Ember

Kevin, Eric, Hector and Don. Hearing those names or any reference to the incident in the locker room used to bring on a lung-crushing wave of panic. This time the panic causing my chest to close in on itself wasn't because of the past but the future. Of what was going to happen.

"You went and told Kane about what happened in the locker room?" Ian asked with a delighted laugh.

"No," Darius said slowly, as if explaining a simple matter to a bunch of idiots. "I didn't go straight to Kane myself, that would've been asking to get punched. He's been in a bad mood since Ember ran off to elope with Pointy Ears over there a month ago. I went to Jett, who went to Kane-"

"A month ago?" I cut in, moving closer and grabbing him by the lapels of his leather jacket. I shook him until his eyes grew more focused. (Werewolves didn't get drunk easily and were quick to get sober.) "You're not thinking straight. I wasn't gone for a month."

He pushed me off him with hands that were ice-cold, which shouldn't have been possible since he was a werewolf. Maybe he'd finally snapped and started living on the street?

"I'm thinking quite straight," Darius said, oblivious to the fact that I was pondering over his sanity, "how else did you think I managed to trick Kevin into believing you came back home and were willing to talk to Kane on his behalf?"

"Kevin's coming here?" Ian asked.

Darius grinned, gave him a thumbs up. "I'll just be sitting here, watching Kane catch up to him and turn him into confetti." He walked over to my porch steps and plopped down, gait already more stable than it'd been minutes ago.

Everything he'd said sounded outrageous, but I knew that outrageous didn't necessarily mean untruthful. "Is he telling the truth? How long was I asleep?" I asked Arius.

"I didn't turn you into Sleeping Beauty," Arius said. "The time we spent at the party was all the time I've taken from you, it's simply that time moves differently in Faerie than it does here."

"We've been gone for a month?" I pressed.

He inclined his head. "Yes."

My mouth popped open.

We've been gone for a whole month.

Kane had been searching for me.

I'd disappeared right after promising to give him a chance.

And now he was hunting my would-be assaulter, who was headed straight here.

Here, where Arius and I were standing in plain sight, wearing matching white outfits that could've been on the cover of a wedding magazine.

"I've got to get going, Em," Ian said. Clearly I wasn't alone in my deductions.

I grabbed his hand. "You said we were in on this together."

Ian pried my fingers off him. "I can't keep Kane from being killed if I get killed by him first, now can I?" He didn't wait for me to respond to that, he promptly snapped off a salute and vanished into thin air.

"I must get going as well," Arius said. "Please unlock the door to your home so I may do so."

I pinned him with a glare. "You caused all of this, you aren't leaving without explaining things to Kane."

"As Ian pointed out, he'll likely try to kill me before I get any sort of explaining done," Arius replied.

"Kane won't kill you," I said, irritated.

"He'll definitely try to kill you," Darius said, "and he'll probably end up succeeding too."

Arius motioned towards my apartment. "You heard the man."

I shook my head. "You're not abandoning me here."

Arius raised a brow. "Why are you so scared of your supposed soulmate? He should listen to you of all people."

Darius raised a hand. "He won't listen, not when he finds out you two eloped."

"We didn't get married," I growled.

Darius shrugged. "Could've fooled me."

I hesitated, if seeing us together like this was likely to cause further confusion then maybe Arius was right and it was best to let him go home after all-

***

Tyra

The first time I'd consumed faerie fruit hadn't been voluntarily, the daughter of the nobleman who my parents had been working for at the time had her underlings restrain me while she forced me to eat it. They wanted me to make a spectacle of myself. Instead I gave them a performance none of the high-end performers their rich families used to flaunt their overflowing coffers could even compare to, surprising all of us, myself included. My parents eventually found me after all the commotion the spectators my dancing had attracted, by then a genuine band was playing music for me and a party was in full swing, but my parents had to wait until the early hours of dawn three days later for the fruit to wear off before they carried me back to our little room. When I woke up twenty-four hours later I was tired, vengeful and addicted.

I beat the crap out of the nobleman's daughter.

