"Button my shirt." Came the order in a hoarse whisper which made bursts of electricity run laps up and down Vanessa's spine. His lips were only an inch away from her face and she knew he intentianlly kept them this close, he loved seeing her reaction. Vanessa wanted to keep a straight face but her fingers shook and fumbled as she started to button his shirt. The tips of her fingers rubbed agaisnt his rock hard abs and she was all of a sudden out of breadth.She wanted to slap herself for thinking so sinfully. 'He is my master. He has hired me as his maid, that's it. There is nothing more.'She didn't realize that her entire body was shaking slightly at this point, so much so that her master Noah had to slide two strong arms around her waist to steady her.
Thin veiled curtains whooshed, swaying to the beat inside the club. The pavement right outside covered by plethora of bodies, in tight mufflers and trench coats; shielding their warmth from bone deep cold. Once inside, the modest protection clothes shed like snake skin to reveal ardently doned revealing silk dresses and tight tuxes. It was a week before Halloween, and instead of preparing for it, Right Vices, lone club in this area blared busy.Inside, the cold didn't stand a chance. People merged into each other over the canvas of disco lights, no one could walk a safe distance without tripping over on the dance floor. The bar on the far left side stood relatively peaceful, plagued by mostly customers who couldn’t separate alcohol from their blood, now that it was 1 a.m. and they had piss-drunk themselves.
The back office was, self-understood, at the very back. The front of the club might entertain clowns of all sorts. At the back, evenly designed corridors reprimanded business with every strike of shoe bottom on the black and white chessboard tiles. Had the hallway always been this long or time had slowed down, thought Vanessa? She had been only twice summoned to the back office since she started a year ago. Never in the middle of her shift. Her lungs reached for air, if she was called like this, it must be not good. Her fatigue traveled the other way when she was headed for the office. Adrenaline thickened the silence in her ears and sweat built underneath her collar. She twisted her hands to keep the pace even. The lights above illuminated two men sitting on either side of the door. Both wolves. Her wolf hissed in return. F
“Jerks! Turds. You filthy turds! I should’ve roofied your drinks!” her scream tore to the laments of frigid quietness. She threw her nameplate tag at Makhail’s feet, tearing her shirt a little in the process. The rip in her shirt from the safety pin had punctured the skin below her collar bone. A small red dot oozed on the skin, forcing Mikhail’s attention there. Vanessa then did the most unlikely thing, she hissed. And she could see Mikhail’s eyes widen to the sound her vocal cords could produce so well.Her anger mingled with hurt when she caught his eyes on the sliver of skin she showed. She knew he wasn’t checking her out. Ryder gave preferential treatment to girls who could at least reach his lips
The letters' content were not surprising, not in the least. So she wasted no time, sought out her best looking formal attires, laid them all on her bed. She had three. She didn’t have the luxury to neither afford good ones nor to spend time on picking the right one. Her hands pressed over the chiffon fabric, seagreen and decent for how it had aged in her closet. She decided to walk all the way to his, the Alpha’s place. If she had consumed anything other than coffee in the morning, it would’ve been lying in her toilet pot. She had puked twice, bile instead of food. Walking might perhaps bring color back to her skin. But she’d have to suffer with her questions all alone through out the journey. She had only walked a few
What does one call an after effect of paralysis? When blood courses through like a ritual only to find there's nowhere to go? She felt about the same. Vanessa Flynn was screwed tight, a step inside the office, someone had bolted her there with a nail. She was facing him. HIM. Oh she knew his name alright. How could she not? Her wolf had been on edge last given their proximity. Now, it howled. It wasn't recognition of any sort. Just that, in twenty three years of her life, nobody had held her rapt attention the way this gorgeous man did.His hair reflected sunlight, a complexion of hazy brown and twinges of black. His crumpled suit was the vestige of a long day. Or night. He hadn't changed. What pissed her off then and there was the vulgar air of confidence he exuded. Never mind the appropriate dress up. She thought he was a walking epitaph to disclaim the 'vain' in vanity. For he didn't care ho
By the time Vanessa returned home, it was lunch time. Her stomach growled, protesting at another cup of lavender tea, but she had very little money right now and no energy to re-stock her food supplies. Her wolf, especially, did not prefer that. Animal could go hunt for herself, but she worried about how the human carried herself. The worry was judicious. If wolves in human form lacked strength to shift into wolves, what good were they? Vanessa was young, had managed to keep the muscles she had built as a teenager chopping, crafting woods. Soon, they’ll deplete with lack of oxygen if she didn’t change what and how she ate. Vanessa realized her wolf was in no mood to spar over their living conditions with her. Poor thing was as resigned as she was exhausted. She managed to enjoy the cup of tea before her phone rang, shrill in the quite house. She knew who it’d be. “Hello Mum.” “Hello, Ness. How are you baby?” She had missed her mother. Their relationship had been rocky before, when
