Her stomach sunk like she was falling through the ground and it happened so fast that her mind had trouble processing it. He moved in a blur, catching the strap of her backpack at her shoulder and pulling her into him. He immediately wrapped his arms around her back, covering her in his heat, his scent. Her sex wept and cried yes!

“As of right now he’s no more. Touch him and I’ll rip his throat out. Do you understand me?” His words were harsh with anger, unlike the smooth charm he usually sported. She found herself nodding though it was the opposite reaction she should have. His hands were creating havoc over her body, rubbing in circles across her lower back, the round curve of her ass. “You are mine now, Willow. I’ve enjoyed chasing you down. It’s been a lot of fun. The animal inside me loves to play, but now the animal and I want something else. I smelled your desire from miles away. It’s...intoxicating.” He cupped her ass in his hands and brought her flush against his arousal. Willow’s gasp turned into a moan as he began lifting, rubbing her across his rigid cock, pushing against her swollen bud.

“No.” She shook her head in denial. He was breathing unsteadily, the sound delicious to her ears. He leaned down as if to kiss her, but she quickly turned her head away. He chuckled, his mouth finding the hot, sweaty skin of her neck. He licked at her like a cat. Playful little nips.

“You need me. I know about the new moon and what it does to you. I will have you on this night. Consider it a reward for catching you.” His teeth caught on her ear and tugged.

Pleasure shot hot and wild inside her, made breathing difficult.

But anger exploded inside her, too. She wrapped her foot around his ankle and pushed at his chest with everything she had. He let out a curse as he went falling backwards. He glared at her, his hands, for the briefest of seconds, catching onto her backpack straps as if he’d take her with him. But then he let go fell back to the ground.

Willow didn’t waste any time and took off into the forest using the trees as cover.

A second later, she heard a terrifying sound.

Arrrrrrruuuuuuu.

The howl of a wolf.

Then the soft pounding of steps coming after her.

Stupid, stupid vampire.

Chloe stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel turban-style in her hair then pulled on some clothes. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was still entirely too early for her to be up. If the sun wasn’t up then she shouldn’t be either.

What was wrong with him anyways? She touched his back tattoo, scar, thing, and then he runs away in a huff. No, not a huff, more like a cold puff of smoke. Jerk. Well she knew just what she was going to do about that.

From the first day she arrived in Castle Death, he’d warned her not to go here or there or do this or that.

“Blah!” she said to the empty room. She pulled on a pair of jeans, a black turtleneck, and some sneakers. Why wasn’t she surprised he’d gotten her everything in black.

“You think you can just tell me where I can and can’t go? Well, you’re wrong, vamp

man.”

She stopped at the door and sighed, a frown pulling at her mouth. Her heart throbbed with pain. She tried to think of how Willow would be—strong, tough, hard as nails. Or even Lily, ridiculously cute and sweet until she got what she wanted. Really she just found herself sitting somewhere neutrally in the middle. There was no doubting what she felt though. It’d hurt when he left. It’d hurt more that he hadn’t come back all night to explain himself.

Well, the rebel in her was ready to play. Was it immature—totally. Stupid, probably.

Awesome, absolutely.

She quietly snuck out of her room and closed the door behind her. The hallway was

empty as she tiptoed down it. She checked each corridor before sidling down the left hall. It took a lot longer than it would have if she’d just walked like a normal person, but when she reached the “Forbidden Wing” unnoticed she mentally high-fived herself.

The “Forbidden Wing” as she aptly named it began with a winding stone staircase that although wasn’t lit by torches was lit by cone-shape lights resembling torches. She wondered if whoever decorated the place either had an awesome sense of humor or meant this to be a serious throwback to the middle ages.

As she started up the stairs, she sighed with relief that stone didn’t creak under her feet.

She moved silently to the top stair, her heart beating loudly in her ears. The idea of being caught usually scared her, but she was mad dammit. Besides, if he really thought to be her Protector then he was about to learn a lesson: don’t tell a succubus what to do. And don’t tell her where she can’t go.

Looking down either side of the dimly lit corridor, she was surprised to see this wing was much smaller than the one she’d been put in on the other side of Castle Death. She counted four rooms down the right hallway and two on the left. It was utterly silent as if no one lived up here at all. But then why didn’t he want her up here?

She was about to find out.

Deciding to head right first, she chose the last of the four doors. As quietly as possible, she turned the door handle. It made a metal screeching sound, she whipped her head around to see if the doors would fly open and hideous gargoyles would fly out and eat her, or maybe just one cold vampire. Nothing happened though except her heart running a marathon in her chest.

The room was pitch black. She squinted and made out the faint outline of a closed off bedroom. Even the window had a sheet over it to keep out the light, and dust had long settled on the wood furniture, floor, and bed like dirty snow. Aside from the barren furniture and unmade bed, the room was empty. She closed the door then hopped to the door across the hall. This one opened easily.

She blinked twice at what she saw. A small bed, free of dust and dirt. Bedsheets pulled up just to the pillow where it was then folded in a neat, straight line. A bookshelf shorter than her with four rows held slender, small books in between small wooden figurines. The figurines looked old and hand carved. A horse, a warrior with his sword drawn, and a castle.

A small chest rested against the far wall under a window with white lace veils hanging over it. The chest was painted red with a golden circle on the front and some unrecognizable symbol in the middle. A bird? It was hard to tell, the image was old, the wood cracked, and the paint peeling. She took a step closer, squinting, and a horrible realization hit her. He wore the same bird etched into his skin. Except this bird was faded black, with a beak that was once yellow but now was dull and decaying. She didn’t know what this all meant, but a sickening feeling filled her gut.

Somehow she managed to close the door then move to the next room. It was empty and

closed off like the first, completely dark, and covered with dust. Then she stopped at the next.

Her hand actually shook as she reached for the door handle. Letting out a shuddering breath she turned the handle and opened the door.

Pain and confusion hit her quick. A woman’s bedroom. Old paintings stood on the wall with a man and a woman holding a baby. She recognized the man, though in this painting he hadn’t yet received the jagged scar he now wore across his cheek. He actually wore a faint smile; he looked relaxed, almost happy. She swallowed hard and quickly closed the door, feeling like she was intruding on someone else’s life.

“What are you doing here?”

Chloe yelped and spun around, but it was neither the face nor the voice she thought it’d be.

It was a woman. A beautiful woman with classical looks. Her face was devoid of makeup but that did nothing to detract from her beauty. She was simple like an old female statue from Greece, yet completely stunning. Her hair was a rich black, heavy, and thick looking. It was twisted in a simple braid that rested on her shoulder and fell down to her stomach.