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𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞, 𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐫'𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐈'𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞. My face paled as the realization hit me just as hard. It was a mistake to think that I could get away with this, to think that I would be able to kill him so easily when other things plagued my mind. Arthur had seen my mate before, he must have. He knew who he was already, but now he was here. Having knowledge and seeing them right in front of you are two different things. I'd learned that the hard way this time around, with the man sitting across from me now a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment.

A single round of deafening silence washed over the three of us, with only background noise to fill in the looming void. Piercing red eyes looked right at each other, almost engaged in a private, non-verbal conversation of their own. Not allowed into this little world of theirs, I took the shot of whiskey that had been prepared for me, ready to hear the protests through the night. Their expressions were vague at best, but the anger in Arthur was obvious, power radiating from the man in waves as he absorbed the moment.

Out of all situations I could have entrapped myself into with no way out, this was one that could lead to death or much worse, a scene. What could the Volturi do if a fight broke out amongst humans? Vampire speed and strength are obvious. Their eyes would be red. Someone could take a video and share it on social media. We'd be found out and exterminated. I may have gotten myself into an end of the supernatural world type scenario. It seems that I'm the one who messes up this badly, especially after meeting that meathead of a mate that I'm bonded to. Spirits have mercy on my stupidity.

"Such a disobedient little wolf," Arthur started as Felix's eyes tore into his form. Only after the man took a gulp did he continue, "Well, you see, Volturi, I told her not to bring anyone when we talked in her mind last night. I should have known after she disobeyed me before that she would do it yet again. You can't trust wolves without their leash. Don't you hold that as her mate? Keep control of your little mate, guard."

"How dare you," Felix hissed out, gripping Arthur's chair hard enough to make an indent. "How dare you speak about Aurora in such a vile way. She is not an object or an animal to be put upon a leash. You have no right to speak about her in any regard." Arthur had to look up to see my bondmate's fury. "Disrespecting a guard's bondmate is already a death sentence, but now I think I'll add on a good old-fashioned torture session on top of it."

It was the first time that Felix defended me against any vampire. Before he wouldn't say anything to spite his covenmates, but now he would do it if someone said something vile in public. Not everything that I needed from him, but at least he's starting to show signs of true loyalty. That's all I need. That's what I need him to do. Even if he's a vampire if we're stuck together I at least want to have this. Loyalty is a wolf's best trait, and seemingly his kind could show an ounce of it when the situation required. While I loathed the feeling of getting closer to a vampire, the slight fluttering of my heart from the bond couldn't be denied.

Shattering glass took my attention off of Felix and back onto Arthur. The man had broken his empty whiskey shot glass into hundreds of tiny pieces, making a ruckus in the bar. People stared at us, looking for what made that crack sound. Well, it was Arthur, and the look of derangement on his face shone through as he let out a deep chuckle, like the night before. "Oh, Felix, you know that if you want to kill me, all you have to do is break the law and get me right in here. Not that hard, I know, but come on, have some fun with me, you won't regret it tomorrow morning when it's your head that gets cut off. I bet Caius would have a field day finding out new torture methods, testing them on you. He still gets off on that stuff, right?"

"Insults will get you nowhere, lowlife," Felix sneered, walking up right next to where I sat. Where I sat quietly, to be precise. "You said you wanted to talk here, but clearly if this man is what you want to talk about ━ This isn't the place to talk about whatever it is you wish to speak with me about and I wish to be away from this asshole of a vampire before sunrise." He spoke in frantically cut off sentences that didn't make much sense, but I could hear the anger coursing through his veins. He didn't swear from what I knew. Small words here and there, but not outright insults. I looked up, our eyes locked on each other once more. "Aurora, we should get back before we make a scene."

Arthur let out a scoff. "You never let the girl out to have some fun. First time in Italy and all she can do is be in your room. What kind of mate are you if you don't let her have some other people in her life? I was just playing around, you know." His tone lacked any remorse for the insults he'd used against me. Calling me a wolf in referencing leashes. I'm no domesticated animal and he should damn well know better than to say such things to a true wolf. If we were in a more secluded and private area he would have already been bitten for the things he said. Nobody has the right to treat me like that. Not a king and not a asshole vampire. Arthur held no dignity when he muttered, "Clearly you can't make her happy if her walls were so easy to break down."

