That night after I'd taken a quick shower and gathered my things, I slung my satchel onto one shoulder and grabbed my key. The Cromwell's townhouse was locked using a passcode so I didn't have to bring a key or anything. I still didn't know whether after the meeting with Blair I'd come back here or not.

The address that she'd given me turned out to be a nightclub. I'd checked the street and the number and made sure that it was the right place. There was a long queue outside but I didn't have much time so I approached the bouncer. "Hey, is there Blair Balfour here? Do you know where I can meet her?"

The grumpy bouncer raised his eyebrows. "What do you think? I'm a receptionist or something? This isn't a hotel. You either go back to the line or get lost."

I checked the line. Yeah. Not gonna happen. I summoned a little bit of magic and flicked it so that it entered his mind through his temple. Thankfully apart from the neon light above the door, the place was quite dark. "Can I come in?" I asked the bouncer again.

He blinked a few times, almost as if he didn't recognize me, then he gave me a solid nod, causing the girl who was at the front of the queue to frown. "Sure. This way."

I entered the small door that led to a ballroom. It wasn't as big as the one that was used during my school's graduation party but it was packed. There were so many people in various attires. Some were scattered on the dance floor or mingled around the side of the room while others were sitting at their booths which had round sofas and small tables. My eyes scanned my surroundings to find Blair. Having quite a photographic memory, I still remembered her face and its details.

After about thirty minutes of wandering around this small nightclub, I couldn't find Blair anywhere so I hit the bar instead. I ordered a glass of gin and tonic.

"Here's your drink," said the bartender as he placed my drink on top of a coaster. "Do you want to pay for it now or keep a tab open?"

I pulled out ten pounds and handed it to the guy. Staring at the glass of gin and tonic in front of me, I was reminded of my first meeting with Ryker ages ago. We'd been in a club too, meeting in the bar which looked like this. The bartender had been trying to get me to order a drink called the Witch Doctor but Ryker, knowing that I'd never been drinking at that time, had saved me from what probably could be the worst hangover of my life. Unfortunately, he hadn't saved me from drowning in those beautiful silver eyes.

My phone blipped and I pulled it out of my pocket to stare at Dmitry's text.

Just tell me you are alright so I can go back to sleep. I woke up with an uneasy stomach.

I chewed on my cheek as I typed my reply :

I'm alive. Good night, Dimka.

I grabbed the glass and took a sip. I kept the glass in my hand while I searched for Blair as I didn't want to risk anyone spiking my drink. I kept alert to my surrounding. By the time I'd finished nursing that one glass of gin and tonic, it was already midnight. I stayed for another thirty minutes before heading towards the exit.

The place was way crowder than when I'd first entered a couple of hours ago. So much so that I had to steer clear of every drunken man and woman who was still trying to dance. The exit sign was only a few meters away from me when someone knocked their drink and splashed it out on my arm.

Simple magic and a flick of my hand would easily undo the damage but with the mass around, I'd have to wait it out until I was alone.

"I'm so sorry," said a vaguely familiar low voice. One hand that was holding a tissue tried to wipe the liquid off the sleeve of my leather jacket.

"That's alright. I get it. Don't worry about it." When the stranger continued to blot the wrinkled tissue, I looked up and met a pair of gorgeous blue-green eyes. They were light blue around the iris while the rest was deep green.

"Xyrra," he breathed out. "What are you doing here?"

Staring directly into those eyes, I remembered the last time I'd seen him. More than two years ago. Our last conversation had ended in both anger and sadness. As I watched his eyes narrow in suspicion, I could only hope that after all this time, he wouldn't be able to tell if I was lying or not.

Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself to make up a lie.

***********

"I'm having fun." I grinned at him, pretending to be half-drunk. "I've heard all these stories about London from Trish and I want to experience them."

Eros narrowed his eyes infinitesimally. "Why now?" He closed the distance between us until I could feel the heat coming out of his pores. "Why not two years ago?"

I quickly came up with something. "Because two years ago I still had hope. Now," I shrugged one shoulder, "I just want to live."

"Okay, but this might not be the best place to do that." Eros held my hand and walked with me out of the noisy club and back to the streets of London again. "Where are you staying?" He asked once we were walking on the pavement.

"I haven't figured that out yet." I pulled out my key from the pocket of my leather jacket and started walking to where I'd parked my motorcycle.

"Well, no need." Eros walked beside me. "You can stay with me at my place."

