Montana and Rufus sat in their cells on the small bench, exhausted and starving. They tried to sleep on the floor but were unsuccessful. All they had been brought to eat was some stale bread and warm water.They were granted a few visits from random vampires who came to taunt them, but that was the extent of any interaction.“Why do you think they’re keeping us here?” Rufus called over to Montana, who was sitting on the floor with his head in his hands.“I don’t know. To torture us a bit before they kill us like everyone else back at the house?”“But why? They don’t seem like they’d do anything without reason.”“Man, I don’t know. I just want to get out of this damned shed.” Montana aggressively kicked the side of it. Wanting nothing more than to just be free.Silence fell over them both. As much as they wanted out, they were welcomed with the harsh reality that there was no way out.Just as they were about to lie down for the night, they heard the door open.“Oh great.” Montana groan
Zoran helped teach her how to ride a horse, correcting her form and technique and trying to shape her into a perfect rider. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to use this knowledge often, but it’s useful to know just in case.He took her back inside for breakfast, telling her he had some work today for a couple of hours so she could wait in the library. She agreed, excited to explore a new room and be around new books.After they ate all their eggs, bacon, and pancakes, Zoran had one of his right-hand men lead her to the library while he took off to his office.June was amazed as she walked through the door. She was welcomed by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, packed with more books than she’s ever seen. It had multiple floors, each just like the last, with a large oak desk in the middle of the first floor with a computer and was accompanied by a small woman. The nameplate said, Marge. The entire room was just magnificent.The man led her inside and dropped her off, closing the door behind him
Alexis and Daisy pace outside the house. Rufus and Montana had not come back and the moon was now high overhead. They debated going and looking for them now but they knew the chances of finding them in the dark were slim. They were going to have to wait until morning.“What do you think happened to them?” Daisy was trying to hide her worry but it was starting to slip out.“I don’t know.. I hope they’re okay though.” Alexis was trying to comfort her friend, but she couldn’t help but worry herself.They stayed awake the rest of the night, waiting. Hoping. Praying. But the two never returned.The next day, as soon as the sun started to kiss the trees good morning, they decided to go and try to find them. They started out in the same direction Rufus and Montana had gone, afraid of what they might find.They searched and searched but couldn’t find any sign of their friends.They reached the edge of the forest line and saw the field with hills rolling behind it. They couldn’t see anything o
“I’d like to apologize.” Zoran started, making direct eye contact with June. She just looked at him, unsure how to respond. Was she supposed to just forgive him now?“Why don’t you take a walk with me? It rained last night and the flowers are even prettier than last time.”“Okay..” June got up, preparing herself for the day. She still felt awful about yesterday and really wanted to just curl up in a ball and sleep. But somehow she knew Zoran wasn’t going to allow that to happen.He helped her get ready and then led her down the stairs and outside, walking her through the garden. He was right, it had rained last night and everything looked a lot brighter. There was a rainbow peaking through the clouds and the air was rich with petrichor.They continued to walk through the flowers and trees until he stopped in front of a large walnut tree.“This tree has been around since the mansion was built, which was way back when I was a child.” June could tell the tree brought back good memories.
“Wh-what?” Was all June could get out.“My name is Hunter. Not Zoran.”“Why did you lie about your name? No one gives a shit about what your name is.” June wasn’t mad, just hurt that he waited this long to bring it up.“A lot of talk was going around about me being a bad guy-”“I don’t care! Why’d you wait til now to tell me? I’ve been here for like a week. I’ve slept in your BED. I agreed to be your damned girlfriend! And you never considered that maybe you should mention that you’ve lied about who you are??” She threw open her bedroom doors and grabbed one of the books off her bookshelf.“You can sleep here if you’d-”“No.” She stormed out of her room and headed to Hunter's room, leaving him back in hers.She sat on the bed and laid down, letting her feet hang off the end of the bed. Sighing, she closed her eyes, praying for sleep to just overtake her.Before that could happen, however, Hunter walked through the doors and sat on the bed next to her.“Junebug, can we please talk abou
Hunter woke up just as the sun was peeking in through the windows, the only source of heat coming from the lit fireplace. He rolled over and looked at June, who was still sleeping.He inched over to her, pressing his bare chest against her back, sharing his body heat with her. He snuggled his face into her neck, feeling her stir as she slowly woke up.“Good morning, my queen.” He whispered in her ear, his voice still groggy from sleeping.“Good morning.” She said as she reached for his hand that was on his waist and pulled it closer to her chin. “How’d you sleep?”“I always sleep well when I’m next to you.”“Oh, shut up. Stop buttering me up like a biscuit.”“Now why would I be doing that?” he asked with a smirk and a small chuckle.“You know why, you pervert.” she shot him a playful glance.They continued to snuggle for a few moments before June rolled over to face him, looking into his dark eyes that somehow radiated content and love.June took a deep breath. Finally, her heart felt