My mate took one last look at him and seethed with loathing, "If you don't get out of this bar right now I will kill you and every last human in here. I don't care who you think you are or think that your gift, whatever it is, will get you out of here alive. It won't. I'll go across any ocean, any landmass, if it means that I can rip you apart and throw your remains into whatever volcano is nearest. If I ever see you again, you'll be dead before you know that I'm there. The Volturi give no second chances, and that goes for dealing with the elite guard as well. You are nothing. Nothing you do will amount to anything. No matter how long you've lived, how many humans or wolves you've killed, it doesn't matter. You will be erased just the same. Nobody that walks this Earth will be able to remember you because nobody would ever love such a vile and useless man who thinks harassing young women is an acceptable way to spend immortality."

Untempered silence rang out between the three of us, with me not wanting to say anything that would lead to someone getting attacked. One wrong move and I'd set Arthur off, leaving a battle that could flip a switch and turn into a war. If he has a coven like he said, they'd come after Felix for killing their covenmate. One coven and the Volturi up against each other would lead to another battle. Another battle means the start of a war, or the end of one. The death of one man shouldn't be this important, but it is. In such a small society one thing leads to another, triggering events that would lead back into more and more chaos. Humans would get killed, wolves could get killed, and vampires would still be behind most of the slaughter. Temperamental beings that thrive off of the life of others, that's what immortals are.

The little things in life matter. Everything you do leads you down a path. One may choose destruction but another could bring about peace. I toed the line of both, unknowing what to do next. Kill him and take the risk or let him go and have a chance that he return, malevolent whisky bottle in hand, ready to bring war to my people and Felix's coven. Only three more. Three. Three is enough when there's only about a hundred vampires on this side of the world. 3% of vampires in the area is enough to cause an uprising, no matter how small. Uprising brings the chance of revolt. Revolt brings war, war brings greatness, and so was the Great War of time.

Standing up, I switched my gaze between Felix and Arthur, who at this point were ready to pounce. The humans around us had stopped staring and minded their own business. I had a choice. Move forward now and hope that he leaves me alone or burn the bar down in order to cover for our asses when we cause a scene. I'll always choose whatever is right for my family. Right now I'm on thin ice with one of the kings who never liked me in the first place. He could sway Aro into killing me, even if the man seems reasonable. It's what he must have done to get them to start a war with the wolves. Would he really try to torture us for exposure? Does he have that little empathy for the situation at large?

"It was nice to meet you, Arthur," I lied before taking Felix's hand into my own for the first time. My much taller mate seemed pleased by this, but didn't let even a smile slip through, glaring daggers into Arthur as I started to push him to leave with me. Arthur sent me a half-wave as we left the bar hand-in-hand.

Near-death experiences are fun.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐱 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐡𝐞'𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞'𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝. Why she didn't think this was something worthy to tell was beyond him. The guard wished his mate could trust him with the dream she had the night before. Now they were here in the cold as it neared 1:00 AM. She must be cold, he thought, looking down as Aurora made her way through the icy steps of the castle's west side. He sighed, knowing that she wouldn't accept his large coat.

Felix often sighed during these past few days. Sighed at the fact that Aurora was hostile, sighed at Jane's cruel remarks about her species, sighed at Aro's curiosity in relations to his mate. All he could do is sigh at everything and everyone and the way they acted nowadays. It was a repeating pattern, a cycle, but wasn't that normal for vampires? Felix couldn't figure out what went wrong during the past few days. Things were suddenly thrown off. He didn't want to blame his sudden shift in system on his mate, but he didn't know what else could bring about such changes in a five-hundred-year-old elite guard vampire. Surely this hasn't happened to any of his fellow guards. Demetri has been chronically late for his entire immortal life and that's not changing anytime soon. Jane is always difficult and Alec is always passive.

