Aeress

     She lain in bed for hours. Even as she was aware that she had no idea where she was. Even as she registered Warrick was sitting in a chair next to her, typing away on his phone. 

     Hours she stayed there. Aeress simply could not convince herself to move. Not even as they both were fully aware that she was not kept by a deep slumber. 

     She stared up at the ceiling, recalling everything that happened. 

     Aeress died. That wasn't a dream. She wasn't being dramatic. The cold arms of death did welcome her.  

     But then she came back and wasn't alone. 

     As she hid under the sheets and blankets, she noted her strength which was not present before, her sharp vision, sense of smell, everything. Her body was different. 

     After everything, she should have been exhausted, but she failed to fall back asleep. 

     She took up his bed. She knew it was his bed because she knew his scent better than she knew her own. It was a mixture of spices, soap, and raw soil. It was all over her, and she'd be lying if she claimed it to bother her. No, she basked in it. 

     Aeress took a deep breath. Her voice was deeper, and she shivered as it reminded her of the creature. "I died." She forced herself to look up at the ceiling still. "And I came back. But so did something else..." her body tensed with wonder and apprehension. "Who was she?" 

     She listened as she placed his phone down on the bedside table. His clothes rustled as he adjusted his position in the seat. He cleared his throat. "We do not have a name for it. She is just an ancient being." He paused to ponder. "She is supposedly the mother of werewolves. The moon goddess. She has many names." 

     "I share my body with a goddess?" 

     "No." his answer was immediate and firm. "It is not like a werewolve's wolf. She is you. That is what legend tells at least. You are considered a reincarnation."

     Aeress felt her thoughts getting jumbled. "So I'm just a recycled soul. I'm not really me?" This she feared. 

     "No. You are Aeress."

     "This demon. She is with me now?" 

     "Yes." 

      "The things she did. Terrible things... Why?" 

     "I am not sure. Some say she can see into souls, that she was driven to madness, and became obsessed with saving the innocent from the damned."

     "Why now?" she demanded. 

     "I have about just as many certain answers as you do. There are many theories circling. Enough on this topic. It is making both of our heads spin." 

     "I was having such a good time," Aeress admitted, "and then those people came. Evil people. Who are they? Why do they want to kill you?" 

     He was silent. Contemplating. "Power. Greed." 

     "Different species, same problems," Aeress muttered. He made no response. 

     Her curiosity got the best of her. She twisted her body until she was facing him. She studied his features with astonishment. Dressed in a similar outfit as before, he was nothing but a shadow. 

     Something urged her out of bed almost immediately. She stood over him, but only because he sat. 

     Their eyes clashed and the heat between them was scalding. 

     Neither knew her next move.

     Her heart was functioning perfectly, with the passion of a racehorse. 

     He watched her with suspicion as she approached him. When he made no protest, she climbed on top of him, straddling his waist. His warmth immediately blanketed her and she felt safe for the first time since that night which brought her here. 

     His brows were furrowed. But his lips parted and this excited her. 

     Facing him, she sat comfortably on him. 

     "May I?" She eyed his neck which was covered by clothing. 

     His nostrils flared briefly just enough for her to notice, but he gave a curt nod. 

     She reached and pulled his sweater down. She gasped at the terrible mark there. Large teeth marks were left on his neck, with bruising all around. It was a grotesque sight, yet all the same it satisfied something deep within. 

     "Does it hurt?" 

     He shook his head. How could he be telling the truth? 

     Some instinct demanded she relieve his pain, because it was impossible that the mark did not cause him agony. 

      Having no fear in her heart, she pushed back his collar and leaned forward. His body was tense all over and yet he did not fight. She knew she could relieve him. And this was why she continued. 

     His hands latched onto her waist when her mouth made contact with his wound. She kissed it tenderly, over and over until she felt his rigid body loosen. His sigh blew past her ear and she found her lips curling in a sweet smile. 

    She leaned back to look into his pretty eyes. Sparkling, cold blue. She felt the wintry penetrating her. "Better?" 

     His eyes searched hers. "You understand you are mine." His eyes were hard and unflinching. 

     Aeress didn't know how to feel, but she also understood this was above anything she ever knew, and something she could not fight if she tried. "What if we hate each other? I mean, before everything happened, you were a jerk."

