Cold Kisses

26. The night after

(I jumped right ahead; the scene did not work out the way I wanted it to)

Verity

I was dizzy by the time I woke up. Disoriented and confused, I had no idea where I was nor what time it was. My mind was a disarray of threads and thoughts, drowning my sense of time. Strangely, my body didn't ache and my head wasn't hammering anymore. My eyebrows dipped in confusion. It was only day four, the heat couldn't have gone away that quickly. 

I went to sit up, freezing when the sheets dragged over my naked skin. Something warm and heavy was draped over my stomach. My body stilled. Someone was laying beside me, someone who was warm and huge - judging by the size of the arm and the bulging muscles. 

Bewildered and slightly scared, I sat up and looked to my side. I made a noise, a mix between a groan and gasp. Hunter was lying on his stomach. It was his left arm that was draped over me. His face was turned to the side, snores leaving his parted lips. 

My eyes swept over his body. To my horror (and pleasure, if I shall tell the horrible truth), he was stark naked. The sheet was wrapped around his ankles, leaving his body open for my view. Shamelessly, I let my eyes roam over his backside. Over his round butt, his toned legs and his muscular back. I am not ashamed to say that my mouth watered a bit at the sight. 

He had hickeys littered all over his skin. They were red and purple, shining back at me. Gleaming red nail marks raked his back. He also had bite marks on various places on his body, puncture wounds staring back at me. All colour drained from my face when I saw those marks. I carefully removed his arm before I stood up, silently shrieking when I saw that I too was stark naked. Silently, I wrapped the sheet around me as I strolled to the bathroom. I turned on the lights and gathered the courage to look at myself. When I did, I thought I was going to faint.

My neck was covered in dark purple hickeys - it looked like a goddamn canvas. They travelled from my neck all the way to my shoulders and collarbones. I lifted the sheet. More hickeys littered my inner thighs, some were even on my hips. I blushed. As I examined myself some more, I noticed the puncture wounds on the left side of my neck. They were hidden among the many hickeys, but they were there. He had marked me. I could have fainted. He had fucking marked me! 

I began to panic. What the fuck was I supposed to do now? How the fuck was I supposed to leave this place if he now could enter my mind? Oh goddess, this can't be true. I was panicking. Now that his mark marred my neck, his pack would be able to feel a connection to me. Which, I believe, would lead to me getting properly introduced to the pack. I wasn't ready to stay and be their Luna; I couldn't at this point in my life. 

Tears pricked my eyes. I refused to let them fall. If I did, I would let my emotions get the better out of me. I wrapped my arms around me, hugging myself as some soft of comfort. It will be okey, I thought. I will figure something out. Everything will be alright.

Warm hands gently gripped my shoulders, smoothing down to wrap around my waist. He placed his hands over the lower part of my stomach, pulling me closer to him. His chin rested on top of my head. I refused to meet his eyes, staring at my reflection instead. 

"Good morning, beautiful," he murmured into my hair, kissing it. "How you feelin'?"

"Morning. I'm good," I whispered. "A little hoarse though. Other than that, I'm fine."

He smirked and bent down, breathing in my ear: "Because you spent the whole night screaming my name."

It sent a shiver down my spine and he smirked. He knew all too well how he affected me.

Then his eyebrows furrowed. "You seem concerned about something."

Right, he could sense my emotions better now, like he was reading me like an open book. That would complicate things. If I wasn't careful, he would be able to detect my feelings and put an end to my plan. So I would have to be honest and speak my mind. Though, I could twist it into a truth that he could believe even though that wasn't necessarily the exact cause. Short cuts, so to speak. 

His hands pressed down on my stomach, an angry glint in his eyes. I sighed. I guess some things won't change for a while.

"Your pack," I voiced.

"What about the pack?" He was at the defence now, probably thinking I was about to insult them. 

I bit my bottom lip. "You have marked me properly now."

"That I have." He beamed, obviously proud of it. "And it looks bloody fantastic, I might say. Absolutely fantastic."

"So I assume that you will introduce me properly to them then?"

He nodded. "Yes, a ceremony will be held by the next full moon, to ask the Moon Goddess for her blessing to have you as our Luna. Then you will be officially introduced to everyone and we'll go on a hunt together after the ceremony." 

"Next full moon? When's that?"

"Why you wanna know?" His eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

"I'm not good with crowds," I said, raising my gaze to look at him in the mirror. "I don't want to make a fool out of me in front of the pack. Lunas are supposed to be good leaders, right? Then I can't go and faint in front of them just because I get nauseous by crowds"

"You said: 'the pack'," he pointed out.

"Yeah?"

He let the tiniest smile spread over his face. "Seems like you finally have accepted them."

"Don't sweat it," I mumbled, looking away as I faked shyness. 

He gave me a tender kiss on my cheek, before suddenly hugging me. My eyes widened at the gesture. He was so touchy. It was strange. But it felt so nice.

"Next full moon is after Christmas, around New Years Eve. I will give you a more accurate time when the ceremony is planned."

He let me go, looking down at me. "I need to leave. The clock is probably over ten and I'm late for a meeting that started at nine."

"It's only eight-forty, you got time."

He eyed me as he walked out of the bathroom. I followed, standing in the doorway as I watched him dig through his pants. He picked up his phone, turning it on as he checked the time. 

"Can you answer something for me, darling?" 

"Sure." I forced a smile to graze my face. 

"How can you know the time so accurately?"

I shrugged. "Back in the old days, before the clock and sundial was invented and knowing the time was dependent on the light from the sun, the vampires developed this 'new' sense. I don't know exactly how, but the history books mention a witch's involvement. Anyhow, they got the ability to tell exactly what the clock was. Of course, back then, they didn't care about the numbers, only about when they had to go into hiding so the sun wouldn't burn them to death. They would sneak off before the sun started to rise and thus surviving."

"Why doesn't the sun burn you?" 

My face fell and I looked away, clenching my jaw. How was I supposed to explain that? "Uh, some have charms bewitched to protect us, others have it through genetics."

"Which ones have it genetical? You?"

"The oldest families. We call them the royals. Personally, I got blessed by a witch who owned me a favour."

That was a tiny lie, but honestly, he didn't need to know the whole truth. 

"Is that the same thing with your drinking? You don't have to drink everyday, but rather a few times regularly?"

I nodded. 

He hummed and got dressed. When he was done, he kissed me and gave me a warm hug. Before he could leave the room, I asked: "Can I hang out with Celeste today?"

He hesitated for a second before nodding. "Sure. Be home around six though."

I promised I would. It seemed to please him. And then he was gone.