During his first shift with Demetri he'd posed the question but only got a simple "I don't know." That was the problem, nobody knew what was going on. Only a week prior the entire guard and company would scoff at the idea of a wolf and a vampire coming together. Some would call the idea traitorous and disgusting. Jane still held those firm beliefs that were ingrained into her from a young age. Other guard members that knew were holding their tongues for the sake of their well being, not wanting an angry guard member to report them to the three kings of Volterra. Still, the point remained. Nobody knew why, and that made Felix anxious as ever.

Now he stood in front of the door with Aurora, who was noticeably shivering. Four guards stood by the walls, some whispering amongst themselves. Felix didn't try making out whatever things they were saying about the wolf in the hallway, he was too worked up already. His temper flared in his chest, a burning hate forming when he remembered why he was here in the first place. Arthur. What a name for a dirtbag. Common but not too fancy. You'd find plenty of Arthurs, but not so much anymore. Felix himself had almost been named Arthur, his father having the name. It was one of his only human memories of the man, the story behind his name. Thankfully he'd been named after his grandfather before him.

Too much could be said about his loathing for Arthur. He hadn't seen the man before, but somehow Arthur had seen him. Having travelled around the world for missions, it was possible that the man had been passing by during Volturi duties. Whatever, it didn't matter that he knew of him because he didn't know him. He knew of his standing, of the job he held. The vast majority of vampires know of the elite guard and the members it holds. Names are known just because Jane likes to gloat after a victory and tries to show her status by having them all know. Knowing of a person and understanding the way they work are two entirely different things and Felix knew that. That didn't change his hatred that burned inside of his chest, almost taking him over when Arthur dared to make foul comments about his mate. The man didn't understand Aurora's true value and clearly wanted to use the young wolf. It wasn't a crime by law, but in Felix's eyes he deserved punishment.

Aurora let out a slightly animalistic annoyed noise as she let herself into their room. Felix was surprised when she didn't immediately lock him out, happy even. The young wolf grabbed a hair tie at the edge of the bed and whipped her hair up into a ponytail, maintaining direct eye contact with Felix the entire time. Her mate tried to look away but remained too mesmerized to move a muscle. Aurora huffed and threw herself onto the bed next, breaking the eye contact she previously maintained.

"And now we're here." Her voice dripped like sweet honey in the spring, calling out to Felix as he stood by the door like he had in the morning. "Same spot, different time. Is it normal for mates to stand by the door while their women flop on the beds or is that specific to mine?"

She teased him. Or taunted him. Felix couldn't decide which one it was. "It's my job to keep you guarded at all times Aurora, or have you forgotten all that you've been told about mates?" His mate sent him an annoying glance as she furrowed her head into a pillow. "There's much we need to talk about and dodging the question or simply avoiding the topic of what happened at the bar will do no good for either of us."

The same honey-laced voice snapped back with a simple, "You know what happened at the bar so there's no need to discuss it further."

Felix knew she was a difficult woman to talk to. He knew that when she told him to off himself. Still, he wanted for the two of them to speak to one another like individuals and mates rather than have her outcast him as her enemy, an enemy of her people and her family. The tall guard took in a deep and unneeded breath before he spoke back to his stubborn mate, "I for one am under the impression that you didn't tell me about your dream because you don't trust me. While I may understand why you don't, we need to have open communication to get anywhere, to have any bond whatsoever. I have been quite clear when I say that I do care about you and want the best for you, and whether or not that includes you meeting up with vampires you meet in your dreams doesn't matter to me. It's the fact that I did not know that you were meeting with another man, a vampire who appeared in a recent or old dream, and could have gotten yourself killed. What you did was dangerous as all hell and should not be repeated under any circumstances."

"You expect me to trust you when you clearly don't trust any of the decisions I make. I had a plan and it didn't work because I forgot that I invited you to that bar. Arthur would have died tonight if you hadn't grown some balls and shown up," Aurora admits, shaking her head as she glares daggers into Felix's skull. "It doesn't matter whether or not Arthur is a man or a woman or anything in between because I could have taken any vampire down. This one mistake won't happen again because I'm not inviting you anywhere from now on."