A small package wrapped in a brown paper bag sat on her porch. Puzzled, she picked it up and tested its weight. Light, compact. A cubic. Her fingers found the note on the other side. She went inside to read it.'These are the freshly made set of keys of the villa. And my number, should you need it.Mikhail.'Written in block letters, with less space than needed between the letters, so it looked like a congested print. She drew the drapes close. Still wondering why she got the keys to Noah's villa, she felt uneasy. More so, coiling and uncoiling the paper with Mikhail's number on it. He was expressing familiarity she hadn't expected. Unlike Noah, that is. He didn't scare her. But he did make her nervous. She can’t quite put her finger on it, but Mikhail Ryder was inadvertently making up for something. Perhaps for firing her, but that seemed too pale a reason. She’d ask him what his deal was. For now, she could feel her bed beckoning her. Her only friend, Abigail, demonstrated her con
'Love does find a way afterall. No matter what obstacles are laid before us, if our love is pure, it will win at the end, no matter what.' Vanessa thought as a smile lit her face up. She was sitting comfortably on a couch, in a large sweatshirt that belonged to Noah, now her husband.She thought back to their wedding ceremony, it was a wonderful affair filled with laughter, love and hope. All their friends had come, looking clean in their dresses and suits. Noah had left last night, in wolf form, hollering and calling loudly to the moon. A makeshift bachelor party- a wild run in the forest and then some chilled beer at a cliff with a nice view. That left Vanessa to sit back at home, thumbing through her favorite book and smiling now and then. It was midnight when she decided to call it a night and go to bed- her last night as a single lady. Just then, she caught sight of a rustling figure outside the window. It was Noah, his hair windswept and his cheeks red from being drunk. He was
She watched his face, less shy about its location on the map of her body. He was smiling to himself, mischievous, his eyes on his work. Small pool of sweat gathered at her lower back, at the dimples he liked so much. He was finger painting.She gasped, trying to twist away as he wrote more. But he didn't have to. "Noah...." Was she going to weep? She didn't want to weep. "Is that a yes or a no?" The wolf was relaxed this time around. Like it had gotten what it wanted for the time being, she knew the decision was equally human. "Yes! Yes, I'll marry you." "If you can stop snotting, maybe then..." She hit his shoulder. When he kissed her, on the psychic plane, his wolf appeared. Battered, strong, feral. And with him- a bond. It was a great shining thing, like a falling moon. An orb born of love tumbling in the creeks, in the meadows. She had only to catch it. And she did. With it came a smaller bond-Ian. Unafraid, she linked herself to it. The distance between them felt like sph
The last thing she remembered was his claws digging in her ass, and their pleasure sated bodies a tangle of limbs. Where was he now? Not next to her. But he had slept, the bed held his impressions. Coming to herself, she blushed. His smell was so strong on her, hers had nearly vanished. She had an inkling that these were the signs of mating bond completing itself. Even he would smell more like Vanessa than himself. The animal was playing for keeps, and it wanted to be kept as an equal. She found him sitting on the porch stairs. She grabbed his shirt, shivered at how sensitized her skin felt, trying desperately to keep herself from looking at the spot of blood on lavender sheets. Thankfully, they weren't white. His marks, teeth, hand, claws pulsed in her body. Her body held his secrets more tenderly than it did anything else. He sensed her approach, straightening his legs, making space for her between them. She went, hiding behind her hair. His content was contagious. Bare chested
The satisfaction coursing through him was so arrogant, so unfaltering in its ownership, her wolf quivered a little in fear. If he consumed her, would she live to see another day? Intrigued, he rubbed his jaw against the inside of her legs, her scent decadent, strong. He fumbled with his jeans before pulling them down. His wolf wanted to take. To turn her around on hands and knees, mount her, and when she'd arch her neck in pleasure, take a bite. It'll hurt but he'd share the pain. "Noah?" She was still here. Legs spread, waiting for him. He smiled. His mind was playing tricks on him, he won't take her like an animal. That'll have to wait. He suddenly dipped his head and she shoved a discarded pillow to her face. Which was a good thing. Because the scream that tore out of her was no human. Her eyes shifted, her wolf begging to have her equal measure of the sensations. His eyes still on her face, he licked her between her thighs. The tender bud begged for his attention, which in h
When he threw up his shields, she was back in front of him. Tonight, there was no leash. She wanted to play, he'll abide. The wolf bared its teeth.... She shot out with a grin. Adrenaline shot through her, she was nowhere near as fast as him. But she could read his thought clear as a bright sunny day. Apart from the high of the chase, she was humbled by the trust. He lowered his shields to nil and let her in. She had yet to do that.He was getting closer, the wolf didn't try to hide the heavy breathing, his massive lungs resounding in warning because he wanted her to know when he was near. Claws out, canines protruding, Noah was no longer human. Not a single part of him. Heart raising hard and fast, she sharpened her run into the direction of lower range, a steep one her much smaller body could maintain running at. Noah's much larger frame would tumble at this speed, so he pulled out an old trick. He laid down and rolled like a barrel. Laughter bubbled inside of her. 'Nice trick.'
