Who can he turn to?
Who can he trust to help him make things right again?
~ Excerpt ~
From the edge of the clearing a dark figure lurked among the shadows. Weaving between the trees, the uninvited guest tried to get as close as he could to the soft music and candle lit tent behind the grand blue Victorian mansion. Muffled conversation and laughter drifted in his direction on the crisp February breeze.
Something inside him ached to be a part of it. To slip inside the tent and watch the celebration up close and personal. He’d never known true happiness. Never witnessed the purest form of love these people were now basking in. What he wouldn’t give to feel it for himself, just once.
Yeah, sure, and pigs will one day sprout wings and fly away.
A vibration in his back pocket stopped him in his tracks. Drakkar pulled his cellphone out glancing at the screen. Narrowing his eyes at the caller’s name, he debated about answering it. What was the worst that could happen? With any luck ignoring her would have him thrown out on the street in no time. In fact that was the lesser of two evils.
Swiping his thumb across the screen he closed his eyes readying for the rant that was about to come. All it took was a split second. His mother’s shriek made his ears bleed.
“Drakkar! Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to call you for hours.” Absinthe’s voice was hard and cold. It resembled nothing a mother worried about her only son’s whereabouts would sound like.
“I was in class. What do you want?” He snarled back at her. It was all a lie but she had no clue. Absinthe only cared about herself.
“That’s no way to address me, Drakaar. You forget I can have your pathetic existence squashed at any moment.” She threatened.
“So you keep reminding me.” It was getting to the point where he wished she would make good on her threat. At least then he could be free of her. Counting to ten he relaxed slightly. “Was there something you needed?” Mommy Dearest.
“Much better.” She purred making his skin crawl. “I need you to come directly home after school gets out. Something has come up.”
Oh for the love of…
Drakaar strained his neck to see two people sneaking out of the tent. The wolf and his bride made a quick check of their surroundings before disappearing through glass French doors. His sensitive hearing caught the sweet sound of her voice just as she whispered her love to him. With a growl the wolf kicked the door shut. The silhouette of the groom carrying his bride across the room vanished around a corner inside the house. The reflected glow from Drake’s eyes dimmed against the bark of the tree he hid behind.
“Drakaar?” Absinthe’s voice broke his concentration.
Gritting his teeth, he shrugged off the invisible hand he knew she would have placed on his shoulder. “What?”
“I said I need you home. Are you well? You don’t sound like yourself.”
He wasn’t fooled by the concern in her voice. Absinthe could care less if something was bothering him. The only reason she might even give it a second thought was if the issue interfered with her plans. Gods forbid he might be feeling, worrying or even needing something. If it didn’t concern her, his mother didn’t want to be bothered.
Glancing back toward the large white tent, Drakkar noticed people starting to leave. He shrunk back into the brush allowing the branches to swallow him. “Fine. I’ll be there.”
“Excellent. Do try to not be late.” And then the Poison Princess was gone.
“Thanks for small favors.” He whispered.
There was no point in telling her he cut out early to spy on the wedding. It would only piss her off and that was something he could do without. Ever since Bonatelli reared his ugly head, his mother did a complete one eighty on him. He used to actually believe Absinthe loved him. Now, he caught her looking at him with disgust. Even when she spoke to him it was infused with venom half of the time.
Yet, as he sat in the weeds watching the way her enemies interacted and spoke to each other, it was evident what he endured was not normal. Bonatelli and his cohorts did not seem to be the monsters Absinthe painted them to be. He actually treated everyone he met with a loving respect, especially his very pregnant wife. There was no mistaking what he saw between Jared and his soon to be Queen, unconditional -I’d die to protect you- love.
When had Absinthe ever treated him that way? The answer -never.
Drakkar slipped his phone in the side pocket of the backpack resting beside him before swinging it over his shoulder. A slight tingle on the back of his neck hinted sunrise was coming soon. If he sat here wishing on fairytales much longer, his mother’s wrath would be the least of his problems.
He was just about to turn and leave when the scent of strawberries hit him. Inhaling deeply, Drakkar looked toward the tent. A couple emerged accompanied by a black haired girl roughly his age. The scent grew stronger when the girl’s toffee colored eyes gazed in his direction. He couldn’t move. Just one look from her and he was paralyzed.
Drake’s gums began to throb painfully. He covered his mouth just as his fangs began to descend in his mouth and ducked deeper into the brush. The way his body reacted to the human confused him. He’d been around his mother’s human servants all of his life and he never had the urge to claim any of them. He did feed from them on occasion but this was different. Something inside him wanted her as his.
“I have to get out of here.”
He glanced back in her direction in time to see her slip on a patch of ice in the driveway. It was all he could do to hold himself back from running to her side and helping her. The tall human male next to her reached out to keep her from falling. Drake growled taking a few steps forward stopping before he exposed his hiding place. He watched her smile her thanks at the man and duck inside the car waiting for them. Once all three humans were safely inside, the limousine pulled away driving right past him and out to the main road.
Drakkar fell back against a tree. What the hell just happened to me?
The cell phone in his bag started vibrating again. There was only one person it could be. Drake pulled it out and looked at the screen. Absinthe’s name glared back at him. “Leave me the **** alone!” he snarled hurling the phone across the property.
Maybe that wasn’t the brightest thing he had ever done but it felt good to be rid of her if only for the moment. He’d come back tomorrow and retrieve it. Not like anyone would be out during the day here anyway.
Voices in the tent behind him gradually grew silent alerting him to the fact he was finally alone. The tingle in the back of his neck grew stronger. His reaction to the female cost him dearly. It was possible he wouldn’t make it home before sunrise now. Rather than pick his way back down the hill to where his ride was hidden, Drake opted for the quick leave vanishing into the morning fog.
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