Natalya's paintbrush movement was a blur in front of her. Her eyes were unfocused and her mind was completely somewhere else. Sitting outside in the sun must be messing with her mind because all she could think about was how Constantin's lips made love to her all night last night. Images of his lips tracing the curve of her back to her shoulder and down her arm. It was like he was taking his time in exploring every part of her body.

If he was forced to close his eyes and find her in a group of women, she almost positive he will find her just by touching her body. A blush crawled on her face and she blinked to refocus her eyes on the canvas in front of her.

A blob of orange and red stared back at her accusingly. She sighed and set into fixing her strokes but before the tip of her brush could touch the canvas she felt his hands barely touching her hips.

Twisting in her seat immediately, she turned to see him smiling down at her. His eyes twinkling with an emotion that has her heart tugging and skipping.

"Do I need to ask what it is that has you blushing in the middle of the day?" He asked.

She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling. "Nothing."

He laughed deeply and low before his hands slipped casually from her hips to around her midsection. His front firmly pressed to her front. He bent down to place a gentle kiss to his mark on her neck.

"Whatever it is that you made you blush, I hope that it is me who brought it on." He whispered closely to her ear.

"And if it wasn't?" She replied, turning slightly to meet look at him.

"Then I will be deeply wounded. I would rather die than knowing that someone brought a blush on my mate's cherry cheeks." He frowned.

She turned enough so that she could fully see him. He kept his arms wrapped around her, unwillingly to let her go just yet. This forced her to tilt her head slightly to look up at him.

Was it just her? He looked more handsome today than he ever did. There was this glow about him. He couldn't stop smiling and she couldn't stop returning that smile. She felt giddy and like a woman who was completely head over heels. She lifted her paintbrush and swiped it softly over his nose and down his left cheek.

His eyes widened as he released her to wipe at his cheek with the back of his hand only to spread it some more.

"And why are you blushing, Constantin?" She teased, fighting not to laugh but couldn't help the grin on her face.

His eyes instantly turned from surprise to mischievous. "Unlike you, I am willing to admit I am blushing because of my dearest mate."

She took a step back and another. He took a step toward the table filled with paintbrush and paint. He lifted a green paintbrush before walking towards her. She shook her head.

"Constantin, don't! It was a mistake." She reasoned but continued to back away.

He broke into a run to catch up to her. She let out an unladylike squeal before running away from him. He chased after her around the fields. People stood around staring at their Alphas playing around with each other.

It didn't take long before Natalya was caught by Constantin. He wrapped his arms around her waist instantly before the large paintbrush came straight across her face. She closed her eyes and mouth as the wet paint hit her skin.

"Constantin!" She opened her eyes after he stopped his assault on her. He let go of her to examine his work.

He laughed hard then. The people in the field laughed upon seeing how green their Alpha's face was.

"You are so going to get it." She ran after him and jumped on his back. He stumbled to the ground by surprise. She managed to twist him around before straddling his hips.

"Natalya, this is not the time for-" He wanted to give her a good comeback.

But she took both the green and orange paintbrush and painted his face and body. They continued to struggle on the ground until they were both covered in paint. Somehow during the whole time they were struggling they managed to tip over the table filled with paint, adding on more colors to their body.

A few hours later, they sat on the grass exhausted. The wet pain began to dry as time passed by.

"We made a mess." She looked at them.

He chuckled before moving to move some of her hair away from her face. "I can't tell if you are blushing or not."

She scoffed at his teasing. He chortled at her reaction before pulling her up onto her feet.

"I want us to do something." He spoke before pulling her towards the canvas that now had paint splattered all over it. He lifted his hand and painted his hand on the canvas before lifting hers up. He placed it next to his.

"There. Your painting is completed." He pulled her into his arms again before kissing her forehead.

Her heart warmed at the crazy painting they did. It wasn't professionally done but it was something they did together.

"We need to shower." He said.

She pulled away from his arms forcing him to release her. He gave her a quizzical look. She smirked and her eyes twinkled with the mischief he had earlier.

"Why, that is a wonderful idea. I'll shower first." She stated.

"I said 'we'." He repeated.

Her grin grew. "Is that so? Do you deserve to be in the same shower as me after what you did?"

"I'm going to remind you that you started this first." He quickly answered before making an attempt to grab for her.

She pivoted away from his grasp just in time before jogging up the hill towards the pack house.

"Natalya!" He shouted. "Wait for me!"

"If you're lucky you might get in before I lock the door." She shouted over her shoulder.

She heard him growl before chasing after her.

~~

Misha woke up to the stranger gone. A part of her thought she must've been dreaming but the clear scent of the male that was in her room told her she didn't sleep alone.

She wondered who it was last night?

He held her all the way through the night until she fell asleep.

She was certain of it. The strong scent in her room told her he was only gone from her room an hour or two ago. It was a scent she had smelled faintly in the past while staying here but one that she never thought about. It wasn't the scent of a mate but just a very pleasurable scent that seemed to make her feel at peace and happy.

She quickly dressed and walked downstairs. Misha stopped halfway to the kitchen when she heard laughter coming from outside. She knew who it was even before she stepped outside to look. Constantin was chasing after Natalya and they were both covered in paint.

He looked happy.

She was happy for him but her heart was hurting. She thought that if there was a chance that he never finds his mate that he might learn to love her but she could see that was all for nothing.

She had to learn to let him go.

Looking away from the couple she turned to go back into the pack house only to bump into an overly large chest. She apologized without looking up and attempted to walk around. The strong hand that wrapped around her elbow caught her by surprise.

She looked up to find the man from yesterday staring down at her.

"It's you." She smiled up at him.

For a moment his hard eyes softened a little before it turned hard again.

"You left this morning. I didn't get to thank you for staying with me. I know it must be inconvenient but I am grateful that you stayed." She was mumbling a bunch of sentences because she felt slightly intimidated under his gaze.

"Are you feeling well today? No headaches?" He asked gruffly.

Was he concerned for her? Was that compassion she heard in his voice?

She blinked a couple of times before nodding her reply.

"I am doing fine. Thank you for asking." She answered. "What is your name?"

He didn't say anything but continued to stare at her. She tried not to squirm underneath his piercing gaze.

"Michael." He replied before releasing her and walking away.

She turned and watched his back as he walked down the hill. He looked almost barbaric being so overly tall and muscular. However, she still felt safe around him. It was as if she knew he wouldn't hurt her.

Author's Note:

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the long wait in update. I hope you enjoy these two updates today! I am close to finishing my classes. I am nearing the last two weeks. Once I am done – you get me for a whole week before my next two classes begin. Therefore, I will be updating as much as I can for Inferno. Hopefully completing it before my next two classes start.

My pregnancy is going fairly well. Thank you to those who inquired on it. I went in to my ultrasound and baby has a good heartbeat and measuring 11 weeks yesterday. I also did the harmony test for my baby. The test reveals three kinds of birth defects probability and the gender of the baby. Isn't that crazy? This early in time too! What do you think it will? Baby's heart rate has been in the 180s and I have been craving sour foods.

I hope you all are doing well and can't wait to hear from you!

Leila vy