Blood dripped into his mouth as blue eyes slide shut, head tipped back against the rough stone behind his head stinging in places were the sharper ends of rock met with his tender scalp. At the moment he didn’t care. The taste of his own blood from a small split on his lip could falter an already slipping mind. He breathed a little heavy through his nose as he swallowed a couple of times, waiting, listening. The fool likely wasn’t brave enough to venture down into the darkness like he was especially if the pool decided to speak up. Before he knew what was actually down here the voices spooked him off. His hands were on either side of his body with his palms facing down and legs pulled up with feet flat ready to spring up if he needed to. The irony taste of his blood made the wolf stir with anticipation making him want to come to life right beneath his human’s skin. He’d been on a rampage the last few days. Things for the human counterpart had been falling into place one by one. He was even taking steps to grapple with more control and it had the wolf scattering looking for any shred of control he could have left. He refused to go. He refused to be forgotten.

But with Larkin’s steadiness and Adrian back in the picture this meant defeat.

Blue eyes finally opened and squinted only slightly against the bright light of the mirrored pool that reflected. It was eerily quiet. Instead, the water sat silently not even rustling but looked smooth as clear ice. He tipped his head a little debating on getting up when he had suddenly heard the sound of feet heading through the shadows. He ducked a bit more towards the ground among the rocks as fingers scoot crossed the cement looking for a large sharp rock. He would bash the bastards head in if he was found. Eyes stayed locked on the entrance and what came through was surprising. The woman he had completely dismissed a short time ago came walking through and headed towards the pool clearly not noticing he was there. Her long elegant form draped in a black form fitting dress. He shouldn’t be eying her but he couldn’t help it as the need to be close hit him.

It hurt having the distance but he knew he stuck it there for a reason and much like an addict would he kept thinking of ways he could get around it. Maybe if they didn’t stay fully together and took days apart… maybe it wouldn’t happen like he thought it would… maybe they could figure out a way to control the wolf… or maybe he would ultimately destroy her. In the end, he knew he wanted to be with her as bad as he wanted to murder her.

She spoke words and it caused a slow but humorless smile to come to his face. ”It’s been quiet for awhile.” he said offhandedly as he slowly brought himself up to his feet and without hesitation closed in the space between them. Keen blue eyes were set on her not once moving off of her form as he stooped low in a crouch stopped inches from her back. ”I think we broke it.” It showed nothing for him nor did it seem to want to show anything for her. Her bare skin beckoned him… he wanted to taste it just one more time but he also wanted her blood. Quietly he ran his lips a mere breath away from her skin up her shoulder blade to her shoulder where he now just rested his chin and almost like magic the pool started to move with faint voices chattering but the sound was disoriented and muffled. It was then he pulled back. The idea of what the pool could conjure up for the two of them was terrifying. He didn’t want to see it….. nor did he think it would help his control. Sitting back on his rump more with his legs a small width apart his fingers brushed over the tops of his boots.

His fingers itched to move forward but he kept them planted in keeping him balanced as he leaned forward resting his chin on her shoulder. Surprisingly she only gave him a short glance before looking away back at the silent pool. Her scent filled his nose and started kicking in the chemicals of his brain that told him exactly who this was: His mate. The person the stars had aligned him with. If he had believed in destiny then he probably would have taken a further interest in the matter but to him all it meant was misfortune. Death. Chaos.

The instant he touched her cool smooth skin the pool started to breathe to life with a small shroud of various voices that sounded distant and muffled. Blurry images tried to appear on the surface of the water and out of pure fear he pulled away. He didn’t want to see what could be conjured up because promises were the easiest thing to break. It was probably how they ended up where they were at in the first place. A promise of a bright future that he in no way seeing coming true… not now. The one carrying his child was not Lucia but Larkin and the one in danger were not Larkin but Lucia.

