“The Asian Werewolves who attacked us, I think they’re the Hsin clan we were warned about.”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

 

My eyes widened in alarm.  I sensed he was right since he’s been proven correct before about other supernatural beings.  He was right about the European Vampires, just as he was right about the European Werewolves.  I guess being a predator, he recognized dangerous behaviour in others like us.

“I’m going home to get my sword.”  I announced.

“No, wait!”  He grabbed hold again before I instantaneously phased away.  Then my husband surprised me by what he next said, “I want you to go to Alaska but I want you to stay there until I call you.”

“Huh?” I asked puzzled.

“I want you to go back to Alaska and stay there.”  He repeated.  “I’ll be fine, I have to do this alone.”

“What the…?!”  I looked on as if he had lost his marbles.

“B, this isn’t up for debate!”  He barked out.  “I need to fight them alone, do you understand me?”

“No!”

Declan took a deep breath as he tried to put it another way, “The Asian Werewolves who attacked us, I think they’re the Hsin clan we were warned about.  Somehow they got wind of us and they’ve come for you.”

“But why me?  I can’t frickin’ breed for them!”  I cried indignantly.

“You know that and I know that, but because of your pheromones THEY don’t know that.  They think you’re fertile because of how you smell.” 

I tried to pull away as my objection, but he held me firmly by the shoulders as he looked on demandingly.

“Now listen to me, B…” he said seriously, “…I have to declare my dominance. I have to fight them for you because if I don’t, they’re liable to track us back to Alaska and that would put the tribe at risk.”

“I know that Dec which is why I’m gonna fight with you -”  I tried but he interrupted.

“No you can’t!  What Leo and Marcus told me about the Asian Werewolves?  It was mostly a lie but a small part of it’s true.  Sure, there’s more than one female left but they are small in number.  The Hsin clan doesn’t appear to have any which is why they’re so interested in you.  Females of any breed of Werewolf including the Asian kind, are becoming rare in this world.  Think about it B, why were Hsu’s family afraid of letting their women near the Hsin clan?” 

I pushed his hands off, “How the hell do you know THAT much?!”

“Because I can smell it!”  He snapped.  “I can’t explain it, but I can smell it just as I can sense it.  My instincts are telling me since the Third World War, not many female Werewolves are created which is why they’re so rare.  The other breed’s females are dying out from old age with hardly any new ones created.  I don’t know why exactly, maybe it’s because of the underlying effects of the fallout?  Humans may have been able to cure the radiation sickness in the natural world, but what about the supernatural world?”

“But -” I tried to interject but he interrupted again.

“You’re unique, B.”  My mate cupped my face in his larger hands.  “You’re the first and only female in the pack of Lokoti Werewolves.  With your pheromones, you’re like a winning lottery ticket blowing down a street in the Depression era.”

I believed him but my stubborn Lokoti Werewolf protective instinct refused to abandon my mate in a time of danger. “Then I’ll fight with you.”

“No.”  He released his hold.

“No? What do you mean, no?”

“I’d fight better without you by my side.”  He said to my surprise.

“What?!”  I cried out, offended.

“B, when I fought those Asian Werewolves just then, I was holding myself back.”

“You were holding yourself back?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you mean you were holding yourself back?”  I put my hands on my hips demandingly. 

My husband said guilty, “I’ve always been holding myself back around you and the other Lokoti Werewolves, B.  I’ve been doing it ever since I was 5 years old and I first realized I was a different to the rest of the pack.”

My eyes widened as this new truth began to dawn on me, “You mean even on a hunt you hold yourself back?”

“Of course I hold myself back!”  He said incredulous. “You think that by hunting one or two animals a month placates my bloodlust?”

“Well…” I faltered.

“Remember when Derik died?”  He brought up the memory of his little brother passing away from old age.  “Do you remember when I came back from a spontaneous hunt and you smelled the blood of at least ten different animals on me?  I almost lost control over the bloodlust.  But that’s what it’s like for me, B.  Always.   I’m insatiable!  I want to hunt human and since I can’t eat them, then I eat animal.  My bloodlust would happily eat something supernatural instead, like these Asian Werewolves… which is why I was told never to return because Hsu’s clan can smell it.”

My heart raced with anxiety as I almost felt afraid of him.  I swallowed hard, “Does that mean that – that you want to – to eat me too?”