"There's no need for such black and white decisions," Felix tried to reason, not liking the idea of his mate not taking him anywhere for the rest of eternity. Finding time to spend together was already hard due to her hardheadedness, but this was cutting off the one thing she'd given him, a small fragment of a chance with him. A single invite somewhere meant more than anything in the morning, even if they had a fight. "And for the record, I do trust your decision making skills. One mistake isn't going to change that. You didn't hear me trying to stop you from insulting my kings' positions. I knew that you were doing that for a reason and didn't make an effort to undermine you."

Explanations for his actions seemed to do little to quell Aurora's annoyance. She was hurt by her own perspective of what he said to her, he knew that. While it may not have been his words, the way her mind processed the situation upset her to no end. Jumping to conclusions is a trait shared by both wolves and vampires, who must jump from one place to another in order to survive. Felix didn't realize how that would play out when someone was already hurting, when their perspective had been placed in their mind from such an early age. Years and years of trauma built up and ready to explode at any minute. His words could do little in satiating that small semblance of innocence that she could have left in her. That route is inaccessible.

"Aurora, what happened at the bar wasn't your fault. I would rather know when you're leaving and know if you've gone missing than to be left worrying in the castle over your safety. Believe it or not, I do worry when you leave." The girl whipped her head back up to look into Felix's maroon tinted eyes, a wave of guilt passing through their weak bond. "I have no wishes to control you or what you do while you're out of my sight. My only fear is that you underestimate a vampire's strength and get taken down or captured for information. Not all vampires are as civil as my covenmates and I. There are many things that someone could do to you that I would rather not explain in detail. True wolves are still an endangered species and while I know your family would try to save you as well as myself I don't know if they or myself could get there in time to save your life or mind."

No comfort could be traced between the two as Felix ran his hand down Aurora's arm. Hot to the touch, soft and smooth in ways he'd only remembered in his human life. She reminded him of all the things he'd lost over the years. Memories, happy nights filled with dreams and wonder. Everything he once had led right back to her warm brown eyes and heavily tanned skin. She screamed warmth, loyalty, and power. He didn't identify with the freedom of a wolf, but as it laid before him he couldn't help but wonder what true freedom felt like. The absence of death sure did free him from worries of the beyond, but was that what he needed to fear most in this world? The end of what he could be? Should he be fearing the beginning that is life instead?

Still, putting his finger down on what made her so different from the things he valued before her seemed almost impossible. Sure he'd had a few lovers as a human, but even then he wouldn't go the full way with any of those women. Mostly girls looking for an escape, but that didn't feel like Aurora. She valued loyalty, loving one person until the day she died. Even then she would die with him. The women he'd been with before would move on after him, find another man to lay with, have children with. For Aurora, he was the only one she would have. She'd made that choice coming to Italy with the elite guard, in becoming somewhat of an ambassador for her people. Aurora chose one rather than many, and that made her stand out.

In that she's hard to get along with, choosing avoidance and insults over any other means of communication. She's not used to equal ground in her pack, he'd previously assumed. They had their social hierarchy and stuck to it. She made some of the decisions as the future Alpha, but would stand down the second her father came into the discussion. Lower than her parents but higher than her cousin and siblings. Now she had someone who in being her mate was at the same level. Felix assumed she was put out of her comfort zone just as he had in being paired with someone of a different species and background.

And so here they were, stuck being out of their comfort zones. Felix tried to empathize with his mate the best he could as they worked their feelings out. Openness in the Volturi is almost unheard of unless speaking to one's soul sibling. Demetri had been the first one to get to see even an ounce of who Felix really was. Everyone else either saw him as a brute or as a shy giant. Both assumptions had some reality tied into them, but neither on their own are remotely true. You couldn't fit one person into a two or three word label. People have dimension. Most show different aspects to different people, shifts to tone around their kings or other covens and covenmates. No one way to describe each other or anyone else, just stuck trying to figure out what is the most correct rather than what is correct.

The little wolf crossed her arms as her mate got an inch closer to her, eyes still gazing into his. "You don't know what to do with me, do you? That's why you act so strange."

Slightly taken aback by her sudden change of tone and subject, Felix awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Well, yes, I guess you could say that. You're a bit odd, Aurora. One moment you seem to be getting better talking to me and being in my presence and the next you're running off and almost getting yourself killed by asking me to apologize to you in a bar of all places. To be fair, I've never met a wolf, let alone a wolf like yourself. I don't see myself as acting strange as you so kindly put it, just acting the way I would around someone who I can't read correctly. Social interaction with you is complicated already, being an unwilling mate and all, but to add in more dynamics is almost impossible sometimes. You confuse me." 

