Evan was beside himself. What more was he going to have to do to earn her trust? He was doing everything he was supposed to, wasn't he?

Of course he was.

Every day for the past week he had given her a gift. And it wasn't like he was showering her with vacant nonsense. He had spent the better part of every night, and at the same time do his daily reconnaissance, thinking of the perfect gift to surprise her with.

But with no effect.

She was still having Selene bring her coffee every night even though he had gifted her the best coffee machine on the market. Yesterday she had worn the same black dress that she wore earlier in the week only one day after he gave her a new violet one. He had even managed to find the perfect shade to match the purple color her eyes would turn when she used her magic. He was so proud of it, that he went so far as to ask her to try it on, but, in typical fashion, she just quipped more nonsense about sunrise.

Damn witch was completely unreceptive to any amount of thought he put into the gifts.

And every time he went to deliver a new one, he would have to buy any stuffed animals she had in stock because the stubborn witch refused to use even the thimble he bought her.

His pride couldn't take her flat out denying another gift, so today he intended to just lie in the shadows. An offshore wind was blowing heavily through the boardwalk, making picking up her scent from across the street nearly impossible. Just as well, with only a week until the next full moon, he didn't need the reminder of his failure.

"I just don't believe it," a voice from behind him said.

"What is it now, Selene?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the store.

"All you had to do was be nice to her, what is so hard about that?"

Evan groaned.

"I don't have time to explain my methods to you. Go give Vicki her coffee already, you're late enough."

Selene stepped in front of him, crossing her arms as she did so. Evan stepped aside so his view of the store was unobstructed.

"Seriously, you're going to lecture me now?"

Evan ignored her. All he did was state a simple fact. She was late, again, and not by a few minutes, by hours. That left the witch to constantly fight back yawns.

"You know I've only been late so Vicki will be tempted to use the coffee machine you gave her instead of wasting her money on this overpriced sludge."

Gods, even her friend realized she was being irrational. It didn't matter what Selene thought though, the witch had proven herself an immovable object. But still, there had to be a way to change her mind.

"Are you listening to me?"

Evan didn't have time to entertain the succubus' conversations. The witch hadn't made any new stuffed animals today, so that left him without a valid reason to enter the store. All he could do was wait.

Wait for what, he didn't know for sure.

Selene groaned. "I swear, you both are,"

Evan ignored the rest of the succubus' words. He was busy watching the entrance to the store. There were only one or two customers inside, a veritable crowd compared to what was usual for this time of night.

Odder than that was the customer that had been making its way inside.

Why would a werewolf, an alpha by the look of it, need warding magic? The beast was nearly as tall as the door and had to walk through sideways to fit his shoulders inside.

"Oh my gods," Selene said beside him.

Evan finally broke his focus and looked over at her. Her eyes were wide, and her free hand was cupped over her mouth.

"What is it?" he asked.

"That's the guy that was stalking me a few weeks ago. He wouldn't leave me alone, so I've been wearing one of Vicki's charms to avoid him. Why is he here?"

Evan didn't know for sure, but he had a hunch that made his blood run cold.

"Give me the coffee and get out of here," he said to her.

"But," she began.

Evan didn't have time for this. He took the cardboard carrier from her hands and began to make his way across the street.

What the hell was he doing? Getting involved in a potentially violent situation with an alpha could blow his cover. But the alpha was still in mortal form, so maybe the visit wasn't going to be hostile. Evan could only hope so. He hadn't fed in weeks, which meant he wasn't in peak fighting condition if it came down to it.

Evan opened the door to the shop and took in the sweet scent in the air. Leave it to the little witch to not be the slightest bit concerned by the werewolf in her store. She was actually smiling at the wolf. Showing him the dimple Evan didn't even know she had.

It wasn't until he came out of the shadow of the wolf's body that the air turned bitter, and that rare dimple disappeared.

Evan held up the coffee in his hands.

"Please let me know if you need anything else," she said to the wolf before leaving the counter. She met Evan at the sewing nook in the corner, away from the other customers in the store.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered to him.

"Your friend gave me this so I could give it to you," he said, careful not to mention Selene's name because gods knew the werewolf would be able to hear him.

