I sat in the passenger's seat of my own car with my hand on her thigh as she drove through the winding dark road. I never thought I'd be in a position so simple as this one, yet here I was letting Queen drive my car for the second time. Xavier had never even driven it once. He'd blow my ear off if he knew I let her do it before him.

"Do you think your mom will be mad if we're late?"

"No, they're waiting on Nate and Xaviers' dates anyway. She said for us to take our time," I said, my head swinging over to her. The first time she drove I took note of how careful she was-her seat was almost touching the steering wheel. But tonight, she was a lot more relaxed. The wind from outside was blowing into her hair and the sleeves of my jacket were rolled up on her arms. I thought she looked beautiful during the day, but the nighttime-as crazy as it sounded, suited her.

As if sensing my eyes on her she glanced at me and smiled before turning back to the road. "I've been meaning to ask you about those." She tilted her head towards my hand on her thigh and I looked at it.

"What?"

"The rings."

"Oh." I shrugged. "Each one represents the factions of the Underworld and of myself, that I pledged my loyalty to." I held up my index finger. "Vampirism." My ring finger. "Witchcraft...and this one is Demonism. A lot of us in the Underwold have them."

"You didn't say Werewolves," she pointed out.

"The werewolves don't want anything to do with me or my wolf."

"What?" She frowned. "Why not?"

"Werewolves rely on the full moon and an influx of emotion on said day of full moon. With the way I am, that means I can't transition often nor let my wolf out. The first time I even turned was when I was sixteen and the normal age should've been five. That already put me at a disadvantage because I couldn't join any packs."

"You couldn't just...," she shrugged, "join now?"

"Werewolves are one of the most dominant and territorial groups amongst the creatures in the Underwold. They thrive off bonds and loyalty that they create at a young age. Since I couldn't shift, I couldn't do that with them. By the time I was sixteen it was too late, my wolf had already been ostracized and labeled as feral."

"What do you mean by feral?"

"Wolves that aren't in a pack or wander alone are listed as feral. My wolf happens to be a dick on top of that and he won't consider being a beta in any pack so...he's alone."

"Oh, he won't consider it?"

"Nope."

"That's implying that you wouldn't mind being a beta?" She asked.

"Do I look like a beta?" I muttered in annoyance.

"So it was a collective decision."

"We didn't really...talk about it. He just is more like me than I care to admit."

"Hmm, do you change every month?"

"No, I hardly do. Before a few weeks ago, I hadn't in almost two years."

"Why?"

"Why so many questions?" I argued in a teasing voice as I rubbed her thigh.

She shrugged. "I just like learning about you, but we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"I don't mind." I sighed. "I don't change because he gets himself into a lot of trouble and I don't like losing control of my body or mind-even if it is for one night. Wolves have an instinct to attack those who pose a threat to them or their pack and since my wolf is a feral, he puts us in a lot of dangerous situations when he tries to connect with other wolves."

"That's so...sad," she whispered. "He wants wolf friends?"

"Not necessarily." I shook my head. "He's fine alone, I think. He just likes to roam...like a weirdo. If he happens to pass a wolf, he's been known to try to mingle, and they travel in packs so..."

"He gets ganged up on?"

"Okay relax, I wouldn't say 'ganged up on'," I said in a defensive tone. "He just gets challenged...by the pack." I looked at Queen to see her focus on the road with a dark expression on her face. One that I couldn't fully read, but it resembled anger more than anything. "It's not that big of a deal...we can take care of ourselves."

"I know," she said lowly as she pulled into a forested area, "but you shouldn't have to."

"What are you going to do? Beat them all up for me?"

"Give me their locations," she teased, sending a glance towards me.

"As capable as you are, I don't think you can take on an entire wolf pack."

She pouted, shrugging as she realized the truth in my words. I didn't want to tell her that most of the wolves that ever went face to face with me ended up dead. I kind of liked that she wanted to protect me...even if the circumstance it needed to be under were ludicrous. "Okay, I can't fight them. But I do want to give your wolf something that might help you both. I don't think you truly want to hold him back every month and I'm sure he doesn't like it either."

"What do you have in mind?"

"The place we're going is my safe place...I guess you could call it. All the supernatural creatures have Jeradua as a place where they're welcome, but there are hardly any humans here so I don't really fit anywhere," she said.

I listened to her words, letting the sweet voice of her voice relax me. "When I was younger, my parents came here, to Jeradua, a lot for business and Xyla and I were left in whatever house we were staying in at the time. Xyla was usually super busy with her friends so I'd be alone and one day I wandered off and got lost.

