《Stolen Moon (A Werewolf Novel)》Chapter Fifteen
Advertisement
Antiope
I wake up with the sound of the door of Magnus's room and then the shower running, I glance at the clock at my bedside. 6 o'clock. I slept through most of the day, tossing around, fighting my exhaustion, my guilt, my spleen and the freaking jet lag.
I decide to have a shower as well and get ready for dinner. Which I desperately need. I haven't eaten anything all day but judging by breakfast, I doubt I'd get a full meal. How the hell does he keep so built?
I enter the shower trying to remain unimpressed by the all-wood bathroom with the window to the lake and the minimalistic aesthetic. This place is really good. Any other girl would love it here. I can't enjoy it.
I let the spray of water fall down my shoulders as I place my hands on the wooden wall and pretend for the millionth time that I am not going to cry. I inhale deeply and remain unmoving as the place gets filled with steam, the window in the shower fogged exactly as my mind is.
I want out, I want to go back. I want Celia safe. I want so many things and none of those that I got. What did I do to Moon Goddess to punish me like that? The water keeps running down on me and time becomes irrelevant.
"Antiope!" I suddenly hear Magnus's agitated voice in the bathroom.
What the fuck is he doing here? Freaking pervert! I wipe some the window with my palm and I see him standing there with a scared look on his face, looking around through the humidity, his hands in fists.
"Get the hell out!" I scream.
"I was calling you, Antiope, and you didn't answer. Fan! I was scared that you..."
"What? Sliced my veins in the bathtub? Can't say I haven't thought of it."
He takes two steps, opens the shower door and grabs my arm. He pushes me to him, never minding that I making his probably expensive dress shirt all wet.
"This is not a joking matter, little girl," his voice is thick with worry.
"Well, neither is kidnapping but you seem to have a blast," I retort.
Magnus lets go of my arm and takes a step back. I got to give it to the man. Here I am, stark naked and dripping wet – by the water mind you – and he keeps his eyes in mine, not once glancing down my body. Talking about self-control.
"Get ready!" He orders. "Dinner is at 7. Don't be late!"
"Sir, yes, sir!" I mock salute him.
He says nothing, just walks away and closes the door behind him. That was fun. And interesting. And disturbing. As a male, he needs to know constantly that I am safe. That need is going to push him to mark me so we can establish our mind-link. And that would be it. Nothing to be done about it. Even if I ever met my true mate, it would take a lot to break that bond and may kill me in the process. Damn it!
Advertisement
I get out of the shower and I dry myself. I comb my hair but decide to do nothing more than dry them. I also put no make-up on and I sway between wearing my high heels or my biker boots. I decide to be an adult and wear high heels. If he keeps insisting on formal dinners like the psycho he is, I will have to ask for simple ballerinas.
I go down the stairs and again I see him in the kitchen. He has changed outfit and he is now in a white t-shirt, a grey cardigan over it, black loose jeans and... barefoot. I am suddenly over-dressed.
The moment my high-heels click on the first step, his eyes dart up to me. Goddess, I may never get over that momentary clench in my stomach when his eyes land on me. There isn't a bluer blue in the whole of the vast sky behind him than those two eyes. This time, he allows his look to roam my body from my hair down to my legs. And he licks his lips slowly.
"He still likes us!" Max is purring in the back of my mind.
But then his look turns harder, colder as if I insult him with my presence. He is still an Alpha, still of royal blood and he is not letting me forget about it.
"You can go change if you want," he waves at me. "I was thinking of celebrating our first... It was stupid. Wear whatever you want and come down to eat."
That's all he says before going back to cooking whatever he has going on. And it smells delicious. My stomach rumbles and decides that changing clothes is not worth it. So, I take my heels off and go down the stairs with them in hand. When I am down, I see the table is set, and there are several candles that were lit but now are blown off.
"That's how I saw you the first time," he says and I turn to him.
He is making a sauce of some kind while checking a pot at the same time. He is not looking at me but I feel his presence.
"With the high heels in hand," this time his voice is softer.
I hate that soft voice. That soft voice doesn't belong to The Butcher. It belongs to a hot, sexy man that cooks. I don't like that man. Not one bit.
"Yeah, right!" Max offers.
"Shut up!"
"Need any help?" I cough.
When my question reaches him, he does turn to me. Again, that clench. Goddess, make him less striking. Magnus regards me seriously for a while and then goes back to stirring the sauce.
"Want to make sure I don't poison you?"
"You wouldn't. Where's the fun in that? I just want to make sure we eat at a reasonable time and a reasonable thing," I say and enter the kitchen.
"Is venison with berry sauce and mashed potatoes up to your standards?"
Venison? Yeah, that is pretty much the peak of my standards. No wonder I smelled something good.