"I told you that I want Selene to give it to me, not you," the witch said.

Medusa's tits.

"It doesn't matter," he said.

She rolled her eyes and took the coffee from him. "Okay, well mission accomplished, you can leave now."

He couldn't just go, not with the werewolf prowling around.

"No, I think I'll stick around, and...browse."

"Why can't you just take the hint and leave me alone? I'm tired of you coming by every day and disrupting my business. The answer is and always will be no. Quit embarrassing yourself already."

Evan froze.

"Gods," she mumbled into her coffee. "If the garlic incense didn't drive away my other customers, I'd burn it non-stop."

She walked back to the counter where two of her customers were waiting to be rung up.

Her onslaught stung Evan where he didn't even know he could feel pain. He was wasting his time trying to feed on her. And why?

Because she smelled nice?

Because she was young, beautiful, and strange in all the right ways. Because she aggravated him to the point that all he wanted was to make her more upset. Because he hated that she feared him.

Gods, his hunger was beginning to cloud his reason. He expected that he would be more desperate for blood after such a long sleep, but he didn't expect that it would be to this level. He needed to detox from the witch's magic and get a heavy helping of blood inside his belly, so, he followed the rest of the customers outside of the store, leaving the witch and werewolf alone. The chilly wind from the shore had finally ceased, allowing the witch's sweet scent to haunt him as he walked up the block.

She was happy that he was gone.

He hadn't even hit the corner when a bitter pepper blast hit him square in the face. The smell that was reserved only for him. Evan turned back and ran towards the store.

He nearly broke the door off its hinges as he burst through it. The werewolf had shifted the top of its body into its beastly form and had Vicki against the apothecary cabinet, his claws secured around her neck.

Evans's fangs lengthened at the sight of blood running from three gashes on her left cheek.

"Let her go, now!" he bellowed.

The werewolf looked back at Evan, placing Vicki on the floor, but not releasing her. The wolf laughed at him.

"Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?"

Evan could smell the wolf's blood in the air, courtesy of a small scratch Vicki must've given him. The bastard wasn't even a pureblood.

"That girl is mine, wolf. Get out before I get violent."

The wolf narrowed his eyes at Evan's fangs.

"This girl is a witch, and I intend to get my revenge on her for taking my mate from me. Don't worry, vampire, I'll take care of killing her for both of us."

Evan disappeared, then reappeared next to the wolf. He grasped the wrist that was still around Vicki's neck and squeezed its pressure point until the mutt released her.

"You will leave. Now," Evan said.

The wolf snarled. Instead of retreating once Evan began to glare at him, he raised his claws and brought them down on both Evan and Vicki. Evan quickly took her in his arms and moved out of the way, managing to take the brunt force of the attack on only his back.

Evan pushed Vicki toward the front of the store as the wolf charged at him. Once she was out of harm's way, he would unsheathe his own claws and teach this mutt a lesson.

But she didn't leave.

Evan dodged the wolf's strikes, which proved difficult in the small space. He didn't want to destroy Vicki's store, and more than that, he didn't want her to see his true form. She already didn't trust him. He couldn't let her see him as a monster.

Evan had to resort to fighting like a mortal, using only jabs and the occasional kick to defend himself. But it was taking too long, and the lack of a recent meal, coupled with the blood loss from his back was taking its toll.

He was able to land a punch square in the mutt's jaw, knocking a tooth loose.

"Vicki, get out of here now!"

But she was on the far side of the store now. What the hell was she thinking?

The wolf recovered and lunged at Evan, who was up against a table set with glassware. The two fell backward and Evan was just barely able to pivot their moving bodies away from the fragile merchandise. The wolf clawed at his chest, causing Evan to scream in agony.

An odor Evan hadn't smelled before covered the room. It was more bitter than he had ever smelled coming from the witch. The wolf above him paused his assault and began coughing incessantly. Evan gave him another punch to his jaw before picking the mutt up and shoving him outside the door.

When he had finally scampered off, Evan looked back to find Vicki in the back of the store. Her eyes were tightly shut, and she was mumbling over a burning stick of incense. He walked up to her and took the stick from her hands.