He fell back on his feet his rump nearly touching the ground as he balanced himself in a crouch. He didn’t fully expect her to turn around and face him not without some kind of devious expression but there was none. Instead, it seemed curiosity was taking the front seat for the time being. Her words caused him to arch a brow. ”I could say the same about you.” he murmured. ”You look damn well….. Appetizing.” A wolfish growl entered his throat but it wasn’t a threat, it was pleased. To say he didn’t like what he saw would have been a lie. He always found Lucia to be the more appealing of the girls he guarded over. Not that she was overly pretty or she had some exotic look to her but there was just something about the way she could move the subtleties about her. The curve of her pretty lips, the way her hair fell over her shoulders, the sultry look in her silver eyes. There was more to her than sex and he knew it. He also knew she had time to unlock that type of mystery to herself now that she had the freedom. It made his heart feel lighter at the thought of it. At the thought of what she could really become. At what she could achieve and succeed at.

Her true potential.

But she was a head turner, she didn’t need him. He would only weight her down and not entirely in a good way. He rocked a little on his feet as his eyes dropped feeling the weight of her eyes on him. She got his heart pounding hard and climbing up his throat. Her words though caused him to give a shouldered shrug but before he could really answer she was moving in on him. Her scent once more intoxicating his brainwaves with her hypnotizing power she had over him. Fucking mate bond. Her thumb was running over his lip as she inspected it and for a moment blue eyes locked with her silver. ”A growl just for me?” his brows rose a bit as a charismatic grin plastered itself on his lips. Finally, he let himself fall back into a sit with his rear firmly against the ground. ”Just a busted lip nothing fancy.” they both knew he could take quite a hit. The boss liked to play him as the whipping boy. ”I will be fine.” his voice lingered in a low timbre as he grabbed her hand and carefully pulled it from it face but still holding onto it not wanting to let go. Why was it so hard? ”So you find anything new and exciting with your freedom?” He asked letting go of her hand finally and resting it back on his legs.

”Too late.” he teased with a sly wolfish grin. Of course, compliments didn’t come by the plenty with him. It was something someone had to earn and he supposed Lucia earned those rights a while ago. No less he also liked it to be something that showed his genuine feelings on something. He didn’t just say things to get in good with someone. He said them because he meant them. He remained sitting backward with his hand gently on her hand. It was hard to let go. It was hard to have said those words awhile go when they had last run into each other and let her go then. Almost like if he let go now it was really over. His mind should be with Larkin as was his heart and they were but at the same time in this entire situation he had been torn in two places. Each woman had their strong suites that helped him in different ways. He wouldn’t be a selfish man and ask them both to just stay with him even if he wanted to but he also had to realize something…. There was a destiny and there was an ending to all the madness he just had to get there first.

After a few more moments of hesitation, he allowed his fingers to let go and she drifted into her self. Her fingers caressing the skin of her other arm and for a moment his eyes watched the trail they made. Her words though brought him back out of his distant trance and trail back up to her silver eyes. ”Oh?” he tried to sound interested rather than disappointed but he was almost too sure that his voice betrayed him. The words ’I met someone’ could mean a lot of things. Way more than what the rest of the sentence means. A growl crawled up his throat in a possessive manner but he quickly shut the air off to it that sounded more like a kicked dog yelping as it wheezed and squeaked into nothing. His eyes dropped. No. He should be happy for her.

”A guard, huh? How fancy.” He tried to tease and joyfully prod at her but it was a pathetic attempt. No less he pushed a mask on and corrected his expression though his blue eyes were clearly speaking a different story giving him away entirely. ”You should do it. Who knows what kinds of opportunities that could open up for you. Then you won’t have to worry about someone trying to manhandle you.” His eyes squeezed shut with a humorous image in his head as he made a soft scoff. He could feel her scoot closer and he felt the pulse jump and quicken. The subtle movements she could do were enough to send him into a sweating frenzy. Quietly he reopened them as he watched her toy with the fabric of his pants near his ankle. Her words made him sourly smile again before shaking his head sadly. ”For now at least.” He didn’t have control. He liked to think he did but the truth was he didn’t. ”But I am learning.” he admitted. It was a little easier now that Adrian was back around… his security blanket. Someone he really needed to learn from because Adrian was everything he was not. He was a good person…. Kind and caring. ”Learning to be a better person.” He wasn’t entirely that great of a person. Look what he had done to Lucia. He took her from home and put her in slavery… he forced her to stay. He broke her heart, her mind, and even as far as her body at one point with attempted murder.