*two weeks later*June looked out over the garden, waiting for Hunter to return from work. She decided not to join him today, but he’s been gone for even longer these past few days, which, if she was being honest, frustrated her.She walked away from the large window and started pacing the floors. Normally he’d be back an hour ago, but she hadn’t heard or seen any sign of him returning any time soon.She took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart and panicked thoughts. She just wanted to be close to him. To hear his voice. To feel the warmth of his body heat as they lay close together. To smell the smell that he always carried.Her heart ached for his presence.And he felt the same way about her.Hunter couldn’t wait to get off of work and return to June. He hated being away from her, but he made sure only his best people were to serve her. It made the days tolerable, knowing she was at least taken good care of.He sighed as he looked over the mountain of paperwork that had
Hunter enters the room and sees June sitting on the bed surrounded by books. She looked up at him and sat up."It's a good thing you're back. I have some questions."He began unbuttoning his coat and looked at her with a raised eyebrow."Go ahead. Ask away.""I want to know about werewolves. You stopped me from picking out that book in the library, and I want to know why."Hunter froze and tilted his head back a bit, looking down his nose at the floor. He slid off his coat and hung it up, its royal blue almost distracting June from keeping eye contact.He let out a sigh and sat on the bed."We don't get along with werewolves, so there's nothing you need to know.""We as in who?" She shut the book she was reading and sat it aside, crossing her legs and sitting more upright."We as in vampires, June. It's a lot to explain now, and one day, I hope it will all make sense to you. But there was a battle, a war, years ago between vampires and werewolves. No one really won, but a truce was wr
They began the moving process almost immediately.There wasn't much work to be done for Hunter and June; the servants did most of the work, despite June's protest. Hunter allowed her to carry her suitcase, though, just to make her happy."How are you feeling?" Hunter came up behind her, bringing her into a small hug."I don't know yet. We haven't finished moving in," she said into his chest, a mix of emotions filling up inside her and threatening to spill out."Well, I mean so far. How are you feeling so far? About the move and everything."June took a deep breath. "Well, I'm excited, I'll admit that much. It'll be a nice change, and I think I'll enjoy the coziness of this place a lot more..." she started."But..." Hunter started for her."But... I will also admit that I'm nervous about the change. It's a big one and I had just gotten used to the castle and how things worked there.""Don't worry about it, okay?" Hunter rested his head on top of hers, bringing her in tighter. "It'll be
The next few days, June took good care of Hunter. She brought him everything he could need and used all her strength and magic to ensure he was healing as fast as possible.“Junebug, I’m all better now.” Hunter could finally walk and run freely now that his health was normal.“I know, I know. I’m just worried about you.” June mumbled as she sat a platter of dishes down on a nearby table.“Well, don’t be. I’m just fine,” he assured her with a soft kiss before heading back toward the bed.“June, do you like it here?” he asked after a few moments of complete silence.“I mean, yeah,” June answered, surprised by the question.“No, I mean really. Do you like living here? Or would you rather live somewhere... smaller?” he turned to face her, watching her reaction.She sat down and back in her chair, thinking about the question.“I would enjoy living someplace homier, but there’s nothing wrong with here. As long as I’m with you, I’m happy.” she turned and smiled at him, hoping her answer was
June returned to the bedroom, frantically looking around for something that would be personal to both of them.Looking under the bed, she found her personal box that she put her favorite things in, like pretty stones she found while walking and little notes that Hunter would sometimes write her if he knew he'd be working late.Inside, there was also a watch. A watch that Hunter's father gave him when he was young, and he gave it to June so she could keep track of time when he was gone.Gently picking it up, she remembered the moment he pulled it out and told her how important it was to him. Once he handed it to her, she handled it with the utmost care. Not wanting to lose or damage it, she put it in her box and slipped it under the bed, bringing it out only when she was missing him.She closed her eyes and cherished that memory, holding the watch close to her chest. Then she took a deep breath and took off running back towards the magic room."Here!" she declared as she busted through