"You'll burn yourself holding it that way," he said, leaning over to drop it into a ceramic holder.

She looked up at him, her eyes glowing violet. Blood was oozing from the marks the filthy mutt had left on her face. Magic was still flowing throughout her body, and Evan could smell its sweetness in the blood running down her face.

He took her by the hand and led her over to the counter. He sat her down on her stool and began fishing for some napkins that had come with the coffee he had brought earlier. Then he thought better of it, there was no way a few napkins would be able to clean the amount of blood off her face so instead, he ripped off a clean portion of his shirt and placed it between his lips.

"Evan," she said, her voice so small only his vampiric ears could hear.

"Yes, Vicki?" he asked, his voice muffled by the cloth in his mouth.

"Are you—"

He interrupted her by bringing the moist cloth to her face. She sucked in a breath as he wiped off the blood and made sure his saliva got into every inch of the wounds. Luckily, they were not deep and quickly disappeared. Once the gashes were fully healed, he tossed the now reddened rag into the garbage beside him and retracted his fangs.

"Am I what, Vicki?"

She looked at him, her eyes growing wide as they returned to her natural color. The intense smell of her magic faded, turning into a subdued version of itself. Whatever she would say was guaranteed to wound him further. Once again, he had humiliated himself, just like she told him earlier.

"You're hurt," she said.

Damn it, he was hoping she wouldn't have noticed. But she'd have to be blind to miss the slick blood causing what was left of his navy shirt to cling to his shredded skin. How was he going to save his dignity now?

"I'm fine. Look, I know you're going to hate this, but I need you to go upstairs and grab some of your things. You're going to have to spend the night with me. That alpha might go home and lick his wounds privately, or he'll come back with his entire pack."

Evan was thankful she nodded and ran upstairs instead of debating him. He was losing too much blood to waste time. The witch came back down with a gym bag a minute later.

Gods know how he made it back to his apartment with her. He let her in and headed upstairs. He had to slow down the bleeding. He could feel hunger starting to edge at him. He pulled out a few of his shirts and began ripping them apart.

He didn't hear Vicki come up behind him until she spoke.

"Let me help," she said, holding his first aid kit.

He removed his bloodied clothes and then took the first aid kit from her.

"Thank you, but I better do this myself. Go downstairs."

"What? Why?"

His head was beginning to hurt.

"Because I'm getting hungry, I just want to patch myself up and get a blood bag from the hospital before I do something I'll regret."

She took a step back. He wished he didn't have to be so blunt with her, but he couldn't think of another way to say it. His mind only had the capacity to work linearly. Simple tasks only.

"You can't wrap your back by yourself," she said, taking the kit from beside him and opening it.

"Vicki."

"I know, but this is my fault. I would be dead if it weren't for you, so if you kill me by accident, maybe that's fair."

She began wiping at the tears in his back as he worked on his front.

"Evan...this is really bad, I think you might need stitches."

"It's only this bad because I haven't eaten in a while. I'll be fully healed by tomorrow once I eat," he said. It was mostly true, but he wasn't sure how he would go about feeding now. His senses were going dull, he could hardly even smell the witch.

She pressed a large bandage and wrapped gauze around him. Then she topped it off with the scraps of the shirt.

"Would it just be easier to feed from me?"

Evan shuddered.

"I'm not really in the mood to answer hypothetical questions right now."

"I didn't mean hypothetically...I just, you said you didn't need to drain to feed. Maybe if you had just a little bit..."

Was she really offering to let him feed from her? He looked back at her. She looked pale, and so scared.

"Don't tempt me Vicki, please. I don't want you to feel guilty or like you owe me this. It's not something you can decide on a whim."

He leaned over and wiped a stray spot of blood off her chin.

"It hurts, you know. It isn't like what you read in your romance novels. Even if I tried to be gentle, it'd be ten times worse than the pricks you give yourself with your sewing."

Her eyes went wide, but she still didn't say anything. She was too sweet for her own good, and that was likely the reason she ended up in situations like the one she had with the incubus. He stood up and shrugged on a fresh jacket.

"I think you've been hurt and bled enough today. Just do me a favor and come help me get something to take the edge off."