     He said nothing. "We cannot fight it. We would be idiots to believe that. You will stay and we will figure this out." 

     Aeress couldn't keep her hands off. She massaged his neck, guilty for what she did. "You don't know me, and I don't know you. This bond between us may be inevitable, but I will always have a choice." 

     He closed his eyes a moment. "So you leave, then what? Do you have control over this new presence?" 

     Aeress thought back to the carnage she caused. The carnage she allowed. The guilt again weighed her down. "No. What are you saying?" 

     He looked indifferent as usual. "You may leave, but you will be endangering those around you. Nina promised that you could leave... So you can, but I will not sit here and tell you it is the best plausible decision." 

     Aeress knew there was only one option, but it comforted her to entertain the idea that there wasn't. "So that's it? My life is over? This is my fate?" she felt overwhelmed all over again. "A life of death isn't a life at all!" she stood up, looking around. "I don't think I can do this. Am I even myself anymore? I'm a monster-" 

      He took her arms and held them in place. His eyes bore into hers. She was encaptured once again, having not even noticed him shift from his sitting position. "This is hard, but so are you. You must be strong. You must collect yourself. Breathe." 

     So simple his instructions were, but it did the trick. She closed her eyes and did as commanded. 

     Aeress could handle this. She had handled everything so far, certainly this could be faced as well?

     Her life had altered like day turning into night, and she was dizzied from all the motion, but she figured by then that life was not patient. At least not at that moment.

     She may have lost her mind. Maybe she did. But it was a reality of sorts, and now it was her duty to deal with it. 

     She had read countless books on lives so similar to this. Those characters were about as hysterical as she was. But it did nothing in the end, and neither would it for her narrative. 

     Obtaining a smidge of resolve, she opened her eyes. "What happens next?" 

     He let go of her arms. It was a loss which cut her deep. "I am Premier. I will work. You will rest." 

     He was going to leave? After everything, just like that. "Oh, okay then. Is it okay for me to be on my own?" 

     He tipped his chin to answer. "I have responsibilities as Premier." 

     Why did it bother her that he chose to leave so easily? "Okay then," she repeated, pulling herself from his grasp. "Have fun." She meant anything but and they both knew it. 

     That coldness hardened his gaze. He gave her one last look before he disappeared. 

     Aeress blinked. There was a cold, dead silence. It smothered her chest until the sheer realization punched straight through her gut. 

     She smacked a hand over her mouth before a sorrowful, frightened sob was released past her lips. Aeress felt as the tears seeped down the soft flesh of her cheeks, leaving streaks down her body. She lost all strength and leaned against the bed, laying her head onto the mattress. Her eyelids squeezed tightly, so tight that maybe when she opened them, she would be back in Shaya's apartment, retelling her the wild dream she was sure this was. 

     But when her eyes opened, the floors with still smooth with wood. The walls were still spotless. It was all still so unfamiliar. 

     And she cried at that tragedy alone. And then maybe a giggle or even a laugh. Something, anything that would bring her back from this dizziness. 

     And she realized that her tears were not caused fully by the fact that she currently stayed in a house replete with werewolves. No, if it were that, she would not be sobbing like an infant. 

     What made her so forlorn was the fact that besides her best friend, there was no one in the entire world who would miss her. No relatives and certainly no other people which willingly tolerated her blabbering. She had a college degree that she was not necessarily passionate about. No job. No boyfriend. Hell, she didn't even have a guy friend she could occasionally bump uglies with. 

     She wiped at her tears and felt terrible about herself. All these years, and she had accomplished nothing. Absolutely nothing!

     It was sad and depressing.

     She was being dramatic, she knew that. But to realize how unsatisfying she allowed her life to become, how impassionate caused her to feel pathetic. 

     And now everything was on overdrive. She had stepped into one of the thousands of supernatural romances she had read. 

     Though no one warned of how terrifying it actually was. So much death and violence. 

     She picked herself up and undressed, seating herself in a tub she had filled with scalding hot water. 

     Her hands ran over her stomach and a coldness stroked down her spine. Nothing. There was a simple mark that resembled a disfigured star. Why did it bother her that it appeared she was never attacked? 

     Maybe it was because Aeress was a difficult female or something else. 

     Definitely the former. 

Black Lives Matter.