I came to a halt and turned to face him. "Your place?"

"Yeah," he replied curtly, revealing nothing.

I continued to walk and a few minutes later we arrived at the parking lot nearby. "So what, do you live in London permanently now?"

To my surprise, Eros nodded. "I've been living here for a year or so. It's easier to get the job done in the city."

I frowned. This didn't sound like him. He used to hate the big city. Even when he needed to go to London or New York for book signings and alike, he chose to do it quickly and spend no additional days there because he wanted to just go back home as soon as he could. "That's new." I put on my helmet, then inserted the key into the ignition. "I thought you hated the big city."

"I don't always get what I want." He stared into my eyes so deeply that it almost made me feel uncomfortable.

I subtly lowered my gaze, fiddling with my charm bracelet. "It seems that so much has changed, huh."

There was a few seconds of utter silence where none of us said or did anything.

"Some things haven't," commented Eros at last.

His hand came to view and I watched him touching the charm bracelet. "You still wear this."

"Of course, it's a gift from my best friend." I smiled. Eros had once given me this charm bracelet. All the ornaments there weren't all from him, there was one from my dad, and another that I'd found in my mother's drawer ages ago.

"If I knew you'd love it so much, I would've bought something much nicer," said Eros quietly. Our skin touched for a moment and warmth shot through my entire body.

Shite. Perhaps what Tiffany had said was right. I was in heat. It would certainly explain why I found every contact with any male wolf to be tantalizing. It was almost as if my senses were all on high alert.

"You should know that if it's anything too fancy I wouldn't wear it," I replied, pulling my hand away from him and looking up to meet his eyes instead.

"You're right." Eros took a moment to just lock eyes with me before he finally let out a small sigh. "Let's head to my place."

Eros's place was not very far from there. I'd followed his car, just like what I'd done with Tiffany the other day. In a matter of twenty minutes, we'd arrived at a nice neighborhood. Eros lived in a Victorian house in Dalberg Road, Brixton.

"This is nice," I commented as I tilted my head up and fixed my attention on the beautiful balcony with pots of plants and flowers.

Eros, who'd been unlocking the door, swung it open. "Come on in."

I followed behind him as he led us to the second floor. There was a really nice living room where two leather sofas and a coffee table had been installed. There was also a bookcase and a TV attached to one side of the wall.

"Do you want something to drink?" he offered. "Tea, perhaps?"

"Tea sounds good." I flopped myself down on the couch then quickly added, "oh, do you have—"

Before I could finish my sentence, he said, "Jasmine tea?" When he noticed me staring, he smiled. "Yeah, I have an eight-ounce tin in my kitchen."

I frowned. "I thought you don't like jasmine. You much prefer a cup of Earl Grey or Darjeeling."

Eros ducked his head, his hand was scratching an itch on a spot at the back of his neck. "I know how much you like them and even when I thought there's a slim chance that we'd meet again, I still stock them each time I ran out of them in the hope that that day will come."

Soon he returned, holding two saucers with two cups of tea. He placed both on the coffee table, mine in front of me, then he took a seat on the other sofa adjacent to mine. For the first two minutes, we were nursing our tea and enjoying the comfortable silence.

"Now, why don't you tell me the real reason you're here, Xy? Are you here on a suicide mission to save Ryker?" he finally asked, placing his nearly empty cup on its saucer. "Two years may have passed but I do hope that I'm still your best friend, or well, your friend."

I took another sip before I did the same with my teacup. "I truly meant what I said. I'm here to have fun." There was something fun in expanding my magic knowledge by studying under Blair Balfour.

"You gave up?" His tone was full of disbelief which was understandable considering he knew how stubborn I was. At another time, I would've told him the truth. About Blair and everything. But after what had happened, after he'd finally told me his true opinion about witches and the Easterners, I couldn't risk losing the chance of getting help from Blair.

"Not entirely," I finally replied, knowing that this made more sense than to say that I'd completely given up. I stood up and walked toward the French casement window. I was tempted to open it so I could walk onto the balcony but considering it was at dawn right now and I could risk catching a chill, I decided against it. "It's just—" I took a sharp breath and calmed myself down. Even though we hadn't met in two years, he was still my best friend, or at least, someone I truly cared about and it pained me to lie to him. "It's just that I've been trying to find a cure for the last two years. So much that I forgot what fun was like. I forgot to take care of myself." It wasn't completely a lie. "I don't give up on finding the cure for Ryker but I don't want to put my life on hold either. I want to meet new people. I'm young but I've been living like an old lady. I want to go out, enjoy wild parties, kiss a stranger, and all that jazz."