We got kicked out of the nobleman's home.

I used our fall into poverty as an excuse to keep eating more fruit, dancing for fae nobility who paid a ridiculous amount of money to watch the 'little human' who had turned one of their longest-standing pranks into something pretty. The fae loved pretty things.

I loved their fruit.

Whenever I woke up from the dark veil of fatigue after days of non-stop dancing, my parched throat didn't crave water, my rumbling stomach wasn't growling for food and my tongue wasn't watering at the thought of a large meal. All I wanted was more fruit, all my mind could think about was the next time I could get my hands on it again.

That wasn't the case this time.

Hunger, thirst, fatigue, they were all shoved firmly into the back of my mind the moment I felt those fingertips at my cheek. The touch sent tingles across my skin, stirring the rest of my tired body out of the blanket of sleep.

A frightened part of me was pondering over the fact that I hadn't slept for that long and the possibility that I might just start dancing again once I woke up.

The rest of me was thinking about one thing and one thing only: I needed to find out who this skittle-smelling person was.

I opened my eyes.

***

Ember

There was no warning, one moment he wasn't there and the next he just was.

The enormous silver wolf sprung from the shadows, amber eyes landing on me, searing with enough intensity I almost expected fire to catch onto my clothes. Thankfully, his eyes shifted to the unconscious girl, Darius...and Arius. Back to me. Back to Arius. Taking in our white outfits.

That's when the I'm-going-to-rip-you-apart growls started.

Arius took off and my natural omega instinct to avoid conflict of any kind sent me running right after him. Without one thought to how it might confirm Kane's suspicions until my feet were taking off and bringing me shoulder to shoulder with Arius.

Kane roared from behind us.

Yup, he's got the wrong idea.

"I honestly only anticipated a few death threats. Why is he so angry?" Arius asked as he ran, his face a calm mask, breathing even. The only thing that betrayed the supernatural speed in which he was running at was his curly dark hair, which whipped behind him, displaying all the sharp perfect angles of his pale inhumanly beautiful face. There was no sign of sweat, anxiety or disorientation. Far too graceful for a person fleeing for his life. I on the other hand probably looked like a mess.

From behind us came another ground-shaking roar, not as far off as the previous one. He was getting closer.

"What else did you expect when you kidnap an alpha's mate?" I asked him.

He raised a brow. "I suppose. But what I don't understand is why you're running too, Mrs. Alpha."

"I run from my problems, it's a habit," I wheezed out. My stamina was already edging towards the red area.

"You won't be able to outrun this problem," Arius said. "Stop running, sacrifice yourself for the greater good."

I scoffed, or made a sound that was supposed to sound like a scoff. I couldn't breathe properly and was already beginning to lag behind Arius.

Arius was being selfish by suggesting I stop but continuing to- or trying to- run was actually stupid now that I thought about it. I'd done nothing wrong, there was no reason to prolong this confusion when I could clear it up by explaining.

I forced my feet to slow down until they weren't moving, taking a second to watch Arius zooming off into the distance like a white roadrunner before turning to face a very angry alpha werewolf.

***

Tyra

His right eye was blue, the left one black. Half, half. Halfling. Entirely mine.

I lifted my hand towards the handsome face above me, caressing his shaved head. The short hairs were prickly against my palm, rough despite the faint but soft aroma of candy I smelled on him.

I smiled, this time certain. "Hi, I was told you'd ruin me if I found you."

The piercing at his lip twitched a bit. "I think I found you," he replied quietly.

My back was leaned against concrete, not the most comfortable place to be sitting yet I was already feeling the drowsiness pulling me back into its embrace. I tried to shrugg it off, shoving away from its sneaky seduction. "Why do you smell like candy?" I asked.

"I can't smell like candy?" he asked, smiling as small smile.

I pursed my lips, I hated when people answered my questions with questions. I groped around for my usual quip but sleep had other plans.

It grabbed me and slammed me under like a sumo wrestler, apparently not caring about epic meetings of soul mates. It was fine though, when I woke up I'd have all the time I wanted.

He was mine.