Under Her Skin [+18]

Pearlmire was cold, colder than Wisteria had ever been.

Erix and Katara stood hand in hand, feeling the only heat from their joined hands coursing through her body. Her magic had winked out the moment she had climbed the hill and stared at the world ahead of her.

Last night had been different for her. Erix had taken her to her room, the one he had claimed had the strongest scent of hers and fucked her like it would be the last time he could do it. They had spent all night in each other's arms. He fucked her from behind, pounded into her against the wall, pressed her down against the basin and taken her from behind again and she had loved every second of it. He had not bit her again, as if aware that it was a mistake and neither had she told him this morning when she had gotten dressed that the bite mark was going to disappear.

None of it had mattered. Not this morning when he had made love to her. Slow and sensual, making her body mold against his, as she begged for more. He had given her whatever she wanted but right now, wearing big fur coats from the closet of the Vampire King and the Wolf King, they stood in Pearlmire.

It was a cloudless dark sky, snow piled in each corner of the forest she saw. But the golden gate that shined further away from them was what they both stared at. "It's like your eye colour." Katara spoke, her breath floating in front of her.

They had not spoken since getting on a boat and coming to this land. He had fucked her again in the boat when she asked for it. Then the second round he wanted more, that animal part of him wanting to feel every inch of her. She wondered how the boat had floated above the water with all the moving they had done. Not a single word was said until now.

"I don't even know what it would be like."

"What do you mean?" Katara asked softly.

"My home. I've been stuck here for 500 years. Was left in this realm when I was only ten years old. I don't even know why."

"Are you afraid to go back?" She wished he answered yes. He could stay with her.

"No." He answered her truthfully, still staring at the golden gate that seemed to be beckoning him. "I was someone worthy in my realm. I remember that. I remember I was important and not just a killer."

He was a killer in this realm.

Erix sighed, pulling his hand away from hers and running his hands through his hair. He had allowed her to cut it, but only an inch because he liked his hair a lot. "Is this where I say goodbye?" He was reluctant to turn to face her.

"I'm going to come with you every step of the way." She grinned up at him but he shook his head.

His hand cupped her as he leaned down, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "I won't be able to leave, knowing you're stuck in a land full of beasts that rip you apart without a thought." He tilted her head up. "Promise me you'll stay here, no matter what you hear. You won't come down this hill." He stared into her eyes.

"You're not going down there alone."

"I am." It was a promise to her and to the winds who breezed through her hair. She would not come down this hill.

Katara nodded her head slowly before wrapping her arms around him tightly. Whatever she felt, she didn't care if he didn't feel it back. Erix wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. "Will you ever come back?" She asked softly.

"I think you might be my mate." He replied back in the same softness. "I will come back to you."

Her heart broke at the sound of his voice. She was not his mate, she knew the bite on her shoulders would have stayed and not disappeared so quickly because she could feel it tingling the same way it had done before. She had seen it slowly disappearing in the morning. Katara kept her words to herself as she nodded before pulling away. "I think I love you." She was slowly falling in love with the male who had saved her.

His golden eyes shined before he leaned down and captured her lips. Before she could deepen the kiss, he pulled away. "One day you should visit me." He pressed the small glass vial in her hand. She looked down at it. "It's my blood, to open the realm to my world. If you ever want to come and visit me."

She grinned. "Maybe if you promise me a lot of love if I ever come to your world."

He chuckled. "I will definitely promise you that."

Her eyes softened, as she patted his chest. "You should go before I decide to bind you to me."

Erix kissed her lips softly again before turning around and walking away. Katara, stood on the hill, staring at the male who had wormed his way into her heart. She waited, to hear screams of terror as he walked into the forest and out of her sight, but she couldn't hear a single sound.

Katara stood on the hill for hours until the sky started darkening. She would need to return. She took a step back, turned her back on Pearlmire and Erix. She stared at the ocean where kingdoms spread out.

She would become an Alpha one day, not as quickly as the wolves had hoped to be. She would become Queen of Eridaya one day, Sire to all Vampires but first she needed to return home to write Delphine a letter.

From one Princess to another.

☆☆☆☆☆

Sequel is called Thorned Shadow