“NO!” he was quick to pull me closely against him.  Declan gently banged his forehead into mine as he inhaled deeply.  “You’re part of every fibre of my being and my bloodlust knows this.  You’re more part of me than Derik’s progeny is.  As I said once, if anything ever happened to you? Then I’d be the first European Werewolf to die of a broken heart than to have it pierced by silver.” 

I turned quiet as his words reassured and so did his body language.  We both momentarily closed our eyes as we enjoyed the feel of our hot, strong bodies pressed together.  I felt his fingers dig into my waist possessively. 

“Which is why I’m asking this of you now,” his eyes met mine again. “Return to Alaska and I’ll fight the Asian Werewolves and I won’t hold back.  And I’ll win because of this.”

The picture of my husband going on an insane, murdering rampage as he indulged his supernatural hunger for one night to embark on a vengeful feeding frenzy; ran through my mind.  It was like, ‘sniff at my wife like that and you’ll pay.’  The bloodlust in his breed was far more primitive than I gave it credit for.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t think that was all of them, I think they’ve gone for reinforcements.”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

 

As soon as the Asian Werewolves discovered half of their pack had fallen from fighting, they began to back off. 

They released their sharp jaws from the European Werewolf’s hardened hide, to slowly back away.  Declan continued to growl threateningly, as he stood tall on his hind legs with his front claws ready.  His glowing green eyes with the black slits for pupils, didn’t leave our retreating enemy.

We watched the five remaining members of the pack, pick up their wounded and sling them across their backs.  After throwing us a parting growl, they slunk off defeated into the night.  But Declan and I didn’t move, not for the first couple of minutes anyway.

We stood with our sharp claws and teeth ready, as we listened to the Asian Werewolves paw-steps fade away into the darkness.  Their scent gradually grew fainter the further away they went.  After five minutes of sniffing the air continuously and watching the surrounding landscape in case they made a reappearance; I deemed it safe and looked away.

I gazed upon my enlarged mate, standing tall on his hind legs.  I saw the multiple bite marks in his hide were bleeding.  They weren’t deep thanks to his bulky muscle, so the Asian Werewolves couldn’t dig their teeth in, but still I hated to see him hurt.

My Lokoti Werewolf instinct guided me on what to do.  I placed my mouth over one of his wounds and ran my tongue over it, to use my saliva to speed up his regeneration process.  Declan whined softly in affection as he remained still and allowed me to treat several of the worst bite marks on his upper body.  When I stood back, I saw that he was no longer bleeding and new skin was there instead.

Next, my husband growled quietly and I think he was ordering me to stand still.  He put his heavy front claws on my shoulders before he too ducked his head.  I closed my eyes and accidentally giggled because his large, hot tongue tickled. The sensation became so distracting, it accidentally made me revert back to human which was too soon.  There was still a long claw mark going down my back.

“Oow! Frickin’ hell!”  I swore in pain.  My injuries felt a lot worse in my weaker body. 

Declan rolled his glowing green eyes and shook his head as if to say, ‘well that was a smart thing to do, change while you’re still wounded’.  Then he turned me around to begin to lick at the deep scratches in my back.  His saliva thankfully turned the stinging wound numb, as it began to heal.

After the husband had seen to his wife’s injuries, he began to shrink as he too reverted to his human form.  As soon as the reversal was complete, we hugged and kissed each other in relief.

“Are you OK?”  We asked each other at the same time.

“I’m OK.” I nodded.

He held me closely as he warily looked into the night, “That was too easy.”

I said incredulous, “What do you mean THAT was too easy?”

“They backed off too soon.”  He frowned.  “I don’t think that was all of them, I think they’ve gone for reinforcements.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It’s just what we need; man-eaters!”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

 

Just then the dread which had been growing in the pit of my stomach became worse, as something else occurred to me. “The fence post with the nails sticking out of it was deliberately left on the road.  The Asian Werewolves who live nearby, use it to stop travellers so they can eat them.”

“Great!”  My mate growled as he began to take off his clothes.  “It’s just what we need; man-eaters!” 

I stood back to give him room as he quickly stripped so when he expanded into his European Werewolf form, his clothes wouldn’t be torn to shreds.  I too started to undress, as I took off my jacket as well as my shoes and socks but I left on my t-shirt and shorts.  My shorts would be safe as it was primarily my upper-body that bulked up, and my t-shirt was made of a stretchy material.

