Jenna
“We need to work faster! The customers are waiting for their food!”
My eyes almost bulge out of their sockets when I stride out of the locker room. Ariel is working in the kitchen like just another ordinary person. The sight of him wearing an apron while sweating behind a frying pan is peculiar enough to turn me into stone.
“Faster!” Ariel orders. “The chicken needs to go into the pan!”
I clamp my lips together when he glances at me, hating how my insides burn at the sight of him, loathing his good looks.
“Jenna! Don’t just stand there! Start serving the customers their food!”
Ariel’s commanding voice clears my thoughts. I swear the guy is louder than Gordon Ramsay, which is rather alarming.
“Yes, chef!”
Hastily, I lower myself to pick up the finished plates and catch my reflection in the glazed tiles over the counter—smoked eyes with determinat
JennaFifteen minutes later, I walk out of the building. Ariel is already outside, waiting for me under the streetlight. The sight of him leaning against the wall of his own building while wearing nothing but a tank top leaves nothing to fantasy. It takes an incredible amount of self-control to keep my eyes from sliding down his muscular body as he smokes his cigarette.“Smoking isn’t good for you,”I struggle to not check him out. It’s chilly outside, but I guess the cold doesn’t affect Ariel. He is half-naked with muscles covering most of his body, working down his thick arms and stomach like valleys carved from stone.I swallow thickly, embarrassed at myself for sweating when it’s not even warm outside.“And who are you? My mother?” There is a smile in his voice.I roll my eyes. “Whatever... Die from lung cancer then, the choice is yours,”Amusement flash in his gaze. &ldq
JennaI can hear strange sounds coming from Ariel when I grab his mane made of scales. Never in my entire life did I imagine I would ride a dragon. Yet here I am, about to climb onto the back of the possibly most gigantic creature I’ve ever seen.“Should I just sit on your back then?”There isn’t a reply. Figures.“I’m guessing you can’t talk in your dragon form?”Blue, stormy eyes are silently studying mine. I stare back at the gigantic creature, noticing how its mouth seems to curl by the corners, almost as if Ariel is laughing at me. The awareness makes me blush.“I’ve never ridden a dragon before!” I openly complain and sigh dramatically to prove my frustration. “Should I climb up on your back like Daenerys when she rode Drogon in Game Of Thrones?”Without further ado, I heave myself onto the dragon. One leg stretch over its back while my hands grip the
JennaDread settles in like a bird in my stomach the minute I open the door to my apartment. My curtains are drifting in the wind, like two ghostly arms letting in the cold into my home. Snow covers the wooden planks; books are on the floor; even the pages are torn.I stare at the scene, unable to speak or move.This is my home, the place where I used to feel safe. And now, I can't breathe as I step into my mess of an apartment.Who would do this?Catherine?Ariel walks past me and closes the window with a stern expression. "It smells like a werewolf has been in here,"Perking up my ears, I stare at Ariel. "A werewolf? But I don't think I have any werewolves who hate me?""Are you sure about that?" Ariel picks up a paper from my pillow. "Someone wrote you a letter,"I walk inside, closing the door behind me. "A letter?" I'm not sure if I want to read it.As if having read my thoughts, Ariel locks his eyes on the l
BlazeThe day my parents died, I lost myself.Love stopped existing in my world along with hope.Losing my parents turned me into a demon, a werewolf chained to his past. Even my pack is afraid of me. They may respect me, but they also talk behind my back. I’m their alpha, the person they follow out of fear, and the person they call a monster when they think I can’t hear.Them calling me a monster doesn’t bother me, though. I’m not my pack member’s friend. I’m not here to make them feel better about themselves; I’m here to lead them.For years we have searched for the vampire calling herself Catherine. I’ve traveled around the world together with my pack members, and now we have finally found her.Catherine.Simply saying her name makes my skin crawl.She murdered my parents and won the war ten years ago. Vampires are on top of the food chain, but I came here intending to change t
BlazeFinding Jenna proves easy. I catch her scent in the air and find her standing outside her apartment.She is wearing casual clothes and a bun on top of her head. Her hands are hastily searching her bag while she is muttering to herself. Did she drop something?Hesitantly, I stalk closer to the unsuspecting woman while staying in my wolf form. I can’t shape-shift here. There are no spare clothes in this area.“To be honest, she seems to prefer it when you aren’t wearing a shirt,” Fenrir usually isn’t the dirty type, but right now, he is grinning. “Maybe if she saw everything, it would be easy winning her over,”I growl at my wolf. “Shut up. You are supposed to be the role model here, not the idiot who gives me stupid ideas,”“Are you serious?”My ears perk up to the sound of Jenna’s voice. Finally, she has spotted me from across the street.&n
JennaShakily, I hand Blaze a pair of oversized sweatpants. Our fingers lightly brush against each other, and I withdraw my hand, burned by the touch. There is tension in the air, and Blaze tilts his head, eyeing me thoughtfully while pulling on the borrowed sweatpants.Funnily enough, my oversized sweatpants fit him to a tee. The grey Adidas hug his muscular thighs and end above his calves.I inhale deeply, letting out some steam. "So you said the vampires have brainwashed everyone?""Pretty much," His smile is dangerous, feral somehow. I repress the urge to shudder. This is my mate; he wouldn't hurt me. I repeat those words to calm myself, but it's not exactly working. Every brain cell is telling me the werewolf is dangerous.I try to slow my breathing, hoping it will steady my beating heart. "But if that's true... Then why aren't I brainwashed? How can I still notice things aren't like they used to be?"Blaze's smile sharpens. "You are th
JennaConfusion, fear, and sadness, I feel it all at once. Blood is dripping down on the ground and coloring Blaze’s skin red. The scene is making me nauseous. I hate blood, and yet, my hands move on their own. I remove my shirt and use the cloth to cover Blaze’s wound on his stomach until I notice it’s gone.What?!Dumbstruck, I stare at his stomach. Where there once was an open wound is now only blood. What the actual fuck? I frantically feel around his skin, convinced I might find his injury if I search hard enough.“But I could have sworn...?” I laugh at the bizarre situation, wrinkling my eyebrows as I try to make sense of what is happening.Blaze grabs my hand and keeps it still on his skin. I’m shaking as his eyes find mine. I can see uncertainty flickering within his honey-eyes and something resembling hope.“Do you think I’m a monster?” He asks in a pained voice. “As the al
ArielMany years ago, my mate Erika died in my arms. Twinkling stars guided her home, and even though I didn’t want her to leave me, I believe her body needed to rest.After many years of battling cancer, her old age combined with her disease took her away from me. She died peacefully in her sleep and left me in tears. Losing her was like losing a piece of myself. For so many years, Erika had been with me that living without her felt like suddenly waking up one day and realizing you are in hell.Everything turned ugly, and I stopped seeing the beauty in the world. Suddenly I could no longer appreciate anything. The sun felt cold, and the earth turned dull. My eyes no longer sought the stars, and my soul withered away.My grief turned me bitter and mean until finally, it grew to a deep hatred for the woman I once loved. Erika and her damn spell, she didn’t bond our souls together; she cursed me!Wherever I went, I would see her; I would