There they were.Three black fang spiders.June had only read about them in one of the books Hunter had in his room back on earth but now she was looking one right in the eye. Or rather, eyes. It had eight.They looked like a spider in the sense of the eyes and the long, sharp legs. They had claws that poked out on the sides of their faces and they were covered in ugly hair. It looks almost like a beat-up chihuahua bred with a spider. It had four fangs instead of the standard two normal spiders would have and was twice the size of the average human.Once June made eye contact with the first one, she felt like she was swirling and suddenly she was back in her childhood bedroom.She stood there all alone, staring at the locked door as she could hear laughter from below. She was only four years old and forced to sit out of her older brother's birthday party because she asked who the gifts were for.Later that night, her brother would try and sneak her a slice of cake, which she would enj
The next day, June woke up and rolled over, noticing Lucas sleeping in the far corner.Her head throbbed from the crying the night before, and the cold weather bit at her face. She knew the temperature was going to be dropping soon, but it seemed colder than she expected. More lonely.She longed to be back at the castle, laying in bed while the fireplace filled the room with a comforting warmth, reaching over and giving her lover a morning hug. She bit the tears back and threw the covers back, jumping up.Walking over, she lightly tapped Lucas with her foot."Hey, wake up. We need to get going." she was already slipping on her warmest pair of pants as Lucas slowly stood."How did you sleep?" he asked kindness in his eyes."Forget about it. Just get ready." June zipped up her coat and stepped outside the tent, getting her horse ready as Lucas got prepared to go. They took the tents down and made sure the fire was out completely before they got on their horses and took off.Making their
June and Lucas make their way through the trees, dodging branches and avoiding fallen logs."So June, how did the King find you?" Lucas broke the silence.June took a deep breath."He tracked me down somehow. I don't know.""Why do you think he chose you? He put a lot at risk doing that, ya know?""Lucas, shut up. I don't want to hear it.""Sorry. I just figured since we'd be spending the next few days alone we should at least communicate, maybe even get to know each other a bit." Lucas responded, defeated."I'm not going to fuck you now that my fiance is dead," she said coldly, causing Lucas to panic."No! No, that's not- That's not what I was trying to do. I swear!""Oh shut up and keep riding before I decide to kill myself instead."Lucas kept his eyes forward, afraid to speak another word."We need to set up camp. Go on ahead and see if you see any clearings we could use." June called out for Lucas.Lucas did as he told, finding a small clearing that was just big enough for their
June fell onto the floor of the room she was dragged into. She grabbed handfuls of her hair and screamed."My lady-""Shut the fuck up!" she screamed at the poor servant who was just trying to bring her comfort."My lady, is there anything I can do?" he asked, concerned about her mental state."Get me, Marge. Now." she demanded as she leaned onto the wall with her hands."Right away, my lady." the servant ran off, leaving June alone with her thoughts.There had to be a way to bring him back. If she could heal him and kill thousands with a wave of her hand, there had to be a way to bring him back. She was going to do whatever it took.There was a knock on the door as Marge entered."You called?" she asked, noticing June's poor state. "I heard what happened, and I must say-""Bring him back." she commanded, turning to face Marge."I'm sorry, dear. I can't.""Bullshit. There's got to be a way. Some kind of resurrection spell." June insisted.Marge sighed."You're right. There is a way. B
Seeing Hunter like that sent a new level of rage through her.Screaming, she raised her hands and quickly brought them down, the power of the spell knocking everyone to the ground, and killing every werewolf within 300 feet. She rushed over to Hunter.He lay in his own blood, losing more with each second that passed.He had been bitten on his side. The wound looked horrible, and Hunter himself didn't look much better. It was obvious he had lost a lot of blood. June panicked. Tears started falling as she knelt down beside him. She did the only thing she knew to do.Use her magic.She held her hands above the injury, trying every healing spell she knew. It was starting to seal the wound, but he had still lost a lot of blood. She took a deep breath, getting tired from using all this magic but refusing to give up."Junebug." Hunter reached up and held her arm.June paused for a second, slowly looking down at him. His eyes were filled with tears and pain."It's over.""No, don't say that.
June could sense them getting close, and decided to practice the spell that Marge had taught her in the library. It took her a few tries, but she finally got it and watched as the werewolves were carefully walking through the trees. They were coming from every direction, which she immediately warned Hunter about.“It looks like they’ve gotten a lot closer. We’re most likely going to see this fight first thing tomorrow.” she said, taking note that it was becoming nightfall, and they were bound to stop and rest.Hunter nodded that he understood, and took off to tell everyone else to have their guard up. There were to be people standing guard twenty-four-seven now, all around the castle and inside.Everyone obeyed his orders, rushing to get to their place. June knew she should be getting ready for bed, resting up for tomorrow. But she couldn’t. Something was off. Something told her they wouldn’t wait until tomorrow to attack.She tried the spell again and noticed that they were making pr