My mate completely undressed within seconds and he tossed his clothes and shoes onto the passenger’s seat along with mine.  Then he stood back from his wife and the vehicle to shape shift from his human body into his taller and wider supernatural form. 

Declan’s height almost doubled as his width tripled, whilst his skin turned into a tough hide over his muscle bulk.  The nails on his hands and feet grew longer, sharper and pointier.  I heard the soft cracking noises his bones made as his human skull morphed into a canine’s head with a short, stubby snout over razor sharp jaws.  In his European Werewolf body he could stand and walk upright but when he ran, it was on all-fours. 

I underwent a change of my own, as I felt my muscles bulk up and my nails grow longer and sharper on my hands and feet.  I felt my teeth turn elongated and sharp, which jutted past my lips.  The surrounding night lit up as if it were day, thanks to my Werewolf eyes as my dark blue colour turned glowing turquoise.

Although we were fairly sure the Asian Werewolves wouldn’t try to eat us, we didn’t trust man-eaters as they were dangerous.  With my night vision, I saw them come out from between the dark trees and bushes.

At first they looked like ordinary wolves, except all of their eyes were glowing white with tiny black pupils in the centre.  They all appeared alike; thin builds with silvery grey fur.  My acute hearing picked up the sniffing noises they made as they tracked our scent.  I counted ten of them appear from the night as they fanned out to surround us. 

The European Werewolf emitted a dangerously, low growl to warn them off.  He soon sniffed out who the leader was, as he stood on his hind legs to tower over his foe.  He moved to stand in front of me with his larger size to show the head Asian Werewolf that I was his mate and therefore under his protection.  The snarling in return from his henchmen or hench-wolves I should say, didn’t seem to appreciate this. 

Oh oh, don’t tell me they’re attracted to my Lokoti Werewolf pheromones too?  Frickin’ hell, Declan was right; he really CAN’T take me anywhere!  My husband roared loudly at the Asian Werewolves to back off, but instead of moving away they began to circle.

Just then one of the Asian Werewolves tried to snap at my arm but Declan, in lightening fast speed, swatted the creature and sent him flying through the air!

The Asian Werewolf landed over twenty meters away thanks to my mate’s greater strength.  It whined in pain when it hit the ground however it was quick to return to all-fours and rejoin its pack.  They kept circling whilst snarling or sniffing, as if they were trying to smell a weakness in our defences.

The European Werewolf remained upright on his hind legs as he gently pushed me against the car with himself in front, to act as my shield. 

“Maybe we should instantaneously phase out of here?”  I asked in my deep, rumbling Werewolf voice.

But my husband shook his large canine head to say ‘no’ whilst his glowing green eyes never left his foe. 

The Circulator in me wanted to phase the both of us to Alaska, but my Lokoti Werewolf instincts stayed this thought.  They warned that the Asian Werewolves wanted to kill my mate and kidnap me, to try to force me to become their concubine or some nonsense.  I sensed if we did take flight the Asian Werewolves would pursue, thinking that they were the dominant because we ran away. 

I remember reading in the SSIT Report that Asian Werewolves were the best trackers of all the breeds.  If they pursued, we would have to relocate to a different time period to throw them off our scent!  If we did instantaneously phase back to Alaska and they came after us, it could put the humans of the tribe at stake, and that was something that my overprotective Lokoti Werewolf instinct was not prepared to do.  It was best to fight it out, here and now to declare our dominance. 

Besides, looking on my mate’s huge, hulking, hairless European Werewolf body, actually made me think that we were dealing with a stupid bunch of males anyway.  No matter how much they wanted to use me to try to breed, they were going to go up against Declan looking like that…?

My mate may have been bigger and stronger but unfortunately Asian Werewolves were faster.  They started to run around in a circle, speeding up so much that they began to look like a silvery blur!  As they ran, I noticed that they were beginning to move closer.  Declan growled fiercely and swung out his strong claw, but he missed… and then it was on!

Three Asian Werewolves leapt on the European Werewolf in lightening fast speed and the one in the middle went right for his throat!  Before I could come to his aid, another two leapt on top of the car and grabbed me from behind to pull me away.  They thought by separating us, it would weaken us.