He was a terrible person.

”But luckily I have a fantastic teacher.” he said with a hopeful grin. ”I recently got back in touch with my older brother, Adrian.” Despite what their father may think of the older sibling, Felix was proud of him. Proud to call him his older brother and valued him enough to attempt to learn from him. It was a pity though that he had to find him at one of his low points. After a few moments though his eyes went back to her fingers that toyed with the material of his pants and he leaned his hand forward catching her fingers with his and entwined them. He at least wanted her to know one thing. ”I am proud of you.” he said simply. Proud that I didn’t break you and you were stronger than that were the words that wanted to come out but kept them choked back. He wouldn’t be that sappy not even for her. ”Proud that you get to make something of yourself. I’m interested to see this new and improved fine ass feline.”

There were so many things running through his head, so many memories they had been through together, so many voices of telling him what he should and shouldn’t do, and of course the ever-lurking black beast that was constantly present. It was things like this he had to learn to block out on his own and not just use Larkin to do so. Her calm and serene energy took all the anxiety in him and just flatlined them. He breathed through his nose as the growl was smothered into nothing more than a squeak. She noticed it and it was shown clearly on her face but instead of mentioning it she went on to say she was happy to look forward to something. As she should. ”You were never just a whore to me, Lucia.” And she hadn’t been. He knew from the beginning of having to deal with her that there was something different about her. Something that stuck out with unlocked potential. No of the other guardians had wanted to deal with her. She just was too hot for them to handle. Felix was almost immune to her charms and her temper. His brows rose as she said she liked being manhandled and he snorted with a different opinion. ”Not the way I remembered it.”

Of course his manhandling meant her being dragged back and the type she was referring to was a bit more fun.

Fingers were pressing into the skin of his ankle and he glanced down at them for a moment. Listening to the quiet swishing of the pool once more. It was a curious thought as to why it seemed to only come to life when there was contact made but much like before it was muddied. You couldn’t understand it unless you were paying close enough attention and to be honest all he could think about was her skin -- even if just fingers -- on his.

She spoke again but all he could picture was her hand creeping up further on his pant leg. It was almost a crime as how easily she got to him. He pushed air again through his nose at her comment of him ‘killing her’. ”It shouldn’t have happened.” though there it came back to mind that everything happened for a reason. Larkin gave him the push to be defiant… and even got Lucia out by nearly killing her. It all worked out. They both got out. ”Good people don’t go around hurting those they care about.” he said simply as he leaned a little back on his hands for a moment with a steady gaze on her silver eyes. ”Good people also don’t have beasties lurking in the dark crevices of their minds. You are a good person but me… I’m working on becoming one.” He nodded his head. She was and despite she may think she wasn’t he had another thing to tell her. She was forced into that lifestyle… he hadn’t been. He had done the things almost willingly. A half smile crossed his features at the mention of his brother and he nodded. ”You have seen an image of him when we were kids… the last time we came here.” He shifted a little. ”He stood beside me when our father walked out on us.”

He could remember that image perfectly. He nearly ran after Farkas when he had turned and left and like the good big brother he was, grabbed him by the hand and told him it would be okay from then on Felix put his trust into Adrian.

The reaction he had gotten from her was one of the more satisfying ones he could have thought of. Of course, it probably would have been better and far safer with cheesy words being passed between the two of them but seeing as who they were…. It was befitting. She lunged at him and pressed her lips into his own, bunching up his shirt in her fingers as she dragged him and her closer. The kiss was deep and sent waves of electricity rushing through him. Fingers crept up to the side of her neck and in behind her head pushing her in tighter against him until she slowed and only backed up enough to remind him…. Remind him of the bunny.

