Aurora POV
"What the fuck?" I groaned, bringing my hand up to my pounding head, blood coating my fingers as I ran them over my scalp, wincing at a nearly healed cut that was making my hair sticky and forcing it to matt between my fingers. I had been jumped; I remember that. The last image I had before I gave into the darkness was the filthy face of the vampire from the bar! His face blurred in front of my vision before my eyes closed. The snarl on his lips and hatred in his eyes as he charged me had sealed this night's fate to sit at the top ten worst nights of all time!
Pulling myself up, I looked around the now-empty forest in confusion; everyone knew vampires never left their prey! So why had he jumped me and not hurt me, or was I missing something?
"Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth Aurora!" Ava barked at me, lending me strength as I forced myself onto my feet, my legs wobbling under the strain of my achy body. Gasping, I looked around me; the ground was painted in vibrant flashes of red and white. If it weren't for the metallic smell of blood assaulting my nostrils, I would say there had been a paint party in the middle of the woods.
Narrowing my eyes on what looked like a coat hunched over a few feet away, I gingerly wobbled over to it, trying not to step in sticky crimson leftovers.
"I knew I shouldn't have gone out!" I groaned, looking down in disgust at the headless torso of a male, his shirt ripped open and large teeth marks sunk into his shoulder blade and flank; he had evidently been torn apart brutally.
"Hungry?" Ava snickered, looking down at the body with intrigue while I sniffed the air, my nose scrunching up.
"Vampire!" I snarled, shaking my head. "I'd rather eat my foot!" I spat, turning my back on the mangled flesh, when I saw a leg hanging by its thigh muscles at an unexpected angle from a branch on the tree in front of me.
"Impressive!" Ava announced. "Humans really are the sickest species on earth!" She retorted with a derivative snort.
"Something tells me a human didn't do this!" I mumbled, looking around slowly to see the rest of my attacker's limbs hanging from trees like party decorations. Sucking down the vomit that threatened to spill from my lips, my eyes settled on the lifeless eyes of the vampire from earlier; his head impaled on a post meant to mark the forest borders.
"You think it was Alec or Hugo?" Ava asked nervously, her wolf senses roaring to the forefront as I scanned the rest of the dark woodland, now wondering how long we were knocked unconscious.
"He wouldn't have gone to this much effort! Plus, I doubt they would have left us alive!" I expressed anxiously.
"Maybe a warning of what is to come!" Ava whimpered as she looked through my blue hues, her eyes settling uncomfortably on the lifeless eyes of the vampire from the bar. I could feel the tension in her simmering, and I understood this whole night had shattered our nerves.
"Let's get home!" I groaned, feeling eyes boring into my back and not wanting to chance an encounter with whoever the hell had ripped the vampire apart and scattered him all over the ground like fucking confetti.
It didn't take long to speed walk back to the bar; I had considered letting Ava stretch her legs, but, ultimately, I didn't know who was watching me, and the last thing I needed was to give them a reason to attack me. So I decided to play the meek human instead, pulling my arms around me as I pretended to shiver in the cool morning breeze.
Stepping up to the bar, I punched in the code and slipped inside the heavy door, surprised to find all the lights off. I guess the traumatic night had proven too much for Ollie, and he had gone straight to bed instead of having his usual after-party in the bar.
"He is going to have so many questions for us tomorrow," Ava complained as I poured myself a large shot of tequila from the bar and shot it back without hesitation. Pouring another, I sighed, knowing she was right. I had two options: I could stay here and face the music or run! And now that the Azure twins had found me, I knew what I had to do.
Throwing back the shot, I slumped back against the bar, lifting my eyes to look around at it with fondness. The worn bar with its sticky flooring that no amount of cleaning could fix, the booths that lined the walls desperately needed reupholstering, the walls were filled with Polaroid photos of all that came through and let their hair down here at Reds. Stag do's, bachelorette parties, bikers and office folk all socialising and enjoying the live music, cheap drinks and zero fucks given policy.
As run down as Reds might be, it was always packed, and I would miss it and those who frequented it!
"And Ollie?" Ava asked hesitantly, making me smile.
"Yes, I will miss him too!" I smiled warmly, thinking of all our fun together over the years.
"I mean, if we run, will he be safe?" She asked, but I could hear the suggestion in her voice. Would Hugo and Alec torture him for information on my whereabouts?
"I...I don't know!" I whispered with a sigh. The old Alec and Hugo would never have stooped so low as to harm and torture innocent humans to get information. But the new versions I encountered tonight were unpredictable and dangerous, which was a concern.
"If we stay, we will be putting them in more harm than if we leave!" Ava admitted sadly, both of us knowing I was a danger to everyone right now!