My mate swatted off two of his attackers with his greater strength.  Then he lifted up the Asian Werewolf that was trying to rip out his throat and he looked like he was about to snap the creature’s back!  But before he could, another five leapt upon him!

“Declan!” My thunderous voice roared at the sight of the five Asian Werewolves all biting into and clawing at him!

Using my light speed reflexes, I managed to whip myself out of the two Werewolves jaws.  Next, I turned around and used my Lokoti Werewolf strength to belt them both so hard, they flew ten meters away!  Then I grabbed onto two of the Asian Werewolves who were on my husband’s large back.  I pried apart their jaws with my greater strength, to force them to release him.  Lastly, I too belted these two away.

They rolled away on the ground, but were quick to leap back to their feet.  By trying to use their faster moves to leap on top, they still hadn’t cottoned on that I was a Circulator too.  Moving in the speed of light with my self-defence moves, I ducked from one then I caught and flipped the other to the ground.

I continued to fight this way and the more I threw to the ground, or aside, or belted away; the weakened they became.  I was fighting four Asian Werewolves and Declan was fighting off six.  Two of his enemies went flying into a tree from one of his wallops!  They collapsed to the ground, bleeding profusely thanks to his larger claws.  My mate and I fought side by side, as our foes began to falter.

When I whipped one foe across the snout with my claw-like nails, cracking open its jaw, it yelped in pain.  Three down and seven to go…  As one tried to go for my throat, Declan caught it in mid-air as he roared in fury!  He lifted up my attacker into the air above and this time he did snap its’ back!  The Asian Werewolf dropped to the ground like a sack and didn’t get up again.  Four down and six to go… 

Next, I pulled off one of the Werewolves which were trying to bite into the back of my mate’s bulky neck.  I delivered several punches into its rib cage with my supernatural strength, before I flung it into the air and it landed fifteen meters away.  It too didn’t get up again.  Five down and five to go… or so I thought.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Declan,” I began, “maybe we should turn back onto the highway?”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

Driving to Yushu took a lot longer than we expected.  We ended up driving all day and as the sun set, Declan was still behind the wheel.  We had stopped though for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea but according to the road signs, we were still 53 km’s away.

“Get out the map would ya, B?”  He said impatiently.  “See if there’s a short cut or somethin’.”

I turned on the GPS in the centre of the dash board and began to fiddle around with it.

“From our current position, which is the fastest route to Yushu?”  I issued the verbal command.

The female voice of the car’s computer replied, “The current highway you are on is the main route to Yushu.”

Declan growled impatiently, “But is there a short cut?”

I didn’t know if he was asking me or the computer then, however the computer answered.  “There is another route which will reduce the journey by 13 km’s but it is not the main road.”

“Who cares!”  My mate barked. “Where is this other route?”

The GPS began to issue the directions and Declan turned off the highway and onto several smaller streets.  I felt nervous about the idea of leaving the main route because we at least had the safety of other vehicles and the bright street lights.  But this small road in the country was dark and poorly kept with many potholes and I didn’t see any other cars.

“Declan,” I began, “maybe we should turn back onto the highway?”

“Why?”  He gave a funny look.  I glanced away troubled as I huddled on the seat.  He looked on in concern, “Are you OK?”

“I’m just cold.”  I came up as my excuse.  My mate switched on the heater and aimed all of the air vents my way.  “Thanks,” I said flatly.

We drove onwards through the inky darkness with the only light coming from our headlights or the computerized features on the dash board.

“Turn right after fifty meters," the GPS directed.

My husband obeyed and we turned down an even smaller road which was only one lane wide and constructed of dirt.  We’re driving down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country at night?  It’s the frickin’ 23^rd Century!  All roads were meant to be sealed now, even the roads about our tribal lands were and they were in the middle of nowhere.

“Declan,” I began, “I don’t like this.”

He looked away from the road in my direction for a moment or two.

“Why, are you getting one of your warning feelings, B?”

But before I could answer, suddenly we were jolted forwards as if we ran over something and our tires blew out!

BAM!  BANG!

“What the hell?!”  Declan slammed on the breaks as our car skidded to a halt.  Then he quickly put his hand on my leg, “Are you alright?”

I blinked and although the shock had almost petrified me into a statue, I managed back a nod.  

My mate was the first to undo his seat belt and hop out to survey the damage.  I watched him walk around the car to the rear and then I heard him growl out expletives as he kicked at something on the road.  I undid my seat belt to climb out and see what he was looking at.

