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When Olivia had done her Realm web research, she’d seen pictures of Emily with Zane and had compared them to the ones on her cellphone. Olivia had no doubt about Emily’s true identity. But what had driven the woman to leave as she had, clearly faking her own death, was a mystery Olivia had yet to solve. The only thing that made sense, knowing Zane as she did, was that Emily wasn’t really cut out to be the wife of a powerful mastyr vampire. She had a gentle fae, artistic soul and now lived a very quiet life in a small New England hamlet.
Of course, it wasn’t exactly her business, so she let it go. At some point, she knew she’d have to tell Zane, but now didn’t seem like the right time.
“Do you rent the house in Barker’s Bend?” Zane asked.
“Actually, I own it. My mother passed away three years ago and her estate, though modest, allowed me to buy the house as well some land that I farm.”
“Wasn’t there a house on the farm?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t in the best shape. I had it fixed up adequately for the laborers to use as needed during the workday, but I wanted something a little more civilized for myself. And I was drawn to Barker’s Bend. For one thing, when I checked out the listing, there were a lot of shifters at the Elf Lords Hideaway. As reserved as I am, I think it was my way of coming to know the culture a little. Hard to explain.
“Then of course, I saw you about the third night I was here and the rest follows. I guess on some level I feel I was fated to live in Barker’s Bend.”
“You don’t mind all the noise? The bar fights?”
She chuckled. “Actually, I love it, my shifter nature being what it is. And truthfully, it’s a nice change from the farm. Don’t get me wrong, farming suits me. I love the work and I earn a good living from my organic produce.”
“You mentioned that before. You sell to restaurants in Helms Watch.” He cocked his head. “I can see how farming would suit you since it’s very physical work.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, my wolf loves the exertion of working the lan
d. Although, I honestly think it’s the human part of me that enjoys watching things grow.”
She set her now empty plate on the table between them, and held her mug in her hands. She drew up her knees to plant her feet on the seat. She was barefoot. The cold didn’t bother her at all and if it started to, she’d just add more fur.
She stared out at the growing number of stars and the almost full moon showing at the far distant ridge. “Zane, I need you to know that I’ve lived apart all my life and I’m used to it. I’m really independent and I’m not all that girly, if you know what I mean. So this blood rose thing has me really concerned. I mean, I don’t think I have anything to give you or any mastyr, for that matter.”
“Hey,” he said, reaching over and grabbing her shoulder. He gave her a gentle shake. “Don’t think about it right now. We’ll take this one hour at a time.”
She shifted the mug to her right hand and with her left patted her chest. “I’m kind of dead in here. At least that’s the way it feels.”
“Are you sure it isn’t that you’re simply resigned? Because you have a lot of passion, a pleasure in life that makes me think you’re not dead at all.”
“Is that what you see?”
“Yes.” He’d set his plate aside as well and also held his mug.
“Well, maybe. I don’t know. I just want you to be aware that I was perfectly content with my cottage across from the bar, or at least I was for the first couple of days when I moved in.”
He cocked his head. “Why do you say that? After everything you’ve told me, that makes no sense.”
“Because about two days after I had the keys to my house, you showed up at the Elf Lords Hideaway. And the next thing I knew, I was caught up ghosting you for the first time. I remember being drawn out onto the porch and the moment I saw you it was though I got hooked into something I still don’t understand. Though the blood rose thing explains a lot.”
~
Zane sipped his coffee. It was full dark, and he needed to get the night started.
Earlier, while preparing their first meal, he’d made a few decisions about how he wanted the next several hours to go. But he’d definitely been looking forward to this time with Olivia to get to know her better. It was one thing to enjoy her body, to pleasure her and to have her respond. But that wasn’t enough for either of them to figure out how to move forward in this difficult situation.
His biggest problem was with what had happened at the bar. He didn’t blame Ely. The other mastyr was only responding in a very normal, predictable way to an unbonded blood rose. He’d felt the same thing when he’d first laid eyes on Willow. He’d even fallen to his knees and begged Malik to do something or he’d attack her.
“One thing we need to do is to find a way to keep other mastyrs from trying to close the deal with you.” He shared what had happened in Ashleaf Realm when he’d first seen Willow.
To his surprise, Olivia bared her teeth and a soft growl left her throat.
He took her hand and turned over her wrist. He licked the veins, then struck so that blood pooled. He took a moment to savor her cinnamon taste, then began streaking his arms with her blood. “Maybe your blood on me will keep you safe from other mastyrs. Malik did this and it made a huge difference, seemed to keep my drive toward Willow in check.”
She growled again. “And what about you getting near other women here in Swanicott? So long as we’re in this, I won’t take kindly to any woman hanging on you. I need you to know that, Zane. The shifter in me is possessive, as in tear-down-the-house. And I’m not talking about a relationship, I’m talking about your body. You’re mine, for however long this lasts.” She reached over and slid a hand very slowly across his zipper and fondled his half-erect cock. She probably wanted to make sure he didn’t misunderstand what she was saying.