"You're far more confusing than I am," Aurora deflected.

"In what ways?" Felix questioned, looking a bit puzzled himself. "What things do I do that are confusing?"

"Guarding my door while I eat, insisting on getting to know me better but still refusing to acknowledge the things your coven has done to traumatize me." Felix sighed again, like he had so many times during the past week. "Those are some of the most confusing things you do. Wolves leave each other to eat and don't speak until they've apologized for their actions. There's no brushing things under the rug in my culture. It's either you apologize and get forgiven, which is required, or you never speak to each other again. No exceptions to this rule."

"Do you realize that I am a guard for the Volturi and that guarding is what I do for a living?" Felix had to hold back a laugh as he spoke, "On the apologizing bit, you told me that if I wanted to speak to you I would have to apologize at the bar. Since I clearly showed up there, a natural assumption would be that I was there to apologize to you for not acknowledging my role in the destruction of your species, no matter how miniscule it is due to my young age. I am very sorry that me guarding the door made you uncomfortable and if you don't like it I will refrain from such behavior in the future. As much as protecting you is in my nature it is my job as your mate to keep you as comfortable as possible in a place designed to be uncomfortable for wolves."

Yes, the way the castle was set up provided little comfort to a true wolf. No space to breathe, which was perfect for a vampire. Wolves needed space to have their squabbles and to hold their lives, but vampires liked to be cooped up in dark spaces. Felix found no comforts in the great outdoors, with snow even becoming a hindrance to his joints when he was on long winter missions. Travel was enjoyed for culture and not sights.

His mate's eyes diverted their attention away from Felix and to the phone sitting at the edge of the bed. Aurora's no doubt just by looking at the clear phone case. Felix hadn't bothered protecting his with anything. Worst came to worst he would just use his hefty salary and buy another phone. At least he wasn't as destructive as Demetri, who seemed to have a new phone but same phone number every week. He pays special attention to the numbers inputted into his phone, knowing that by next week or next month he'll have to redo them all. Felix's mouth upturned into a smile at the thought of his brother's clumsy nature.

"What's strange about me, Felix?" Aurora questioned after her eyes got lost on her phone. She didn't look back at him as she picked up her personal electronic device. "You say you don't get me at all, but I don't see what's so confusing about my behavior. I've made it very clear why I act the way I do."

Felix had to chuckle at that. "For one, you seem to expect me to be able to read your mind and understand why you're upset when I have no ability to do so. I know that wolves have a mental link to one another that would allow for such an action to be performed, but it should be very clear that I am no wolf and would have no access to an ability like that. Some open communication between the two of us would do us both some good in terms of lowering our anxieties and erasing the conflicts that come up one after the other. Dwelling would do us no good." The man had to take some time to think before continuing, "You also eat your pancakes with a knife. That's peculiar."

"Peculiar?" Felix had to nod. Aurora let out an annoyed huff. "That's in no way peculiar. Imagine calling something your mate does peculiar. What an insult to my instincts."

"Sometimes I can't tell if you're joking or not, Aurora," Felix admits, going further into his reasoning for why his mate does strange things, "Your 'jokes' seem to either be sarcastic remarks or outright insults. I am to pick between the two and I would hope that it's always the first but I know that over half the time it's the latter. Your tone of voice when speaking to me makes no sense at all. Why speak so offensively when there's no fight going on? Raising your voice and rude statements are meant for moments of anger, not random spurts of annoyance. I can't tell if things are supposed to hurt or get brushed off or if I'm supposed to know the difference in the first place. Confusing isn't even the start of it."

Aurora went silent. No snarky comments, no sarcastic remarks. She was just quiet. Felix scorned himself for her spurts of silence, not knowing if it meant that she was going to blow up at him or if she just needed some time to process what he just said. His mate had become a ticking time bomb to him, always on the edge of exploding and with no way to diffuse her. Felix didn't know if what he said lit her fuse so to speak, so he remained in silent agony as he awaited her response.