Eros walked like a Prius, I could hardly notice it until his hand was on my lower back and out of the blue, he pulled me against his body. My back was against the cold glass and I had to tilt my head up to meet his blue-green eyes. "W-what are you doing?" Despite the fact that this was Eros Adler my childhood best friend and not Ryker Cromwell my Fated Mate, my ridiculously stupid body swayed.

Shite. What if Tiffany was right?

I glanced outside the window and caught the sight of the full moon above. Shite. After Tiffany had told me, I'd done my research on the full moon. I remembered reading a NASA article that mentioned how technically a full moon lasted only an instant when the Moon was opposite to the Sun and since it didn't stop there, this was just a time point. However, to the unaided eye, it wasn't possible to tell the difference between 95% illumination and 100% thus depending on our eyes, a full moon could appear to last typically around three days. Based on the Book of the Damned, it would still be considered a full moon when it was above 90% illumination such as tonight. This could also mean that I might be in another heat soon.

Eros's thumb and forefinger grabbed my chin and gently turned me to face him. His face was so close to mine that I could clearly see the blue in his green eyes. "You know, Xy, if that's what you're looking for, then you don't have to find far."

When his breath warmly brushed my mouth, there was almost nothing that could prevent me from holding the side of his face with both hands and pulling him down until I could touch my lips with his. Instead, I fought hard and shoved him as I walked around him and moved toward the center of the living room. I picked up my teacup and drank its content in one go. The hotness of the tea burned my throat but I didn't care.

"You mentioned earlier that it's easier to get the job done when you live in the city," I started, trying to redirect the subject. "What job is that? I recall you mentioned that you've quitted being a writer ages ago." I looked at him and watched him turn around and then lean his back against the window. His hands were tucked inside the pockets of his dark grey trousers. "Did you finally change your mind?" I couldn't help but sound a tad hopeful when I asked that last question.

Sadly it was answered with a shake of his head. "No."

"So? What job were you talking about?"

There was a few seconds of nothingness. "I'm a mercenary now."

I blinked. "As in becoming a soldier?"

"Not what you have in mind." Eros ducked his head. "I'm a trained killer, Xy. I am paid to kill people. I have targets and orders."

My eyes widened to the extent that I'd once thought wasn't possible. But again, I would've never thought that my sweet childhood best friend would actually kill someone, let alone earn money from it. "So when you said that it's easier, you mean—" I couldn't complete my sentence. It was crazy to even think about it.

"Yes." He nodded solemnly. "Most of my targets are here."

I had the urge to leave this place right at that second. This really nice place was earned through killing people. I just couldn't shake the fact that this Eros wasn't the same Eros from two years ago or even the one I'd grown up with. Speedily I moved towards the door but he was faster as he blocked my way out. "Xyrra, please stay."

"No." My jaw tightened and when he lifted his hand, about to touch me, I backed away. "You know what I'm capable of, Er. Don't make me hurt you."

"Look, you should know that those people I killed totally deserved it. They were all bad people, Xy," he tried to reassure me. "The world is a lot better without them."

"Don't try to justify your action to me." I curled my fist, trying to control myself. I wasn't seriously wanting to hurt him. "If they were bad people then you should've brought them to justice. Not kill them with your own hands."

"They weren't humans," he said exasperatedly. "The law, this human law, means nothing to them. Even the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom can't prosecute them because these people have powers beyond measures."

"Are you being serious right now?" I scoffed. "Even if these people were what you claimed them to be, their own kind would have their own rules just like how wolves would face their pack laws. Plus, you clearly pocketed a lot of cash for what you do so don't try to make this seem like a noble act. These people could be innocent, they could be falsely accused and you wouldn't know because you try to play a judge and an executioner here."

"They are far from being innocent," said Eros quietly.

"Oh, really?" I folded my arms in front of my chest. "Then tell me who's your next target?"

Eros let out a deep sigh. "I don't think this will help anything."

"Well?" I tilted my head to one side.

After heaving another sigh, he finally answered my question. "A wicked witch named Blair Balfour."

°°°°°°°

Dear Readers, surprise... an unexpected encounter has occurred. What do you think will happen? Will Xy try to prevent Eros from killing Blair? Any guess? This author is curious about your thoughts!