Advertisement
"I can take care of the mashed potatoes," I look at the stove.
For a while, we just exist in the same space, not talking. It is not that comfortable, sweet thing my parents do when they prepare Sunday dinner for us. It is not casual, not easy, not flowing. I am still bitter and sore and hurt.
But it just works, like the beats of a watch. Without talking, we know what the other needs and hand it to him. And while I try to make sure I don't bump into him, I study him. I need to get to know this man, find out his weakness, figure out a way out. Plus, he would be capable of not adding butter to the damn potatoes.
"It's ready," he licks the finger he has dipped in the sauce.
"I am pretty much ready too," Max drools over that simple gesture.
Granted, he is fucking irresistible in the tight t-shirt, those sleek hair drawn back and that licking thing. All of this would be so much easier if he was less... Magnus.
I take the bowl with the mashed potatoes and move to the table. He brings the venison and then hesitates looking at the table.
"Wine?" He finally asks.
"Got a Pinot Noir?"
He leans back and chuckles in surprise.
"Yeah, I know. Americans with their guns, cholesterol and beer, right?"
"Pretty much. I got a bottle of a Valpolicella," he stands and goes to a wine cooler.
I need the man to relax, to talk, to spot an opening. He is a monster alright but seeing him barefoot, preparing berry sauce makes him look domesticated enough. I think. And addressing that side of Magnus is the only chance to get at least Celia out.
He opens the bottle and pours us some wine in flawless crystals. As he does he looks into my eyes. Domesticated, my ass. This male is barely holding back from taking me on this table, raw and uninhibited. I panic at my clenching insides and I look at my glass. Magnus sits down and takes his wine.
"To..." He raises a glass but stops mid-sentence.
"To not killing each other, at least tonight," I take the lead.
He chuckles at the idea of me being able to do him any harm and drinks a sip. I swallow my anger and do the same. Diplomacy, Antiope. Let's try that shit.
"There has been great interest for the Luna Champion. Understandably. It is a great honor," he starts small talk.
"Aha," I fake interest.
"Thane threw his name in," he turns to me. "He has a pretty good chance. He is a strong fighter."
"If the fight is against defenseless females, I am sure he will reign supreme," I bite down.
One freaking minute! That's how long my diplomacy plan lasted. Celia is doomed. And the Waterend Pack may have been saved from having a rush, hot-headed Beta.
Magnus raises his eyebrow and then lets out a laughter that is nothing like the one back in the Mating Hunt's tent. That is real and genuine. And the latest addition of things that both I and Max find irresistible. I need to get the hell out of here before that list gets longer than the things I find appalling on him.
"There are quite a lot of female warriors that will try out but trust me none are defenseless."
"You train women as well?" I say in surprise.
"Everyone trains in my pack," his voice turns deeper, in his Alpha tone. "We guard the northern borders against the rogues that were pushed in the ice and there are always threats by other packs around. You can come and see our training grounds."
"Is this a quid pro quo opportunity I got there?"
He looks up from his plate and studies me through his lowered, long eyelashes. Right there, in this perfectly sophisticated environment, eating fine cuisine, drinking good wine he still manages to remind me that he is a wild animal, a barely tamed Alpha, a powerful werewolf. Were I not a Beta, I would crumble in fear.
"What do you want, Antiope?"
"You know what I want."
"To see Celia. I bet she would want to see you too."
She... He has talked to her? Celia knows I am here? What the fuck is that asshole playing with us? Is he keeping me as a threat to make Celia more compliant? I will murder that motherfucker where he stands.
"You've talked to her!" I drop my fork and knife. "I swear to the Great Mother, if you've hurt her..."
"Antiope," Magnus warns me.
"Fuck you!" I get up and throw my plate at the wall. "Fuck you and your Scandinavian calmness, you monster!"
I am the one that has fucked up, I think as I am standing, panting, looking at his still calm eyes. I lost it again, I let my nerves get the best of me. But I do not get to think about it more. He pushes his chair back and stands before me.
"Get another plate and serve yourself again. The dinner isn't over till 8."
I raise my hand to slap him but he catches it and uses it to pull me to him. His other hand rests at his side, freely. He is showing off! Letting me see how he can restrain me single-handedly. Well, wrong fucking idea, I raise my leg and knee him between his thighs.
"FAN!" Magnus yells and releases me.
I go to the kitchen, take a plate and sit at the table. I serve a fine piece of venison and a good portion of mashed potatoes and keep eating while he is still bend over and curses through his teeth. When he looks up to me, his face is red and his eyes furious. I grab my glass of wine and raise it to him.
"I've told you. You will regret this. I am a woman of my word."
