Felix sighed, his chin resting on his open palm while feasting on the annoyingly breathtaking view of the evergreens through the broken window and the orange sun slowly sinking towards the horizon. Cold breeze rushed by and grazed his cheek. The weather was cold yet comfortable. And while he let his scrambled thoughts roam free, Enzo Bennet's voice rang in his head, "Sorry, kid. After Ash and I barely managed to escape, we couldn't find anyone else."
He was only doing so much because he wanted to do something for James, not because he wanted to meet his parents himself though he was admittedly curious. But so far, as it began to feel like they were already nearing a dead end so early into their search, the disappointment was much more than he expected.
Just before he could fully drown in his thoughts, his ears picked up on the sound of hesitant footsteps clacking against the old floor tiles. He craned his neck slightly to peek over his shoulder and saw Addie
Felix tightened his fists and threw his head back in pleasure, just enough for him to still be able to comfortably watch Addie moving her hips against his. She had positioned herself on top of him, her eyes closed and her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. His vision was getting blurrier and blurrier, his head filling up with a lot more pheromones than he was used to. His body ached so much for her that if it weren't for the sleeves of her turtleneck shirt tying his wrists to the headboard, he would've long wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her body up against his to feel the warmth of her nakedness on his chest. The knot wasn't tight though. It was sloppy and half-undone at that point. But freeing himself from it would earn him a rather frightening glare from Addie. He learned that the hard way a few moments ago. He heard her let out yet another soft moan before feeling her nails digging deeper into his skin. A thin film of sweat made her body glisten un
"These are too fancy," Felix complained as he adjusted his cuff. His jacket and slacks were a touch too big on his above average human frame. "I don't like the thought of wearing stolen clothes, either." "Those aren't stolen!" Ethan replied with a huge grin. He was wearing an even fancier set of clothing accompanied by a ridiculous amount of golden jewelry around his neck, fingers, and wrists. "That kind man let you use it. You should be grateful!" He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. He gave us clothes…after Enzo threatened him!" "Geez, if you want to get out of those clothes so much, then do a good job out there." "I know. You don't have to tell me." "So, Ash and I went to town earlier this morning to shop," Enzo began to explain. After sharing a brief eye contact with the latter, he continued, "And we found out something that might give us a lead about Isabella and Hayes' whereabouts." "Did you b
"Kid, meet Lance. He's a friend." Felix slowly turned to the man with his persistently warm smile. It was the first genuine smile he'd seen among the guests that night. "Uhh. Hi." "Hello, I'm Lance," he replied with a wave. Then, all of a sudden, he gasped in shock and his smile dropped, which caught both Felix and Ethan off-guard. Slowly, he took small steps towards him, his hands trembling slightly and stretched out to him. The gesture was strange so he backed away a little. With an awkward laugh, he said, "Excuse me, you're kinda…freaking me out here." One would expect that Lance would stop right then, but he didn't. He continued advancing with the same look of disbelief on his face while Ethan could only watch in confusion at their baffling exchange. As he got closer, Felix noticed the tears welling up in the corner of his eyes that glimmered under the moonlight. The sight bemused him even more and left him frozen on his spot. At last, he
"So, where's Addie?" "Oh…" Enzo mumbled without turning around to face Felix. His eyes remained peeled on the scenery outside through the passenger seat's window. "She said she'd rather wait for us back there." "Did she tell you why?" "Nope," he shook his head. "But maybe she just wanted to rest. I already gave her some medicine, don't worry." "Medicine? What medicine?” Enzo then squirmed a little in his seat to fish out a small bottle that contained some red pills of seemingly uneven sizes and shapes—most likely homemade—from his back pocket. The thought made Felix shudder out of worry, but he immediately convinced himself that they were probably safe if someone like Enzo took them. "Yep. It may not look like it but these are safe and they work," he replied as he shook the bottle before squirming in his seat yet again to put it back into his pock
"Ah, I see…" Enzo said in between hysterical laughter, his hands clutching his stomach. The guards sprang into action and pointed their weapons at him, waiting for Chester Bennet's command to shoot. "You coveted my father's position in the pack, so you took advantage of the chaos, and then—I see, I see…" Chester Bennet replied through gritted teeth and deep frown lines, "You watch your mouth, boy!" "But the Bennets were already ruined years before you sent that attack," Enzo continued to mutter disobediently, traces of amusement still evident in his tone. His vacant eyes w ere fixated on the empty space in front of him as if he was watching a distant memory replay right then. "So tell me, dear uncle, just what did you gain from it?" Chester Bennet didn't speak. Felix peeled his gaze off of Enzo to look at the man, anticipating his answer, only to find him frozen and silent. His eyes were wide in terror and his frown only got deeper and deeper. Even fr
