her heart in her throat, and into the first bathroom, she came across, going straight to the mirror. She gazed confused at her reflection. It was gone. The gash was gone. When had it healed? She didn’t have supernatural healing powers. She could only control ice and the cold. Otherwise, she was basically human. Snow had a frown on her face as she left the bathroom only to bump into someone. Catching her balance on the wall, she looked up to apologize, only to have the words catch in her throat. It was the boy from yesterday. The one with red eyes. The vampire.
He stared at her, studying her. The brunette had the vague feeling that this had been the cold gaze she had felt following her all day. She shuddered as her heartbeat pick up.
“Your name is Snow.” It was a statement.
She didn’t answer.
“You are human.”
Another statement.
He studied her with his cold gaze. Almost like a scientist would look into a microscope.
“You don’t scare me.”
This puzzled her. “What?”
“I was warned about you and your dog. I’m not scared of either of you.” He said as he advanced on her, and pushed her up against the wall. Snow’s heart was pounding in her chest. She was afraid it would burst from the cavity if it didn’t slow down. This boy was dangerous. Everything inside of her wanted to lash out. She could feel the temperature dropping around them, and a thin layer of frost coated the hand he reached out to touch her neck with.
“Cute trick, but I could break your neck in a second if I wanted to.”
Snow shuddered.
“I won’t. Not because I was told to simply watch you, but because it would ruin the game, and I do love a good game. When you’re ready, and it will be soon, we will move our first piece. A pawn perhaps. I’m the knight. You have to earn my tortures. Both of you do. But let me warn you that I won’t ever let you reach the king or queen. You and your dog are unworthy of such an honor. I don’t care what the good book says. I will be the one to end the both of you.”
The boy stood back and sneered at her. He wiped the frost off of his hand and walked down the hallway leaving Snow to sag down the wall. She was so confused. Who was that boy? Why did he say those things? What did he mean? Snow couldn’t help the sting of tears that burned a trail down her cold cheeks. The connection told her that Cait was getting closer and quickly. She wanted the woman, and she wanted the werewolf to make her feel safe again, she wanted Cait.
***
Cait refused to let Snow go home by bus. Instead, she drove her back to the girl's apartment, and once there, she refused to leave her side.
“Cait, I’m fine now. You can go home.” Snow said from where she sat on the love seat. Cait wanted to sit next to the girl but didn’t want to crowd her.
“I’ll wait until Gwen gets here.”
Snow frowned. “Are you going to spend the night again? You don’t have to. I’ll be fine.”
“Tell me what happened at school.”
“I told you what happened. I was startled that the gash from the harpy disappeared and when I left the bathroom some jerk knocked me down in the hallway.”
Cait studied her carefully. She wasn’t stupid. She had smelt vampire on her mate. Not just any vampire. A dark blood. The worst kind of vampire. They practiced dark magic and tended to torture their prey before killing them. Cait especially despised dark bloods. Most people did, but with her is was personal. She crossed her arms across her chest and just stared at her mate. Willing her to tell the whole truth.
“Cait you can go-“ A knock at the door interrupted them. The werewolf smiled and stood up. Gwen greeted her when she opened the door.
“Good evening girls! I brought movies and popcorn. I thought we could have a movie night now that’s it’s finally the weekend.”
Cait smiled and led the other werewolf into the living room.
“We can do that, but first, I need your to help me.”
“With what?” Gwen looked between the two women. “Did something happen at school?”
“Smell her.”
The blond looked puzzled before taking a deep breath. She gasped and moved to get closer to the girl. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you? Did he hurt you? What happened at school?”
Snow fended off the prodding fingers. “I’ll tell you what I told Cait; I’m fine.”
“So the dark blood didn’t do anything to you? His scent is all over you.” Gwen asked as her hands stilled.
“Dark blood?” The brunette asked as a sinking feeling filled her gut. So that’s how Cait knew something had happened. She smelt it on her. It really was hard to hide things from a werewolf.
Gwen frowned. “You were really sheltered as a child weren’t you?”
Snow blushed. “Well, excuse me!”
“It’s not her fault. Her parents had to…” Cait trailed off as she realized what she had let slip.
Snow was the first to ask. “You know my parents?”
Cait shrugged and shifted from foot to foot. “Kind of. Who doesn’t.”
“You seem to know them personally,” Gwen stated.
“I met them in passing.”
“But what you just said made it sound like you knew them well,” Snow asked. Suspicion was sneaking into her as doubt.
“Did you know them?” Gwen asked point blank.
Cait didn’t want to lie. She wasn’t above it, but she didn’t want to lie to Snow. She needed to get the girl to trust her more.
She sighed. “Fine, yes I know you, parents. I know them very well actually.”
“How?” Snow
demanded.
“That’s a little more complicated to answer, but the short answer is that I met them through your grandmother.”
Snow frowned. She felt like there was something she was forgetting. Something her grandmother had told her a long time ago. She shook it off in favor of asking more questions. “How did you know my grandmother?”
“Now that is a very long story, and I don’t feel like telling it right now. Maybe some other time.”
Snow opened her mouth to protest, but Gwen turned to her. “Who is your grandmother, Snow? She must be very old to know Cait.”
“When she was alive she was known as Lidia Bennett.”
Gwen gasped and dropped down into a kneel. “I am truly among greatness. It is an honor.”
Snow frowned. She would never become used to this reaction, despite it having occurred ever since she was little, it always made her uncomfortable. “Don’t Gwen. You don’t have to kneel to me. I moved here to get away from that. I’m just Snow here.”
Gwen looked up puzzled. “But your Lidia Bennett’s only grandchild. She ended the great war between monsters and humans.”
“She was just my grandmother. I’m nothing great like her. What I want to know is how you know my family, Cait?”
“Why?”
“Are you a friend of my grandmother or my mother?”
“I guess you could say both. Though, I wouldn’t call me much of a friend. I was more like a curse.”
Something clicked in Gwen’s mind as she thought Cait’s words over, as well as the stories of the red head, that had been passed down through Gwen’s clan.
“Was she your savior?” Gwen suddenly blurted out, and both Snow and Cait looked to her.
“What?” Snow asked.
“I asked if she was the savior of the only Fallon survivor. Lidia the Benevolent. It was a story passed down through my clan about the Fallon’s massacre.”
Cait frowned. “You speak so lightly of it, but yes, she was the one that saved me on that night but at her own cost.”