His hazy blue eyes blinked a few times but she still remained close despite her words, his hips raising up a little to bump into her own as a soft growl crawled up his throat. ”I shouldn’t.” he answered. Not just for the sake of Larkin but also for Lucia. The scent of that feline enthralled the pacing beast in his mind feeling a pulse of weakening control. She sent his predator senses soaring and sometimes it was hard to tell which was actually him and which was his waning control. ”It might be dangerous to kick up the murky waters.” he breathed through his eyes was already moving to her lips wanting to bite them again, his fingers moving from the back of her head and sliding down her cheek to her chin and jaw.

They itched to tighten around her slender throat and bruise them. Crush the veins in her neck with a tender crunch from cutting off blood supply and oxygen. Her skin was so soft and warm that it probably wouldn’t take much to leave a satisfying dark bluish purple mark kissing her neck. His eyes lingered on her neck for a moment as his head tipped to the side.

The shades of blue in his eyes were lightening bit by bit even though a dark shadow loomed in his mind. She was right. A good person wouldn’t regret and regret was something he did. However, he would comment no more on it and gave her a small nod in a ‘you are right’ fashion. It was unlike him to not give a rebuttal to prove that he was right for once he wanted to simmer in the satisfaction that maybe there was some kind of hope. That out of all of this there was a light at the end of a very long and very harrowing tunnel. It was people like his brother, Larkin, and even Lucia who made him feel a little stronger and give him a little more boost to not just give up… even if it would be easier doing so. ”Sometimes. Just disheartening I won’t ever get to repay my gratitude for it. He’s the big brother, he says, it’s what he’s supposed to do.” he rolled his eyes. His brother could be stubborn. Even when he found out that he had attempted to hide him away from the group that was now hunting him down, he got scolded for it. ”Killian…. Is your someone, right?” he asked her. He never understood the relationship between the two felines. He was pretty sure there were a lot of blurred lines in that relationship and as much as he was okay with it – he also felt unnerved. ”I mean before you and I… mates and all… Why hadn’t you two gone further than what you are today?” he was curious. What stopped them? Was it really because of their work? As far as he knew the two of them still managed to be together regardless. She couldn’t lie and say they weren’t simply because he could smell it. He knew the smell of Killian as she stunk of him from high heaven more often than she would likely admit to.

The situations they put themselves in were anything but tame and anything but delicate. As her lips pressed into his, he pressed back snaking his fingers up her neck and jaw to the back of her head as if to hold her there. Not like he really had to do much begging on the matter. She moved and roamed with encouraging feline purrs that he only wanted to get intensified. She moved to his neck, her fingers roaming under his shirt. She spoke between hot breaths knowing full and well what he would answer and answer he wouldn’t. She knew the answer. She knew that Larkin existed and she knew that he likely wouldn’t go through with this especially now with bringing her up. Her next comment caused his brows to raise as he leaned in a bit licking along her throat and nipped and growled against her ear. It wasn’t a soft move but it wasn’t like she was a delicate flower either. ”I’m the murky water.” he said. In other words, he was meaning the wolf. Though the wolf was rather appeased with the scenario that was quickly unraveling afore him, he would rather take charge. His grip on her was firm and a little harsh as he held her still from her moving and wiggling around with teasing kisses, hip rocking, and finger roaming. He nipped her ear and tugged on the lobe. He was getting lost in her scent, his fingers gripping silver hair as he moved down her neck and towards her throat right as he was about to bite he was stopped when she pulled back a bit and the loud ruckus of the pool stalled them.

Instantly it was like the hazy yellow sheen lifted from his eyes as she twisted to glance back at the pool and he peered around her. He watched as the blur started to christen showing the both of them in Elven attire. The pool swirled and chattered at the two of them. ”Looks like you could be a guard after all.” he said. ”But why Elven? Was this person you met….” His tone lingered on the end not wanting to assume but of course it seemed highly likely that was what it was but why on earth would he be there? ”Not sure why I am there though.” The dark haired man definitely looked up to no good but it wasn’t that far-fetched of an idea that if the price was right….. He’d deal with him. Beggars couldn’t be choosers not anymore.