In the red glow of our tail lights, I saw what looked to be a fence post lying in the middle of the road with several large nails sticking out of it.  

Declan walked back over to the driver’s seat and I watched him lean towards the GPS and press the green ‘assist’ button.  The screen started to flash a green colour, indicating that a signal had been sent to the satellite relay system so a repair vehicle would be dispatched to our location.  If he had hit the red ‘emergency’ button, we would have the Police come and find us instead.  

“OK, a repair truck should be on its way.”  He sighed in annoyance as he looked about. “But being in the middle of nowhere, it could be a while.” 

I scowled as I looked away in frustration.  I knew we should have stayed on the highway!  I shivered again as the cold night air stung my bare legs since I was wearing shorts.  Declan saw this, so he came back over to lend his greater body heat by holding me close.  

“We’ll wait inside the car and keep the heater on.”  My husband offered.

He started to walk me around to the passenger’s door when he abruptly stopped.  I watched him look in a particular direction and he even started to sniff, which was a worry.  Oh oh, don’t tell me we have company?

“Not more Asian Werewolves?” I guessed.

“Uh huh.”  His blue eyes turned glowing green so he could use his Werewolf sight to see better in the dark.  “There’s a bunch of them coming this way.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mrs. Sabre may not be safe there.”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

An hour later when we were dressed, breakfasted and our teeth brushed, we checked out of our hotel.  The same hotel clerk was behind the desk when we handed in our electronic key.

“Altogether 488 credits will be charged to your credit card Mr. Sabre, for your accommodation, your entrée and main as well as the additional de-alcoholised wine you ordered.  However your dessert will not be charged as it came compliments of the hotel.”  The clerk read off his computer screen.

My mate handed over his credit card to pay as he still looked on the clerk warily.  A moment’s silence passed as the clerk swiped his credit card and then he raised the EFTPOS device for Declan to punch in his PIN.

“The food was delicious, thanks.” I suddenly said. 

My husband gave a funny look but the clerk smiled politely, “I will pass your compliments on to the chef.”

He handed Declan’s card back to him however when we turned to leave, we were stopped.

“Will you both be walking in a westerly direction along the Great Wall today?” The clerk asked out of the blue.

We both turned back around to look on in surprise.

“Maybe and maybe not.”  Declan said vaguely. 

We were, but he didn’t want the Asian Werewolves to know of our movements.

“I ask because when I saw your itinerary last night, it has your accommodation tonight at the Bamboo Inn in Wuwei, which is in a westerly direction.  Wuwei is in the Gans province and I feel I must advise you that the area is the territory of the Hsin family.”  The clerk said simply.

“The who?”  He asked.

“The Hsin family is not as enlightened as we are and they have not seen or smelled a female of your kind in a very long time.”  The clerk stopped smiling. “Mrs. Sabre may not be safe there.”

My heart almost stopped as my mate’s eyes widened.  I suddenly felt one of my tell-tale ominous feelings from Hsu’s warning.

“But we start a new tour tomorrow morning and we’re getting picked up by bus from the Bamboo Inn in Wuwei.”  Declan sounded annoyed.  “What are we supposed to do?  Boycott the tour as well as the town?!”

The clerk looked on unimpressed before he spoke in a low voice, “My apologies, I did not realize how different we are with our separate cultures. I was speaking as a friend.  My family is very protective over our wives, mothers, sisters and daughters.  We have not allowed our women anywhere near the borders of Gans province since one of our females were kidnapped by the Hsin family 50 years ago.”

My husband’s eyes almost popped out of his head when he heard this and my heart began to race. 

Declan threw innuendoes to the wind as he looked on the clerk suspiciously.  “I was told there was only one female Asian Werewolf left.”

“Then whoever told you that was not truthful or accurate.”  The clerk said simply.

“Figures.”  He rolled his eyes.

“Didn’t either Leo or Marcus tell you that?”  I remembered.

Declan gave a short nod, “It makes you wonder what else they lied about, doesn’t it?”

“Our people know of the Lokoti Werewolves.”  The clerk spoke plainly as there was no-one else around. “They are respected by my family. It is because we know that you are not man-eaters you were allowed to stay last night. It is a sign of respect that I warn you now, avoid Gans province.”

“Maybe we should just go back to Alaska?”  My husband complained.

