Cael

I grab the leather collar that hangs above her head and put it around her neck. A sense of guilt surges through me, but I kill it off. She must wear the collar until I’m sure she’s not dangerous.

“You’re clean,” I say.

And beautiful. Delicate and sensual.

Her wide eyes fix on mine as I stretch the light chain attached to the collar with one end and to the wall with the other end. Aurora crouches on the bed, her wings quivering.

“I’m gonna bring some food now,” I say.

We took the thirst for blood away from her, which was really easy. It seems like it wasn’t her nature just her means of protecting Reagan. The kind of weapon she doesn’t need any longer.

We can’t dig around in her head, so we don’t know whether she’s still dangerous or not.

She sits on her heels and pulls her wing to cover her chest, which reminds me of my stiff cock on display.

I’ve had beautiful women in life, but that winged cute thing wakes something primal and unstoppable inside me. I feel the urge to protect her, nurture her. Fuck her raw.

I slip into my jeans and exit the room. Twenty concrete steps lead me out of the basement. I enter the bar, pass Raphael, and walk into the kitchen.

Marinka shoots me a concerned glance, yes, concerned not disgusted. “You want me to wash your trousers?”

“I can do this myself. I need—“

“Food.” She starts bustling between the fridge and the kitchen worktop. “Don’t move. The blood… Is she better?”

“I don’t know.”

Marinka piles a plate with salad and adds two slices of homemade bread. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”

We’ve been friends since she started her job as our cook. She knows all my secrets—kind of— and I know hers. She had a crush on Gabriel, and then on Michael. She wants to start med school in a year or two.

I don’t fuck our nymphs. The boys do, but I prefer making friends with them to fucking them.

I grab the plate. “Thanks.”

She folds her hands as if praying. “This is so romantic. And you’ll be a great dad.”

“You mean my assignment?” My eyes widen, and I’m kind of stunned.

Marinka knows that Aurora is going to live in our basement for a month, that’s all. We don’t talk to the nymphs about club business. They sometimes see blood on our clothes, but they never ask questions. Nymphs are very sensitive and intelligent creatures.

“She can’t tear her eyes off you,” Marinka twitters. “Who wouldn’t? You’re such a handsome, kind guy.”

I’m really stunned. I brought Aurora thrown over my shoulder, but Marinka thinks it was romantic. Interesting. Women sometimes see more than men do. They have this thing called women’s intuition. An idea sprouts in my head.

“Can you do a big shopping for me?” I ask.

“What do you need?” She rolls her eyes. “Oh, I know. Sure. I’ll do this first thing tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

“I want to be a god mother.”

I chuckle. “We’ll see.”

I back up as Marinka hums a song and starts cooking supper for the club.

Aurora

He perches on the bed and sticks a plate under my nose. I haven’t eaten a thing since I was torn out of the shadows. I’ve drunk blood a number of times since the other one was torn out of the forest. I don’t need blood anymore.

I need to die.

Something good was created, so something evil must have been created too. The other one was made of love, so an evil destruction must have accompanied her. There must always be balance. The other one is safe and free, so I’m not needed any longer.

“Eat,” Cael says.

I don’t know how to eat human food. I know how to rip a throat out. How to be on guard. The other one didn’t even know about me. She is better than I am. She deserves happiness. I deserve death.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Cael asks and strokes my head. “You don’t like this salad?” He puts his warm, big palm on my cheek. “Maybe you want ice cream?”

I don’t know what ice cream is.

“It’s yummy and cold,” Cael says.

I don’t want anything cold. Ever. The prospect of being cold scares me to death.

Cael

She starts shaking as big tears trickle down from her eyes. It means that she hates ice cream.

“Salad is healthy, Aurora. Eat.”

She must eat something. I don’t know anything about her diet, but every living creature must eat.

“Come on, Aurora, a piece of tomato. It’s yummy.”

I pinch a quarter of cherry tomato and shove it into her mouth. Then I grip the back of her head and press my lips against hers. I explore her sweet mouth with my tongue, making her gulp, tense up, and finally swallow the tomato.

“Good, isn’t it?” I say.

I shove a bit of lettuce into her mouth. I kiss her again.