"It's not like they know where we live! We get paid cash; we leave no paper trail; we live above the bar for free and have a burner sim. We are untraceable!" I added, sucking down the sadness that washed over me; I didn't want to leave! I loved this bar and the life I had built for myself.
"Yet, he got your mobile number within minutes of seeing you! And Hugo has had your number for months", Ava voiced the same sadness echoed in her voice.
"It might not have been Hugo who has been messaging me!" I grumbled, but we both knew it was; he had made that clear tonight when he called me little wolf, a pet name my psycho stalker used for me. He was leaving no doubt that he was behind my creepy messages.
Pouring another shot, I downed it quickly, leaving the bottle on the bar; I headed up the backstairs to the flat above the bar, punching the code into the security system the door opened for me. Freezing in the doorway, I sniffed the air, inhaling deeply, my blood boiling when the familiar scent hit my nose.
"Wolves!" I whispered, my eyes darting to Ollie's room; rushing to the door, I pushed it open to find his bed empty and the room untouched. He had not come home yet! Panic licked its way up my spine, making me shiver.
"He is probably giving a statement to the police; he witnessed a man get murdered tonight, Aurora," Ava reassured me, and I knew she was right, but still, I needed to know he was ok. Walking across the open-plan apartment to my room, I pulled my phone out and checked the messages. Relaxing seeing multiple from Ollie and Meg asking where I was and letting me know they had to give a statement to the police.
"Told ya!" Ava grinned in my head, rolling my eyes. I froze, cold seeping into my bones and exploding down my spine, seeing a little red crushed velvet box on my bedside table. It was rimmed with gold and glistened in the light from the lamp.
"What the fuck!" I growled, recognising it instantly; I had seen it before in the hand of Alec as he got down on one knee to propose to me all those years ago. Crossing the room, I quickly snatched the box up, hoping I was mistaken, but as my eyes looked at the box, I knew I wasn't; engraved on the box was an A entwined with another A in elaborate swirls.
Lifting the lid, I groaned, seeing the perfect gold wedding band with the exact engraving as the box symbolising our union; beside it, a beautiful sapphire engagement ring glistened in the light.
"Our wedding bands." Ava gasped!
Anger rippled through me, knowing the only way this could have gotten here is if Alec was in my room. The message hidden in this gesture made clear.
'Mine!'
Alec POV "Sir, I... I..." Marcus stuttered nervously, causing me to roll my eyes. Shooting Hugo a look that said 'humans,' I waited for him to spit out the rest of his sentence. "I... I em... Em" My patience snapping; I gripped the phone to my ear tighter, trying desperately to keep my temper under control. My eyes scanned Hugo, who had leant in closer to hear whatever Marcus had to say, evidently getting as nervous as me by his call. We had known Ava would have picked up on the scent of wolves hanging around the bar, even if we had called in a favour from a boarding pack and asked them to watch over her. So, we decided to hire a human security crew after hearing about the attack on Aurora in the woods. Although my pack had squashed the threat and made a very clear example of the filthy vampire, Hugo and I refused to risk any further harm coming to Aurora, the pair of us agreeing that the only people to make our lives hell would be us! The only downfall to hiring a human securi
Alec POV Gripping my stiff member with a throaty moan, my fingers unable to close around the girth, the head sticking up well above my fist, plenty of shaft still exposed and throbbing beyond my firm hold. "See the effect you still have on me, kitty!" I moaned mindlessly, beginning to pump my hand, providing relief to the aching throb threatening to tear my cock apart as I watched Aurora lift off the wall and scream before storming to the bathroom. "Fuck!" I snarled, not wanting to miss a second of her; I let go of my cock for a moment and flicked the camera to those we had set up in the bathroom and watched as she stripped off her little crop top that barely covered her beautiful tits, a groan escaped my lips as her tits bounced free. Her tight pink nipples were already hard. She had always got off on fear and anger; I had lost count of how many times our fights had turned into mind-blowing sex. Sitting back in my chair, my eyes trailed over the screen, watching as she discarded
Aurora POV Feeling the late morning sun lick at my bareback, I groaned as I stretched my aching bones out. Searching along the hardwood floor for the pillow I knew I had gone to sleep with; I sighed as images of the night before danced across my memory. I had trashed my room in a fit of rage, too stubborn to tidy up and put my bed back. I had fallen asleep on the floor with nothing but my blanket and pillow, which I had seemingly lunged across the room during the night, taking my bad mood into my slumberland. "That explains the stiff back!" I mumbled, flipping over onto it with a moan. "You know you will have to clean this shit up, right?" Ava sassed with amusement. "Ugh!" I screamed, kicking my legs and banging my fists at my side like a child who had just been told it was bedtime. "What are you six? Get your ass up and sort this shit out before Ollie gets back! You know he will freak if he sees this mess!" She groaned, but I could hear the concern in her voice. "Did you hear hi
