Archaic (Reverse Harem 2)

And I see it as the small town breaks into a snow-covered field.

“Pull over,” I say. “You can let us out here.”

The cab driver gives me a weird look but obeys all the same.

Clarissa’s head leans up, and she looks around at nothing but the

blanket of snow around us. I pay the cab driver before the two of us get out, her hand still clinging to mine.

“What are we doing?” she asks.

“An adventure,” I say.

I point toward the horizon at the small glow of a town off in the distance. I can hear singing and cheering. People laughing and bustling about. The cab drives off, and we start across the field, braving the knee-deep snow through the field and the woodlands. The closer we approach the louder the joyful noises become. Jokes are being told, and glasses are being broken as alcohol permeates our noses. Clarissa looks up at me with her sparkling eyes, and I stop. I turn toward her as the forest shelters our bodies from the falling snow, and I cup her cheek once again in my palm.

Her eyes turn into a mystical blend of yellow and orange, and I can feel her entire body vibrating with her purrs. A soothing sound that sends sparks of electricity shooting through my chest.

She’s opening herself up to me. Allowing me in. Giving me a chance to prove to her the joy and comfort I can bring to her world.

I pull her close, my body vibrating with my own purrs. Our rhythm syncs and our heartbeats meld into one. I pick her up into my arms and hold her close, her eyes never leaving mine as I walk silently along the forest floor.

I can feel her warmth nestling against my heart.

And I can feel the rhythm of her cat-like nature falling into step with mine.

Chapter 22

~ Sebastian

“C ut it out,” I say with a growl.

“Not until you calm down,” Penny says. “You’re injured. Badly.

And though you’re healing quickly, it’s not quick enough. I’m worried.”

“How caring of you,” I say.

“The proper response is ‘thank you,’” she says.

I lay on the bed as Penny dabs at my wounds. I know why I’m not healing fast enough, and I don’t like it. An alpha’s inflicted wounds take longer to heal. Vlad sank his claws into me, which

means my skin was pierced by a Wolf more dominant than I am. Not something I enjoy admitting. It feels foreign to even think about. In my pack, had I not been cast out, I would’ve been the alpha. The leader. The warrior and the ultimate procreator. I would’ve taken any woman in the pack I wanted for myself and filled our growing numbers by the dozens.

But being struck down by another alpha? That takes longer to come back from.

Vlad was in worse shape, however. And sinking my saliva beneath his skin meant a much longer healing time for him. If a Wolf licks wounds, it binds the two together and heals the wounded quickly. But if saliva is intentionally injected underneath the skin, sometimes a Wolf can bleed out before they heal.

It’s our best gift and our worst curse.

I sniff the air, trying to get a whiff of Clarissa. But as time passes, her scent fades. Soon, I can’t smell her at all. I move from the bed as Penny tries to press me down, but I knock her out of my way.

“Fine. Bleed out on the floor. See if I care,” she says.

“Where’s Clarissa?” I ask. “And Toshi?”

I sniff the air and notice a distinct lack of Toshi’s smell in the room. It’s too absent. Too hard to track.

Camouflage.