I kiss her after another bit of tomato and then after a bit of green pepper.

I’m feeding her, right?

I help her drink. As the spring water trickles down her throat, I run my tongue up to her chin, licking it off.

“Better?” I ask.

Her wide eyes lock on mine. My dick is so hard it hurts. I could fuck her. She is mine, right? She belongs to me. That collar around her neck proves my ownership. I could have her on all fours. I could… Fucking hell. I’m a mad man.

I drag her out of the bed and shove her into the bathroom. The chain clatters and scrapes against the floor and it’s long enough to give her freedom in the bedroom and privacy in the bathroom.

We brush our teeth—I brush mine first and then brush hers. She escapes from the bathroom and dives under the blanket. I strip and lie down beside her. Why wouldn’t I? I am teaching her to be obedient. To not rip a man’s throat out. If she as much as tries, we’ll tumble over on the bed. We’ll do horrible things together if she misbehaves. I want her to misbehave because I want to do horrible things to her. I want to tame her with my kisses and my cock inside her.

I fold her wings and pull her to me so her back rests against my chest. Her oriental smell clouds my mind. She smells beautiful. She smells of mystery. She smells like the essence of femininity, like magic. Her wings feel velvety against my skin. They’re delicate and fragile despite their bat-like appearance. She doesn’t move as though she has given up. I kind of want her to smack me with that tiny hand of hers. If she did, I could bunch her wrists and kiss her. I’d kiss her until she was wet between her thighs. Until she spread her firm thighs for me.

Aurora

I’ve slept before, but it was like being half-aware and half-asleep at the same time. It was cold.

My eyelids grow heavy and my body turns into something lazy, weak and warm. His arms are sheltering me as though I’m inside a rabbit’s burrow. It’s… hot. Pleasant and safe. I crave warm safety more than anything.

I drift off into a black void.

A sharp noise wakes me.

I open my eyes and see a nymph. She flashes me a smile and puts an enormous white sack on the floor. Cael kisses my cheek.

“She’s so pretty,” the nymph says.

I don’t sense anything evil from her, so I decide to trust her.

“I’ve bought three dresses, all of them with the open back,” the nymph says. “And some underwear, size petite.”

“Thanks, Marinka,” Cael says.

I don’t like it that he is nice to her. She picks up our dirty clothes and puts them into a wicker basket.

“There’s food on the table,” she says.

“You’re wonderful,” Cael says.

She is. I’m not. I hate it that he thinks she’s wonderful, but I don’t feel the urge to kill her. I want her to be my friend, but at the same time, I want Cael to hate her.

I feel… angry. I want to hide into a burrow. No, I want to be wonderful to him.

Cael tumbles us over so I’m sprawled on his chest. He is so hot, so pleasant to touch.

“Hungry?” he asks as he smoothes his hand over my wings. He’s touching me as though he likes touching me.

I want to answer, but I can’t. She said I’d never speak. I can be quiet and quick. That’s why I was able to kill the men almost three times bigger than me.

The nymph puts the tray at the foot of the bed. “Hope you like it, you lovebirds.”

“Thank you, sweetheart, you’re great,” Cael says and buries his face into my neck.

His breath is so… hot. His beard scratches my skin. I feel tingly and hot. Then I realise I have no collar around my neck. I sweep my hand as my claws tear at his shoulder. He should put the collar back around my neck. He should make me cease to exist.

He starts laughing. I’m stunned.

His lips move down my neck, and I can’t smack him again. I just can’t. His hands massage my ass, making me feel even more tingly. More impatient.

“Let’s eat our breakfast, Aurora, and then I’m taking you out for a walk.”

He grunts into my ear, and I shudder.

The nymph laughs, making me aware of her presence, and I watch her exit the room.

Cael tumbles us over, so I lie beneath him. He kisses my neck harder, growls louder. His stiff, thick manhood pokes into my inner thigh. The tip of it is hot and moist.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, Aurora.”

Why is he lying to me? They don’t lie. I’m ugly. The other one is beautiful.

Cael crawls off me and grabs a pair of jeans from the sack. A dress hovers over to me and covers my head.

She said I was ugly. Maybe the dress will make me look nicer. I want to look nicer for Cael.

I want to… be loved.