Three reluctant but affirmative approvals later, we were finally driving without having to stop at every border. The wolves would just stare at us as we drove by, some narrowing their eyes as if daring us to randomly stop and attack them.

Alrik did not seem phased at all and was completely relaxed as he drove past them without giving them a glance.

And since there was nothing to do at the moment, I took the time to study him unabashedly. I was honestly wondering if he handled everything the same way he handled my car – calm, smooth, and calculated.

"You're staring at me like I'm some sort of specimen," he said, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

I placed my elbow on the dashboard and leaned my head on my hand, "Well, I have to admit I have never met anyone like you."

The world's tiniest smirk formed on his face, "That's because we're my mates. I could say the same thing about you. I have never met another female like you because I never–"

"You never gave the same amount of attention to another female who isn't Reece or your mother," I finished for him.

"Exactly, except the attention I give you is different. I don't plan on ever kissing Reece or my mother like I do you," he said calmly as if what he said did not affect him at all.

He actually thought about kissing me again? I haven't even given our first kiss a second thought.

"You seem to be panicking internally."

"I just–I haven't exactly thought about our relationship yet."

"Are you a virgin?"

My elbow gave out, and my head almost slammed the dashboard as I gaped at him "How does that relate at all?"

"I was only curious. I'm not going to be mad if you aren't because I'm not one either."

I eyed him carefully. He said he did not mind, but his hands did tighten a little around the steering wheel. He was either jealous or uncomfortable with the idea.

"I'm not a virgin. Although, I could be one. It's been almost fifty years since I had sex," I said, watching his hands loosen.

Alrik was not the type of person to display emotion around just anyone. He frowned, smirked, and cracked an occasional rare smile around me, but around everyone else, he was about as emotional as a pile of dirt.

He had plastered layers upon layers of this emotionless mask on his face to the point where his actions were almost robotic.

But after a close observation, I could see there were little cracks in his mask that showed he had a human side, like the way his lips would twitch when I amused him or how he clenched his fists to hide his displeasure or how he squinted at people when he didn't appreciate their tone with him.

He had a passionate side to him, the kiss proved that, but he just did not show it very often, probably because he thought of it as a weakness.

"I haven't had sex in almost a century."

I snapped out of my daze and blinked in disbelief, "A century? How old are you?"

"27 in werewolf years and 273 in human years. I'm assuming witches and werewolves age differently?"

"They do," I nodded, "In human years, I'm technically 254, but I'm actually only 24. But are you serious? You haven't had sex in a century? I know men who can't go a month without it."

"I never desired women as much as I desired blood."

Our conversation took a sadistic turn. I was not surprised he liked bloodshed, but I did not expect that to be the reason he abstained.

"I hope you mean the blood of your enemies because you sound very vampirish right now, and I am not giving you my blood for your pleasure."

He let out a low chuckle that had my stomach fluttering, "I'm a hundred percent werewolf. I only shed the blood of people who disobey me or try to stop me from what I want or are rogue."

"My grandmother is a rogue," I huffed quietly, not intending for him to hear.

"You're only part witch?"

"I'm three-fourths witch and one-fourth bitch," I said, laughing at my own joke, "I'm surprised you didn't know that from the background check you ran on me."

Alrik stiffened and shifted in his seat, "How do you –"

"You don't seem like the type of the person to get comfortable with someone you just met," I pointed out, tapping my lips as I studied his stick-like posture, "But since you didn't know I'm a fourth werewolf, I'm guessing you ran it but didn't read it."

He was silent for a few moments before he pursed his lips, "I chose not to read it.".

Knowing he didn't read it meant a lot to me. It was almost like a confirmation for our relationship, that he was comfortable around me because of what I told him, not because of an outside source.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his cheek, "Thank you."

Maybe I shouldn't have pecked him on the cheek. Maybe we were moving too quickly. Maybe I should be wary because I did not know him completely.

There were a lot of maybes to our situation.

But I was willing to throw caution to the wind for this moment to show my appreciation.

He was still a walking contradiction, but if we progressed like this, he would be my contradiction.

I pulled back and didn't wait to watch his reaction, "Pull over. I'll drive now."

***

The next two hours flew by silently. Alrik had not said anything since I kissed him on the cheek, and while I drove, he spent his time typing away on his laptop.

I pulled into the parking space right next to the dock and cut the engine, staring at the large gray ship that was approaching the harbor slowly.

"The Witch?" Alrik asked, raising an eyebrow at the name of the ship.

I chuckled, "It was a gift from the Minister when I became the head of the Coven."

"He gave you a ship. As a gift."

I narrowed my eyes at his tone, "I love sailing. Why else do you think we're going by water?"

"So you're the captain?"

"I would like to think so," I trailed off at the smirk on his face.

"We'll see about that."