"I was walking through the woods on my own like an idiot-I couldn't have been more than twelve. I was crying and not knowing what to do so I just sat by a tree and started crying. I probably sat there for an hour until this old man passing by dropped this huge basket of apples on accident. I helped them pick them up and he asked me what happened and I told him I couldn't find my parents so he took my hand, and walked me down this very road right here."

I looked out at the dark road and winced. Woods surrounds either side of it, and tress loomed over, leaving hardly any room for light. The story along with this setting seemed to be getting gloomy and dark, yet...the smile on her face told me this wasn't a bad memory.

"We walked for almost an hour until we reached this huge patch of sunflowers that went on for ACRES. Like literal sunflowers everywhere I turned." She laughed. "I fucking loved it. He said that he wanted to show me something to cheer me up before I went home and he did. I'd never been happier than I was there. He was a warlock so it didn't take him long to track my home and bring me back to my house-they didn't even notice I was gone.

"For the next few days, I would go to him every day, getting lost until I found my way and he became my best friend. Apparently, his wife died there so that's where he liked to stay, and it became a place I preferred to everywhere else as well.

"We went back to Heaven a few weeks later and after a year we came back to Jeradua and I went back to the sunflower field to see a treehouse for me. I used to go there all the time-whenever I was here and he taught me everything I know. Especially about my culture, and it sounds crazy but I wouldn't have any idea what to do with my hair if it weren't for him. I loved my mother, but she would rather do chores all day than attempt to comb my hair. With all that being said, he was like...a father and mother to me."

She cleared her throat in an attempt to hide a sniffle and I frowned. "What happened to him?"

"When I was sixteen, my father found out about it all-I don't know how, but he did. I remember I was in the treehouse with the old man and he was reading a story to me. I remember hearing my father's voice from outside and the world just stopped." A tear fell down her cheek. "It all happened so quickly. I was frozen in my spot and the old man-his name was Henry...he told me that he was going to go down and check on things.

"I was so afraid of my father that I couldn't warn Henry who he was." She blew out a breath. "He went down and all I heard was a gunshot. At that age, I didn't interpret how our bond must've come off to other adults-an old man with a minor...He died because of me."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, taking her hand into mine.

She smiled at the gesture and shrugged a shoulder. "I didn't go there for years and when I turned eighteen, I was contacted by one of his friends-I didn't know he had any. But she told me that in his will, I was the sole beneficiary, meaning that everything he had was being given to me now that I was of age.

"I had to finally face the place that I used to love and I thought I would freak out, but it was like I fell in love all over again. All the pain, the memories, the fact that I meant enough to him for him to leave a place he cherished in my name...it means everything to me."

I kissed her hand and she let out another breath. I didn't know what I could say to make her feel better, but I wasn't sure if I truly needed to say anything. She seemed content enough with my being here even though I was silent.

I wished I could relate to her, but I couldn't. I had never had a place that meant that much to me.

"And here we are." The car came to a stop and she pulled out the keys before opening her door. I looked at the dead-end we had pulled into and furrowed my brows. It looked like the middle of nowhere. Dead trees and branches blocked the area where the road was supposed to continue.

I got out of the car, unsure of where she planned for us to go, but I wouldn't turn her down. This safe place she was describing sounded vaguely similar to the one I witnessed in her dream, and if she was sharing something this important with me, I'd damn sure bite my tongue even if she was insane.

"This is the right spot?" I shut the door of the car.

"Come." She held out her hand for me and I accepted, silently following her lead. She guided us through the thickening of trees as if she had done it thousands of times. "Ouch," she hissed, making me immediately turn to her.

"What happened?"

"Heels and woods don't mix," she winced as she bent down to examine her leg. The smell of her blood immediately flooded my senses and my vision became dazed as I took a deep breath.

"You're bleeding," I said.

"What?"

"There's a scrape on your ankle."

She looked at me in confusion before looking down at her foot. "I didn't even notice."

"Mhmm." I swallowed, taking a step in front of her and crouching down. "Get on. You can just point towards the direction and I'll heal you once we get there."

"It's a bit of a walk, Syn. I'm too heavy."

"You're not too anything," I mumbled.

"Are you sure?"

"Come on."

"Alright," she whispered as she removed her heels. She wrapped her arms around my neck and jumped slightly so I could wrap her legs around me and I carried her comfortably.

"See? You're fine, weirdo. In all aspects of the word."

She giggled and the sound make its way straight into my ear as her lips grazed my neck. My body stilled at the stiffness that grew in my pants, and Queen laughed again-a sultry one that let me know she knew exactly what she was doing to me. "Are we going to stand here or..."