Advertisement
- In Serial31 Chapters
Ghostly Bodies
John, an introverted medium, meets a ghost named Lona, an extroverted poltergeist. He is the first person she could speak to in what felt like forever to her. So, she follows him home and now he's stuck with a new roommate. She finds out she can possess dolls, which is pretty handy and they decide to buy her a sex doll and to learn American Sign Language. They fall for each other in the process. Ghostly Bodies Pitch Video I've decided to publish this as an official novel. If you want a physical copy, please consider buying it. Any future updates will be exclusive to this new edition.
8 226 - In Serial6 Chapters
Lonely Light (Complete)
Arael is an otherworldly being from the upper plane, a place similar to Heaven, full of Light. He now dwells on Earth, touched by Darkness, unable to return. When he rescues Sariel, an innocent angel from the clutches of Dark mages, he is no longer alone for the first time in centuries, but knows that he must return her home before she is also stranded on Earth. The question is, does she wish to go? (Pure fantasy romance) - Cover art credit goes to Cassandra DenHartog (www.cassandradenhartog.com)
8 81 - In Serial95 Chapters
[BL] Rebirth of the Little Mute
Rebirth of the Little Mute重生之小啞巴Author(s)穆青延Status in COO93 + 2 Extras (Completed)DescriptionMu Xiaoke was a fool in his previous life, but he couldn't help and his older brother both fell in love with Fu Jiayun. He is a little mute who's a total failure, how could the other party choose him? He shouldn't compete with his older brother, or marry the Rong family as a substitute for his older brother, otherwise he wouldn't die alone in the wilderness and his corpse wouldn't be found.God gave him a chance to be reborn. When he returned to his first year in senior high school, he knew that he could not repeat the same mistakes again. He had to stay away from his older brother, Fu Jiayun, and Rong Yanzhe. The person who treated him as a stand-in for his older brother and kept abusing him. This time, he didn't ask for anything, as long as he could live well.It just didn't occur to him that when he kept a respectful distance from those people, they instead came to pester him endlessly. He was in panic and unexpectedly provoked another man who shouldn't be approached...---NOTE: FOR OFFLINE PURPOSES SO DON'T REPOST MTLED IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THEN IT IS IN POOR QUALITY I DID THIS FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO CAN'T AFFORD PROPERLY TRANSLATED AND LIMITED INTERNET CONNECTION SO PLEASE DON'T CRITICIZE THE QUALITY NOR THE WAY I MTLED IT THANK YOU
8 14735 - In Serial104 Chapters
His booty call ✔️
Book 1 of HIS seriesCara is tired of being a booty call to the billionaire playboy Quinn. So she comes up with a plan to make him hers. To the outside world Cara is a sweet innocent girl almost pure...No one can guess when the night comes, She's not so innocent. She's the girl that warms the most notorious badboy's bed in the campusCovercredit to @rrosemayaa
8 195 - In Serial140 Chapters
Cloud 69
Madeline hates Carson. She hates his face, she hates the line of girls constantly following him, and most of all, she hates that she finds him attractive. Carson hates Maddie. He hates the way she knows everything, he hates that everyone else likes her, and most of all, he hates that she hates him. They'd rather die than spend more than a minute alone with each other, and have no problem staying away, either. That is, until staying away is no longer an option.*** This story is NOT mature! Although there are mentions of mature themes and languages, there are no explicit scenes. If you want my reasoning for this decision, it can be found at the end of chapter 37.
8 203 - In Serial130 Chapters
The Devil's Love
The Devil's Love SeriesBook 1: Tempt the Devil;Book 2: Playing with Fire;Book 3: Queen of Hell;Book 4: Shadow of Death.(All stories contained in this one book)What does the devil do when he is invited to a wedding and the invitation says, plus guest?Lost in his thoughts about the possible choices, he takes a walk in the human world and happens upon one young woman that is the answer to his question. His offer is one of simplicity, save her failing business and in return be his date for the wedding. He never expected for the deal to last anything more than the few weeks that were ahead of them. Then again, he never expected to fall in love with her.Unloved, unwanted. Two words that Sarah thought summed up her life. Unloved by her parents who favored her sister over her, unwanted even after their death. Her business is failing despite being a brief walk from one of New York's best tourist attractions. Being a failure was never in Sarah's future, she was desperate to prove her nasty sister wrong. Committing to the deal of a lifetime could cost Sarah so little if she accepts.One little walk through the bustling city of New York will alter their lives forever, entwining them in ways they never thought possible. As the days progress and their love for each other deepen, they believe that they are beyond the reach of reality and soon realize that there are some people that would do anything to bring them down.All of their plans for the future are now unstable, resting upon the edge of a knife. With the threat of being revealed to the world, Anton and Sarah must choose a life among humans on the surface or hide in the underworld.**This story is a part of the DEADLY BEASTS world** © These stories and works are copyrighted. No part may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of T.M. Watkins (xMishx) 2015
8 350