“Hmmmm,” he nodded before turning his head to yawn. Stretching his legs out with a spread of his thighs, he released another heavy exhale of a sigh. Trevor was finally showing signs of aging with tiny sparse curls of silver in his hair. It wasn’t noticeable or obvious but if you stared long enough, you’d see it. He looked down at me, seeing my intense stare before leaning down to kiss me once more.
“What do you need from me?” He asked with another kiss. “I’m about to take a nap with my baby in a second.”
“Nothing in particular,” I replied as we kissed again. Before Trevor could get up, we were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing throughout the building.
“It’s most likely someone looking to book a room,” he said as he slowly got up. “I’ll shut it down before heading to bed.”
I watched him stretch his back as he made his way down the set of stairs and listened. When I didn’t hear anything, I was about to get up until Trevor called out my name.
“Himora?! Come here!”
Curious, I called for Sin the kitten as I placed Dawn in her play pin, letting her familiar keep a watchful eye on her. Walking down the next set of stairs, I saw the tall woman with her purse clutched tight against her chest. Her hair was slicked back in a bun and when she turned around, I saw the resemblance almost instantly. Her light complexion, bright pink lips, silver hair streaking the natural dark brown and full figure woman of someone much older than any of us here. She was of the Southern Five, a Martin witch.
“How can I help you?” I asked. She brought her hand to her nose for a rub and sniff like she’d been crying.
“I was expecting to see my nephew here, Ace Martin–––“
“Well he’s not here right now, what do you want? You got the woman who owns this instead so what is it?” Trevor asked, snappy from his lack of nap.
“I have no ties to whatever my family is doing, I want to make that very clear,” she sniffed as she looked down at her hands. Fumbling with the strap on her purse, she suddenly looked up at me. “My son is missing.”
Ayira the Princess
I stepped out of the bathroom and turned the light off. I kept the towel close as I stepped onto the plush carpet and looked around. The home was suddenly dark and there was no sign of the wolf anywhere.
“Seth?” I called out.
“I’m in here. Follow the light… I know you see it.”
Smiling, I took one step in front of the other, turning out of the room where I saw a small blue candle lit on the floor, followed by another, and another. Each step I took felt like I was back at the palace but there was no one to bow at me. No one announce my arrival. I am simply Ayira out here and as the candles trailed out to the open area, I gasped at the sight of true city lights. The entire home was filled with windows stretching from one end to another, all showing the city that never sleeps. There was a few burning candles on the table, but the rest was a pallet he made on the floor where he sat down. He watched my every move when I walked up to the windows in awe.
“This is why you wanted me to cover my eyes,” I said. Seth’s yellow gaze stared at me with such intensity, it truly looked like I was looking into the eyes of the most dangerous creature. He propped his knees up with his elbows draped over them and clasped his hands together to hold.
“I don’t normally do this. Just so you know,” he added as I continued to stare out the window at the nightlife surrounding us. “I looked up some things about your people and read up on the cultural. This is a big deal for you.”
I heard the confidence in his tone as I continued to stare out the window, anxious to see the rest of the world.
“You know, I pride myself making sure women feel safe, comfortable, and protected,” he went on. “I think we’re gonna have a good time…As long as you’re not scared.”
“I am not scared of anything,” I murmured, eyes dancing with the light in my eyes reflecting back at me.
“I can even teach you a few things… Something you can learn like how to please a man or even yourself,” he quickly added. “So that you feel good during this experience. When I read that you all light candles around the bed and blow them out when it’s done…I figured I’d get some candles and do that. I want to respect your culture.”
I turned around to see him pulling out multiple jars of candles a little bigger than the ones trailing towards the bed.
“Let me ask you something,” he said, as he pulled out more candles.
“Yes?” I turned to look back at the city, still in a daze at the sight of it.
“Why me? We don’t know each other…is this some sort of you just wanna try something with a shifter?”
“Maggie said werewolves are–––“
“Aht aht,” he cut in. “I’m not a werewolf.”
“No?” I asked, turning to look back at him. I tightened the hold on my towel. “You are not a werewolf?”
“Not the same as Namir. If you’re after me because you want to experience my brother then I hate to break it to you, I’m not on that type of time.” He pulled out another candle, but I could see the amused expression on his face. “Does she know you like her boyfriend?”