I cleared my throat. "Which way?"

"Left." I followed her instructions swiftly, trying my best to pry my attention away from her scent and the feel of her body against me. My hands rest against the bottom of her bare thighs which I wanted nothing more than to spread apart and- "Go past this tree." She pointed, shaking me out of my dirty thoughts.

"Okay," I mumbled. I never remembered myself being so out of control when it came to my sexual drive or hormones, but it was like I was on fire with her. A fire that could only be tamed if I were to fuck her nonstop for days, which was unlikely, so things would always be this way. I knew from the sound of her heart and the sweet smell of her arousal that she felt the same way as me.

Fuck, she was perfect.

I listened to her soft voice as she riddled off directions, not paying mind to how deep we were going into the woods. I had no idea how we'd find our way back to the car, but I didn't care. I liked being with her this way-just the two of us, with none of her worries holding her back from giving in to me.

Her chin was comfortably placed on my shoulder, and her steady heart rate that I hated weeks ago was now music to my ears. She hummed a random tune when she wasn't telling me where to go, and a carefree aura radiated off of her. The way we were together felt natural, but it began creating seeds of questions and concerns in my mind.

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said.

"When are you going back to Heaven?"

"Hmm," she hummed, "I told my parents I'd stay until after the wedding."

"And then you'll be leaving?"

She paused, taking a deep breath before wrapping her arms tighter around me and sighing. "Yes."

"I can't convince you to stay?"

"I don't know," she said. "I'm not looking forward to seeing you guys playing house, even if it's just business."

"Queen," I said with a sigh, "just remember what I said. If it starts to hurts, tell me and we'll go somewhere else."

"You can't break that contract, Syn."

"Why not?"

"Because this is important for the Kingdoms."

"I don't give a shit about the Kingdoms."

"Then why did you agree to the treaty?"

Shit. Thoughts of my reasons I came here in the first place were brought back to mind and I cringed knowing what I'd be doing to her parents soon. They were shitty and after everything, she told me I'd enjoy killing them, but I knew she still thought highly of her mother. If I didn't want to lose Queen, I'd have to be careful with the way I handled those future decisions. How did I manage to get myself into this mess? It's her fault.

Definitely.

Damn her and infuriatingly beautiful mess of a mind. I knew as soon as she stepped into the palace and filled the halls with her infectious laugh that she'd be a problem for me. I just didn't think she'd be one that I found myself wanting to be lost in every day...

"Syn?" She called. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine."

"I asked why you agreed to the treaty if you didn't care about the Kingdoms."

"Oh, well...it's a means to a greater end," I said vaguely, allowing the ounce of truth to seep through. "I-"

She gasped, pointing to the clearing in the woods in front of us and I let out a relieved breath that I didn't have to elaborate. "It's right over there."

I headed towards the area and slowly, the image from her dream I saw only days ago was coming into view, right in front of me. The dark field was covered in knee high sunflowers that didn't show a single patch of dirt, and it went in for miles from what I could tell. If everything was the same as her dream, there would be a wooden swing set hanging from a large oak tree somewhere around...

"Let's go there."

My eyes took in the tree in question and I looked at it in familiarity. It was almost identical to the one she swung on in her dream, but there was something significantly different. A large treehouse was perched on the gargantuan tree, and I connected it to the one in Queen's story.

I walked with her towards it and when we reached the swing, I set her down. She grabbed the rope of the swing and hopped a single time before sitting down and looking around.

"Let me check your leg," I said, crouching down in front of her. Seeing the scrape on her ankle, I pricked my thumb with my fang and wiped my blood over the wound. "That should do it."

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me," I sighed, standing back up and crossing my arms as I looked around the field. "Do you plan on ever doing anything with this place?"

"Well I'm not touching this exact spot, but I want to have a house built somewhere on the land...if I live long enough."

"What does that mean?"

"I have a short life span, Mr. Vampire." She laughed. "There are so many factors that go into building a house and I'm not sure I'll be able to accomplish it all within the next forty years."

Pfft. If only she knew how far from the truth that was. If I had anything to do with it, she'd never die. I was selfish enough to curse her with immortality if it meant that I'd get to see her for all of eternity. I had gotten a taste of what it felt like to have her in my life and I wasn't letting it go. Not now, not ever.

"You just want a house?"

"Well...yeah." She shrugged. "There's a whole vision."

"Tell it to me."

She winced audibly and laughed softly before shaking her head. "No."

"Why not?"

She shook her head again. "It'll make things awkward."

"I'm never awkward so it'll only be awkward if you make it."

"Uh-huh." She smiled.

"I want to know."

"Okay."