Alec POV "How long will this take, officer?" I asked dryly, trying to keep the irritation from my voice as I checked my watch for the third time since I had entered this filthy room that they used for interrogating humans. I could see the male on the other side of the one-way mirror in his cheap suit, his pot belly bursting the seams of the nasty fabric, as he stuffed another pastry in his mouth. "Greedy bastard!" Wrath scoffed, watching with me as he shovelled it in his mouth like it was to be his last meal. He was in his early 50s, sporting a receding hairline and dead eyes that I could only imagine were from seeing far too much evil in this world. "Funny how we have been dragged into this room, meant to instil fear and panic, yet here we are intimidating this lazy fuck so much he stinks of piss and B.O!" I concluded, looking into the mirror and past my reflection; on the other side of the one-way mirror, he stood licking his fingers of the sugar as he observed me; like the male
Hugo POV "We should be in there with him, not out here watching the door like a fucking mall security guard!" I snarled at my wolf, Fury feeling him stir sleepily. I couldn't suppress the eye roll. "Sorry, am I disturbing you!" I snarled, irritated at my wolf's laziness. "I am sorry, not all of us can survive on caffeine and sex!" He snapped, stretching out in the back of my mind! "Some of us need actual sleep to recharge our damn batteries!" He added grumpily. "Pussy!" I scoffed, shifting my attention to watch the small group walk towards the police station; given their expensive suits and bound leather briefcases, I suspected they were lawyers here to try and get some toff off the hook for a crime they most likely committed. At the back of the herd, a slim brunette with dark skin and even darker eyes smiled at me mindlessly as her dark honeyed gaze found me, licking her lips subconsciously spotting my expensive Prada shirt and Rolex. "Ha! She is only interested in your money
Alec POV: Watching Violet walk down the hall, sashaying her hips deliberately, I pondered Wrath's question; I imagine Violet was beautiful before she was turned into a blood-sucking vampire! Her pale skin and large eyes complimented by her ebony hair, enough to turn any male's head. "Dark hair, pale skin and big eyes.. sounds like your type!" Wrath scoffed. "You forget the part about her being a blood-sucking, entitled piece of shit who thinks she can tell me what to do!" "I bet the sex is good, though!" Wrath grunted, watching Violet disappear into a room down the hall; I chuckled and agreed with him inwardly. Turning and walking through the station, I took in the group of lawyers huddled around by the door getting an ear full from an older guy who, judging by the stench of fear coming off the group, was their boss. Signing out, I noted their expensive suits; although nowhere near as expensive as mine, still it would have cost a couple of grand. Which meant they clearly repr
Aurora POV "I am sorry, miss, I don't know what to tell you! I have no record of you being called in today." The desk clerk explained for the third time. "But I have a voicemail asking me to come in to answer questions about the murder last night." I moaned, searching for my phone in my pocket, also for the third time. "You must have left it in the car!" Ava expressed with exasperation. "No! I didn't! I remember grabbing it before I got out of the car!" I groaned, searching my bag and all my pockets again as the clerk asked if I could remember who the voicemail was from. "Perhaps you dropped it outside when you were flirting with Hugo!" Ava snapped, making me groan! "I was hardly flirting!" I growled, replaying the scene from outside while searching in my bag again. "You know damn well in Hugo's language THAT was flirting." Ava laughed, making me wince; she was right, of course; it seemed she always was! At least lately! "Ma'am?" The clerk asked, motioning to the queue form
Aurora POV "Technically, you're my mate! You never formally rejected me!" Hugo expressed with a wiggle of his perfectly shaped brows, brows that a teenage girl would die for. Was this fucker for real! "I'd say marrying your brother was a pretty clear rejection dickhead!" I snapped without a care for his feelings! Seeing the tension lines form around his eyes, I knew I had hit a nerve and should tread carefully before I set off the bomb that is Hugo! "Fuck it! In for a penny, in for a pound!" I decided, ignoring Ava's whining. "Aurora!" Ava warned, picking up on the heat rising between us! "We have an audience!" I could hear the concern in her voice, but I was too far gone to give two fucks. Besides, that audience would be what saved me from the self-righteous Azure twins! "And... you're my wife!" Alec chimed in, pushing me past the point of return; if this had been years ago, Alec would have destroyed Hugo for alluding to such a thing as sharing me. It seems the brothers had g