The words echoed in his ears. Love. It was such a heavy word to hear and hold onto and it was one that sent the wolf’s skin crawling. He detested the word. Made the hackles on his shoulder, neck, and spine stand on end with how pure the word was. His eyes dropped for a moment because of the uneasy feeling he was getting from the wolf that lurked. It agitated him. She agitated him. Just like Eriu did all those years ago when he had been so twitterpated with the idea of “love”. He didn’t even know what the word meant back then but he knew this felt different. It felt different than with Larkin and Eriu. This was a feeling that could last for eons a thing that only happened in destinies and fates. He loved or love Larkin. His heart was with her and probably always would be but the pull wasn’t there. The pull was with Lucia and he had sadly just been trying to outrun it for fear of breaking her in half. He nearly broke her head which magically somehow got mended what’s to say he wouldn’t go further? What’s to say he wouldn’t stop at just attempting her death but successfully doing it? How does love stop something like that?

It didn’t stop it before when he smashed her head into those bars.

”But why?” He said. He knew he did this so often to her about telling her that he was the worst person in the world and even proved it by putting her on death's door but she refused to believe it. She refused to take his words for more than just a grain of salt. ”Is it just because it’s a mate thing or is it because of something else? How can you love someone who is stricken with insanity? Why is it so easy to still love your --- murderer…” Though in reality, he didn’t actually kill her he had tried and he had murdered so many people. He knew Killian had a big part of her life and oddly it didn’t make him as jealous to know that it wasn’t anything past …. Best friends. No, he didn’t like thinking they slept with one another but he could identify with what it meant with being physically close to someone. His was Larkin. She was the only person he could physically be close to for a long period of time without wanting to rip their head off after a while. That little bunny was going places and he could see it.

But with him and Lucia their highs could get really high and their lows could get really low. They fed off of one another and that was what made them work so well and yet so hard against. Her comment caused him to give her a ghosted smile as she melted into him before they had ended up getting interrupted…. Which was probably for the better. Her words caused him to arch a brow but he comments the comment to himself. The pools were steadily starting to calm again as the images started to melt away and his name caused him to look back at the feline. ”I don’t try to.” he said but he also knew it was for the best. He just wished he was trying to cover up and move on. To forget about a mate was a lot harder than it sounded. ”I want to do the right thing. I want to explore this…. Mate bond. But I tried to kill you, Lucia.” his eyes stared directly into hers. ”And I don’t forgive myself for that. I never will.” He most definitely regretted it and sometimes he didn’t even know what his triggers were. Sometimes they just happened. ”There are things that just set me off. I’m so unstable and unpredictable that it could be a random word and I lose my shit. How could you want someone like that?” He winced. ”All I want to do is protect you and love you…. But how can I do that if I can’t even protect you from myself?”

She was pretty quick to dismiss what all he had to say and it slightly made his brows furrow at her. However, for once he wasn’t trying to argue. He was simply just wanting to express how he felt but Lucia wasn’t apparently having it. As she sat back and then steadily climbed to her feet he felt his heart beginning to race in his chest. He knew he should just let her walk away. This right here could have been the end of it all because she even said so. If she left this time she was done, gone, it was the end. Blue eyes stared up at her their color darkening with an almost anxiety as she leaned down and forward pushing her lips on his own.

This was what he wanted right? For her to go?

Yet the more he thought about it the worse it was feeling and even more so it felt like the wrong choice. Was it just the mate-bond playing with his mind? As he kept his lips pressed into hers his hand lifted and ran up her arm before tugging her back down to where she would now be comfortably on his lap. His hand left her arms as both now cupped the side of her face, fingers in her hair as he pulled back just a little. His breath was nosy as he tried to keep control of it but with the pounding of his heart and the adrenaline he was steadily starting to feel, he was getting breathless. He was scared but he didn’t voice the matter. He was scared where this was going to make them end up. ”Lucia…” He said. ”If we are really gonna do this and you wanna do this we need to have an understanding.” his thumb ran along her cheek as he watched her expression for any changes. ”It needs to be just me and you. No other women, men…. No bed warmers. No flings. No emotional attachments. If this is it and you choose me and I choose you…. Then that is all it needs to be..”

Now the ball was in her court. Would she choose him over everyone else?.....