"I am sorry I made you feel unwelcome. Consider this an apology." He kissed her knuckles, a small key pressed to her palm, the soft crinkle of paper-a note. She couldn't read his thoughts anymore. But he walked away with a purpose. Dusk clambered in the Nebraska, the summer of dragging afternoons fast learning to evade the gossamery warmth for autumn seeping in sycamore trees, yellow golden leaves ready to replace the greens. Beyond the moonbeam dancing stream, stood two peaks, protecting the land from the unknowns, so many unknowns. The peaks, they are not exultant, and they no longer believe themselves to be the instrument of some great intention. They are, but a shadow of those living beings looking up at them, creatures grasping at life with stained hands. Waiting. Hoping. Vanessa hid her gasp, swallowing the thick ball of emotion in her throat. A heavy weight ruffled the decidous low hanging branches in the trees but she didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Her soul
Home.The black villa doors opened to reveal the place she had thought would save her from the mountain of debt she had buried herself under. The debt was the answer she had been waiting for, and apparently so was Silas. Greggory Flynn, she had kept his ashes in a thurible, had never given her complete answers. They arrived, to find Mikhail, Beatrice and Rourke waiting for them in the foyer. Vanessa was searching for Mrs.Kemp and her cupcake smelling apron. Beatrice looked healthier but the awkward distance between her and Mikhail didn't go unnoticed by anyone. "This here, little heathen, has more body count than me, brother. What do you say to that?" Evan dragged Vanessa from under Noah's arm to his side, strangling her in a side hug. Vanessa was beyond grateful. She didn't know how to break ice with Mikhail. The last time he had her tied to a chair in the basement, he had his reasons but that didn't make it okay. She didn't know where to go with him from here. She loved Noah but
Vanessa shuffled inside her closet, her claustrophobia all but gone. She was done packing but not ready to head back home. Things felt so incomplete. In past two days, she had tried to access Calvin's mind but had failed. When all of them, Selene, Falkner, Silas, Noah, Evan and Jodie convene for finalizing border control policies she had to tell them. She wanted everyone to know there were others like her, the Communion will want a hard proof. "Come in." She knew it was Evan. "Hii. I am resigning. Consider this official." He had been in a jolly good mood, he always was when he worked on secret plans but this time, Vanessa knew it was about Jodie. His mind was a back to back movie night on weekends, filled with lewd imagery of things he'd like to do to her.The powers did have it's shortcomings. "Resigning?" His shields were up. "Yes." Evan folded his legs, sat on the newly purchased futon, which Noah had gifted Vanessa because she liked to sleep on the floor. Bed after thirty six
He begrudgingly admitted nudity was her last preserve right now. She shifted but did a very poor job of hiding herself, the swell of her ass, small and pert with tan lines- he groaned- held his attention. Until he moved it to her shoulder. Stripes, more stripes of red, white, yellow, blue. What the fuck was it? How did she get bruises this bad? Before he could ask, she begged for a clothing. Anything he might have. He stripped off his shirt and threw it to her. She scrambled into it like she was on fire. No more inadvertent strip show, his cat saddened by the perspectiveShe knew what he was going to ask. It was always there, in the manner people stood, slightly skewed, uncomfortable of her reaction even before she had reacted. Scars. He had seen them. And she knew he won't let it go. "You aren't going anywhere until you answer me." Lonely, she wanted to be with her own kind after being denied association for so long. Walter Desmond's death made her breath for the first time, free