He wanted to smash his head in when her response came.

"So you're just old and don't get my generation's sense of humor is what you're trying to say?"

Not the answer that Felix was expecting to get after calling his mate peculiar, or after she expressed her disdain for the label. Old. Felix wasn't old, was he? Did one consider someone physically eighteen and mentally five hundred old? Was it the fact that her sense of humor didn't resonate with him? That could make someone seem older than they truly are, and since Aurora seemingly couldn't understand that insults are not often seen as simple jokes... Felix didn't want to be labeled old just as much as Aurora didn't like the term peculiar, it seemed. Surely there's a better term in relation to his humorous side. When Felix thought of old he pictured the three kings. Old meant sitting on a throne and ordering people around. Old meant being wise, which Felix didn't feel he was.

"I certainly am not old," Felix denied, shaking his head. "I just don't find insults humorous."

"Using the word 'humorous' is enough to suggest otherwise," Aurora claimed, much to Felix's dismay. He hated to think that being five hundred meant that he was old. He would always be physically eighteen, meaning that he would be forever young. Was youth not tested in physicality and in soul now? That would make Demetri a toddler and Jane an old woman, neither of which are true. "I'm sorry you can't tell the difference between me joking and me being serious. It's almost always obvious to everyone I meet. Even my uncles and aunts can figure it out, and they're older than dirt."

"I can't tell if that's an apology or not," Felix mutters. Aurora sent him an annoyed glare, making him switch to a less aggravating topic. This was his one chance to shoot his shot while his mate was okay with his presence and the idea of him being so close to her. "Well, if we're both here and there's nothing more to do tonight, how about we go somewhere?"

Aurora's brown eyes tinted yellow as a smile formed on her pert lips. "What did you have in mind, vampire?"

"Hmmm... I was thinking something inside, preferably relaxing after everything that's happened..." Her eyes lit up at the suspense he was pulling. Felix chuckled at her accidentally longing gaze. "There's few spaces that vampires and humans share together, mostly due to vampires being predators and humans horrified by our presence, but one place that we seem to be able to stand each other is located way down below ground. The alcohol celler."

Getting wasted did sound like a fun way to get to know each other.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

𝐁𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞. Then again, alcohol had an odd way of making every man look like a greek god when they could be a homeless nut job just looking for a quick hookup. I couldn't tell if Felix was pretty, hot, or god-like right now. It could be a mixture of all three. Him being so inhumanly tall didn't help my perception of him. Almost seven foot, he must have at least fifty pounds of pure muscle on him, if not more. Working out must be easy when you're a vampire. Wolves just get the urge to eat more food.

He was the guy who defended me against a madman, but I guess he's also the man who got me in a shitty situation. Funny what the mating bond does to people under the influence. I want to hate him, but I also want to fuck him. Hate fuck him? Would that work? No, I would regret it in the morning and hate myself for the rest of my life. Losing my innocence while hammered isn't good. Whiskey breath is bad enough, but I can barely see my toes right now. Funny considering how close I am to them. So... close... to the ground...

Grabbing the half-empty whiskey bottle, I took another slug of the sickeningly sweet liquid. Being a wolf, it took me much longer to get drunk, meaning that even this bottle wouldn't get me much closer to blacking out. Having a fast metabolism comes in handy sometimes, plus the added bonus of a supernaturally strong liver means no damage from a night out. This was about my fifth bottle of liquor, but I knew Felix could take another ten and still be fine for work in half a day.

"Felix," I whined out, almost throwing myself in his direction, giggling like crazy. "Why do you have to look so damn sexy?"

If my mate had any ability to blush, he would have. The closest thing his body had in common was a light shimmer that floated to his cheeks, almost glazy and would be holographic in the sun. Felix let out a cough as he placed his bottle of whiskey down on a table in the cellar we're hiding out in. "You think I'm ━" He coughed. "━ sexy?"

I sputtered a bit in disbelief. "What? You must know that you're hot shit, Felix. Come on, look at you!" He shook his head in denial, making me frown. "You're tall, you have curly black hair. That jawline, those muscles. Girls must be fawning over you every day!"