"At long last." Felix opened his eyes upon hearing a small feminine voice. But instead of the source, he found himself alone in an empty room that seemed to go on forever. Everything was white and bright. The back of his eyeballs pulsated painfully, but after a few blinks, he managed to fully adjust to it. "Who's there?" The natural reaction was to be scared. But the voice that called out to him was gentle and comforting. It sounded familiar to him although he was certain he hadn't heard it before. Carefully, he took a step forward and then another upon making sure that the impossibly white floor was solid. "No one," the voice answered. "I am not here." He tilted his head in confusion. "Then, how are you able to talk to me if you're not?" The voice went silent for a moment. He continued walking towards one direction, unsure of what exactly lies after the seemingly endless patch
The ride was rather awkward. Naturally, Felix and Dylan were seated together. After their tearful reunion, they tried to talk in the van while Lance drove them to the Bennets' old estate, but everything felt forced. They rarely shared eye contact, and small talk took up most of their conversation. But I guess this isn’t so bad considering all those years lost, Felix thought to himself while casting a glance at his father sitting on his right through the corner of his eyes. There was something regal about Dylan Hayes that just made it difficult for him to bite down the strong urge to stare at him in awe. Despite wearing a blood-stained jacket that was a tad too tight on his burly physique, he held himself with grace and elegance. He looked away and smiled a little, That's an alpha, alright. "How about your injuries…" Felix began to say, and Dylan turned his head to look at him. Then, bending down to reach for the duffle bag he remembered stuf
Felix didn't even know how things happened so fast. All he knew was that they managed to get into one of the rooms, just a few doors down where the makeshift operating room was, without taking their lips and hands off of each other. He pressed her body closer to his while Addie's fingers found their way to his dark locks. His heart thumped loudly in anticipation, and there was no doubt that she felt the same way, too. After locking the door behind him, he quickly scanned the room they were in. The windows were in good shape—just slight cracks here and there, but they still blocked the cold wind outside— and there was no bed. In one corner, where it normally would have been, was a large leather couch with patches of multi-colored cloth. Addie looked up at him, out of breath. "Why'd you stop?" "I was just…" he trailed off upon noticing the almost absent look on her face, as if she was intoxicated. He placed his hands on her shoulders and bent down to meet her e
Felix watched the cherry blossom trees through the window. A book that he was supposed to read sat on his lap, but the last thing he wanted to do was study. The weather seemed too nice to spend the day doing something as exhausting as studying. If his tutor would allow him so, he would’ve run out to the grassy field outside and laid down as pink petals rain over him while he admired the clear skies. He heard the door creak open and he failed to suppress his groan. Begrudgingly, he took his book and opened it to a random page to pretend that he had been doing what he was supposed to be doing all this time. “It’s been a while.” He looked up from the page he was staring at and found Addie hovering by the doorway. She was wearing a dress and light makeup while a small smile hung on her lips. It was his first time seeing her in a couple of months, and in such garb at that! Felix let his book fall onto the floor as he jumped out of his seat to run to her. A
“So, you’re still not over that plan of yours to convince humans to cooperate with us?” Addie questioned Enzo with a raised eyebrow. She sighed and leaned against the backrest of her chair. “I thought we were going to use the high-security personnel? They don’t hire humans for that.” “You see, that security team’s strength is in numbers,” the werewolf began to explain. “They are excellent individually, of course. But their strength is amplified by much because they work as a single unit.” “And so?” “Dylan. Ash. Ethan,” he said as he raised a finger for each name before pointing a thumb at himself. “And me. We’re going to be taking them on one-by-one, as much as we can.” Felix gasped in amazement. “Wow, really?” “Yes. Then…” he leaned towards the table, pressing his palms against it for support. His red eyes glinted with mischief, just as it always did whenever he comes up with an idea he’s confi
Addie took a cautious step back into the hut. At the opposite corner of the room, she found her father sitting on the floor with his hands handcuffed behind him. She expected Felix to at least land a punch, but surprisingly, Mr. Barlowe was unscathed. She wasn’t certain whether Felix being able to overwhelm her father by his pheromones alone was frightening or impressive. The scent of familiar pheromones still lingered in the air, but it wasn’t enough to make it difficult to breathe. To her right, she saw Felix opening a window to air out the room. She then removed her helmet and goggles to properly meet his gaze. “Hey,” he said with a small smile. With a tilt of his head, he gestured towards Mr. Barlowe who was sitting silently in the corner. “If you want to talk to him, you should do so before he passes out.” That’s when Addie realized that Felix had deliberately avoided leaving any noticeable injury on her father out of consideration for her. She smiled ba