However a plan started to formulate in my mind, “Show me the itinerary.”

“What? Why?”  He gave a funny look.

“Please?” I held out my hand.

He pulled out the itinerary from the front pocket on his backpack to hand over.  I looked on the tour details we were meant to be embarking on tomorrow as well as the nightly stopovers before I turned back to the clerk.

“OK, so if we boycott Wuwei today, what if we head south instead until we come to Yushu?  It’s where we’re supposed to stay for the first night of the tour.”  I spoke to both the clerk and my husband.

“Yushu is not in anybodies territory and you should be safe.”  The clerk gave a single nod.

“What about for the rest of our holiday?”  I held out the itinerary to the clerk who took the document out of my hands to look on it again.

“In Cambodia you may meet the Truong clan who live in the northern region.  But if you do not go out at night and remain in your hotel room, they should leave you alone.”  The clerk handed the itinerary back.

“So after this place and if we avoid Wuwei, the other Asian Werewolves we’ll come across are in Cambodia?”  Declan wanted to double check.

“The route your proposed holiday takes you on will be avoiding the territories of the other clans.”  The clerk answered.

“Right,” Declan returned the itinerary to his backpack before he looked my way, “now to find our way to Yushu.”

“If you head down the main street to the south side of town, you will find a reputable car rental company.”  The clerk offered.

“Thanks.” I smiled at his helpfulness.

“I wish you a safe journey on your travels."  The clerk smiled at me but then it disappeared when he looked on my mate, “And I must ask you Mr. Sabre that you do not come into our territory again.”

What the…? I didn’t see that coming!  Declan and I exchanged a surprised look which we turned towards the clerk.

He spoke as he looked upon my husband, “You were protected last night because of my family’s respect for the Lokoti Werewolves.  However my family has not had the best experience with your breed before. I cannot vouch for your safety should you return to our territory again, with or without the company of your wife.”

The clerk was referring to Declan being a European Werewolf.  The clerk didn’t seem so nice now and I saw that by suggesting the car rental company it was because he wasn’t trying to help us, he was trying to get rid of us.  I recalled the sight of the two Asian Werewolves standing outside of our hotel window, watching.  Now I saw it wasn’t because they didn’t trust me, it was because they didn’t trust my mate. 

I was going to protest Declan's innocence when he stopped me.

“Come on B.”  He gently pulled me backwards.

My mate walked me to the door of the hotel and held it open. As he followed me out, he threw the clerk a parting glare.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh you weren’t supposed to hear that.”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

I didn’t sleep well that night and neither did my husband.  Every time I rolled over and opened my eyes, I found him lying awake.  He lay with his arms about his wife as he constantly watched the door or the large window of our room.  I came to realize he was on guard by the way he kept his hold. 

“Get some sleep.” I murmured sleepily.  “We’re safe here, Dec.  If we weren’t, I would have one of my warning feelings as a Circulator.”

“Shhh.” He stroked the skin on my back. “You’re more tired than I am, B.  You need the sleep more than I do.”

“Declan, please go to sleep.  If I sensed we were in danger I would have instantaneously phased us back to Alaska.”

“Close your eyes and be quiet," he growled softly.

I rolled over so I could rest my cheek on his hot, strong chest.  That was the good thing about having a European Werewolf for a mate, their bodies consistently ran at high temperatures.  Although hot weather could leave him disgruntled, I never needed an electric blanket in the midst of a hard Alaskan winter. 

My mate appeared to appreciate our contact, as his arms tightened and he planted several kisses on my forehead.  

We were quiet for a couple of minutes as I settled back down again.  I guess Declan must have thought I had fallen back asleep.  He thought now would be a good time to say, “I love you B, always and forever.”

I surprised him when I mumbled back, “Love you too Dec.”

Pause… then after a moment he said, “Oh you weren’t supposed to hear that.”

“Whatever.”

You were making your sleeping noises so I thought you were asleep.”

“Whatever.”

“No seriously, you were breathing deeply and you were making those little sighing noises.”

“Whatever.”

“Were you faking it, knowing I was going to say that?”

            “Declan, frickin’ shut up and let me sleep!”

*****

The next time I opened my eyes again, it was morning and it was by my husband shaking me awake.

“Come on, let’s get out of this place.” He greeted with a kiss on the nose then he leapt out of bed as if he had been the one who had slept.