He didn't look convinced of that, shaking his head once more. "Not only would you hate if that were true." I couldn't deny that. The thought of another woman deciding that she has any rights to my man made me want to bite and claim Felix somewhere visible so the entire world could see that he's mine and mine only. "Women don't fawn over me at all. Most are scared that I'm so tall and could break their necks in one fell swoop." He looked down for a second before finishing, "Eh, but there have been a few over the years that don't run the other way the second they see me."

To that I had to take another shot. So it had happened. Another woman in his mind at some point. Of course I couldn't blame him for such a thing. It would be petty for me to hold that against him. I still couldn't shake the worry that another would come into his mind again. I haven't given him much of a chance and it would make sense for him to seek affection somewhere else, with someone else.

"But ━ yeah those girls should be dead by now. Humans don't live very long. Mostly set ups with my parents for courting. Marriage and all that for the family," Felix tried to explain himself through slurred speech. "Plus I never actually did much with them. A few kisses here and there but it never meant anything. I'm still all yours."

"You better be. I'm a jealous woman who doesn't share her men." Felix raised an eyebrow as he almost choked on his drink. "You're mine whether you or I like it so may as well make a claim over you. Cause the bond makes us all starry for each other and it's kinda gross if you think about it. I mean you actually went to the bar to apologize to your woman. Who does that sort of thing? In the movies the woman has to come running back before the man gets with the girl the main girl wasn't supposed to be worried about. It's all so fluid and gross. Like ━ well, I have to feel your emotions all the time and that's gross. Where did this anxiety come from? Wait, that's you."

Oh, that part of being tied together is no fun. All of that anxiety at the bar could have just been Felix pacing back and forth in some dark chamber of the castle. Man has no chill whatsoever sometimes. I'll try to joke and whoop, anxiety. Not even my mother gets this worked up. Or Auntie Teah, who's been on anxiety meds for years now. The days of being carefree are clearly gone, replaced by worrying Felix and all his handsome ass.

"Wait so you feel that through the bond?" He sounded shocked to say the least. "Damn that must be what's making me so irritated. You're so irritable that it's spilling over to my side of the bond."

"I am not irritable!" I exclaimed, making him laugh. "Plus it's not your side of the bond. We share that bond so it's also your fault for letting it affect you so much." Felix let out a knowing scowl and I crossed my arms. "Taking responsibility must not be in a vampire's nature. How many times do I have to say that sometimes ━ sometimes you Felix and it has to be hard for everyone around you."

"Wait, wait," Felix had to cough before he continued, "You're telling me that the reason you find me difficult is because 'I Felix'? That's the reason why?" I couldn't stop the torrent of giggles that spilled out of my mouth as I rocklily placed my whiskey bottle down on the table. "Aurora, you are piss drunk. Not the tipsy kind of drunk, the I'm-going-to-make-a-mistake-in-three-minutes drunk. I'm taking you back."

"No no no no no no," I whined out as he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. Normally I would absolutely hate this, but he's right and I'm too drunk to care. The worst I could do is nibble his neck a little bit and even if I could gather the strength to do so I wouldn't want to end up getting stuck. I'd fall asleep and have them still inside when I wake up. I have a little mercy when dealing with Felix. "Please let me have more." My last effort to get some more before bed. 

"Absolutely not," Felix said back. He stumbled up the stairs as he brought me back up, already losing himself to the alcohol he'd previously drank. "You, go to sleep and wake up tomorrow with a headache and I'll nurse you back to health."

"Nurse me?" He nodded. "No. I'm a big girl. A big, big wolf."

"Yes, yes, your wolf is huge Aurora," Felix calmed me with a sigh. He opened up the door to reveal the room empty and the sheets just where I'd left them. My bag that held the few remaining articles of clothing I had was nowhere to be seen oddly enough. I must have left it somewhere when sober. "Now go to sleep and hope that your body won't hate you in the morning, mia vita." I didn't know what the last bit meant, but to be fair I was too tired to care. Felix chuckled and kissed the top of my head, making my face scrunch up as I shoved my face into a pillow in embarrassment.

It was worth it.

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Sorry for the constant dialogue and sporadic scheduling on my part. I'm working on it.

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