Addie realized that it became easier to breathe. Her lungs didn’t burn and the lightheadedness was gone. She took a deep breath and true enough, Felix had stopped emitting his pheromones. He was only a half-blood but his pheromones could easily overwhelm full-blooded werewolves. She shuddered to think about just how strong his father, Dylan Hayes, was. “Do you feel better now?” Felix looked up at her, his eyes back to their ordinarily dark hue. Without the golden eyes, his features were prominently Isabella’s. “Yes. Thank you.” Then, they pulled away from the hug. He thought about how nice it felt while it lasted and was guilty for thinking that his sudden pheromone outburst had at least amounted to something. Felix grabbed his goggles and helmet that were left abandoned on the dirty floor moments prior to put them back on. But just when he was about to, Addie spoke. “About earlier…” His hands froze and he felt her gaze on him, but for some re
It had only been a few months but the nostalgia hit Felix harder than he expected. It was difficult to properly look at the familiar poorly maintained streets and shanties through the dark tint of the van windows and his oversized goggles as they drove through. There were a bunch of stalls and carts set up on either side of the road, just as it always did at this time of the year. Though many were still skeptical about the whole werewolf-human coexistence propaganda, it had become a tradition to treat the presidential visit in the outskirts as some kind of a festival. Some stalls had a display of an assortment of homemade delicacies while others advertised fun games. Felix remembered running around the neighborhood as a child with a few loose change in his pocket. All the games and food made him excited so James would make him wear contact lenses despite his protests. When he grew older, they would have their own business set up on the road instead of celebrating. Ei
“It might snow today.” Felix turned to his right and found Addie. She had her head tilted up to join him in staring at the night sky. Thick, gray clouds made it impossible to see a single star. “Seems so.” “You nervous?” She craned her neck to meet his gaze. He should’ve felt embarrassed to be caught staring, but he kept the eye contact, letting himself drown into her now -familiar silvery eyes. Addie stared back, a small smile slowly making its way to her lips, “You’re nervous.” “Does it show?” “Yes,” Addie held up a hand to cup his face. Gently, she grazed his cheekbone with her thumb. “Your eyes turned yellow again.” She had her hair up into a ponytail and he wondered whether the cold wasn’t bothering her at all, so his gaze trailed down to her red ears then to her bare neck. Wordlessly, he took off his scarf and wrapped it around her. She seemed to be surprised at the gesture but grateful nonetheless. It was the scarf his mother ha
Isabella’s bullet wound had reduced into an almost-scar. There was still some noticeable redness and swelling on her skin, but she already regained full mobility on her right arm. Nonetheless, when she decided to finally get out of bed that morning, Dylan insisted on assisting her. Despite finding his concern flattering, she couldn’t help but get slightly annoyed at the exaggeration of it all. Craning her head to her left, she cocked a brow at her lover who had a strong arm snaked around her waist to support half of her body weight as she walked. “Dylan, my injury is on my shoulder. Even if my wound isn’t healed yet, I can still walk just fine on my own.” It took a few weeks for his pheromones to heal her wound as the bullet was lodged quite deeply into her flesh, almost penetrating through her back. But for a human, that was already more than impressive. “But…” he looked back at her with a frown and an adorable subtle pout. “What if you fall and hit
“You should live on without me.” Dylan’s voice echoed in her ears, drowning out the sound of the breeze blowing and the curtains flapping. Amidst her shock, she only had enough strength to slowly shake her head and say, “No. I-I don’t want to.” “Without my pheromones, the first few months would be difficult,” he smiled wider as he explained, but the bitterness in it and in his voice was still evident. “But since you’re human, your body can adjust to it slowly.” No, that’s not what I meant, she thought. Tears blurred her vision, and the painful lump in her throat didn’t allow her voice to come out. Isabella wanted to argue or move to embrace him and keep him from leaving. How can I live without you? He cupped her face and wiped away her tears with a thumb. His touch was gentle…too gentle. It felt as if he was paranoid about bruising her skin again. “After all, this bond wasn’t meant to happen in the first place.” His
The sound of the gates creaking open gave Isabella the strength to snap out of her fear and push Lucas away. She spotted a familiar figure standing by the gates through her peripheral view and she swore she felt her heart drop to her stomach right then. Slowly, she turned her head and, true enough, Dylan was right there, out of breath and shooting daggers at Lucas with his dark eyes. Lucas, confused and annoyed at the interference, followed her line of vision and found the werewolf standing a few yards away from where they sat. He sighed and stood up, returning the same menace he was giving him. “I assume your Isabella’s husband?” “D-Dylan…” Lucas briefly looked at her past his shoulder before scoffing at him. “‘Dylan’? I heard people around here call you ‘Kent’.” Dylan didn’t bother replying. He turned his gaze to Isabella, who remained frozen in fear on her blanket, and took brisk steps towards her. He noticed how her eyes darkened with his every st