Half conscious, I raised my head and marvelled at how quickly he dressed.

Declan started to chuckle as he looked over at my dazed expression. “Man, I’ve been married to you for 136 years and your bed hair still cracks me up!”

Grouchily, I threw his pillow at him as he continued to laugh, before I rolled over and tried to hide under mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“They don’t trust us, so they’re letting us know we’re being watched.”

   (Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

We walked down a plush hallway until we spotted our hotel room door.  As soon as Declan let us into our suite, I emitted a loud sigh of relief to be able to take off my heavy backpack, which was the first thing I did.  I dropped it onto the suitcase stand by the wall and when I turned back around, I found Declan standing by the closed door.  I think he wanted to make sure we weren’t being followed, as he listened closely and he even sniffed. 

“It’s cool, Dec.”  I walked over to collapse wearily onto the King-sized bed. “They’re allowing us to stay tonight.” 

However my mate didn’t move away from the door immediately, he continued to listen.  When he did move, he walked over to the window and parted the curtains to look outside.  I heard his growl as he dropped his backpack, as if preparing for battle.  What now? 

Tiredly, I stood up and crossed over to see what he was glaring at.  I saw two Chinese men who appeared to be in their twenties, wearing black clothes complete with black sunglasses, which made them look like gangsters.  They were standing across the street whilst looking up at our window. 

“More Asian Werewolves?” I guessed.

“They don’t trust us, so they’re letting us know we’re being watched.”  Declan said with dissatisfaction.

“But they’re trusting us enough to let us stay.” I turned away from the window to walk back over to the bed.

As soon as I sat back down, I took off my hiking boots before I laid back.  I stretched out on top of the bed as I felt my muscles begin to loosen.  Ah finally, I could unwind. 

Just then there was a sharp knock on the door that made the both of us jump!

My husband made a move towards it and looked through the peep hole before he opened the door.  Next, a male hotel employee wearing a black uniform, carried in a tray with a bottle of de-alcoholised wine in a cooler and two wine glasses.

“Would you like this on the table?”  The staff member queried.

“Yeah whatever.”  He answered as he looked on the man warily.

The man in the uniform carefully put the tray down and then he turned to leave.  But before he departed he said lastly, “In appreciation of you showing consideration towards the safety of others; if you should order dessert with your meals this evening, it will be free of charge.”

After that, he swiftly left with Declan locking our door behind him.  Then my mate tiredly walked over to the bed I was sitting on, to flop down beside.  I lay back down onto the mattress so we were lying side by side. 

“I wish when I planned our trip, I had a map of all the areas marked by other Werewolves or locations of Vampire covens, so we knew where to avoid.”  He complained.

“But then we’d never leave tribal lands because like humans, supernatural creatures are everywhere.”  I pointed out.

“Yeah, I guess so.  Hell, I was bitten by a European Werewolf in Alaska of all places.” 

Next, Declan rolled onto his side so he was facing me.  He turned quiet for a minute or two, as he rested his head on his hand to look down.

“What?”  I wondered.

“You’re fearless, you know that?”  He smiled softly.

“Fearless?” I gave a peculiar look.

“The way you walked up to the hotel clerk and laid it all out like that?  I thought he smelled funny, but you saw through him immediately.”

“Only because I caught him sniff us.”  I confessed.

“My wife the sleuth," he chuckled as he placed a kiss on my forehead.

He moved in closer as he wrapped his arm around my waist.  His mouth brushed my cheek before his lips smothered my own.  I felt his ardour but all I felt was tired.  

“Not yet!” I giggled as I moved my head away. “I need to unwind first.”

“Hey, you’re the one who said I’m hot when I go all authoritarian.”  He reminded before he began to gently ‘maul’ my neck with his open mouth.

“You are hot when you go all authoritarian, but I’m also tired.”  I grabbed hold of his hair to lift up his head.

“Is this the real reason why you asked me to grow out the crew cut, so you’ve got more hair to pull?”  Declan shook my hand off.

“Definitely.” I tittered.

“You don’t see me pulling your hair, do you?”  He lightly scolded.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“You’re right.”  He smirked which expanded into an evil grin. “Besides, I’d rather pull the hair elsewhere on your body.”

“Eew!” I cried out which turned into a squeal of laughter, when he ducked his head to take several playful bites.

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