It was my first time seeing the vampire castle that everyone was always talking about. The crazy thing is that it was exactly how I thought it was. Dark and scary looking even though the sun was out.

Jessie and I always met in the woods or sometimes in the city. He never came into the pack and I never went to his castle. It was just better and safer that way. My father insisted that I sneak in through the back entrance but as I followed his directions and approached the back entrance, there was a big and buffy vampire that was just glaring at me.

"Move it wolf before I shred you," he threatened. I almost laughed.

"Yeah, good luck with that," I replied. His eyes reddened and his fangs touched his lips," you're messing with the wrong person." I raised my eyebrow at him. Not to be cocky or like I'm untouchable but I'm pretty sure my father and cousin, even Lexi would approve of that. "Look, tough guy, I'm not gonna hurt anyone. Just let me in," I concluded, already growing frustrated.

He laughed, like actually full-on hysterical laughter. "Okay, I'm just going to go in," I decided, about to open the door when he stopped me again. "Nice one," he sarcastically smiled. "Just let me in!" I groaned. This guy was really getting me frustrated.

"She's with me," the voice behind me spoke. The guard's eyes dragged from me to behind me and they widened in shock. "Sir, I don't think you should be with a werewolf," he spoke out.

"That's my business and if you say anything of this you'll be dead by dawn," Jessie threatened with a sarcastic smile as he now stood next to me.

He gulped hard before replying," yes, sir." The idiot vampire then pulled the doors open to let us both in. "Welcome to the castle," Jessie introduced as I walked through the scary hallway lit by lanterns hanging off the walls.

"Spooky," I mumbled. The door at the end of the hallway opened my father stood with a happy smile where the door once was. "There she is!" He cheered.

_♤_

"I'm back!" I shout as I entered the house, dumping my phone and borrowed car keys on the table near the door. "I'm in the kitchen!" Evander shouts back. My eyebrows furrowed, wondering what the hell he was doing in the kitchen.

"You're baking?" I blurted out, stating the obvious. Evander smiled at me while he continued mixing the batter. "Why didn't you ask for my help?" I pouted looking at the delicious chocolate cake batter. "Maybe I wanted to impress my beautiful mate," he casually replied. My heart fluttered at the compliment but I tried not to think much of it. "And maybe because you weren't home," he added and I scoffed.

My back leaned into the cupboards as I watched him in concentration as he whisked the batter in the mixing bowl. His eyes stared at the whisk and batter, making sure he got it all, his hair messy as usual and were practically begging me to slip my hands through, his muscles doing tight tricks under his skin as he held the bowl firmly with one hand and the other was quickly whisking.

"I could feel you staring," he stated, breaking me out of the trance. "Sorry um, do you want me to make dinner? I have this recipe I always wanted to try," I changed the topic.

"Sure, you cook and I bake," he flashed me a smile before wandering around the kitchen, pulling out random ingredients. I guess he was planning on making more than one thing.

I got to work washing my hands with soap under the water before getting everything I needed with Evander's help of directions. I got everything ready for the creamy chicken enchiladas And started mixing the cheese with the salt and pepper before anything else.

"How was the visit? Do I need to kill anyone for touching you?" Evander casually asked, no surprise there. "No, it was fine. Dad said he wanted to have lunch with us soon," I shrugged.

"I'm good with that," Evander approved. "So Brandon is proposing to Kira tonight," Evander changed the topic. I froze and the spoon slipped out of my hand. "What?" I blurted out, a rush of happiness for Kira hitting me.

Kira and Brandon officially moved into their house today. We said goodbye this morning but it was very clear that we would still be seeing each other often. "Yeah, he had it all planned out for his big new house," Evander continued. My lips pulled into a smile at how cute that sounded. Weddings weren't really a thing with werewolf mates. But there are weddings because some people just like them and wish to have them.

"That's cute, I'm happy for them," I concluded, picking back up the spoon as we continued to make our separate meals. "Yeah, so am I," He agreed.

We continued in a light conversation, Evander just asking me about my day with my father at the castle. I finished the dishes, both of our dishes in the oven and we just had to wait. "What do we do now?" I sighed, wiping my hands on the towel.

Evander flashed me his signature smirk as he walked towards me. I automatically walked backward until my back hit the countertop. His hands reached up to cup my face, his fingers slipping into my hair with his thumb resting above my jaw. "I've been waiting to do this since you came home," he whispered before our lips connected.

As our lips moved, I feel him press me further into the kitchen island. A low growl left his lips as I tugged at his hair. Our lips moved fast with urgency to increase the pleasure. Slowly, he drugs his tongue along my lower lip, asking for an entrance. My lips parted at his demand, the fire continued to dance under my skin as the world began to fall away. Cautiously, his tongue tipped into my mouth as our lips moved together. His tongue slid smoothly against mine as he deepened the kiss.

It surprised me how easily he picked me up by the thighs and placed me on the counter. Our chests remained pressed together. I thought I would surely burst into flames.

"You're moving into my room," Evander gasped out, his lips hovering over mine with our foreheads pressed. "I am?" I innocently asked my mind still fuzzy after his lips. "Yes, either way, I'm sleeping with you every night," he answered. I smiled before pressing our lips together again. Most of me was happy that he also liked being cuddled against me like I do.