Predator | 31

Nikolaj crouched down in front of the fireplace to take the kettle of water. He had filled it with water early to make tea for April. Tea was the only warm drink he could offer her and other than that, he didn't have anything eatable at his home.

Food was most of the time not a necessity for him, since he preferred hunting for fresh meat rather than having to buy and pay for food. This explained why he didn't own something as simple as a fridge. Or electricity.

Nikolaj poured the water into a glass and drowned a teabag into it. April thanked him as she reached for the glass. The hot glass comforted her cold fingers. She took a sniff of the tea. Peppermint, April thought when the strong smell invaded her nostrils.

Nikolaj silently took the seat next to her, sitting so close to her that his arm was constantly brushing against hers. April threw him a quick side glance and watched him drinking his tea. He was drinking the hot tea like it was nothing!

"Careful that you don't burn your tongue," she teased, but was worried he might burn his tongue and spit it out.

He flashed her a small grin. "It's not hot," he said and took another sip.

April surprised him when she all of sudden took his tea from him. She took a small sip and almost choked on it. It didn't only feel hot on her tongue, it was burning!

"How can you even drink this?" She asked stunned and grimaced and handed his tea back. "I think I can't feel my tongue anymore."

"Weakling," he joked in a quiet voice and took a last, long sip from the tea, before placing the empty glass on the table. His green eyes were bright with amusement.

April just shook her head and continued to take small sips from her drink, until her eyes landed on something. The latest newspaper, she noticed, was laying folded on the table. The headline was what captured her attention.

She slowly stood up and reached for the newspaper and unfolded it. It wasn't the newspaper from Rosewood, but from the neighboring town. It was from yesterday.

It was the seventh person that went missing in a short span of time. The police suspected a serial kidnapper, but they still had to figure out the motive as none of the victims had anything in common with each other. If they only knew that these people weren't exactly kidnapped, but turned into Lycans.

Of course, they won't ever find the culprit. At least, not the right one. If April wasn't worried before, she sure as hell was now. With each second that they were clueless, the situation only got worse. But how were they even supposed to find the culprit, if there wasn't any trace left?

"Don't worry," Nikolaj spoke and took the newspaper away from her, throwing it back on the table and far from her reach. "We are working on this case."

She frowned and turned her body to have a better look at him. "Any new clues?"

He shook his head. "No.. but I've been searching the past few days," he told her.

She narrowed her eye and observed him carefully. Only then April noticed something about him she didn't notice before: Nikolaj looked a bit exhausted, like he didn't catch much sleep the last few days. He had small bags under his eyes, a confirmation that he indeed didn't catch enough sleep.

"You look tired," she noted as she took in his whole appearance. It irked her that she didn't even notice it before! "You didn't rest well, did you?"

"I'm fine."

"You're not. And you certainly don't look like it. You should rest a bit," she suggested and stood up, but Nikolaj was quick to grab her wrist and pull her back on the couch. April's eyes widened in surprise and a small shriek fell from her lips.

"Don't go," he told her in a quiet but strong voice, his eyes however were pleading. "I'm fine. I'm not tired."

"Okay," April sighed. "But try and sleep at least for an hour. I'll be here when you wake up."

Begrudgingly, Nikolaj nodded and did as she said. He rested his head on her lap, green eyes staring into hers. April still couldn't get enough from staring at them. Eventually, he closed his eyes and dozed off.

She played with his hair as he snored quietly. He lied, he was anything but fine. He was sleeping deep and tight and it wouldn't surprise her if he slept more than just one hour.

Softly and as gently as she could, she removed his head from her lap. She took a blanket from Nikolaj's bed and covered his body with it. As far as she knew, Lycans didn't easily catch a cold and could endure cold temperatures far better than humans can. But still, she didn't want to take the risk of him falling ill. If he could get ill, that is.

She sat in front of the fireplace, seeking warmth for her body. Nikolaj's cottage wasn't exactly warm, but the fireplace did at least it's job well enough that she wasn't freezing. It was surprising how he could live in a small cottage all alone, with no electricity and all. If it would have been her, she would have grown lonely. She was sure that he was lonely, too.

Without noticing, she slowly drifted away into a peaceful sleep. It was a short nap and barely forty-five minutes had passed. Her back hurt a bit since she had been sleeping on the ground. She got on her feet and stretched her arms.

Tiredly, April searched for her phone and ordered for food. Seeing as he had no food at his home, she figured it would be a better idea to have food ready when he wakes up rather than driving to the nearest diner.

April didn't know what he liked, so she ended up ordering pizza for both of them. Everyone likes pizza, she thought. She told the man over the phone to take their time and have it ready in an hour. She didn't want to wake him up yet and neither did she want the food arrive soon and be cold once he wakes up.

She wanted him to sleep at least another hour. With all the stuff that happened around Rosewood, she was sure that Nikolaj won't be able to catch much sleep. He told her that they were still looking for the mysterious culprit who turned humans.

As the hour passed, she heard a knock against the door. She already suspected that it would be the deliveryman. She strolled down to the door and the cold winter air immediately bit into her skin.

She quickly paid for the food and closed the door, preventing the cold air the way inside. It took long enough for the fireplace to warm the whole cottage.

April placed the pizza boxes on the table and went to grab two glasses. Then she made her way towards the couch, where Nikolaj was currently sleeping. Two and a half hours passed and she still didn't have the heart to wake him up.

But eventually, she did. She crouched down in front of the couch. Her hand reached out to stroke his hair, playing with a few short strands with her fingers as softly woke him up.

"Nikolaj.." she whispered close to his face. "Wake up." Her voice was so quiet, she doubted that he would even stir in his sleep by just her whisper, but he seemed to be a light sleeper and woke up when hearing her voice. He blinked his eye open, watching her with still sleepy eyes.

"What time is it?" He asked in a husky, sleepy voice. He pushed himself up, leaning his weight on his elbows, still staring at April.

"It's six."

He frowned. "I thought only an hour."

April smiled sheepishly at him. "Yeah, sorry about that. You looked so tired that I wanted you to sleep a bit longer."

He watched her for long moments. "You're cute."

She felt her cheeks burning slightly. It was the first time he said that to her. "I bought us food. Nikolaj's looked at the pizza and then back to her. "I didn't know what you like, so I just ordered pizza."

"I like pizza."

April grinned. "Great! Let's go eat then."

Nikolaj made space for her as she grabbed the boxes with pizza and threw herself next to him on the couch. She gave him one box and took the other for herself. It was the first time in so long that she ate pizza again.

She reached for the bottle of coke she ordered with the pizza and poured it into both glasses. She glanced at Nikolaj. He looked better now that he had slept a few hours. He noticed her stare and watched her with questioning eyes.

"You look better now," she said with a grin.

"Did I look ugly before?" Nikolaj asked with a smile curving his lips.

"No," she quickly denied with a shake of her head and a smile on her lips. "You just looked tired."

Nikolaj watched her silently, his gaze so intense that April thought she would choke on her own breath any moment. He grabbed her chin between his fingers and pulled her face to his. His lips pressed against hers, devouring her mouth with feather-light kisses. The pizza was long forgotten and all he wanted to taste now were her lips against his.

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I'm so glad that I finished this in two days. I even worked on it today at work lol. Hope you liked this chapter!