Among the Peonies

Surprise surprise

He glared at me, searching my eyes for something. I sighed.

"Just tell me!"

His jaw tightened and he growled, pressing his body to mine. He nuzzled his face in my neck, placing light kisses all over the sensitive area. I bit my lip to hold in a moan.

Eventually he growled out, "they want you." His muscles tensed more with each word.

"What do you mean?"

He growled loudly, placing me on the ground gently. Within a fraction of a second, he was ten feet away, punching a tree. The tree took a couple blows before a deafening crack was heard and it fell, in what seemed to be slow motion.

Blade stood there, his body shaking in anger and breathing heavily, with his back facing me. I slowly walked to him, my feet being placed gently on the forest floor. My slender fingers rose to meet the bare skin on his back.

He stiffened. My fingertips delicately traced the intricate swirls of the black ink that mixed with his skin. He growled, but didn't move.

My fingers danced from his shoulder down to his lower back. The shivers racking his body went through my hands as well.

"Annabel," he warned.

"Yes?" I asked innocently.

"If you continue, we are going to have sex in three seconds." His voice was low, husky, and vibrating through my body. A heat wave shot through me, but I knew this wasn't the time or place.

My fingers fell from his warm skin, and an almost desperate, deprived groan left him. His head fell back, his eyes shut, and his hands were balled in fists. I didn't like the tension in his body as I gently took one of his fists and massaged it. He groaned again, but this sounded slightly less painful to hear.

All of a sudden, the hand I was coaxing to relax shot out and grabbed my hand, pulling me to him. Against his chest, I looked up at him. His silver eyes gazed down at me with the most tender expression I had ever witnessed.

After a few moments, they hardened a bit, and he sighed. "He said they want you. That's all I got."

"That's all he said? Jeez, what a tease," I scoffed, mildly annoyed.

He chuckled softly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear gently. "No," his voice was kind, soft, and loving, "that's all I got before I ripped his throat out."

I gasped, stumbling away from him. His eyes glared at me for the action.

"You- you what?" My voice was small, weak.

"You heard me," he said, his voice hard and angry at me. "I told you I'd kill them all. It starts with that filthy rogue." He paused, tilting his head to the side. He peered at me, thinking, before a deadly smirk spread on his face. "I ripped his head off, you know," with every word, he stalked closer. And with every step, I stumbled back. "With my bare hands, too. We put the head in a box. The rogues should be finding it soon." I put my hands over my ears to shut out the gruesome descriptions. He grabbed my wrists forcefully and put them by my sides. "There's going to be a war, babydoll. I can't just have you running around." His voice was teasing, mocking.

A glare found its way in my eyes. "So what? You're going to lock me up in your room like the other mates? Fantastic. Maybe while you're at it, leave a guard and we can become the best of friends," I spat at him. I turned to leave and storm away angrily, but a thunderous growl ripped from the chest of the man next to me, and I was roughly slung over his shoulder. He was shaking as he angrily walked back to the house.

"Aren't you going to shift?" I asked, allowing my anger to seep into my voice.

He growled and continued walking.

After about ten minutes, my legs began to go numb. "Put me down."

"No," his voice hadn't lost any of its rage.

"Yes." But my voice matched his perfectly.

"I SAID NO!" He yelled.

"Well I said yes!" I yelled back.

He pulled me down from his shoulder as he walked to a tree. He roughly placed me between the two, and forced my legs to wrap around him. "I will not tolerate this disrespect," he growled out, his voice low and warning.

One part of me begged to be let out, and show him who was boss, but the larger side of me was submissive.

I looked away from his heated glare, and he growled. He placed his face in my neck, breathing heavily. Not wanting to push him too far, I hesitantly began running my hands over his back. He growled approvingly. Moments passed before he said, "I'm going to shift."

I nodded, and he removed himself from me, turning his back towards me. I wrapped my arms around him, and that wave of energy passed through him, leaving me holding onto fur. He took off running, and I kept down on his fur, knowing I'd tested his temper enough for today. Once we arrived at the house, he shifted, and pulled on those shorts. He pulled me to him, us walking in with his arm snaked around me.

"GET BACK HERE YOU DEVIL SPAWNS," a voice bellowed from inside the house. Instinctively, Blade stopped and placed me behind him, growling lowly.

Recognizing the voice, I walked from behind Blade. He glared at me, but I simply grabbed his hand and tugged. He reluctantly followed, keeping me as close to him as possible.

We entered the living room to see James chasing two kittens, one black, and one white, amidst chaos. As soon as he noticed our presence, he screeched to a stop, his eyes large before they fell to the floor. "A-alpha, Luna."

Blade growled, about to punish him most likely, before I stepped forwards and lifted his chin. A growl roared behind me, but I ignored it.

"I told you to call me Annabel."

"Yes, sorry."

"So, what's going on here?" I asked, stepping back to Blade, who immediately had his arms wrapped around me.

"I'm sorry, the kittens..."

I chuckled, the white kitten rubbing against my leg as the black one watched, seemingly bored. I picked up the white kitten.

"You're so cute," I told her. She was chubby, even without her fluffy long hair, and she seemed to revel in the attention.

Bumblebee scoffed behind me, and took a few steps to pick up the black kitten. "This one is obviously better."

I glared at him, doing my best to cover the white kitten's ears. "How rude of you."

He barely listened to me, though, because he was too focused on the kitten in his arms. He held it gently, like a baby, petting it's belly. The kitten was purring uncontrollably, it's eyes closed.

I smiled at the boyish look on bumblebee's face.

The slamming of the front door caused the kittens to jump out of our arms, and me to instinctively go to Blade. On reflex, he stood in front of me in a protective stance. As heavy footsteps approached, Blade crouched down and growled lowly.

Soon enough, though, the footsteps stopped, and Blade stood up, stiff.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY HOUSE?!" A voice yelled.

Blade was silent for a bit, before asking, "Dad?"

HAPPY EASTER I LOVE YOU. Sorry about all of the cliffhangers lately.