A God Amongst Wolves

5

Word Count: 2373

~Alvera

I'm not sure what I expected.

Venn's expression contorting into one of dark, ice cold anger was not on my list of greetings.

I thought perhaps a 'hello, it's good to see you Alvera.' Or a 'how are you, Alvera?'

Instead, he strides up onto the porch, seizing me shoulders with his hands. My head pounds as he shakes me a little, exasperating my headache.

"Alvera..." My name comes out as a vicious growl. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

I choke out a breath. This is an entirely different Venn.

Not only has his stature changed, but so has his face. I didn't think it was possible, but his features have hardened and his eyes have darkened. Only a touch, but enough to be noticeable.

He looks like a man. No, a god.

The most striking feature that captures my eye is the very visible tattoos on his neck. One on either side of his neck, stopping at his jaw. They are identical, lines weaving in and out, joining and departing like they are in a dance.

Those are definitely new.

"Ah, hi to you too," I stammer.

"You shouldn't be here. It's only six days until they come." His thumbs press into my collarbones, so hard I grimace. He notices, loosening his grip a touch, but enough to warn me not to dart away.

I should really be snapping at him, telling him he has no business demanding why I'm in town when we are essentially strangers.

Instead, I tense under his grip. "Ideally I'll be out of here by then."

I forgot how intense his stare is. Those thick dark lashes only make his eyes more otherworldly. He's beautiful in a way that doesn't feel real —  that shouldn't be real.

He scans my fast, disbelief staining his features. I would be wondering why he cares so much were I not reeling, were I not so struck by him.

"Why are you here?" He questions harshly.

I blink, doused with an icy drenching of reality.

"My sister is missing." The words taste bitter on my tongue.

Venn sighs roughly, dropping his arms. When he steps back, he nearly sends his foot through a particularly decomposed piece of wood.

"So it's official then?"

"Her going missing? Well, I don't know about that. The police aren't exactly around to give a shit," I mutter, rubbing a hand down my face tiredly. "But all her personal belongings are here, including her phone, and she has been gone for a week."

I'm not even entirely sure why I'm telling him this. I step off the porch and onto the driveway. I don't want him inside, but I also don't want to fall through the structure.

"Do you know anything?" I ask as he steps down. "I didn't even realise you knew Belle, and yet here you are."

It's not meant to be an accusation, but it sounds an awful lot like one."

Venn rubs the back of his neck. "I noticed she was gone a couple days ago. I was coming around to check to see if she had returned."

I fold my arms over my chest, pinning him with a look. "You, mysterious loner type, know my sister enough to realise her absence?"

Belle never mentioned him, although it's not like we've spoken recently.

"She's one of the few households left in town," he tells me bluntly, a shadow casting over his face that isn't from the evening darkness. "I've been looking out for her, helping her prepare."

My stomach turns. I'm having an internal reaction that is not justified.

Venn is mine. I spoke to him first. He fingered me outside Roxxie's first and gave me the most mind-blowing orgasm of my life first. But, he's not really mine, is he? Belle has been in town with him longer, and he is doing a nice thing for her.

What the fuck is wrong with me today?

Eldon is my boyfriend. I love him. Venn is just a handsome stranger I would have been happy leaving in the past were it not for the pressing need for me to be back in town.

I wrap my arms around myself, feeling the cool dusk breeze against my bare arms. "She left everything here. That means something bad has happened to her."

Venn's dark brows draw together. The night makes him look almost ethereal. I want to touch his face to see if it's real, to see if those cheekbones feel as sharp as they look. I want to draw my fingertips down the deep cut of his cheeks, to the jawline that has always transfixed his many admirers.

"I'm sure there is a simple explanation for her disappearance," he responds calmly.

"Nothing is ever simple with Belle." I shift from foot to foot, my unease returning. "I would explain that to you, but you may already know."

He shakes his head. "I don't know Belle very well at all."

He's handling my interrogation with ease. There is nothing about him that suggests guilt of any kind...

"Why don't you head back to the city first thing in the morning. I'll let you know if she comes back." It sounds less like an offer and more like a command.

"No, I can't just wait around for that. I need to find her before the treaty expires," I insist.

He steps toward me and I resist the urge to recoil.

"What if she doesn't return by then?" He asks darkly. The night has turned his hair and his eyes almost black, with is only more disconcerting.

I exhale, grounding myself. I came here knowing what I needed to do, and what I'm willing to give up if I cannot achieve my goals as soon as I would like.

"I'm not leaving until I know she is safe. If I have to stay, then I'm staying."

His eyes narrow slightly. My body responds without me willing as a cold chill travels across my skin. He appears to be concealing a dark range of emotions behind a expertly constructed mask, but I can see through the cracks.

He's angry. Very angry.

"You can't be here when the treaty expires." He speaks lowly, making it imperative that I understand. "You need to leave."

"You're going to be here." Hypocrite.

He shakes his head slowly, like I'm missing a critical piece of information. "No harm will come to me like it will come to you. I am prepared for their arrival."

God. Why does he have to have such a husky, seductive tone, even when he's scolding me?

"No one can truly be prepared for what's coming." I prop my hands on my hips. Those seem like words he would use against me.

He rubs the back of his neck, the sleeve of his jacket slipping back to reveal more lines of tattoos. If we ever speak against after this, I'll have to ask him what's with all the line work.

"What if I help you find Belle? It will expedite the process," he offers coldly. "However, when the end of the week draws near, if we haven't found her, then you have to leave until it is safe to return. While you are gone, I will continue searching for her."

