It was now morning, and after her brief banter with Angelica the night before, Clara pulled Cage into the forest so she could ask him the question that had been on her mind.

"Absolutely not." Cage growled. Well, that was certainly not the answer she was expecting.

"It will save us time if we cut through town." Clara crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's still a no. I don't care if it saves us ten minutes." Cage took a step forward towards Clara.

"They have my mother and sister, if you don't remember. Time is of the essence Cage. If something happens to either of them, I swear I will never forgive you."

"I understand that you are worried, I would be too, but we should all be trying to avoid being seen by anyone- human, vampire or werewolf." Cage scratched the back of his neck and ran a hand through his brown hair.

"I'm not asking for your permission."
Cage wanted to call the shots, which made Clara more determined to defy him. The look on his face now made her nervous and... Made her feel oh so good. Who knew talking back to a werewolf could feel so rewarding?!

Clara chuckled at Cage's expression. He looked surprised. He had his signature leather vest on overtop of his white undershirt, the rays of sunlight made the handle of his silver sword at his side sparkle.

"I'm trying my absolute best to act appropriate in this situation. Female werewolves are different than human women..." Cage breathed out, frustrated.

"Explain...' Clara demanded, her lip switching angrily.

"I've learned that human sometimes woman defy their mates, and make demands. They aren't very respectful." Clara knew Cage was referring to her, and she gasped in surprise. "Female werewolves on the other hand, know when to trust their mate and rely on them for direction."

"So you want me to obey your every command, and do exactly as you say?"
Clara asked.

"I didn't say exactly that. Don't put words in my mouth. You need to understand that I'm not trying to silence you, or make you obey me. I was raised differently than most. . . I want you to trust me, trust me to protect you." Clara looked into Cage's eye and saw his sincerity. He was being honest with her about how he felt.

"It seems like you want to control me."
Clara replied.

Without saying a word, Cage cupped Clara's face in his thick, calloused hands and pressed his lips to hers.

Cage pecked Clara's lips and almost smiled as he pulled her body against his. His hands gripped at her hips possessively.

Clara wasn't ready for Cage's demanding, almost animalistic pull, but once he pressed his lips to hers a second time, she was hooked. She could feel his hard body and his pounding heartbeat up against her.

"And it seems to me, that you want to drive me insane." Cage pulled away and rested his forehead against Clara's.

Clara let out an embarrassed giggle, still reeling from what had just happened. Her first kiss.

"That wasn't supposed to happen. . ." Clara whispered.

"But it did." Cage glanced down at Clara, still gripping her by the hips.

"I think we should get back to the group before they think we abandoned them." Clara suggested awkwardly, not having a clue as to what to say.

"You're right." Cage shook his head and released Clara suddenly.

~~~

Angelica almost jumped for joy when Cage told everyone that cutting through The Willow would save travel time.

Cage raised a brow at Angelica when he noticed her excitement, and he eyed Clara. She winked back at him slyly.

"You know, we're not deaf. We could hear you-" Callum started, but Angelica hit him on the head rather hard.

"Shut your trap Callum!" She scolded and skipped beside the rest of the group as they walked.

"I'm not even going to ask." Orion nodded confusedly.

Clara smiled, although she herself was confused... Not just about Angelica's dream to go to a tavern, but also about the kiss she shared with Cage. Was it normal for a man like him to be so forward?

A kiss was the least of Clara's problems, she knew. The Tallahi had her mother and sister. She couldn't bare to think about losing the both of them.

Guinevere, Clara's mother was a fighter, that was for certain. But what about little ten year old Mari? She could barely wield a small axe to chop wood for a fire, the fragile girl couldn't defend herself against vampires. Clara babied her younger sister, and didn't want her to endure hardship or witness what she had.

With every step Clara took, she knew she was getting closer and closer to her family. She wasn't certain where they were exactly, or if they were okay, but she could feel that they were safe and weren't so far gone. She had hope.

The town of Willow was small in population, only about three thousand people lived there. Most did not like the nightlife, or the life of endless drinking and exploitation of woman on their own accord. But there were those who did enjoy drinking and the company of a woman who wasn't their spouse. Clara was nervous to encounter those reckless type of townspeople once more.

Snapping back to reality, "This place looks deserted." Clara heard Kai say as he pushed through low tree branches and glanced at the small cottage the group had stumbled upon in the woods. Oh no.

"We should get a move on." Clara pushed past Kai and lead the group through a low field, not wanting to lay eyes on her old home. The image of red eyes suddenly flashed in her mind as saw the shattered glass from the broken windows still scattered on the ground.

"We should go and check it out." Callum suggested.

"No, we should listen to Dani. No one goes near the cottage." Cage warned, his expression serious as he became aware of Clara's uneasiness.

"When we cut through here on the way back, you can bet imma' check out the inside." Callum frowned and moved on.

"How do you know we're going to make it back?" Orion asked.

"I don't, but one can hope." Callum shrugged and everyone soon caught up to Clara.