I shift from foot to foot, suppressing a shiver as the cold evening breeze licks down my neck.

"Fine."

I'm obviously not going to leave without knowing Belle's whereabouts, but I'll say whatever will appease him.

He exhales tensely, rubbing his brows. "Thank fuck."

I clear my throat, considering his relief. He acts like I've brought a plague into town. For some reason my presence either repulses him or enrages him. He did pin me against a wall by my throat until his demands had 'sunk in.'

It was as terrifying as it was deliciously erotic.

"So, I bet you never thought you would see me again."

I say it like it's a question. Is there any part of him that is at least a little pleased to see me?

His face is drawn as he looks over me for the first time since I arrived. I can feel him taking me in, considering every difference in appearance from the last time he saw me.

I wonder if he finds anything lacking. I wonder if he is unravelling the months we didn't speak, contemplating whether it was worth sending me off so harshly.

"No. I thought you would stay in the city."

My stomach tumbles as he shifts the full weight of his gaze to my neck, up to my jaw and to my mouth. I can feel his stare graze against my skin, pressing into my skin.

Is he remembering that night?

"Is there any part of you that is happy to see me?" I ask tentatively. I shouldn't be asking this with my boyfriend inside, but it feels like necessary closure.

I want to know I wasn't the only one who felt something that night. I want to know that if he can put it behind him, then so can I.

"Of course," he answers hoarsely. "I've thought about you every day since you—"

He pauses, his gaze whipping toward the house behind me.

"Al?" It's Eldon. "Where are...oh."

I twist around, my heart launching into my throat. My boyfriend stands at the entrance to the house, an uncharacteristically frosty look in his eyes. His stare is trained on Venn, taking in the man I've been conversing with.

"Eldon, this is Venn." I force my tone to be friendly, but doesn't comply with my desires. "He's my...he was...huh. What even are you to me?"

I realise I sound flustered, splotches of red no doubt staining my skin as I gesture between Venn and I stupidly.

Venn slides his hands into his pockets in a perfect act of restraint. "Just a guy she used to know."

Eldon takes a long pause, looking at me, and then Venn. I drop my gaze to the stones, kicking absently at a few of them.

"Right." He stalks down from the porch and to our level, holding his hand out stiffly for Venn to shake. "Hey man."

"Hey." Venn releases one hand from his pocket to shake Eldon's before returning it smoothly.

I think I might throw up.

"Venn, this is my boyfriend." God, why is this so uncomfortable?

The slightest frown creases between Venn's brows as he looks at me, then at Eldon. His watchful eyes assess his body from head to toe before he mutters something I don't catch under his breath.

"I'm just here to help find her sister," Eldon says casually.

"Me too."

Eldon looks at me for confirmation. I dip my head slightly.

I hope he can see what my eyes are trying to convey. Play nice.

Seeing my boyfriend here, before Venn, makes me feel horrific for all the thoughts I've been having. I could feel worse about it, but in the beginning of our relationship, Eldon had a problem with fidelity. Perhaps that makes us toxically perfect for one another.

"So you two friends or something?" Eldon asks, no doubt wondering why I never brought Venn up to him.

Venn scans my face, realising this too. I feel the need to explain myself, but justifying a one night thing is pointless.

"We were just acquaintances, really. In fact, we only really starting talking right before she left," Venn says for me.

"He knows Belle better than me," I add.

He pins me with a look but I turn away. Appeasing Eldon and pressing Venn for more information in one fell swoop. I would call that a success.

"Cool." Eldon's head quirks to the side. "Very cool."

"We are going to stay here until Belle gets back." I turn back to Venn. "Hopefully she will sense I'm near her stuff and she will show up just to cast me out."

"Why don't you two stay at my place?" He offers.

My mouth opens, closes and then opens again. "Y...your place?"

"What's so shocking about that?"

"We will be staying here. Thanks though," Eldon answers firmly, giving Venn a warning stare that doesn't appear to have the effect he desires.

I gesture back at the house. "We better stay. In case Belle returns at any point."

"At least allow me to get you dinner." Venn looks to Eldon, then to me.

Ulterior motive or just being nice? With Venn it's impossible to tell. He's a fairly abrasive person to most, I've noticed, but when he wants to be, he can be masterfully cryptic.

"No need man." Eldon's tone betrays his bitterness. "I got it."

"Please. There isn't many places open." Venn's smile is knowing. "Just Roxxie's."

"Oh I love her taco's. We don't get them like that in the city." I can't smother my grin. "I can't believe she's still open."

"Let's be real, Roxxie was never going to close up," Venn reminds me.

I look back at my boyfriend, a playful pout playing on my face. I've spent far too much money at that place, but it's family run and the best food around. Plus, revisiting those berry margarita's would help ease the tension between the three of us.

"Babe," Eldon deadpans. "You know gluten makes me sick."

"There's salads. You'll manage," Venn states.

Eldon's nose scrunches up. Either that's irritation or disgust. Either way, Belle won't have anything unexpired in the house, and we didn't bring anything more than protein bars and bottled water with us.

"Come on. I want a taste of home before we have to go back." I don't want to have to beg but I will.

Eldon sighs. "Yeah okay."

I clap my hands together. Venn and I outnumbered my poor boyfriend, but I need this night.

A few blissful hours before I sink into full blown worry mode.

I just hope Venn and Eldon don't kill each other first.

🖤••🖤

Hey everyone, thank you so much for deciding the read this story, it means a lot!

If you want to read ahead at any point, you can read this story 10 chapters ahead on Radish and 15 chapters ahead on Inkitt (:

~Midika 💜🐼